Reluctantly moving her hand away, Xavier settled her back, drawing up the silken coverlets. ‘Sleep for an hour,’ he murmured, dipping his head to kiss her brow, ‘and then take a relaxing bath. I will have beauticians visit you…and a masseuse who will massage all your aches and pains away.’
‘I think you just did that,’ Sophie pointed out, purring like a kitten.
‘Then you will feel even more relaxed.’
‘If I relax any more I may not wake up until I leave Peru.’
‘Oh, you will,’ Xavier promised in a low, husky voice that made her slide her limbs languorously over the sheets. ‘I’ll make sure of it.’
Sophie spent a full half hour of luxury in a bath the size of a small swimming pool, soaking in scented bubbles. She only climbed out with the greatest reluctance when the telephone handily placed on a marble ledge rang to inform her that beauticians would shortly be on their way.
Viewing the grand salon with its comfortable sofas, dainty antique side tables, rotating globe on a stand and vast rose-wood desk, complete with silver gilt inkstand, Sophie concluded it was hardly her idea of a sitting room—hardly her idea of an appropriate setting for beauty treatments either. But that hadn’t provoked a flicker of concern when she had suggested it as a possible venue to the person at the other end of the phone. The bedroom contained far too many erotic images for her to consider having a massage there. Even though she had smoothed the sheets and pillow-cases until she hoped not even the maid would guess what had taken place, the whole room seemed to vibrate with sensuality.
Answering a knock at the door, she found two young girls wearing crisp white uniforms. A parade of men followed them carrying cases containing all the paraphernalia they would require, and yet more wheeled in a full-sized massage couch. If this was how the other half lived, Sophie mused, standing back while they got everything organised, she could get used to it very quickly.
Soon she was daydreaming sleepily about enjoying the same sybaritic exercise on a daily basis. There was little chance of that, she reflected wryly as the girls continued to massage her back. But she needed it, Sophie realised, frowning a little. She had had no idea she had so many knotted muscles.
She moved slightly beneath the increased pressure. ‘Xavier?’ The click of the door closing softly behind the two girls he had silently dismissed gave him away. Turning her head lazily, Sophie groaned with pleasure and sank back again on to the pillow as he continued to knead her shoulders. ‘I should have known—’
‘You have an hour to get ready,’ he murmured very close to her ear, ‘and then you’re on camera.’
‘What?’ Sophie shot up, instinctively grabbing the towel to cover herself. ‘What do you mean, I’m on camera?’
‘As my spokesperson. And you don’t need that,’ Xavier said persuasively, removing the towel and tossing it aside.
‘There’s no time!’ Sophie exclaimed, gasping as his firm hands cupped her breasts. But as she wheeled around to get off the couch somehow her legs caught around his waist…‘Is there?’ she demanded huskily, gazing into Xavier’s rapidly darkening eyes.
‘What do you think?’ he murmured.
‘You wouldn’t,’ she said, breathless with excitement. There was something irredeemably decadent about indulging their carnal passions on a massage couch in the middle of a vast and sumptuously decorated room, while she was completely naked and Xavier impeccably dressed in his tailored suit.
‘Don’t you know better than to challenge me?’ Xavier demanded, tossing his jacket aside and reaching for the buckle on his belt.
Sophie’s first television interview went better than she dared hope—even if she was aware that the beautiful South American woman who was supposed to be questioning her preferred looking at Xavier, standing just out of camera shot.
Sloe eyes, doe eyes, dangerous eyes, Sophie mused, feeling vaguely threatened by the woman’s obvious fascination. Xavier was devastatingly attractive, and Sophie was the first to admit she lacked the drop-dead lusciousness of the woman sitting across from her. But she was becoming increasingly confident that there was a lot more going on between Xavier and herself than just physical attraction. They were linked at the core in a way she couldn’t yet fathom, but she knew it went deeper than even the sensational sex they enjoyed…and that would never have happened without Xavier, she reflected, as she sat waiting for the credits to roll and the floor manager’s signal that she could leave her seat. She could never have trusted, never have given herself so completely to anyone but Xavier.
Thankfully, he appeared immune to the woman’s allure, Sophie thought as he embraced her when the lights dimmed.
‘You were fabulous,’ he said, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. ‘Thank you so much for that, Sophie. You don’t know what that means to the project. The world has to see feisty young women out here—’
‘Feisty young women?’ Sophie teased softly. ‘Is that how you see me?’
‘Maybe,’ he agreed with a crooked smile.
‘So you’re using me as a free advertising tool,’ Sophie murmured, enjoying the teasing banter as their eyes locked briefly, intimately.
‘I’ll do anything I have to do to make the project a success,’ Xavier said honestly.
Sophie turned to glance as the glamorous interviewer stalked off, high heels rapping an angry tattoo across the floor. Sophie frowned. She had wanted to thank her. The interview had been a useful tool for the project. And now the woman had stalked off before Sophie could say a word to her about a follow-up. The rigid set of the television presenter’s back suggested she couldn’t believe Xavier had chosen to be with Sophie in preference to herself. Perhaps she had thought she was in line for a private tête-à-tête with Xavier after the show, Sophie worried, feeling she’d handled things badly. A glance at Xavier told her he wasn’t aware of the undercurrents.
Xavier told Sophie later over coffee that their stay in Lima would be an intense round of interviews and meetings, and that she would be required to attend some and not others. He said he couldn’t give her an answer as to how long it would all take and only stressed the need to be flexible. After he had ordered a light meal for them both, Sophie tried again to find out about the future.
‘I’ll be here for a couple of weeks or so,’ he said casually, ‘and then I’m returning to Spain. What about you? Have you made a decision about what you’re doing yet?’
Bewilderment and hurt flashed through her, dragging her down, sapping her energy. ‘I’m not sure.’
‘That’s not like you,’ Xavier said, frowning as he caught hold of her wrist and made her sit with him.
It wasn’t like her to feel as if her insides were being systematically shredded either, Sophie reflected grimly.
‘So, go on,’ Xavier prompted, staring at her intently.
‘I’ll finish my contract in Peru, and then I suppose I’ll return to St Agnetha’s.’
‘I see.’ Xavier frowned. ‘I could use you in Europe,’ he mused aloud.
‘As what?’
My mistress? Xavier got to his feet and began to pace about the room. Would she agree to that long-term? He was sure he knew the answer—but still, he couldn’t bear to be parted from her—not for a minute, not now or in the future.
He had a great choice to make, Xavier realised bitterly. He could ruin his mother’s life by being with Sophie, or Sophie’s and his own by refusing the commitment they both longed for. As he turned to look at Sophie he felt sure the agony would tear him apart. If only she would accept the medical position in Spain, at least they might work together if nothing else. ‘Apart from the same sort of thing you’ll be doing here with me in Lima, I’ve got one or two future projects in mind,’ he said with a shrug.
Sophie swallowed convulsively. Her throat felt tight and painful as she looked away. She could focus on nothing. She had been building castles in the clouds. Happy families, a future together—inwardly she made a sound of contempt at her own stupidity. ‘I’m not sur
e I can go on with this,’ she whispered hoarsely as her thoughts escaped.
‘Go on with what?’ Xavier demanded, taking hold of her arms to drag her to her feet.
‘Us,’ Sophie said, shaking her head.
‘Us?’ Xavier dipped his head to stare her in the eyes. ‘What on earth are you talking about, Sophie?’ His voice was low, but intense, and filled with a frightening level of passion.
‘You, me…bed.’ Sophie was forced to turn away from the intensity of his stare. ‘It’s just not for me, Xavier. I—’
‘What?’ he demanded in the same low voice. ‘I thought it was very much for you.’
‘It?’ Sophie shook her head in astonishment.
‘Stop this, Sophie!’ Xavier warned imperatively. ‘I couldn’t make love to a woman as I made love to you if it meant nothing to me.’
‘But how many women are there who mean something to you?’
Xavier pulled back. She could see he was shocked. She had touched something raw, something deep, something so much a part of him. She wasn’t surprised when he prowled a few paces away before turning to face her again. His voice was cold now.
‘I’m disappointed in you, Sophie. I can’t believe you would even ask me a question like that. Would you prefer to go back to one of the clinics when I leave here?’ He gestured around the room impatiently.
‘Can you arrange it?’ She longed for him to say no with every fibre of her being.