abrupt, commanding tone, and waved him away with the bouquet.
âWhere is he taking my roses?â she asked, equally shocked by her companionâs tone of authority and the manâs quick obedience.
âHeâs putting them into a vase, which one of the maids will deliver to your room,â he said softly. âI like the idea of my flowers watching over you as you sleep.â
Her cheeks colored delicately as she looked into his eyes, and her breath left her audibly.
She was easily flattered, he noticed, and it disturbed him. Perhaps she was on the rebound from her betraying fiancé, or just reeling from her first real taste of attraction. Whatever motivated her, she kindled flames in him that he hadnât felt for nine years. He wanted her. Nothing was more important than that, for the moment.
Â
They went through the museum in the Forbes mansion on the sea, and walked through the grounds. Philippe held her hand and made her feel like a closely guarded treasure. But wherever they went, Bojo went along, and so did the two bodyguards sheâd seen in Asilah. This time, there was no Saudi prince around, either. Her companion was becoming a bigger mystery than ever, but she was helpless to deny herself his company. She was falling in love, for the first time in her life.
Chapter Six
P hilippe seemed to enjoy Gretchenâs company as much as she enjoyed his, because he found all sorts of activities for them to share. For the next four days, without making it obvious, Philippe made sure that Gretchen was under surveillance for every step she took, even when he wasnât with her. She spent a great deal of time in the garden and the swimming pool when he wasnât escorting her around the city. He did have business meetings with foreign officials about business back home, and these took up a great deal of his time. But he managed at least one meal a day, sometimes two, with Gretchen. The more he learned about her, the more he liked her. She was consistently honest with him, and the fact that she didnât know who he was made him confident that she wasnât playing up to him deliberately. It was refreshing to be taken at face value. Then he remembered Brianneâs unexpected compassion, and reality came crashing down on him. It was dishonest, to let Gretchen hope for a normal relationship with him, when he knew he could never give her one. But he was beginning to have doubts even about that.
As the days passed, he learned that his initial physical reaction to her was no fluke. Every time he touched her, he became aroused, to his consternation and delight. She was too innocent to realize it. And, of course, he didnât let her close enough to risk that. He held hands with her, but he didnât dare go a step closer, to her obvious disappointment. He enjoyed her impish flirting, her jubilant company, her obvious attraction to him. He couldnât risk making her run from him yet. Not until he was certain she wouldnât want to. She was becoming essential to him.
Â
Several days later, Gretchen was sitting by the pool in her red bathing suit with her sunglasses on when a shadow loomed over her. She opened her eyes, and there was Philippe, elegant in a business suit and looking far more somber than ever before.
She took off her dark glasses and blushed at the look he gave her scantily covered body. His eyes narrowed on her full, firm breasts before they traced a path over her flat stomach and narrow hips down her long, elegant legs to her pretty feet. He caught his breath at the delicious surge of pleasure that rippled over him. The sensations she evoked were new and exciting to a man whoâd been dead from the waist down for so many years. He was becoming addicted to these little spurts of pleasure when he was with her. He was also becoming curious about whether or not he could prolong and maintain that state of arousal in bed, a curiosity he didnât dare indulge. Not
âWhere is he taking my roses?â she asked, equally shocked by her companionâs tone of authority and the manâs quick obedience.
âHeâs putting them into a vase, which one of the maids will deliver to your room,â he said softly. âI like the idea of my flowers watching over you as you sleep.â
Her cheeks colored delicately as she looked into his eyes, and her breath left her audibly.
She was easily flattered, he noticed, and it disturbed him. Perhaps she was on the rebound from her betraying fiancé, or just reeling from her first real taste of attraction. Whatever motivated her, she kindled flames in him that he hadnât felt for nine years. He wanted her. Nothing was more important than that, for the moment.
Â
They went through the museum in the Forbes mansion on the sea, and walked through the grounds. Philippe held her hand and made her feel like a closely guarded treasure. But wherever they went, Bojo went along, and so did the two bodyguards sheâd seen in Asilah. This time, there was no Saudi prince around, either. Her companion was becoming a bigger mystery than ever, but she was helpless to deny herself his company. She was falling in love, for the first time in her life.
Chapter Six
P hilippe seemed to enjoy Gretchenâs company as much as she enjoyed his, because he found all sorts of activities for them to share. For the next four days, without making it obvious, Philippe made sure that Gretchen was under surveillance for every step she took, even when he wasnât with her. She spent a great deal of time in the garden and the swimming pool when he wasnât escorting her around the city. He did have business meetings with foreign officials about business back home, and these took up a great deal of his time. But he managed at least one meal a day, sometimes two, with Gretchen. The more he learned about her, the more he liked her. She was consistently honest with him, and the fact that she didnât know who he was made him confident that she wasnât playing up to him deliberately. It was refreshing to be taken at face value. Then he remembered Brianneâs unexpected compassion, and reality came crashing down on him. It was dishonest, to let Gretchen hope for a normal relationship with him, when he knew he could never give her one. But he was beginning to have doubts even about that.
As the days passed, he learned that his initial physical reaction to her was no fluke. Every time he touched her, he became aroused, to his consternation and delight. She was too innocent to realize it. And, of course, he didnât let her close enough to risk that. He held hands with her, but he didnât dare go a step closer, to her obvious disappointment. He enjoyed her impish flirting, her jubilant company, her obvious attraction to him. He couldnât risk making her run from him yet. Not until he was certain she wouldnât want to. She was becoming essential to him.
Â
Several days later, Gretchen was sitting by the pool in her red bathing suit with her sunglasses on when a shadow loomed over her. She opened her eyes, and there was Philippe, elegant in a business suit and looking far more somber than ever before.
She took off her dark glasses and blushed at the look he gave her scantily covered body. His eyes narrowed on her full, firm breasts before they traced a path over her flat stomach and narrow hips down her long, elegant legs to her pretty feet. He caught his breath at the delicious surge of pleasure that rippled over him. The sensations she evoked were new and exciting to a man whoâd been dead from the waist down for so many years. He was becoming addicted to these little spurts of pleasure when he was with her. He was also becoming curious about whether or not he could prolong and maintain that state of arousal in bed, a curiosity he didnât dare indulge. Not
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