Seduced by Passion

Seduced by Passion - Chapter 5

Digging for crabs with someone could be a sign of a problematic relationship, or it could mean that he needed to find some buried truths, she'd said. No shit, he'd thought. His grandfather had told him not to be afraid of the truth. But was Xiomara going to be a friend or foe in his search of that truth, and was he going to like what he found out?

Feeling restless waiting for Xiomara and her mother to come back, Raph slid his hands deep into the pockets of his slacks and began pacing.

Control—his one-word mantra bounced around in his head.

As a child, following his father and grandmother's tragic deaths, Raph had become particularly good at controlling his emotions, no matter what was going on in his small world. He could be so restrained, that at times, his mother had called him unfeeling. As he grew older and began thinking about the man he wanted to become, he'd developed a propensity to focus on what he needed, zero in on what was important, and discard the rest.

That skill served him well professionally and was instrumental in his and his brothers' successful launch of G3. However, it had not been beneficial to his personal life. The only woman Raph had ever loved had fallen in love with someone else. She needed someone more fun, she'd said. He'd tried to be 'more fun', but by then it was too late, and he'd been left with a broken heart.

The women he dated after her called him emotionally void and unavailable once they discovered that they couldn't get inside his head. He bore that label with honor, allowing nothing and no one to affect him to the point of distraction. His short-lived relationships ended the moment a woman began asking or expecting too much from him.

From the moment he'd seen her picture, Raph had known that Xiomara Davenport would be the biggest distraction of his life. When he'd touched her, his mind had exploded with images of them tangled up together in damp white sheets, weak, and satiated. It was sizzling, like nothing he'd ever felt before.

Raph needed to know a little bit more about her, to be certain that they were not related––that she was not his grandfather's child. But once that was out of the way, he wanted to lay her down on the loveseat, pull her dress up to her waist, and take her then and there––quench the lust, stop the burning, for the moment. And if they were good together, he would take Declan's advice to forget about business and enjoy himself in Akilina.

He would have his fill of Xiomara for the week, knowing that his emotions would be safe since he was heading back home after accomplishing the task he'd been sent here to do. But her mother had blown up his plans when she had barged in, questioning Xio's decision to "marry a two-timing bastard—again."

Raph steered clear of women who weren't single beyond the shadow of a doubt. So if Xiomara was engaged to be married, he would have to find someone else to warm his bed for the week, which shouldn't be hard to do. He'd caught the looks women were throwing his way when he'd walked through the lobby on his way to Xiomara's office. There were plenty of fish in the sea.

His pacing brought him to a map of Akilina on the wall near the door. Squinting his eyes, he studied it. The 251-square-mile, mountainous island was bordered on the east by the Atlantic Ocean and by the Caribbean Sea on the west. He counted twelve territories, three west of the long, snaking Caonabo River and the Nacanké Mountain Range. Mt. Cayacáo, with an elevation of 4,821 feet, was the highest of them all.

He trailed a finger against the glass, his eyes narrowing as he searched for Aetós where he was to scatter the ashes. It wasn't a territory, so it might be a village, or a town, but there were so many...

"Raph."

Xiomara's voice calling his name was like lightning zapping through his body. He turned, his breath catching in his throat as she walked toward him, her mother trailing behind her. As they met in the center of the office, the delicate scent of her perfume wrapped around him. He wrinkled his nose. He knew that scent––Diptyque Eau Rose. She had good taste. And he had no doubt she tasted good.