Bartered Read Free Page B

me a video during the interrogation. I wish to no longer see her.”
    He gave me a knowing look before clearing his throat. “As you wish. I’ll take care of it in the morning. ”
    “ C’est parfait.” (Sounds perfect.)
    “Bonsoir, Monsieur Xavier.”
    I nodded, bidding him the same.
    The soft creak of the opening bathroom door made me aware she was coming out , but I didn’t glance up to watch her move and sway her hips as she walked. Instead, I threw my head back and emptied the contents of the glass in my hand before helping myself to another dose of the amber contents that didn’t seem to lessen the burn doing a maelstrom in my groin. I needed a moment to gather my thoughts without looking at her and devouring her on the spot.
    Her touch had merely whet my appetite and I wanted more—so much more. The second she signed the contract, the better.
    Still not looking at her, I addressed the envelope that sat on the table. “The co ntract is ready. Go over the details, and if you have other demands, let me know so we can negotiate before a new one can be drawn up first thing tomorrow.”
    “Okay,” she murmured softly before I heard her take a seat and go through the sheets of papers enclosed.
    All this time, I had been taking one shot after the other, breathing in calmness, bidding my time so I wouldn’t have such an evident hard-on before I decided to face her.
    After a moment or two of thinking I had cooled off a bit, I spun around and my eyes immediately darted towards the view of her back. I noted how delicate her neck was then paused a moment, frowning. Merde! Since when did I care or notice a woman’s neck, delicate or not? Hissing at myself, I gave her a moment or two as she scanned the contract.
    Denying myself from going through the pleasures I was accustomed to had been a mistake because it had boggled my mind. I was noticing things that usually didn’t heighten my libido. First thing tomorrow, I would need Chantel to come to me before I showered to do some laborious working out.
    Problem solved, I was in a much better mood.
    “Have you skimmed through it?” I casually asked as I took the sofa opposing her, needing to see her face and what she thought of it. I had a knack for reading people’s minds before they voiced their opinions. Isobel wasn’t any different.
    “Yes.” Her eyes remained on the pages, flickering through the words, absorbing the details.
    “Do you find it agreeable?
    She shook her head, looking frustrated. “I will have to take a semester off school since it says six months here.” She released a breath. “Summer break is only three months.”
    Merde. How old was she? How come I forgot to ask her this one vital question? She couldn’t be eighteen ,could she ? I mbécile! (Moron.) How did this slip my mind? Because your cock twitched and it was all you could think about then, my mind immediately supplied the answer. So much for fair thinking…
    Looking at her in the eye, I prayed she wasn’t that young. “How old are you, Isobel?”
    “I’m twenty-three. It’s my final year before I graduate…”
    Thank goodness she wasn’t as young as I ’d feared.
    “Where do you study?”
    “In England, but my home is Athens. I was here to visit my father for a week because my mother asked it of me.”
    So Callas was here vacationing his summer in Monaco to gamble away while his family was back home in Athens? What a remarkable man, I thought sourly. My own father could be cruel in his own right, but he never once abandoned me for his own pleasures, even after my mother died a few years after giving birth to me. Eli Xavier was tough, but even with his hard exterior I never once questioned his love or intentions.
    Flickering my gaze back to the beguiling woman, I knew I wouldn’t want any more than the six months offered. Besides, the old man Callas needed to be taught a lesson. I’d have to make sure he was banned in all the casinos in Monaco and France. If he wanted to