Taming The Wild CEO novel Chapter 27

C H A P T E R 2 5 : T E S T O S T E R O N E S

E L L A S T A N F O R D

Ella was not sure what had possessed her but she responded to every kiss, every touch, and her body burned with hot, tingling desire. A power boat was speeding towards them from the misty reaches of the sea instantly awoke her from the trance in which his lovemaking had held her. Her eyes flew open and she gave a low shivering cry. Javier lifted his head, silently taking in her horrified, shamed expression, then a wry smile flickered over his face.

Without a word he flung himself over on to his back, breathing hard, staring up at the halcyon blue of the sky that had almost the same color as his eyes. Sick, humiliated, burning with self-contempt, Ella sat up and dived into the sea. Without thinking she swam back towards the beach. The last few moments had been a revelation to her. She had always been secretly aware that she was attracted to him and now she had to face the fact that he had a power over her senses which made her despise herself.

As she walked back towards the changing booth but she saw a familiar, graceful figure dismounting from a lowslung, open topped sports car, leaping over the door, disdaining too open it, the slim body tightly encased in very brief white shorts belted below the waist and a thin green top. Ella recognized him almost immediately. He was indeed the famous Roberto Capaldi. And by the exclamations and stares the man was receiving, half the beach population had recognised him too. Yet he seemed to be ignoring the interest he was causing as he flung back his blonde hair and sauntered along the promenade towards their hotel.

Ella glanced back at the sea and caught the sight of Javier’s lying on the raft, his dark trunks and muscular body distantly visible.

“Mister Capaldi.” Her voice came apologetically, her face flushed as she saw the looks she got from bystanders. She ran after him, barefoot, her wet hair flying back from her shoulders.

He glanced, a bored, irritated expression making his face look older than his actual age. As his eyes gazed at her figure, a new gleam came into the green eyes and he gave her a lazy smile. “I am sorry but I am not giving photos or autographs today.” His thin, attractive face reflected amused interest. He had a faint Italian accent overlaid by years of travelling the world. Although he was in his early twenties, he had been a star for most of his adolescence and had acquired, an international gloss.

“Um, no. I am not here for photo or autograph. Though I hope you will sign our contract,” she gave him a pleasant smile the stuck her hand out. “I am Mister Javier Summers’s secretary from Summers Entertainment. Are you on your way to our hotel to meet Mister Summers?”

Roberto blinked in surprise then smiled. “I am not,” he replied with a smile. “I enjoy the hotel’s private beach and since I know its owner, he allows me to use it. I came here to meet him, actually. But he can wait.” His eyes were flatteringly approving of her red bikini. “What is your name, Javier Summers’s secretary?”

“Ella Stanford,” she said, flushing slightly. “My boss is still out on that raft,” she pointed behind him.

“Him, I also can wait to see,” he dismissed. “Would you like to come with me for a drink, Ella?”

His eyes gazed down at her body. “Unfortunately you will need to change. Though believe me, if it were up to me, I would say that you should always wear bikinis. With a body like yours clothes are wasted.”

“Thank you, Sir. But I am here for work,” she said, trying not to sound stiff, remembering that Javier had brought her here to be friendly towards this conceited young man.

Roberto wrinkled his nose in disarming and amused recognition of her reaction. “Is that what you call work?” He held her wet hair around a finger. “You know, I have heard that Javier has a way with women. Now I can say that I approve of his taste. Though I did not agree on that last actress he was seeing, the one with big boobs.”

Although he was insolent and self-assured, his youth made him far less alarming than Javier, and Ella felt faintly touched by the swagger with which he carried off his blatant flattery. Despite his undoubted experience of life, he was still much younger than she was both in age and looks. He was slightly built, a thin boy, brash, vain but charming.

“Will you be coming to dinner tonight?” he asked after several moments.

“Yes,” she replied while wondering how on earth she would disentangle her hair from his wandering fingers without being rude.

“We will have to get to know each other better,” he said, smiling at her. “After all, we soon will be partners should all goes well.”

“I suppose so.” Ella leaned back slightly, hoping he would get the message and let go of her hair.

Yet he did not seem to notice as he leaned in towards her and whispered, “I would really like to get to know you. Up close and personal, Ella,” he said directly, admiring her figure in a way which made her acutely self conscious.

Then before she could answer or move a muscle, she heard a cool voice from behind her saying, “Hello, Roberto.”

J A V I E R S U M M E R S

Javier watched her as she was swimming away to the shore, leaving him to deal with his frustration alone. He was not sure what was so wrong about them having something more than work. He could not make it more obvious how attracted he was to her and clearly, the feeling was reciprocated, judging by the way she had melted in her arms and responding to his kiss. Which left to one frustrating question: why the hell had she kept on rejecting him?

If it was because he was her boss, that mattered should be settled in two months’s time. Plus, they were both adults — as long as they were both responsible and could separate business from pleasure, everything else should be fine.

His phone, which he had kept in the raft, rang and he checked the caller ID. It was Maxon, one of his younger siblings. He heavily sighed then answered his call. “Yes?”

“Jav!” His brother greeted him cheerfully. “I heard you are in Italy.”

His lips set into a grim line as he regretted informing Clarabelle, their youngest sister, about this trip. She must have been the one to inform Maxon, despite their seven years difference in age, they were very tight and shared each other’s secrets. While Javier, similar to their eldest brother Thornton, was not the sharing type. He was cold and distant yet there was absolutely nothing he would not do when it came to his family.

“Yes, I am in Sicily now,” he replied. “What is it? Do you need anything? I do not recall we own any restaurants here in Italy except those that are combined with the hotels.”

Maxon Summers owned the F&B (Food and Beverages) line of their family business. From packaged food in the supermarket up to fancy restaurants and bars were handled by him. Max himself was an incredible chef and albeit having to handle all of these and their branches all over the globe, most of the time he could be found working on a new recipe in one of his three stars Michelin restaurants in Washington D.C.

“We do not,” drawled Maxon. “But we do have a vineyard there.”

“Right.” Javier laid his back on the raft and closed his eyes. “So do you need me to go there and sign something on your behalf?”

“Nah, my call is not about business, brother.”

A frown was forming on his forehead. “Then what is it about?”

“Okay, then why do you race with time? You are only thirty two years old.”

Not race, Javier thought. He wanted to savor and revel in every bit of anticipation, then made amends with every bit of pleasure he knew was coming with Miss Stanford. It was quite impossible to explain how he felt about her to Thornton or anyone else.

“You do not have to worry about me, Tony. Like you said, I am thirty two this year. I am not a child.”

“Oh, trust me, brother, I have zero concern on this matter but the others, especially Mom, have.”

Before Javier could form a reply, he heard his brother said, “Look, I had my heart broken and I know what a catastrophe it would be when one’s marriage failed. My kids suffered from it. So as much as I do not want to get involve in your business, I can not stand aside and ignore it. Do you remember when I was going to marry Ava and everyone opposed? I did not listen to anyone and then she cheated on me. Yes, you may say that we have made amends and all is well now but that does not mean that I can let you go through the same thing I did. I can not ignore it while you get into another mess with a woman. Remember university? Long before you became the rake that you are now? Remember Hollie? You raced her off to bed the first night you met her, then spent the next four months finding out what a bitch she truly was. You are too fast on the draw, Jav. You were lucky that you were not engaged to her. What if you were? What if you then realize that Ella is not meant for you?”

This was different. He could feel it. He had known Ella for nearly four years and even though it was not on personal level, he still knew her personality and he did not like the way Thornton linking Ella to Hollie. They were two different persons. Irritated by his big brother’s criticism, he shot him a quelling glare. “Look who’s talking?”

“Yes, I have done it, too,” Thornton whipped back. “Taking what was there whenever I have felt the urge. No harm done with willing parties. But great sex tapers off when you find you have gotten nothing in common and you are pulling against each other’s interests. Like with you and Hollie. Tell me I am wrong and I will shut up.”

“When did this wisdom descend on you?” he asked. “You did say that you have zero concern as this is my private business.”

His eldest brother sighed again. “Look, you said that Ella is important to you.”

“She is.” Javier had not realized how much he meant that until he had heard himself saying it.

“Then treat her right. Get to know her better. I know you will throw the fact that she has been working for you for years now to my face,” said Thornton before Javier had the chance to say the exact same thing. It seemed that they truly were similar and that his brother knew him all too well. “But before you do that, I should remind you that you only know her on professional level. Talk to her more, open up so that she may open up to you. If, let’s say in a year, you say that you still want to marry her then I will happily tell the rest of our family to shut the fuck up.”

The usual agreement between them was forthcoming and Javier could not help but smiling.

“Well noted, brother.”

As soon as he ended the call, he went back to the beach. His brother was right and even though this whole engagement thing was just a ruse, he really did want to know Ella better and hopefully he could convince her that they had a lot in common than she thought. And maybe, just maybe, she would finally accept him.

Javier was walking on the beach with a smile as his blue eyes scanned his surrounding, searching for Ella. Yet when he finally found her, his smile left with no trace for he witnessed her talking to Roberto Capaldi. Keeping his eyes on them, especially on Roberto’s hand on Ella’s hair, he strode towards them. When he was close enough, he came to a halt and said his greeting.

“Hello, Roberto.”