Sold to the Enemy Read Online Free PDF Page A

waiting for his answer.
    ‘These candles—do you have a sample?’
    ‘Yes.’ She fumbled in her bag, trying to ignore the nerves fluttering low in her belly. It was as if just being in the same room as him had somehow triggered all the alarms in her body. The attraction was so shockingly powerful it knocked her off-balance. She definitely needed to get out more. This was what happened when a father locked a daughter away. She’d turned into a raging nymphomaniac. Stefan Ziakas was going to be lucky to escape with his clothes still on.
    Disconcerted, she glanced at him but that turned out to be a bigger mistake. Thick, inky lashes highlighted eyes of molten gold and his mouth was a slim, sensual line in a face sculpted by the devil to tempt women to the dark side.
    Selene was unsettled by just how desperately she wanted to be taken to the dark side.
    ‘I know this business idea has potential.’ She was brisk and businesslike and hoped he wouldn’t guess that she’d practised this a hundred times in the mirror. ‘I have some packaging samples, but they might need to be adapted. We live in a fast-paced, stressful world. Scented candles are an affordable luxury and I’m not the only one who thinks so. The market is currently growing at forty percent.’
    His mouth was such a perfect shape, she thought. She’d noticed the same thing that night on the boat as she’d stared and stared at him, willing him to kiss her. There had been a few breathless moments when she’d thought he might do just that but he hadn’t, so clearly it had just been wishful thinking on her part.
    Leaning forward, he extracted the candle from her grip and turned it in his fingers. ‘You’re expecting me to believe that this is the next big thing?’
    ‘Why not? Don’t you like candles?’
    A smile played around that sexy mouth. ‘You want an honest answer?’
    She remembered that this was a business meeting. That she was a businesswoman. ‘Yes,’ she said firmly. ‘Yes, I do.’
    ‘I’m a man. The only reason a man is ever going to like candles is if there is a power cut and the generator fails, or if he finds himself dining with a woman who is ugly.’
    And she was willing to bet he never found himself in that position. ‘But candles are about so much more than romantic lighting in a restaurant.’ She tried not to think about him dining with a beautiful woman. ‘The one I’ve named Seduction is scented with lotus blossom and it creates the perfect atmosphere for—for—’
    ‘For?’
    His eyes gleamed and she had a strong suspicion he was laughing at her. ‘Seduction,’ she said lamely, suddenly wishing she’d called it something else.
    ‘And you know that because...?’
    His voice was disturbingly soft and the laughter had gone from his eyes. Now his gaze was intense— serious —and Selene felt as if she’d been seared by the flame of a blowtorch.
    ‘Because people have told me that’s the case.’
    ‘But you’ve never tried it yourself.’ It was a statement, not a question, and she felt her face burn along with her body.
    She wished he’d stuck to a conversation about market share and forecasts. ‘I’ve tried Relax and Energise.’
    ‘So no market research on Seduction?’
    ‘Yes, just not—personal research.’
    There was a long, pulsing silence and then he put the candle down and leaned his hips on the desk, the movement of his trousers revealing expensive polished shoes. ‘Let me tell you something about seduction, Selene.’ His voice was more seductive than a thousand scented candles. ‘To you it’s just a word, but it’s so much more than that. Seduction is about tempting, enticing and persuading until you’ve driven someone mad with need. Yes, scent is important, but not the artificial scent of a candle—it’s the individual scent of the person you’re with, and it’s not just scent but scent combined with touch and sound.’
    Selene couldn’t breathe. ‘Sound?’
    ‘When I’m with a woman