One

      Escaping to the mountains would have been much better for his sanity than coming to his newly purchased private seaside villa off the coast of Portugal.

      Kate Barton fully clothed was enough to have any man panting, but Kate running around in a bikini with some flimsy, strapless wrap that knotted right at her cleavage was damn near crippling. The woman had curves, she wasn’t stick-thin like a model and damn if she didn’t know how to work those dips and valleys on that killer body. Not that she ever purposely showcased herself, at least not in the professional setting, but she couldn’t hide what she’d been blessed with, either. Even in a business suit, she rocked any designer’s label.

      Luc Silva cursed beneath his breath as he pulled his Jet Ski back to the dock and secured it. His intent in coming here was to escape from the media, escape from the woman who’d betrayed him. So why was he paying a penance with yet another woman?

      To ensure privacy for both of them, he’d given Kate the guesthouse. Unfortunately, it and the main house shared the same private beach, damn it. He’d thought purchasing this fixer-upper on a private island, barely up to civilization’s standards, was a brilliant idea at the time. With no internet access and little cell service, it was a perfect hideaway for a member of Ilha Beleza’s royal family. He didn’t want to be near people who knew of or cared about his status. Luc had only one requirement when searching for a hideout: a place to escape. Yet here he was with his sexy, mouthy, curvy assistant.

      Not only that, the renovations to the property were only half-done, because he’d needed to get away from reality much sooner than he’d thought he would.

      A lying fiancée would do that to a man.

      “Your face is burning.”

      Luc fisted his hands at his sides as he approached Kate. Was she draped all over that lounge chair on purpose or did she just naturally excel at tormenting men? She’d untied that wrap and now it lay open, as if framing her luscious body covered only by triangles of bright red material and strings.

      “I’m not burned,” he retorted, not slowing down as he marched up the white sand.

      “Did you apply sunscreen?” she asked, holding an arm over her forehead to shield her eyes from the sun.

      The movement shifted her breasts, and the last thing he needed was to be staring at his assistant’s chest, no matter how impressive it was. When she’d started working for him about a year ago, he’d wanted her... He still wanted her, if he was being honest with himself.

      She was the absolute best assistant he’d ever had. Her parents still worked for his parents, so hiring Kate had been an easy decision.

      A decision he questioned every single time his hormones shot into overdrive when she neared.

      He never mingled with staff. He and his parents always kept their personal and professional relationships