Chapter 1
Her name was Isabelle dela Vega and she was nineteen years old. She was raised by her grandmother when her mother passed away. She was four that time. She didn’t have any idea how her father looked like since he left her mother when he discovered that she was pregnant with her. According to her grandmother, he was from Switzerland. Her father’s name was Mark Dury. She was born and raised in a small town called Sta. Teresita. She and her grandmother who was a seamstress had a very simple life. A lot of men admired her but she didn’t want to have a boyfriend. She wanted to finish college especially because she could only study by a scholarship. She had promised herself that she would give her grandmother a much better life once she graduated.
It was a Sunday and her friend Joyce invited her to a resort nearby to chill. Her friend was eyeing her because she looked uncomfortable in a swimsuit which she had given her. She was old-fashioned unlike her friend who was liberated. She didn’t like the idea of men looking at her body. She and Joyce were polar opposites but they had been friends since high school. Her friend was rich, she wasn't. But Joyce's family liked her and was nice to her too especially Joyce’s older brother Brett who was her suitor. He was good-looking aside from the fact that he came from a well-off family so she felt he was out of her league. Even if she became a flight attendant, she would never be a good match for him. She was woken up from her deep thoughts when Joyce hit her lightly on the shoulder.
"Oh my! This is so unreal!" Her best friend exclaimed.
She just threw her a glance before getting her eyes back to the magazine in her hand which she was supposed to be reading.
"He is here! I thought he was still in the States but he is really here! " Joyce added giddily.
She blew some air from her mouth to show her annoyance. Her friend was always like this when she saw good-looking men but not her. She didn't even bother to look who Joyce was talking about. Joyce was always excited to talk about guys she liked but she wasn’t. Besides she wasn’t interested in men. She had to focus on her studies because that was her goal.
“This is a great surprise! I hadn’t imagine seeing him here! I know that his family owns hotels and resorts in and outside of the country so I guess the rumors are true after all! He is contemplating on buying this resort."
"Who are you talking about?" she asked after a sigh.
She was sure that she won’t stop so she might as well pretend to be curious. She put down the magazine again and looked at where her friend’s eyes were.
"It's the elusive, immensely hot and extremely rich playboy, Luke Contrero! The man one wearing a pair of blue board shorts and has a mouth-watering six-pack!” Joyce replied as she stared at the subject of her interest.
The male was probably twenty yards from them. He was sitting on one of the beach chairs. Beside him was another man who was also bare-chested and in a pair board shorts as well. Even this far, obviously the man Joyce was talking about was way hotter because he was a lot hunkier. She couldn't see his face because he was looking at the sea.
"We'll leave tonight. I’ve seen enough. I don't want to buy this place. We'll check the other resort tomorrow." Luke told his cousin Reed who was also his assistant.
"What's wrong with it? This seems okay. There are a of guests and I’m sure there will be more once you developed it. Sta.Teresita is a good place to invest in."
Luke took a sip of his sparkling water. He didn’t like alcohol. He only had it if he was with clients. He was a health buff. Some men have alcohol to release stress but he'd rather have sex with beautiful women than slowly destroy his body with booze when he had to blow off steam. He shrugged his shoulders.
"I made up my mind! I don't like it! It doesn't have anything that catches my interest. It's such a dull place. I feel that buying any property in this area is not worth my money and time," he told Reed.
His bodyguard Luis was standing a few meters from them. He didn’t need one because he could defend himself but his mother insisted. He agreed because he didn’t want to upset her since he knew that she only wanted him to be safe all the time. Good thing was, once he went back to the US, he didn’t have to bring Luis. He frowned when he felt something. He couldn’t explain it but a certain kind of energy wanted him to turn to his left.
Isabelle gasped when she saw the man’s face. Joyce was right. He was super hot! Luke’s eyes narrowed when he realized what made him look the other way. It was a woman but not just an ordinary female. She was breathtakingly beautiful. She was a bit far from him but he felt a certain electricity between them. His board shorts seemed to have become tighter at the front. His body was strongly reacting to the female. This was foreign to him and he didn’t know if he liked this urge or not. He had to be sure that she was not only beautiful this far. And he wanted to know if the force which was drawing him to her would be even greater once he saw her up close.
"Where are you going?" asked Reed.
"I'll check if buying this resort is really worth it," he said while he walked towards the woman who seemed to have bewitched him.
"Oh wow!! He's heading towards us!" exclaimed Joyce.
Isabelle didn't know whether to stay where she was or to run from the place. The way the man was looking at her was scary but at the same time gave her a feeling of excitement. Her heart was thumping as he came close to them. She almost caught her breath when he was just a few feet away from them. His body was really magnificent. He was totally hot and he looked, hungry? Hungry for something else not for food.
"Oh my! He is eating you with his eyes Issa," Joyce said mesmerized as she saw how Luke Contrero had his beautiful dark eyes on her friend.