The Greek's Blackmailed Wife Page 9

  He smiled, pleased to have found a perfect solution to his business problem and the physical ache that had nagged him since he’d strode into Lauranne’s office two weeks earlier.

  He was going to sleep with her, get her out of his system and then divorce her and get on with his life.

  And this time he’d make sure that there was no way she’d forget their relationship.

  ‘You’re going to take her with you?’ Alec frowned at him, uncomprehending. ‘Have you really thought this through? She probably bears you a grudge—’

  ‘There’s no probably about it.’ Zander gave a wry smile as he remembered the accusations that she’d flung at him. ‘She definitely bears me a grudge.’

  Unfortunately the fact that she was fighting him every inch of the way had no significant effect on his libido.

  ‘Then what the hell are you doing?’ Alec licked dry lips, his expression nothing short of appalled. ‘The last thing you should be doing is taking someone like her to the island when the negotiations are at such a delicate stage. Haven’t you heard that expression about “a woman scorned”? Don’t go there, Zander—you’re setting yourself up for some serious confrontation. And it’s going to be in public.’

  Zander poured himself another whiskey, totally relaxed, a strange light flickering in his eyes. ‘I thrive on confrontation.’

  Alec groaned and dragged a hand through his hair. ‘But not in public and not on this deal! What if she decides to take revenge on you by blowing the deal with Kouropoulos? She’s hardly going to pose as a loving wife, is she?’

  ‘That’s exactly what she’s going to do. Oh, and Alec—’ Zander paused, a strange glitter in his dark eyes ‘—you can tell Kouropoulos that I want the most private villa on the complex.’

  ‘So that she can shout abuse at you and not be heard, no doubt,’ Alec muttered. ‘As your lawyer I think I should be there—’

  Zander gave him a smile that spoke volumes. ‘Three’s a crowd, Alec, and for what I have in mind I most definitely don’t need a crowd.’

  All he needed was one particular girl and an extremely large double bed.

  * * *

  One more night.

  Lauranne adjusted the narrow straps of her red dress and looked at herself in the mirror. It was a good thing that people only saw what was on the outside, she reflected wryly. The casual observer, like the mirror, would only see the face she chose to present to the world. Composed and elegant. They would see nothing of the turmoil that raged inside her. Her battle with Zander was insignificant in comparison to the war going on inside her mind. Sense versus sexuality. Logic versus lust. Her emotions were churning around like a leaf caught in a tornado, dragged this way and that, unable to find a safe resting place.

  The episode in the car had reminded her just how powerfully they connected and each clash seemed only to intensify the growing passion between them.

  She lifted a finger to her glossy lips, remembering the heat and fire of his kiss. Only Zander had ever kissed her like that. And it was no wonder he’d made the assumption that they’d finish the encounter in his hotel room. She was sending out all the wrong signals. Or were they the right signals?

  Totally confused about her own feelings, Lauranne slid her feet into a pair of strappy sandals and gave a wry smile. They were a pair that she loved but hardly ever wore because the heels were so high that she tended to dwarf whoever she was with.

  But with Zander she needed every inch that she could muster. And there was no question of dwarfing him. It wasn’t possible to dwarf Zander.

  After tonight he’d be gone.

  She stared at her reflection one last time. Back to Greece and out of her life. And she’d have her divorce. Which would be a good thing.

  Wouldn’t it?

  She chewed her lip, wondering if a divorce would get rid of the pain. The wanting. Would she ever be able to respond to another man the way she responded to Zander? It was ironic that her life’s passion seemed to be for a man who was as much an adversary as a lover.

  The loud buzz of the intercom startled her and she took a deep breath before walking calmly to the door and opening it.

  Zander stood on her doorstep, broad shoulders blocking the light, impossibly handsome in black dinner jacket.

  Her first thought was that the cameras were going to have a field-day. He was just so breathtakingly good-looking that all the other men would be invisible. Her second thought was that he was smiling and she was in big trouble.

  It wasn’t fair of him to smile.

  At least when he fought her she could fight back. When he was cold she was equally chilly. But when he smiled—

  Suddenly the hostility oozed out of her and she felt hideously unsure of her own response. All she wanted to do was wrap her arms around his neck and snuggle against him, or spend an evening in a beach-side restaurant laughing together as they attacked a plate of delicious seafood.

  All she wanted was to forget the past and start again—

  Shocked by her own thoughts, she tried to remind herself that he was the enemy, but what sort of enemy made her pulse race so frantically and made her feel so alive?

  ‘I love the dress,’ he said huskily, waiting for her to lock the door and then holding out a hand. ‘If I’d known I would have driven the sports car. It matches the colour perfectly.’

  She ignored the hand and arched an eyebrow, trying to switch back to an atmosphere of attack. ‘So now I’m an accessory?’

  He smiled and took her hand firmly in his, ignoring her token resistance. ‘Accessories are supposed to blend in, agape mou. You definitely don’t blend. You strut and lift that pretty chin and flash your eyes at me.’

  ‘Only when you annoy me.’

  ‘Which is most of the time, it would seem.’ His tone was ironic and she risked a glance at him, thinking that this was Zander at his most dangerous. The gently mocking tone, the slightly narrowed eyes, the hint of a smile that turned his mouth from hard to tantalisingly sexual.

  It was a cruel reminder of the reasons she’d fallen in love with him at the impressionable age of twenty-one.

  They stepped into the car and instantly all her muscles tightened with the memory of what had taken place only hours earlier. Blood pulsed through her veins and her fingers gripped the edge of the seat.

  ‘Relax,’ he advised softly, lounging back in the far corner of the seat, amusement lighting his dark eyes as he registered her discomfort. ‘There’s no way I’m going to jump you ten minutes before we are supposed to appear before the general public. When you and I finally do what we’re both burning to do, we are going to have total privacy and no deadline. And we will not be surrounded by paparazzi.’

  Images exploded in her head and her mouth dried. ‘We’re not going to do anything.’

  His eyes didn’t leave her face. ‘We’re already doing it, Anni.’ His voice was husky. ‘This is foreplay, and you know it.’

  ‘No—’ Her denial was a soft moan that lacked conviction even to her.

  He gave a slow smile. ‘Actually the longest foreplay I’ve ever indulged in. Why do you persist in denying what we both feel?’

  ‘Because it won’t work.’

  He lifted an eyebrow, his expression gently mocking. ‘We’ve done it before, agape mou.’ His voice was velvety smooth and utterly confident. ‘We know it works.’

  And that was the basic difference between them, of course. He was talking about sex. And that was all that was on offer. She turned her head and stared out of the window in a state of helpless confusion.

  If she gave in to the sexual pull, where would it lead?

  Ecstasy?

  And then more misery.

  ‘We’re too different, Zander.’

  ‘I’m a man and you’re a woman,’ he pointed out with a laugh in his voice. ‘For what I have in mind, different is essential. We’re supposed to be different.’

  She turned back to him, thinking that the last thing she needed was to be remin
ded that he was a man. It was evident in every angle of his powerful body. Zander was masculinity in the raw. Hard where she was soft. And the woman in her responded to his strength and maleness with an eagerness that shocked her.

  This was a man who had hurt her so badly that the wounds had never healed.

  How could she look at him and not turn and run?

  Were her instincts for self-preservation so poorly developed that she couldn’t act to avoid a disaster?

  But it was so much more complex than that.

  Unable to analyse her own feelings, she switched the subject to business.

  ‘So did our campaign work? Has it helped your negotiations?’

  ‘Considerably.’

  ‘Good.’ She licked her lips, her heart banging against her ribs in response to that continued scrutiny. ‘And now it’s over.’

  ‘Is it?’ Something about the way he said the words made her tense but she didn’t have the opportunity to question him further because at that moment the chauffeur pulled up outside the cinema and flashbulbs exploded outside the windows of the car.

  Lauranne shrank back against the seat but Zander didn’t flinch, his handsome face impassive as he surveyed the gathered crowds.

  ‘Good job I didn’t kiss off that lipstick,’ he drawled, reaching across to take her hand. ‘Smile. Publicity is your job, remember?’

  ‘I’m not usually on this side of the camera,’ she muttered, wishing that she’d volunteered someone else for this role. ‘They’re all going to wonder what you’re doing with me.’

  He gave a slow smile and shot her a look that heated the blood in her veins to boiling point. ‘One look at you in that dress and they’re going to know exactly what I’m doing with you, agape mou.’

  She flushed but had no time to answer because the door opened and she stepped out onto the red carpet, smiling automatically as cameras exploded in her face.

  His security team were very much in evidence but Zander seemed totally unaware of them as he slid an arm around her waist, replying to the odd shouted question with his usual cool, giving the journalists just enough but not too much.

  He really didn’t need her at all, she thought helplessly, watching as he handled the assembled press with consummate ease. He knew exactly how to play the game and gave them what they wanted. No more, no less. He was the master of every situation, confident and in control at all times.

  Unlike her.

  Handling the media was her job, for goodness sake, but if it hadn’t been for the firm grip of his fingers threaded through hers and the brush of his shoulder against her bare flesh she would have scuttled back to the car and hidden.

  His hand locked tightly with hers, Zander strolled down the red carpet and then stopped, pulling her firmly against him and lowering his mouth to hers.

  She gave a start of surprise but his arm slid round her and his tongue flickered into her mouth with a blatant sexuality that took the strength from her legs and the pain from her heart.

  He lifted his head almost immediately, but in that brief moment Lauranne was aware only of the two of them. Flashes exploded around them in a frenzy as photographers took advantage of the photo opportunity that Zander had presented them with, but Lauranne remained oblivious.

  She stared up at him, her eyes soft, her lips still damp from the intimacy of his kiss.

  ‘Mine.’ He said the word softly so that only she could hear it but there was no missing the fierce possessiveness in his tone and she felt her stomach turn over in a totally uncontrollable response.

  His.

  Ignoring the cameras, he smiled a smile of totally male satisfaction and then led her firmly inside the building away from flashing bulbs and curious eyes, very much the conquering Greek male.

  Still stunned by the kiss, she turned to him, dazed. ‘W-why did you do that?’

  Why would he want to be photographed in an intimate embrace with her when she’d spent the past two weeks trying to reshape his reputation as a womaniser?

  It was asking for trouble.

  Ignoring the crowds pressing against them, he pulled her against him. ‘Because I didn’t want any confusion.’

  Shaken by the close contact, Lauranne struggled to concentrate. ‘Confusion?’

  ‘Of ownership.’ He gave a self-satisfied smile and she frowned.

  ‘I’m not one of your business deals, Zander.’

  ‘Evidently.’ He gave a sardonic smile. ‘None of my business deals have ever crashed so dramatically as my relationship with you.’ His hand tightened on hers and his eyes were fierce. ‘But it’s not going to happen again. From now on I don’t share you with anyone.’

  She blinked in confusion. He’d agreed to give her a divorce and here he was talking about not sharing her.

  It was probably just more of his need to be in control, she decided. After all, he’d never loved her so a divorce was the inevitable outcome. But knowing Zander it would be when he decided.

  ‘If you play the macho Greek then you know I’ll fight you,’ she croaked, making a feeble attempt to behave the way she felt she should and ignore her traitorous instincts.

  ‘I expect no less.’ His eyes glittered as they locked on hers. ‘I love combat. Particularly when it’s physical, agape mou.’

  Suddenly breathing was a struggle. ‘Zander—?’

  ‘Have you forgotten that first time—’ his voice was low and disturbingly male as he hauled her still closer to him, the hard muscle of his leg brushing against her thigh ‘—we were on the beach?’

  He wasn’t playing fair.

  They should be looking forward, not back.

  She closed her eyes, but it was a mistake. Without the reality of her surroundings the images exploded in her head without restraint.

  His voice was relentless. ‘You’d done nothing but avoid me—’

  She opened her eyes. ‘You were the boss. I didn’t want to get involved.’

  ‘But I did. You were always running—’ his voice purred in her ear ‘—teasing, playing games, making me chase you—’

  Her eyes meshed with his. ‘It would have been better for both of us if I’d kept running.’

  A wry smile touched his firm mouth and his grip on her tightened. ‘No. You were utterly sublime, agape mou. Not an experience I would have chosen to miss, whatever the price.’

  The people around them had melted into the background. It was just the two of them. The two of them and the past.

  She remembered the warmth of the sand and the weight of his powerful body as he’d neatly floored her and then rolled her under him on the beach.

  ‘I’d never had to chase a woman before.’ His smile was just for her. ‘It was unbelievably erotic.’

  Her breathing was shallow as she remembered what had happened afterwards.

  How utterly perfect it had been—

  Suddenly aware that they were the object of considerable curiosity, she chewed her lip and felt her cheeks grow hot. ‘This is the wrong place for this conversation,’ she muttered, mortified in case the people around them could guess what had been going on. ‘Why did you ask me to come tonight?’

  His eyes gleamed. ‘Because I enjoy your company.’

  She gave a disbelieving laugh. ‘We fight.’

  ‘I enjoy fighting,’ he drawled. ‘It’s the reason I’m in business.’

  ‘You’re in business because you like winning.’

  He smiled and reached for two glasses of champagne. ‘That too.’

  She looked at him in frustration. ‘Have you ever lost a deal?’

  ‘No.’ He handed her one of the glasses. ‘Never.’

  His tone made her shiver. ‘What makes you so driven, Zander?’ Suddenly she wanted to understand him. ‘What makes you go after more when you already have so much?’

  Long dark lashes shielded the expression in his eyes. ‘Because I’m a cold, ruthless businessman who doesn’t have a compassionate bone in his body.’

  She blushed slightly, recognisi
ng her own description. ‘You never open up, do you, Zander?’

  He shrugged dismissively. ‘Why would I want to?’

  And then people approached them, breaking the spell.

  The rest of the evening passed in a haze.

  Lauranne was barely aware of the film. All her senses were concentrated on the man lounging in the seat next to her. She felt the brush of his arm in the semi-darkness, the press of his knee against hers, heard the faint sound of his breathing.

  She felt the connection between them so strongly that she longed to reach out and touch him but her fingers stayed still in her lap. She wasn’t allowed to touch. They didn’t have that sort of relationship. What they shared wasn’t gentleness and giving. It was fire and flame. Heat and passion. Man and woman.

  But she knew that Zander was capable of gentleness. She’d seen it in the way he’d acted towards her, felt it in the way he’d made love to her, but it was as if he resisted that side of his nature. And there had been nothing gentle about the way he’d ended their relationship.

  Cold and ruthless—maybe. But what exactly had made him that way?

  She sat, protected by the crowds and the darkness, contemplating what might have turned him into the man he was. He had wealth and success, and maybe that only came to men who held themselves in isolation—who had the confidence to take risks and act without the counsel of others.

  Or maybe it was something more than that.

  Lost in thought, Lauranne was barely aware of the film, or of the conversation at the party afterwards. But she was very aware of Zander, standing tall and powerful by her side, cool and self-assured as he talked with various high-profile people who swarmed around him, seeking his attention.

  In a room full of beautiful, powerful people Zander still dominated.

  And after tonight she wouldn’t see him again.

  The thought was surprisingly unsettling. She should have been pleased that he was returning to Greece. Should have been relieved that the past two weeks were over.

  So it came as an unpleasant shock to discover that she wasn’t pleased at all.

  The past two weeks had shown her that living without Zander was like existing in a power cut. She’d been stumbling round in darkness until he’d restored light to her life with a casual flick of a switch to which only he seemed to have access.