‘The breakfast plates. I’ll—’
‘Please leave.’ The words were a hiss through his clenched teeth.
‘I’m sorry...’
The clink of cutlery, shoes scuffing on carpet and then the snick of the door signalled Anna’s departure.
And a return of Thea’s common sense.
What had she been doing? All of this was evidence of how easily she could be ensnared. Her heart raced. Not in a way that was pleasant or spoke of passion, but thready and panicked.
‘Koukla mou,’ Christo said, stroking his thumbs over her jaw.
No, she couldn’t do this. He still wanted her. His interest hadn’t diminished and he remained hard and ready. But for her it was like being plunged into a stream of meltwater. She shifted and pushed. Because she couldn’t be under him anymore.
He rolled from her as she sat up and tied her robe tight—too tight. How needy she’d been. He must leave. She could never allow him to see her like this again.
‘Don’t you need to be back at work?’ She reached trembling fingers to her lips, which were tender and bee-stung from his kisses.
Christo raked his hand through his hair, a crease forming between his brows. ‘I could stay.’
His eyes were hot on hers. The invitation in them, clear and tempting. Too much more and she’d burst into flames. But she couldn’t—not now. Even though the memory of his touch, his hardness between her thighs, burned relentlessly.
Thea chewed the inside of her mouth. Clenched her hands into fists and let her nails bite the soft flesh of her palms. She mustn’t forget the only reason she was here was the deal, and what her father had done to force her compliance. It was nothing more than business. Her body had never been part of the bargain, no matter the ache at her core and how much every cell protested Christo’s absence.
She shook her head. ‘No. Go. Take over the world or whatever you plan on doing today.’
He hesitated, then stood. Still hard. The zip of his trousers was straining; his shirt was crushed. He looked delicious and disarrayed, like she’d never seen him before. Warmth coursed through her—a heady rush of power. She’d done that to him. This implacable man was now softened and less than perfect. Looking...human. Devastatingly handsome. Her husband.
But in the end it was all meaningless.
Christo took a step back, smiled, but something about it appeared stiff and brittle, not reaching his eyes. ‘World domination isn’t as entertaining in your absence.’
He leaned over, touched his lips to her forehead. Then he brushed a gentle hand over her hair, straightened and left the room.
As she curled back into herself Thea hated it that his last moment of tenderness caused a tear to slip down her cheek.
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHRISTO SAW OFF his dinner party guests. Exchanged crushing handshakes. Suffered pats on the back and the words, ‘Give my regards to Hector.’
His father had always been the centre of any party. Splashing millions around in a way Christo never would. Yet he needed to secure the loyalty of these people if his plan to save Atlas was to succeed. To cement ties which would stand when Hector was gone.
There was so much work to do, and tonight, he still had another part to play. He’d be accompanying the men to an exclusive club. Without their wives. That suggestion by one of his guests had been telling in itself.
Perhaps Thea would share a coffee with him before he left? She’d been wary of him since he’d arrived home, earlier than expected, after leaving her looking so tumbled and wanton on her bed. His day of meetings had been shot to pieces because fantasies of Thea naked and himself buried deep inside her had consumed his every thought. Especially now he knew how they ignited together.
The same thoughts obviously hadn’t plagued her. He could tell by the way she avoided his gaze, flitted away from him when he tried to get close. He couldn’t abide that reticence. He wanted the fire, the passion. Her pleas for him to satisfy her ringing loud in his ears.
His hunger for her was something he longed to explore. Like the hills and valleys of her glorious body which so far he’d barely touched. Still, the sensible part of him cautioned that he must keep the distance he’d deliberately maintained till now. A challenging task when his hunger for her remained undiminished, despite the lies.
Although his broker had called, advising him that the solar company she’d recommended was on its way to making him millions. So what she’d told him about her money-making abilities appeared true.
This dissonance in his picture of her unsettled him. She remained an enigma, and in his ordered world he hated puzzles.
The apartment was hushed and in near darkness as he walked towards the dining room to find her. Only the glow from the myriad candles on the long table seating twenty flickered in the room.
Christo hesitated near the door. Thea gleamed in the low lights. She was elegant and understated in black, yet she’d shone more brightly than any of the other women, with their colourful clothes and sparkling jewels. She drifted around the table, blowing out candle after candle. Their waxy smell thick in the air.
She stopped in front of the table’s centre, her face illuminated in the golden light of a squat candle in the middle of an arrangement, which held a well of melted wax around its flame. She dipped the tip of her finger into it, blowing till the thin coating of wax hardened. Then she picked up the candle and tipped a stream of molten liquid onto her open palm.
Christo started forward, gut clenching hard. He should stop her. It must burn. Yet all he could do was watch, transfixed, as she toyed with the fire. Replacing the candle, Thea licked her fingers and pinched out the flame, then another, and another.
