‘I didn’t buy that story at the time…’ she took a deep breath and let it out slowly ‘…any more than I buy it now.’
‘Your trust in me is heart-warming.’
All the anger and pain rose to the surface. ‘Damn you, Nicos. She was your mistress for more than a year!’
‘A relationship that was over long before I met you.’ He paused, his gaze lancing hers. ‘If, as she claims, she was the love of my life…why did I marry you?’
‘My prospective inheritance?’
His eyes darkened with glittering rage, and for one brief second she thought he might strike her. A muscle tensed at the edge of his jaw as he sought control.
‘Get out of my sight before I do something regrettable,’ Nicos demanded in a tight bitter voice that caused her stomach to knot with apprehension.
For a heart-stopping second she hesitated, and he ground out, ‘Go. Or, by the living God, you’ll wish you’d never been born.’
Katrina remained where she was. It was a matter of strength. Hers. Mentally, emotionally. And she refused to slink away from him in fear.
‘Fool,’ he said with chilling softness.
In one swift movement he lifted her over one shoulder and strode upstairs. Restrained violence emanated from his taut frame, and his hands were hard on her soft flesh as he released her unceremoniously down onto the large bed they shared.
He discarded his jacket, tore off his tie, and she watched in mesmerised fascination as his shoes and trousers followed. Then his shirt, and lastly his briefs.
A naked, gloriously aroused male, slim-hipped, superb musculature, he resembled a powerful force as he followed her down onto the bed.
His hands reached for her robe and dragged the edges apart, then he lowered his head and feasted on her breasts in a manner that caused her to whimper as he crossed the line between pleasure and pain.
There were no preliminaries as he took her in one powerful thrust, and she cried out as he plunged deep, then withdrew to plunge even deeper. Repeating the action again and again.
This…this was an annihilation, a primitive, no-holds-barred mating that spared no thought to seduction or pleasure. Only the need to slake a raw, barbarous hunger.
He roused in her a matching anger, and she reared up and sank her teeth into the muscle surrounding one male nipple…and heard his husky growl: his revenge was merciless, and she was repaying it in kind.
It was her only victory as he straddled her and pushed her arms above her head. Helpless, powerless, she tossed her head from side to side as he held her captive and branded her his own.
With each grazing bite, her muscles tightened around him, the spasms increasing in intensity until they merged as one.
It was more than she could bear, and she began to plead, then beg, willing him to stop. He did, emptying himself into her in a shuddering climax, then in one fluid movement he rolled onto his back, taking her with him.
She wanted to disengage and scramble to the outer edge of the bed, except he pulled her down against him and held her close.
His breathing was equally rapid as her own, and she lay still, her eyes closed against the sight of him, her mind blanking out the ravaged, almost savage, sex.
Nicos held her throughout the night, and when she thought he slept she slowly shifted her body, only to have him anchor her in close against him.
KATRINA woke to find she was alone, and for a moment she lay still as images of the previous night emerged, haunting her with their pagan intensity.
Nicos’s hunger had been wild, unprincipled…without consequence or thought except to assuage a primeval need.
His controlled anger was infinitely more formidable than if he’d raised his voice or had resorted to smashing an inanimate object. Of which there were a few exquisite antique pieces positioned on beautiful rosewood chests flanking the lobby.
She shifted position, tentatively stretching her body…and felt the slight pull of ill-used muscles. There was an ache deep within, a remnant of his possession, and she was conscious of the sensation with each move she made.
What time was it? She rolled onto her side to check the digital clock, then sat upright in shocked surprise. Eight?
That left her thirty minutes in which to shower, dress, and fight traffic in order to arrive at the office on time.
She made it downstairs, caught up her laptop, her bag, and turned towards the front door…only to come to a faltering stop as Nicos emerged into the lobby.
For a moment she stood completely still, her gaze trapped in his as he closed the distance between them.
When he almost reached her, her defence mechanism kicked into place and she found her voice.
‘I’m already late.’
‘In which case, a few more minutes won’t make any difference,’ he ventured silkily.
She wanted out of here, with space between them and time caught up with the mundane routine of business to occupy her mind. ‘I have to leave.’
‘No,’ Nicos countered quietly. ‘You don’t.’ He lifted a hand and caught hold of her chin, tilting it to examine her features.
He doubted she’d slept any better than he had. How many times had he soothed her restless form through the night, while battling his own demons?
It mattered little that she’d provided provocation. His reaction to it was inexcusable.
‘What do you want?’
Now there was a question to which he could find no single answer. Uppermost was the most important one by far. He stroked the tip of his thumb over the full curve of her lower lip. ‘Are you all right?’
‘Do you care?’ The retaliatory words were out before she could stop them.
‘Yes.’
She was powerless to prevent the faint quivering sensation that shook her slim frame. ‘I don’t have time for a post-mortem.’
Nicos dropped his hand. ‘Tonight.’
Katrina stepped back a pace, then skirted his tall frame. ‘Before, during, or after we’ve attended the art exhibition?’ She saw his eyes darken, and was unable to resist querying sweetly, ‘You can’t have forgotten?’
‘No. I’ve already checked the day’s diary.’
She turned as she reached the passageway leading through to the garage. ‘I could be late.’
It became the day from hell. Traffic was backed up due to an
