her lip. “A few days ago I couldn’t stand it any longer and decided to search for you.”
“How did you manage that? Who told you my name?” He sounded beyond livid.
“No one!” she cried. “At least not in the way you mean.”
“Explain that to me.”
She stood up again, kneading her hands together. “When I couldn’t find a number or address for you in New York, I turned to the employees at the resort to try to get answers.” By the time she’d explained everything she’d done, his expression looked thunderous.
His dark head flew back. “Are you telling me you figured out what plane flew me out of the Caribbean?”
“Not at first. Taking you at your word that you had an emergency at work, I thought about the flights. One to Los Angeles and one to Vancouver. Why would you go to either place when you were working in New York? The private jet to Greece made no sense, either, at least not at first.
“I spent all night wondering. By morning I looked the name up on the computer and discovered Vassalos Maritime Shipping located on the island of Egnassou. I didn’t know if you were a Vassalos from Vassalos Maritime Shipping or an employee. But since you’d told me you worked for an international export company, I thought it was a close enough connection to find out. That’s why I brought the photographs, in case someone recognized you.
“I thought there might be a chance I could find you here. When the man at the shipping office desk recognized your picture, I knew I’d come to the end of my search. That’s when I realized you’d been lying to me the whole time. Undoubtedly, you do that whenever you meet a woman to enjoy for a time before you disappear.”
For a full minute he studied every square inch of her, his expression lethal. “Since you’ve accomplished your objective, let’s go to bed for old time’s sake, one more time, shall we? Then I’ll send you on your way with enough money to have made your trip worthwhile.”
Her body stiffened. “I don’t want your money and have already gotten what I came for, Dev.”
“The name is Nikos, as you damn well know!”
Nikos...
Somehow she’d thought Dev would soften while they were alone, and tell her why he’d lied to her. But the inscrutable man facing her bore little resemblance to her secret Adonis who’d brought her joy every second they’d been together. It hadn’t mattered whether they’d been walking on the beach or finding glorious sights in the aqua depths of the sea.
She decided this man didn’t deserve to know about the baby until it was born. He wouldn’t believe her if she told him now, anyway. In fact, she was beginning to think he’d drummed up this betrayal business on purpose, to get rid of her. He’d probably pulled the same excuse on his other lovers when he was through with them. If that was true, he’d done a stellar job.
Now that she had the main phone number of Vassalos Shipping, she could always leave a message for him next January. If he cared to answer, he’d learn then that he was a new father, not before.
His smile was beautifully cruel. “You’ve been playing me for a reason. Now I want to know what it is.”
Stephanie drew in a fortifying breath. “I’d hoped to get an honest answer out of you, but you’re not Dev Harris. Let’s just say I don’t want to ruin my memory of him. You, sir, are someone I don’t care to know. For all I know you have a wife and children. The thought of committing adultery with you makes me sick.”
She would have reached for her purse to leave, but that’s when she saw a cane resting against the wall at the side of the closet. Stephanie looked up at Dev, noticing he’d lost a little color and was braced against the door to prevent her escape.
When he’d grabbed her earlier on deck, they’d both weaved a little. She’d thought it was because the impact had caught him totally off guard, but now she knew that wasn’t true. He was unsteady. Something serious must have happened for a man as fit as he was to need a cane. Why was he being so brutal to her? She couldn’t comprehend it.
“What is it you want, if not money?”
“A little honesty. I—I feel like I’m in the middle of a nightmare.” Her voice faltered.
“You’re part of mine, didn’t you know?” he growled. “Can you still stand there and tell me you found me through Delia’s boyfriend?”
“It’s the truth!”
“Surely you can do better than that.” His tone stung like a whiplash.
“Dev... Nikos... Tell me what I’ve done?” Her cry rang in the cabin’s interior. “Are you truly so devoid of feeling that you can leave me hanging like this without one word of explanation?”
“Isn’t this a case of the pot calling the kettle black?”
Stephanie had taken enough of his abuse. “Let me pass.” She feared she was going to be sick.
His black brows furrowed. “You’re not wanted here, but since you’ve shown up anyway, you’re not going anywhere until I get an honest explanation.”
She shook her head. “Why do you continue to accuse me of something I don’t understand?”
Anger marred his arresting features. “Who told you about me? How did you know I’d be staying at that particular resort? Where did you get your information?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You were obviously lying in wait for me at the resort.”
“You mean like some femme fatale, so I could get you to sleep with me?”
“Were you hoping to get pregnant by a rich man? Is that it? Your latest boyfriend didn’t quite live up to your dreams?”
By this time she was fuming. “Let’s presume for a minute you guessed it and that was my sin. What about your sin? You slept with me, too.”
He hunched of his broad shoulders slightly. “So I did.”
“Only it seems just one night was all you wanted before you moved on. Now that I’ve come here, you’re disgusted to see me and obviously regret our interlude.” With her hair caught back in a short ponytail, and her probable lack of color, she realized she must look dreadful to him.
“But not you.” His eyes had become mere slits. “Who told you about me and my family? How did you know about me?”
She couldn’t believe her ears. “No one!” Only an innocent child who doesn’t have a voice yet. “I was foolish enough to come looking for you here b-because I couldn’t believe it was over between us,” she stammered. That was the truth, just not all of it.
His expression remained implacable.
Stephanie averted her eyes. “It was wrong of me to sleep with you. I was raised to be wiser than that, a lesson I learned too late. But no, Dev. No matter how much you despise me for coming here uninvited, I could never regret anything so beautiful. Now I’m leaving, but I need to use your
