can’t have your necklace back.’ She blurted the words out in a rush. ‘To you it’s just currency. A way of buying sex, but to me—’
‘Yes, Dr Littlewood?’ His tone was silky-smooth. ‘To you it’s what?’
How could she possibly tell him the truth? That having the necklace round her neck was comforting. It made her feel closer to Tiffany. She realised how completely ridiculous that would sound to a man like him. A man who didn’t have a gentle or compassionate bone in his body. ‘I just—I just want it.’
‘Of course you do. It’s the passport to a lifestyle beyond your wildest dreams.’
All he thought about was money.
Distraught about her sister and deeply offended by his insensitivity, she flung the contents of the glass in his face but even his soft curse and the blatant shock on his handsome features weren’t sufficient to satisfy her. She wanted to hurt him. She really, really wanted to hurt him. If she’d held a gun at that moment she would have shot him through the heart without caring for the consequences.
As it was, she was going to have to settle for something less than a mortal wound.
Revenge.
Wasn’t that what her mother had said? Hadn’t she said that revenge was the only language that a Greek male like Nikos Kyriacou would understand? Well, maybe she was right.
‘You want your jewel?’ She watched him wipe the beads of liquid from his face with his strong fingers, saw the simmering fury build in his dark eyes. Willing to bet that it wasn’t often that anyone won a round with Nikos Kyriacou, she savoured the moment. ‘You can have it. But there’s a condition.’
Without further comment, he reached inside his jacket and removed a cheque book. ‘Name your price. Whatever it is will be worth it to remove your entire family from my life.’
‘Ah, but you see, that isn’t what’s going to happen,’ Angie said, her voice shaking. ‘Money would be too easy for you. You wouldn’t even feel it and I want you to feel it. I really, really want you to feel it. In return for the jewel, you are going to give me the one thing you always refused to give my sister.’
He was ominously still. ‘I don’t understand you.’
‘You’re going to marry me.’ Her heart was pounding against her chest. She still couldn’t quite believe what she’d said. ‘You wouldn’t marry my sister, but you’re going to have to marry me if you want that jewel back, Nikos.’ Her flippant use of his first name was blatantly insulting and there was a long throbbing silence as he studied her with barely contained aggression.
Who was more shocked? she wondered. Her or him?
When he finally spoke, his voice was hoarse. ‘Meu Dios, you have to be joking.’ His Greek accent was suddenly pronounced. ‘I would never marry a woman like you.’
She wasn’t hurt by that comment, she told herself firmly. In fact it was good that he clearly found her repellent. The more repulsive she appeared to him, the greater the punishment. ‘It’s a real test of character, don’t you think? Just how far are you prepared to go for this one jewel? Are you prepared to marry a woman with an unfortunate personality who takes no pride in her appearance?’
He stood in rigid silence, his eyes stormy, his mouth set in a hard line.
Definitely he was Ares, she thought to herself with a flicker of trepidation. The Greek god of war. Handsome, but vain and cruel. Priorities in all the wrong places.
‘Why would you even suggest this? Why would a woman like you—’ his dark eyes swept over her in a disparaging look ‘—possibly want to marry me?’
‘I don’t want to marry you.’ Angie kept her voice calm. ‘I’m sure that comes as a surprise to you, given your natural arrogance, but it’s the truth. I have absolutely no wish to marry you. In fact, since we’re going for honesty here, I probably ought to confess that I find the prospect of spending time with you extremely distasteful.’ She saw him straighten his shoulders. Saw the disbelief in his eyes.
‘Women are queuing up to spend time with me.’
‘Well, you’re very rich,’ Angie muttered, ‘and that has to be advantageous for someone so mercenary and totally lacking in interpersonal skills.’ Something flashed in his eyes and for a brief terrifying moment she wondered whether she’d gone too far. Then the breath hissed through his teeth.
‘If that is truly your opinion of me, then why would you make such a ridiculous suggestion?’
‘Marriage, you mean? Because to force you to marry me would be the sweetest revenge.’ Wondering what on earth had come over her, she ploughed on. ‘You can’t stand me, can you? It pains you to even be near me. You can’t wait to remove me from your life. Well, it isn’t going to happen. You gave my sister a two-year contract with your company, so let’s switch the agreement. Two years, Nikos. You have to agree to stay married to me for two years.’
His jaw was clenched tight and she knew he was struggling not to release a stream of invective. ‘You too would be in this marriage that you propose.’
‘But the fundamental difference between us is that I have absolutely no interest in marrying anyone else so I might as well marry you. It would be entertaining, I think, to cramp your style and watch you squirm.’
He stared at her with incredulity. ‘You ask for the impossible.’
‘Nothing is impossible if you want it badly enough. Just how badly do you want your precious jewel, Nikos?’
He studied her for a long intense moment. ‘I have extremely powerful reasons for wanting that jewel.’
‘I’m sure you do. And all of them are financial.’
A muscle twitched in his cheek. ‘You don’t understand anything about the situation, but if marrying you is the only way that the jewel can be returned to me, then I agree to your terms. Fortunately for you I’m feeling generous, so I’ll give you twenty-four hours to rethink your offer. I advise you to think hard.’
‘Offer?’ Dizzy with shock that he’d accepted her suggestion, she gave a humourless laugh, squashing down the sudden impulse to run and hide. ‘It wasn’t an offer, Mr Kyriacou, it was a threat.’
‘Yes.’ His smile was dangerous. ‘But a threat to whom, agape mou? Ask yourself that while you are lying there congratulating yourself on victory. Twenty-four hours. I’ll see you tomorrow.’
Why did she suddenly have the feeling that he was the one in control?
His assumption that she’d be sitting around waiting for him outraged her. ‘I’m not in tomorrow. Actually, I have a date,’ she said on impulse and then winced, reluctant to examine the motives that had driven her to refer to her colleague as a ‘date’. ‘I’m going to a lecture on the protogeometric art of Crete at the museum with a special friend.’
He studied her for a moment and a faintly derisive smile touched his hard mouth. ‘You really know how to let your hair down, don’t you, Dr Littlewood? You’re a regular party animal. I’ll see you tomorrow.’
Without
