family, remember? My father is a pillar of society. A philanthropist. He is ruthless, but part of his appeal has always been that he is a family man. People believe that.’ She saw from the expression on his face that he’d believed it, too. ‘Do you know that he even supports a charity for abused women?’ The irony of it almost made her choke. ‘I called the police once.’
‘And?’
‘He told them I was going through a difficult teenage phase. They believed him. Or maybe they didn’t—’ she shrugged ‘—maybe they were just afraid of what would happen if they arrested him. Either way, it just made it worse for me and for my mother.’
He turned away and closed his hands over the rail of the yacht. His knuckles were white.
‘You let me think I caused those bruises.’ The rawness of his tone caught her off-balance. ‘You let me think I’d hurt you.’
A sharp stab of guilt punctured her anger. Thrown by the sudden shift in the conversation, she stared at his rigid shoulders and suddenly she was right back in his bed, naked and vulnerable. ‘I—I didn’t know what to say—’
‘The truth would have been good. I blamed myself for being rough with you but I couldn’t work out how or when. I went over and over it in my mind.’
‘I didn’t think it would bother you that much.’
‘Why? You think all men like to bruise their women?’ He turned, his voice a dangerous growl. ‘Is that what you think?’
She shook her head. ‘No. I just—I wasn’t thinking about you. I was thinking about my mother. If I’d told you the truth you either wouldn’t have believed me or you would have tried to stop me.’
‘Or perhaps I would have helped you. If you’d mentioned just once when you were presenting your business plan that this was all about escaping from your father we wouldn’t be here now. If you’d told me the truth instead of letting me think I’d hurt you—’
‘You did hurt me.’ Selene felt her insides wobble and reminded herself that everything that had happened between them had been fake. ‘I thought you were such a hero.
You talked to me that night on the boat. You were kind to me when no one else was. When things were terrible at home, I lay there and dreamed about you. I planned how it was going to be when I finally met you again. How I was going to look. What I was going to say. And every time I imagined it you were the hero.’
His breathing was shallow. ‘Selene—’
‘And when I finally planned our escape you were part of it. I’d worked through every scenario, making sure that even if it didn’t work it wouldn’t make things worse. I had a market for my candles, a way of earning money. I was prepared for everything. Everything except a man who lied to me. A man who used me as a pawn in his stupid business rivalry.’ Dizziness washed over her like a giant wave and she swayed slightly, resisting her body’s attempts to persuade her to lie down.
Dark brows brought together in a frown of concern, Stefan reached for her.
She stepped away from him. ‘Do not touch me,’ she said thickly. ‘Do not touch me ever again, do you hear? You might not have bruised me physically but you hurt me more than my father ever did.’ Because she’d cared. Oh, God, she’d really cared. But there was no way she was admitting that now. He’d already had too much of her.
Eyes wary, he watched her. ‘You’re bleeding.’
‘Good. I hope it stains your deck.’
‘Theé mou, you are the most stubborn woman I have ever met. Will you at least let me change the dressing on your head before we continue this conversation?’
‘No. And this conversation is over.’ She fixed her gaze somewhere past his broad shoulders so that she wasn’t distracted by those killer good looks which could lull a woman into thinking he was a good person. ‘All I want from you is to stop at the nearest port. Then you can get back to trampling the innocent as you build your empire. You and my father are each as bad as the other.’
‘I’m not dropping you anywhere. Your father is being arrested as we speak. He’ll be charged but we can’t be sure he won’t be released. As you rightly say, he has powerful friends. You’re staying with me and that’s non-negotiable. Now, sit down before you fall down.’
Yesterday she would have taken his words to mean he wanted her with him but she knew better now.
‘If you’re planning on keeping me for leverage against my father I can assure you he won’t care what you do.’
‘That is not what I was thinking.’
‘Of course it wasn’t. You’d never use a person like that, would you, Stefan?’
‘Selene—’
‘Just so that we’re clear about who we’re dealing with, he isn’t going to care if you throw my dead body over the side of your boat even if you’ve packaged me in red sequins and a bow.’ She was horrified to discover a lump in her throat. ‘My father doesn’t love me and never has.’
What was it about her that was so unlovable?
Knowing that this wasn’t the time to dwell on that, she blinked and cleared her vision. But it was too late because he’d seen and instead of backing away, which was what she would have preferred, he moved closer.
His hands were gentle on her face, tilting it as he urged her to look at him. ‘If that is the truth then you are better off building your life without him. I will help you do that.’ The softness in his voice almost finished her.
‘No, thanks. I’ve already experienced your idea of “help”. From now on I help myself. I don’t want anything to do with either of you.’
‘You’re not thinking the situation through. You have nowhere to go.’
The fact that it was true did nothing to improve her mood. Panic squeezed her insides. ‘I wouldn’t stay on this boat with you if it were the only piece of dry land in the Mediterranean. I’d rather be eaten by sharks.’
‘That’s extremely unlikely in these waters.’
‘Are you mocking me?’
Her voice rose and he went unnaturally still.
‘No. I’m merely trying to stop you making a rash, emotional decision that will harm no one but yourself.’
‘So now you’re saying I’m rash and over-emotional?’
‘Cristos, stop twisting everything I say! If you had told me the truth I would have ensured your safety. And that is enough of the past. You need to think about the future. I’m willing to offer you and your mother a home—on a temporary basis, of course,’ he added swiftly, ‘until you can find somewhere suitable.’
Selene heard that hastily added qualifier and burst out laughing. ‘I’m almost tempted to say yes. It would serve you right to find yourself living with a woman and her mother. That would really cramp your style. Relax, Stefan. I can’t think of anything worse than living under the same roof as you.’
