statement was also superfluous. The fact that he was a man meant he couldn’t possibly have attended the all-female finishing-school, his age, about thirty to their nineteen also indicating that she had probably never seen him before; her father was quite strict about the men he let her date.
She watched as Rhea turned to look at the man, wondering if she saw the same as she did, the hair so dark it had to be black, brows the same colour jutting out over steely grey eyes, the nose long and straight, the full mouth thinned into a belligerent line as he stared down into a glass which contained something much stronger than the bubbly champagne everyone else was drinking. The black evening suit and white shirt were flimsy camouflage for the leashed power in the body beneath, his six foot plus in height adding to that impression of power, of danger. Danielle, or Ellie as she was known to her friends, had never been so affected by the sight of just one man.
‘He looks as if his date stood him up,’ she joked to cover the embarrassment she felt at being caught gawking at him like a naive child.
‘I doubt any woman has ever stood him up in his life,’ Rhea derided softly.
‘I doubt it too,’ she grimaced, chancing another glance at the man. He had another full glass of what looked like whisky in his hand, drinking it as if it were a particularly nasty medicine he needed to take.
Rhea gave her a curious look. ‘You still haven’t realised who he is, have you?’
Ellie shrugged. ‘Should I know him? Do you?’ she asked interestedly; she hadn’t known Rhea knew any men like this one.
‘Not personally,’ her friend shook her head. ‘Ellie, that’s Nick Andracas.’
She looked at Rhea blankly. ‘Nick Andracas …? Oh!’ realisation hit her blushingly, and she turned to look at the man with renewed interest—only to find him looking straight back at her, obviously aware of their interest in him! ‘Oh God,’ she groaned as she swung her gaze away wildly, looking anywhere but at those coldly mocking grey eyes.
‘What is it?’ Rhea looked worried by her sudden tension. ‘Ellie, what’s wrong?’
‘What’s wrong?’ she spoke in a whisper, although she didn’t quite know why. ‘He looked at me. God, it felt as if he stripped me naked at that one glance!’ She gave an involuntary shiver. ‘It was the most erotic experience of my life,’ she admitted shakily.
‘Ellie!’ her friend gave a surprised splutter of laughter.
She could understand Rhea’s reaction, her statement hadn’t been one she would normally have made. But then Nick Andracas wasn’t a normal man, and he hadn’t induced a normal reaction within her either. She was still shaking from that single clash of eyes between them, although a below-lashes look at him now showed he had lost interest after that one searing glance, his attention once again fixed in the bottom of his whisky glass.
‘It’s true,’ she told Rhea breathlessly. ‘He just looked at me and I—God, it was the weirdest feeling!’
‘It’s also dangerous,’ her friend warned seriously. ‘Stay away from him, Ellie, he—–’
‘Ah here you both are,’ Carly cut in with her usual intrusive drawl.
‘Yes, here we both are,’ Rhea replied with dry sarcasm, not having moved from this spot since they arrived ten minutes earlier. ‘Great party, Carly;’ she added derisively.
‘Isn’t it,’ the raven-haired beauty gushed. ‘Even Uncle Nick managed to put in an appearance,’ she glanced across the room, grimacing slightly. ‘Although the mood he’s in I’m beginning to wish he hadn’t bothered; he’s hardly the life and soul of the party, is he? You’ll have to excuse him, I’m afraid,’ her bright smile flashed over her beautiful face. ‘He had some rather bad news today.’
‘Oh?’ Rhea asked interestedly.
Carly shrugged dismissively. ‘It’s nothing important. Enjoy yourselves,’ she called gaily before passing on to more guests, the typical ‘social butterfly’.
‘Mm,’ Rhea murmured thoughtfully. ‘She cut that conversation off pretty abruptly. I wonder what’s happened that could upset a man like Nick Andracas?’
‘Carly said it was nothing important—–’
‘Carly can be very close-mouthed when she wants to be, especially when it comes to protecting her family. None of us knew her brother had been in trouble with the police until we saw it in one of the newspapers,’ she reminded Ellie of an incident that had happened earlier in the year.
‘I doubt it’s anything like that this time,’ she shook her head.
‘Of course not,’ Rhea agreed with impatience. ‘He’s hardly likely to be involved in drugs. But if ever I saw a man drowning his sorrows it’s Nick Andracas.’
Ellie felt nervous about looking at him again, hadn’t got over the last time she had, and yet she felt a drawing curiosity about him. ‘Even millionaires have their problems,’ she teased.
Rhea smiled. ‘So they do. Let’s forget about Nicholas Andracas and enjoy the party. After all, it’s supposed to be for us,’ she grinned mischievously.
Forgetting about Nick Andracas wasn’t something she found easy to do, although she followed Rhea into the adjoining reception room cheerfully enough, even joining in the dancing when urged to do so. But her thoughts kept drifting back to the gloweringly unhappy man in the other room, wondering if he were still downing whisky as if it were water, even more curious to know what it was that could have affected him that deeply. He didn’t appear to be a man that was easily ruffled.
She had an opportunity to see him again when she returned from the bathroom upstairs, saw he was still glowering at people, the glass of whisky still in his hand. As she reached the bottom of the stairs he glanced up, as if sensing her gaze on him, his eyes narrowing, as cold as ice. Ellie repressed another shiver, wondering why this man had such an effect on her, even her legs seeming turned to stone, keeping her rooted to the spot. She watched as Nick Andracas swallowed the last of his whisky with slow deliberation, putting the glass down on a nearby table before walking purposefully towards her. Ellie’s eyes widened as he came to stand directly in front of her, so close she could see the black flecks in his eyes, could smell the tang of his aftershave.
‘I was thinking of leaving this mad-house, would you like to join me?’
His voice was deep and gravelly, spinning off her nerve endings like an abrasive caress. ‘Er—–’
‘I’d like to leave,’ he added when she seemed speechless. ‘I’d like you to come with me.’
She was even more taken aback at his lazy insistence. Where did he intend taking her if she did leave with him?
‘Well?’ he rasped impatiently.
‘Mr Andracas—–’
His eyes became hooded. ‘It would seem you have me at a disadvantage.’
‘Ellie,’ she supplied breathlessly. ‘Ellie Smith.’
‘Well, Ellie Smith,’ he drawled mockingly. ‘Do you want to leave or don’t you?’
‘I
