by Andie Brock
Kate hesitated, looking as if she’d rather boil her head in oil than make him a cup of coffee. But then, obviously deciding it wasn’t worth the battle, she laid the papers down on the desk and moved over to a coffee maker in the corner of the room, her shoulders hitched up around her ears. As she removed the jug from the hotplate Nikos could see the way her hand tremored.
Good. He was glad of the effect he was having on her. It wasn’t much consolation after the way she had treated him, but it was a start. And it all increased his sense of power.
As Kate passed the mug to him he deliberately let his hand touch hers, acknowledging the frisson between them with a quirk of dark brows before Kate jerked her hand away.
Yes, he was enjoying this.
‘So, are these now the sole premises of the Kandy Kate empire?’ He briefly glanced around him, his tone light and casual, but no less cutting for that.
‘They are.’
Kate moved back behind the desk, reluctantly sitting down and folding her arms across her chest. She wore a black ribbed jumper with a scoop neck, the sleeves pushed up, and Nikos could see she had lost weight. But the clingy material still accentuated her shape nicely. She looked sober, chic...sexy.
‘This office is perfectly adequate.’
‘I’m sure it is.’ Nikos gave a small nod of agreement. ‘With the state of the Kandy Kate empire at the moment I imagine you could run it from a phone booth. After all, how much room do you need to go bankrupt?’
‘Kandy Kate is not going bankrupt!’ Kate was on her feet in a second, green eyes flashing.
‘No?’ Nikos tempered her fire with infuriating calm. ‘Well, that’s not what I’ve heard.’
‘Well, you’ve heard wrong.’
She tossed her head, turning away from him, her face in profile. Nikos stared at the straight line of her nose, the fine sweep of her jaw. Why had he never noticed her jawline before? He’d thought he was all too familiar with every inch of Kate’s body.
During the weeks they had spent together he had made it his mission to explore every delicious inch of her with his fingers, his lips, his tongue. Making love to Kate had been the most erotic experience of his life—a shared wonder that neither of them had been able to get enough of, as if they had both been taken over by an insatiable craving.
On reflection, he hadn’t made love to her, he had made love with her. A symphony of sexual pleasures that had ruined him for any other woman.
And he cursed her for it.
He had cursed her when he’d arrived back in Crete after being all but banished from her home. When the very thought of her name had been enough to solidify his blood. He had cursed her during the intervening years when, no matter how attractive a woman might be, how charming and how available, they’d all seemed about as sexy as a block of wood to Nikos after the intense earthly pleasures he had shared with Kate O’Connor. Even drinking himself into oblivion hadn’t helped—just made his self-disgust second only to the disgust he’d felt for his ex-fiancée.
And he still cursed her now.
Nikos hadn’t realised just how much until he’d gazed at her haughty profile and realised that time, far from diminishing his desire for Kate, had merely held it in cold storage, frozen, ready to be thawed by one fiery glance from those dark green eyes.
He took a mouthful of coffee, slamming the brakes on thoughts which were taking him in very unwanted directions—directions that had nothing to do with his carefully calculated plans. He needed to focus on what he was here to do.
‘So, Kandy Kate’s not in trouble then?’ The venom in his voice was held just under the surface. ‘The reports that your sales have plummeted, your suppliers are threatening legal action, your staff are not getting paid...’ he leant forward, idly picking up a sheaf of papers, scanning a few lines before letting them drop ‘...all totally untrue?’
‘Yes.’ Kate pointedly straightened the papers, then held them to her chest. ‘Well, wildly exaggerated anyway.’ She refused to meet his eye.
‘Is that right?’ Nikos continued. ‘So the fact that your share prices plummeted means nothing either? Your shareholders are perfectly happy to have received no dividends in the past twelve months and to have seen their investments dwindle to a pittance?’
‘As a matter of fact...’ she jutted out her chin ‘...share prices have increased considerably recently. Confidence in the brand is growing.’
‘Really?’ Nikos queried amiably. ‘Or is it that someone is about to make a hostile takeover?’
Kate bit down on her lip, the nip against her soft pink pout stirring Nikos somewhere deep and low.
‘Well, either way it’s none of your concern. In fact I would like you to leave. Immediately.’
She moved the few steps to the door to usher him out but Nikos was too quick for her, barring her way with his broad shoulders and towering height.
‘Well, that’s just where you’re wrong. It is my concern. Or at least it very soon will be.’
‘What do you mean by that?’ Kate stopped stock-still.
‘I’m sure you can work it out for yourself, Kate.’ Nikos smiled at her. ‘You’re a bright girl.’
‘You...?’ Her hand flew to tug at her earlobe. ‘You mean it’s you who has been buying up the shares?’
He rested his arm against the doorjamb. He wasn’t going to reply. He would make her squirm while his silence spoke for him.
‘But why? Why would you do such a thing?’
‘Because I think Kandy Kate is an interesting proposition.’ He casually slid his hand down the doorframe and into the pocket of his trousers. ‘Handled correctly, I’m confident it will prove to be a good investment.’
‘“A good investment”?’ Kate challenged. ‘I don’t believe you. Why would you think that?’
Nikos gave a short laugh. ‘No wonder your business is in such dire straits if you have so little faith in it.’
‘I have plenty of faith in Kandy Kate, thank you very much. It’s you I have no faith in.’
‘Ah, yes, of course.’ His eyes gleamed darkly. ‘I almost forgot.’
‘Well, I haven’t.’
He could see that Kate was slowly clawing her way to safer ground. He would let her rest there for a while before bringing her straight back down.
‘And there was me thinking you’d be grateful to find an investor. Even one such as myself.’
‘You are not an investor,’ Kate flew at him. ‘You have gone behind my back and purchased Kandy Kate shares at a rock-bottom price with the intention of taking over the company. You said it yourself—this is a hostile takeover.’
‘It doesn’t have to be hostile.’ Lowering his voice, Nikos fixed her with a glittering stare, reaching forward to take hold of her chin when she tried to turn her face away. ‘In fact, if we put our minds to it, I suspect we could make it very friendly indeed.’
‘In your dreams, Nikos.’ Kate jerked her head away from his light grip. ‘If you think I could ever be friendly with you again, in any capacity, then you are very much mistaken.’
Nikos watched as she tucked herself behind the safety of her desk, giving her a moment before he spoke again. ‘Well, we’ll see about that, won’t we?’ He sat back down opposite her. ‘And, since you’ve brought up the matter of dreams, then, yes, I admit it—you have featured in mine quite largely.’ He flexed his fingers to inspect his manicured nails. ‘All those long, lonely nights in an empty bed, with nothing but memories to keep me company...what’s a man to do...?’ He looked up, spearing Kate with his gaze, registering the deep flush that had stained her cheeks, tinging the rim of her neat ears. ‘Maybe it has been the same for you?’
‘Get out!’ On her feet again, Kate pointed to the door, her extended arm visibly shaking.
‘No.’ Nikos matched her stance, his voice a harsh command, all traces of teasing flirtation ba
nished. ‘I am not going anywhere, Kate. Not until you have heard what I have to say.’
‘And what, exactly, do you think gives you the right to tell me what to do?’
Nikos would have liked to tell her. He could think of plenty of reasons why she should do exactly as he said. Kate O’Connor owed him—and in time he looked forward to making her see that. But not yet. If you were trying to land a wriggling fish it was best to turn the reel nice and slow.
He drew in a steadying breath. ‘Let’s just say it will be to your advantage.’
‘I very much doubt it.’ With a scoff, Kate sat back down, folding her arms tightly across her chest. ‘Just say whatever it is you have to say, then get out.’
Nikos arranged his body on the chair, deliberately taking his time. Steepling his fingers, he raised his eyes to find hers. ‘You may or may not know, but since we last met my fortunes have changed somewhat. I am now an extremely wealthy man.’
‘So?’ Kate glared at him. ‘If you’ve just come here to brag about how rich you are, Nikos, then save your breath. I’m not interested.’
Nikos paused, taking a second to mentally erase her contemptuous remark. It was either that or teach her a lesson. And he knew exactly how he’d like to do that.
‘Luckily for you, I am prepared to invest some of that fortune to save your business.’
‘And, unluckily for you, I wouldn’t accept you as an investor if you were the last man on earth.’ Her answer came back with the speed of a bullet.
‘Really, Kate?’ She was starting to wind him up now. ‘Are you sure about that?’
‘I said so, didn’t I?’
‘So what sort of man would you take investment from, I wonder?’ Nikos narrowed his eyes, pretending to consider. ‘The sort of man who might be persuaded to overlook the dire state of the business in return for other, more personal favours?’
‘What are you insinuating?’ Choking with outrage, Kate was on her feet again. ‘How dare you?’
Her hand flew out to slap his face but Nikos intercepted it with ease, standing up and holding it against his chest so Kate was forced to lean her body across the desk.
‘Tut-tut.’ He eyeballed her. ‘Violence is not the answer, Kate—you should know that.’
‘Then take back what you just said!’
Her furious breath swelled her ribcage, pressing her breasts against the fine fabric of her sweater, accentuating the cleavage that Nikos found his eyes drawn to against their will.
‘How dare you insinuate such a thing?’
‘Because I saw you last night, Kate.’
He felt her hand go limp beneath his grasp, slipping away as shock rendered her silent.
She pulled back, dragging in a breath. ‘You saw me?’ Her skin visibly paled beneath the cruel strip light.
‘Uh-huh.’
‘Well, whatever it was you thought you saw, you were wrong. It was just a waitressing job—that’s all.’
‘A waitressing job that entailed squirming on the lap of that bloated banker? Assuming that you weren’t doing it for your own sexual gratification, I can only conclude you were doing it for other, more practical reasons. I liked the blonde wig, by the way. Very classy.’
‘I don’t have to explain myself to you.’ Kate valiantly fought to regain her dignity. ‘If it gives you some sort of perverted pleasure to imagine that I would have sex with a stranger for money, then go ahead—be my guest. Frankly, your opinion of me is of no interest. You can think whatever you damn well like.’
‘It doesn’t give me pleasure, Kate. Quite the reverse.’
Slowly she scanned his face, and Nikos felt his facial muscles pull taut beneath the scrutiny of that dark green gaze.
‘Why, Nikos? Why does it bother you? Why would you care what I do?’
She was taunting him. Nikos cursed inwardly. His voice had been too raw, had betrayed too much emotion, exposing feelings he had fully intended to keep concealed. Far from reeling her in slowly, he was in danger of letting her off the hook.
‘After all, we mean nothing to one another any more.’ Kate pressed harder. ‘We are free to see whoever we want, to do whatever we want.’
‘And this is what you want, is it?’ Anger fired through him. ‘To be free to sell your body to the highest bidder? To anyone who’s prepared to sling some money your way so you can prop up your pathetically failing business for a bit longer?’
He saw her swallow, her throat moving in the long column of her neck. But she kept her head held high.
‘And what if it is? What’s it to you?’
Nikos clamped down on his jaw, fighting to contain the hot sweep of masculine rage that threatened to consume him. He would not let her get to him.
Circling the desk, he stood before her, his shoulders back, his breathing heavy. Capturing her eyes, he made sure there was no way she could escape the cruel intensity of his gaze. ‘To have a fiancée of mine behaving in such a blatantly wanton manner brings shame to my door. I will not allow it.’
‘Aren’t you forgetting something?’ Kate blinked rapidly against his stare, but still she stayed defiant. ‘I am not your fiancée any more. I haven’t been for the past three years.’
‘And that’s why I am here. To put that right.’
‘What?’ Confusion spread across her lovely face.
‘We are going to get engaged again, Kate. And this time we are going to see it through. This time we are going to be married.’
CHAPTER THREE
MARRIED? KATE STARED at him in open-mouthed astonishment. No, she couldn’t have heard right. Her brain was obviously still reeling from the discovery that Nikos had seen her at the Executives’ Club last night. Still burning from his hugely insulting accusation.
Going to slap his face had been stupid—an instinctive reaction she now regretted. But like a cornered animal she had fought back, when she should have been trying her hardest to show Nikos she didn’t care what he thought of her. Even if she’d been dying inside.
But now, with his dark eyes boring into her, studying her face with brooding concentration, it was clear that Nikos was indeed waiting for an answer, forcing Kate to accept that she really had heard right. Though technically, of course, it hadn’t even been a question—just a forceful statement of fact.
Well, he couldn’t make her to do anything. He had no power over her, no matter how much those hypnotic eyes and that arrogantly held posture said otherwise.
‘Married!’ She tried for a contemptuous laugh, but it came out more as a strangled cry. ‘Are you crazy?’
‘No, not crazy.’ His voice was perfectly calm. ‘Far from it.’
‘Then why would you suggest such a ludicrous idea?’ Hers was bordering on hysterical.
‘Because circumstances mean that I am currently in need of a wife, and I think you would be the ideal candidate.’
Kate gazed at him in stunned disbelief.
What circumstances? And why her? And why was her heart thumping so wildly it hurt?
‘Well, you can think again.’ She battled against the heady power of his stare. Against everything he had ever meant to her and everything he still did. ‘I have no idea why you think that I would even consider marrying you.’
‘Then let me enlighten you.’ Nikos raised his hand, selecting his little finger to emphasis his first point. ‘Your company is in such dire financial straits that you would do anything to save it. Something you demonstrated last night only too clearly.’ His top lip curled with distaste. ‘You have no other investors, nowhere else to turn, and without my help this is the end of the road for Kandy Kate. You are an intelligent woman and you know this is your last chance. Because if you don’t agree to my terms I will be taking over Kandy Kate anyway, and once it’s under my control who knows what I will do with it?’
With all his fingers pulled back, one by one
, he looked at his raised hand, then back again to Kate.
‘Is that enough to be going on with?’
‘So this is blackmail?’ Kate’s voice faltered with horror. ‘If I don’t agree to marry you you will ruin my family business—is that what you’re saying?’
‘Your family business is already ruined, Kate. The sooner you wise up to that, the better. Any investor—myself included—would simply strip the company of any remaining assets, then sell out to one of the major corporations. Obviously they would ditch the name, close the factories, merge what’s left of the business with their own brands.’
‘No!’ She let out a yelp of anguish. ‘I won’t let that happen.’
‘I thought as much.’ Nikos fixed her with a steady gaze. ‘Then it looks as if I am your only option.’
Kate bit down hard on her lip. Everything about his harshly determined face—the firm line of his mouth, the dark glitter in his eyes—spelled out the fact that he meant what he said. Nikos Nikoladis had both the power to save Kandy Kate and to ruin it.
Pulling her gaze away, she drew in a much-needed breath. She looked around her at the tiny cluttered office, with its low ceiling and peeling paintwork. It felt as if her life had shrunk...closed in on her. As if she was in a tunnel with no sign of light at the end. And the tunnel was now blocked by the menacing presence of her ex-lover.
‘So what are these circumstances?’ Kate tried to get the fog of her mind to clear. ‘Why do you need a wife?’
It sounded even more stupid when she said it out loud. Even more archaic.
‘I will explain.’ Nikos glanced around her office in much the same way as she had. ‘But not here. This place depresses me.’
Welcome to my world.
It depressed Kate as well—not that she would admit it to him.
She watched as he strode towards the door, stepping back to usher her through.
‘Come on.’ He gestured impatiently. ‘I’ll find us somewhere that serves a decent cup of coffee.’
