by Sarah Morgan
Suddenly she was glad there was a table between them. It prevented her from hurling herself at him and committing bodily harm.
‘Yes!’ With Tom safely out of the room, she wanted to rub it in. Wanted to poke a stick at the tiger and see just how long it took for him to stop snarling and goad him into action. It was a dangerous game but she couldn’t help herself. What right did he have to question her? To stand there with that contemptuous look on his disgustingly handsome face. ‘Yes, I did. I went into business with him. Tom was good to me.’ She spat the words out and Zander gave a growl and faced her across the table.
‘I know exactly how good he was to you, Lauranne,’ he growled savagely, his voice thick with anger. ‘I witnessed it firsthand.’
Her grip tightened on the chair and her breathing jerked. ‘We’re not going there, Zander. It was five years ago. If you’d wanted to talk we should have done it then but you threw me out. I refuse to discuss it with you now.’
‘There was nothing to talk about,’ he growled, livid streaks of colour emphasising his intensely masculine bone structure. ‘When a Greek man finds his wife in bed with another man, the talking stops.’
He swore in Greek and paced over to the window while Lauranne watched in appalled fascination. She’d never been able to understand how Zander Volakis had gained his reputation for being ice-cold. With her he was so volatile and explosive that he could legitimately be held personally responsible for global warming.
‘What are you doing here?’ Without the protection of the table between them, Lauranne eyed him with healthy caution, all her senses primed for flight. ‘Why have you come here now? It’s been five years—’
Five years during which she had tried to come to terms with their brief and totally disastrous marriage. Five years of trying to put each shattered piece of her life back together, hoping that the glue would hold.
Zander didn’t turn and her eyes fixed on the back of his neck, on the dark hair that just touched his collar. His hair had always fascinated her. It was the only thing about him that was soft and she knew exactly how it would feel under her fingers. Silky. Tempting. So many times she’d slid her hands into that hair, holding his head while he kissed her to the point of meltdown.
Determined not to dwell on his considerable skills in that direction, she dragged her mind back to the present. ‘Why did you pick this company?’
He turned then, all forceful virile male, dominating her meeting room with the sheer force of his presence and personality.
‘I didn’t.’
She gave a humourless laugh as his words registered. ‘You didn’t know it was me, did you? One of your poor, unsuspecting minions recommended my company and you didn’t know it was me—’
‘But I should have guessed from the name.’ He gave a sardonic smile. ‘Phoenix PR. Rising from the ashes, Lauranne?’
She glared at him, her cheeks flushed with colour. ‘And you created those ashes, Zander,’ she reminded him hoarsely, her chest rising and falling as she sucked in air. ‘You fired me and made sure I wouldn’t get another job. You ruined my reputation.’
And he’d trampled on her heart into the bargain but she had too much pride to raise that with him. He’d proved that he didn’t care about her and she was damned if she was even going to hint at how much she’d cared about him. He was a heartless bastard and she should have had more sense than to become involved with him in the first place.
‘Evidently not.’ His gaze was ironic as he glanced round the smart meeting room. ‘You’ve done well for yourself.’
It was typical of Zander to judge someone by their business success, she reflected bitterly. Professionally she had done well, but as for the other areas of her life—
She wondered what he’d say if he knew that she hadn’t been on a date for five years. That every evening she worked until she was exhausted and then just went home and fell into bed. That she was afraid to slow down in case her emotions caught up with her. In case she suddenly started to feel.
Emotionally numb and physically exhausted was the only way she could safely exist.
But Zander wasn’t interested in emotion. He just didn’t do emotion.
He’d deleted their brief marriage from his memory with the same ruthless efficiency with which he organised the rest of his life.
Lauranne lifted her chin. Thanks to him, she’d learned not to do emotion either. If he wanted to talk business, then they’d talk business. ‘The business is a success thanks to Tom. He financed this business with his own money. He took me on when no other company would touch me.’ Her voice shook as she reminded him of the facts. ‘If it hadn’t been for him I would have had no way of earning a living.’
He rounded on her with a ferocious growl. ‘Don’t mention his name in my hearing.’
She felt the hairs stand up on the back of her neck. ‘Give me one reason why not.’
His eyes flashed fire and flame. ‘Because you were mine,’ he said thickly, his tone pure masculine possession. ‘Mine. And Farrer did what no other man would have dared to do. Only ignorance could have prompted him into such a foolish and risky course of action.’
Her heart was thudding so hard she thought it must be visible to him. ‘He didn’t know what sort of man you are.’
‘I’m Greek,’ he announced flatly. ‘And Greek men know how to take care of their women.’
She needed no reminder of his heritage. It was part of who he was, visible in everything he did and everything he said.
‘Your relationship with women is stuck in the Stone Age. If Versace made loincloths you’d be wearing one.’
‘I didn’t notice you complaining when you were naked under me.’ His voice was a rich, masculine drawl and she felt it curl its way around every part of her damaged and fragile heart. The vision of lying naked with him was all too clear and she felt an unwelcome coil of heat low in her pelvis.
The discovery that part of her still craved him came as an unpleasant shock.
She lifted her chin, struggling to hang onto her dignity. ‘I’d like you to leave right away.’
‘Because you don’t trust yourself around me, Lauranne?’
‘Because I’m afraid I might bruise you if you stay within thumping distance,’ she said grittily. ‘Fighting always was what we did best.’
He lifted an eyebrow mockingly, back in control once again. ‘That’s not how I remember it, agape mou. We did a lot of things extremely well.’
Their eyes clashed and she caught her breath, remembering, feeling—
Oh, God, she didn’t want to feel…
‘Go, Zander. Just go.’
But he didn’t go. Instead he strolled towards her, his eyes still locked with hers in blatant challenge.
She forced herself to hold her ground. Forced herself not to turn and run despite the quivering of her body and the lurch of her heart.
‘You always reminded me of a firework,’ he murmured, his tone conversational as he steadily closed the distance between them. ‘Sparky, full of fire and beautiful enough to make a man gasp. And dangerous to handle.’
His words made her breathing jerk. ‘Come any closer and you’re going to find out just how dangerous. And stop pretending that we had any sort of relationship that meant anything. To you it was just sex and you were only interested in me because I refused you.’
‘Not true,’ he shot back instantly. ‘I was interested because you challenged me. With every flash of your blue eyes and every lift of that delicate chin, you challenged me.’ He came to a halt directly in front of her, a smile playing around his firm mouth. ‘But it’s true that no woman had ever run away from me before. It was a first.’
‘You are impossibly arrogant.’ She gave an exclamation of disgust and his smile widened.
‘I’m honest. And we both know that you were just playing games. You were mine from the moment I saw you sitting on that bar stool, that tiny skirt showing every inch of your fabulous long legs, your golden hair trailing down your back like
a beacon lighting up the night sky.’
Her pulse was fluttering and she shook her head in denial. ‘I never would even have spoken to you if I’d known who you were.’
He lifted a hand and touched her hair with gentle fingers, his touch making her tremble.
‘You couldn’t help yourself, Lauranne. And neither could I. It was stronger than both of us—’
And it was still stronger than both of them.
This close she was aware of every single inch of him. She could see the strong column of his throat, smell the tantalising male smell that she associated only with Zander, and she could feel the power of his sexuality with every traitorous bone in her body. He was just so wickedly attractive, she thought desperately, remembering the way he’d murmured huskily to her in Greek as he’d rolled her under him on a warm sandy beach.
She pushed the thought away, wondering why the brain remembered good when there was so much bad to choose from.
‘If I’d known who you were I would have known you were trouble. Your reputation alone would have made me run a mile.’
Dear God, how could she feel like this? Even after everything he’d done to her, she could feel the heat of desire burning inside her, the incessant throb of the blood in her veins.
It was as if her body were suddenly coming to life after five years of hibernation.
Only Zander had ever done this to her.
Only Zander drove her to a pitch of sexual excitement that eclipsed the workings of her brain.
And he hadn’t even touched her—
He was dangerous, deadly and thoroughly addictive.
‘You were a fascinating mixture of sparky and shy,’ he observed, totally ignoring her snappy response. ‘Nervous of me but excited and intrigued at the same time.’
Suddenly it was difficult to speak. ‘I was right to be nervous of you. I should have run a mile.’
‘Instead of which you married me.’
His cool statement sucked the breath from her lungs. Yes, she’d married him. Because she’d been so madly, crazily in love with him that from the day she’d met him the only word in her vocabulary had been ‘yes.’
‘Everyone makes mistakes, Zander.’ And she was still paying for hers. Every minute of every day. ‘You’re ruthless and cold-hearted and I truly don’t believe that you have a compassionate bone in your body.’
He stared at her for a long moment, a muscle working in his lean jaw. ‘There are plenty of people out there who would agree with you,’ he drawled, ‘which brings us back to the reason I’m here.’
Her brain did an emergency stop. She’d actually forgotten that there must be a reason for his visit.
‘You’re here because your people made a big mistake,’ she reminded him caustically. ‘You wouldn’t have come if you’d known it was me. And now you know, you can leave the same way you came in.’
‘I don’t think so.’ There was a strange light in his eyes. ‘You see, after five years I’ve finally found a use for you. You’re going to work for me again.’
CHAPTER TWO
LAURANNE stared at Zander in stunned silence.
He wanted her to work for him?
Was he mad?
Had he forgotten everything that had happened between them?
Had he forgotten the hideous details?
Her skin prickled and she suddenly felt hot. Terribly hot. ‘You must be joking. I will never work for you again.’
A smooth dark eyebrow lifted and he smiled, totally unperturbed by her passionate declaration. ‘You think not?’
She stared at him helplessly, realising too late that she’d said the wrong thing. A blatant refusal simply fuelled his ferociously competitive instinct. No one ever refused Zander Volakis anything. It just cemented his desire to win.
He was assuming she’d issued him a challenge, instead of which her refusal to work for him had originated from the most basic instinct for survival.
She resisted the impulse to slap the arrogant smile from his handsome face. ‘This isn’t one of your games, Zander. I wish you’d never come here but seeing as you have we might as well sort things out once and for all.’ Her heart was banging against her ribs as she came to an instant decision. ‘I—I want a divorce.’
There was a pulsing silence and he surveyed her with a maddening degree of cool.
‘You want a divorce?’ He sounded faintly amused. ‘This is very sudden, agape mou. After five years you suddenly want a divorce?’
Five years of utter misery. Five years of burying her past and trying to get on with her life. It was like ignoring an enormous wound and hoping that it would heal by itself.
But it hadn’t healed. Maybe a divorce was the answer.
‘We made a mistake, Zander,’ she croaked, wishing her insides didn’t feel so raw. ‘Let’s put it right.’
Then maybe she could finally let go and get on with her life.
There was a long silence and Zander watched her thoughtfully. ‘All right,’ he said finally. ‘Do this job for me, and I’ll consider it.’
‘No!’ She didn’t want him to turn it into one of his deals. She just wanted him to leave before she fell apart. ‘I don’t want to work for you again.’
It was just too painful. Seeing him again.
Being this close—
He paced slowly across the carpet, infuriatingly calm in the face of her growing anger. ‘You’re running a business, Lauranne. Can you afford to turn away wealthy clients?’
‘Whatever you offered would never be enough to even vaguely tempt me to work for you again,’ she said bitterly. ‘There’s more to a business than money.’
He laughed. ‘If you think that then it’s a wonder you’re still trading.’
‘Well, I wouldn’t expect you to understand what I mean,’ she flung back, her eyes blazing with the fire of past injuries. ‘You only ever look at the bottom line.’
‘Where else is there to look?’
‘At people! People matter, Zander. People have feelings—’ She broke off, horrified with herself for becoming so emotional. How could it still hurt so much? Whoever said that time heals had never been in love with Zander Volakis. She was rapidly discovering that time hadn’t healed anything at all. Trying to calm herself, she reached out and poured herself a glass of water with a shaking hand. ‘Believe it or not, when I refused to see you I was not issuing you with a challenge.’ She’d been protecting herself. ‘I don’t want to have anything to do with you and I can’t think why you would want me to work for you again.’
‘Because I need someone to do a good job.’
Her fingers tightened around the glass and she glared at him, hating him for coming back into her life. Hating herself for reacting so strongly. ‘And what makes you think I’d do a good job for you?’
‘Three reasons come to mind,’ he drawled lazily. ‘Firstly because I will pay you an indecent sum of money that you can’t afford to turn down; secondly because if you don’t do a good job, then I won’t give you that divorce that you suddenly seem to want so much.’
Lauranne licked dry lips. ‘You said three reasons.’ Her voice was little more than a croak. ‘What’s the third?’
He smiled. ‘Thirdly you will do the very best job you can, because if you mess up then I’ll ruin you and I’ll ruin Farrer.’ He gave a casual shrug. ‘Simple really.’
The glass slid from her hand and shattered on the floor. Like my life, Lauranne thought numbly, not even bothering to pick up the pieces as she stared at Zander. ‘You can’t be serious.’
‘I never joke about work,’ he said smoothly. ‘You should know that much about me.’
She did know. When it came to work, Zander was single-minded. Driven.
She tried another tack. ‘You can’t possibly want me to work for you again. Not after everything that happened.’
‘Five years ago I wasn’t safe to be in the same room as you,’ he agreed, ‘but thankfully I’ve moved on since then. You’ll work for me, Lauranne.�
�� He delivered his statement with cool confidence, his total lack of emotion in direct contrast to her own highly charged feelings. His careless, arrogant assumption that she’d eventually agree to his demands increased the tension in the room by dramatic degrees.
‘You fired me,’ she said, her voice shaking with a passion so powerful that it threatened to consume her usually rational self. ‘You fired me publicly and then ruined my reputation so thoroughly that no other company would touch me.’
He shrugged, casually dismissive of her passionate statement. ‘What happened between us is in the past. Fortunately for you, I’m willing to forget what you did.’
She gaped at him, rendered speechless by his overwhelming arrogance.
Forget?
Had their marriage really affected him so little that he could forget?
And did he really think that she would ever forget?
Had he really no idea just what he’d done to her? How much she’d suffered because of him? Part of her was proud that she’d survived in spite of him and part of her wanted to leap on him and claw at that devastatingly handsome face if only to provoke some degree of emotional response.
‘You’re my husband and yet you tried to destroy me.’ Her voice was little more than a whisper. ‘You took vows, Zander. Made promises. And none of them meant anything to you, did they? You are utterly ruthless and I will remind myself of that fact every single day of my life.’
Black eyes clashed with blue. ‘You angered me.’
Such a simple statement with which to justify brutal behaviour. He was just so Greek, she reflected helplessly, his otherwise razor-sharp intellect neutralised by his driving need for revenge.
He stepped towards her and she tensed, her body rendered immobile by the naked sexuality in his masculine gaze. She felt that gaze with every feminine part of her quivering body. Heat built inside her and slowly spread outwards, consuming her with its intensity. Her knees wobbled and she was forced to face the inevitable. That even hating him she still wanted him with every fibre of her being.
How could she?
How could her body still react to the man when her mind was ordering her to feel nothing and run?
