by Annie West
‘Something cold would be good.’
‘Champagne? A cocktail? Gin and tonic?’
Mina glanced at her watch. Early afternoon. Obviously his usual guests indulged themselves. Mina, on the other hand, needed a clear head. Besides, she was in no mood to kick back and pretend this was a holiday. She felt too agitated around Alexei Katsaros.
‘A juice would be lovely, thanks.’ She smiled at Marie.
‘Of course, ma’am. And I’ll bring some food.’
Mina was about to protest that she wasn’t hungry, then remembered she hadn’t eaten in ages. She’d feel stronger after food. She’d better!
Marie turned to Alexei, a question on her face. In response he shook his head and gestured to a half-full jug of iced water. ‘I’m fine.’
So he expected Mina to indulge while he stuck to cold water. Interesting. But then, he’d been working and he hadn’t built a hugely successful corporation by drinking the day away. Mina shot a glance at that firm chin and those uncompromising features and guessed Alexei Katsaros was good at discipline and control. Then her gaze collided with his and the impact sent a silent shudder of reaction through her.
She suspected he was also excellent at letting go and indulging. There was a sensuality about that steady gaze that would unnerve her if she let it.
‘I’m sorry I slept so long. I didn’t—’
His raised hand cut her off. ‘You needed the rest. I hope you slept well?’ It was a simple question, the sort any host might make. Yet holding Alexei’s gaze, feeling heat wash her skin, Mina tensed, conscious of undercurrents.
She took in his relaxed posture, the small smile, yet sensed concealment. One long finger drummed on the arm of his chair and there was an intensity about that stare...
‘Thank you, yes. It’s a very comfortable bed.’
And just like that, it hit her what this undercurrent was. Sexual attraction. Potent and perilous.
Mina blinked but kept her expression serene, despite the frenzied rush of shock. In her room she’d acknowledged the attraction, but the potency of her reaction unnerved her.
She’d been attracted to guys before. But this was a blast of lightning compared with the weak flicker of a single match. It was the mighty Khamsin wind that scoured the desert and shifted whole ridges of sand, compared with a gentle zephyr that merely rustled the leaves in a courtyard garden.
Mina sank back, forcing down shock, fear and excitement.
It was the excitement that worried her most. She’d always found it hard to resist adventure and challenge.
But not with this man. Not with a man who treated people like pawns on his personal chessboard. She’d be crazy to go there.
‘I’m the one who should apologise.’ His words snagged her attention. ‘I’m sorry if I distressed you earlier, carrying you to your room.’
Mina felt again that powerful pulse of connection and refused to acknowledge it. Was he apologising for carrying her or because he’d recognised how close she’d come to losing command of herself? Please, not the latter!
She inclined her head. ‘You were concerned for me. I understand.’ It didn’t excuse the deliberate way he’d goaded her, but there was no point going over that again. ‘I have a favour to ask.’
‘Ask away.’ He sat forward and Mina sensed he’d been waiting for this.
‘Can I borrow a vehicle? There are some things I need to buy.’ Like underwear. Mina drew the line at wearing Carissa’s lacy thongs.
‘I’m afraid that’s not possible.’
Mina’s eyebrows lifted. Was he really so petty as to deny her transport? ‘You don’t trust me with your vehicle?’ She’d learned to drive on unpaved mountain roads and desert dunes. She’d bet she could handle a four-wheel drive better than him.
‘It’s more the lack of shops that’s the problem.’
‘Lack of shops?’
‘There aren’t any. We get supplies by boat. It’s not easy to indulge in retail therapy here.’ He spread his hands and Mina caught the ghost of a smile. She recognised the same teasing amusement she’d seen when he’d provoked her. Had Carissa’s reputation as a bargain shopaholic preceded her? Her friend was always searching for second-hand items to transform.
What exactly did Alexei know of the woman he planned to marry? So far it seemed he expected her to be obedient, possibly unintelligent and good at spending money. It was a distorted picture of Mina’s friend, and didn’t recommend her as a wife.
Which begged the question, why marry her?
More and more, the idea of an arranged marriage between him and Carissa seemed odd.
‘Carissa?’
‘Sorry?’ She blinked. She’d missed what he said.
‘If you need hygiene products, talk to Marie. She also has a supply of suncream and spare hats for visitors.’
Mina’s smile was perfunctory. She refused to feel embarrassed by his assumption. ‘Thanks, but that’s not what I had in mind.’
‘Later in the week, when your father’s here, we’ll go to one of the larger islands and you can visit the boutiques.’
Didn’t that sound like fun? Steadfastly Mina yanked her mind from the inevitable scene when her masquerade was uncovered. She hoped Carissa and Pierre were safely married by then.
‘Surely I could take the boat before that? This afternoon perhaps?’
‘You’re that desperate?’ Alexei angled his head as if to survey her better. His expression didn’t alter, but the flare of his nostrils hinted at impatience. ‘I’m afraid not. The boat’s being repaired.’ Mina opened her mouth, but before she could ask he added, ‘It will be available again in a day or two. I’m sure you’ll enjoy an outing to the boutiques after that. I’m assured they stock an excellent range.’
‘I can’t wait.’ Mina manufactured a smile and sank back in her seat. She didn’t need a high-end boutique that catered for the rich at play. But there was no point explaining that. For now she’d simply wash her underwear every night.
Inevitably her thoughts jagged back to her unmasking when Carissa’s father arrived. Her stomach squeezed uncomfortably.
She could almost hear her own father’s pained voice, telling her she’d been reckless and headstrong. That she shouldn’t have dared to disrupt a father’s plans for his daughter.
But how could she regret helping her friend? She couldn’t sit and watch her forced into marriage.
Mina wasn’t afraid of Alexei’s reaction when he discovered the truth, or Mr Carter’s. After all, what could they do to her? And it served them right for putting Carissa in such an invidious position. Yet now the first rush of indignation on her friend’s behalf was fading, Mina wasn’t looking forward to the moment of revelation. It would be uncomfortable at best, especially as she relied on Alexei’s goodwill to get off the island. He was bound to be furious.
What would an angry Alexei Katsaros be like? Loud and belligerent, or icily condemning?
Mina could withstand anything he threw at her. That went without saying. Yet she found herself wishing she were back in Paris, busy working instead of playing this cat-and-mouse game.
Suddenly the lack of underwear seemed the least of her concerns.
CHAPTER FIVE
ALEXEI TRIED AND failed to read Carissa’s expression. She seemed distracted, almost uninterested, as if her need to shop wasn’t urgent after all. He couldn’t get a handle on her. Every time she confirmed his estimation of her as shallow and opportunistic, she confounded him.
Marie served drinks and a substantial platter of food but Carissa barely touched the lavish spread.
‘You’ll be glad to see your father again.’
Her soft eyes widened as if in surprise, and Alexei felt his own narrow.
What was going on? Had father and daughter fallen out? Surely not. If it appeared Carissa was on the verge of securing a
marriage with Alexei, her father would be eager to give the match his blessing.
‘Of course.’
‘It’s been a while since you saw each other?’
‘A while.’ She shifted in her seat, crossing her legs. Despite his determination to ferret out her motivations, Alexei was distracted by the toned golden skin on display. The ploy of a woman bent on seduction? Why else would she wear a micro miniskirt and a tight top that so lovingly moulded her breasts?
Unwanted heat flared as he considered the generous bounty barely concealed by Carissa’s new clothes. How had he thought her lacking in curves? She was slender yet definitely feminine. And those legs went on forever.
Yet when he dragged his gaze to her face, she was staring, not at him but towards the horizon, her brow knitted in thought.
Alexei experienced an odd sensation, a clamping in his gut. It took a moment to realise it was pique. He wasn’t used to being ignored by anyone, especially women.
Especially a woman who thought she was here to marry him.
Was Carissa so sure of herself that she didn’t feel the need to pander to his ego?
She turned her head, her gaze meshing with his, and his blood pumped powerfully. How would it feel if she reached out and touched him? The notion quickened his pulse to a hard, heavy throb.
‘Something’s on your mind.’ His voice was rough. ‘What is it?’
She blinked, as if surprised at his words. For a second he almost believed he’d unsettled her, though that was unlikely. When she’d arrived she’d been very vocal. There’d been nothing reticent or uncertain about Carissa. He’d enjoyed their sparring. It was rare Alexei had someone confront him, much less take him to task for his actions.
Carissa seemed to gather herself. She sat higher, those slim shoulders forming a straight, uncompromising line that even after such a short acquaintance was familiar. Her jaw angled up and Alexei felt anticipation thrum.
‘Why do you want an arranged marriage? Why not marry someone you know?’
Again she surprised him. He hadn’t suspected Carter’s daughter would look a gift horse in the mouth. But clearly Carissa was intelligent. Even if she craved his wealth, she wanted to understand his expectations.
‘I haven’t found anyone I want to marry.’ That, at least, was true.
‘But why arrange a marriage this way?’
‘Are you trying to back out?’ He sat forward, fascinated.
‘No.’ She paused. ‘I just want to know more about you.’
‘It seemed an efficient way of proceeding.’
‘Efficient?’ She tilted her head and recrossed her legs.
He heard the faint sibilant whisper of fabric on skin and fought to keep his eyes on her face. If she thought he’d be distracted by the obvious tactic she was mistaken, but that didn’t prevent arousal clamping his groin.
‘You make it sound as easy as ordering from a catalogue.’ She gestured dismissively. ‘Wanted, one female of reasonable appearance and education. Must have all her own teeth and be of child-bearing age.’ She snapped the words out, and again Alexei heard that edge of disapproval. Yet instead of annoying him, it stirred a desire to provoke more of the same. Heat simmered in his blood at the idea of Carissa aroused to heightened emotion.
If he had to wait for her father to come out of hiding, he might as well enjoy himself.
‘Why not? Look what it’s brought me.’ He let his gaze drop, trailing down her long, proud neck to her collarbone, the high curve of her breasts and lower.
Her fingers dug into the arms of her chair, the tendons in the backs of her hands tensing.
‘And since you mention child-bearing...’ He lifted his eyes to hers. They blazed back at him with a banked fury that might have made him pause in other circumstances. He didn’t want Carissa calm and dismissive or, worse, distracted. He preferred her hot under the collar, concentrating on him. ‘How do you feel about starting a family straight away?’
‘That’s why you want to marry? To have children?’ Surprising how stunned she sounded. Surely the thought of kids must have occurred to her?
Alexei shrugged. ‘Why else? When I have children I want them to have my name, to be part of a family unit. There’s nothing else I can get from marriage that I can’t have already.’
Alexei did want a family. Kids of his own. He’d spent years driven by the need to drag himself out of poverty and hadn’t looked beyond securing success and financial security. Determination had kept him climbing to the top. But one day, yes, a family of his own...
He had a few precious memories of happy family life before his father died but he knew how lucky he was to have those. The miserable years after his mother remarried made him appreciate what he’d had so briefly. He’d like to recreate that with his own children.
When this debacle with Carter was over he’d think of finding a woman suitable to share his life. Someone who’d make a wonderful mother.
‘There’s nothing else you can get from marriage?’ Carissa’s mouth twisted superciliously. ‘How about emotional intimacy? Trust? Love?’
‘Love?’ He frowned. ‘You believe in love?’
Yet she was happy to sell herself into a marriage of convenience. The woman was a mass of contradictions.
Carissa hesitated. Her hands plucked at the arm of her chair. ‘I believe it exists,’ she said eventually.
‘But you’ve never been in love.’ It was a guess, but Alexei always backed his hunches. The idea intrigued, that a pretty woman in her mid-twenties had never fancied herself in love.
‘Have you?’ She raised one eyebrow.
‘No.’ People talked of love but it was rare.
His parents had married for love and he admitted the idea held allure. But look where it had left his mother. When Alexei’s father died she’d been heartbroken. Even as a young child he’d understood that. She’d forced herself to go through the motions of life but she’d never been the same. Her sense of loss had been behind her disastrous second marriage. She’d admitted it to Alexei before she died and he’d had to bite back a howl of protest that she hadn’t been alone. She’d had him. But clearly that hadn’t been enough. He hadn’t been enough.
Almost as bad, it turned out her other reason for remarrying was to provide Alexei with a father. Because of that she’d condemned them to life with that miserable excuse for a man.
Futile anger boiled in his belly. Alexei wouldn’t let anyone make him weak the way his mother had been.
He’d triumphed over adversity and made himself a man his father would have been proud of. He had no intention of falling into some sentimental trap.
‘So you don’t expect to love the woman you marry.’
Carissa’s cool tone cleaved his thoughts. She surveyed him with faint disapproval.
‘If you’re waiting for a declaration from me, Princess, you’ll be disappointed.’
Predictably she didn’t bat an eye. This woman had grit.
‘What if you fall in love with someone else after you marry?’
‘I can’t imagine it happening.’ Alexei saw her open her mouth to object and raised a hand. ‘But if, after some time, we divorce, you needn’t be concerned. The legal agreement will ensure you’re recompensed.’
Her jaw inched even higher. ‘And if your wife fell for someone else?’
Alexei met her challenging stare and felt a tiny beat of surprise. At the idea of the woman he married preferring another man. And at Carissa’s determination to speak in the abstract. As if discussing some faceless woman instead of herself.
Why did she pretend lack of interest when she was here for marriage? Even now, staring along the length of that straight nose like a monarch surveying a vulgar yokel, she couldn’t hide her awareness of him. Alexei read her shortened breathing, the pebbled nipples pressing invitingly against taut fabric. He unders
tood, with the experience of a man who’d attracted women since his teens, that Carissa was anything but uninterested.
The knowledge sent a frisson down his spine, to circle his body and lodge in his groin.
Carissa Carter might be a necessary encumbrance for now but increasingly Alexei recognised a woman he’d enjoy knowing better.
Perhaps when his business with her father was resolved they might come to a mutually enjoyable arrangement.
‘You want to bring children into a family where there’s no love, just a...commercial agreement?’ Carissa’s tone jabbed through his pleasant imaginings. ‘Don’t you think that’s selfish?’
Alexei frowned. ‘Children need stability.’ His own childhood was a case in point. ‘They’d have the love of their parents, and a caring, settled environment. That’s more than many kids ever have.’
He took in the flat line of her mouth and the opaque look in her eyes, and wondered what Carissa was thinking. Had his words struck a chord?
Yet she’d been one of the lucky ones. The Carters had been a tight-knit family. There’d been no mistaking Ralph Carter’s devastation over his wife’s death, or his concern for his daughter.
Alexei recalled the late-night conversation he’d had with Carter after his wife’s death. Alexei had been leaving his office and been surprised to see the older man still in the building, though his glazed eyes had told their own story. Alexei had taken a seat, unable to walk past the man, reading the small, telltale signs of fiercely suppressed emotion.
In that moment Ralph Carter had reminded him of his father, who, while devoted to his family, closely guarded deep emotions. Alexei had known he was loved, not by words but by his father’s actions.
That night Alexei had felt a bond to Carter, enough to unbend and admit he’d count himself lucky to have a marriage such as Carter had enjoyed. It had been a moment of unfamiliar, unguarded sentimentality that surprised him.
No wonder Carter’s subsequent betrayal stuck in his craw. For the first time in his life Alexei had opened up about his most private desires, while trying to help the other man. He’d felt a brief moment of shared understanding. Then a couple of months later the guy had ripped him off, proving Alexei’s trust had been totally misplaced.
