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She would never forget the look of shock on the woman’s face, the tears streaming down her cheeks and her voice crying brokenly, ‘How could you, James? How could you? I am your wife…’
‘I didn’t know about your sister’s accident,’ she insisted shakily, dragging her mind back to the present. ‘I left James almost immediately.’ After his sulky confirmation that, yes, he was married—‘but that’s no reason to get hysterical, Tahlia.’ ‘I ran down to my car, parked at the rear of the hotel. Melina must have run out of the front of the hotel, and I drove home along a different road. I don’t remember hearing sirens or anything—but I was in shock,’ Tahlia said falteringly, remembering how she had driven away, desperately trying to hold back her tears until she reached her parents’ home. ‘I had no idea that James was married.’
‘Liar.’
The solitary word cracked through the air like a whip, and Tahlia jumped. ‘I swear I didn’t know—’ she began, but Thanos silenced her with a savage glare.
‘Of course you knew. Just as you knew that the actor you’ve been having an affair with recently was married. Far from attempting to hide your relationship with him, you brazenly flaunted it, allowing yourself to be snapped by the press leaving a hotel with him.’ Thanos’s lip curled. ‘Tell me, do you enjoy a feeling of power when you have sex with other women’s husbands? Women like you disgust me.’
Women like his father’s mistress, Thanos brooded grimly. Wendy Jones had known that his father had a wife and children, but that had not stopped her flirting with Kosta Savakis and pursuing him with single-minded determination, uncaring of the pain and destruction their affair caused. Wendy and Tahlia were two of a kind—predatory, heartless bitches who lacked any moral decency. His hatred of the woman who had become his stepmother had burned inside him for years, and as he stared across his desk at Tahlia’s pale face his fury threatened to choke him.
The icy anger in Thanos’s eyes sent a shiver down Tahlia’s spine, and she said frantically, ‘I promise you I did not know James was married. If I had I would never have dated him, let alone agreed to spend a weekend with him.’ She jumped to her feet and gripped the edge of the desk, breathing hard so that her breasts rose and fell jerkily. ‘When your sister burst into the hotel room and announced that she was James’s wife I felt terrible. I felt as though I were the lowest life form on the planet.’
‘An apt description,’ Thanos snapped, his jaw hardening. ‘And I have no doubt that you felt terrible—you’d just been caught out, and you knew James was likely to end his affair with you so that he could try and persuade his wealthy wife to forgive him. I don’t understand what you saw in my brother-in-law,’ he added scathingly. ‘James Hamilton is a penniless, talentless waste of space. But, according to the press reports, you seem to get a kick out of sleeping with other women’s husbands.’
The colour leached from Tahlia’s face, and for a second she was tempted to flee from the room, but she forced herself to meet Thanos’s cold stare. ‘The reports in the tabloids about my supposed affair with Damian Casson are a complete fabrication,’ she said stiltedly. ‘And I have instructed my solicitor to proceed with legal action against the papers involved.’ Her eyes dropped to the photograph of Thanos’s sister and she swallowed. ‘I am so sorry,’ she whispered. ‘I wish I could apologise to Melina, and explain to her that James deceived both of us.’
‘Do you think I would allow you anywhere near my sister?’ Thanos demanded harshly. ‘Melina has suffered enough, without having to hear your lies.’
He had also risen to his feet, and was surveying her with visible contempt. She could understand why he was angry, Tahlia conceded, but his refusal to listen to her and his determination to believe the worst of her sparked her temper.
‘I am not lying,’ she told him with quiet dignity. ‘And I am not the woman portrayed by the tabloids. I had no idea that James had a wife.’ Tears stung her eyes, and she lowered her head so that Thanos would not see them. She had felt a fool that night in the hotel, when James’s treachery had been revealed, but her emotions were of little significance compared to the pain—both mental and physical—that Thanos’s sister must be suffering.
‘I’m so sorry,’ she repeated shakily. She had been an innocent pawn in James’s game, but she still felt responsible for his wife’s terrible accident.
‘It’s too damned late to be sorry,’ Thanos grated. ‘It’s a pity you did not feel this touching remorse before you slept with my sister’s husband.’
‘I never slept with him,’ Tahlia said quickly. ‘Although I realise that will be small comfort to Melina. I admit that I had intended to become James’s lover. The night that Melina found us at the hotel would have been our first night together.’ She swallowed, but forced herself to go on, aware that Thanos and his sister deserved her honesty. ‘I had fallen in love with James—although I realise now that I never really knew him at all,’ she added bitterly.
She was good, Thanos conceded grimly. She almost had him convinced that she was as innocent as she protested—and the shimmer of tears in those beautiful blue eyes was a nice touch. If it wasn’t for the story in the tabloids about her affair with another married actor he might have been tempted to believe her.
But perhaps he wanted to believe that Tahlia had been hoodwinked by James Hamilton because of his own inconvenient physical attraction to her? he brooded irritably. Today she was the epitome of understated elegance: her slim-fitting skirt skimmed the gentle flare of her hips, and the cut of her jacket emphasised her tiny waist, while her soft lilac-coloured blouse complemented her creamy complexion. The scattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks matched her red-gold hair, while the long lashes fringing those startlingly blue eyes were a slightly darker shade of gold.
She might be lovely on the outside, but inside she was rotten to the core, and all the evidence proved that she had known just what she was doing when she began her affair with James, Thanos reminded himself. He was not going to be duped by her lies simply because his hormones were raging out of control. His mouth tightened and he forced himself to move away from her, strolling across the room to stare out of the window at the view of the city.
Tahlia watched him, her eyes roaming over his broad shoulders and the arrogant tilt of his head. Despair settled like a lead weight in her stomach.
‘You never had any intention of buying out Reynolds Gems, did you?’ she said dully.
‘None whatsoever,’ he replied coolly. ‘It seemed entirely fair that you should suffer a fraction of the misery my sister has suffered, and so I decided to destroy your company. But, to be honest, bringing about Reynolds Gems’ downfall has not been difficult. Some of the decisions taken by the company during the last two years have been downright reckless, and they are directly responsible for Reynolds’ current financial situation. I simply tricked you into thinking that Vantage Investments would offer a rescue package, and you were gullible enough—or more likely greedy enough—to be fooled into believing you could hang on to your self-indulgent lifestyle.’
It was no coincidence that Reynolds Gems’ problems had begun at the same time as her mother’s illness had been diagnosed, Tahlia acknowledged. During that terrible time business had come a long way down her father’s list of priorities, and she felt guilty that she had not become more involved with running the company.
‘Reynolds Gems is my father’s company, not mine,’ she said quietly. ‘If you destroy it you will be hurting him.’
‘You became a partner three years ago. My investigations were very thorough,’ Thanos said coldly, turning away from the window to give her a sardonic look. ‘It’s too bad your father will lose the company he built from scratch, but he shouldn’t have brought his daughter up to be an immoral slut.’
Anger, swift and white-hot, churned inside Tahlia. Her eyes flew to the clock above the desk and she felt a pang of dread. Had her mother been told that her battle with breast cancer had been successful? Or, as the specialist had warned might happen, had the cancer spread? Even if the news was bad, her father would hide his fears and support Vivienne, just as he had done every day for the past two years. Only Tahlia knew that sometimes he sat alone in his study and wept. Peter Reynolds, of all people, did not deserve Thanos’s disdain.
Shaking with fury, she marched across the office and stood directly in front of Thanos. ‘Think what you like about me, but don’t you dare say a word against my father. He is a better man than you will ever be.’
‘Not in business,’ Thanos drawled sarcastically.
Tahlia flushed. ‘I accept he had made some unwise decisions, but there were reasons…’ She glanced at Thanos’s mocking expression and halted abruptly. She refused to discuss her mother’s health problems with him when she was sure he would accuse her of lying to gain his sympathy. Her anger dissipated as quickly as it had arrived, leaving her feeling drained and despairing as the realisation hit her that there was no hope of saving Reynolds Gems from the administrators.
‘I wish more than anything that I’d never met James Hamilton,’ she said huskily. ‘And I hope with all my heart that your sister makes a full recovery.’
She swung away from him, choking back the tears she was determined would not fall until she was outside his office. Her knee collided painfully with the coffee table.
‘Damn it!’ She stumbled, dropped her briefcase, and bit back an oath as it burst open and spilled its contents over the floor.
No doubt Thanos was enjoying seeing her on her knees, she thought furiously, as she knelt and began to scoop up the pages of figures that spelled the demise of Reynolds Gems. She dashed her hand over her eyes and froze when she realised that he had crouched beside her and was helping to gather up her paperwork.
‘Thank you.’ She took the papers he handed her and slowly lifted her head, startled to find him so close. The tang of his cologne drifted around her, teasing her senses, and she could feel the dry heat emanating from his body. How could she be so agonisingly aware of him when he had made it clear that he despised her? she wondered despairingly.
It was suddenly imperative that she stood up and moved away from him, before he realised the effect he had on her, but her muscles had seized up. Her eyes were drawn to his—and shock ricocheted through her when she glimpsed the unmistakable feral desire blazing in their depths.
Chapter Three
HOW could he feel this overwhelming sexual attraction to Tahlia when he loathed her? Thanos wondered furiously. His brain acknowledged that she was an immoral slut, but his body was responding with humiliating eagerness to the delicate fragrance of her perfume. He could not tear his eyes from the soft curve of her mouth, and the tantalising fullness of her lips was proving an irresistible temptation. His desire for her was an unexpected complication that filled him with self-disgust, but no amount of reminding himself of Melina’s injuries could banish the fierce urge to crush Tahlia’s lips beneath his.
Thanos was going to kiss her. Tahlia saw the smouldering intent in his eyes seconds before he lowered his head, and she was stunned by the realisation that she wanted him to. He believed she had slept with his sister’s husband, and he had made his opinion of her quite clear, but for reasons she could not understand she made no attempt to deny him and simply waited, heart thumping, for his mouth to claim hers.
The first brush of his mouth sent a quiver of reaction through her. His lips were firm, sliding demandingly over hers, but Tahlia’s pride belatedly came to her aid and she clamped her mouth shut, fighting the overwhelming temptation to respond to him. He hated her, she reminded herself. And he thought he had good reason to destroy Reynolds Gems in a bid to hurt her. He adamantly refused to believe that she had not set out to deliberately steal his sister’s husband, and if she gave in to the urgent clamouring of her body and kissed him back it would surely confirm his belief that she was the immoral slut he had accused her of being.
But she had recognised the sizzling sexual chemistry between them at the art gallery, and now it was raging out of control, consuming them both. When he caught hold of her hand and drew her to her feet she went unresistingly—now they were standing so close, yet not quite touching, and her senses were inflamed by the subtle scent of male pheromones, the intoxicating heat emanating from his hard body that made her long to close the gap between them and have him crush her against his muscular chest.
His lips hardened, became more urgent, and her will-power crumbled beneath the onslaught. With a little gasp she opened her mouth, and he immediately thrust his tongue deep into its moist warmth, exploring her with shocking eroticism as he snaked his arm around her waist and jerked her close, hip to hip, her soft breasts pressed against his rock-solid body.
His hungry passion was like nothing she had ever experienced before, and it drove every thought from her head other than her frantic need for him to continue kissing her. She forgot that they were standing in his office, forgot that he owned Vantage Investments and had refused to save Reynolds Gems from collapse. She was only aware of him, of the demanding pressure of his lips and the faint abrasion of his jaw against the softer skin of her cheek as he angled her head and deepened the kiss to another level that was flagrantly erotic.
She was aware of the melting warmth between her thighs, and the rigid proof of his arousal pressing into her belly. With a low moan of capitulation she moved her hands to his shoulders. She would have wound her arms around his neck, but he abruptly snatched his mouth from hers and jerked his head back, his eyes glittering with contempt as he stared down at her.
‘What’s the matter Tahlia—has Damian Casson come to his senses and dumped you in favour of his wife? Surely you won’t find me a good substitute to relieve your sexual frustrations when you’re only attracted to married men?’ he taunted, his voice dripping with sarcasm that made her skin crawl.
Tahlia gasped, and acting purely on impulse she raised her arm and cracked her hand across his cheek. ‘You arrogant bastard,’ she choked, shaking with anger and humiliation. ‘You kissed me. What were you trying to do—prove how irresistible you are?’
‘I certainly proved something,’ Thanos drawled as he strolled back across the room and leaned his hip against his desk, folding his arms across his chest in an indolent stance that disguised the fact that his heart was slamming beneath his ribs. ‘The sexual alchemy between us is as potent as it is inexplicable, and I admit I kissed you because I was curious to see how you would react.’ His eyes narrowed on her white face. ‘Hit me again and I promise you will regret it.’
Tahlia stared at the livid red mark on his cheek and felt sick. She had never struck another human being in her life, and she was shocked and ashamed by her violent display of temper. It was no good reminding herself that Thanos had deserved it. He had kissed her, but she had wanted him to, she owned miserably. Despite knowing his low opinion of her, she had been unable to resist him. What did that say about her morals? she wondered despairingly.
Thanos kept his expression deliberately blank, giving no clue to the internal battle raging inside him as he sought to bring his hormones back under control. Kissing her had been a mistake, he acknowledged grimly. He was furious with himself for succumbing to the temptation of her lush mouth, and his temper was not improved by the knowledge that he wanted to kiss her again, to slide his lips down her throat to the pulse beating frenetically at its base, then tug the pins from her hair and run his fingers through the pale red silk.
He studied her dispassionately, wondering if the tears clinging like tiny sparkling diamonds to her lashes were meant to make him feel remorse or pity. He felt neither. She deserved to lose her company, and she would still not suffer a fraction of the trauma his sister had suffered.
He had planned Tahlia’s downfall during the endless days and nights he had sat at Melina’s bedside, waiting for her to regain consciousness. He had felt so helpless and so afraid, he remembered grimly. He who had never feared anything, who had fought his way out of poverty to the pinnacle of success, had been scared that he was going to lose the one person in the world he truly loved. Now Melina was out of danger, and slowly recovering from her injuries, but he would never forget the accident that had so nearly claimed her life—and he would never forgive the two people he deemed responsible for it.
In the current financial climate Tahlia would never find another buyer for Reynolds Gems. Everything was going just as he had planned. But that was not entirely true, he acknowledged irritably. He could not remember the last time he had wanted a woman as badly as he wanted Tahlia and his hunger for her angered him. He had first-hand proof that she was a woman like his father’s mistress, yet still he was consumed with this damnable longing to possess her.
Maybe he should seize what he wanted and be damned, he mused grimly. He had planned to take revenge for his sister by fooling Tahlia into believing that his company would buy Reynolds Gems and then withdrawing his offer of financial support at the last minute. He had no interest in saving Reynolds’ three failing jewellery shops, but those shops were in prime London locations. The current recession meant that the property market had all but collapsed; he knew Peter Reynolds had tried and failed to sell the shops, and that now his creditors had run out of patience, but eventually the financial climate would improve and the shops would be lucrative investments.
Thanos’s business brain told him he would be a fool to turn down the opportunity to increase his property portfolio—and wouldn’t his revenge be all the sweeter if he made it personal? Buying out Reynolds Gems would save Tahlia from financial ruin, but he would demand repayment in full—in his bed!
The tense silence stretched Tahlia’s nerves, and her skin prickled beneath Thanos’s intent gaze. He appeared relaxed, but he reminded her of a panther: sleek, dark and dangerous as it eyed its prey. She had to get out of his office, she thought wildly. Gather what little dignity she had left and leave.
She retrieved her briefcase from the floor, where she had dropped it, and turned towards the door.
‘There might be a way I could be persuaded to buy Reynolds Gems…’
His soft drawl stopped her in her tracks, and she swung back to face him, her heart thumping. It was probably a trick, she told herself, or a joke at her expense, but she was desperate for a lifeline—however tenuous.
‘How?’ she demanded baldly.
‘The time-honoured tradition of bartering—each of us has something the other wants,’ he elucidated, when she stared at him blankly. ‘It’s possible we could negotiate a deal.’
Tahlia frowned. ‘What do I have that you want? I have nothing.’
Dark eyes burned into her, and she felt a fierce tugging sensation deep in her pelvis. ‘Don’t be naïve, Tahlia,’ he said, in a faintly bored tone. ‘You know perfectly well what I want.’ He crossed the room in two strides and slid his hand beneath her chin, holding her prisoner and forcing her to meet his gaze. ‘You,’ he said bluntly. ‘I want to take you to bed and enjoy the delectable body that you share so willingly with your numerous lovers.’ He ignored her gasp of outrage and continued coolly. ‘In return for your sexual favours I am prepared to buy Reynolds Gems for the full asking price.’
A bubble of hysteria rose in Tahlia’s throat. She had been right; it was a cruel joke. But there had been no hint of amusement in Thanos’s voice, and the feral heat in his eyes scorched her skin. ‘But…you don’t like me,’ she faltered, picking from the random threads of thought that whirled in her head.
That did seem to amuse him, and he laughed derisively. ‘It is not necessary for me to like you. I want to have sex with you; I’m not suggesting that we become best friends.’
Tahlia flushed at his mockery. ‘I have always thought that lovers should also be friends.’ Thanos could not have made it clearer that he was only interested in using her body for his sexual satisfaction. ‘I am not a piece of meat,’ she told him scathingly, ‘and I am not for sale.’
Thanos’s eyes narrowed. How dared Tahlia speak to him in that contemptuous tone when, according to the press reports, she dropped her knickers for any Z-list celebrity who gave her the time of day?
‘Everything and everyone is for sale for the right price,’ he told her mockingly. ‘You should be grateful of my offer. Who else do you think will be prepared to shell out a six-figure sum for a failing company? That’s a damn good rate for even the most inventive hooker. And besides,’ he drawled, tightening his grip on her chin when she tried to jerk out of his grasp, ‘we both know you would not find it such an ordeal to share my bed. You might want to deny the sexual chemistry that burns between us, but your body is more honest.’
At that moment Tahlia would have given her life to deny his sardonic taunt, but from the moment he had moved close to her the exotic tang of his aftershave, mixed with another subtle masculine scent, had pervaded her senses and lit a flame inside her. Her breasts felt heavy, and she caught her breath when he trailed his free hand down her front and discovered the hard peaks of her nipples jutting beneath her silk blouse.
Anger was her only weapon against the insidious warmth that licked through her veins. He thought she was no better than a prostitute. She would not, could not give in to the voice in her head which urged her to agree to his outrageous proposal. It would be devastating to lose Reynolds Gems, but far worse to sacrifice her pride and her self-respect.
‘Hell will freeze over before I agree to your disgusting suggestion,’ she snapped.
He shrugged. ‘Are you prepared to stand by and allow your father to lose the company he has devoted his life to for the past thirty years?’
Tahlia swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. ‘Emotional blackmail is despicable. My father would never expect me to sell my body, even if it means losing everything he owns. You seem to think that your wealth gives you special privileges. Obviously you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth,’ she flung at him, remembering that Crispin Blythe had said that Thanos was a billionaire. ‘You believe your money can buy you anything. But it can’t buy me.’
‘In that case I may as well take what you give away freely to so many other men,’ he bit out savagely, seizing her shoulders and slamming her against his chest. He lowered his head and captured her mouth with bruising force. Tahlia gave a shocked cry, and he took advantage of her parted lips to thrust his tongue between them, exploring her with a bold eroticism that made her tremble. Anger came to her rescue and she pushed against his chest, but he merely tightened his arms around her until she felt as though she were trapped in a vice. She was determined not to respond to him, but he seemed to sense her resolve and eased the pressure of his mouth a fraction, changing the kiss from one of domination to a sensual tasting that she found utterly irresistible.
She felt as though her bones were dissolving. Her legs no longer seemed capable of bearing her weight, and she sagged against him, relaxing her balled fists and splaying her hands over his chest, feeling the heat of his body through his shirt. She felt his fingers slide up her nape and with a deft movement he released the pins from her chignon so that her hair uncoiled and fell in a scented silky curtain around her shoulders. He made a muffled noise in his throat and buried his hands in her hair, angling her head while he deepened the kiss. She responded helplessly, closing her eyes as she sank deeper into the velvet softness of his caress.