Blackmailed For Vengeance (5 page)

Lee remembered how she had
thought herself to be so much in love, and how she had believed him
to hold the same feelings. Yet when he had asked her to marry him,
she had hesitated. She had panicked and asked for time to think
about it. Two days later when she had arrived at his home to give
him an answer, she had surprised him as she let herself in with the
key he had given her, finding him in bed with another woman. Lee
had been devastated, refusing to accept his apologies, as he told
her that he thought she didn’t care about him because of her
coldness when he had proposed. She remembered how David had tried
for months to see her before he had finally given up as she
continued to refuse to meet with him or even to talk to him.

At that time it had been Jim
who had held her and comforted her, telling her that it wasn’t her
fault, telling her that if he had truly loved her then he would
have waited forever to get her answer. He had been there for her,
which was why she was there for him now, and so despite her rising
concern about the way she reacted to Yanis she knew that she could
never tell him what she knew.

As she sat there deep in
thought, Maria had entered the room carrying a large plate full of
toast

“What would you like for your
breakfast Lee” she asked in a friendly tone

Lee had smiled back “Toast is
fine for me thanks” she said rising to take the plate from the
woman.

“You want to join me Maria” she
asked softly “I feel a bit out of place here, not quite sure what
to do”

The older woman had smiled
approvingly “You should never be afraid to ask Lee”

As they sat drinking tea
together and eating the delicious toast Maria had prepared, the
woman had told her about the household daily routine. She had
explained the times they usually had dinner and Lee had found the
advice the woman had given invaluable. Finally Maria had asked Lee
if she had wanted a guided tour of the place, laughing at the
younger woman’s look of relief.

“Oh thank you Maria…I swear
that I haven’t a clue where I am in this place…it’s so big”

They had then spent an hour
going through the different rooms, with Maria explaining about the
history of each. Lee had enjoyed the morning and thanked her with
real sincerity when she had returned to her chores, offering to
help if she could.

Maria had looked at her with
surprise

“You are not like normal women
he brings….you I think are nice girl”

Lee had looked sadly at the
woman thinking how differently her employer regarded her.

Yanis had phoned her just after
9 informing her that his car would be there in ten minutes to bring
her to him where they would sign the paperwork. She had just had
time to shout a farewell to Maria before the car as promised had
appeared, quickly whisking her off to one of the many large
buildings in the city.

If the lawyer had seemed
surprised at the contents of the document then he certainly did not
show it as she had carefully taken her time to read through the
papers to ensure that they truly reflected their previous day’s
conversation, ignoring how Yanis had stood impatiently over her,
fully aware of the pent up maleness of him as he hovered over her.
Finally she had signed it as had he

As the lawyer had left he had
lifted his jacket from the back of his seat. Lee trying not to
notice how much his closeness was still affecting her, as his heady
scent invaded her senses once again, making her want to close her
eyes with the sudden sensations of pleasure which filled her. She
had watched his strong chiselled face as he had read through a list
of those who had called him that morning, his face frowning in
concentration, as he had spoken with his secretary, quickly giving
her instructions as to what to do for the rest of the day, before
he had looked over at Lee with those dark eyes which once again had
sent shivers skating down her back. She had flushed as he had
caught her staring at him, her mind wondering what it would be like
to run her fingers through his glossy hair, irritated by the way he
had smiled with a look of understanding, making her even more
annoyed with herself.

“Good now we can go and choose
you a ring, which you will wear tonight and by tomorrow the whole
world, will know we are engaged” he said softly

Yanis had organised for them to
be shown rings in private at an exclusive jewellers, and despite
knowing that it was all a farce Lee had taken her time, trying on
ring after ring, before choosing the one which she fell in love
with instantly on seeing it. A perfect solitaire, it was not by any
means the biggest diamond, but it sat perfectly on her finger and
she had smiled sadly wondering if she had said yes straight away to
David if she would be wearing the same ring that day for real.
Yanis had kissed her hand, leaning in gently to kiss her lips as
she made her selection, much to the delight of the jewellers who
smiled happily at the couple. While she knew that he did this for
their benefit, Lee had felt her body respond as his lips had taken
hers, feeling the colour rise at the way her body once again
reacted to his touch

The jeweller had promised that
the ring would be resized and ready that evening for her to wear to
the theatre and they had left. Outside at the entrance to the
jewellers he had surprised her when he had suddenly grabbed her,
pulling her into his arms and kissing her passionately. As his arms
had pulled her hard against him, she had not been able to stop her
own from winding around his neck, mortified at her automatic
response to him, feeling how her lips had moved against his, her
body melding against him with such willingness.

“Smile for the camera” he said
against her ear as he had kissed her again. Lee had only been
vaguely aware of the camera flash as he had pulled away from her,
the surprise still reflected in her eyes as she had seen the light
within his.

“Go see your friend Lee” he
said gently, huskily “Then I will meet you back home tonight” he
added before placing her into the car which had appeared once more
beside them.

Lying back against the soft
leather interior of the car she had closed her eyes, realising how
real it all had suddenly got. Seeing the ring on her finger had
scared Lee, as she realised what a sham the whole thing was. It
also saddened her, mocking her for her previous relationship. Yanis
seemed to think that she would enjoy the attention, but Lee had
never enjoyed being the centre of attention and with a sigh she had
moved out of the car to see Mrs Green, who had been delighted to
see her so early, and who had commented on how wonderful she
looked.

She had prepared dinner for the
woman before sitting with her enjoying a cup of tea as they had
chatted. Finally, and with a heavy heart, it had been time to leave
and she had once more found herself being chauffeured back to the
house, her mind still spinning with the memory of how quickly she
had melded against him that morning, her soft lips groaning at the
way she was unable to stop herself from reacting to him, confused
as to why this should be. Yanis had been waiting for her, and had
not even allowed her to leave the car before slipping in beside her
and directing the car to take them to the hospital, his deep voice
low and clipped. He had been angry that she had taken so long to
come back to the house knowing that they had theatre plans, his
face dark with that anger as he had glowered down on her, making
her raise her own chin in a defiant show of bravery.

They had not stayed long at the
hospital as there was very little change in Jim’s condition. Lee
had talked gently to him telling him about her tea with Mrs Green,
careful even in his condition not to mention anything going on with
Yanis. On the way back to the house he had looked at her

“Why did you not say anything
about us to Jim?”

Lee had bitten her lip as she
looked down at her hands clasped tightly together on her lap. After
several seconds she had replied

“Because it is like a bad dream
to me”

“Well here’s something that
might make it seem a little more real” he said throwing a small box
into her clasped hands

“Put it on”

Slowly Lee had opened the box
which held the ring she had chosen earlier that day. Pulling it
from its black velvet cushion she had slid it on, as he had lifted
her hand to admire how it looked on her small finger

“Beautiful” he said softly,
noticing how her eyes avoided looking at the ring which sparkling
so brightly on her hand. With a small chuckle he had said

“Poor Lee, perhaps if you are a
good girl I will let you keep the ring”

She had turned on him abruptly
her eyes flashing greenly with anger

“I don’t want anything from you
Yanis Demitri” she spat at him “Only your disappearance from my
life” before she had turned away from him to stare sightlessly out
of the window.

“Mmmm I like a woman with fire”
he said softly as his hands had pulled her around to face him “I
wonder if you have the same passion in bed” he said his eyes
exploring her face before moving down to openly stare at her lovely
body, his gaze appreciative as she had stayed still in his hold

“It will be interesting to find
out I think” he said his dark eyes holding her there like a rabbit
caught in the headlights unable to move as they had so slowly
travelled over her whole body, not missing any of her, as he seemed
to undress her so seductively with his eyes.

“N.n..no”she stammered her
throat suddenly very dry “we won’t be finding out” she had said her
voice a whisper

He had laughed gently “Lee, you
and I will become lovers that I promise you… I think I deserve at
least that for my trouble” he said as the car had reached the house
and he had moved from it before she could say anything else.

Lee had moved quickly up the
stairs to her room her mind panicking at his declaration. While her
head knew that there was no way she would ever sleep with this man
who held her in such contempt, every time she was near him her body
would betray her with the fierce attraction she felt for him.
Groaning she had set the shower to its full force punishing her
bodies betrayal with the jets of water.

She had taken her time to get
ready making sure that her hair was pulled up into a soft bun, as
they had shown her how to do at the salon, which as well as giving
her height, also showed off the graceful curve of her long neck.
She had then pulled on the silvery blue cocktail dress which had
been selected for the evening. Plunging at the back, it had showed
off her wonderful figure to its best. A halter neck had secured it
at the back with a glittering diamond pin before it opened up at
the front, showing her perfect cleavage. Lee had been nervous
wearing such a revealing dress, feeling very self-aware at the way
it showed off so much of her body. However, she was only playing a
part she had told herself as she moved down the stairs to meet him.
He was waiting for her at the bottom pacing backwards and forwards
like a caged panther muttering with annoyance, checking his watch.
She had watched him shyly, seeing how handsome and devastatingly
sexy he looked in his tuxedo, once more feeling as her heart had
missed a beat as she had felt how her body had again reacted to
him. However, as he saw her moving down towards him he had froze,
staring at her with a look of complete disbelief.

“Am I OK” she asked with
concern seeing the shocked look on his face

He had frowned at her his look
full of sudden annoyance, while his eyes held a fire within
them

“You look fine” he muttered,
frowning before turning from her and making for the door.

Lee had been confused, not sure
what she had done to annoy him so much. Looking at the clock on the
wall she could see that she was a few minutes late, but nothing to
warrant such annoyance. With a soft sigh she had followed him out
to the car.

“What will I say if people
start to ask me about how we met” she asked breaking the silence
between them in the car.

He had looked over at her for
the first time his face thoughtful

“Tell them the truth…we met at
a sick friends bedside” he said “It will I imagine make for a very
nice story”

She had then sat back quietly
for the rest of the journey, her eyes desperately avoiding making
any contact with the man who was causing such disruption to her
whole body with his musky smell and proud sensual closeness. When
they finally reached the theatre, she had gasped not realising that
they were attending a premier for a new blockbuster. She had
watched as the stars of the film, all familiar faces to her had
walked up the carpet to the flashing of many camera lights. As they
had walked up hand in hand, one of the interviewers had cried out
in delight spotting the ring on her finger as she had pointed
excitedly to others. Soon the word had gotten around all of the
photographers, as she had found herself being snapped from all
angles.

While her first instinct had
been to move faster to escape the many questions being shouted at
her, he had held her beside him as he had moved slowly smiling at
her reassuringly as she had flinched at the bright flashing lights,
her eyes full of such a fear which had surprised him, as had the
instinct to protect her which had overcome him at seeing her so
vulnerable.

As they had finally made it
into the theatre they had taken their seats as she had fought hard
to bring her breathing back under control. Lee couldn’t remember
the film, her heart still beating wildly at what had happened. At
the finish the audience had clapped appreciatively and moved out to
the foyer, which had been converted into a meeting area, where a
string quartet played in one corner, while waiters moved around the
room dispensing drinks to the many well dressed people now milling
around talking.