The Greek Tycoon's Wife (9 page)

When Nikos used the term it didn't sound funny. It must be the accent—men with exotic, sexy accents could get away with saying things that a native speaker could not. It went without saying that she didn't want anyone to call her
his woman
; it was sort of dated, sexist stuff—the sort of things the man that her grandfather had picked out for her mother would have used.

She concluded that his accent must be responsible for
the shivery sensations she experienced every time he was around.

‘Possibly.' He conceded her words with a careless shrug of his broad shoulders. The flimsy nature of his shirt made it difficult not to notice how his taut muscles flexed and bulged through the fine material. ‘But nevertheless I think you should let Tom decide that for himself.'

Katie's lips tightened; his persistence, not to mention his perfect musculature, was beginning to annoy her.

‘Can't you wait until the morning to tell him what an awful creature he's got mixed up with?' she taunted.

‘Actually I was thinking of how I would feel in his place.'

Katie flushed, not enjoying the sensation of being quietly put in her place. ‘I suppose that must have taken quite a stretch of your no doubt limited imagination.'

‘Theos!'
Anger lent his dark, taut features a menacing cast.

‘And I suppose
you
would walk away from an important business negotiation if your girlfriend needed you. That's
really
likely.' This was the sort of man who put personal relationships way down his list of priorities.

A wave of weakness suddenly hit her; it was so strong she swayed. Nikos, whose simmering anger had left him the moment he'd taken in the white-faced exhaustion in her face, took her by the arm.

‘Sit!' he urged strongly. The woman was clearly unfit to take care of herself. He wondered why Tom let her out alone!

Katie complied, reasoning it would be a lot more embarrassing to fall on her face than follow his direction. Pride had its place but you had to know when to swallow it. She sat for a moment with her eyes closed, waiting for the awful weakness to pass. To her relief Nikos let her be.

‘I'm a little tired.'

Nikos slanted her a veiled look through half-lowered lids.
‘I find it strange that you feel obliged to apologise for behaviour that needs no apology but not for insults you throw so indiscriminately at me.' He shook his head when she opened her mouth to respond.

‘Hush!' he urged, pressing a finger to her parted lips. ‘We will not squabble. I am not so unimaginative that I cannot see you are at the end of your tether. As for what I would do, we are not talking about me.'

Not talking, thinking or fantasising about, which was something she really ought to bear in mind! Unconsciously she ran the back of her hand across her lips where he had touched.

‘I just thought that Tom isn't going to lose any sleep over what he doesn't know about. Besides,' she added brightly, ‘he knows I don't need him to hold my hand every time something goes wrong.'

‘You are a tough, independent woman, then?' Nikos asked, sounding amused.

Katie's eyes narrowed. Her want-to-make-something-of-it? look was weak, but strong enough to make her opinion of his condescension known.

‘If you're asking if I'm quite capable of taking care of myself, then,' she told him proudly, ‘yes, I am. Do you have a problem with that?'

He would prefer his women clingy and needy; that went without saying. The sort that would tell him at frequent intervals how big, strong and marvellous he was, and never,
ever
disagree with him! In short, women who would not upset his theory that the world revolved around him, she concluded scornfully.

‘Does Tom?' he fired back smoothly.

Katie waved her tastelessly large diamond ring at him. ‘Quite obviously not.'

‘Maybe you are more circumspect around him?' he suggested drily.

‘Around
Tom
I can relax,' she breathed, closing her eyes
and imagining herself in his undemanding company. With Tom she never felt stressed or under pressure or…
excited
?

Her eyes shot wide open; where did that come from?

‘But not around me?'

Katie laughed; she couldn't help herself. It was such a ludicrous idea: relax with Nikos! She could more readily imagine falling asleep on top of an active volcano! But then, she mused as her eyes moved over his tall, elegant figure, he did have something of a volcano's explosive qualities…and he was liable to erupt for no apparent reason.

‘Do I look that stupid?' If ever there was an invitation, this was it.

Katie heaved a sigh and squared her shoulders, steeling herself for the inevitable scathing riposte…it didn't come. In fact the strange, tense silence between them stretched on and on…

He had stilled to the point of seeming not to breathe at all as his restless dark eyes got as far as her face and didn't move. An expression she couldn't decipher flickered across his taut face; it was only there for a moment, but this was long enough to unsettle her completely.

‘No.'

After the build-up she'd been expecting something a bit more—memorable than that.

‘You didn't answer my question.' Except with a question—he seemed to be good at that. ‘Do you have a problem with strong women?'

Nikos shrugged. ‘Strength is not an issue. My relationships with women are rarely competitive either physically or intellectually.'

Katie's contempt increased. In other words he picked them weak, thick and great in bed.
Just as well I'm not after the job because I don't qualify in any of the above.

‘Some women feel there is a need to sacrifice their femininity in order to compete on an equal footing with men;
that is their choice. I just happen not to find them particularly attractive. I admire women that manage to succeed but do not try to be one of the boys.'

‘Are you calling me unfeminine?' she demanded hotly.

‘I would hardly categorise you as a high-flyer who is anxious to compete with men on their own terms.'

Why, the patronising—!

‘Are you leaving your job before or after the wedding?' he wondered with a guileless smile.

Katie caught her breath. You had to hand it to the man—he could deliver insults with a smile better than anyone she had ever met.

‘I'm not leaving at all. My job may not be high-powered but I happen to enjoy it,' she told him with frigid dignity.

‘Really?'
One dark eyebrow lifted. ‘Tom led me to believe you could not wait to leave…'

‘I haven't told Tom yet,' she interrupted tightly.

‘Do you tell Tom
anything
?'

‘My relationship with Tom is none of your business.'

‘Actually it is very much my business.'

‘Only because you're an insufferably, interfering…' Lips compressed, eyes glittering with suppressed frustration, Katie bit back the rest of her tirade; this was neither the time nor place for a slanging match, especially one she was likely to lose.

‘Don't you think Tom is capable of making his own decisions without you to shove him in the right direction? Not that you could,' she added quickly. She lifted her chin. ‘Tom is his own man!' she declared proudly.

‘I'm sure Tom is more than capable of making his own decisions when he is in possession of all the facts…once he has them I will be more than happy to abide by his decision.'

‘It's not the facts, it's the way you present them.'

‘Then you present them in the manner you feel shows you in the kindest light; I have no objections. Even if Tom
accepts his wealth has nothing to do with your desire to be his wife.' His expression made it clear he was a lot less gullible. ‘That does not alter the fact you are not free to marry him.'

‘I could be if you weren't such a stubborn, malicious…' She heaved several steadying breaths; she would not resort to name-calling. ‘Why should I marry Tom when apparently I'm already married to a billionaire?'

Nikos, who seemed prepared for her comment, totally misinterpreted her throw-away sarcasm.

‘Before the pound signs start flashing before your eyes I will draw to your attention the fact that the pre-nuptial agreement Harvey had me sign works both ways. I've checked, Harvey knows his business, it's watertight. Sorry, but I'm not your golden goose. What's wrong?' he asked as the colour seeped from her skin.

Katie, her eyes bright pools of shimmering anger stared up at him. Incredibly his bafflement seemed genuine…how could anyone possibly insult a person like that and not realise it might offend?

She began to slide his jacket off her shoulders. ‘Don't let me keep you,' she said pointedly.

‘Don't be foolish,' he retorted impatiently. ‘You are cold, I'm not. This is a foolish gesture.'

Katie shrugged and let the jacket slip to the ground. ‘Maybe I want to make a foolish gesture.'

‘Now you're just being ridiculous,' he gritted, bending to retrieve the garment from the carpeted floor. His colour was heightened when he took his seat; the twist of his sensual lips was overtly contemptuous.

‘That's your fault,' she blurted resentfully.

One supremely eloquent dark brow twitched as his expressive eyes swept over her face. ‘This I have to hear,' he remarked, throwing the jacket casually across one shoulder. ‘You were saying?'

Katie flushed. ‘There's no point saying anything because
no matter what I say you'll just twist it,' she announced mutinously.

‘In other words your accusations have no foundation.' Before she could protest he replaced his jacket over her shoulders and, keeping a grip on each lapel, jerked her gently towards him. Katie was overpoweringly conscious of his strength; she breathed in his warm male scent and felt uncomfortably giddy.

He bent his head towards her. ‘No matter how outrageously unpleasant you become,' he imparted softly, ‘I am not leaving you alone.'

‘So you'll just call me an avaricious grasping bitch!' To her intense dismay Katie felt her eyes fill with weak tears.

Nikos looked into the swimming blue pools, an expression of genuine surprise stamped across his handsome features. ‘I said nothing of the sort!' he ejaculated.

‘You accused me of wanting to screw you for some nice fat divorce settlement!' She breathed wrathfully. ‘For your information I wouldn't take my bus fare off you,' she added tremulously.

How, she wondered, could you detest someone so much yet find you wanted to lay your head against his chest and cry? Why in the circumstances would anybody in their right mind seek comfort and safety in the arms of their enemy? It was inexplicable and extremely scary, she concluded, staring with a dazed expression at the broad expanse that filled her with the strangest yearning.

As he surveyed her downcast features the harsh lines of Nikos's face softened. ‘I did not intend to offend you, Katerina. Let us stop arguing, you're not well.'

‘What's this—Greek chivalry?'

He picked up on her scorn but reacted with curiosity, not injured pride. ‘You doubt such a thing exists?'

‘After meeting you—
yes
!'

Surprisingly her acid retort made him laugh, then as his
appraisal of her weary, strained features continued his expression sobered once more. ‘Let's be practical.'

When am I anything else?
Katie thought with a spurt of revolt.

‘What actually are your plans?'

Did she have any? She shrugged. ‘Hopefully I won't be reduced to sleeping on a park bench.'

‘What's this—British humour?' Despite her determination to be angry with him, Katie was amused to hear him cleverly use her own format against her. Whatever else was wrong with him, the man did have a quick wit and clever tongue—far too clever, she brooded darkly. A conversation with him had more dips and bends than a roller coaster.

‘You doubt such a thing exists?' she quipped.

‘What can I say without insulting a person's cultural heritage?'

Katie flushed at the subtle reprimand, then got even more worried when it occurred to her that he might have imagined there were xenophobic overtones in her earlier gibe. She frowned as she tried to recall whether what she had said could be construed that way.

‘Have you ever actually met any Greeks other than myself?'

‘Yes. As a matter of fact I've lived with one.' She was pleased to see her enigmatic reply disconcert him; if she had been better acquainted with him she would have been even more surprised.

‘Does Tom know about this?'

Katie gave him a sunny, composed smile. ‘Yes, he does.'

‘I suppose this failed relationship explains your antipathy to me.'

‘Did I say I had a failed relationship?'

‘I naturally assumed as you're not in it any longer…'

‘Well, you assumed wrong,' she replied, her eyes locked to his. She hadn't intended to make her reply vague, but
now that she thought about it having Nikos imagine she had a colourful past did not seem such a bad idea.

‘As a matter of fact it was a
beautiful
relationship.' The taunting tone suddenly died from her voice and her eyes softened. ‘Very beautiful,' she revealed in a tone of deep, ineffable sadness. ‘I doubt if I'll ever have a relationship quite like it again.' Unless she had a daughter of her own one day?

‘Then your antipathy to me…'

‘Is solely due to the fact that you're an offensive, malicious, detestable man.'

In the thunderous silence that followed her pronouncement Katie started to regret being so mean.
I haven't even asked if he's all right,
she thought, glancing guiltily towards the wound on his forehead. It was barely visible through the heavy swathe of hair that had fallen across his forehead.