At His Revenge: Sold to the Enemy / Bartering Her Innocence / Innocent of His Claim. Trish Morey
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rights she should be able to look at him and want to slap his face. Instead all she wanted to do was grab the front of his exquisitely tailored shirt with both hands and rip it open, exposing the man underneath. On the surface he seemed so urbane and sophisticated—civilised—and yet beneath the trappings of success was a man who had fought his way to the top with his bare hands. He had no scruples about doing what needed to be done to get what he wanted. Of course he didn’t. He ran his business according to his own agenda with no thought for anyone else. He’d used her to score points against her father. Knowing that, she wanted to look away, but those dark, dangerous eyes wouldn’t release her from that invisible bond that held her trapped.
Her brain appeared to have shut down and she was breathing so fast she started to feel light-headed. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘Pausing for a drink in a local taverna after a long, stressful day at work.’ He stretched out his legs, as relaxed as she was tense, those dark eyes watchful.
‘Why pick this one?’
‘You already know the answer to that.’
Why would he have tracked her down? Why go to that trouble?
She could feel everyone watching them, straining to hear the conversation. Saw her boss watching her with a frown and remembered just how precious this job was. ‘What can I get you?’
‘Just coffee.’ Somehow he managed to make that instruction sound intimate. ‘I like your hair. The cut shows off your face.’
The compliment threw her and she lifted her hand to her newly cropped hair.
She’d cut it herself, with blunt scissors and nothing but a chipped mirror in which to view the results. With a few hacks of those scissors she’d become Lena. And when she’d finished hacking she’d scooped up the mounds of soft golden hair and added them to the rubbish where no one would find it. It was the first thing she’d done in her new life. The second was to get a job, and she knew she’d been lucky to get this one when so many were struggling.
‘What do you want, Stefan?’
‘You didn’t have to cut it. You don’t have to hide.’
Panic gripped her and she glanced over her shoulder to check no one was listening. ‘I’m not hiding. I’m working in a restaurant in full daylight. And I’d like to take your order.’
‘You’re trying not to draw attention to yourself. You’ve cut your hair. You’re nervous. I can protect you.’
There was a strange fluttering low in her belly. ‘Too late. I don’t believe in heroes any more.’
‘How about man’s ability to make a mistake. Do you believe in that?’
She didn’t dare listen. He was smooth, persuasive and a master negotiator. She knew he would probably be capable of convincing her of anything.
‘I’ll fetch your coffee.’
‘What time do you finish?’
‘It doesn’t matter. I don’t want you to come here again. You mustn’t come here again. You’re too—conspicuous.’ Her heart thudded hard against her ribs. The thought that her father might find her made her feel sick. She’d contemplated hiding away but that would have made it impossible for her to work, and if she couldn’t earn money she couldn’t be independent. And that wasn’t all, of course. She refused to live her life in hiding.
He read her mind and his gaze darkened. ‘I won’t let him hurt you.’
‘You were the reason he hurt me last time. If you come here, you’ll attract attention. I don’t want you here again.’
He reached out, those long, strong fingers trapping hers. ‘I repeat—he won’t hurt you.’
‘And how do you plan to stop him? I’d rather rely on myself, thank you.’
‘The police questioned him and then released him. You haven’t been out of our sight for the past three weeks.’
The shock was physical. She snatched her hand away from his. ‘Our sight?’
‘I had to ensure your safety. As you pointed out when we last met, my actions put you in danger. The least I could do was fix that. He won’t touch you again.’
‘You’ve had me followed?’
‘For your safety.’
The thought made her grow cold. He’d had her followed and she hadn’t noticed. She’d been alert, on the look-out, but she hadn’t noticed. How could that have happened?
She looked around but no one stood out. There were tourists. A group of Americans. An English couple. A bunch of local men. Two giggling teenage girls. ‘How? Who has been watching me?’
‘You wouldn’t have seen them so stop beating yourself up for being unobservant.’
‘I’ve been looking.’
‘Takis only employs the best in his team. If you’d spotted them they would have been out of a job.’
Takis. Selene remembered how kind he’d been to her mother that day. How kind he’d been to her. ‘He’s …’ She sighed. ‘I liked him.’
‘I only employ the best, too. As I said—you don’t need to be afraid.’
‘I’m not afraid. And I don’t appreciate you interfering.’
‘You accused me of putting you in danger. You have to allow me to put that right.’ His tone was conversational. Casual. No one watching them would have guessed they were talking about anything more significant than the menu.
‘If you don’t want to put me in danger the best thing you can do is stay away.’
‘We’ll talk about it over dinner, Selene.’
‘No way.’
‘Last time we spent an evening together we had fun.’ He hesitated. ‘I want to see you again.’
The air left her lungs in a rush and she was so shocked she simply stared at him. Terrified that someone might have overheard, she didn’t dare look at anyone. ‘The last time we spent an evening together you ruined my life. And my name is Lena. I’ll fetch your coffee.’ She backed away from him, knocking into the table behind her.
The last time we spent an evening together we had fun.
Those words sent images rushing back into her head. Images she’d been trying to delete for the past three weeks.
She walked briskly back inside the taverna, shaking so badly she was convinced everyone would notice.
Fortunately they all seemed too overawed by the identity of their illustrious visitor to pay any attention to her pale face.
‘Everything OK?’ Mariana walked up to her, her cheeks pink from the heat. ‘It’s a hot one today, that’s for sure.’
A rowdy group of young men took a table near to them and Selene took a step towards them, but Mariana stepped in front of her in a smooth move.
‘I’ll take them. They look as though they’ve had a bit too much to drink already. Just my type.’
Selene frowned. ‘I can handle it.’
‘You serve Ziakas. He’s more important. Plenty of people round here wish he’d give up running his company and run Greece. He’d soon sort out our problems. You only have to look at him to know there is nothing that man doesn’t do well.’
Selene stared at her for a moment, wondering how she could have been so obtuse. ‘You work for him. You’re the one who has been watching me.’
Mariana hesitated and then shrugged. ‘One of them. I don’t see why it has to be a secret. If a man