A Diamond Deal With The Greek. Maya Blake
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steel eyes pinned her in place. ‘I’m not finished with you.’
‘But I am with you,’ she replied, a vein of panic rising in her belly. She rattled the door harder, but the reinforced glass didn’t budge an inch.
‘You can leave once you tell me where your father is hiding.’
She whirled at the hard demand. He was less than a foot from her, his stance even more imposing than before. His scent attacked her senses a second later, once again cutting a dangerous swathe through her thought processes.
The man wasn’t just a dangerous dragon. He was a precariously beautiful creature, his face and body an alluring, breathtaking combination designed to trap helpless prey.
Not that she was one!
‘Do you jump to conclusions about every single subject or are my father and I being singled out for special treatment?’
‘You think I want my company exposed to the fact that my CFO has embezzled from me?’
Renewed panic gripped her insides. ‘Where’s your proof that he has?’
‘The evidence isn’t concrete yet, but what I’ve found so far doesn’t look good. It’s only a matter of time before we trace where the funds ended up. His not answering my calls or emails doesn’t exactly look promising.’
‘What...what would you tell him if he answered?’
Draco’s narrowed eyes scoured her face. ‘He’s served me well for five years. I’d be prepared to listen to his explanations.’
‘Before throwing the book at him?’
‘You think I should let him go scot-free if he’s guilty?’
Her heart lurched. ‘Since we haven’t established that he’s done anything wrong, I think this is a moot point.’
‘Sadly, your poker face isn’t as flawless as you think. You know where he is. Tell me now and I’ll consider not pressing full charges.’
‘I don’t know where he is. I swear,’ Rebel answered.
Draco took the last step that separated them and grabbed her bare arm. The hand still clutching the door handle dropped as raw electricity raced across her skin. Intense tingling tightened her every cell, straining towards the point of contact with a severity that stole her breath. Her lips parted as she fought to get air into her lungs.
Above her, Draco inhaled sharply. The expression on his face reflected her bewilderment for a second before the cold façade slid back into place.
‘You may not know where he is, but you know something. I suggest you come clean now.’ He repeated his earlier threat.
Rebel shook her head. If her father had truly embezzled the money he’d deposited in her account from the Angel International Group, there was no way she could get it back. And right now, Rebel couldn’t be sure which was worse—confessing her suspicion of her father’s guilt, or informing Draco Angelis that she had used the funds to secure her place in the Verbier tournament. From Draco’s censorious reaction to her as an athlete, Rebel knew he wouldn’t hesitate to condemn her as an accessory to the crime and have her thrown in jail.
‘Arabella, this is your last chance.’
The sound of her name on his lips sent shafts of disconcerting fire through her belly. The sensation was so powerful it weakened her knees, and the secret place between her legs was dampening with each second his hand remained on her.
God, what was wrong with her? She’d heard her girlfriends confess to growing wobbly at the knees when some hot guy glanced their way at a nightclub. She’d secretly rolled her eyes at that implausible statement, knowing she’d never be one of those women. The shocking sensation ramming through her right now filled her with horror and more than a touch of anger.
She parted her lips, but Draco shook his head, his other hand rising to clamp her other arm.
‘Think carefully before you speak.’
She pulled in a deep, sustaining breath. ‘No,’ she stated firmly.
‘Just so we’re clear, to what exactly are you saying no?’ he breathed softly, dangerously.
Rebel ignored the warm breath washing over her face and raised her chin. ‘To answering any more of your stupid accusations. To being kept prisoner in this office. To you having your hands on me. No to everything. Now, let me go before I scream this place down.’
‘Scream all you want. This room is soundproof.’
‘How very convenient. Do you do this a lot, then?’ she taunted.
‘Do what?’ he sliced at her.
‘Drag women in here and hold them against their will?’
A muted curse in a language she didn’t understand spilled from his lips. ‘No woman has been in here who didn’t want to be.’
The images his words conjured up jarred her into squirming before she forced her muscles to lock tight. ‘So you admit to seducing women in your office during the workday?’
A chilled smile parted his lips. ‘You assume that I do the seducing.’
‘So women not only stage floor shows in your offices, they also seduce you behind closed doors into the bargain. Your poor thing. How on earth do you get any work done?’
‘You have a reckless, smart mouth, Arabella.’
Another zing went through her, but she fought it tooth and nail. ‘Along with a smart brain. So if you think anything’s going to happen here other than me walking out the door in the next minute, think again.’
‘You set too high a premium on yourself, I think.’
‘Ah, so if I were to strip right here right now, you’d turn me down?’
‘You won’t. You like to pretend otherwise, but I’m willing to bet, deep down, you’re less Lady Chatterley and more Miss Prude.’
The droll observation brought heat to her cheeks. Dear God, he was making her blush again?
‘Well, sadly for you, you’ll never find out.’
‘I will. If I wish it, you’ll get your chance to strip for me in the very near future. At a time and place of my choosing when I know we won’t be interrupted in any way.’
‘Wow, you must tell me where you acquired your crystal balls. I’m running out of ideas for Christmas presents.’
Dear Lord. Was she truly standing in front of him, discussing his balls?
He freed one arm. Rebel was about to exhale with relief, but her breathing stuttered as he curled his long fingers over her nape and tilted her chin with his thumb. She’d never imagined the skin along her jaw was sensitive until experiencing Draco Angelis’ branding touch. Now every nerve in her body screeched as her heart raced and her blood heated.
His head lowered a fraction and his gaze dropped to her lips. He was about to kiss her. And she couldn’t move.
Rebel grew frantically aware of every desperate breath that passed between her lips, her own gaze unable to shift from the mouth drawing ever closer to hers.
‘I don’t need crystal balls. My human ones are more than adequate to deal with challenges from the opposite sex. But we’re straying from the subject. Tell me what you know, Arabella.’ Again that smile peeled back a layer of her skin and exposed her to sensations as alien as a distant galaxy.
‘For the last time, take your hands off me. I don’t know where my father—’
The buzz of an intercom from his desk froze her words. Draco tensed, the flex of his jaw exhibiting his displeasure at the interruption.
‘Mr Angelis, I’m so sorry to disturb you, but I have Olivio Nardozzi on the