Purchased for Passion. Julia James
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And that’s all I sell.
Too many men thought otherwise. Thought she was also selling the right for them to look her up and down, strip her naked with their eyes, wonder what she was like in bed, offer to find out…
She turned away from the mirror sharply, continuing to undo, hook by hook, the simple but beautifully made dress.
At least she was free of the diamonds. The whole ridiculous glitter of them. Her eyes hardened again. Had Leo Makarios really not been able to see how overdone the whole lot was when worn together like that? That the sum was less than the individual pieces?
She shook her head in impatience. Who cared what Leo Makarios thought? About his wretched Levantsky diamonds or about her.
Or, she told herself doggedly, what she thought about him.
It’s completely academic anyway. After this I’ll never set eyes on him again. And then I’ll be safe…
She stilled. Why had she used that word? She was safe from Leo Makarios right now! Yes, he’d cast his eye over her, and found her visually pleasing, but she’d obviously annoyed him with her attitude—and anyway, for heaven’s sake, the man was in the middle of a glittering, glamorous party held to impress his rich pals—he wasn’t going to take time out to chase around some clothes-horse he’d hired. And who said he wanted her in the first place? A man with his looks and money must have women queuing round the block for his attention. He could pick any woman he wanted from his glittering social circle. He was probably schmoozing some Austrian countess or Park Avenue princess right now.
So how come he clamped you to his side the whole evening?
She shrugged. Justin had probably warned him that her booker had called her ‘difficult’, and so Leo Makarios had just been keeping her in order—at his side.
A saying floated through her head.
Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.
She frowned. Why had that come into her mind?
Leo Makarios was neither a friend nor an enemy.
He was a stranger. Nothing more.
And he was going to stay one.
That way, he’d never be dangerous to her.
CHAPTER THREE
LEO strolled down the long carpeted corridor, the two household staff in front of him loaded down with trays.
He wasn’t sure he’d ever been to this floor before. It wasn’t the old servants’ quarters in the attic, but nor was it guest apartments. But even if the rooms up here lacked the opulent extravagance of the main floors of the Schloss they were still very comfortably appointed. Just right for office staff or other employees. He wondered idly if the three models were all housed in a row. The redhead, of course, would be with Markos, in one of the lavish suites below. Would the blonde and the brunette have found somewhere else to sleep tonight? he mused. Maybe the brunette was busy adoring Antal Lukacs from close quarters, he though cynically, knowing the conductor’s penchant for females. The blonde, though, had looked far too tense to be receptive to the admiration she had received during the evening.
None of them were of any interest to him, however. There was only one woman who had caught his eye, and she, he knew, had been highly receptive to him. Oh, she might have an attitude issue, but that was immaterial. It wouldn’t last. He would see to that. He’d have her purring like a cat before long.
Women always purred for him.
The two staff stopped outside one of the doors and glanced back at him. He gave a nod, and one of them knocked discreetly.
Inside the room, Anna paused, dropping her hands from her back. What on earth…? The knock came again. Hastily doing up her hooks again, for decency’s sake, she crossed over and opened the door. Outside were two of the household staff, each bearing a huge tray covered with a linen cloth.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said, taken aback. ‘I mean—um—Entschuldigen Sie bitte, aber Ich habe nicht…’
Her sketchy German failed her. She had no idea how to say she had not ordered anything.
The man merely bowed slightly and swept in, followed by the second man. They set both trays down on the low table in front of a pair of armchairs by the window, and removed the cloths.
An entire light supper was contained on the trays—including, she saw, a bottle of chilled white wine, a flagon of orange juice, a jug of mineral water and a coffee pot.
‘I’m afraid I didn’t ask for—’ she began.
‘But I, however, did.’ A deep, familiar voice interrupted her.
She whipped round. There, in the doorway, stood Leo Makarios.
For a moment Anna just stared, unable to believe her eyes.
Let alone what was happening.
He strolled into her room.
He was still in evening dress, still looking impeccable, as only a man of his height, wealth and looks could look, but there was a faint shadow along his jaw that somehow suddenly made him look—
Sexy.
The word came out of nowhere into her brain, and the moment it formed she was horrified.
She opened her mouth to say something. Anything. But her mind was a maelstrom of conflicting emotions. Predominant was disbelief. Sheer disbelief that Leo Makarios was strolling into her bedroom, one hand in his trouser pocket, looking as though he had every right to be there.
The two members of his household staff evidently thought so. They were diligently laying out their wares on the low table, deftly and neatly, placing a large plate of thinly sliced smoked chicken, ham and salmon together with a bowl of salad and a basket of bread in the centre, with porcelain plates and silver cutlery nestling in white damask napkins. Crystal glasses followed suit, and then a coffee service and drinks and a plate of tiny chocolate truffles.
‘Won’t you sit down?’ said Leo Makarios, indicating one of the armchairs. He simultaneously lowered his tall frame into the other one.
What the hell do you think you’re doing? She wanted to scream at him.
But the presence of the two staff made it impossible. Good grief, the last thing she wanted was to make a public scene that would inevitably feed back into the gossip machine that was always at work around the rich and famous.
Every nerve screwed tight, she urged them mentally to clear out. Because the moment they were gone she would—
‘Gnadige Fraulein?’ One of the staff was indicating her chair, bowing politely. The other was busy opening the wine.
Oh, hell, she would have to sit down, pretend that—my goodness—no, of course there was nothing strange in the castle’s multimillionaire owner turning up to have a little midnight supper with her!
Stiffly, she sat down, carefully ensuring the narrow skirts of her excruciatingly valuable dress were not catching on anything. Her face was a mask. But behind the mask her emotions were tumbling like a wash cycle set to crazy.
Skirts settled, and ignoring the fact that her back was imperfectly fastened, she looked up, ready to aim a killing glare at him.
Instead, she just stared, the breath stalling in her throat.
Leo Makarios was loosening his dress tie and slipping the top button on his shirt.
That, and the shadowed jawline, made her heart stop beating.
Oh, dear God, he is just so—
The word slipped straight into her mind—right out of her subconscious.
Sexy.