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‘Salute.’ Nikos’ accent was flawless as he lifted his glass, and although his smile encompassed everyone seated at the table, his eyes remained fixed on Michelle.
The soup was delicious vichyssoise, although after the first spoonful Michelle’s tastebuds seemed to go on strike.
Succulent prawns in a piquant sauce were served on a bed of mesclan lettuce, and she sipped the excellent white wine, then opted for chilled water in the need for a clear head.
The conversation encompassed a broad spectrum as it touched briefly on the state of the country’s financial budget, the possibility of tax reform and its effect on the economy.
‘What is your view, Michelle?’
The sound of that faintly accented drawl stirred her senses. Her hand paused midway in its passage from the table to her lips, and her fingers tightened fractionally on the goblet’s slim stem.
‘Inconsequential, I imagine. Given that whatever my opinion, it will have little effect in the scheme of things.’
Jeremy’s silent offer to refill Nikos’ glass was met with an equally silent refusal.
The fact that Nikos declined didn’t halt Jeremy’s inclination to fill his own glass.
‘Nevertheless, I would be interested to hear it.’
Having set the cat among the pigeons, it’s a source of amusement for you to watch the outcome, she surmised silently. But what if one of the pigeons was unafraid of the cat? Two could play this game.
‘As I recall, you were never particularly interested in my mind.’
His eyes held hers, mesmeric in their intensity. She watched as his lips parted to reveal even white teeth, and noticed the movement deepened the vertical slash on each cheek.
‘Could anyone blame me, pedhi mou?’
His drawled endearment curled round her nerve-ends and sent them spiralling out of control.
‘I’ll serve the main course.’
Michelle heard Antonia’s words, and watched absently as the hired help cleared plates and cutlery and replaced them.
‘Some more wine, Nikos?’
Emerson, ever the genial host, merely warranted the briefest glance. ‘Thank you, no.’ He returned his attention to Michelle. ‘I haven’t the need for further stimulation.’
This was getting out of hand. It was also gaining the interest of everyone seated at the table.
Chicken in a lemon sauce accompanied by a selection of braised vegetables did little to tempt Michelle’s flagging appetite, and she sampled a few mouthfuls of chicken, took a delicate bite of each vegetable, then set down her cutlery.
Water, not wine, was something she sipped at infrequent intervals as she wished fervently for the evening to end.
Yet there was dessert and the cheeseboard to complete the meal, followed by coffee. It would be at least another hour before she could make some excuse to leave.
Jeremy leaned towards her and placed an arm along the back of her chair.
‘Tell me, darling.’ His voice was a conspiratorial murmur. ‘Is he incredibly physical in bed?’
She didn’t deign to answer, and deliberately avoided glancing in Nikos’ direction as she conversed with the guest seated next to her. Afterwards she had little recollection of the topic or her contribution.
Dessert was an exotic creation of baklava, together with fresh fruit and brandied cream.
Michelle passed on both, and selected a few grapes to freshen her palate.
‘Shall we adjourn to the lounge for coffee?’ Antonia queried when it appeared everyone had had their fill.
They were the sweetest words Michelle had heard in hours, and she subdued her enthusiasm as she stood to her feet and joined her parents.
Chantelle Gerard cast her daughter a thoughtful glance. ‘I had no idea you knew Nikos Alessandros.’
Money was important. Breeding, equally so. The Bateson-Burrows possessed both. But the Alessandros’ fortune couldn’t be ignored.
Michelle could almost see the wheels turning in her mother’s brain. ‘I intend leaving very soon.’
‘You’re going on somewhere with Jeremy, darling? ’
‘No.’
‘I see,’ Chantelle voiced sagely. ‘We’ll talk in the morning.’
‘Believe me, Maman, there is absolutely nothing to tell,’ Michelle assured with an edge of mockery, watching as her mother lifted one eyebrow in silent chastisement. ‘Nothing,’ she added quietly.
Twenty questions at dawn wasn’t her favoured way to begin the day. However, Chantelle was well-practised in the art of subtle manipulation, and Michelle was able to interpret every nuance in her mother’s voice.
‘We can easily give you a lift home if you’re prepared to wait awhile.’
She should have brought her own car. Except Jeremy had insisted he collect her. Not a wise move, she decided wryly in retrospect.
The mild headache she’d thought to invent was no longer a figment of her imagination. And Jeremy was fast becoming a nuisance. Her apartment was less than a kilometre away, a distance she’d entertain no qualms in walking during the day. However, the night hours provided a totally different context for a woman alone.
‘I’ll call a taxi.’
Antonia offered a superb blend of coffee, together with liqueur, cream, milk, exotic bite-sized continental biscuits and a variety of Belgian chocolates.
Michelle added milk and sugar, and sipped it as quickly as etiquette allowed. Placing her cup and saucer down onto a nearby side-table, she turned towards her hosts, and her stomach executed a slow somersault as she discovered Antonia and Emerson deep in conversation with Nikos Alessandros.
Just pin a smile on your face, thank them for a pleasant evening, and then exit the room. Two or three minutes, five at the most.
Almost as if he sensed her hesitation, Nikos lifted his head and watched her approach.
Jeremy appeared at her side and draped an arm over her shoulder. His hand lingered a hair’s-breadth from her breast, and she stepped sideways in an effort to avoid the familiarity, only to have Jeremy’s hand close firmly over her arm.
‘Finished doing the duty thing with your parents?’
She took exception to his tone, and his manner. ‘I don’t regard talking to my parents as a duty.’
‘You obviously don’t suffer parental suffocation as a result of being the only child,’ he alluded cynically.
‘No,’ she responded evenly.
‘Ready to leave?’ Nikos queried smoothly as she joined Jeremy’s parents. ‘If you’ll excuse us,’ Nikos announced imperturbably to his hosts. ‘Michelle and I have some catching up to do.’ He caught hold of her hand and drew her forward, inclined his head towards a startled Jeremy, then led her from the lounge.
‘What do you think you’re doing?’ she hissed as soon as they reached the foyer.
‘Providing you with a lift to your apartment.’
‘Michelle.’ Jeremy drew level with them. ‘I’ll take you home.’
She felt like hitting each of them. One for being overly possessive and childishly jealous. The Greek for his arrogance.
‘There’s no need to leave your parents’ guests,’ Nikos intoned pleasantly. ‘Michelle’s apartment building is almost opposite my own.’
How did he know that?
‘She’s my girlfriend,’ Jeremy reiterated fiercely as he turned towards her.
This was getting worse by the second.
‘Michelle?’ Nikos’ voice was silk-encased steel.
Jeremy’s hand closed over her shoulder, as if staking a claim. ‘Damn you, tell him.’
‘There’s nothing to tell,’ she assured quietly, and winced as Jeremy’s hold tightened.
‘I don’t think so, my friend,’ Nikos drawled with dangerous softness, and Jeremy turned towards him with emboldened belligerence.
‘This is none of your business!’
‘I disagree.’
‘Why would you do that?’
‘Because Michelle is with me.’
‘Damned if she is!’ Jeremy’s face contorted with fury.
‘You want proof?’ Nikos demanded silkily.
Michelle didn’t get the chance to say a word in protest as Nikos drew her into his arms and covered her mouth with his own.
Possessive and frankly sensual, he took advantage of her surprise to taste and plunder at will, then before she could protest he gathered her close and turned the kiss into something incredibly erotic.
Her heart jumped, then raced to a quickened beat as one hand slid to hold fast her nape while the other cupped her bottom and brought her into startling contact with hard male arousal.
Each and every one of her senses intensified as he sought her response.
Passion...electric, magnetic, shameless, it tore through all the conventional barriers to a primitive base that was wholly sexual.
It was as if an instinctive knowledge existed between them, she registered dimly. Something that sanctioned the way his mouth wreaked havoc with her own.
She was supremely aware of him, everything about him. The faint layers of texture and smell heightened her senses...the subtle tang of his cologne, the texture of his skin, the fine fabric of his clothing.
There was a part of her that wanted to travel with him wherever this sensual path might lead, while the sensible sane part registered alarm.
With a groan of disgust she dragged her mouth away. Her breathing was ragged, and for the space of a few seconds she had no knowledge of where she was. There was only the man, and a mesmeric helpless hunger.
‘What in hell do you think you’re doing?’
Jeremy’s voice seemed to come from a distance, and she struggled to focus on the immediate present.
‘Right now, taking Michelle home,’ Nikos declared with deceptive mildness. Without missing a beat he lifted one eyebrow in silent query. ‘Michelle?’
Dammit, his breathing was even, steady, while hers seemed as wild and ragged as her heartbeat.
‘Walk away from me,’ Jeremy warned. ‘And I won’t have you back.’
She registered Jeremy’s rage and felt vaguely sickened. ‘You never had me in the first place.’
The sound of voices and the appearance in the foyer of two other guests had a diffusing effect, and Jeremy’s expression underwent an abrupt change from anger to affability.
‘Let’s get the hell out of here,’ Nikos instructed quietly, taking hold of her arm.
He led her down the few steps to the driveway, and she made a futile effort to wrench her arm free from his grasp as they drew abreast of a large BMW.
‘Don’t,’ he warned silkily. ‘You’ll only hurt yourself.’
It was difficult to determine his expression in the dim half-light as he withdrew a set of keys, unlocked the door, then handed them to her. ‘Drive, if it will make you feel safer to be with me.’
The soft crunch of gravel as footsteps approached intruded, and she stood stiffly as they drew close.
‘Goodnight, Michelle. Nikos.’
Nikos returned the acknowledgement as the couple slid into the car immediately behind them, and in an unbidden gesture Michelle thrust the keys at him, then she unlatched the door and slid into the passenger seat.
Nikos took his position behind the wheel, fired the engine, then eased the car onto the road. Minutes later the powerful car entered the main northbound highway, traversed it for less than a kilometre, and took the next turnoff that led into suburban Main Beach.
She was supremely conscious of him, the slight flash of gold on his wrist as he handled the wheel.
‘We’ll stop at a café for coffee,’ Nikos informed as they paused at a set of traffic lights. ‘There’s something I’d like to discuss with you.’
‘The subtle “your apartment or mine?” spiel?’ Michelle mocked with light sarcasm. ‘Forget it. One-night stands aren’t my thing.’
‘I’m relieved to hear it.’
The lights changed, and within minutes the powerful engine purred down a notch as he decelerated and touched the brakes, then he eased the vehicle to a halt.
Michelle reached for the door-clasp, a word of thanks ready to emerge from her lips.
