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‘Lucky I’m here, then. I can help you relax,’ Tania assured him blithely and Nik’s jaw tightened.
Tania Harvey was elegant and blonde, two of the attributes he looked for in a woman, but he freely admitted that he had a low boredom threshold. Her hints that she was hoping for a more permanent place in his life were the last straw. It was time to end the affair—which, if he was honest, had reached its sell-by date even before his trip to Greece.
Close up, Tania wasn’t as confident as she appeared. Beneath the glossy façade there were shadows in her eyes, and if he’d had any deep feelings for her he would have felt a tug of compassion. Instead all he felt was irritation with his PA for putting him in an awkward situation. Up until now Kezia Trevellyn had proved to be an excellent assistant, but he didn’t need anyone to organise his love-life.
The fleet of limousines lining the drive were evidence that Nik and his guests had already arrived. Kezia parked her Mini and switched on the interior light to inspect her face in the driving mirror. God, she looked a mess, she thought dismally. Her hair had escaped its once neat bun and was tangled around her face; there were streaks of mud on her cheeks and a huge bluish lump on her forehead.
‘Prepare for fireworks,’ she warned the muddy ball of fur on the seat next to her.
At the sound of her voice the dog cocked one ear and stared at her with soulful eyes. She still wasn’t sure if she had actually hit it, or if it had been injured, but to be on the safe side she lifted it into her arms and carried it up the front steps.
‘Kezia…my dear.’ Mrs Jessop opened the front door and gasped at the sight of Kezia’s bedraggled form but Kezia’s gaze was drawn to the tall figure whose presence dominated the room.
‘Theos! What happened to you?’ Nik demanded, his face thunderous as he strode towards her.
His expression of utter disbelief would have been comical if Kezia had felt like laughing. Instead, all she could think of was that she had ruined her new shoes and was leaving a trail of mud across the floor. She was so wet that her skirt was plastered to her thighs, and as a final insult there was a huge ladder in her tights.
‘I had a slight accident,’ she told him briskly, hoping to mask the fact that she felt like bursting into tears. It was delayed shock, she told herself, and had nothing to do with Nik looking as though he would like to strangle her. She hadn’t seen him for weeks, and the impact of his exceptional height and broad shoulders encased in a charcoal-grey overcoat made her close her eyes for a second.
He possessed an aura of raw, sexual magnetism—a primal force that was barely concealed beneath the veneer of civilisation his clothes awarded him. Remove the designer suit and the man would still be impressive—probably more so, she acceded faintly as she sought to impose control on her wayward imagination. She had only felt half alive these past few weeks, but now the blood was zinging through her veins. One look from him could reduce her to jelly, and her face burned as she felt his eyes trawl over her mud-spattered clothes. From the gleam of fury in his gaze it was safe to assume that he was not as impressed by the sight of her.
‘What kind of accident? What the hell is going on, Kezia? And what is that?’ he growled as his gaze settled on the animal nestled in her arms.
‘It’s a dog. It ran into the road and I had to swerve to avoid hitting it. I’m not sure I was entirely successful,’ Kezia added worriedly. ‘It could be hurt.’ She trailed to a halt beneath Nik’s impatient glare.
‘Never mind the damn dog. Look at the state of you. I expected you to be here, not traipsing around the countryside collecting waifs and strays.’ He loomed over her, his brows drawn into a slashing frown that warned of his annoyance, and Kezia felt her temper flare. She had spent all day trying to organise his wretched dinner party, and she hadn’t driven ten miles across the Hertfordshire countryside in the pouring rain for fun. ‘Mrs Jessop mentioned a problem with the caterers?’ he growled.
‘There was, but it’s sorted,’ she said quickly, remembering that she still had to retrieve the boxes of cakes from her car.
‘It had better be. I want this presentation to go without a hitch, and I’m relying on you,’ Nik warned darkly, his eyes narrowing as he caught sight of the lump on her head. ‘Theos, you’re hurt. Why didn’t you tell me?’ he demanded, pushing her hair back from her forehead to study the large bruise.
Kezia was suddenly acutely aware of an angry glare from Tania Harvey, who had just walked into the room, and she jerked away from him.
‘You didn’t give me a chance. Leave it, Nik, I’m fine,’ she muttered as he probed the lump with surprisingly gentle fingers.
He was too close for comfort. His coat was unbuttoned and she was aware of the muscles of his abdomen visible beneath his silk shirt. He smelled good—fresh and masculine—and the evocative tang of the aftershave he favoured swamped her senses. Her pulse rate soared and she was aware of the need to put some distance between them before she made a fool of herself. Even more of a fool, she amended wryly as she glanced down at her mud-encrusted shoes. That ditch had been full of stagnant water, and she felt her cheeks burn when Nik wrinkled his nose.
‘I’ll get cleaned up and call a vet,’ she assured him.
‘For your head?’ He was plainly puzzled.
‘For the dog. It may have a broken bone, and it must be shocked, it’s barely moved.’
‘Blow the damn dog,’ Nik exploded in a furious whisper, conscious of the need to keep his voice down so as not to alarm his guests. ‘I’m going to ring the doctor. You may be suffering from concussion. Something has certainly addled your brain,’ he added sarcastically.
‘I’m perfectly all right,’ Kezia snapped back, refusing to admit that she had a pounding headache. ‘I’ve arranged for Mrs Jessop’s niece Becky and a couple of her friends from the village to help with the party. Becky can show your visitors to their rooms, and we’ll meet for cocktails at seven, as planned. Everything’s under control, Nik,’ she assured him, but he was plainly unconvinced.
‘I’m glad you think so. But I’m curious to know what you’re going to wear tonight—because you cannot sit through dinner looking and smelling like you do right now.’ He let his eyes travel over her disparagingly, unperturbed by her scarlet cheeks. ‘You’d better have a bath—you stink—’He broke off as his mistress approached. ‘Perhaps Tania can lend you something.’
‘I’m not sure Kezia could squeeze into any of my clothes; we’re very different shapes,’ Tania purred, her words drawing attention to her sleek, honed figure compared to Kezia’s unfashionable curves.
Kezia gave a bright smile, determined to hide her humiliation and marched towards the stairs leading to the basement kitchen and staff quarters. ‘I’ll find something,’ she promised. ‘Trust me, Nik, everything’s going to be fine.’
Twenty minutes later the bundle of mud and fur that Kezia had rescued from the ditch emerged from the kitchen sink, transformed into a small, black dog of dubious parentage.
‘It looks like a terrier cross,’ Mrs Jessop remarked. ‘But crossed with what I couldn’t say.’
‘He doesn’t seem to be hurt, just hungry,’ Kezia said, and she sneaked a piece of chicken and fed it to the dog. ‘He’s very friendly. I’ll put a notice up in the village tomorrow. Hopefully someone will come and claim him.’
‘I wouldn’t bank on it,’ the housekeeper told her. ‘I reckon he’s been abandoned. From the look of him, he’s not eaten for days—which doesn’t mean you can feed him best chicken breast. That’s for dinner, Kezia. I don’t think Mr Niarchou would be too happy to hear you’ve fed the main course to a flea ridden stray.’
‘He hasn’t got fleas. And now I’ve bathed him I think he looks rather cute.’
Kezia stroked the dog, and her heart melted when it licked her hand. As a child she had longed for something of her own to love, but the boarding school she had attended from the age of eight hadn’t allowed pets. The school holidays had been spent with her parents in Malaysia, where her father had worked. She had pleaded with her mother to be allowed to keep a pet, but her parents enjoyed a busy social life and had had little enough time for their daughter, let alone an animal.
‘I can’t just turn him out in the rain,’ she murmured anxiously. ‘Would you mind keeping an eye on him, Mrs Jessop?’
‘While I prepare a four-course dinner for fourteen, you mean?’ the housekeeper teased good-naturedly.
‘I’m sorry about the caterers.’ Kezia groaned. ‘I can’t believe they let me down at the last minute. This presentation is important to Nik, and you know how demanding he is. Everything’s got to be perfect. If you can manage the cooking, I’ll act as hostess for the evening while Becky and the girls serve dinner.’
‘You’ll be joining them at the table, though, won’t you?’ the housekeeper queried.
‘No. I’ll need to organise wine and drinks, and make sure the evening runs as smoothly as possible. I won’t have time to sit down and eat.’
‘Nik won’t like that,’ Mrs Jessop warned, and Kezia’s heart sank as she envisaged Nik’s reaction when she failed to join him for dinner.
‘He doesn’t have a lot of choice,’ she muttered grimly. ‘The catering company would have sent a master of ceremonies as well as a team of waiters and without them the evening is in danger of being disastrous. We’ll just have to manage. We can’t do more than our best. But I don’t know what I’m going to do about my skirt.’
‘Becky has some spare clothes with her,’ Mrs Jessop said. ‘I’ll ask her if she’s got anything you can borrow, you’re about the same size. But you’d better get a move on if you’re going to join them upstairs for cocktails.’
In the shower, Kezia scrubbed her skin until it tingled and she was sure she no longer smelled of ditchwater. She couldn’t forget the expression of distaste on Nik’s face, and she was determined that when they next met she would be clean and fragrant.
She discovered Becky waiting for her in Mrs Jessop’s bedroom.
‘My aunt explained about you falling in the ditch. Luckily I’ve got a spare skirt with me, and shoes. You’re welcome to borrow them if they fit,’ the young girl offered.
‘You’re a lifesaver,’ Kezia replied gratefully. ‘Thanks, Becky. I’ll be ready in five minutes.’
The shoes were black stilettos with three-inch heels. Not the style of footwear she would have chosen, Kezia thought grimly, especially when she was going to be on her feet for most of the evening. Mercifully the skirt was a reasonable length—not one of Becky’s mini-skirt numbers—but it fitted Kezia like a second skin, the shiny black satin clinging lovingly to her hips and bottom. Teamed with sheer black tights and the high-heels, she looked very different from her usual image of discreet elegance, and she groaned as she imagined Nik’s reaction.
A glance at the clock warned her she was running out of time. Taking a deep breath, she headed for the kitchen to see Mrs Jessop, but stopped abruptly at the unexpected sight of Nik chatting to this housekeeper.
‘I thought they’d fit,’ Mrs Jessop murmured when she entered the steam-filled kitchen. ‘Doesn’t Kezia look nice, Mr Niarchou?’
‘Very…eye-catching.’ Nik was leaning against the Aga, his arms folded across his chest.
His eyes narrowed as he focused on her, and Kezia blushed and nervously smoothed an imaginary crease from the skirt. She felt strangely vulnerable without the protection of her formal work suit, especially when Nik’s gaze trawled down to her legs and the killer heels.
‘I know what you must be thinking,’ she faltered, and his brows shot up.
‘I sincerely hope you don’t,’ he drawled. ‘I could be arrested.’
‘My skirt and shoes are ruined. Becky kindly lent me these. I appreciate they’re not ideal…’
‘It depends what you’re planning to do in them. Lap dancing, perhaps?’ he queried sarcastically. ‘That should certainly liven up the evening.’
‘Look, if you think for one minute that I’m enjoying wearing these clothes, think again,’ she snapped furiously.
The glint of amusement and another, indefinable emotion in Nik’s eyes was the final straw, and Kezia glared at him. The frisson of sexual awareness between them existed in her mind only, she was sure. He had made it clear that she was just a member of his staff. She must have imagined the flare of heat in his eyes before his lashes fell, concealing his thoughts.
It didn’t help that he looked so gorgeous, she thought dismally. He had changed into a superbly tailored black dinner suit and a white shirt that emphasised the golden hue of his skin. A lock of black hair fell forward onto his brow, and flecks of amber warmed his dark eyes. She was acutely conscious of him as he strolled towards her. For a man of well over six feet tall, he moved with the lithe grace of a panther—lean, dark and inherently powerful.
She would be able to detect his presence anywhere. He possessed a charisma that alerted her senses and made the fine hairs on the back of her neck stand up. The house had seemed dead without him these past weeks, but now the atmosphere crackled with a surfeit of static electricity that exacerbated her tension.
‘How’s the head?’ he queried, towering over her so that she took a step backwards and banged into the table.
‘It’s fine; I told you there was nothing to worry about. Contrary to belief, my brain is in perfect working order,’ she added coolly and was awarded a look that did strange things to her insides.
Nik laughed, throwing back his head so that her eyes were drawn to the tanned column of his throat. ‘I’m glad to hear it, pedhaki mou.’
His earlier anger seemed to have disappeared and she quivered beneath the full onslaught of his charm. In many ways he was easier to deal with when he was angry—at least then she could tell herself that she disliked him.
‘I called my doctor about signs of possible concussion. Do you feel dizzy?’
She certainly did—but not because she was concussed, Kezia acknowledged ruefully. Standing this close to Nik was making her head spin.
‘No,’ she answered firmly.
‘Nauseous?’
‘No.’
‘Do you have a headache?’
She hesitated a fraction too long and his eyes narrowed. ‘Do you think you were knocked out? Even for a few seconds? And what about your neck? There’s a danger you’ve suffered whiplash.’
‘Nik…for heaven’s sake!’ Kezia stifled a gasp as he caught hold of her chin and tilted her face so that she was forced to stare up at him. ‘What are you doing?’
‘Checking your pupils,’ he murmured, in a low, gravelly voice that brought her flesh out in goosebumps.
She felt as though time ceased to exist. The sounds and smells of the kitchen faded as her senses focused on the man in front of her.
‘Curious,’ he mused softly, after he had spent what seemed like a lifetime staring down at her.
Kezia fidgeted restlessly, wishing she could break free of the spell that seemed to have frozen her muscles. She wanted to turn her head, but found herself transfixed by his eyes that were the colour of rich sherry.
‘What is?’ she whispered breathlessly. His description of her as curious made her feel as though he was inspecting a specimen in a jar, and brought her hurtling back to earth.
‘I can’t decide if your eyes are green or grey, they’re an unusual mixture of both. Your pupils are slightly dilated. Why is that, do you suppose?’ His breath fanned her cheek, and she swallowed and tried to pull free of his grasp, but he merely tightened his hold.
‘I really don’t know. But I do know that I feel perfectly all right. It’s almost seven, Nik,’ she said on a note of desperation. ‘We should be upstairs, preparing to greet your guests.’
‘In a minute—I want a word with you first.’
A sudden nuance in his voice disturbed her, and she felt a flicker of apprehension. What had she done now? ‘I’m sorry about the caterers,’ she said quickly. ‘But it wasn’t my fault—and Mrs Jessop has dinner under control.’
‘I’m not concerned with domestic arrangements,’ he told her coolly. ‘My concern is of a personal nature—our relationship, to be specific, and your apparent desire to be involved in my intimate affairs.’
‘What?’ The room swayed so alarmingly that Kezia was forced to grip the edge of the table, and she wondered briefly whether she was suffering the effects of concussion after all. ‘I don’t know what you mean,’ she mumbled, her face flaming.
How had he guessed her feelings for him? Had she inadvertently given some sign that revealed her awareness of his brooding sexuality? She couldn’t carry on working for him if that was the case. It would be unbearable. Drowning in humiliation, it took a few seconds for her to realise that he was speaking.
‘I mean your decision to invite Tania to dinner tonight. Your role as my PA does not give you the right to interfere in my private life.’
The amber flecks had disappeared from his eyes, leaving them dark and dispassionate. His concern of a few moments ago had also gone, and she confronted the sickening realisation that his friendliness had been a callous ploy to make her lower her defences while he prepared his attack.
‘I didn’t invite her. Well, I suppose I did,’ Kezia qualified. ‘But she knew about the dinner party, and she gave me the impression that you expected her to attend.’
‘Did I specify that she should be included on the guest list?’
‘No, but—’
‘Then why take matters into your own hands? Your job as my PA does not require you to organise my love-life.’
‘That’s not exactly true,’ Kezia snapped, irritated by his arrogance. ‘It was left to me to dispatch flowers to your last blonde when you ended the affair. And I had to pick out a piece of jewellery,’ she added, remembering the demeaning trip to the jewellers Nik had sent her on. ‘I thought that keeping your harem happy was very much part of my duties.’
‘Theos, you forget your position, Kezia,’ he growled furiously.
She swallowed, and wondered how he could switch from friend to foe so quickly.
‘Naturally there may be times when I need you to deal with private matters, but I assumed I could expect a certain amount of discretion. What do you think I pay you such a generous salary for?’
‘My staying power?’ Kezia suggested sweetly. ‘You can’t have it both ways, Nik. If Tania is suddenly off the menu, you should have said so.’ Her relief that she had misunderstood him earlier, and that he hadn’t guessed she was suffering from a massive case of hero-worship, was giving way to anger at his appallingly chauvinistic attitude. He might have the face and body of a Greek god, but he had a heart of stone. She should count herself lucky that he would never view her as anything other than his boring secretary.
‘You should be thankful that I had not invited another…companion for the weekend,’ Nik flung at her as he headed for the stairs leading up to the main floor. ‘It could have proved highly embarrassing for everyone.’
‘But that would have meant two-timing Miss Harvey,’ Kezia said slowly, frowning at the implication of his words. His long legs had already propelled him up the stairs, and she raced after him, following him into the drawing room. ‘That’s a despicable way to behave.’
For a moment she thought he hadn’t heard her. He was standing at the bar, his back towards her, but then he turned—and she quailed at the hardness of his expression.
‘Let’s get one thing straight, Kezia,’ he said softly, his tone revealing a degree of cynicism that made her wince. ‘How I choose to live my life is my business. In my world, affairs have little to do with the heart, and the women I date know the score. The pursuit of mutual sexual pleasure with no strings,’ he elaborated sardonically.
His words made her blush, but inside she felt chilled by his clinical detachment.
His smile was devoid of warmth as his eyes raked over her mercilessly. ‘I don’t know what Tania has hinted about our relationship, but she’s under a delusion if she thinks she is about to become a permanent feature in my life. I suggest you discount any romantic notions she might have put into your head,’ he advised. ‘In the unlikely event that I should ever need your advice on my private life, I’ll ask for it. Until then I expect you to follow my orders and abide by my decisions without question. Is that clear?’
‘As crystal,’ Kezia replied curtly.
