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‘We don’t know each other! I can’t agree to marry someone I don’t know.’
He said nothing, just crossed his arms, the movement drawing Mina’s attention to the depth of his broad chest and the muscled power of his biceps. He was a man whose physical size and fitness could daunt a woman who wasn’t strong enough to stand up for herself.
‘So you’re here to what? Get to know me?’
‘Is that so unreasonable?’ Mina jumped on the idea like a lifeline. ‘We’re talking about a lifetime commitment.’
The hint of a smile flickered at the corner of Alexei’s mouth. ‘That’s a refreshingly...old-fashioned view.’
Mina let her eyebrows climb. ‘Marriage is a serious commitment. Why enter into one if you don’t plan to make it work?’ She wasn’t sure why she didn’t simply shrug off his comment. But marriage, like the right to make her own decisions, was something she felt strongly about. Her mother had married her country’s Sheikh not for love but because her family decreed it. It hadn’t been a happy match.
‘I see your point.’ Alexei nodded.
‘So you understand I need time to determine if a marriage would work. Surely you want that too.’
‘To assess if we’re compatible?’ Alexei didn’t move, nor did his expression alter, yet the quality of that stare flicked a warning switch. Adrenalin surged in Mina’s blood. Heat consumed her as if he’d surveyed every inch of her body with that searing scrutiny, instead of merely holding her gaze.
How did he do that?
More important, why did she react so?
Mina wasn’t oblivious to men but she’d never been swept off her feet, or into bed, by one. Her history made her cautious about ceding control to any man. Before his death, her father had mapped out her life, giving her no choice, even about the clothes she wore and the subjects she studied. Since leaving Jeirut for Paris she’d devoted herself single-mindedly to art, determined to carve a career in the field she loved. The guys who tried to sidetrack her into a relationship had never caused a ripple in her world.
Now it wasn’t a ripple she felt but an earth tremor.
Mina wouldn’t let that daunt her.
She lifted one hand negligently. ‘Before we worry about compatible perhaps we should start with finding out if we’d survive the marriage without killing each other.’
Alexei gave a crack of laughter. ‘Good point, Carissa.’ The light dancing in his eyes made him look completely different. Like someone she wanted to know.
Mina stiffened.
The first time she’d seen Alexei Katsaros, something happened that had never happened before. Her certainty had wavered and with it her confidence. Mina couldn’t abide the idea of being tentative around him, like some gullible, awed girl. It was easier to confront him. She suspected if he exerted himself to be nice it would be too easy to feel the force of his charm.
Now, abruptly, as she met his smiling look, the events of the last twelve hours took their toll.
Exhaustion slammed into Mina. Despite her determination not to back down before this man, she felt herself slump. Adrenalin had kept her going. Now that dissipated, leaving her overtired limbs shaky and her head swimming.
She had to get out of here before she made a mistake. Mina was too weary to guard her tongue and thinking straight became harder by the second. This man with the piercing green eyes would trip her up, especially since she wasn’t practised at lying.
If he discovered the truth, all this would have been for nothing. Carissa needed time to get away with Pierre and cover her tracks.
‘I’m sorry, you’ll have to excuse me.’ Mina lifted her hand to cover a yawn, only to discover the fake yawn was real. ‘I’m suddenly very tired.’
‘You didn’t sleep on the flight?’ He looked surprised.
Mina shook her head. She’d been ushered onto the private jet late in the evening for the overnight flight to the Caribbean. But despite the comfortable bed, she’d had too much going on in her head to sleep.
‘It’s been a very long day.’ She glanced at her watch, trying to calculate the time difference but to her surprise, her mind was too foggy. Tiredness and stress took their toll. ‘I’ve been awake more than twenty-four hours.’ And yesterday had been a long day, even before Carissa had dragged her into this mess. Or, to be fair, since she’d thrust herself into it to protect her friend.
Time to regroup before she said something she shouldn’t.
Mina pinned on a smile, the multipurpose one she reserved for royal meet and greets. She hadn’t used it in years and it felt rusty. ‘I’m sorry, Alexei, but I’ll have to leave you for now.’ She rose, surprised at the effort it took to stand tall. Her knees were unsteady, and for a second she swayed.
‘Could you point me towards my room, please?’
He loomed before her, the beginnings of a frown creasing his forehead. ‘You look pale.’
‘I’m fine,’ she lied. How many hours had it been since she’d eaten? She hadn’t been in the mood for food on the plane, refuelling on coffee and lots of it, but now the caffeine had worn off and she felt as powerful as a dandelion in a strong wind. ‘If you could show me the way?’
When Alexei didn’t immediately answer, Mina swung round towards the entry, remembering Henri heading down a corridor from there.
As she turned, another wave of tiredness hit and her movements lost their usual precise control. Her foot caught the edge of the plush carpet.
She didn’t trip or stagger, just paused, swaying as she caught her balance.
‘I’ll take you.’ The deep voice came from beside her ear as, to her astonishment, Alexei bent and curled his arms around her back and legs. An instant later she was in the air. Or, more precisely, in his arms, pressed against a hot body that seemed to be all solid muscle.
Mina’s breath stalled, then released on a shaky sigh at how extraordinary this felt. No one had ever held her like this. She registered conflicting feelings: shock, pleasure and an unexpected desire to burrow closer. As if Alexei were someone she trusted. Or desired.
‘There’s no need.’ The words were crisp, at odds with the strange wobbly feeling in her middle. It was impossible to sit straighter and assert control when she lay in his arms, unable to get any purchase.
Alexei ignored her words, marching out of the room.
With each step Mina felt her body move against his in a swaying rhythm that was surprisingly appealing. In other circumstances...
In other circumstances this wouldn’t happen, ever.
‘Thank you for your consideration,’ she said between barely open lips. ‘But I prefer to walk.’
That made him pause. He angled his head to look down at her and Mina was bombarded with impressions. The hard perfection of his squared-off jaw. From this intriguing angle, it was a study in obstinate power. The soaring, proud cheekbones that spoke of ancient Slavic heritage. The flare of arrogant nostrils and the fly-away effect of his winged eyebrows. The steady pump of his heart against her ribs and the power of those iron-hard arms encircling her.
Something shivered to life in the pit of Mina’s belly. Something that grew as she inhaled a tempting cedar-and-citrus aftershave that melded with the hot, salt scent of male skin. Her nostrils twitched appreciatively and the shiver amplified.
Astounded, Mina watched his eyes darken, the pupils dilating.
The world eclipsed to the dark mystery of that shadowy stare, heating her in all sorts of places.
When he spoke the sound vibrated from his chest into her body. She’d never experienced anything as intimate as his voice reverberating through her while his eyes devoured her.
‘Relax. I’m not going to hurt you.’
Despite the certainty he wouldn’t drop her, Mina couldn’t ignore the inner voice screaming at her to get away. Being this close to Alexei Katsaros was perilous, whatever his stated intention.
‘I prefer to walk. If you’ll kindly put me down.’ Tiredness vanished, replaced with quivering watchfulness.
‘And have you trip and hurt yourself?’ He shook his head, his rumpled locks swinging free. ‘I wouldn’t forgive myself.’
His tone was admirably sincere yet Mina read the tiny creases at the corners of his mouth and knew he was enjoying himself. Could he feel her heart hammer? She hated being vulnerable to him.
Before she could read any more, he looked away and began walking down the hall, carrying her easily, as if he carted unwilling women around every day.
Maybe he did.
‘Contrary to what you might have heard, Mr Katsaros, women are capable of thinking for themselves. We don’t appreciate he-men making our decisions for us. I—’
‘Is that what you think I am?’ Annoyingly his pace didn’t falter. ‘What exactly does that mean?’ His jaw jutted as he ruminated. ‘Someone very masculine? Someone who sees an exhausted guest and looks after her so she doesn’t hurt herself?’
Mina counted to ten. If she thought it would do any good, she’d struggle against his hold. But, though fit, she was no match for all that hard-packed muscle, especially given his superior size. He was well over six feet. If Alexei Katsaros didn’t want to release her she couldn’t make him. The knowledge infuriated her and she began stringing together curses in her own language that she couldn’t say lest he wonder how she knew Arabic.
She forced her gaze away from that annoyingly superior chin, focusing on the play of light and shadow on the ceiling as they passed down the hall.
‘After all,’ he continued, ‘as you pointed out so eloquently, it was my fault your trip was so...precipitate. If I’d been more conscious of your comfort I’d have organised for you to travel during the day, or ensured the bed on the plane was more comfortable. I’ll have it replaced.’
‘There’s no need for that. The bed was quite comfortable.’ Even to her ears her voice sounded thin. She held on to her temper by a tiny margin. All her life she’d been taught not to reveal anger. This time she dared not lose control because he’d see it as a victory.
‘Then it’s a wonder you didn’t sleep. Perhaps—’ she caught movement in her peripheral vision and turned to see him send a teasing look her way ‘—you couldn’t sleep because you were excited about visiting me.’
Excited! About as excited as if she visited a zoo to see a rattlesnake. Mina sucked in a rough breath, then stilled as the movement made her more aware of Alexei’s big hand on her ribs, close to her breast.
‘Perhaps I didn’t sleep because I was busy contacting people to reschedule things for the period I’ll be away. Since I had no opportunity earlier.’ She slanted him a frosty stare only to find that smile lurking around his mouth.
‘Ah, yes, no doubt your agenda is full of priority appointments.’ His expression didn’t change but his tone revealed how unlikely he thought it.
Mina didn’t bother to disabuse him. She might not run a multinational corporation, but nor was she idle. As well as the exhibition she was preparing for, she volunteered with disabled kids and at a nearby nursing home, doing art therapy. Plus, there was some admin work at a women’s shelter, the latest design commission for the perfumery in Jeirut and another from a French company that had seen her perfume bottle designs and wanted something similar.
‘Mr Katsaros.’ Her patience was perilously close to failing. One more jibe and she’d forget her resolve. ‘I really must—
‘Alexei, remember?’ His voice rumbled through her like an intimate caress. It was the final straw.
‘Put. Me. Down.’ Her voice rose from request to imperious command. ‘Now!’
Mina caught a flash of white teeth, a glimpse of glinting eyes and suddenly the world fell away as she dropped from his arms.
‘As you wish, Princess.’ He spoke as she landed with a puff of expelled air on her back. She was on a bed, looking up into dark, laughing eyes. But Mina was too tired and stressed to be amused. She didn’t appreciate being the butt of his jibes or his arrogant certainty that her life was of negligible importance.
Mina jackknifed to a sitting position, swiping a cushion off the bed with one hand and throwing it in the same, fluid movement. She had the satisfaction of seeing it hit him square on his superior chin.
‘Be thankful that wasn’t anything heavier. My aim is as good as any man’s.’ She heaved a breath that, to her horror, felt far too shaky. ‘Now, if you’d have the decency to leave, I’d like to catch up on some much-needed sleep.’
* * *
Damn. Damn. Damn.
Alexei stalked away from the guest wing to the master suite.
What had got into him? Half an hour with Carissa Carter and he’d veered between anger, attraction, approval and amusement. And far too much of all of them. He always controlled his emotions; he wasn’t undercut by them.
He hadn’t expected to be impressed by Carter’s precious princess. He’d been ready to write her off as a pampered bimbo who viewed the world through the prism of her greed for an easy life. Instead he’d discovered someone witty, incisive, challenging and sexy. Ridiculously sexy, given her defiantly unfeminine clothes.
On Carissa Carter even a baggy T-shirt and leggings made his hormones surge. And that mouth. She was sharp-tongued in a superior way that made him want to take her mouth and discover what sweetness lay beneath its cutting edge.
There was definitely sweetness. He’d been surprised, when he held her, at the fretful way her pulse raced. He’d been mesmerised by her contrary reactions as she pretended not to respond. Her breathing had quickened, her pupils dilated, and he’d read confusion beneath her scorn and defiance. Even her awe as she admired the sculpture in the sitting room had charmed him.
He’d lit from within at the feel of her, supple, streamlined and, he discovered, curved in the right places.
What would happen if he followed her down onto that bed? He couldn’t remember the dark frenzy of desire ever being so immediate or urgent.
The very fact he’d thought about it was a concern. Did he really want an affair with Carter’s daughter?
Logic demanded an unequivocal no. Instinct screamed yes.
Which was an excellent reason to pull back. Apart from the fact he didn’t take advantage of vulnerable women.
Alexei rubbed a hand across his jaw as he entered his suite and crossed to the window to stand staring across the infinity pool to the sea beyond.
Guilt trickled down his spine. Bad enough that there’d been a kernel of truth in Carissa’s accusation about how he’d got her here. It had solidified into a jagged shard of ice when he’d heard the hint of a wobble in her voice as she stared up at him from her bed. She’d been flushed and furious and he’d revelled in his power to rile her, till he’d heard the tiny crack in her fa?ade of superiority. Suddenly it hadn’t seemed amusing.
It hit him that he’d behaved like a kid pulling a girl’s pigtails, desperate to get her attention any way he could.
Him, desperate?
Hardly. Certainly not for the likes of Carissa Carter.
Except she wasn’t as he’d expected.
He scraped his hand across his chin, feeling the stubble he hadn’t bothered to shave. He shouldn’t allow himself to be diverted by her. She was incidental to his plans.
But, pending Carter’s arrival, there wasn’t much he could do to bring those plans to fruition. Steps had been taken to contain the damage, and while Alexei checked in daily, working via computer and phone, his team was working hard.
Which gave him leisure to ponder his would-be bride.
Alexei’s brow scrunched. Funny. He’d assumed Carissa would be eager to marry. Her father had come up with the idea, no doubt desperate to cement personal ties that would save him when his embezzlement came to light. The fact a woman in her mid-twenties was willing to go along with such a plan pointed to her being venal, marrying for money and position.
Too many women had tried to tie him down. Not for love, but as their ticket to wealth and privilege. Alexei didn’t fool himself into believing they were attracted by his character or sense of humour. Some were drawn by his looks but money was the deciding factor.
Yet Carissa hadn’t given an unequivocal yes.
Why? Did she believe if he had to work for what he wanted, he’d appreciate her more? Because men enjoyed the chase?
He huffed a breath. Maybe she had something there. If she’d walked in the door and promptly agreed with everything his interest wouldn’t have been piqued.
Except by that delectable body, which he’d discovered was curvier than he’d first thought.
Except for her intelligence and sensitivity.
Alexei shoved his fists in his pockets and rocked back on his feet, annoyed. He’d been so caught up in the need to draw Carter out of hiding, he hadn’t bothered researching the man’s daughter.
