Exotic Nights

Leonidas Parnassus stood in the doorway, arms folded, eyes so dark and forbidding that they effectively froze Angel from feeling anything but numb. And then he said quietly, but with ice dripping from his tone, ‘Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?’

Angel blinked in the intense light. She heard a roaring in her ears and had to fight against the very real need to faint. She couldn’t faint. But she couldn’t speak. Her brain and body were going into meltdown at being confronted with Leo Parnassus, standing just a few feet away, dressed in dark trousers and a plain light blue shirt, looking dark and intimidatingly gorgeous. Looking like the man who had invaded her dreams for the past seven weeks.

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

With a few quick strides Leo had crossed the room, moving so fast and with such lethal grace that Angel just watched in disbelief when he effortlessly whipped the will out of her white-knuckle grip.

‘Well, Kassianides, let’s see what you came for.’

Angel watched dumbly as he unfolded the document. She heard his indrawn breath when he registered what it was.

He looked at her, his dark gaze like black ice. ‘My father’s will? You came here to steal my father’s will? Or just whatever you could get your dirty little hands on?’

Angel shook her head, registering that he’d called her Kassianides. It distracted her. ‘You … you know who I am?’

His jaw tightened. Angel saw the movement and felt a flutter in her belly. He threw the will down on the table and reached out, taking her arm in a punishing grip. Angel bit back a cry at his touch, more of shock than pain.

He unceremoniously hauled her from behind the desk and led her over to a chair in the corner. He all but thrust her into it.

‘I should have guessed after your last stunt that you obviously don’t have any qualms about trespassing where you’re not welcome.’

He didn’t answer her redundant question. Patently he now knew exactly who she was, and she realised that someone at the party must have told him after they’d seen him take her outside.

She knew it was probably futile, but she said it anyway. ‘If I’d known for a second where I would be working that night I wouldn’t have been here, I found out when it was too late.’

He all but sneered, towering over her now, arms crossed again over his broad chest. ‘Please, give me some credit. You might be able to distract other people with that seductively innocent face, but after what I’ve just seen I know that you’re rotten to your core. Your whole family are.’

Angel went to stand up on a fierce wave of anger. It was not fair to assume that she was like her ancestors, or her father, but before she could get a word out Leo had easily pushed her back down, not even using much force. Angel felt as weak as a rag doll, shaky all over. Once again the reality of his touch was more shocking than his action.

She clenched her fists and welcomed the rush of energy that anger brought. ‘You have it all wrong. I’m not here to steal anything. If you must know—’

Leo slashed a hand through the air, silencing her. Angel stopped abruptly. As much as she held no love for her father, she realised in that moment the futility of landing the blame at his door. Leo Parnassus would just laugh in her face. She’d quite literally been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, and could blame no one but herself.

She watched as he paced back and forth, his hands on his hips. The fingers were long and lean, and a sprinkling of dark hair dusted the backs of his hands. Suddenly an image of him hauling himself out of the pool that evening in one sleek movement caused heat to explode low in her pelvis.

In a moment of blind panic, feeling intensely vulnerable, Angel sprang up again and stood behind the high-backed chair. As if that could offer protection! Leo stopped and turned around to face her, surveying her coolly.

Angel asked huskily, ‘What … what are you going to do? Are you going to call the police?’

He ignored her question and walked over to a sideboard, where he poured himself a measure of whisky. He downed the drink in one swallow, the strong bronzed column of his throat working, making Angel feel even more weak and trembly.

Leo’s eyes snared hers again, and she saw something flame in the dark depths, revealing golden lights.

‘Did your father send you here that night? Was it a recce for tonight? Or is this your own ingenuity?’

Angel’s hands clenched on the back of the chair; she could feel her ponytail coming loose. ‘I told you. The night of the party I had no idea where we were going. I worked for that catering company, they didn’t tell us until we were on the way for security reasons.’

He all but laughed out loud. ‘And once you and your father knew that Georgios was away, you took advantage of the opportunity. The only thing you didn’t factor in was my return.’

‘Th … there was nothing in the press.’

Leo glowered, and Angel quailed even more. Now she’d made it sound even worse. No way could she reveal that she’d been helplessly drawn to scanning the papers every day to read about his movements.

‘I came a week early, hoping to surprise a few people. We’re very aware—’ his mouth tightened ‘—more so now we’re in transition of power, that people will believe we’re an easy target to take over.’

Angel had a nauseating realisation. ‘You saw me arrive. The security guard checked with you …’

Leo indicated to Angel’s right-hand side, and she looked over to see an ante-room off the study, the door through which he had appeared. In it, she could clearly make out a glowing wall of cameras, showing flickering black and white images. CCTV cameras. One of which looked directly over the main gate. He’d watched nearly every step of her progress. She felt sick when she thought of how she’d crept through the house. Her naivety mocked her. Of course she’d never have got near this place if he hadn’t been here. She looked back.