‘I knew it. I knew there was something big going on.’ He grabbed Lucy’s arm then, making her wince.
‘Tell me what it is right now, I have a right to know what my brother is—’
Abruptly Anatolios was moved out of the way bodily, and then Ari was standing there. Lucy felt weak with relief.
He gestured with a hand for her to come with him, and she went gratefully, her legs feeling like jelly. She didn’t look back, and when Ari said to her, ‘What was going on there?’ she avoided his eye and shook her head, saying, ‘Nothing. He just…we were just chatting, that’s all.’
The whole scene, with its air of menace, was making her feel sick, but she didn’t see the point in rising Ari’s ire now, when the deal was all but done.
Lucy made sure to stick close to him after that, figuring the devil she knew was better than dealing with Anatolios or Helen, who she’d also seen in the distance.
Just before everyone started to disperse Ari pulled her aside and took a sheaf of folded documents out of his inside jacket pocket. He handed them to her and they were still warm from his body heat. Even that made her tremble.
‘Put these up in the safe in my room, would you, please? They’re the official merger documents for tomorrow.’
She just nodded, avoiding his eye, and hurried out of the ballroom, glad of the respite and a chance to get herself back under control.
Ari watched Lucy leave the room, his eyes drawn helplessly to her glorious body in the figure-hugging strapless dress. His hunger for her was like a wild thing within him—a beast clawing to get out.
He rationalised it: it had to be because she’d been holding him at arm’s length all week, her door firmly closed by the time he’d come back each evening. His mind had been helplessly distracted, despite the fact that he’d told her not to come to those late-night meetings, but now—His body tightened unbearably. The thought of her right now, in his room…He glanced around and knew he wouldn’t be missed for a few moments. His blood surged at the thought of tumbling her onto his bed and sating this demon desire inside him.
Lucy was walking over to where the safe was hidden in the wardrobe of Ari’s bedroom when she heard something at the door. She turned and went back, thinking it might be the turn down staff. When she saw Anatolios slipping into the room she froze.
‘What are you doing here? How did you get in?’
He smiled nastily, and she saw his eyes take in the documents in her hand. She hurriedly put them behind her back.
He kept coming towards her, and she started to back away into the bedroom.
‘Oh, let’s just say I’m in Athens a lot more than Ari these days, so I have my contacts. Now, why don’t you show me what you have hidden behind your pretty back?’
He was coming straight at her and Lucy froze for a second, fear gripping her like a cold, clammy hand. He was almost on her before she turned and stumbled, making for the safe before he could get the documents from her.
She felt her arm grabbed in a merciless grip and cried out, tipping off balance. Anatolios jerked her back painfully.
‘Let me go.’
He was reaching around her, trying to get the papers, his face red and flushed. In a bid to get away, though his arms were wrapped tight around her now, Lucy dropped the papers behind her and used her hands to try and push him off. He saw the papers and lunged, knocking them both to the ground. He fell as a heavy weight on top of her, reaching underneath her for the papers.
Lucy was struggling in earnest now. She could feel her dress riding up her leg, her chest being squashed by his heavy weight. ‘You…Get off me. I can’t…breathe…’
‘What the hell is going on here?’
Chapter Nine
BEFORE Lucy knew which way was up, the heavy weight of Anatolios was being plucked off her by Ari, as if he weighed no more than a bag of sugar. He literally held Anatolios by the scruff of his neck. The man was spluttering now, clearly terrified of his much stronger older brother.
‘She told me to come up here. She told me she had something for me. There!’
He pointed to the papers, now strewn on the ground.
‘Is this true?’ Icy green eyes and an even icier voice were directed down at Lucy, who realised that she was still on the floor, dress hitched up, breasts heaving with her breath. She scrambled up, but then had to subside onto the side of the bed when her legs wouldn’t hold her. Reaction was starting to set in.
She shook her head. She couldn’t look at Ari—or him. ‘No, of course it’s not true. He followed me up here. He must have seen you give me the papers.’
Anatolios spluttered even more. ‘Come on. Why on earth would I want to see some stupid papers? It’s not as if there’s anything going on—is there?’
Ari stilled. Right until that moment his vision had been blurred because he was so angry. When he’d seen Anatolios on top of Lucy he’d felt an awful weakness pervade his limbs before he’d kicked into action. And then, when he’d seen the papers…His heart was telling him one thing, but his brain was refusing to listen.