“I—I heard the helicopter. And—and I went downstairs and asked Esias if you were coming and he said—he said yes, you were returning to Minos. And when he told me that, I felt—”
She was hurrying the words, rushing them together and he understood. It wouldn’t be easy to admit she’d been teasing him, that the teasing was over.
“You don’t have to explain.”
“But I do. I owe you that. I know—I know you think what I did the other night—that I did it deliberately, but—”
He closed the distance between them, caught her wrists and brought her hands to his lips.
“It was a game. I understand. But it’s over with. No more games, Ivy. From now on, we’ll be honest with each other, neh?”
She nodded. “Yes. Absolutely honest.”
Damian brought her hands to his chest. “Let me shower. Then we’ll have some breakfast. And then—” His voice roughened. “And then, sweetheart, I’ll show you how much I want you. How good it will be when we make love.”
Ivy jerked her hands from his. “What?”
He grinned. “You’re right. No breakfast. Just a quick shower…” His gaze dropped to her mouth, then rose again. “You can shower with me,” he whispered. “Would you like that?”
“You have no idea what I’m talking about!”
“I do, kardia mou. You want to apologize for—”
“Apologize?” Her voice rose in disbelief. “Apologize? For what?”
“For the other night,” he said carefully. “For teasing me—”
“Teasing you?” She stared at him; for a second, he wondered if he were speaking Greek instead of English. “Are you crazy?”
Damian’s mouth narrowed. “It would seem that one of us is.”
“You—you tried to take advantage of me the other night. And now—now, my God, you’re so full of yourself that you think—that you think…Do you really think I waited here to beg you to take me to bed?” Ivy lifted her hand and poked her forefinger into the center of his chest. “I waited here to tell you that I am going home!”
“You came to my rooms, waited for me, all so you could tell me you’re leaving Minos?”
Damian’s voice was low and ugly. It made Ivy’s heart leap.
Nothing was going the way she’d planned.
She’d expected him to be sharp with her. That would be her cue to tell him that it was illogical for them to spend the next six months in lock-step. What had happened the other night was proof they couldn’t get along.
Why torture each other when it wasn’t necessary?
She would go home. And she would agree to give him visiting rights to his son.
That was what she’d intended to tell him, but Damian had misunderstood everything. She’d waited in his rooms because she wanted this meeting to be private. She’d approached him in a conciliatory fashion because getting him angry would serve no purpose.
It had all backfired, and now he was looking at her the way a spider would look at a fly.
All right. She’d try again.
“Perhaps I should explain why I waited for you here.”
“There’s no need. I know the reason.”
“I did it because—”
“Because you thought, perhaps I overplayed my hand. Perhaps my performance the other night convinced him to get rid of me.”