CHAPTER ONE
LEANDRO DEMETRIOS, billionaire banker and the subject of a million hopeful female fantasies, dragged the ‘A’ list Hollywood actress through the doorway of his exclusive London townhouse and slammed the door shut on the rain and the bank of waiting photographers.
The woman was laughing, her eyes wide with feminine appreciation. ‘Did you see their faces? You scared them half to death! I feel safer with you than I do with my bodyguards. And you have bigger muscles.’ She slid her hand up his arm, her manicured fingernails lingering on the solid curve of his biceps. ‘Why didn’t we just use the back entrance?’
‘Because I refuse to creep around my own house. And because you like to be seen.’
‘Well, we’ve certainly been seen.’ The fact evidently pleased her. ‘You’ll be all over the papers tomorrow for terrorising the paparazzi.’
Leandro frowned. ‘I only read the financial pages.’
‘And that’s the bit I don’t read,’ she sighed. ‘The only thing I know about money is how to spend it. You, on the other hand, know how to make it by the bucketload, and that makes you my type of guy. Now, stop looking all moody and dangerous and smile! I’m only in town for twenty-four hours and we need to make the most of the time.’ Her lashes lowered provocatively. ‘So, Leandro Demetrios, my very own sexy Greek billionaire. Finally we’re alone. What are we going to do with our evening?’
Leandro removed his jacket and threw it carelessly over the back of a chair. ‘If that’s a serious question, you can leave right now.’ His remark drew a gurgle of delighted laughter from the woman clinging to his arm.
‘No one else dares to speak to me the way you do. It’s one of the things I love most about you. You’re not starstruck and that’s so refreshing for someone like me.’ The tip of her tongue traced the curve of her glossy lips. ‘If I told you I was going to kiss you goodnight and go back to my hotel, what would you do?’
‘Dump you.’ Leandro’s bow-tie landed on top of the jacket. ‘But we both know that isn’t going to happen. You want what I want, so stop playing games and get up those stairs. My bedroom is on the first floor. Last door on the left.’
‘So-o macho.’ Laughing, she smouldered in his direction. ‘According to a poll just last week, you’re now officially the world’s sexiest man.’
Bored by the conversation, Leandro’s only response was to close his fingers around her tiny wrist and pull her towards the staircase.
She gave a gasp of shocked delight. ‘You honestly don’t care what anyone thinks about you, do you? Indifference is such a turn-on. And when it comes to indifference, you wrote the manual.’ She walked with a slow, swaying motion that she’d perfected for the cameras. ‘There’s a special chemistry between us. I can feel it.’
‘It’s called lust,’ Leandro drawled, and she shot him a challenging look.
‘Haven’t you ever had a serious relationship with a woman? I heard you were married for a short time.’
Leandro stilled. A very short time. ‘These days I prefer variety.’
‘Honey, I can give you variety.’ She used the soft, smoky voice that earned her millions of dollars per movie. ‘And I’m just dying to know whether everything they say about you is true. I know you’re super-bright and that you drive your fancy cars way too fast, but what I want to know is just how much of a bad boy you really are when it comes to women.’
‘As bad as they come,’ Leandro said smoothly, his hand locked around her slender wrist as he led her up the stairs. ‘Which makes this your lucky night.’
‘Then lead on, handsome.’ She kept pace with him, a smile on her full, glossy mouth. ‘You have a lot of art on your walls. Great investment. Are they original? I hate anything fake.’
‘Of course you do.’ Leandro focused on her surgically enhanced breasts with wry amusement. At a rough estimate he guessed that ninety per cent of her was fake. The short time he’d spent with her had been enough to prove to him that she was so used to playing other people, she’d forgotten how to be herself.
And that was fine by him.
As far as he was concerned, the shallower the better. At least you knew what you were dealing with and you adjusted your expectations accordingly.
‘Oh, my! Only you would have a picture of a naked woman at the head of your staircase.’ Stopping dead, she gazed up at the huge canvas and wrinkled her nose with disapproval. ‘Strange choice for a man who surrounds himself with beauty. Isn’t she rather fat for your tastes?’
Leandro’s gaze lingered on the celebrated Renaissance masterpiece that had only recently returned from being on loan to a major gallery. ‘When she was alive, it was fashionable to be curvy.’
The girl stared blankly at the exquisite brush strokes. ‘I guess they didn’t know about low carbs.’
‘Curves were a sign of wealth,’ Leandro murmured. ‘It meant you had enough to eat.’
Throwing him a look of blank incomprehension, the actress stepped closer to the painting and Leandro’s fingers tightened like a vice around her wrist.
‘Touch it and we’ll have half the Metropolitan police force keeping us company tonight.’
‘It’s that valuable?’ Her knowing gaze turned to his and she licked her lips. ‘You are one rich, powerful guy. Now, why is that such a turn-on, I wonder? It isn’t as if I care about your money.’
‘Of course you don’t,’ Leandro said, his tone dry because he knew full well that her lovers were expected to pay handsomely for the privilege of escorting her. ‘We both know you’re interested in me because I’m kind to old ladies and animals.’
‘You like animals?’
Looking down into those famous blue eyes, Leandro’s own eyes gleamed. ‘I’ve always had a soft spot for dumb creatures.’
‘That’s so attractive. I love a tough man with a gentle side.’ She slid her arms round his neck like bindweed around a plant. ‘Do you realise we’ve had dinner three times and you haven’t told me a single thing about yourself?’
‘Do you realise that we’ve had dinner three times and you haven’t eaten a single thing?’ Skilfully steering the conversation away from the personal, Leandro smoothly released the zip on her dress and she sucked in
a breath.
‘You don’t mess around, do you?’
‘Let’s just say I’ve had enough of verbal foreplay,’ Leandro purred, sliding the dress over her shoulders in a practised movement. He frowned slightly as his fingers brushed hard bones rather than soft flesh.
‘People pay good money to see this body of mine up on the screen.’ She scraped her nails gently down his arm. ‘And you, Leandro Demetrios, are getting it for free.’
Hardly, he thought, looking at the earrings she was wearing. Earrings he’d given her at the beginning of the evening. ‘Shame you’re not sold by the kilogram,’ he said idly, ‘because then you wouldn’t cost me anything.’
‘Thank you.’ Assuming his remark was a compliment, she smiled. ‘You, on the other hand, would cost a woman a fortune because muscle is heavier than fat and you have to be the most impressively built man I’ve ever met. And you’re so damned confident. Is that because you’re Greek?’
‘No. It’s because I’m me. I take what I want.’ He took her chin in his fingers, his eyes steely. ‘And when I’ve finished with it, I drop it.’
She shuddered deliciously. ‘With no apology to anyone. Cold, ruthless, single-minded…’
‘Are we talking about me or you?’ Leandro removed the diamond clip securing her hair. ‘I’m confused.’