The Greek's Blackmailed Wife

Instead she lifted her gaze to his, her blue eyes taunting, straight into confrontation mode. It was the only way to deal with the man. Any sign of softness and he’d walk all over her.

‘Slumming it, Zander?’

He glanced around him at the simple café and gave a dismissive shrug. ‘So you get to choose the battleground.’

Battleground? Reflecting that their whole relationship had been a battleground, Lauranne watched as his gaze flickered to a waiter who hurried over with almost undignified haste, one eye on the two bodyguards who hovered at a discreet distance.

She gritted her teeth and drummed her long nails on the table.

What was it about him that made men fall over themselves to do his bidding?

He’d changed out of the business suit and was dressed casually in well-cut trousers and a linen shirt and yet he was still a man in control, every inch the Greek tycoon.

The leader of the pack.

He ordered himself a coffee, satisfied himself that her drink was still full and then dismissed the waiter with a brief nod of that arrogant dark head.

She gave him an icy glare. ‘So you did have me followed.’

It was a statement of fact and his dark eyes flickered with amusement as they rested on her accusing face.

‘Did you think I wouldn’t?’

‘You wasted manpower. I have nothing to say to you, Zander, unless you want to discuss our divorce.’

‘Ah, yes—divorce.’ He leaned back in his chair and rested one leg over the other in a supremely masculine gesture. His aggressive jaw line was dark with the beginnings of stubble and his hair gleamed glossy black in the late evening sun. His skin was tanned to a light gold, the dark hairs visible at the neck of his shirt a tantalising reminder of just what lay underneath.

And she knew exactly what lay underneath. Against her will she found herself remembering every inch of his spectacular body in glorious, Technicolor detail and her mouth ran dry. Suddenly her fingertips seemed like the most sensitive part of her body. She wanted to touch, stroke, scratch—

Horrified by the explicit nature of her thoughts, she glanced away, picking up her drink and taking a large sip.

‘Why haven’t you instructed your solicitors before now, I wonder?’ His tone was conversational and she flattened herself against the chair, trying to create more distance between them.

‘Because I don’t even think about you any more,’ she lied, setting her drink down so that he couldn’t see how much her hand was shaking. ‘Our marriage was so brief that I’ve all but forgotten it.’

‘Is that so?’ His lashes lowered and she felt her heart beat faster, wishing that she could read his thoughts. Zander had a brain that moved faster than a fighter jet.

‘Yes.’

‘And what about the sex, Lauranne? Have you forgotten that too?’

She curled her fingers into her palms. ‘Yes.’

‘So why are you shaking?’ One eyebrow lifted in mockery. ‘It’s almost indecent, is it not,’ he observed silkily, ‘that despite all that has happened between us we can still want each other so desperately?’

Mortified that he’d read her so easily, she reached for her drink again but her hand was shaking so much that the contents sloshed over her fingers. ‘The only thing that I want desperately is for you to go back to where you came from.’

He lounged in his chair, totally at ease with himself, thick dark lashes shielding the expression in his eyes. ‘Rest assured that wherever I’m going, I’ll be taking you with me.’

His words stirred something deep inside her and she stiffened her slim shoulders, determined to fight it with every breath in her body.

‘Unless you’re experienced at kidnapping in broad daylight, then you’ll be travelling alone,’ she retorted, her eyes sparking angrily as she fixed her gaze on his maddeningly handsome face. ‘And I’d better warn you that I can scream very loudly.’

Dark eyes locked on hers, cranking up the tension another notch. ‘I’m well aware of how loudly you scream, Anni,’ he said softly, his voice holding a seductive quality that made her breath catch. ‘And I know exactly what makes you scream.’

Anni.

She closed her eyes briefly. He wasn’t playing fair.