The gentleness she’d sensed in him was false, she reminded herself fiercely. The bottom line was that in a few short weeks he would walk away. Leave her and her family devastated.
‘I’m losing you. Come back, anjo,’ he murmured seductively against her mouth. He ran his tongue over her lower lip and her knees weakened.
When he cupped her bottom and squeezed, she desperately summoned all her resolve and pushed against his chest. ‘No.’
He raised his head and she saw behind the wall. He was as caught in this insane chemistry as she was. A little part of her felt better.
‘I can change your mind, Inez. Regardless of what I intend for your father, what is between us is undeniable.’
‘Do you hear yourself? You think I should forget everything else and sleep with you just because you made me feel a certain way?’
‘That’s generally the reason why men and women have sex.’
‘But we’re not just any man and any woman, Theo, are we?’
He stiffened, and a hard look entered his eyes. ‘Are you saying that you’ve been in love with every man you’ve slept with?’ he queried.
She froze and prayed her humiliation wouldn’t show on her face as she tried to stem the memory of Constantine’s treatment of her.
His cruel rejection was still an ache beneath her breastbone.
‘Inez?’ Theo interjected harshly.
‘My past relationships are none of your business.’
His slightly reddened mouth twisted. ‘Far be it for me to request to be lumped in with your other lovers, but isn’t it a touch hypocritical to apply one criteria to me that you haven’t done with one of your lovers, in particular?’
‘If you’re referring to Constantine, let me assure you that you have no idea what you’re talking about.’
His hand tightened around her waist. ‘Then enlighten me. Why did he dump you?’
Inez broke free. ‘We weren’t compatible.’
‘Or he found out the true reason you were with him and wanted nothing to do with you?’
‘No. That wasn’t why…’ She screeched to a stop as the words stuck in her throat.
‘So what was it? Did you really love him or did you convince yourself you did in order to achieve your aims?’
She bit her lip as he shone a light on the stark question. Had she blown her feelings out of proportion? Constantine had been charismatic, yes, but he’d never created the decadent chaos that Theo created in her.
When she’d imagined love, she’d always imagined passion, hunger and a keen pleasure even the slightest thought of that special someone brought. She’d believed herself in love with Constantine and yet she’d never experienced those emotions.
Well, she most definitely wasn’t feeling them now.
‘I believed my emotions were genuine at the time. But he didn’t. He believed I was using him to further my father’s campaign.’
‘What did he do?’ he asked. She looked into his eyes and fooled herself into thinking she saw a thawing of the hardness there.
‘He made painful digs at me whenever he gave interviews. He made the tabloids call my character into question…much the same way you’re doing now.’
He dropped his hand. ‘It’s not the same—’
‘Yes, it is. Look Theo, I just want to be left alone to do my time.’
He paled. ‘You’re not in prison, Inez.’
She put much needed distance between them. ‘Am I not? How else would you describe my presence here?’
* * *
Theo watched her walk away and curled his fists at his sides. The urge to call her back was so strong he forced himself to exhale slowly to expel the need. Her reference to her presence under his roof as a prison sentence had stung badly.
But hell, the truth was irrefutable. He’d forced her to make a choice, and no amount of dinner dates or designer shopping sprees would gloss over the fact that he’d set the tabloids on her as a way to dismantle her father’s campaign.
Witnessing her clear distress just now had made his chest ache in a way that confused and irritated him.
Perhaps he needed to step up his agenda, end this dangerous game once and for all and move on with his life.
His brothers would certainly agree. He’d been avoiding their calls for the best part of a fortnight, replying only by email and with curt one-liners that he knew would only go so far before something gave.