e probing, Damon lowered his head to hers, but before he could kiss her his phone buzzed.
Swearing softly, he sighed and rolled onto his back. ‘Sorry. Bad timing, but I’d better take this. I’m expecting a call from Athens.’ Visibly annoyed at having been disturbed, he reached out and answered it. ‘Doukakis …’
Polly lay with her eyes closed, her hand resting on the hard muscle of his chest, struggling to come to terms with the way he made her feel. A night without sleep made his deep voice even huskier and she smiled to herself, thinking that when he spoke in Greek he was even sexier.
Then his voice changed from husky to harsh and he disengaged himself from her grip and launched himself from the bed.
Polly yawned. ‘Where are you going?’
‘Stay there, and whatever happens don’t come out.’
Still lost in her own thoughts, Polly looked at him in a daze, distracted by the sight of his bare back. The swell of smooth male muscle flexed and rippled as he dressed swiftly. He reminded her of a warrior at the peak of fitness, trained and ready to go into battle. Suddenly she wanted to put her arms round him and drag him back to bed. He was the sexiest man she’d ever seen and sex with him was the most breathtakingly exciting experience of her life. ‘Come back to bed. Work can wait.’
He didn’t look at her. ‘I need to see someone. Stay there.’ Hesitating, he turned back to her, planted his arms on the bed and leaned forward to kiss her. ‘I’ll be back.’
‘Mmm …’ Still sleepy, Polly smiled against his mouth. ‘I’m not sure how to take that. Isn’t that a line from Terminator?’
He didn’t laugh. Instead, he disengaged himself and gently stroked her cheek with his fingers. ‘Don’t move. And that’s an order.’
Wondering why he was suddenly so serious, she lay still for a moment, floating on a sea of blissful contentment.
And then she heard raised voices coming from the living room.
Raised voices?
Why would there be raised voices?
Concerned, she slid out of bed and wriggled back into the gold dress that lay abandoned on the floor where Damon had thrown it the night before.
The anger in his voice intensified and her curiosity turned to alarm as she hurried through to the living area of the spectacular apartment.
Damon’s back was towards her, his feet planted firmly apart in a stance that was blatantly confrontational. Distracted by the display of male power and authority, Polly didn’t immediately see who was on the receiving end of his wrath, but as she moved forward, her bare feet making no sound on the wooden floor, the other person finally came into view.
For a moment she was so shocked she couldn’t make a sound.
Neither man was aware of her presence, both trapped in their boiling cauldron of mutual animosity.
Feeling the warm threads of her newfound happiness unravel, Polly finally managed to croak out a few words.
‘Dad?’ Her voice cracked. ‘What on earth are you doing here?’
CHAPTER NINE
‘I COULD ask you the same question. So the rumours are true.’ Her father faced Damon, his expression twisted and ugly. ‘Do you have no boundaries? No conscience? It should have been enough for you to take over my company, but no—you had to seal your revenge by seducing my daughter.’ His breathing was alarmingly rapid, his hands locked in two white-knuckled fists by his sides.
Revenge?
Polly wanted to move towards her father but her body felt as if it had been encased in cement. She couldn’t move. Not once, even for a moment, had it occurred to her that Damon might have seduced her because of her father’s relationship with Arianna.
And in that single agonising moment she was finally able to put a name to those alien feelings.
Love.
She’d fallen in love with Damon. Her brain told her it wasn’t possible in such a short time but her heart wasn’t listening. And maybe it wasn’t such a short time, really. He’d always been there, hadn’t he? On the fringes of her life. Her friend’s big brother.
Terror scraped her skin, sharp as the talons of an eagle, and she stood without speaking, aware of Damon’s dangerous mood as he confronted her father.
‘You dare to come into my home and pretend you care about your daughter? This after several weeks when you haven’t bothered to get in touch with anyone?’ A look of contempt on his face, Damon took a step towards the older man. ‘You are a disgrace. And a coward. You hid rather than face me, but you’re here now so stand up and behave like a man. Take responsibilities for your decisions instead of shifting focus onto someone else.’