Listening to the endless list of countries that she’d visited, he found himself more and more intrigued. ‘Obviously you’re not one for putting down roots.’ He rolled onto his side so that he could look at her, but immediately her eyes slid from his.
‘I’m not really a roots sort of person. I just wanted to travel.’
‘Did you go to university?’ Even though he was looking at her profile he saw something alter in her expression.
‘No.’ Her tone was flat. ‘I didn’t.’
‘But you’re obviously very bright—’
‘I didn’t do that well at school. I didn’t like school. Can we talk about something else?’ She sat up sharply, as if something had upset her. ‘What about you? Tell me how you came to make your billions.’
Judging from her tense expression that it was best to allow her the change of subject, Angelos tugged her back down into his arms. ‘I didn’t like school, either. I found it very restricting. I wanted to do things my way.’
The tension in her body eased and she relaxed against him. ‘I expect you had to be first in everything?’
‘Of course.’
A bubble of laughter escaped her lips. ‘You haven’t changed much, have you?’
‘No.’ Pleased to see her back to her good natured self, Angelos continued to talk. ‘My father was a very successful man. He wanted me to join his business.’
‘But you didn’t.’
‘Of course not. Where would be the challenge in that? I had no desire to be a caretaker for a business that someone else had developed.’
‘So you did your own thing.’ She slid her arm around him. ‘It’s nice to know that you’re vulnerable, like everyone else.’
Vulnerable?
Startled by her interpretation of his motives, Angelos frowned up at the ceiling. ‘How am I vulnerable?’
‘You obviously wanted to prove something to your father.’
Considering that possibility for the first time in his life, Angelos gave a surprised laugh. ‘You’re probably right—but don’t tell my competitors. If they hear a rumour that I’m vulnerable, my working life will become far more challenging and I will have less time to spend in bed with you.’
‘I expect your father is very proud of you.’ There was a wistful note in her voice that caught his attention.
‘What about you?’ Deciding that he’d backed off enough, he gently eased the subject back to her own childhood. ‘If your father wasn’t around, then presumably it was your mother who brought you up? Where did you live?’
‘We moved around a lot when I was young, and then later I was at boarding school. That’s enough talking for now. I’m tired, Angelos. Goodnight.’ She rolled over so that her back was facing him and tugged the silk sheet up over her shoulders, the gesture clearly declaring that the subject was closed.
Angelos stared in silence at her tense body, his mind working overtime.
It was obvious that she found any mention of her mother, her childhood or her schooldays extraordinarily stressful. Obviously it hadn’t been a good time for her, and yet it was equally obvious that she was bright and intelligent and should have excelled.
He wanted to continue the conversation—he wanted to understand her—and that thought troubled him, because he’d never before had the slightest inclination to understand a woman.
Deciding that he would achieve more b
y continuing the conversation when she was more relaxed, he lay down and pulled her into his arms.
He didn’t mind her sleeping with her back to him, but there was no way he was allowing her to shut herself off.
CHAPTER NINE
‘PACK a bag,’ Angelos instructed as he emerged from the shower with droplets of water still clinging to his bronzed skin. A towel was looped casually around his hips, leaving his torso bare.
He would have made a Greek god sob with envy, Chantal thought as she stared at the smooth, well-defined muscles of his shoulders. Secretly she was hoping that he might decide to come back to bed.