Blackmailed For Vengeance(25)

“I didn’t like lying to the children Yanis…I’ve never been good at lying” she said lowering her eyes to the hands she held clasped before her, her expression thoughtful and pained

“And you certainly didn’t have to kiss me” she added

“I kissed you because I wanted to” he said evenly, as her eyes had lifted to look back at him

“Why? … you despise me for what you believe I did to Jim and yet you say you wanted to kiss me” she said incredulously. His dark eyes continued to hold her surprised hazel ones

“The two are very different” he said

“Maybe for you” she bit back at him, “but not for me”

Yanis had laughed softly “Please Lee, let’s not play these games… they may work for your other lovers” he said softly “but not for me…sex is sex… and you and I have a fierce attraction for each other do we not” he asked raising an eyebrow

Lee had only stared at him with shock

“It may be that way for you Yanis, but you and I are not that way involved” she said stiffly “I would ask if you could fit the names of your lovers onto a sheet of paper…but the fact of the matter is that you probably wouldn’t remember half of their names”

He had looked at her with a cold glint in his eyes

“Always the moral high ground with you isn’t it Lee, and you, could you remember all your lovers names” he asked shortly

Lee had glared back at him “Yes vividly, It is a very short list”

With a disbelieving snort he had asked

“How many would that be?”

“One” she had replied before realising what she had said and looking away from him with embarrassment

He had looked at her incredulously

“So you expect me to believe that you have only slept with Jim” he asked his tone mocking

With a sigh and biting her lip she had shaken her head “No, I have never slept with Jim, but what is the point of telling you again…you will never believe me” she said looking sadly at the ring sitting on her finger

For a while silence had fallen between the two

“I enjoyed your emails” he said gently breaking the silence and the subject, as he had reached over to take her hand

Lee had swallowed hard, feeling the way his fingers had caressed her wrist causing such tempestuous sensations to fill her. She had pulled her hand away from his before her body could give away the way she longed for those hands to hold her closer to him, before pushing her chair from the table.

“We have a ball tomorrow night” she said her voice slightly ragged

“and I’m really tired” she added, despite the fact that she had never been more awake.

Moving to the other side of the room she had wished him a good night, the need to escape from him strong within her. She could sense the danger that his closeness held for her and she rushed to remove herself from it.

Yanis had remained seated watching her, as she fled the room. His initial reaction had been to stop her, but he felt tired himself. He had spent a whole week in tense talks and the sudden comfort of his home and her company had made him relax, tiredness filling his whole being. As she left he had sighed. She had hit a nerve when talking about the way he treated other women. With a frown, he knew that she was right, he didn’t remember most of the names of his ex-lovers and the realisation of this was causing him to feel uncomfortable, while he was not really sure why. Finishing his drink he moved towards his own room putting his feelings down to tiredness.

Lying in her bed that night Lee had stared at the ceiling, her emotions a turmoil of conflicting thoughts and feelings. He was the most arrogant man she had ever met, and yet at other times he was so gentle and kind, his concern for the children so sincere. He made her laugh and at the same time infuriated her like no other person she had ever met. He detested her, yet was attracted to her, just as she was to him. His sudden appearance that day had shocked her, more at the way she had felt so alive and yet so unsure of herself at the same time. The sooner, he ended this charade the better for her she thought to herself, before with a pained sob her heart had cried that it never wanted it to end, and with a gasp the truth hit Lee, as finally she knew, against her complete better judgement she had fallen in love with Yanis Demitri. With disbelief at this realisation she had closed her eyes as she had allowed the tears to fall, knowing that the only way this would end would be with Lee once more having her heart broken, only this time she knew it would be so much worse.

As the next day dawned, Yanis found that he had slept in. Scowling at the clock which read 9, he had quickly risen before showering and dressing. Fortunately, he had had no plans, deciding the previous day that he needed a break after his French trip, and he had moved downstairs. When Maria had informed him that Lee was already gone, he had felt a strange deflated sensation, suddenly realising that he had looked forward to spending the time with her. On finding out that she had gone to the salon to prepare for that evening he had smiled, well at least she was finally showing her true colours. Moving to his study, he had started to answer emails and read over draft documents which would be needed by the following weekend.