Inez was far from low maintenance. And yet he found himself even more drawn to her.
She glanced pointedly over his shoulder. 'I'll think about it and let you know.'
His unsettled feelings escalated. He reminded himself that they were heading for his boat. She liked his boat. Perhaps she would relent enough to forget that she was angry with him. Forget about Blanco and forget that she was being blackmailed.
Theo was still debating why her feelings meant so much to him when he pulled up at the marina.
* * *
'You've been smiling ever since we set sail.'
Her voice was full of heavy suspicion. Theo's smile widened as he tilted his face up into the sunshine. 'Have I? It must be the weather.'
'The weather has been the same for the last month,' she replied sourly.
He slowly lowered his head and captured her gaze with his. 'Then it must be the company.'
A delicate wave of heat surged up her neck into her cheeks, making him wonder, as he had more than once these past two weeks, how she could have been involved with someone like Blanco and still blush like a schoolgirl.
Theo had looked into Constantine Blanco and had not been surprised to find that he was cut from the same cloth as Benedicto. It was perhaps why Da Costa had chosen to ally himself with the younger man politically. He'd sent his daughter to spy on Blanco and had been double-crossed in the bargain.
Theo's smile slipped as he recalled her hurt when he'd thrown her relationship with Blanco at her. He reached for the glass of wine that had accompanied their late afternoon meal and took a large gulp.
The guilt tightening in his chest since her accusation at the pool squeezed harder.
What the hell was going on with him?
'Have you decided whether you're selling the boat or not?' she asked.
In the sunlight, her black hair gleamed like polished jet, making him burn to feel its silkiness beneath his fingers.
He stared into his drink. 'Maybe. I'll have to weigh up practical usage versus the desire to hang on to something beautiful.'
'But you're a billionaire. Isn't collecting toys part and parcel of your status?'
'I wasn't always a man of means. In fact my brothers and I worked our backsides off to achieve the level of success we enjoy now.' His smile felt tight and strained.
'Your brothers … Sakis and Arion … '
He looked up in surprise. 'You've been playing around on the Internet, I see.'
She raised her chin. 'I thought it wise to learn a little bit more about my enemy.'
The label grated. Badly. 'What else did you try to discover while you were rooting around my family tree?'
'Your brother Sakis had some trouble with a saboteur on one of his oil tankers.'
He nodded. 'We dealt with that quite satisfactorily.'
'And now your brother Ari is engaged to the widow of the man who tried to throw your company into chaos?' She frowned.
A reluctant grin tugged at his mouth. 'What can I say; we thrive on interesting challenges.'
'You also seem to make enemies with the people you do business with. So far you've led me to believe it was my father who wronged you. How do I know it's not the other way round? That you're not here because you deserved everything you got?'
The stem of the wine glass snapped with a sickening crack. Even then it took the cold wine seeping into his shirt to realise what he'd done.
The top part of the glass landed on the table, rolled off and smashed onto the deck.
Inez gasped. 'Theo, you're bleeding!' She surged to her feet and sprang towards him.
'Stop!'
'But your finger … '
'Is nothing compared to what will happen to your foot if you take another step.'
She glanced down at the broken glass an inch from her bare foot and glanced back at his bleeding forefinger. Anguish creased her pale features.
'Sit down, Inez,' he instructed tersely.
'Please, let me help,' she implored.
Gritting his teeth, he grabbed a napkin and formed a small tourniquet around the gaping wound. 'It's not deep but will need to be cleaned properly. There's a first aid kit behind the bar.'
She nodded, slipped on her sandals and dashed for the bar. Theo stood and moved from the dining table to the wraparound sofa to give the crew member who'd arrived on deck room to sweep up the broken glass. He glanced up as Inez rushed back and set the kit on the coffee table.
Her eyes were turbulent with worry as she glanced from his face to the blood-soaked napkin.
'Are you going to stand there staring at me all evening? I'm bleeding to death here.'
With a hoarse croak, she jerked into action. She carefully cleaned the wound with antiseptic and applied gauze before securing it with a plaster. All through the procedure, she darted quick, apologetic glances at him.
As he stared at her, he felt a different sort of jolt run through him. One he hadn't been aware he was missing until he felt it.
Care. Concern. Fear for him.
When was the last time anyone besides Ari and Sakis had felt like that about him? When was the last time his own mother lavished such attention on him? Inez slid him another worried glance and his breath shuddered out.
'Calm yourself, anjo. I'll live. I'm sure of it.'
She exhaled noisily and her agitated pulse pounded at her throat. 'Sinto muito,' she said in a rush.
'Don't apologise. It wasn't your fault.'
'But … if I hadn't accused you of … '
'You're operating in the dark and want to find out the truth. I respect that. But I can't tell you what my business with your father is until I'm ready. You have to respect that.'
'But … this … ' She glanced down at his finger and shook her head. 'Your reaction … the claustrophobia and the touching thing … I can't help but fear the worst, Theo,' she whispered.
Against his will, his chest constricted at the anguish in her voice. He wanted to comfort her. Wanted to take that look of anticipated pain from her face. He wanted to kiss her until they both forgot why she was his prisoner and why he was beginning to dread the day he had to set her free.
He swallowed hard.
'Let's make a deal. For the next twenty-four hours, no talk of your father or the reason why I'm in Rio. Agreed?'
Her mouth wobbled and her teeth worried her bottom lip as she glanced back at his finger. Her eyes were no less turbulent when they rose to his but he saw determination flare in their depths. 'Agreed.'
* * *
Theo stood at the railing on the third floor deck and watched her swim in the pool on the second deck the next morning. She moved like a water nymph, her long black hair streaming down her back as she scissored her arms and legs underwater.
He gripped the rail until his knuckles turned white but still he couldn't take his eyes off her.
'I'm waiting for an answer, Theo,' came the weary voice at the end of the line.
Theo sighed. 'Sorry, remind me again what the question was.'
Ari grunted with annoyance. 'I asked you why I couldn't have one peaceful breakfast without opening the papers to find you wrapped around some poor girl. Seriously, my digestive system has sent me a stern memo. Either I treat it better and not subject it to such images or it goes on permanent vacation.'
Theo heard Perla, his soon-to-be sister-in-law, laughing in the background.
'The answer is simple. Don't read the papers.'
Ari sighed. 'How long is this going to go on for?'
'Everything should be signed, sealed and delivered in a week or two,' he responded, rolling his shoulders to ease the tension tightening his muscles. Another sleepless night, plagued with nightmares. He'd given up on sleep somewhere around three a.m.
'You sound very sure.'
His grip tightened around the phone. As he'd lain awake he'd briefly toyed with the idea of ending this vendetta sooner. And he'd been stunned when the idea had taken firm hold. 'I am.'
'And nothing you're doing down there will affect the wedding? Don't forget it's in two weeks. If you can prise yourself away from that piece of skirt for long enough-'
'She's not a piece of skirt,' he snarled before he could catch his response. Ari's silence made him hurry to speak. 'I'll be at your wedding.'
'Good, since you've missed most of the rehearsals, I'll send you the video of what you need to do. Make sure you get it right; we'll do a quick rehearsal when you get here. I'm not having you mess things up for Perla.'
'Sure. Fine,' he murmured.
He followed the curvy, sexy shape underneath the water and held his breath as Inez broke the surface and rose out of the pool. Dripping curves and sun-kissed skin made his body clench unbearably. He wanted to trace every single inch of her with his hands, his mouth, his tongue. 'Oh, and tell Perla I'm bringing a guest.'