What the Greek's Money Can't Buy(29)
‘Great. That’s good to know.’
Her tablet pinged a message. Grateful beyond words, she jumped on it.
* * *
After breakfast they returned to the site, suited up, and joined the clean-up process. Towards mid-afternoon, she was working alongside Sakis when she felt him tense.
The pithy Greek curse he uttered didn’t need translating. ‘What the hell are they doing here?’
Her heart sank when she saw the TV crew. ‘This is one wave we’re just going to have to ride. Nothing I can do to send them away, but I may be able to get them to play nice. You just have to trust me.’ The moment the words left her lips, she froze.
So did he. Trust was an issue they both had problems with. She had no business asking for his when she hid a past that could end their relationship in a heartbeat.
But slowly, the look in his eyes changed from hard-edged displeasure to appreciative gleaming. ‘Efkharisto. I have no idea what I’d do without you, Moneypenny,’ he said in a low, rumbling voice.
Her heart lurched, then hammered with a force that made her fear for the integrity of her internal organs. ‘That’s good, because I’ve devised this cunning plan to make sure that you don’t have to.’
A corner of his mouth rose and fell in a swift smile. His gaze dropped to her lips, then rose to recapture hers. ‘When Ari threatened to poach you, I nearly knocked him out with my oar,’ he said, his voice rumbling in that gravel-rough pitch that made the muscles in her stomach flutter and tighten.
‘I wouldn’t have gone.’ Not in a million years. She loved working with Sakis, even if the last two days had sent her on a knuckle-rattling emotional rollercoaster.
‘Good. You belong to me and I have no intention of letting you go. I’ll personally annihilate anyone who tries to take you away from me.’
Her pulse raced faster. Work. He’s talking about your professional relationship. Not making a statement of personal intent. Brianna forced that reminder on her erratic senses and tried to breathe normally. When her belly continued to roil, she sucked in air through her mouth.
Sakis made a small, hoarse sound in his throat. Heat arched between them, making her skin tingle and the flesh between her legs ache with desperate need.
Hastily she took a step back. ‘I...I’ll go and speak to the TV crew.’
She turned and fled. And with every step she prayed desperately for her equilibrium to return.
The TV crew refused to leave but agreed not to interview any member of the crew. For that she had to be content.
Sakis’s meeting with the maritime disaster investigators went smoothly because he had already admitted liability and agreed to make reparations, and he barely blinked at the mind-bogglingly heavy fine they imposed on Pantelides Inc.
But his behaviour with her was anything but smooth. Throughout the meeting, Sakis would turn to her for her opinion, touch her arm to draw her attention to something he needed written down or shoot her a question. Fear coursed through her as she realised that the almost staid, rigidly professional team they’d been seventy-two hours ago had all but disappeared.
By the time the meeting concluded, she knew she was in trouble.
* * *
Sakis pushed a frustrated hand through his hair and paced the conference room, anger beating beneath his skin. The investigators had just confirmed the accident was human error.