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‘Truth…’ She didn’t even have the energy to voice it as a question.
‘That there’s enough electricity between us to power the national grid.’ His eyes fell to her mouth and Kallie felt it quiver in response as if it were begging for his own lips again. ‘And that tomorrow we get married and…this we’ll come back to. We’ll have plenty of time on our honeymoon.’
Kallie opened her mouth and couldn’t speak for a few seconds. Honeymoon! ‘That’s ridiculous. There’s no way this is going to happen.’ Panic was making her sound breathless. ‘I am not going anywhere with you for any honeymoon. I have to work, I can’t just leave—’
He put a finger to her mouth. ‘Oh, yes, you are. It’s part of the deal. Make sure you’re packed…’
Alexandros strode through the mass of photographers outside Kallie’s office. Unlike with other celebrities, who they would crush around, intimidate into submission, a space was left around Alexandros. That held a certain kind of respect. As if they knew that with one swipe of his hand, one word, he could do some serious damage. He ignored the barrage of questions and got into the back of his car. The blacked-out windows concealed him from view immediately.
He tersely instructed his driver to take the long way back to his office. He needed to think, to collect himself. And this was as alien a concept to him as the thought of taking public transport. But the fact of the matter was that his body still throbbed with a level of arousal he’d never experienced before.
What the hell had just happened back there?
He ran a hand through his hair and stared unseeingly out of the window. He hadn’t planned on kissing Kallie. But when she’d walked in, so prim and proper in her buttoned-up shirt and tight skirt that drew the eye to the toned length of thigh, he hadn’t been able to resist.
All he did know was the moment he’d taken Kallie into his arms he hadn’t felt like he’d thought he would. Oh, he’d felt the desire. That had been like a neon sign that lit up whenever he was near her…it hadn’t been that. It had been something else, something he’d never felt before. He’d expected to feel detached…but he hadn’t. He’d felt anticipation that had gone beyond the mere physical. As if he’d finally had something within his grasp that he’d been searching for. A sigh had gone through him when his mouth had touched hers. A sigh of relief…
His whole body tensed in the back of the car in absolute rejection of his thoughts. And for the first time since seeing Kallie again, he questioned whether or not he was doing the right thing. His mouth pulled into a thin line. The fact of the matter was, though, that he’d left it too late now. He would need to find a wife to marry within twenty-four hours if he was to make the deadline of Dimitri’s will. And he certainly couldn’t afford to let this slip through his hands merely because he was having these…doubts.
For Alexandros, who never ever doubted a decision he’d made, this was also a new concept. Not a welcome one. His mind even seized on Isabelle for a moment. He grimaced. There were plenty of women who would be only too happy to comply with his need for an immediate wife. But he had Kallie so well trussed now, not to mention the arousal that hummed in his every vein, why shouldn’t he use her? Have her. Sate himself with her.
After all, wasn’t this just meant to be just a diversion for him? An amusement? A timely revenge and a way to get his needs met, both in and out of bed?
It was only then that the belated thought struck him—he’d called at her office to see if she’d received the pre-nuptial agreement. He’d never before had a lapse like that in his concentration. He found himself ignoring the need to dwell on why he’d been acting so out of character and quickly instructed his bodyguard to go back and pick it up.
It was a couple of minutes after Alexandros had left that Kallie fully realised that he’d gone. She still hadn’t moved. She felt as though she’d been flung into another dimension. He’d just kissed her, she told herself rationally. And told you that he expects you to go on a honeymoon…
She felt dizzy, disjointed…her head was fuzzy. She went on shaky legs and sat down behind her desk. Her glazed eyes took in a note on the top of her pad. The big brusque handwriting that could only belong to one person. Him.
‘Please sign the pre-nuptial agreement and send it back.’
Kallie read it and reread it, finally, slowly coming back to her senses. She heard the bells of a church ring ominously in the distance. Like a nail going into a coffin, her fate was sealed, this was it. He hadn’t even had the decency to tell her this much. He’d gone from issuing terse instructions to leaving curt notes. He’d waltzed into her office, tested her out like some Arabian prince buying a new girl for his harem. To see if she met with his approval. Her mouth twisted, she couldn’t help the shudder of reaction that went through her. Well, apparently she did. Lucky her.
Her assistant popped her head around the door at that moment, diverting her thoughts, and when Kallie nodded she came in. Holding out a manila envelope, she said, ‘Sorry, this came earlier, but I got distracted when Alexandros…’ She blushed prettily and Kallie scowled. ‘Sorry. When Mr Kouros arrived.’
She beat a hasty retreat and Kallie scowled even harder. Another female ready to drop at his feet. Was no one immune to the man’s charm? She ripped the envelope open and a sheaf of papers fell out. The agreement. Kallie skimmed it feeling numb. It outlined the terms of the marriage—basically she was entitled to nothing in the event of the divorce. That didn’t surprise her. It also specified the terms of the loan to her uncle, the generosity of which surprised her. He genuinely was reserving all punishment just for her. It suited her fine. She didn’t want to touch a penny of his money.
She signed quickly, without thinking, and shoved the papers back into the envelope. About to call Cécile back in, she looked up when a shape appeared at the doorway. She almost thought it was him until she saw his bodyguard come in. She pulled herself together and held out the envelope.
‘Mr Kouros sent you for this?’
He took it and left.
The reality was stark. From now on, as long as he desired, for as long as they would have the reaction they’d both just had to a simple kiss, she was Alexandros Kouros’s property. For better or worse.
CHAPTER SIX
‘FOR better or worse…’
The words swam over Kallie’s head. She stood in the mairie’s office with Alexandros by her side. Everything seemed to be swimming, ever since she’d come in the door with Alexei and seen Alexandros standing there. In a steel-grey suit, looking so tall and dark and vibrantly handsome that she’d stumbled on her walk towards him.
Members of both their families were seated behind them. The speed with which the last few weeks had flown, the reaction of her body just standing beside this man…was overwhelming. She struggled to fix her gaze on a point in the distance and only belatedly realised that Alexandros was turning her towards him, having been told he could kiss his wife.
His wife…
Kallie looked up into his face, helpless now. Bound to him in front of everyone, in front of society. Wordlessly she tried to communicate with him. Willing the harsh, stark lines of his face to relax…just for a moment so that she could reach something of the p
erson she’d once known. But they didn’t. That person was gone. As his head bent towards hers for the second time in two days, she felt every treacherous cell in her body leaping in response, hungering for his touch, his mouth on hers. She fought it, though…tensed her entire body and willed herself with every fibre of her being not to have the same reaction as yesterday.
