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‘I considered it some sort of rite of passage. Do I take it it’s over now?’ she asked, a weird little bubble of hope in her chest.
He rose without answering, went to the cabinet and poured another shot of cognac. Nursing it, he returned to the sofa but chose th
e seat next to her instead of the farthest.
Alexis tensed, her breath shortening as she caught a whiff of his unique aftershave. ‘Consider that part of your brief nullified.’
Relief shot through her, slowly followed by another mildly damning sensation that forced her to avert her gaze from him before his sharp eyes divined it.
While playing agony aunt to his jilted lovers had been less than palatable, she’d also gained insight into how he treated his women when they were flavour of the month. She hadn’t been interested in the expensive dinners and endless benefits his wealth had exposed them to. But Alexis had found herself hooked on his ex-lovers’ recounts of how it had felt to dance in his arms, how they’d felt when he’d smiled at them or run his fingers through their hair. Every single one of them had confessed that being the centre of Christos Drakakis’s attention had been a singularly thrilling experience. Alexis had gleaned that a large percentage of them missed that more than the red-carpet, first-class benefits of dating the world’s most eligible bachelor.
‘What does that mean, exactly?’ she asked now. Being out of the loop was one...welcome...thing. Not knowing whether he was still dating...
Alexis wasn’t sure how she felt about that. How she wanted to feel about it.
‘You don’t seem pleased,’ Christos replied dryly.
‘Of course I’m pleased.’ She set her glass down, wisely deciding against indulging in any more alcohol. She stood, slung her handbag onto her shoulder. ‘I think it’s time to call it a night. Thanks for the—’
The words died in her throat when he captured her wrist. Heat from his fingers branded her skin and a gasp slipped free before Alexis could stop it.
‘I never received an answer to my question.’
It took a second for her to pull her attention from the sensations dragging through her. ‘What question...? Oh.’ Her gaze dropped to where he held her, then to the intensity of his eyes. No. She definitely didn’t like this version of Christos Drakakis. She had a feeling he was going to be lethal to her senses. ‘Why do you want to know whether I have a boyfriend or not?’
‘Because I want to know if there’s anyone standing in my way.’
‘Standing in your way of what?’ she asked, her voice not as firm as she would’ve preferred.
‘In the way of achieving my goals, of course. What else?’
‘I’m not sure I follow.’
‘Sit down and I’ll tell you,’ he said.
Slowly, Alexis reclaimed her seat, her brows knitting as mingled sensations of alarm and intrigue twisted through her.
‘Costas is unwell. He’s in denial about it but his condition has deteriorated over the past few weeks. Enough to necessitate a doctor’s visit.’
Sympathy welled inside her. ‘I’m sorry.’
He nodded, taking a moment to sip his drink, as if distancing himself from her emotions. ‘I spoke to his doctor this morning.’ He didn’t add anything else, leaving Alexis to wonder if that had contributed to the unusual outcome in court today.
Because while Christos could be coldly ruthless in litigation, she’d been stunned at the interaction between him and his grandfather. There’d been a...guarded warmth, albeit a disgruntled one from Costas, reciprocated by his grandson.
While Christos hadn’t given her the full details of why he’d needed a convenient wife to secure his birthright, Alexis had surmised it had something to do with safeguarding his relationship with his grandfather and the island he lived on. That the man who’d coldly announced that he didn’t have to have a family to take that step meant that beneath his formidable exterior, Christos felt...something for his grandfather.
His words filtered through. ‘The doctor told you what’s wrong with your grandfather? Is he allowed to do that?’
He sent a sharp smile, then went back to contemplating the depths of his drink. ‘He didn’t give me the full details and Costas refused to tell me over the phone. When I insisted, he invited me to come and find out for myself if I cared enough.’ His smile disappeared, a hard light entering his eyes. ‘Amongst other things.’
Alexis suspected it was those other things that required her presence, not that his grandfather’s health was a trivial matter. ‘What other things?’ He remained silent for an age, enough to raise her hackles higher. ‘Christos?’
His name emerged far huskier than she’d intended, reminding her far too vividly of another night on a similar sofa a handful of miles away.
She’d used his name profusely that night. She’d moaned it. Screamed it as she unravelled.
He raised his head and their gazes clashed. The flagrant knowledge that he was recalling the same incident rendered her breathless, her blood thundering through her veins as she returned his compelling stare. It took a monumental effort to drag her gaze from his, to suck in a pulse-calming breath, her relief spiking as he spoke.
