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Besides, he was right. He had rejected her attempts at seduction with embarrassing ease. And yet, something like intuition made her wonder. Did he not look at her now and see the woman she’d become?
Was he not curious about the waves of desire that were washing over them?
He handed her drink over and she took it gratefully, sipping it on autopilot. The strength of the alcohol burned her mouth. But she didn’t give into the cough that was threatening.
“Would you like to think of me doing something so intimate?” He turned the conversation back on her, moving away from behind the bar, staring down at her from his considerably greater height. “Did you fantasize about me hand-selecting your underwear, imagining it on your body as I did so?”
He’d turned the tables with offensive ease.
She glared at him. “I was just curious,” she mumbled and look away.
“Careful, asteraki,” he surprised her by reaching for her chin and lifting her face to his. “You think you are experienced with men but believe me, you have never known a man like me.” He brought his face closer to hers, so that their eyes were only inches apart. “Do not flirt with me for sport or I might take you up on what you’re offering so freely.”
She gasped, drawing in an angry breath. Or was it a breath of need and desire, of hope? Of acceptance?
“I thought you weren’t interested in me?” She murmured silkily, narrowing her caramel-coloured eyes as they roamed his body. “I thought I was a stupid little girl who’d had too much to drink?” She tossed back another generous sip of her liquor, letting it disappear all the way down her throat and into her body, spreading warmth into paralysed nerve centres.
“You were eighteen years old then. You were a stupid little girl.”
The answer hurt her. But the flipside didn’t. “And now?” She asked huskily.
His eyes narrowed. “You are not innocent anymore.”
Colour flared in Claudia’s cheeks. If only he knew! If only he knew that she was completely untouched. That beyond a few fumbling kisses at nightclubs – kisses that had been caught on camera and published in gossip rags, admittedly – she had no experience with men. And certainly not men like Stavros.
She had to get control of this situation. She was way out of her depth. “No, I’m not,” she muttered, stepping away from him. Everything in her body screamed at her for being so stupid, for removing his touch.
“So do not bait me,” he growled. “By asking me about your lingerie. Do not bait me, or you might find you get what you’re asking for.”
CHAPTER THREE
DO NOT BAIT ME, or you might find you get what you’re asking for.
His words were flying around her brain, filling her with confusion. Had she been baiting him? She’d certainly been trying to aggravate him.
And yes, she admitted, running a finger around the base of her drink. She’d been hoping to get a response out of him. But not that response.
She was on tenterhooks, sensual heat and anticipation at war with the anger and hatred she felt for this man. This man her father had loved so much, this man who had neglected her for years.
“That was delicious, Marta, thank you,” Claudia murmured as the housekeeper came to clear the plates.
“You hardly touched it!” Marta said with a shake of her head. “You didn’t like it?”
Claudia dropped her gaze to the duck and gooseberry pie, which had been delicious. Only she’d been too distracted to do it justice. “It was lovely, but I ate a late lunch, I’m sorry.” She blinked her long lashes towards her guardian, not looking away even when the full force of his stare was returned, landing squarely on her face. “I didn’t realise I’d be dining at Barnwell, enjoying your exceptional cooking, or I most definitely would have brought my appetite.”
“Ah, tomorrow,” Marta said with a wink. “I make you pork belly.”
Claudia smiled. “You remember?”
“Oh, it was your favourite, that summer. I could not give you enough pork belly.”
Claudia nodded. She had loved it, paired with red cabbage and crispy potatoes, it had been delicious. The kind of food she’d never tasted before. Her boarding school, though exclusive, served rather bland fare.
Stavros’s plate was empty and Marta clucked her approval as she removed it.
“There is dessert,” Marta said.
“Just coffee, for me,” Claudia said, rubbing a hand over her stomach. “I really couldn’t eat another thing.”
