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‘I did not expect you to come to work today,’ he murmured. ‘Why don’t you take a few days off to recover from jet-lag after the flight from Africa?’ He stepped closer to her and slid his arm around her waist, drawing her up against him so that they were hip to hip. He knew she must feel the hard proof of his arousal. The pulse at the base of her throat was beating erratically. ‘I have a few things to see to here and then I’ll join you at the villa for a siesta.’
Eleanor pulled out of his arms. ‘It’s a tempting idea, but I have far too much to do. As you are aware, my brother left a lot of problems at the Pangalos that I need to sort out.’ She resumed her seat behind the desk. ‘I doubt I’ll finish here until late this evening. Maybe we can order take-out for dinner—unless you want to cook tonight?’
In the past Jace had frequently cancelled a date when work had demanded his time. But he did not enjoy it when Eleanor made it clear that she was prepared to prioritise business over spending time with him. Once again, he reminded himself that this was exactly the kind of relationship he wanted. Eleanor knew her own mind and did not assume he would drop everything for her. The flip side was that she would not change her schedule because he’d asked her to.
What had happened to the lovestruck woman who had been waiting eagerly on the doorstep when he’d arrived to take her out to dinner in Oxford? Jace brooded. The answer struck him with a thud in his chest. Eleanor had fallen out of love with him, and there was no reason at all why the realisation made him feel empty inside.
She glanced up from her computer screen. ‘I put your briefcase in the smaller office next door. No doubt you’ll spread your time between the hotel and your business in Thessaloniki, so I might as well have the bigger office. There is one other thing I want to discuss with you.’
‘Go on,’ Jace drawled.
‘Elias, who is head of marketing, told me that you had spoken to him about changing the name of the hotel to the Zagorakis. I disagree.’
‘For what reason?’
‘Changing the name will incur a lot of unnecessary expense at a time when the hotel’s finances are unstable.’
‘Due to your brother’s mismanagement,’ Jace said sardonically.
Eleanor flushed. ‘True, and I accept some of the responsibility because I trusted Mark. But, whatever you think of my grandfather, he made the Pangalos what it is today, and you can’t simply ignore the fact that it is his legacy. You are not the sole owner of the hotel. We own it jointly, and I won’t accept changing the Pangalos to your name, Zagorakis.’
Jace’s gaze narrowed on Eleanor’s determined face. Did she have any idea how sexy she looked with her hair swept up in an elegant chignon and her full lips coated in a scarlet gloss that tempted him to walk around the desk and haul her into his arms? On one level he was annoyed that she was prepared to argue with him. He was used to getting his own way. But he found himself enjoying their verbal sparring. It was refreshing to have her challenge him and he admired her strong will, which matched his own. Being married to her would never be boring.
‘Zagorakis is your name too,’ he reminded her. ‘My suggestion is to name the hotel after both of its owners.’
‘Our marriage is a temporary arrangement,’ she said coolly. ‘I won’t be Zagorakis after we divorce, and I’ll revert to my maiden name.’
‘Fine, we’ll leave the idea of changing the name for now.’ Jace did not accept defeat but he realised he would have to use different tactics to persuade Eleanor. His body tightened as he imagined employing various erotic methods of persuasion.
‘Did the marketing director mention my other idea, to host a party here? Every year, Zagorakis Estates organises a charity fundraising ball which attracts interest from businesses and celebrities around the world. The invitations went out a few months ago, but we can notify guests of the change of venue. Apart from raising a lot of money for good causes, it will be good advertising for the hotel.’
‘I think it is an excellent idea.’ Eleanor’s smile lit up her lovely face. Jace had no explanation for the way his heart seemed to expand to fill his chest.
Disconcerted by feelings that were new and frankly terrifying, he turned away from her and strode towards the door, growling, ‘At least we agree on something.’
Butterflies swooped in Eleanor’s stomach. At the last minute she was plagued with self-doubt. Why had she agreed to wear the dress to what was being labelled by the media astheparty of the year? The charity fundraising ball had a guest list that read like theWho’s Whoof Europe’s social elite, and a top magazine had donated a huge sum of money to the charitable fund established by Zagorakis Estates for excusive photograph rights of the party.
Eleanor’s dress had been loaned to her by a famous design house. Made of ruby red silk overlaid with lace, the dramatic front of the bodice was eye-catching, but at the back the material skimmed her shoulders before falling away in a deep cowl to her waist and then fell in soft folds to the floor. It meant that her back was bare, and when she angled the dressing table mirror she could see that her scar was clearly visible.
She could not go through with it and wear the dress tonight, she decided frantically. The idea of making herself so vulnerable when people saw and perhaps commented on her scar made her feel sick.
Footsteps sounded on the marble floor outside in the hallway, and she whirled away from the mirror just in time as Jace opened the door and walked into the bedroom. He stopped in his tracks and stared at her, his expression unreadable as it so often was, but she noticed a nerve jump in his jaw.
‘You look incredible,’ he said in a rough voice that caused the tiny hairs on her body to stand on end. She reminded herself that he could not see her back. Jace had insisted that her scar did not make her unattractive, and when they were alone she almost believed him. But she wondered how he would react to the idea of her wearing a dress that drew attention to her naked back in public.
Her heartrate quickened when he prowled towards her. The feral gleam in his eyes evoked a wild hunger inside her and she felt her nipples harden.
‘So do you.’ She flushed when she realised that she had spoken her thoughts aloud. But it was the truth. He was breathtaking in a tuxedo that clung to his powerfully muscular body. This was only the second time she’d seen him in the past two weeks, and she’d missed him so much. Too much, a voice in her head warned. Since they had returned to Greece after their honeymoon, Jace had spent most of the time in Thessaloniki, while she had remained at the villa on the Pangalos resort.
He had told her that a problem had arisen at his property development company and he’d needed to be at Zagorakis Estates’ offices in the city. There was no reason why he would lie, but she sensed that he had been deliberately avoiding her. The close bond she had felt with him in Africa had disappeared. Perhaps she’d imagined it had existed.
On their first day working at the Pangalos together, Jace had been different. Maybe he had thought she would hand the running of the hotel over to him. It would be easy to be overwhelmed by his commanding personality, but Eleanor had refused to allow him to dominate her. They owned the hotel jointly and she was determined to be involved in every policy decision.
‘The guests will start to arrive soon, and as we are the hosts of the party we should be in the ballroom to greet them,’ he murmured. ‘Are you ready?’
She bit her lip. ‘Give me a few minutes to change my dress.’
‘Why on earth do you want to change it?’ He reached into his jacket and withdrew a slim velvet box. ‘The other day I asked you the colour of the dress you would be wearing so that I could select jewellery to match,’ he said as he lifted up a stunning ruby and diamond necklace. ‘Turn around and I’ll put it on you.’
