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In his bed.
And him, deep inside her. Doing it to her, over and over again.
Back then she had been a virgin and he would have been the first.
He should have been the first.
But that didn’t matter. This wasn’t about ego or pride, or his stupidity in putting her on that damned pedestal and essentially placing her out of reach. It was much more fundamental than that. He wanted to have sex with her. To finish off what he had started and erase her from his memory once and for all.
He looked across the room to where she stood, his diminutive copper-headed wife who was surveying him with such belligerent eyes. Yet the desire which shimmered through her delicious body was as palpable as the sunlight which dappled the leaves of the trees outside. It was written in the darkening of her eyes and the trembling of her lips. In the diamond-hard points of her nipples, which were pushing against the cotton of her dress and silently begging for his touch.
Yes, she desired him. Of course she did. He had been desired by women since he’d been barely out of puberty. He gave a bitter smile. How many times had he been told he was irresistible? Or that he resembled a god with his mane of black hair, his glittering ebony eyes and muscle-packed body? But the deep cynicism which ran through Theo’s veins made him suspect that his billionaire status might have a lot to do with his allure. Didn’t the appeal of diamonds and a bloated bank account exert its own powerful pull on the opposite sex?
Yet Mia had wanted him when he was...
A pulse began to hammer at his temple. Not exactly poor, no—but certainly on a salary which seemed like a drop in the ocean compared to the vast reserves he had now. And wasn’t he forgetting something? Yes, she might have professed to have loved him, but those had been meaningless words. How could you tell someone you loved them yet believe they were stealing from you? His throat tightened.
Her words meant nothing.
Love meant nothing.
She had walked away at the first opportunity. His own mother had dumped him, hadn’t she? Dumped him and left him to die beside the hulking great ships in the stormy port. Women were capable of cruelty on a grand scale and he should never forget that.
He lifted up his drink, his dust-dry mouth grateful for that first quenching slug ofpressé, and he put the empty glass down to survey her.
‘You say we’ve moved on but we haven’t really, have we, Mia?’ he mused. ‘Not when we are still man and wife.’
‘Only on paper,’ she objected.
‘But that piece of paper ties us together—legally at least. And perhaps we need to do something about that.’
A frown pleated her brow. ‘Get a...divorce, you mean?’
‘Isn’t that what couples usually do when a marriage comes to an end—or fails to start, as in our case? I thought you were curious to know why I’d never demanded one before.’
‘I was, but if you remember you didn’t answer my question.’
He wanted to hurt her then. To hurt her as she had hurt him. To make her jealous and realise what she’d been missing. What she was still missing. ‘Some versions of my biography refer to a brief, early marriage and the assumption is usually made that the marriage was dissolved.’ He smiled. ‘And for a long time, I regarded having a secret wife as a kind of insurance policy. On one level I enjoyed keeping the information to myself. Knowing that no woman had ever become close enough to me to find out. And of course, it prevented me from ever doing anything as stupid as getting married again.’ He gave the ghost of a smile. ‘But I am no longer that man and I have no great need to protect myself.’
‘You mean...’ Her voice faltered. ‘You’ve found someone you want to marry? Someone else?’
He saw the distress she was trying to hide—and he let her endure it for a moment longer before he answered, because he wanted to hurt her as she had hurt him.
‘I never say never, but that’s unlikely to happen. For me, it’s more a question of tying up all the loose ends and simplifying my life. There is nothing to stop us from agreeing a settlement and you could walk away from this marriage as a wealthy woman.’ He shrugged. ‘Naturally, I would be prepared to be more than...generous.’
But he saw no obvious reaction of pleasure or greed. He watched her eyes narrow—as if the idea of walking away with a massive settlement was a burden rather than a liberation.
‘If only you knew how patronising you sound!’ she declared. ‘It makes me realise what a lucky escape I had. I don’tneedyourgenerosity—I’ve managed very well without it so far!’
Her feisty attitude made her even more desirable. The flash of fire which lit up her blue eyes was very beguiling, as was the sudden pout of anger which made him want to crush her soft lips beneath his own. If it had been any other woman than Mia, this conversation would have ended one way only—with them in bed. But itwasMia, which made it complicated.
‘You think so?’ he queried. ‘That’s surely a matter for debate. You can’t tell me you’re happy working as a maid and living in cramped accommodation in the city? I always thought you were a country girl, at heart.’
She opened her mouth as if to respond, then seemed to think better of it, drawing her shoulders back in a gesture of kittenish pride. ‘When I want any career advice from you, I’ll be sure to let you know.’
In spite of himself, he smiled. ‘As you wish,’ he said softly. ‘Now, why don’t you settle in while I’m working? Use the pool if you want. There’s a library if you want to read. And later, I’ll take you to see your grandfather.’
He glanced down at her suitcase, which stood in the middle of the floor, and thought how out of place the battered piece of luggage looked in the pristine surroundings. His mouth hardened. He would facilitate a reconciliation between her and her grandfather, and afterwards, he and Mia could meet with his lawyer and agree a divorce. Then, and only then—when the connection between them had been legally severed—might he consider having sex with her.
