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“You did what?” Demetrius asked as his brows furled in surprise.
“I stopped her, showed her what you were truly about and ensured she didn’t come to you when your attention slipped back to her. From that moment on, I watched over her. I have been patient, allowed her to grow up, and now she is ready to become my wife.”
“You are not honestly saying you’ve what? Been in love with her for the past eight years? What is really going on here Stefano? Did you find her here and know that I would want her and decided to take what she offered first?”
“No, I’ve kept watch over her since she graduated high school, as she went through college, spent a year in Europe where far too many men were interested in her,” he said taking out the file from his desk that his bodyguard kept up to date on her. “Each time one of them got too close, Artemis would ensure they quietly left her life. She has been mine, always mine and you will not upset her is that clear?”
“Quite, my brother,” Demetrius said keeping his nefarious thoughts to himself. He would take down his sainted brother and he’d just tipped his hand as to how to do so. Hailey would be easy to get to and it would kill his brother to find his beloved in his bed.
Chapter 4
“Y
ou looked stressed, beautiful,” Demetrius said, sliding into the room behind Hailey, his hands moving to her shoulders, his fingers grazing her neck.
Hailey felt nothing but repulsion flow through her and stepped away, turning to glare at the man. In the last three days he had taken every opportunity to get close, touch, or look her over and she was about to scream in frustration. She had no feelings for him; in fact, she couldn’t see how she had ever thought herself in love with him let alone desiring him.
He hadn’t aged nearly as well as Stefano. His muscles were lacking the firmness Stefano’s maintained from regular workouts. His middle though still trim showed that he would likely follow in his father’s footsteps and expand over the years.
The caramel eyes that once had her falling like a fool at his feet, ready for whatever he suggested, now left her with a sickeningly sweet taste she wished to avoid. She far preferred the way Stefano’s eyes glittered when he looked at her than the attempted wooing coming from Demetrius. Stefano would never lower himself to Demetrius’ level. He also would never want her, as she’d had to acknowledge she wanted him.
“Demetrius, I am far from being tense,” she said keeping her voice flat to ensure he could not assume she was flirting with him. He was not accepting that she was beyond her infatuation with him but nothing he did could change her mind, not since Stefano had kissed her.
“You always were shy about touching,” he continued as though she hadn’t said a thing. He followed her, attempting to reach out and pull her towards him but she lifted a stack of files into her arms and moved back towards her office. “Mmm, yes, I do think we should have privacy, don’t you?”
“Demetrius stop it,” she said keeping her voice low and the harshness of her glare out of her eyes well aware of the others who could see them as they passed by the rows of windows. “I am engaged to your brother. I love him. You can’t fool me.”
“Who wants to fool you beautiful?” he questioned continuing to follow her through the room towards her office.
“Leave me alone or I will tell Stefano that you are being an irritant. He will not be pleased with you to discover that,” she warned setting the files down on her desk before heading towards the door before he could close it on them.
Demetrius stepped into the doorway trying to force her body into contact with his and she gritted her teeth to stop from smacking him.
“One dinner with me will have your engagement off and you in my bed. You should have been there eight years ago after all. It’s time you pay up, find what you really desire,” Demetrius suggested, and she pressed her heel into the soft part of his foot forcing him from the doorway. “That wasn’t very nice Hailey.”
“I have no desire to be nice to you,” she countered with a glance at the clock.
Hailey was to meet Stefano for lunch in fifteen minutes and she closed her office door to collect her purse and shut down her computer. She was taking the afternoon off to pack for the extended weekend trip home, as the others believed. She was anxious about it, especially with Demetrius’ attitude towards her since his meeting with Stefano that first day. While she didn’t know what Stefano told him, he’d taken it almost as a challenge and she would not fall victim to his ploy. Stefano had already won in his attempt to keep her from falling for Demetrius, now she was devoted to keeping their ruse going to stay near him.
Demetrius was standing near Elizabeth’s desk when she walked out with her purse. He stepped towards her, as though to follow, but the phone rang and Elizabeth answered it, putting the caller on hold as she looked to her for help.
“It’s Phillip Groose,” Elizabeth stated, and she smiled looking towards Demetrius with a devious glint filling her chest.
“I’m sure Demetrius will be of more help than I would be at this point. He likes things done instantly and unfortunately I’m out this afternoon, boss’ orders,” she added to him and he flashed her an angry look Elizabeth couldn’t see.
“I’ll take it in my office, tell Stefano I said hello, I haven’t had a chance to see him today,” he told her, and she nodded before moving to the elevator to go see him.
Hailey hadn’t seen him since yesterday morning; he’d been stuck in meetings in order to get things taken care of so they could be off this afternoon. She was extremely nervous of what was likely to happen this weekend. Stefano had it worked out that they would delay their mothers’ anxious desire to begin wedding planning but in truth, she no longer wanted to, it was mystifying to her, but she wouldn’t let Stefano know she’d fallen for him. It was the only explanation of her feelings, the only reason why his kisses woke such a response inside her.
She hated the man, had sworn she hated him for the way he’d treated her, but each kiss filled her with an ache, the likes of she’d never before felt. Every night she laid awake, thinking of what it would be like to have him next to her, his hands running over her naked body as it pressed against his. It was maddening to her to discover how tempted she was to give him what she’d sworn she would only give to her husband. Then again, she wanted the ring she wore to be a true commitment from him, whether he loved her or not.
It would be easy to make him follow through with the wedding if she pushed their mothers to press him into it, but that did not mean he would take what she offered him. It likely would do the opposite and have him headed to Greece to be with Athena.
The simple thought of that woman made her blood boil now. She left Wednesday, and it was only last night that she’d acknowledged the fact that she was in love with Stefano, why a single night away from him would be that excruciating. If Athena stepped foot near Stefano again, she would likely become far more than catty towards her, revealing her true feelings for Stefano and she was loath to do that. She did not want to discover what attempts he would take to convince her she was not in love with him. It would hurt far worse than anything he had said about her crush on Demetrius.
Xavier wasn’t at his desk when she arrived and she moved over to Stefano’s door, giving it a knock before opening it with a smile.
“Not interrupting anything am I?” she questioned seeing Xavier and two others in the room with him.
