by Jennie Lucas
“No.” His voice was low.
She licked her lips. Might as well get it all over with. “And I’m sorry for blaming you for my father’s death,” she said in a rush. “You invested in his company and he took advantage of you. He’s the one who chose to drink himself to death. I just wish you’d told me, so I could have tried to do something to save him before it was too late.” She paused, then sighed. “I guess we’ve both made a mess of things in our own way, haven’t we?”
He drew back, his eyes cold. “My only mistake was trying to take care of you.”
She was trying to be penitent, but his words caused resentment to surge through her anew. She backed away from the crib, keeping her voice soft so as not to wake their sleeping child. “Oh, I see,” she said furiously. “So was it for my welfare that you cheated on me during my pregnancy?”
He followed her across the room, clenching his jaw in exasperation. He shook his head. “What are you talking about? I never cheated on you. Although at this point I wish I had. Are you trying to make up lies to use against me in court? That’s a new low, even for you.”
She could hardly believe he’d try to deny it. “What about Lindsey?”
“What about her?”
“You might as well admit she was your mistress. She told me everything.” Anna stared blindly at the five-foot-high stuffed giraffe sitting on the powder-blue sofa in the corner. “Lindsey often came here during the last months of my pregnancy, supposedly to ask questions about her job. But I think the real reason was to torment me with details of your affair.”
For a moment there was silence in the shaded cool of the nursery.
“Lindsey told you that we were lovers?” His voice was matter-of-fact, emotionless.
“She told me everything.” Her throat started to hurt as the pain went through her heart again, ripping the wound anew. “How often you made love. How she believed you’d ask her to marry you.”
“It’s a lie.”
“Of course that part was a lie. She was obviously delusional. You’ll never propose to anyone.” She gave a bitter laugh. “I almost feel sorry for her. You use women when it suits you. But you’ll abandon her like you abandoned me.”
He became dangerously still. “You think I—abandoned you?”
“I wasn’t so sexy anymore, was I? The last three months of my pregnancy you wouldn’t touch me, you pushed me away, and finally you just left altogether. You replaced me with a younger, slimmer model.”
He looked down at her with narrowed eyes as his nostrils flared. “And that’s really what you really think of me? After all our years working together you think I would reject and abandon the woman carrying my child.”
She pushed away all the wonderful memories of them working, laughing, dancing together. Of nights under the stars. Days spent together in bed.
Wordlessly, she nodded.
“Damn you, it’s well known that having sex during the final trimester can induce early labor—”
“I had a healthy pregnancy!” Anna cried. “But you kept me prisoner for nine months. I let you do it because I thought you were just worried about our child. But you kept me away from my family and my work, keeping me helpless and alone. Then you left to live with your gorgeous young mistress. Make up some cockamamie story about early labor if you want, but the truth is you just didn’t want me anymore!”
“Anna, you know that’s not—”
“I gave you everything, and you broke my heart.” She turned away, barely holding back tears as she looked down at her sleeping son. “Go, Nikos. Just leave. That’s what you do best, isn’t it?”
He grabbed her shoulders, whirling her around. “I can’t believe this. That’s why you kidnapped my son and caused me four months of hell? Because of some damned lies Lindsey told you?”
His hands tightened painfully, and she was suddenly aware of his body close to hers. His breath brushed her cheek, sending waves of heat up and down her body. Her gaze fell to his mouth.
She licked her own lips unconsciously. “Lindsey is your lover. Why won’t you just admit it? You didn’t hesitate to tell me the brutal truth this morning about my father. I thought you said you were done protecting me!”
He pulled her close, wrapping his muscled arms tightly around her as he whispered in her ear, “Damn you, Anna.”
He abruptly released her, striding for the door.
“I’ll be back for dinner,” he tossed at her without a backward glance. “I expect you to be waiting for me when I return.”
She stared after him, still shivering. She had no doubt as to what he expected of her. To be waiting for him in lingerie, holding two flutes of champagne, hot and ready for his seduction. He thought she was weak. He thought that, even though she hated him, she would be powerless to resist.
No, she thought. No way.
Resting one hand protectively on her son’s crib, Anna narrowed her eyes.
Whether he was more dangerous or not, Anna had to get Victor’s help so she could get out of this house. She had no choice. Because when Nikos had told her that Lindsey’s words were lies, she’d found herself wanting to believe him. Aching to believe him.
Being this close to Nikos was killing her.
She’d go to Victor’s club tonight. She’d beg for his help. In exchange, she would promise to work for him again—something she’d sworn she’d never do. She’d do anything short of becoming his lover. And once she had Victor’s help Nikos would see who was powerless and weak.
She clenched her hands into fists, remembering the arrogant way he’d demanded that she wait for him tonight. She’d be waiting, all right.
Waiting to give him the shock of his life.
* * *
Nikos poured himself a small bourbon from the crystal decanter in his office on the fourth floor of L’Hermitage.
He swished the glass and leaned back against the desk, staring out through the wide windows overlooking the Las Vegas strip. The brilliant blue sky and desert sun were beating down on the palm trees and garish architecture. The blacktop of Las Vegas Boulevard reflected waves of heat on the camera-wielding tourists, the gamblers and the drunken, ecstatic newlyweds.
He took a sip of bourbon. The normally smooth flavor was tasteless. Staring at the amber-colored liquid, he set down the glass and rested his head against his hands.
At last he understood.
He’d thought Anna had left because he’d tried to protect her during her pregnancy. He’d fired her because he’d sworn he’d be damned if his child’s mother would ever have to work—not after he’d watched his own mother work herself to death. He’d blocked Anna’s phone calls because he’d too often found her pacing while she solved problems at the casino building site, or tried to solve the endless foolish problems of her mother and sister. In both cases she’d been taking on problems that other people should have handled for themselves. Her first priority should have been her child, to the exclusion of all else. Why had she not seen that? Why had she been unable to let the weight of responsibility rest on him? Why had she fought his efforts to keep his fragile new family safe and protected?
Perhaps he should have told her about her father’s initial request for an investment, but Alexander Rostoff had asked Nikos to keep it quiet. Later, when Nikos had discovered the embezzlement, Anna was already pregnant, and upsetting her had been the last thing he’d wanted to do. Anna already took too much on where her family was concerned.
But he couldn’t believe that his real mistake, what had truly driven Anna away, had been leaving her bed.
She’d been so beautiful in her final trimester, lush with curves and ripe with his child, that Nikos had known there was no way he could keep his hands off her. He’d read in a pregnancy book that late-term sex could be a factor in early labor, so he’d forced himself to leave her, moving to his newly finished penthouse at L’Hermitage. To an empty bed and a lonely apartment. For her sake. For their child’s sake.
And she’d taken that as re
jection?
In leaving Anna’s bed he’d given up the greatest pleasure he’d ever known. He’d even told her why he was leaving, but apparently she hadn’t believed him. Instead of being grateful, she’d been angry at his sacrifice.
He clenched his jaw. Hell, how could she have felt otherwise after what Lindsey had told her?
Furious, he rose from his desk and paced his office, crossing to the opposite wall of one-sided windows that overlooked the main casino floor. Leaning against the glass, he stared down at the wide expanse of elegant nineteenth-century Russian architecture, the soaring ceilings with high crystal chandeliers and gilded columns, packed in with slot machines, card tables and well-heeled gamblers.
He spotted Lindsey weaving through the crowds, rushing toward the employee elevator. She was carrying a bag from a high-end lingerie store in the Moskva Shopping Complex within the casino. Even after he’d ordered her to wait for him here at the office she’d taken time to go shopping. Unbelievable.
He missed Anna.
Anna, the perfect secretary. Anna, who’d read his mind. Anna, who’d solved problems before he’d even known they existed.
He’d first met her in New York, when Victor Sinistyn had pitched that ridiculous idea for an Elvis-themed hotel-casino called Girls Girls Girls. The meeting had been an utter waste of his time. With twenty boutique hotels around the world, Stavrakis Resorts were known for their elegance, not for their go-go dancers.
Nikos had noticed Sinistyn’s executive assistant, with her cool efficiency and aristocratic demeanor. He’d needed someone who could handle the complex details of running a billion-dollar business while still maintaining the image of his company. He’d needed someone with understanding and discretion, who wouldn’t let herself be bullied—not even by him.
Anna Rostoff had been everything he’d wanted and more. Hiring her away from Victor Sinistyn had caused him no end of grief, for the man had been a furious thorn in his side ever since. But Sinistyn’s enmity had been a small price to pay. For five years he and Anna had worked together, traveling around the world in his private jet, often working around the clock. She’d never complained. She’d never failed him. She’d never made a mistake. And he’d compensated her accordingly. When he’d found out she was sending most of her salary to support her mother and younger sister in New York, he’d given her a raise that had sent her salary skyrocketing deep into six figures.
He’d known by then that she was indispensable to his empire. Indispensable to him.
“I’m here.” Lindsey’s voice was panting as she leaned against the doorway. She’d stashed the lingerie bag somewhere en route, and now brought a hand to her heaving chest. “I was…um…”
“Stuck in traffic?” he said laconically.
“Right. Stuck in traffic.” She looked relieved. “You know Las Vegas Boulevard is a nightmare this time of day.”
“Don’t worry.” Standing over his desk, he leaned forward and gave her a lazy smile. “You’re just in time.”
“In time?” Her eyes lit up, and her hips swayed as she came toward him. Harsh afternoon sunlight hit her tanned face as she stretched a manicured hand to caress his cheek. “Past time, I’d say.”
He removed Lindsey’s hand.
“Stop it, Lindsey. It’s not going to happen.”
The desire for release was strong in him. The desire to forget, to bury himself in flesh and curves and the hot scent of woman. To pull her long hair back, exposing her throat for plunder, to possess her mouth and see the answering spark of desire in her eyes…
He wanted a woman. God, yes. Just not this one.
He wanted the woman who was at home right now, hating him.
Undeterred, Lindsey stroked his thigh. “Why do you think I took this stupid job? I know we’d be perfect together. I’ll make you wild. I’ll make you so hot and worked up that you’ll forget that tramp—”
He cut her off, his tone ruthlessly cold. “You told Anna that we were lovers. When she was pregnant and vulnerable you lied to her. I want to hear it from your mouth.”
“All right.” Lindsey dropped the seductive pose, and her young, pretty face took on the hard, calculating look of a hustler. “But, the way I see it, I was doing you a favor.”
He turned to his desk and pressed a button. Two guards appeared at his door.
“Please escort Miss Miller out of the casino,” he said coldly. “Her employment here is done.”
The color drained from her face, leaving her pale beneath her tan. “What?”
“A severance check will be waiting for you at the casino office downstairs. You’ll find I’ve been more generous than you deserve.”
“You can’t be serious!”
“For every minute you argue with me I’ll instruct Margaret to subtract a thousand dollars from your check.”
She sucked in her breath. “Fine!” She turned on her designer heel and stalked out, grabbing her shopping bag just outside the door. She stopped and glared at him.
“It’s not my fault she left, you know. She was having your kid and you still wouldn’t marry her. Pathetic.” She shook the lingerie bag at him. “And now you’ll never see me in this!”
He should have gotten rid of her a long time ago, he mused, his ears still ringing with the noise of the slammed door. It took him a moment to realize he was hearing the phone. Shaking his head, he picked up the receiver.
“Yeah?”
“You’re not going to like this, boss,” Cooper said.
“What’s wrong?” Nikos’s heart gave a weird thump. “Michael?”
“The baby’s fine. With his nanny. But Anna took off. I didn’t stop her, since she didn’t take the boy. I had her followed, like you said. She took the Maserati.”
Nikos nearly choked on his bourbon. Anna had snuck out? Leaving their son behind? When it was almost dusk? Driving his favorite car?
That was her idea of going under the radar?
“Where did she go?”
“That’s the part you’re not going to like.” Coop paused. “She walked into Victor Sinistyn’s club ten minutes ago.”
“And you waited ten minutes to tell me?” he said tersely.
“Wait, boss. You don’t want to go there alone—I’m getting some of the guys—”
“I can do this alone!”
Nikos slammed down the phone and headed for the door. He went straight to his private garage and jumped on his Ducati motorcycle. Swerving through the traffic on Las Vegas Boulevard, he headed downtown.
Fremont Street was gritty, for all of its brilliant lights. This was where the hardcore gamblers came to play, far from the lavish themed hotels and the families with cameras and strollers. This was the original Las Vegas, and its hard-edged glamor showed its tarnish like an aging showgirl.
Victor Sinistyn had turned his failed casino concept into a dance club. Outside of Girls Girls Girls there was a long line of lithe, scantily-clad twenty-somethings, waiting to drink and dance.
Nikos leapt off his motorcycle, tossing his keys to a valet. The bouncer recognized Nikos as he strode arrogantly forward, bypassing the line.
“No bodyguards tonight, Mr. Stavrakis?”
“Where’s your boss?” Not waiting for an answer, Nikos pushed past him.
Inside the club, colored lights were pulsing through the darkness to the beat of the music. The place was a cavern, a rebuilt warehouse with an enormous high ceiling, and it shook with the rhythm of the dancing crowd. The air was steamy, hot, redolent of sex and skin.
And then he saw her, wearing a tiny halter top and low-slung jeans that made her look virtually naked.
Dancing with Victor Sinistyn.
The man smiled down at Anna as they danced, running his hands possessively down her bare skin. She gave him a strained smile as she stepped back from him, swaying her body, moving down to her knees before she rose again. She leaned back, arms over her head, and her full breasts strained the fabric, nearly popped out of her flesh-colored top. But a
pparently Sinistyn wasn’t satisfied with just looking.
Grabbing her shoulders, he pulled her bare belly against him and ground his body against hers, nuzzling her neck. Anna didn’t struggle, but Nikos had a glimpse of her pale face. She looked as if she were gasping for air. Why was Anna allowing him to manhandle her?
He saw the Russian’s hands move toward her breasts. With a savage growl, Nikos started to push roughly through the crowd. All he could think was that if Sinistyn kept touching her he’d kill the man in his own club.
CHAPTER FOUR
“THERE, WE’VE HAD our dance.” Anna panted, drawing away. “Please can we talk now?”
“The music’s not over yet,” Victor said, pulling her back close.
That was what she was afraid of—that this music would never end. Her skin crawled where he’d touched her. “But I need to ask you something important, Victor. A life-and-death favor.”
“Then you should be trying to please me now,” Victor replied, flashing his teeth in a grin as he moved his body against hers. He was handsome, Anna thought, amid the heat and the lights and the pounding rhythm of the dance music. She could see why her sister had had a crush on him since girlhood. Too bad he had such an ugly soul.
Aware that she was playing with fire, Anna wanted to run from him, far away from this dance floor.
But where would she go?
Besides, though he might have hurt business rivals in the past, he would never hurt her, she tried to reassure herself. She’d known Victor since she was eighteen years old, when he’d gone into business with her father and had personally asked Anna to become his secretary. True, she’d spent five years fending him off, but now she had no other choice but to ask for his help. If she didn’t want to be completely at Nikos’s mercy she needed a favor from the only man who could fight him and win.
“Victor—”
“Call me Vitya, like you used to.”
That was Natalie’s nickname for him, not hers. “Victor, please, if we could only—”
A hand suddenly gripped her wrist, pulling her away.