The Highest Stakes of All

by Sara Craven

  You don’t matter to him, she whispered silently. And he will never matter to you. Remember that, and you will one day be able to forget this and regain your own life.

  She took a deep breath and, head bent, walked slowly back into the lamplit room.

  ‘It is a long way down, ne?’

  The sound of his voice made Joanna start and come to an abrupt halt. She looked apprehensively across to where he stood, framed in the bathroom doorway, his expression faintly ironic as he watched her. He was wearing one towel draped round his hips, and drying his tousled black hair with another.

  Even though he was marginally more covered than before, he still had far too much bronze skin on display, she thought, focussing her gaze on to the floor as heated colour rose in her face again.

  ‘Consider, too, the feelings of the unfortunate who would have to remove what was left of you from the pathway,’ he added.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ she returned curtly. ‘I had no intention of jumping.’

  ‘Or of looking at me directly, it seems.’ He sounded faintly amused. ‘But why run away so coyly, thespinis? I am made no differently from any other man.’

  I’ll have to take your word for that, she told him silently, her flush deepening. Because you’re the only one I’ve ever seen naked.

  Aloud, she said, ‘Perhaps I simply prefer—any other man.’

  ‘That is, of course, a possibility,’ he said musingly. ‘Yet my lack of clothing did not seem to disturb you while you watched me through your telescope.’ His smile mocked her. ‘Or did you think I would not recognise you once your face was clean?’

  ‘I was admiring the boat,’ she said curtly, hating him. ‘Your presence was—incidental.’

  ‘You had no premonition, Joanna mou, that we would encounter each other again—and so soon?’

  ‘If I had,’ she flung back at him, ‘I would have made sure I was long gone.’

  ‘You would not have got far without money.’ He tossed aside the towel he’d been using on his hair, and walked to the dressing table, picking up a comb. ‘Besides, my friend Levaux would not have permitted you to leave.’

  ‘Of course,’ she said. ‘He would have to obey the new owner’s orders.’

  ‘You are premature,’ he said. ‘The deal has yet to be finalised. That is the other reason I am here.’

  At that, she did look at him. She said, her breath catching, ‘So it’s not my imagination. You did plan all this.’

  ‘Why, yes,’ he said softly. ‘And my plan succeeded better than I could have hoped. I, too, like to gamble for high stakes, but I can afford to lose.’ He paused. ‘Unlike the man Vernon, who took the bait, as I was told he would, and is ruined as he deserves.’ He added, ‘He has the bitterness, also, of knowing that his woman now belongs to me, so he has lost everything.’

  ‘How could you do such a thing?’ Joanna asked, her voice shaking. ‘What kind of barbarian are you?’

  ‘A rich one,’ he said flatly. ‘And one whom it is unwise to cross—unless you are prepared to suffer the consequences. But perhaps, thespinis, you thought you were immune—you and your companion.’

  ‘How could I possibly have crossed you?’ she protested. ‘Twenty-four hours ago I—I didn’t know you existed.’

  ‘Whereas I have been aware of you for the past year,’ he said. ‘And looked forward to our meeting. I do not think I shall be disappointed.’

  The dark eyes went over her. Slowly and quite deliberately stripping her naked, she realised dazedly.

  ‘Please me,’ he went on, ‘and you will find me generous.’

  She said thickly, mind and body recoiling, ‘And if I don’t please you?’

  He shrugged, and her throat tightened as she watched, as if mesmerised, the play of muscle under the smooth skin of his shoulder.

  ‘Then you will learn to do so, and quickly,’ he returned almost indifferently. ‘You have no other option, as I am sure you will come to see when you have considered the matter further.’ He paused. ‘And you will have time to do so. Your clothes and other possessions have already been packed, and tonight you will be flown to Greece, where you will wait for me on my island of Pellas.’

  His slow smile made her shiver.

  ‘I find anticipation increases the appetite—don’t you?’

  For a moment, shock held her mute. She’d thought that being made to surrender her virginity to him there on that bed was the worst that could happen to her. Had steeled herself to endure it. She had never expected—this.

  When she could speak she queried hoarsely, ‘You’re—taking me to Greece? But you can’t.’

  ‘And what is there to stop me?’

  ‘The law. Because it’s kidnap.’ Joanna flung back her head. ‘And that’s a criminal offence in any country.’

  ‘You have a short memory, Joanna mou.’ Hands on hips he regarded her, the dark face forbidding. ‘You are forgetting that I won you from the man Vernon in a poker game in front of witnesses. If you objected to your body being wagered in such a way, you should have said so at the time.’ He paused. ‘You may cheat others, my girl, but do not try to do the same to me. It is too late for that. And Pellas is where I keep all my prized possessions—until, of course, they no longer have the value of novelty and begin to bore me.’

  ‘And what—what happens then?’ The words almost choked from her.

  ‘I sell them,’ he said. ‘To a new owner.’ He added softly, ‘I expect you to bring me a handsome profit, my lovely one, when I have finished with you at last.’

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Huis words seemed to echo and re-echo through the silence that followed.

  Joanna stared at him, almost giddy with horror and disbelief, trying to tell herself that he didn’t—he couldn’t—mean what he was saying.

  But if he was trying to frighten her then he’d succeeded beyond his wildest dreams.

  She said in a voice she did not recognise, ‘Why are you doing this?’

  ‘You have brought this upon yourself, thespinis.’ There was renewed harshness in his voice. ‘You have chosen to use your body to turn men into fools. You would have attempted to do the same to me earlier tonight, if I had allowed it. Do not bother to deny it,’ he added contemptuously as her lips parted in shock. ‘Your guilt is known. But now things have changed for you, and it is your turn to be used. Used, then discarded.’

  ‘Whatever I did, I did for my—for Denys.’ She managed to keep her voice steady, although her mind was whirling frantically. I was right, she thought. But how did he know so much? How?

  ‘And he needs me,’ she went on. ‘So, I—I can’t leave France. Can’t leave him behind. And I—won’t.’

  ‘Your loyalty is touching, but misplaced, Joanna mou,’ he said coldly. ‘Is it possible you can still care about him, after what he has done?’

  ‘I do more than care.’ She lifted her chin defiantly. ‘I love him, and I always will—whatever he does.’

  ‘Then I hope for your sake that the English saying is wrong—and that absence does not make the heart grow fonder.’ His tone was cynical. ‘Because you will never see him again.’

  She caught her breath. ‘What have you done to him?’ she queried hoarsely. ‘Oh, God, you haven’t—hurt him?’

  For a moment he looked almost startled, then his mouth hardened. ‘I did not have to,’ he told her brusquely. ‘He has damaged himself quite enough, I think, and must live with the consequences.’ He paused. ‘I wonder, too, how much your loss will really matter to him when he has so many other problems pressing on him. After all, one woman is very like another.’

  She flinched from the callousness of the remark. ‘You think that he’ll simply let me go? That he won’t come to find me? You’re wrong.’

  ‘But there would be no point,’ he said gently. ‘He will never again be able to afford you.’ He paused. ‘If he ever could.’

  ‘Then at least let me see him—to say goodbye.’ She was pleading unashamedly now. For her father the
initial shock would be wearing off now, and she knew he would be guilt-stricken and desperate. How he’d react if she simply vanished—if he had no idea where she’d been taken—didn’t bear thinking about.

  For a moment she was tempted to tell Vassos Gordanis the truth. To say, He’s not what you think—he’s my father. Knowing what he’s condemned me to will be the end of him.

  But something kept her silent. Because the evening’s disasters had involved far more than just a card game, she thought. There was real animosity seething below the surface and until she discovered its cause it might be better to keep quiet about her relationship to Denys in case it simply added fuel to the flames, she decided, repressing a shiver.

  ‘Your goodbyes were said, Joanna mou, when he decided to bet against me.’ His voice was inexorable. ‘And I think you will find me an adequate substitute for a man three times your age.’ His smile mocked her. ‘Who knows? You may even discover that you enjoy sharing my bed.’

  Oh, God, he was so sure of himself, she thought, her inner chill turning to fury. So arrogantly certain that any girl would succumb eventually and welcome him as her lover. That he probably wouldn’t even have to try …

  ‘Never,’ she said, her voice shaking. ‘Never in this world. Because you are totally vile. Vile and—disgusting. And I hate you. Just the thought of having you touch me makes me feel physically sick. So please don’t wait to pass me on to the next man. Sell me now, because I’d rather be with anyone else on earth than with you.’

  His brows lifted. ‘I would not be so sure,’ he told her sardonically. ‘Nor do you have the power to be selective about your future, thespinis. Like it or not, at the moment you belong to me, and I alone shall decide when to let you go and on what conditions. As I thought I had made clear.’

  She stared at him. ‘Why are you doing this? Because it makes no sense.’ She drew a small, harsh breath. ‘I don’t believe you even like me, let alone—want anything from me.’

  He shrugged again. ‘As I remarked just now, Joanna mou, you come to me highly recommended. And now this discussion has gone on long enough,’ he added, yawning, as her hands clenched involuntarily into fists at her sides at his cold-blooded retort. ‘I have negotiations to conduct tomorrow. A deal to make, therefore I need to get some sleep.’

  Sleep? In spite of herself, Joanna found her gaze turning to the bed, a quiver of apprehension running through her.

  He noticed and laughed. ‘No, pedhi mou. I cannot spare the time or energy for your kind of distraction just now, when I have business to transact. But when we meet again on Pellas you will have no cause to feel neglected, I promise you. You will make a most interesting diversion for my leisure hours.’

  He walked to the door and called, ‘Stavros.’

  The door opened so promptly that Joanna wondered if the Gordanis chief dogsbody had been standing with his ear pressed to the panels.

  Vassos Gordanis spoke to him quietly in Greek, and he nodded impassively and came over to Joanna, holding out the trench coat he was carrying over his arm.

  ‘You will wear this, thespinis, if you please.’

  ‘Why should I?’ She squared her shoulders mutinously, putting her hands behind her back.

  ‘Because I wish it,’ Vassos Gordanis interposed, his tone level. ‘Let this be your first lesson in obedience to me, Joanna mou. From now on you will dress and behave with modesty. Do you understand?’

  ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I understand.’

  But you don’t. Do you imagine that these clothes were my choice? That I liked pretending to be something I’m not? Something I never will be, no matter what happens?

  She took the coat, which clearly belonged to someone male and very much larger who could even be Vassos Gordanis himself, she thought, shuddering inside, and put it on, tying the belt round her waist with an angry jerk to keep it in place.

  Then she walked to where he was standing.

  ‘I understand completely,’ she went on, biting out the words. ‘You appalling bloody hypocrite.’ And she swung back her arm and slapped him across the face with such force that her shoulder felt jarred. But it was like punching a marble statue. Even taken off-guard, he did not move an inch, or as much as put a hand to his cheek where her finger marks were immediately and clearly visible.

  He said quietly, ‘You will pay for that insult when we meet again, thespinis, and in coin of my choosing that you may not like. Because we already have another score to settle, you and I. The matter of Petros Manassou. Or did you think you had got away with it?’

  She cradled her stinging hand in the palm of the other, staring at him in open bewilderment. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

  ‘No?’ There was a jeering note in his voice. ‘Then think back, Joanna mou. You will have plenty of time to do so while you are waiting for me to come to you on Pellas.’

  He watched the angry colour drain from her face and nodded, his mouth twisting in a smile that did not reach his eyes.

  ‘Now go,’ he directed curtly. ‘And have the wisdom to learn some manners—and perhaps a little remorse—before our next encounter.’

  He turned away and walked towards the bed, casually loosening the concealing towel as he went, and Joanna hastily spun in the opposite direction, heading blindly for the door, her teeth sinking painfully into her lower lip before she could be subjected to another glimpse of her persecutor naked.

  In the room beyond she paused momentarily, steadying herself with a hand on the back of the sofa. Another score to settle.

  Revenge, she thought, horrified, her mind reeling away from the implications of the night’s discoveries. I’m being taken away for some kind of revenge. Nothing else.

  In his own words—'used, then discarded'.

  But why? she asked herself, her heart thudding painfully against her ribcage. What can I possibly have done to deserve this treatment from someone I’d never even heard of yesterday? There—there has to be some mistake.

  Stavros touched her arm, urging her onwards, and she shook him off almost savagely.

  The hired help could keep his hands to himself. It was enough to know that some time soon she would have to endure Vassos Gordanis’ touch, and worse.

  And seeing him without his clothes on a daily or nightly basis was probably the least of it. She’d avoided it this time, but it was something she’d have to deal with—when she had to, and not before.

  Or if she had to …

  Because she wasn’t beaten yet, she thought with sudden determination as she pulled herself upright and began to walk slowly forward. Not by a long chalk.

  Because she wasn’t about to have her life ruined over some imagined wrong by a man with too much power for his own good.

  She hadn’t yet reached his yacht, or his wretched private island. She was still in a large hotel with a foyer which, even at this time of night, would not be deserted. Quite apart from the staff, there would be people there who could hardly ignore the sight and sound of a screaming girl being dragged kicking and struggling off the premises, and would surely feel bound to intervene.

  And the reception staff could hardly stay aloof either, not if she was claiming at the top of her voice that she was being kidnapped. They’d do anything to avoid that kind of scandal, she told herself.

  Which meant that Stavros, still doggedly at her heels, would have to let her go. He’d have no choice. And, once free, she would immediately demand that the police be called, and insist on being reunited with her father. After which, it would be that emergency call to Uncle Martin and a speedy departure.

  And let Vassos Gordanis see where his bet stood then.

  She might not have to wait to reach the foyer, she thought hopefully. Not if she could outrun the man behind her and get to the lift first. She’d find a refuge somewhere. Even if she couldn’t immediately locate Denys, she knew that Chris and Julie would help her without hesitation. And no one would look for her there at their secluded bungalow.

  It
wouldn’t be easy in these ridiculous high-heeled boots, but it was worth a try, she thought, taking a deep breath as they approached the door to the corridor, bracing herself for the attempt.

  Only to find the man she’d last seen taking her father away stepping forward as she emerged, and placing a firm hand on her arm.

  ‘Let go of me.’ She tried to pull away, but he was unyielding.

  He looked past her. He said with cold civility. ‘I have my instructions, thespinis.’

  Then it would have to be her original plan after all, Joanna thought as she was marched briskly to the lift. The hysterical scene in the foyer. And wondered how loudly it was possible to scream if she really put her mind to it. I’ll give it my best shot, she promised herself, tension twisting in the pit of her stomach. Because the alternative is unthinkable. Unbearable.

  She stood quietly, staring into space, as the lift descended. She needed to make them think that she’d accepted the fate imposed on her. That she’d been stunned into submission.

  Well, they would soon think again. And so would their revolting bastard of a boss who, with any luck, would be attending his meeting with a bruised face.

  She cast a swift glance at the indicator panel, noting with satisfaction that they were nearing the ground floor, and waiting for the lift to slow down. Except that it wasn’t doing anything of the kind, she realised, her heart skipping an alarmed beat. Instead, it was continuing downwards to the hotel basement.

  She said huskily, ‘What’s happening? Where are we going?’

  ‘To the entrance used by the staff.’ It was Stavros who answered, his smile grim. ‘Kyrios Gordanis decided it would offer more privacy.’

  ‘No.’ Panicking as her plan began to come apart at the seams, Joanna began to struggle. ‘No, I won’t leave like this. I won’t. I have to go to Reception—speak to someone. Let them know I’m going.’

  ‘All the necessary arrangements have already been made. The car is waiting to take us to the airport.’

  ‘I won’t go.’ She kicked the man who was holding her. He winced but did not release his grip. ‘Leave me alone, damn you. You can’t do this.’