‘What would you like to eat?’ he asked, handing her the menu.
She looked down at the items without reading a single word. ‘I don’t know…I’m not very hungry at the moment; why don’t you choose?’
He took the menu back from her and reached for the phone by the king-size bed. ‘Do you still like seafood?’ he asked as he pressed the room service number.
‘Yes…I love it…’ she answered, privately amazed that he’d remembered that about her. What else had he remembered?
He put an order through and replaced the receiver. ‘What about a drink?’ he asked. ‘The mini-bar is well stocked. Surely one glass of wine won’t compromise your driving record?’
But it might compromise my resistance, Charlotte reminded herself. ‘No, I’m really happy with soda or mineral water,’ she said. ‘I have to start early in the morning now that Julian is in hospital.’
‘How is your boss, Mr Deverell?’
‘He’s doing well,’ she said. ‘I called his wife this afternoon. He came through the angioplasty well but it will be a week or two before he’s ready to return to work.’
‘He spoke very highly of you,’ Damon said, pouring himself a glass of red wine. ‘In all of my correspondence with him over the last few months, he has been glowing in his praise.’
Charlotte decided that silence was her best armour.
He turned to look at her. ‘I found it hard to believe we were speaking about the same person.’
‘I told you before I haven’t changed, Damon.’
‘No, that is something I am very sure of,’ he said, his gaze hardening with bitterness. ‘You are still the same person you were when you came to Santorini.’
‘I did not steal those sculptures or indeed anything else from your mother.’
‘So you keep saying, but you were the only one who could have done so,’ he said. ‘If you remember, you were given on that day and the ones preceding it, the total responsibility of the gallery. My mother trusted you implicitly. You betrayed that trust.’
‘I don’t know how that sculpture came to be in my bag, but I swear to God I didn’t put it there. As for the other things found in my room at the hostel…’ she gnawed at her lip as the memory of that shocking time returned ‘…I wasn’t responsible.’
‘Are you forgetting the surveillance cameras we had placed strategically in the gallery?’ he asked. ‘You were caught on film putting something in your bag on the day in question.’
She blew out a breath of frustration. She had told him all this before. Why wouldn’t he believe her?
‘I was putting my mobile phone away! My mother had texted me and I heard the phone beeping. I checked my messages but then a customer came into the gallery and I had to wait to put my phone back. That’s what you saw on your stupid cameras. Why don’t you run a check on the customer? Maybe they did it.’
‘The customer in question was a tourist from Scotland. I have already done the necessary checks. She is a grandmother from Fife who attends church every Sunday. She didn’t steal the statue, Charlotte.’
Charlotte felt her shoulders drop in defeat. There was no way of proving her innocence. It hurt unbearably that he thought her capable of such a betrayal of trust. She had loved working at the gallery; some of the items were so exquisite it had made her feel so privileged to have been left with the responsibility of looking after them. The collection of ancient and modern works Damon’s father had gathered over a lifetime had been a wonderful opportunity for her to complete her study of Minoan artefacts. The thought of stealing any item from such an amazing collection was against everything she believed in. She had no idea how and why such precious items had turned up in her bag and in her room. As far as she knew, she’d made no enemies while staying on Santorini; even the two young men at the hostel, although playful and boisterous at times, were the last people she would have expected to show that level of malice. Everyone had been so friendly and welcoming, especially Damon’s mother, whom Charlotte had considered a friend virtually from the word go.
‘I don’t care what you think, Damon. I honoured your mother’s trust in me. I would never have betrayed her or you. I was there to do some research for my degree. When I met you in that restaurant that night in Imerovigli I had no idea who you were. At first I thought you were one of the archaeologists working on the Akrotiri site. You seemed to know so much about Minoan artefacts.’
‘Which is why you set about charming me, was it not?’ he asked. ‘You were on a mission. You had a goal in sight and nothing was going to stop you from achieving it. You were systematically removing items from the collection to sell on the black market. It has been done before and much money made out of it. All you had to do was get into my family’s good books and your task was made all the easier.’
‘I can’t make you believe anything other than you want to believe,’ she said. ‘I know you think I’m guilty, but the only thing I’m guilty of is trusting you too much. I thought we had a solid relationship. I thought that even though we had met and developed strong feelings for each other in a very short time it would be enough to withstand anything. I was wrong.’
He gave her a disgusted look. ‘You were not in love with me. You pretended with the skill of an accomplished actor but I know now what wool you pulled over my eyes.’
She looked at him in despair, her voice unable to rise above a distraught whisper. ‘You really hate me, don’t you, Damon?’
His eyes burned into hers. ‘What else do you expect me to feel for you? Love?’
‘No…’ She lowered her gaze. ‘No, of course not…but hating me for something I didn’t do is so unjust.’
‘It might interest you to know that I was close to falling in love with you four years ago—the closest I had ever been with anyone before or since,’ he said. ‘I was even prepared to go against the tradition of my family, who had always married within the Greek community, and offer you marriage, but you showed your true colours just in time.’
Charlotte had been well aware of the expectation that he would marry from within his own culture when the time was right. His mother had hinted at it gently from time to time, although she had seemed quite happy for him to indulge his passion with Charlotte and had even at times encouraged it. Alexandrine had told her that a man in his late twenties needed his freedom to prepare for the long road of commitment ahead. Her husband Nicolas had been several years older than her and had enjoyed his playboy lifestyle to the full, finally settling down into the role of devoted husband and father with great happiness and fulfilment until his untimely death when Damon had been a young teenager.
Damon’s sister Eleni had been slightly less enthusiastic about Charlotte’s affair with her older brother, but to her credit she had still always remained friendly and polite. Charlotte had realised that Eleni was used to having her brother’s attention. Since their father’s death Damon had been a father figure for her as well as her brother. He clearly adored her and lavished her with attention whenever he could. However, once his affair with Charlotte became more intense, as his sister she’d had to take a back seat in his affections. But, as for her showing any sort of spite, Charlotte had never once seen or heard anything that would make her believe that Eleni was anything other than a lovely young woman who worshipped her older brother.
It was hard to believe that the young girl was now dead. As soon as Charlotte had heard Damon had set up the Eleni Foundation in her memory she had been totally shocked. Eleni Latousakis had been so vibrant, so full of life. It didn’t seem possible that she was lying now in a cold grave.
It was equally heartbreaking now to realise that Damon had been close to falling in love with her and had intended to ask her to marry him, but instead she had been accused of theft. She had not even had time to protest her innocence with any degree of conviction as Damon had made it clear she was to leave the island immediately or face the authorities. He hadn’t even listened when she had told him she thought she might be pregna
nt. He had dismissed her callously, claiming he never wanted to see her again and that any child she was expecting couldn’t possibly be his. His anger had been monumental and his threats so terrifying that she had decided against going through the harrowing process of facing the police and the deportment authorities. Instead she had boarded the next available flight to Athens and then on to Sydney, her heart shattered and the course of her life changed for ever when the following month it had been confirmed that she had not left empty-handed after all.
She had taken a part of Damon with her…
CHAPTER FIVE
THE room service meal arrived at that moment. Charlotte stood to one side as the trolley was wheeled in, the aroma of their meals luring her appetite out of hiding when the silver lids were lifted after the plates were set down on the table near the windows over-looking the stunning night view of Sydney Harbour.
The attendant bowed out with a generous tip in his hand and Damon moved to pull out Charlotte’s chair.
‘You are feeling a little hungry now, ne?’ he asked.
Immensely relieved with the subject change, she freely admitted, ‘Yes…a little…’
He took the seat opposite and flicked open his napkin and laid it across his lap. ‘You mentioned earlier that your mother died three years ago. Was it sudden?’
‘Yes and no…she was ill for a few months, but death is always sudden, even when you’re expecting it to occur.’ She met his eyes briefly. ‘I was so sorry to hear of Eleni’s death. That must have been very hard on you and your mother.’
A shadow passed over his face as he reached for his wine. ‘It was. It is still hard to believe she is gone.’
‘What happened?’
He stared at the red wine in his glass for a moment before he spoke. ‘She became tired and run down over a period of several months. She had blood tests taken but nothing showed up. She went to Athens and had a chest X-ray done and it showed lymphoma. She was dead within nine months. The aggressive chemotherapy was supposed to prolong her life. In the end it ended it. She caught pneumonia and slipped away.’
Charlotte felt the prickle of tears for what he must have suffered. His mother Alexandrine would have been devastated, she was sure. Giving birth to her own daughter had made Charlotte realise the depth and breadth of parental love. After all, wasn’t that why she was here sitting opposite the man who had fathered Emily so she could protect her, even if it cost her everything she had, including her self-respect?
‘I’m so very sorry,’ she said again. ‘She was a lovely girl.’
‘My mother is now very keen for me to marry and have children,’ he said, handing her the rocket and roasted kumara salad. ‘But so far I have resisted.’
Charlotte took the serving utensils with unsteady fingers, her heart beginning to thump behind her breast. She served a small portion of the salad for herself before asking, ‘You don’t think it’s time for you to settle down?’
He took the bowl from her, his eyes meeting hers. ‘I am only thirty-two years old. I would have thought there was plenty of time for me to play the field for a little longer.’
Charlotte couldn’t hold his gaze. ‘So, like most men, you want to have your cake and eat it too,’ she said as she reached for her cutlery.
‘What about you, Charlotte?’ he asked. ‘You are—how old now…almost twenty-six. I would have thought you would have found yourself a rich husband by now.’
‘It may surprise you, Damon, but I’m not interested in having a rich husband or indeed any sort of husband.’
‘So, like me, you prefer to play the field?’
She frowned. ‘No…no, of course not. I hate the shallow short-term relationships that seem to be so commonplace these days.’
His mouth tilted in cynicism. ‘And yet you agreed to this short-term affair with me, did you not?’
She gave him an embittered look. ‘You left me with no choice. Do you really think I’d be sitting opposite you now if I’d had any say in the matter?’
Anger flared in his eyes. ‘The way I see it, I gave you plenty of choice. You had the choice of seeing your sister arrested or spending time with me, which I might remind you I paid for very dearly. But if you want to put an end to this right now, I will not stop you. You can return my cheque and your sister can face the prosecution she deserves.’
A vision of her sister sitting injecting herself stopped Charlotte from telling him where to put his cheque. She sat stiffly in her chair, her appetite completely gone as the bars of her own prison began to close in on her.
‘Nothing to say, Charlotte?’
She brought her fiery gaze back to his. ‘I have plenty to say but you’ve put a lock on my tongue, remember? I have to be polite and charming to you even though you can insult me any time you like. It’s hardly what I’d call a level playing field.’
‘I would treat you with respect if I thought you were worthy of it,’ he clipped out, his mouth tight with anger. ‘You betrayed my trust and I will not forget that. The very same lips that kissed mine lied to me time and time again.’
‘I have never lied to you.’ As soon as she said the words Charlotte felt her colour run up under her skin. Of course she had lied to him! She was lying to him now and felt sure he could sense it.
His eyes narrowed as they clashed with hers. ‘You lied to me this evening, Charlotte, and I can prove it.’
His words sent an icy chill down her spine but she forced herself to project an outward calm. ‘Oh, really?’ she said.
‘Yes,’ he said, watching her closely. ‘You told me you had no idea where your sister was.’
‘I don’t.’
‘I can make one phone call and prove your mendacity.’
She felt her throat begin to tighten in panic, her breath catching in the middle of her chest as she did her best to hold his challenging gaze.
‘You see, Charlotte,’ he continued, ‘I have been keeping a close eye on you.’
Charlotte reassured herself that Emily was safe at Caroline’s. She had been for two days in a row. There was no possible way he could know about her existence.
But Stacey was another matter.
She lowered her eyes and accepted defeat, hoping it would keep him away from the truth. ‘All right…I admit it,’ she said. ‘I lied to you about Stacey. She came around to see me this evening.’
‘No doubt to share the spoils of her theft with you.’
Her eyes came back to his. ‘I had nothing to do with the theft of your wallet.’
‘At the very real risk of repeating myself, I am afraid I do not believe you,’ he said.
She tossed her napkin aside and got to her feet. ‘I’d like to leave.’
His eyes locked on hers. ‘You will leave when I give you permission to do so.’
‘So, along with blackmail, you’re now into abduction as well, are you?’ she asked.
‘And bondage if it is called for,’ he said as he stood up from his chair and, skirting the table, came towards her.
Charlotte started to back away. ‘You can’t hold me against my will.’
‘Ah, but it will not be against your will,’ he promised silkily. ‘You will be begging to stay, I guarantee it.’
‘You promised me you wouldn’t do this tonight. You gave me your word.’
He smiled as he came closer. ‘So I lied. Doesn’t everyone now and again?’
Charlotte felt the back of her knees come up against the huge bed and panicked. ‘I can’t do this, Damon. I’m not on the pill.’
‘I have protection and, if that is not enough insurance for you, then we could always think of other ways to amuse ourselves,’ he suggested as his thighs brushed against hers. He took her hand and held it against him, his dark eyes holding hers meaningfully. ‘You loved to do so in the past, remember?’
Charlotte could feel the pulse of his body beneath her fingertips and her heart rate began to accelerate. She had to get out of here before she betrayed herself. How could she agree
to such an intimate act when he hated her so vehemently?
‘I—I can’t do this…’ Her voice broke on a sob. ‘I just can’t…’ Another sob followed the first, then another until she was crying uncontrollably, her hands going up to her face, her whole body shaking with emotion.
Damon pulled her into his arms and held her close, her shuddering sobs reverberating through his chest. He was shocked by how distressed she sounded. It made him feel as if he had missed something somewhere. He wasn’t sure how to handle her in such a state. Had seeing him again brought her guilt back with a vengeance? Perhaps she had tried to put that part of her life to one side and seeing him again had brought it all back.
‘Charlotte, do not distress yourself like this,’ he said against her fragrant cloud of hair. ‘We have done this before, many times in the past.’
She looked up into his eyes, her bottom lip still trembling. ‘But not like this…not so cold-bloodedly. Do you have to hate me this much?’
He gave her a rueful smile. ‘You think I need to tone it down a bit, ne?’
She tried to give him an answering tremulous little smile but it fell a little short of the mark. ‘Maybe just a little bit…’
He let out a sigh and brought her back against his chest, his voice rumbling against her breasts. ‘Surprising as it may seem, I do not hate you, Charlotte. I desire you. I cannot seem to turn it off, even though I want to.’
Charlotte retreated into the haven of silence.
‘You think me a barbarian and a savage for forcing you here but I was prepared to do anything to have you in my arms again,’ he went on. ‘But I can see you are feeling compromised, as well you should.’
If only he knew how compromised she felt, Charlotte thought.
‘So I have come to a decision,’ he said, releasing her to look at her upturned face. ‘I will give you a couple more days to prepare yourself for our relationship.’
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