by Sarah Morgan
‘I didn’t want to save it on the computer in case my father found it. It’s the figures that count, not the presentation.’
So her father knew nothing about it. Perhaps that explained the hint of nerves he detected beneath all that bounce and optimism.
No doubt this was her summer project, designed to fill the long boring hours that came with being an overprotected heiress, and he was the lucky recipient of her endeavours.
Shaking off the feeling that something wasn’t quite right about the whole situation, Stefan flipped open the file and scanned the first page. It was surprisingly professional. ‘Candles? That’s your business idea?’
‘Not just candles. Scented candles.’ Her voice vibrated with enthusiasm. ‘I went to school in a convent. I started making candles in craft lessons and I experimented with different scents. I have three different ones.’
Candles, Stefan thought. The most boring, pointless product on planet earth.
How the hell was he going to let her down gently? He had no experience of letting people down gently. He just dropped them from a great height and stepped over their broken remains.
Clearing his throat, he cultivated what he hoped was an interested expression. ‘Why don’t you tell me a bit more about what makes them special? Top line? I don’t need detail.’ Please, God, no detail. As far as he was concerned talking about candles would be one step down from talking about the weather.
‘I’ve called one Relax, one Energise and one—’ her cheeks turned a deeper shade of pink ‘—Seduction.’
Something in the way she hesitated over the word made him glance up from the file. She was trembling with anticipation, and all it took was one glance to know that his first assumption had been correct.
She was a bored heiress, playing at business.
And now she’d prompted him he could clearly remember the night they’d met.
She’d been a teenager—miserable, confused and self-conscious. An ugly duckling dumped in the middle of a flock of elite swans with a doting father who barely took his eyes off her. None of the other men had dared talk to her, none of the women had wanted to, so she’d stood alone, her awkwardness almost painful to witness.
But she was no longer that teenager. She was all woman, and she knew it.
Stavros Antaxos must be having lots of sleepless nights. And now she was looking at him with those big eyes filled with unwavering trust.
Stefan knew she couldn’t have found a man less worthy of that trust.
He wondered just how much she knew about his relationship with her father.
The atmosphere in the room shifted.
When he was sure he had his reactions under control, he closed the file slowly and looked at her. ‘So your candles are called, Relax, Energise and Seduction?’
‘That’s right.’
‘And just how much,’ he asked slowly, ‘do you know about seduction?’
CHAPTER TWO
GREAT. Of all the questions to ask, he had to ask that one.
Not market share or growth forecasts—seduction.
Selene maintained the smile she’d been practising—her business smile—while her brain raced around in crazy circles getting nowhere.
What did she know about seduction? Nothing. Nor was it a skill she was ever likely to need unless her life changed radically. What she did know was that without his help she’d never get her mother away from the island. It was up to her to prove she had a viable business. ‘What do I know about seduction? Not a lot. But you know what they say—you don’t have to travel the world to teach geography.’
She didn’t add that she had her imagination and that was already working overtime.
She’d often wondered if her teenage brain had exaggerated his appeal or whether her own misery that night, together with his kindness, had somehow mingled together to create a god from a man. But he was as gorgeous as she remembered—power, strength and raw virility merged together in a muscle-packed masculine frame that made her feel dizzy with thoughts she couldn’t seem to control.
Physically he was imposing, but it wasn’t his impressive height or the width of those shoulders that shook her. It was something less easily defined. A hint of danger—the sense that underneath that beautifully cut suit and the external trappings of success lurked a man who wielded more power than even her father.
Flustered, Selene tried to remember the way he’d been on that night five years earlier, but it was almost impossible to equate that kind stranger with this cool, sophisticated businessman standing in front of her.
And the fact that he was flicking through her amateurish document so quickly left her squirming with embarrassment. He barely took any time as he glanced at each page, nothing in his face giving a hint as to his thoughts. Clearly he thought it was rubbish.
Her mother was right. He was never going to help her.
He was right at the top of his game, a busy man with huge demands on his time. According to her research, thousands of people approached his company every year for business advice and he helped less than a handful of people.
While she waited for him to comment she sipped the lemonade but after a couple of minutes of squirming in her seat restraint left her. ‘So tell me honestly—’ Is it a crappy idea? God, no, she couldn’t say that. ‘Er—do you see this as an investment opportunity?’ She felt like such a fraud. A total impostor, just waiting for him to laugh her out of his office. It must have been obvious to him that she’d never had a business meeting with anyone except her own reflection.
He closed the file, then turned to put it on his desk. His tailored shirt pulled across his wide shoulders, emphasising hard muscle, and her heart started to thud.
She dreamed about him all the time. Had thought about him almost every hour since that night.
‘Selene?’
His voice was gentle and she looked at him, startled and embarrassed to have let her concentration lapse.
‘Yes. I’m listening.’
The look in his eyes told her he was skilled at reading minds and hers was probably the easiest he’d ever read.
Suddenly her mouth felt as if she hadn’t touched liquid for a week.
If he guessed how she felt about him she’d die on the spot.
Her trawl of the internet had revealed a lot about his relationship with women and every scandalous story had made her heart beat just a little bit faster because they spoke of a life so far removed from hers that it was like listening to a fairy story. Glittering parties. Opening nights. Opera. Ballet. Film premieres. The list was endless, as were the names of the beautiful women he’d paraded on his arm at one time or another, and it was all she could think about now as she stared at him, waiting for his answer.
‘These candles—do you have a sample?’
‘Yes.’ She fumbled in her bag, trying to ignore the nerves fluttering low in her belly. It was as if just being in the same room as him had somehow triggered all the alarms in her body. The attraction was so shockingly powerful it knocked her off-balance. She definitely needed to get out more. This was what happened when a father locked a daughter away. She’d turned into a raging nymphomaniac. Stefan Ziakas was going to be lucky to escape with his clothes still on.
Disconcerted, she glanced at him but that turned out to be a bigger mistake. Thick, inky lashes highlighted eyes of molten gold and his mouth was a slim, sensual line in a face sculpted by the devil to tempt women to the dark side.
Selene was unsettled by just how desperately she wanted to be taken to the dark side.
‘I know this business idea has potential.’ She was brisk and businesslike and hoped he wouldn’t guess that she’d practised this a hundred times in the mirror. ‘I have some packaging samples, but they might need to be adapted. We live in a fast-paced, stressful world. Scented candles are an affordable luxury and I’m not the only one who thinks so. The market is currently growing at forty percent.’
His mouth was such a perfect shape, she thought. She’
d noticed the same thing that night on the boat as she’d stared and stared at him, willing him to kiss her. There had been a few breathless moments when she’d thought he might do just that but he hadn’t, so clearly it had just been wishful thinking on her part.
Leaning forward, he extracted the candle from her grip and turned it in his fingers. ‘You’re expecting me to believe that this is the next big thing?’
‘Why not? Don’t you like candles?’
A smile played around that sexy mouth. ‘You want an honest answer?’
She remembered that this was a business meeting. That she was a businesswoman. ‘Yes,’ she said firmly. ‘Yes, I do.’
‘I’m a man. The only reason a man is ever going to like candles is if there is a power cut and the generator fails, or if he finds himself dining with a woman who is ugly.’
And she was willing to bet he never found himself in that position. ‘But candles are about so much more than romantic lighting in a restaurant.’ She tried not to think about him dining with a beautiful woman. ‘The one I’ve named Seduction is scented with lotus blossom and it creates the perfect atmosphere for—for—’
‘For?’
His eyes gleamed and she had a strong suspicion he was laughing at her. ‘Seduction,’ she said lamely, suddenly wishing she’d called it something else.
‘And you know that because…?’
His voice was disturbingly soft and the laughter had gone from his eyes. Now his gaze was intense—serious—and Selene felt as if she’d been seared by the flame of a blowtorch.
‘Because people have told me that’s the case.’
‘But you’ve never tried it yourself.’ It was a statement, not a question, and she felt her face burn along with her body.
She wished he’d stuck to a conversation about market share and forecasts. ‘I’ve tried Relax and Energise.’
‘So no market research on Seduction?’
‘Yes, just not—personal research.’
There was a long, pulsing silence and then he put the candle down and leaned his hips on the desk, the movement of his trousers revealing expensive polished shoes. ‘Let me tell you something about seduction, Selene.’ His voice was more seductive than a thousand scented candles. ‘To you it’s just a word, but it’s so much more than that. Seduction is about tempting, enticing and persuading until you’ve driven someone mad with need. Yes, scent is important, but not the artificial scent of a candle—it’s the individual scent of the person you’re with, and it’s not just scent but scent combined with touch and sound.’
Selene couldn’t breathe. ‘Sound?’
‘When I’m with a woman I want to hear the sounds she makes. I want to hear her pleasure as well as feel it under my lips and fingers. And then there’s taste…’ His voice was softer now, those dangerous eyes velvety dark as he held her gaze, ‘I want to taste every part of her and encourage her to taste every part of me.’
‘Y-you do?’
‘Scent, touch, hearing, sound, taste—seduction uses all the senses, not just one. It’s about taking over someone’s mind and body until they’re no longer capable of rational thought—until they want just one thing and one thing only—until they’re reduced to an elemental state where nothing matters but the moment.’
Selene felt dizzy. ‘I think I might need to rename my candle.’
‘I’m sure there are men out there who would be only too happy to use a scented candle as a prop. I’m just not one of them.’
He wouldn’t need any external props to seduce a woman. Those hands would be sure and skilled. And as for his mouth—
Realising her own hands were shaking, she tucked them firmly into her lap. ‘Just because you’re not my target audience, it doesn’t mean I don’t have a viable product.’ Proud of that response, she carried on. ‘Will you teach me what I need to know?’ As his brows rose she continued, flustered. ‘I mean about marketing. Running a business.’
‘I have a question.’
‘Yes, of course you do. Ask me anything.’ He was so cool and sophisticated and she was no more interesting than her seventeen-year-old self. ‘You want to know more about the product? It’s a really good-quality candle. It’s made of beeswax and it’s smokeless and virtually drip-free.’
‘I can hardly contain my excitement.’ But he was smiling as he picked up the candle again and she had a feeling his mind was still on seduction rather than the product in his hand. ‘That wasn’t my question.’
‘Oh. I expect you want to ask me about my revenue projections. I’ve had an order for five thousand from Hot Spa. They’re the most exclusive chain of spa hotels in Greece. But of course you know that…’ Her voice tailed off. ‘You own them.’
Stefan handed the candle back to her. ‘That wasn’t my question, either.’
She gulped. Licked her lips. ‘Sorry—I’m talking too much. I do that when I’m—’ desperate ‘—excited.’
‘My first question,’ he said slowly, ‘is why someone like you would even want to set up a business. Are you bored?’
Bored? She bit back a bubble of hysterical laughter. ‘No.’
‘You’re an heiress. You don’t need to run a business.’
He had no idea. ‘I want to prove myself.’
He stared at her for a long moment. ‘Which brings me to my second question—why come to me? If you’re serious about this then your father could put up the investment.’
Selene made sure her smile didn’t slip. ‘I don’t want my father’s name on it. This is my project. I want to own it. I don’t want anyone doing me favours.’ It was a lie, of course. She needed all the favours she could grab. ‘I can’t approach the banks because they won’t help me without asking my father’s permission. I tried to think of someone who isn’t under his thumb and I came up with you. You told me to look you up in five years—’
The silence stretched between them.
Looking at his hard, handsome face she felt the confidence drain out of her. In an appalling flash of clarity she realised she’d made a monumental mistake. Losing her nerve, horribly embarrassed, she rose to her feet. ‘Thank you for listening.’
He stirred, uncrossed those long, lean legs and stood up, dominating the room. ‘You came to me for a business loan. Don’t you want to hear my answer?’
‘I—I thought you might need time to think about it.’
‘I’ve had all the time I need.’
So the answer was no. Her shoulders sagged. Misery seeped into her veins.
‘Right. Well—’
‘My answer is yes.’
Because it wasn’t what she was expecting to hear, it took a moment for his words to sink in.
‘Seriously? You’re not just saying that because I’ve made it hard for you to say no?’
‘No is my favourite word. I don’t find it hard to say.’
But he wasn’t saying it to her. ‘I just thought you might be agreeing to help me because you don’t want me to feel bad.’
A strange expression crossed his face. ‘That isn’t the reason.’
His eyes were on her mouth and she saw something in his face that made her heart pound just a little harder in her chest.
I lie awake at night thinking about you.
He was silent for a long moment and then strolled to the window and stared across the city. ‘It is going to drive your father crazy. Does that bother you?’
Yes, it bothered her. Her safety and the safety of her mother rested on a knife-edge, which was why she had to get away.
She had a sudden urge to tell him the truth, but years of keeping her secret and loyalty to her mother prevented her from doing it. And she knew enough about Stefan Ziakas to know that he wasn’t going to be interested in the details of her personal life. He avoided all that, didn’t he? He would never let anything personal interfere with business. ‘He has to understand that this is my life and I want to make my own mistakes. I want to be independent.’
‘So this is delayed teenage rebel
lion?’
Let him think that if he wanted to. ‘I know you’re not afraid of going up against him. I read that article recently—the headline was “Clash of the Titans”. And the mere mention of your name is enough to put my father in a bad mood for days.’ She stared at his broad shoulders, wondering if the sudden tension she saw there was a product of her imagination.
‘And has he ever told you why?’
‘Of course not. My father would never discuss business with a woman. He won’t be pleased with me but he’ll have to get used to the idea.’ The ache in her arm reminded her just how displeased he was likely to be. ‘I hadn’t thought about the implications for you. If it bothers you that he’ll be angry…’
‘That’s not a problem for me.’ There was the briefest pause and then he turned back to his desk in a smooth, confident movement and pressed a button on the phone. Without any further discussion or questions he instructed someone in his legal department to start making all the necessary arrangements to loan her whatever money she needed.
Having braced herself for rejection, or at least a load of awkward questions, Selene stared at him, unable to believe what she was hearing.
He was going to lend her the money. Just like that.
It couldn’t be this easy, could it? Nothing in life was this easy.
The knot of tension that had been lodged in her stomach for as long as she could remember started to ease. Anxiety was replaced by a rush of euphoria that made her feel like dancing round the room.
Apparently unaware of the impact of his decision, Stefan ended the phone call, supremely relaxed. ‘It’s done. My only stipulation is that you work with one of my business development managers who will give you access to all the in-house resources of the Ziakas Corporation. That way you won’t be ripped off by suppliers or customers, and basically you can draw on whatever funds you need.’
He was watching her from under those thick, dark lashes and her stomach flipped.
He was gorgeous.
People had him so wrong. It wasn’t right that everyone should talk about him in hushed voices as some sort of cold, conscienceless machine when he was obviously capable of all the normal human emotions. Maybe he was hard and ruthless in some aspects of his life, but to her he’d been nothing but kind.