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He didn’t say much as they drove to Bond Street, not until they were standing in front of a jeweller’s hich was ablaze with the glitter of a thousand gems And suddenly he turned to her and his face had that expression she’d seen once before, when all the cool arrogance which defined hier

His finger wasn’t quite steady as it drifted a slow path down over her cheek and he must have felt her shiver in response, because his eyes narrowed

‘You lookdifferent,’ he said

‘I thought that was the whole point of the exercise?’ she said, more archly than she had intended ‘I have to look credible, don’t I, as the future Mrs Sarantos?’

‘But you don’t, Ellie—that’s the thing’ He gave her an odd kind of sht expression on your face It’s not the look one ht expect from a woible bachelors There’s no real joy or pleasure there, and I think we ht have to remedy that Shall we make a statement to the world about our relationship, poulaki mou? To show them we really do mean business?’

And before Ellie realised as happening, he was kissing her Kissing her in full view of the traffic and the security guard and all the up thehtly around her and washer feel as if he owned her Thea very public declaration And even though her heart was pounding with joy, suddenly she felt like a possession A wo his stamp on His woman; his property

She tried keeping her lips cla her mouth—to let him know that she was not a possession That he couldn’t just pick her up and put her dohen he felt like it But there was only so much resistance she could put up when he was this deterers over the bare skin of her back and arette paper couldn’t have come between the heavy

His lips were still brushing against hers and her eyelids fluttered to a close She thought how crazy it was that so le kiss Did he realise that she found being in his ar in all kinds of ways? Ways which were about socould ever hurt her while Alek was around And it was his strength rather than his sensuality which finally melted the last of her reservations She kissed him back with fervour and passion and, in the process, coot where she was Her hands reached up to fraainst him, so that in the end it was Alek who pulled back—his eyes s with blue fire

‘Oh,of North Atlantic entered his gravelly Greek accent ‘Maybe I should have kissed you back at the apartet’

His words broke the spell and Ellie jerked aith a bitter feeling of self-recriain when this was nothing but a gaame He had kissed her to make a point and she wasn’t sure if it had been a demonstration of power, or just payback tioing to get hurt if she wasn’t careful Badly hurt She rose up on tiptoe in her new leather pu her lips to his ear

‘What was that all about?’ she hissed

‘Want ram for you?’ he murmured back

‘That won’t be necessary’ She moved her mouth closer to his ear, tempted to take a nip at its perfect lobe ‘Sex just complicates matters That was the deal— remember?’

‘I think I ht be prepared to overlook the deal in view of the response I just got’

‘Well, I wouldn’t—and there’s so to inject conviction into her voice ‘Which is that I wouldn’t go to bed with you if you were the last ’

He tipped his head back so that she was caught in the crossfire of his eyes, the darkened blue hue backlit by the definite glitter of aertip to herthe line of her lips ‘I don’t think that’s entirely true, do you, Ellie?’