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He re Anna in the dance club, the way she’d swayed against Sinistyn, gyrating beneath the flashing lights He relistened, how her low-slung jeans had barely covered her hips as she swayed

No other man but Nikos should touch her Ever

Especially not Victor Sinistyn How could Nikos allow Anna to throw herself away on a man like that? How could he allow his son to have this man for a stepfather

There was only one way to ree to his proposal

He had to convince her

“Why don’t you give the ring to Lindsey?” Anna said sweetly as she rose fro to o home and feed my son”

Home

He had a sudden ie of her in bed, and he relaxed Bed was a place where they’d always understood one another very well A slow smile spread across his lips Once they were home he would take her in his ar…

“I will take you home,” he said

“But I left your car at the club—”

“That will be arranged The fastest way to get to my estate is on the bike” He raised an eyebrow “Unless you’re afraid to be that close to ain?”

She tossed back her hair with a deliberate casualness that didn’t fool him for a second “Don’t be ridiculous”

“Good” He rose froo”

She stared at him for a moave him her hand It felt sh “Take me”

Oh, he intended to

But she hung back, glancing back at the table “What about the ring? Are you just going to leave it?”

Nikos shrugged Since the jewelry hadn’t worked, it was of no further use to him All he could think about noas that her skin felt warmer by the second He yearned to touch her all over, to feel her hands on his body

“Is everything all right, Mr Stavrakis?” the waiter asked nervously behind him “I hope there was no problem with your dinner?”

His eyes focused on the young waiter who’d served Anna earlier He looked scared, holding a platter of dirty dishes on his shoulder

“Your tip’s on the table,” Nikos replied abruptly Then he turned back to push Anna out of the restaurant

He heard a loud gasp, and the clatter of dishes falling to the floor as the waiter saw the ring, but he didn’t wait for thanks All he could think was that he had to get Anna ho down the highway on his motorcycle

The ebrush and distantto Nikos on the back of thewildly around her face as they sped across the wide moonlit desert

She tightened her grip on his narroaist, pressing her body against his He was driving like a bullet, and the as cold against her bare ar

She was burning like a furnace, lit up from within

She knehy Nikos was driving down the highway as if all the demons of hell were in hot pursuit She’d seen it in his dark eyes She’d felt it in the way he’d touched her In the way he’d taken possession of her hand and pulled her from the casino

He was going to ht Until she couldn’t think

Until she agreed to marry him

She felt beads of sweat break out on her forehead, instantly wiped away by the cool desert wind

It terrified her how badly she wanted hi herself in check She was afraid she’d give in

To sleeping with him

To everything

Had anyone ever defied Nikos for long? Was it even possible?

She shivered again

“Cold, my sweet?” Nikos asked in a husky voice as they pulled into the ten-car garage Turning off the engine, he set the kickstand and gently took her hand, pulling her off the bike He ran his fingers down the inside of her wrist as he pulled her close “You won’t be cold for long”