offending roses in the container.
'That's no way to treat such delicate flowers.' Leo's breath moved the short hairs on the back of her neck. He had followed her into the kitchen.
Jacy spun around. He was much too close, his tall presence was overpowering in the small room. 'Yes, well—I can arrange them later. I thought we were going out to dinner. I'm starving.' She was babbling, she knew, but suddenly it hit her. Her crazy idea to teach this man a lesson was just that: crazy.
'Oh, I think we have time for a drink, Jacy. A glass of champagne, a toast to old friends, hmm?'
'A little less of the old,' she drawled mockingly. 'And I never drink on an empty stomach.' Bravely facing him, while trying desperately to regain her shattered nerves, she added, 'Shall we go?' She just wanted to get the evening over with as quickly as possible, and then she would never see Leo Kozakis again. His deeply tanned face and the overt sexual gleam in his seductive brown eyes threatened her in ways she had thought long forgotten.
An unfathomable expression flitted across his handsome features, and she wondered for a second if he would be quite so easy to get rid of. She should never have agreed to see him, she realised, when to her astonishment she found herself crushed against his hard body.
Her head fell back against his arm, and her lips parted to object when his mouth swooped down on hers, taking full advantage of her half-open mouth. Her bag fell to the floor as she clutched at his upper arms in an effort to restrain him, but his tongue darted provocatively into her mouth in an achingly familiar kiss. She tried to remain frozen in his hold, but as his shockingly sensual mouth ravaged hers she could feel the fierce curl of longing knot in her stomach.
She was going mad. She hated the man, but then as his hands moved lower and slid beneath her jacket, hauling her slender body tightly against his hard frame and flattening her breasts against his broad muscular chest, she trembled. But Leo wasn't immune either; she felt the shudder that ran through him and the sudden hardening of his thighs before, with a rasping groan, he pushed her slightly away from him, breaking the kiss. She was mortified at the ease with which he had evoked her response and a red tide of colour suffused her throat and face.
'How dare you?' she blurted like some Regency virgin.
'I always think it is best to get the first kiss out of the way early, otherwise it can quite spoil one's dinner wondering if the chemistry is there,' he opined mockingly and then, retrieving her bag from the floor, he held it out to her.
She took it without a word, too furious to speak. But Leo had no such problem.
'You're looking beautiful, Jacy, and I could happily stay here all night.' He ran a comprehensive eye over her, then smiled suggestively. 'But you were right, I find I am rather hungry myself. The champagne can keep until we return.'
To Jacy's stupefaction, acting as though he owned the place, he opened the refrigerator door and placed the bottle inside before turning to catch hold of her elbow and lead her out of her own house. She was seated in the front seat of his car, her seat-belt fastened securely over her body by an attentive Leo, before she could regain some control over her wildly fluctuating emotions. She wanted to scream at him for his high-handed treatment of her, but common sense prevailed and, with a degree of civility, she managed to ask conversationally, 'Where are you taking me to dine?' She cast a sidelong glance at her companion.
His handsome profile looked carved out of granite, and as she watched the firmly chiselled mouth tightened imperceptibly, almost as if he were reluctant to answer her simple question. Finally he turned slightly towards her, taking his eyes from the road for an instant. 'I hope you don't mind, but I have to attend a private dinner-dance at the Ritz; a cousin's twenty-first.'
'A private party?' she repeated. That wasn't what she had expected. A quiet dinner for two in some fashionable restaurant was Leo Kozakis' style, but certainly not an introduction to the Kozakis clan. 'But...'
'I know it is not what you expected-' Leo cut off her objection before she could voice it, his attention once more on the road ahead '—but we needn't stay long, and later I will take you somewhere more intimate, if you like,' he drawled provocatively.
Jacy said nothing, ignoring the challenge in his statement. But she couldn't help but recognise the irony of the situation. Years ago she would have been delighted to meet Leo's family; now, the idea horrified her.
Jacy entered the glittering room on Leo's arm, and hesitated slightly at the sight before her. At the end of the room, on a raised dais, was a typical Greek quartet, playing ethnic music with great verve. A quick glance around the rest of the room showed her that every woman present was dressed to impress. Designer gowns everywhere.
She breathed deeply. She had been right to splash out on her Diane Freis, and she gave thanks for the fact that in her job she'd become adept at mixing with the super-wealthy—for quite a few of her cases had been the theft or loss of jewellery collections insured by Mutual, and in one or two instances the owners themselves had been responsible.
A waiter appeared in front of them, and spoke to Leo. Tilting her head a notch, Jacy walked confidently at Leo's side, smiling politely as he addressed a variety of friends with a Greek greeting, while the waiter preceded them to a table for eight at the far side of the room.
'Leo, so glad you could make it.' A short, heavy-set man arose from his seat at the table that was already occupied by five other people—three women and two more men. 'And who is your charming companion?' The small dark man turned sparkling black eyes towards Jacy.
Leo, with a brilliant smile, urged her forward. 'My Uncle Nick, and this is Jacy, a very special friend of mine.'
She held out her hand and it was engulfed in a broad fist. The next few moments were taken up in a flurry of introductions. She accepted a seat next to Nick, with Leo at her other side. She quickly logged in her mind the various names. Apparently the pretty dark girl opposite was Nina, Nick's daughter, whose birthday it was. Beside her was a handsome young man, her fiancé, whose name Jacy missed. Then Nick's wife, Anna, a rather heavy lady. But it was the last couple that was the real shock to Jacy: Leo's father and mother. His father was a carbon copy of his uncle Nick—short and dark, with a keen intelligence in his black eyes. But Mrs Kozakis was a tall, angular woman, impeccably gowned in black with a fantastic diamond necklace around her throat that must have cost a fortune. One look at the older woman's face and it was obvious whom Leo favoured. The features that were ruggedly attractive on a man somehow made the woman austere and vaguely forbidding in appearance.
'All right, Jacy?' Leo's breath feathered against her ear as he bent his dark head towards her. 'Don't be intimidated, they won't eat you.'
'I'm not,' she snapped back.
'Drink your wine and watch your temper,' he prompted, his hard thigh pressing against hers under the table as if in warning.
The contact was like an electric shock down the length of her leg; she could feel the colour rising in her face as she swiftly moved her leg, at the same time lifting the crystal glass in front of her and taking a long swallow of the wine. Luckily, no one seemed to notice her momentary distress—except Leo. With a sardonic glance at her flushed face he murmured so that only she could hear, 'Don't overdo the shy act, Jacy; we both know what we want.'
She almost choked on the wine, and then had to grit her teeth to prevent herself swearing at the conceited swine. By the time she had regained control of her temper, the conversation was flowing around her in quick-fire Greek.
The meal that followed was typical Greek fare, and to Jacy's surprise she actually enjoyed it. As course followed course and the wine flowed freely she found herself quite readily accepted by Leo's family. In fact, if she hadn't known what an immoral animal Leo was she could quite easily have been fooled into believing that he genuinely cared for her.
Replacing her wine glass on the table, having drained it, she frowned slightly. It might be a happy family party but she must never forget she wasn't part of it. Leo had asked her out for a good time, a brief fling while he was in London. He had been bluntly honest about it at Liz's party. Her own reason for going out with Leo was no more laudable than his: a bet! And she couldn't help thinking that revenge would be sweet... Engrossed in her thoughts, she was unaware that Leo's father had spoken to her.