'My father is dead,' she said flatly, persuading herself that the shiver from her hand in his to her arm and right through her body was pure anger.
'I'm sorry, I didn't know.'
Jacy tilted her head back the better to look into his dark face. Her strange golden eyes flashed angrily as they clashed with black. 'You're not sorry, you liar. You despised him.' She spat the word out, trying to ease herself away from the closeness of his overpowering male form; but he strengthened his grip on her hand, his arm around her back holding her tighter.
I never lie. I am sorry for the death of any living being.' His dark eyes burnt into Jacy's. 'I didn't despise your father, only the rag he worked for. How could I hate him? I didn't know him personally.' His firm mouth relaxed into a smile. 'But you— you, Jacy, I did know very personally; or so I thought at the time.'
Jacy stiffened in his arms. 'Well, you thought wrong; you didn't know me at all,' she said icily, ignoring the sensual knowledge in his smile.
'Then perhaps we can rectify that. Have dinner with me tomorrow night.'
'Huh!' A surprised gasp escaped her. The conceit of the man was unbelievable. To casually ask her out to dinner when the last time they had met he'd called her worse than a whore! The words were indelibly carved into her brain. She could hear them again in her mind, his voice icy with contempt as he told her, 'At least a whore has the basic honesty to state a price. But women like you turn my stomach. Your type bleed a man dry before the poor sod even knows he's paying for it.'
Jacy hadn't responded to him then, and she didn't now. A chilling coldness took possession of her body; her golden eyes, strangely blank, stared up into his darkly attractive face. 'No, thank you,' she said politely. Conveniently for Jacy, the music stopped, and, pulling her hand from his, she stepped out of his hold, adding, 'Thank you for the dance.'
'Wait!' His large hand once again closed over her arm as she turned to walk away. 'Why not?' The question brushed past her ear. 'I'm in town for a month, we could have some fun.'
Jacy looked down at the long brown fingers encircling her white flesh and had to fight down a shudder of distaste. She raised her head and Leo moved in front of her, blocking her escape.
'After all, Jacy, you're no longer a teenager but a mature woman. Better still, you're not a reporter as I thought. I can see no problem with our getting together again for a while.'
The amazing thing was, Jacy realised, the man actually believed what he was saying. Her glance slid up over his handsome face. It was all there: the sensual anticipation in his dark eyes, the self-satisfied smile curving his generous mouth. He moved closer, his warm breath touching her cheek.
'Liz told me that you're unattached at the moment, so how about it?' He murmured the words against her temple, his lips brushing her skin like softest silk. 'I can still remember how great we were in bed together,' he breathed throatily.
Later, Jacy was to ask herself again and again why she did it. Was it Liz's bet? Or was it the red haze of fury that engulfed her when Leo reminded her of their past intimate relationship?
CHAPTER TWO
Leo Kozakis was without doubt the most arrogant, insensitive male chauvinist pig it had ever been her misfortune to meet, Jacy thought furiously, rage bubbling inside her like a volcano about to erupt. She clenched her teeth and counted to ten under her breath before even trusting herself to speak to the man. How dared he remind her of the passion they had shared? And to assume that he could take up again where they had left off years ago, simply because he had a few weeks in town and she was no longer a threat as a would-be reporter...
How many women over the years had he used in such a cavalier fashion? Hundreds, if the newspaper stories about him were even half true. She thought of the poor young girl, Barbara, whom she'd spent over an hour trying to comfort that very afternoon. The girl had reminded her very much of herself at that age, and she wouldn't mind betting that Barbara's ex-lover was a carbon copy of Leo Kozakis, but without the incredible wealth.
Betting. The bet... Jacy pinned a smile on her lovely face and, tilting her head to one side, glanced up through her long lashes at the man in front of her. 'You want to take me out to dinner?' she asked coyl
y, and almost laughed out loud at the gleam of triumph that flashed in Leo's eyes.
'That and more, my sweet.' His lips brushed her brow, and she had to clench her fist to prevent herself from wiping his touch from her forehead. 'Name the time and the place, Jacy, and I'll call for you.'
'As it happens, I have a free evening on Saturday.' She didn't want to appear too eager, and a three-day wait would do the man good. Jacy had never considered herself a vengeful person, but the reappearance of Leo had awakened a lot of bitter memories and these, added to the bet she'd made with Liz, meant that she couldn't resist the temptation to try and deflate the overwhelming ego of the man. She vowed to herself that she'd date the swine for a month, win the bet, and Leo Kozakis would learn a lesson in patience and self-denial that he would never forget...
'Enjoying yourselves?' Liz appeared from behind Leo. 'I hope Jacy is taking care of you, Leo.' The petite woman's blue eyes sparkled happily as she stood between the tall, handsome man and her best friend.
Jacy watched as Leo, ever the charmer, turned his brown velvet eyes on his hostess; the man oozed charm from every pore. 'This is quite the best party I have ever attended, Liz; Tom is a very fortunate man, and yes, Jacy is looking after me beautifully. In fact she's just agreed to dine with me on Saturday night.' His glance slid back to where Jacy stood, his eyes gleaming with pure male satisfaction and something more... I couldn't be happier.'
A shiver of unease trickled down Jacy's spine: the challenge in his gaze as it rested on her face then slid provocatively down to her toes and back up again was unmistakable. He reminded her of some predatory jungle cat toying with its prey before finally devouring it completely.
'Yes, well-' she burst into speech, unconsciously taking a step away from Leo and nearer to Liz '—it's a lovely party, Liz, but if you don't mind I'll say goodnight.'
'But it's early, you c-'
'No, I must go,' Jacy cut in. She couldn't keep up the pretence much longer; suddenly she felt disgusted with herself, and even more so with Leo Kozakis. She could feel the onset of a tension headache and all she wanted to do was get home and forget tonight had ever happened. As for the dinner-date, it had been a stupid idea to look for revenge—especially with a man like Leo. 'Unlike you, Liz, I'm a working girl, and I have a busy day ahead of me tomorrow, so if you'll excuse me I'll call a cab...'
'That won't be necessary: I'll take you home,' Leo offered smoothly.
'What a great idea!' Liz beamed. I hate the thought of my best friend travelling around London on her own at night.'
Jacy could have quite happily flattened Liz, and she deliberately ignored her friend's wink and thumb in the air, out of sight of Leo.