Zoe remembered the kiss then. The hot, hungry urgency with which she’d fallen into it, the way she’d clung to him. ‘I was hysterical.’
‘Or something.’
‘I was hysterical!’ she repeated furiously. ‘You took advantage! In fact, you haven’t stopped taking advantage of me since you forced your way in through my front door.’
‘Forced? I recall no use of force.’
‘Well, you wouldn’t, being so damned arrogant,’ she muttered, turning away from his annoyingly controlled stance. ‘So what happens next?’ She instantly turned back to lance at him. ‘Do you deny all charges and demand a retraction and an apology?’
‘Dear God, no. That would only make the story run on.’
‘Then why have you come back here to face me with this?’ She would have been much happier left in blind ignorance.
‘Because your grandfather has seen the article,’ he said with such laconic calm Zoe shot up her chin to stare at him, only to realise her big mistake.
Until that second she had been studiously not looking directly into his face. It had been a case of plain and simple self-defence. Having to come in here and deal with the man she had all but begged to make love to her the night before had taken courage, in the form of mental blindness like he was an out-of-focus shape lurking in the shadows.
Only he wasn’t in the shadows. He was standing with the morning sun streaming in through the window to one side of him, throwing his staggering physical attraction into totally unfair relief: the black hair, the dark suit, the clean shaven skin. His overwhelming height and that other vital ingredient that made her lungs feel hot and her throat close up as she took it in—his sexuality, made all the more raw and rampant now that it was cloaked in all the daunting sophistication of his clothes and the impassive mask he had in place.
But she’d seen him naked. She’d felt him tremble in her arms. She knew how it felt to have him deep inside her and she’d witnessed how he felt when he’d lost all of that cool civility to the wild throws of orgasmic relief.
Heat flooded up her neck and into her cheekbones; she had a horrible feeling her eyes had turned black. He was stunningly, staggeringly beautiful. Even the sun loved him so much she found herself wondering how he would look standing there with no clothes on.
‘So, why should that be of interest to me?’ She threw the words at him, loaded down with an angst that came directly from what she was fighting against inside herself.
He arched a black satin eyebrow. ‘Even you cannot be that indifferent to a sick old man’s feelings.’
‘I don’t understand why he should have any feelings about the article one way or another,’ Zoe responded. ‘It isn’t any of his business what we were doing.’
He narrowed his eyes, and Zoe felt that awful fizz of awareness tingle her skin. He knew what she had been thinking a moment ago, she was sure of it.
‘At least you admit you were doing it too,’ was all that he said.
Unable to deny it, Zoe made herself stay silent. It was tougher though to make herself remain still when he decided to stride around the desk then squat down to gather up the rest of the newspaper where it lay on the floor after sliding off her lap when she’d jumped to her feet. The paper collected up, he rose to his full height again and placed it on the desk. When he reached out and took hold of her clenched fist, she almost bit through her tongue in an effort to control the urge not to jerk back from him.
Gently prising open her fingers, he took the balled-up sheet of newspaper from her and tossed it onto the desk as well. ‘OK,’ he said, still holding her hand. ‘If the histrionics are over, let’s see if we can talk this through calmly like adults.’
The implication that she was behaving like a child did not go down well, especially when Zoe knew it was partially the truth. ‘I don’t want to discuss my grandfather,’ she stated, trying to inch her hand back without it looking like she was desperate to do it.
‘However, I do,’ Anton countered. ‘But first, tell me how you are feeling today.’
That made her snatch her hand back. It also drove all the heat back into her cheeks. ‘If you’re referring to last night, then please don’t bother. I’m fine. You’re fine.’ She turned around and started walking for the door. ‘I will leave you to deal with Theo,’ she announced over her shoulder.
‘Are you absolutely sure you want me to do that?’ he asked.
‘Yes.’ Zoe gave a firm nod as she reached for the door knob.
‘Right,’ Anton said as she pulled the door open. ‘We will be married here on this island next week, then.’
CHAPTER NINE
ZOE froze like a statue. She didn’t breathe or blink.
‘In truth, I confess that I’m relieved you are being so sensible about this. I expected one hell of a fight from you, but I am not about to spoil the moment. It is so good to know you are willing to trust me again.’
His smoothly delivered speech hinted only at sarcasm, but it still slid like a shiver down her spine. Zoe slowly closed the door again. When she turned round to face him he was lounging back against the desk, elegant jacket elbowed back from his elegant shirt, elegant hands resting in his trouser pockets, elegant long legs stretched out in front of him.
‘You’re having me on,’ she said jerkily.