Ignoring that, Jade drew her shoulders back and continued to berate him. ‘And let me tell you something else—that good sex might be enough for you, Constantine, but it certainly isn’t enough for me! And now, if you’d like to pick up my suitcase, I really don’t want to keep Stavros and your driver waiting any longer!’
And, so saying, her nose held as snootily aloft as she could manage, Jade swept out of the flat.
CHAPTER EIGHT
JADDE followed Constantine into the Garden Suite, keeping her eyes deliberately averted from the butter-coloured sofa. Talk about an ever-present reminder of her appalling surrender to his cold- blooded lovemaking; it made her cheeks flame just to think about it! And her heart race with humiliat- ing irregularity.
She glanced down at her bright blue wristwatch. It was now almost five o’clock, and she was as weary as could be.
He loosened his tie and went to pour himself a glass of mineral water. ‘Would you like one?’
Jade shook her head. ‘No, thank you,’ she answered stiffly.
He drank half the water and surveyed her slowly over the rim of his glass, from the tip of her head to her bare feet in their strappy sandals. ‘I expect you’ll want to freshen up. That’s your room.’ And the dark head was arrogantly nodded in the direc- tion of a closed door. ‘Over there.’
Let’s hope there’s a key to lock it, thought Jade. ’Thank you,’ she replied automatically.
‘I’ll take you for dinner downstairs later. The food is excellent. Be ready at eight.’
It sounded far more tempting than it should have done, but she fought it. She remembered her as- sertiveness training. Start as you mean to go on. Maybe if she showed him her notoriously stubborn streak he might think twice about marrying her! ’That won’t be necessary,’ she said.
‘I insist.’
‘I’m not hungry.’
‘So watch me eat.’ The white teeth were bared and Jade shivered, reminded of a caged predator she’d once felt sorry for at Chessington Zoo. But this predator she didn’t feel in the least bit sorry for!
‘No, thank you.’
Slivers of ebony glittered with menace. ‘So be it,’ he said, in a voice so soft that she should have been reassured, and yet needles of ice were scraped with pinpoint accuracy up a spine which was suddenly cold and clammy. ‘I’ll allow you to play your little games with me, Jade—perhaps you look on it as some form of revenge at being forced into such an ill-conceived marriage to keep me at arm’s length, when you know it causes us both nothing but frustration…’
Swine!
‘But after the ceremony,’ he vowed silkily. ‘When you’re legally mine… don’t consider for a moment that I intend to let you play your shrinking virgin act with me—especially when we both know what a farce that particular act is.’ He ended the sen- tence with a look of mocking contempt, but before Jade could even formulate an angry retort Constantine completely took the wind out of her sails by sauntering into his own room and shutting the door behind him, leaving her staring after him, her mouth hanging open like a stranded fish, feeling completely outmanoeuvred.
She went into her bedroom and quickly set about hanging her clothes up in the wardrobe, unable however to stop herself from admiring her sur- roundings. The room was just lovely, with an un- mistakable air of quietly restrained luxury.
After she’d had the longest, most luxurious bath of her life, Jade deliberately stayed in her bedroom, determined to remain there all evening if necessary. She heard Constantine moving around next door, then the sound of the door closing at around eight. Then silence.
She should have been pleased that he’d taken her at her word, had left her alone and gone out to dine, but in reality she was absolutely seething! Which infuriated her.
Because why on earth was she wasting her time wondering just who he was dining with? What did she care?
Then she started to get very hungry indeed. It was all very well making a point, but Constantine wasn’t even around to see her making it! And she hadn’t eaten for what seemed like hours.
Jade resisted the temptation to chew on her fingernails. In books the heroines always seemed to go for days without food, so why couldn’t she be like that? Any minute now, if she didn?
??t get something in the way of sustenance, she might just be tempted to start gnawing at the hearth rug!
She picked up the telephone.
‘Yes, madam?’
‘Er—is it possible to order something to eat?’
‘Certainly, madam.’ Did the voice sound amused, or was she just getting paranoid? ‘Mr Sioulas said that you’d probably be feeling hungry.’
Swine!