The Greek Boss's Bride

‘I know what you must be thinking,’ she faltered, and his brows shot up.

‘I sincerely hope you don’t,’ he drawled. ‘I could be arrested.’

‘My skirt and shoes are ruined. Becky kindly lent me these. I appreciate they’re not ideal…’

‘It depends what you’re planning to do in them. Lap dancing, perhaps?’ he queried sarcastically. ‘That should certainly liven up the evening.’

‘Look, if you think for one minute that I’m enjoying wearing these clothes, think again,’ she snapped furiously.

The glint of amusement and another, indefinable emotion in Nik’s eyes was the final straw, and Kezia glared at him. The frisson of sexual awareness between them existed in her mind only, she was sure. He had made it clear that she was just a member of his staff. She must have imagined the flare of heat in his eyes before his lashes fell, concealing his thoughts.

It didn’t help that he looked so gorgeous, she thought dismally. He had changed into a superbly tailored black dinner suit and a white shirt that emphasised the golden hue of his skin. A lock of black hair fell forward onto his brow, and flecks of amber warmed his dark eyes. She was acutely conscious of him as he strolled towards her. For a man of well over six feet tall, he moved with the lithe grace of a panther—lean, dark and inherently powerful.

She would be able to detect his presence anywhere. He possessed a charisma that alerted her senses and made the fine hairs on the back of her neck stand up. The house had seemed dead without him these past weeks, but now the atmosphere crackled with a surfeit of static electricity that exacerbated her tension.

‘How’s the head?’ he queried, towering over her so that she took a step backwards and banged into the table.

‘It’s fine; I told you there was nothing to worry about. Contrary to belief, my brain is in perfect working order,’ she added coolly and was awarded a look that did strange things to her insides.

Nik laughed, throwing back his head so that her eyes were drawn to the tanned column of his throat. ‘I’m glad to hear it, pedhaki mou.’

His earlier anger seemed to have disappeared and she quivered beneath the full onslaught of his charm. In many ways he was easier to deal with when he was angry—at least then she could tell herself that she disliked him.

‘I called my doctor about signs of possible concussion. Do you feel dizzy?’

She certainly did—but not because she was concussed, Kezia acknowledged ruefully. Standing this close to Nik was making her head spin.

‘No,’ she answered firmly.

‘Nauseous?’

‘No.’

‘Do you have a headache?’

She hesitated a fraction too long and his eyes narrowed. ‘Do you think you were knocked out? Even for a few seconds? And what about your neck? There’s a danger you’ve suffered whiplash.’

‘Nik…for heaven’s sake!’ Kezia stifled a gasp as he caught hold of her chin and tilted her face so that she was forced to stare up at him. ‘What are you doing?’

‘Checking your pupils,’ he murmured, in a low, gravelly voice that brought her flesh out in goosebumps.

She felt as though time ceased to exist. The sounds and smells of the kitchen faded as her senses focused on the man in front of her.

‘Curious,’ he mused softly, after he had spent what seemed like a lifetime staring down at her.

Kezia fidgeted restlessly, wishing she could break free of the spell that seemed to have frozen her muscles. She wanted to turn her head, but found herself transfixed by his eyes that were the colour of rich sherry.

‘What is?’ she whispered breathlessly. His description of her as curious made her feel as though he was inspecting a specimen in a jar, and brought her hurtling back to earth.

‘I can’t decide if your eyes are green or grey, they’re an unusual mixture of both. Your pupils are slightly dilated. Why is that, do you suppose?’ His breath fanned her cheek, and she swallowed and tried to pull free of his grasp, but he merely tightened his hold.

‘I really don’t know. But I do know that I feel perfectly all right. It’s almost seven, Nik,’ she said on a note of desperation. ‘We should be upstairs, preparing to greet your guests.’

‘In a minute—I want a word with you first.’

A sudden nuance in his voice disturbed her, and she felt a flicker of apprehension. What had she done now? ‘I’m sorry about the caterers,’ she said quickly. ‘But it wasn’t my fault—and Mrs Jessop has dinner under control.’

‘I’m not concerned with domestic arrangements,’ he told her coolly. ‘My concern is of a personal nature—our relationship, to be specific, and your apparent desire to be involved in my intimate affairs.’

‘What?’ The room swayed so alarmingly that Kezia was forced to grip the edge of the table, and she wondered briefly whether she was suffering the effects of concussion after all. ‘I don’t know what you mean,’ she mumbled, her face flaming.

How had he guessed her feelings for him? Had she inadvertently given some sign that revealed her awareness of his brooding sexuality? She couldn’t carry on working for him if that was the case. It would be unbearable. Drowning in humiliation, it took a few seconds for her to realise that he was speaking.

‘I mean your decision to invite Tania to dinner tonight. Your role as my PA does not give you the right to interfere in my private life.’

The amber flecks had disappeared from his eyes, leaving them dark and dispassionate. His concern of a few moments ago had also gone, and she confronted the sickening realisation that his friendliness had been a callous ploy to make her lower her defences while he prepared his attack.

‘I didn’t invite her. Well, I suppose I did,’ Kezia qualified. ‘But she knew about the dinner party, and she gave me the impression that you expected her to attend.’

‘Did I specify that she should be included on the guest list?’

‘No, but—’

‘Then why take matters into your own hands? Your job as my PA does not require you to organise my love-life.’

‘That’s not exactly true,’ Kezia snapped, irritated by his arrogance. ‘It was left to me to dispatch flowers to your last blonde when you ended the affair. And I had to pick out a piece of jewellery,’ she added, remembering the demeaning trip to the jewellers Nik had sent her on. ‘I thought that keeping your harem happy was very much part of my duties.’

‘Theos, you forget your position, Kezia,’ he growled furiously.

She swallowed, and wondered how he could switch from friend to foe so quickly.

‘Naturally there may be times when I need you to deal with private matters, but I assumed I could expect a certain amount of discretion. What do you think I pay you such a generous salary for?’

‘My staying power?’ Kezia suggested sweetly. ‘You can’t have it both ways, Nik. If Tania is suddenly off the menu, you should have said so.’ Her relief that she had misunderstood him earlier, and that he hadn’t guessed she was suffering from a massive case of hero-worship, was giving way to anger at his appallingly chauvinistic attitude. He might have the face and body of a Greek god, but he had a heart of stone. She should count herself lucky that he would never view her as anything other than his boring secretary.

‘You should be thankful that I had not invited another…companion for the weekend,’ Nik flung at her as he headed for the stairs leading up to the main floor. ‘It could have proved highly embarrassing for everyone.’

‘But that would have meant two-timing Miss Harvey,’ Kezia said slowly, frowning at the implication of his words. His long legs had already propelled him up the stairs, and she raced after him, following him into the drawing room. ‘That’s a despicable way to behave.’

For a moment she thought he hadn’t heard her. He was standing at the bar, his back towards her, but then he turned—and she quailed at the hardness of his expression.

‘Let’s get one thing straight, Kezia,’ he said softly, his tone revealing a degree of cynicism that made her wince. ‘How I choose to live my life is my business. In my world, affairs have little to do with the heart, and the women I date know the score. The pursuit of mutual sexual pleasure with no strings,’ he elaborated sardonically.

His words made her blush, but inside she felt chilled by his clinical detachment.

His smile was devoid of warmth as his eyes raked over her mercilessly. ‘I don’t know what Tania has hinted about our relationship, but she’s under a delusion if she thinks she is about to become a permanent feature in my life. I suggest you discount any romantic notions she might have put into your head,’ he advised. ‘In the unlikely event that I should ever need your advice on my private life, I’ll ask for it. Until then I expect you to follow my orders and abide by my decisions without question. Is that clear?’

‘As crystal,’ Kezia replied curtly.