Sasha woke up and looked around, clinging to the soft sheets to hide her nakedness. She was laying on her stomach but that was about all she could figure out at the moment. Her body was tense as she tried to discern if Damon were here. If so, she was going to pretend that she was still sleeping.
Not that sleeping had stopped him last night, she thought as she curled her body up into a ball. The things he had done to her! Oh goodness, the things he’d encouraged her to do to him! She closed her eyes as embarrassment stole over her in a tidal wave of misery. How could she have been so…passionate? And with the man she’d just asked for a divorce!
She groaned, then froze, her eyes snapping open as she looked around the bedroom. Was he here? She wasn’t sure her body could take any more of Damon at the moment. Even as she shifted so that she could sit up in the bed, she realized how tender her body was. He’d made love to her so many times last night, she had lost count of the number of orgasms he’d brought her to. Over and over again, he’d controlled her body to the point where she was screaming, begging him for release. And when he gave it to her, she clung to him, her body shivering with reaction as she floated back down.
Goodness, in all of her wildest imaginings, of all the times she’d fantasized about what it might be like to be in Damon’s arms, in his bed…her fantasies hadn’t even come close!
Pushing her hair out of her eyes, she sat back against the headboard of the bed. So many nights she’d lain in this bed thinking of Damon. Why had he decided to come back and try to make their marriage real? Why now of all times?
Was it only because she’d asked for a divorce? Was he the kind of man who only wanted what he couldn’t have?
She shivered as she thought of how much he’d wanted her last night, how much he’d gotten her to want him.
Snapping the sheet back with disgust, she pulled the shirt off of the floor and hurried into the bathroom. She had things to do today and she didn’t have time to worry about her soon-to-be-ex-husband’s motives. Sasha was determined to follow through on her plans despite what he might want. He wasn’t in control of her!
She showered and dressed in a pair of yellow capris and a white top, adding on a lemon yellow cardigan. Brushing her hair, she pulled it up into a tight bun, making sure that none of the wisps came loose. A touch of lipstick, a bit of mascara and…she stopped and added concealer to the dark shadows under her eyes because that man had kept her up most of the night.
Taking a deep breath, she walked out of the bedroom. She peered into the guest bedroom and checked on her luggage, relieved that it was still packed and ready to go. She just had her meeting with the villagers and she could set her plans into action.
Walking down the stairs, she found Chloe bustling about in the kitchen. “Good morning, Chloe,” Sasha said, pouring herself a cup of coffee just as she usually did in the morning.
Chloe turned around and smiled. “Good morning, dear. How are you? Everything go okay last night?” she asked even as she pulled out an egg casserole from the oven. “Mr. Galanos is on the patio. I’ll bring both of you some breakfast now that you’re awake.”
Sasha smiled but it felt stiff. “Thank you. And whatever that is, it smells delicious.”
Sasha moved towards the patio at the back of the house. She knew that Damon preferred to have breakfast out there in the mornings. He was generally a man of routine, which is why she was so startled when she’d received the news that he would be arriving yesterday.
She stood on the stone patio, staring at the man. She should walk over to the table and sit down casually, pretend that last night hadn’t really happened. But her feet wouldn’t move. She was so angry with him, furious that he’d come back and…done all those things to her. With her. She shivered once again from the memories as she watched his hand lift the coffee cup to his mouth. Oh, the things he could do with that mouth! And his fingers!
“Kalimera,” he greeted her. “Good morning.”
“Kalimera sas, kathos kai,” she replied. “Good morning to you as well.”
She watched his eyes widen in surprise, her body stiff and offended.
“You’ve learned to speak Greek,” he commented. His eyes moved down her slender figure clad in sunny yellow. “You look beautiful this morning, gynaika mou.”
Sasha cringed visibly when he said “my wife” with such a possessive tone of voice. “I’m not your wife,” she stated emphatically.
“Except for a wedding and legal marriage certificate that says you are,” he countered quickly.
She clenched her jaw. “I’m not your wife, Damon. I’m just the girl you wed six years ago.”
“And made love to many times last night,” he said and his eyes darkened as they moved down her figure once again.
Sasha clenched the coffee cup carefully, furious that it was rattling in the saucer with his intimate perusal. “That was a mistake.”
Damon stood up and came over to her, taking the coffee cup out of her hands before she dropped it. “Last night was not a mistake, agape mou.” He took her hand and pulled her gently over to the patio chair next to his, setting her coffee down on the table. “Last night was perfect,” and he bent low to kiss her lips.
If Sasha hadn’t been so nervous and flustered by his hands holding hers, she might have avoided that kiss. But she was flustered and she’d been too distracted so when his lips touched hers, she gasped, giving him the opening he needed to invade her mouth. This kiss was nothing like the tender kiss he’d started off their night with last night. This kiss was overpowering, possessive and more of a branding.
When he lifted his head again, that heated light was in his eyes and she was shaking so badly, she could barely stand. She almost fell onto the chair as he moved over to his own, chuckling at how easily she could give in to him.
Sasha opened her mouth to tear into him about that kiss, but Chloe arrived at that moment with plates filled with that delicious smelling egg casserole as well as a large bowl of beautifully cut fruit.
Sasha smiled her thanks up to Chloe. “This smells wonderful, thank you.”
While Chloe bustled off, back to the kitchen, Sasha shifted her food around on her plate, trying to think of how to start off the conversation again.
“What’s on your mind?” he asked, flipping through the pages of his newspaper once again.
Sasha looked up, irritated that he was barely even paying attention to her. As usual. So she decided that, if he wasn’t going to be considerate of her feelings, she had no need to spare his own. “I’m still getting a divorce,” she told him, setting her fork down carefully. They were bold words, strong words, but she was still quaking inside. Damon Galanos was not a man to trifle with. Her research had shown her that he was an extremely wealthy and powerful man and she shouldn’t take him lightly.
The newspaper flipped again. “No. There will be no divorce,” he told her firmly, barely even glancing up from the paper.
Sasha thought about throwing her water at him but pulled herself back from the brink of fury. Calm, she reminded herself. Remain calm and state her case clearly.
“This marriage has been a farce since the beginning,” she said to him. “I told you last night that I was going to move on, start a new life. And there is nothing you can do to stop me.”
The newspaper flipped closed and she realized that he wasn’t as calm as he was trying to appear. “Divorce is out of the question. If you want to start a new chapter in your life, fine. But you will do it as my wife.”
She shook her head. “No Damon. I’m going back to London and I’m going to get a job…”
“No wife of mine is going to work,” he told her emphatically. “No fake jewels and no job. I will give you what you need.” With that, he decided that the conversation was over and he flipped his newspaper open again.
Sasha was finished being ignored. She stood up, ignoring his look of fury at her daring. “I’m getting a divorce, Damon. And I have plenty of ammunition to justify a divorce. I don’t want any money from you. I have my own money. As for a job, well, I’ve already been working so I have enough experience to start looking for a job on my own. There’s nothing you can do to stop me.”
“Where are you going?” he demanded when she started to walk away from him. “This discussion is not over.”
Sasha swung around, her eyes daring him to stop her. She was feeling more powerful today than she had in years and it felt wonderful! “No Damon. I’m not waiting for permission. Not any longer. I have a meeting down at the church in,” she glanced at her watch, “fifteen minutes. After that, my bags are already packed and I have a flight booked for later today. I will be leaving. Don’t try to stop me because there is nothing you can say to change my mind.”
“Are you meeting a man at the church? Do you have another lover?”
Sasha swung around again, almost laughing at his silly question. “Yes, Damon. I have a lover and we meet over at the village church. We have wild, crazy sex in the church!” Her eyes flashed at him. “Oh, and he’s such a great lover that I remained a…” she couldn’t say the word and felt her face flare with color once more, but she clamped her mouth shut, refusing to even say it. She’d been married for six years and she had been a virgin until last night. It wasn’t something she liked to think about.
“I have to go,” she told him and spun around on her heel, furious that he’d reduced her to sarcasm.
Damon watched his sexy wife disappear into the villa, stunned by the fire he’d seen in her eyes and more turned on by her temper than he wanted to admit. She looked beautiful all fired up and putting him in his place! He should go after her, he thought.
But for a long moment, he was too stunned to do anything.
Then her words struck him and, now that she was no longer in sight, his mind could function a bit more. She’d said there was nothing he could do and he almost chuckled at that challenge. There was always something he could do. He hadn’t gotten to this point in his business life without knowing how to get what he wanted.
Carefully folding the paper, he laid it on the table. Ignoring the breakfast that had been completely untouched by both of them, he moved into the villa, determined to find out what his wife had been up to for the past six years. She’d said some interesting things during her little tirade. Time to do a bit of investigating.
The first thing he found were her bags all packed up in the guest room. He called for one of the maids who was almost running down the hallway. “Unpack these suitcases,” he ordered of the timid woman. “They should all be hanging in the master bedroom by the time I look again.”
Dismissing the woman, he started opening drawers but found nothing. He knew that she had been sleeping in the master bedroom so he moved into that room next. There was nothing there but the lingering scent of her, which he realized he liked. A lot.
There was only one drawer in her closet that contained anything at all. And he was stunned by this discovery. Some of the boxes were still wrapped, some had been opened and the wrapping paper gone but the gift it contained was neatly tucked into the box. And even further down, was the loose jewelry that had obviously been worn at some point. His initial thought was that she’d been receiving gifts from some admirer. But as he looked at the tags from the unwrapped gifts, the notes were all professionally written in very precise calligraphy, wishing her a happy birthday or indicating they were a Christmas present or some gift that had been sent to imply that he was thinking of her.
The boxes weren’t even neatly stacked into the drawer. The way they were haphazardly laying in the drawer indicated that his little wife had simply tossed them in and slammed the drawer shut.
He didn’t pull them out, and he started to get angry about her dismissal of his gifts but then he forced his mind to simply use that detail as another piece of the puzzle that defined his wife, another clue into her character.
Since there was nothing else of hers in the master bedroom, he moved down to the lower level. He searched through each of the rooms and was even more startled to discover that she’d set up an office for herself in the back of the house. In the room farthest away from all the other rooms, where there were windows that would allow the sunshine through, he discovered a desk neatly stacked with papers, news articles, clippings of various companies. On the wall in front of the desk was a chart and his analytical mind instantly recognized the chart to show progress of income. Where the hell had his little wife gained an income?
Sitting down in her dainty chair that barely held his weight, he flipped on the computer. Sifting through her files, he discovered that his wife, his naïve, young wife who he’d thought was sitting at the villa waiting eagerly for his arrival, was actually a damn good investor!
His fingers flipped through the information, his mind taking it all in and quickly understanding her investment strategy. He had to be impressed because she’d taken a small amount of money and worked it into a tidy nest egg. He didn’t recognize the names of the investors, but his agile mind was forming a plan. One that, if his assumptions were correct, would keep his fiery, sexy wife by his side.
Leaning back in her tiny chair, he rubbed a finger against the side of his jaw, considering his next move. She would be furious, he thought. But in the end, he knew that he could overcome that anger. She was such a feisty little tiger. He chuckled, eager to start the battle. In the end, he wanted his enthusiastic wife back. He’d discovered that he had a fever for the little woman that had not been assuaged with only one night. In fact, just the memories of how Sasha had felt in his arms made his body react.
He put everything carefully back in order on her desk and walked out of the room, intent on finding his woman.
As soon as he stepped out of the house, his guards moved into place. “Where is my wife?” he asked his head of security.
The man looked confused. “She’s inside, sir,” he replied.
Damon shook his head. “No, she said she was going to the church.”
“Her guards are still in the guardhouse, sir,” and the man spun around, almost running there to inquire as to the whereabouts of their boss’ wife.
When he emerged again, two other men were following. “She leaves without us, sir,” they explained. “But she only goes into the village. Because she leaves without telling us so often, we make it a point to go through the village each morning to check things out. And if we haven’t heard from her, we…”
“You’re fired,” he snapped. He looked over at his head of security, silently letting him know that he needed to place other bodyguards on his wife. Then he moved off, ignoring the stunned reactions of the two men he’d just dismissed from his employ. He received threats almost daily on his life so there was no way he was going to let any guard’s laziness go unpunished. And his wife was in danger as well. They should have figured out a way to protect her despite her refusal, or ignorance, of the need to tell her guards where she was going. Even to the village.
“Find her,” he said to his head of security.
Already, several men were racing to vehicles, ready to find the woman and protect her. He stepped into the back of the limousine himself, intent on finding his woman.
The drive to the village church was short and could easily be walked, but it was safer in the cars. When the limousine stopped outside of the small, stone church that had stood in this place for centuries, he realized that the village was strangely, ominously quiet. He couldn’t figure out why people weren’t bustling around, going about their daily business. There weren’t a large number of people who lived in this village, but he remembered a small number of them always bustling around industriously, moving from shop to shop or strolling down the street. As he looked around, he realized that most of the shops were closed up. There wasn’t even anyone at the coffee shop and there had always been people sitting outside in the morning sunshine, shipping a cup of java and gossiping.
As he walked into the church, he found out why. Every single villager was inside, sitting around in a circle on chairs, each with a cup of coffee in hand, eagerly listening to his wife discuss their latest investments.
Damon stood just out of sight, listening to her discuss the profit and loss statements of the various companies, noting the current earnings per share and comparing it to the market price. There was a round of excited murmurs after that announcement.
Sasha then went on to discuss village business issues and Damon was stunned by her creativity. She had worked out a whole strategy where the villagers gained an international audience for their wares. His wife had encouraged all of them to start selling their products online with their combined investments as the capital to finance everything. Her plan was brilliant, actually. It would allow the villagers to earn more money while still maintaining their small town lifestyle. The only thing they’d lacked was money and the technical knowledge to build the websites and the business infrastructure. His brilliant wife had figured out how to get both.
Damon was equally astounded to hear about all of the needs from the village shop owners. As the primary landowner, it was traditionally his responsibility to help them out. But he’d been so focused on building up his empire, destroying his enemies and, well, yes, getting away from this place that held so many bad memories, that he hadn’t paid any attention to local needs. But his pretty wife had! She’d stepped in, recognized the problem and created a solution where everyone could earn the money to purchase what they needed! She’d filled the gap and he was damn proud of her.
The baker needed a larger oven in order to fill the increasing numbers of orders, the weaver’s loom had broken down and he had orders stacking up. The oven and the loom had already been shipped and only needed final payment. Several of the ladies were in a quilting group and needed more shipping supplies to get their quilts to their customers, another group of ladies needed more yarn to keep up with the demand for their knitted products.
His wife had done all of this, he realized with pride. Never had he seen this group of villagers so animated, so industrious and challenged. And he’d known most of them since the time when he was a small child.
Stepping into the room, the lively conversation slowly died out as each person realized who he was. Recognition was slow in coming since it had been a long time since he’d been around, but, one by one, their chatter died out and worried eyes turned towards him. He didn’t care about the others though. He had eyes only for his lovely wife who was sitting next to a blond man. A man who also only had eyes for his wife.
Not in this lifetime, Damon silently thought. The blond man needed to get away from Sasha or there would be hell to pay.
“I need to speak to my wife privately,” he said, maintaining eye contact with his wife but his peripheral vision noticed everyone else.
Immediately, the villagers gathered up their belongings and started to move towards the door.
Sasha’s mouth opened up in startled surprise and she held up her hands, trying to stop everyone from leaving. “We’re not finished with our meeting, Damon. I can talk to you when I get back home,” she told him angrily.
Damon ignored her and looked at the arrested expressions of the villagers. They weren’t sure if they should listen to him as the man who owned most of their houses and the land on which their houses rested, or the woman who was obviously their friend and mentor.
He resolved that issue quickly with one hard glance at the room. Within moments, the room was empty except for his furious wife and the guards who were standing by the doors. But when the last person had departed, the guards stepped outside of the doorways and closed them firmly, giving their employer privacy.
Damon moved into the room, still watching Sasha carefully as he approached her. “So you’ve invested money for each of the villagers,” he said conversationally.
Sasha’s shoulders went back as she mustered all of her courage. She would not back down to this man! He was trying to intimidate her, and it was working perfectly, but she hid her reaction, not wanting him to think she was weak and could be bullied. “Yes. I helped them get started.”
“You funded the initial investment?” he asked almost conversationally, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked down at her.
“Yes.” She didn’t mention that she’d taken some of the silver pieces from his household to sell, using that for the initial money. He hadn’t even missed that silver so what was the point in admitting her theft? It was for a good cause. Four years ago, the villagers had been living a subsistence existence with no hope of anything more. They were almost completely dependent on the villa for any sort of income. And since Damon only brought guests to the villa on rare visits, and the supplies he used were normally brought in instead of purchased from the village, there was no way for them to better their lives besides moving away, she’d found a way to make the world come to them without the invasive world disrupting their quiet lives.
She’d grown to love these people who were hard working and caring. They’d become her family over the years, especially after the death of her mother. When Damon hadn’t bothered to come back except for the occasional obligatory visits, these were the people who had invited her to dinners, who had encouraged her to join them for church or social gatherings. These people had helped her learn the language, made her feel welcome when she’d come into this strange world after her wedding to a distant, mostly-absent husband. They were more than friends, they were family who looked out for her and she was now doing her best to take care of them. “Don’t hurt them, Damon,” she forced out through her nervous lips.
“Why would I hurt them?” he asked.
Sasha shrugged, knowing that he had power. Too much power! This man was savage when it came to business! She’d built up her investments and helped the villagers to expand their cottage industries. Her efforts were nothing compared to this man’s achievements.
“And I’m guessing that each of them gives you additional money to invest?” he offered.
As she filled her lungs with much needed oxygen, she unconsciously tilted her head defiantly up towards him. “Yes. They have been working very hard over the past several years. They have built up strong businesses now with a steady client base and have good products that they ship out to various places around the world.” She crossed her arms over her chest, unaware of how the action lifted her breasts, causing his eyes to lower.
Damon thought she might be doing that to distract him. It was a good strategy because it worked instantly. But then he acknowledged quickly that his wife had no wiles. She was a very open, honest person. Also, Damon suspected that she would never willingly bring his attention to her breasts. Not after last night. She now knew that he was fascinated with her breasts and calling attention to those amazing parts of her anatomy would result in only one thing.
Pulling his gaze upwards, he looked into her pretty, brown eyes. “I suppose you have an investor’s license?” he asked softly. He let those words sink in, watching her eyes go from confusion to panic, confirming his suspicions. Then he hit her with his next blow. “And since you’ve never asked me for any money, I’m guessing that I must have somehow funded the initial investment for this whole operation. Is that correct?”
Sasha’s arms dropped as his words sunk into her furious brain. There was no way she was going to confirm that question because it was true. “What are you saying?” she demanded, trying to keep her voice level so he wouldn’t know how deeply she was in a panic.
His hand reached out and touched the side of her face. “I’m saying, my pretty wife, that, since you have invested my money, then the entire account must be for my benefit. And since you don’t have an investor’s license, all of the money you have invested for the villagers has been illegally obtained.”
He waited for a long moment, watching her face as the implications of his words sunk in. “You bastard!” she hissed.
He tsked her, shaking his head as his fingers moved to the back of her hair. Quickly, his fingers discarded the pins holding her long, beautiful hair in place, enjoying the way it cascaded down her back in amazing waves of dark curls. “Is that any way to speak to the man who holds your future in his hands? And that of all of the villagers here?” He moved around her, his hands skimming her waist, feeling her anger begin with the trembling in her arms. “I doubt the securities authorities would be pleased by the way you’ve ignored all of the carefully laid out regulations they’ve established over the past several years to keep unethical investors from stealing other people’s money. They are very strict about those regulations these days, not wanting another market crash.”
Her heart was pounding, both because of his ominous threat and because of how close he was. Her mind might be rejecting his touch, but her body remembered the thrill of his caresses. That was more powerful than her willpower.
“Don’t do this,” she whispered, and she wasn’t sure if she was talking about the threat to the villagers’ income or the way he was touching her which she now knew was most likely leading up to him making love to her again. And her losing control while he made love to her.
Damon ignored her command. “We’re going back to the villa,” he told her firmly. He took her hand and led her out of the church. He nodded carefully to the nuns who were standing by the doorway but he didn’t relent as he led her to the car. Nor did he reassure any of the villagers who were standing nearby, many of them looking at him warily.
“Your friends are nervous. Should they be?” he asked in her ear so only she could hear. "Maybe you should smile and wave, let them know that everything is perfectly fine.”
Her eyes sought out his darker ones, trying to find reassurance. “Is it perfectly fine?”
He smiled grimly. “Their future is in your hands, my love. Now wave and smile. Let them know that you are not being taken back to the villa to be murdered, which is probably on some of their minds right now because of the terrified expression on your face right at the moment.”
Sasha weakly lifted her hand and tried to wave, but she wasn’t sure that her smile was very reassuring. It was hard to indicate that she was fine when her stomach was tied in knots because of the anxiety she was currently feeling.
Ducking into the back of the vehicle, she took a deep breath, clasping her hands together in front of her. When the door to the limousine closed and they were once again in private, she turned pleading eyes towards the enormous man sitting next to her, pretending to be human but she knew that he really was a horrible monster. “Please don’t do this to them. Don’t harm them. They are wonderful people who just need help to get out of the poverty they’ve lived in for too long.”
Damon closed the window between the back area and the driver. “Their future is in your hands my love. And we will discuss this when we are back in the privacy of our home. Not in the car where others might overhear.”
She sat silently beside him, looking out the window but not seeing the countryside. All she saw were the warm, welcoming smiles of the villagers when she’d first moved into the village. They were the ones that had shown her affection and kindness. When she’d gotten sick, they were the ones that brought her soup and home remedies and read by her bedside until she felt better. They’d taught her the language and shown her how to gain strength from her own resources. It was because of them that she’d found the courage to finally stand up to Damon.
Where was that courage now? And what was she going to do? Damon seemed to have all of the power at this moment and it terrified her.
Silently, she walked in ahead of him, heading towards the living room, the only place where she’d ever really had any sort of discussions with him. But he took her hand and led her up the stairs. She pulled back, knowing where he was taking her and she didn’t want to go up to that bedroom.
At her resistance, he only looked down at her with a dark, raised eyebrow. “This way, Sasha. We have a mystery to solve and I’m eager to figure it out.”
She glanced up the stairs, wary of that path. “What’s wrong with the living room?” she asked, stumbling over the words and trying to wiggle her hand out of his grasp.
“The bedroom is more appropriate,” he replied and slipped a hand to the small of her back, nudging her in the direction of the master bedroom.
She preceded him, wishing there was some other way, some other place to hold this discussion. But he had the control now. She might have thought she’d been in control last night before dinner, might have thought that this would be a simple visit, but she’d somehow lost all the threads and was now being led around like a puppet. Good grief, she should be getting onto a flight in a few hours, ready to start her new life in London as a free woman. She should be anticipating dating, learning about other men and wondering where she was going to live!
Looking up at Damon, she now knew that all of her plans, all of the wonderful things she’d dreamed about, were not going to happen. She was trapped! Trapped by her own ignorance of the law! She’d thought she’d been so careful, so detailed but she’d slipped and now she was going to pay the price.
Standing in the middle of the enormous room where she’d spent so many nights alone, she whipped her hand out of his and backed up several steps. “Okay, so I’m here. What do you want?” She crossed her arms over her stomach defensively, walking over to the window as if the light could somehow protect her.
One dark eyebrow lifted with her question and she blushed at the amusement she saw on his handsome face. “That’s an interesting question. You would be at the top of my list. In my bed, every night, making love with me just like we did last night.”
Sasha shivered at the memories. Well, and the possibilities. “You’d be exhausted,” she said quickly and turned away, hoping he hadn’t caught any changes in her body language that might have revealed how those memories affected her.
“I don’t feel exhausted today.” His eyes watched her. “But we’ll test your theory.”
Sasha cringed, not sure what to say so she turned to look out the window. She didn’t really see anything but it was better than looking at him.
“But I also want answers.”
She spun around, her eyes staring at him warily. “What answers?” she asked.
He walked into her closet and pulled out the drawer, bringing it back. He turned the drawer upside down, dumping all of the presents onto the bed. “Explain.”
Sasha stared at the dozens of hated presents. She wished now that she’d just sold them or burned them, thrown them out with the trash. That’s how valuable they were to her. “What’s there to explain?” she asked defiantly.
His hands were fisted on his hips as he glared down at his defiant wife. He noticed the change in her posture immediately and was confounded. How could mere gifts of jewelry increase her ire so dramatically? “Some of these gifts weren’t even opened, Sasha.”
She looked up at him, her heart breaking all over again as she remembered seeing the same trinkets on the arms of his mistresses. “Why would you be upset about these unopened gifts, Damon?” She was on firmer ground now. And the sight of all of those gifts actually strengthened her, gave her the small bit of courage she needed to confront him about his numerous betrayals.
“They are gifts I gave to you.”
She didn’t laugh even though a bubble of hysteria surged up inside of her. “Really? Or are they gifts that your assistant purchased in your name and sent to me?” she challenged.
His lips compressed because she had him there. “Is there a difference? I still paid for them.”
Sasha’s heart clenched because he didn’t understand the difference. She walked over to the pile of prettily wrapped boxes, knowing that all of them were pieces of extremely expensive jewelry. “This one was this year’s birthday present so it is relatively recent,” she said, lifting one of the boxes and twirling it slightly in her hand. “What was it?”
Damon’s hands rested on his hips. “It is jewelry, Sasha. Something that I would think all women want.”
Her lips curled in disgust at his response. “Yes, I’m sure you’ve made that assumption several times over the years. Regardless of all the arrogant issues your comment reveals, saying that whatever is in this box is jewelry is too easy. A present should be thoughtful, considerate of the receiver’s likes and dislikes. What kind of jewelry did you think I’d like, Damon? Was it a ring? A bracelet? Or maybe it was a necklace?” He started to answer but she held up her hand. “No, obviously, the box contains a bracelet, but what kind of bracelet? What types of stones?”
Damon glared at her, not sure what her game was. Unfortunately, the truth was, he had no idea. His executive assistant purchased all of the gifts for both Sasha and his mistresses. He just told her to send something for a specific occasion and she arranged it. “Diamonds,” he said, assuming that was a good enough guess. All women liked diamonds and, since the box was unopened, Sasha had no idea what was inside either.
Sasha’s eyebrows went up, mimicking his earlier expression. “Are you sure?”
He had no clue. “Yes,” he said with absolute authority, going with the law of probabilities.
She tossed the box to the side. “Wrong. They are emeralds. Green to match Georgina Lafayette’s green eyes.” She picked up another one, grabbing it at random from the pile on the bed. “How about this one? Again, most likely a bracelet. What type of stone?”
Damon had no idea how she knew that the other box contained emeralds, nor did he know how she’d discovered that he’d been seeing Georgina. But he’d broken things off with her several months ago. Looking at the new box, he went again with the old standard. “Diamonds.”
Sasha shook her head. Looking at the date on the card, she said, “This arrived around January of last year.” She tapped her finger. “I think that was Debra something or other, the actress who stayed with you while she was doing some Broadway show. She didn’t last long so I received opals. What did she do wrong, Damon? Get too close?”
Damon kept his mouth closed, crossing his arms over his chest. “What’s your point, Sasha? Are you saying you don’t like jewelry? All women like jewelry.”
She tossed the box back onto the bed, picking up another. “This one was a very pretty sapphire necklace, just like the one Justine Murphy sported at the Bernstein Ball that year, a scant week after you broke up with her.”
Damon was disgusted. “I ask again, what is your point?” he repeated, furious that she was right on all the dates and most likely, the contents of the packages. He was also livid that his public relations manager hadn’t done something to keep all of these women out of the press.
Sasha pushed her hair back off of her forehead, wishing that he hadn’t pulled the pins out of it earlier. “My point, Damon, is that I don’t enjoy jewelry. I live here at the villa, for goodness sake! Where am I going to go that would require a sapphire necklace or emerald bracelets? And I really don’t like identical jewelry that you bought to get rid of one of your mistresses. As your wife, I find that receiving the same trinket you send to your mistress as a sendoff to be in extremely poor taste.”
He hadn’t realized that his assistant was doing that. He grabbed the first box Sasha had held and ripped off the wrapping paper. Sure enough, there was a sparkling emerald bracelet. The second contained an opal bracelet with excellent gold filigree working. And the third box was an expensive sapphire necklace. He cursed under his breath, thinking that he was going to have to have a long talk with his assistant. The woman was an idiot for selecting the same gifts for his wife and mistress.
She read the look in his eyes accurately and shook her head. “Don’t get mad at your assistant, Damon. This isn’t her fault.”
“How the hell do you even know that my assistant is a woman? Aren’t you being a bit sexist to assume that?”
She sighed and rubbed her forehead, trying to ease the headache that was starting to throb due to all of the stress that had come into her life with Damon’s return. This was supposed to be easy! He was supposed to be relieved to be getting rid of his useless, pointless wife! Not that she was useless or pointless!
Glaring up at him, she shook her head. “Really? Who do you think calls me to let me know when you are coming? Who do you think arranges for all of the little luxuries that you demand when you stop by here on one of your flyby visits? She’s extremely efficient, Damon. She doesn’t let anything fall through the cracks.”
The woman just had no idea how technologically savvy his wife was with Internet searches. “I’m going to destroy your computer,” he grumbled.
She rolled her eyes. “That will only save me the effort of finding out specifics. I’ll still know that you are having affairs with any beautiful woman who crosses your path.”
He watched her and realized that he wanted her. And it was time to regain control of this conversation. “I’m not having an affair with anyone right at the moment, Sasha.”
That hurt. “Not at the moment, being the operative phrase, right?” She didn’t want to think about him making love to another woman like he’d done to her last night. “How long until you get tired of me?” she asked. “Will my departure rate a diamond necklace, Damon? Or will our affair be short and sweet, maybe opals or, maybe even more sad, jade?”
He refrained from rolling his eyes. “That’s a ridiculous question. You’re my wife.”
“No,” she snapped back at him. “I’m the woman that has been tucked away here in your villa for the past six years, forgotten and ignored.”
“I never ignored you. Nor did I ever forget you.”
She glared at him, not letting him get away with anything this time around. She’d waited and loved him but he’d killed her feelings for him by his callous treatment of her for so many years. “You forgot about me unless your assistant reminded you about my birthday or you realized it was time to come home and show up at church for a special occasion. Admit it, Damon. Other than three times a year, I wasn’t even a blip on your radar.”
“Not true,” he told her and that was the truth. “For the past several months, you’ve been very much on my mind. Which is why I’m here now.”
She hadn’t thought he could be more insulting but that statement proved her wrong. “No. I’m not going to be your wife. I’m going to start fresh, find a husband and…”
“You already have a husband,” he ground out. “We are not getting a divorce, Sasha. Leave me and I’ll make sure that your entire investment account is wiped out. Your precious villagers will be destroyed.”
She stood there in stunned silence for a long moment before she found her voice. “You wouldn’t do that!” she yelled back at him, praying that she was right.
He leaned in closer. “Don’t challenge me Sasha. After last night, we’re going to start over.” He pulled back. “I’ll admit, I’ve made some mistakes. But we can start now. You’ll be my wife and we’ll start a family.”
She shook her head, astounded by his arrogance. “And live happily ever after, right?” she mocked. “You leave me here for six years, go off and have affairs with…” she paused, then shrugged, “I don’t even know the number of women. Then come back here simply because you’ve decided that you want a family? And I’m your convenient, tucked safely away in the country wife. I can’t do that. I won’t do that!”
He moved closer to her, watching the way her body reacted. He was an expert at understanding women. Well, at least in the bedroom. He obviously had a great deal to learn about his wife but he was more than willing to explore her, observe her and figure out what made her…explode around him.
“We will be a married couple, Sasha.” He stated that unequivocally.
Sasha sighed and rubbed the pulse that was still throbbing, threatening to blow up into a full-out headache. “Damon, I appreciate that you want to start a family. You’re getting older, you think it is time to settle down and produce an heir. I’m just a convenient person to fulfill that role. But I’m sure there are lots of women out there who would love to apply for the position.”
He smiled, almost laughing at the way she was trying to placate him. Good strategy, he thought. Unfortunately, she wasn’t going to dissuade him. Not even a little. “I don’t want another woman. I have you. You are already my wife.”
Her teeth clenched with that infuriating answer. “Find someone else.”
He shook his head, enjoying the fire in her pretty, brown eyes. “You either agree to be my wife, Sasha, or I take control of that account. I’m not bluffing on this.” He reached out and touched a dark strand of hair, twirling it around his finger. “Once you get to know me a bit better, you’ll understand that I never bluff.”
She felt her throat close at his threat and stared at him, trying to figure out a way around him. “You can’t be what I want in a husband.”
He pulled her closer, enjoying the way her body fit so perfectly against his. “I gave you what you wanted last night.” He bent down and nibbled on her neck. “Several times, if my memory is correct.”
“That’s just sex,” she whispered, falling under his spell despite her mind telling her repeatedly to pull out of his arms. She wanted so badly to move away from him, to push him away. But she found herself lifting her hands, touching his chest and actually moving closer to him.
“That’s a start.”
She shook her head, trying to deny what he was making her feel but it was pointless. He was too experienced and she was….well, she’d been locked away here for too long and she’d dreamed about him too often over the years. Her body was desperate for his touch, the way he could make her feel. It was as if he had some sort of magic touch and knew all of the right places that could make her body sing.
She hadn’t even realized that his fingers had already undone the button and zipper on her capris but he lifted her up, out of the pool of clothing as he carried her over to the bed. Within moments, he’d already discarded the rest of her clothing. She stood in front of him, naked and trembling with both anticipation and nerves. His dark eyes surveyed her nakedness with a strange look. She couldn’t quite interpret that gaze but…it felt like possession. Triumph! Her hands moved nervously up to hide herself but he wouldn’t let her, holding her hands away from her body while he looked his fill.
“You’re my wife,” he growled and quickly divested himself of his own clothing. Within moments, he had lifted her up again and placed her in the center of the bed. “And now I’m going to show you what that means.”
Sasha trembled with that promise. She had no idea what he was about to do, but everything felt different today. Or maybe she was just more aware of what he might do to her, of how he could make her react.
“What are you going to do?” she whispered, her arms curving over her breasts as shyness overwhelmed her.
Damon took her hands away, his eyes moving over her soft curves. “I’m going to make love to you. Again and again until your mind accepts me as your mate,” his eyes moved over her soft curves, “just like your body has already accepted.”
And with those words, his head dipped down lower, capturing her lips.
Sasha lifted her hands to push his head away but her fingers found the silky thickness of his black hair instead. She didn’t want this! She didn’t want him to…Oh my! His fingers skimmed down her spine, causing her to curl her body closer to his. Her nipples rubbed against the rough hair on his chest and she shivered with the need that fired inside of her, hotter than the previous night!
“Damon!” she gasped when his hands moved around her body, cupping her bottom and lifting her body against his. And then she was shocked when he turned her around. She gripped the thick comforter of the bed with her fingers, not sure what he was going to do. When he lifted her hips, she shook her head. “Not this…” Once more, his hand moved down her spine and she gasped as her body curved once more. When he entered her from this angle, she was so shocked, so horrified, she turned her head to tell him to stop but then he filled her up and it was the most intense sensation. Her mouth was hanging open as he slowly moved in her body. With every thrust, she screamed and shook her head, denying that this was as magically perfect as it really was.
When his hand moved around her body and touched her in that spot, she screamed, her body convulsing over and over again. Sasha wasn’t sure, but she might have passed out for a moment. By the time she could open her eyes once more, she was still gasping for breath and Damon was pulling her against his side, his breathing uneven as well. She stared at his chest, unable to look into his eyes after that crazy experience.
All she knew was that this was insane. How could her body betray her over and over again? Why was she such a slave to him when he touched her in any way?
Sasha didn’t have any answers.