The Russian's Furious Fiancee (3 page)

He didn’t leave, nor did he sit down, which put her in a more vulnerable position by making her look up at him. “And your father has been trying to introduce us all night. You’ve been avoiding me.” He shifted slightly so that his shoulder was leaning against one of the thick tree trunks beside him. “Why is that, do you suppose?”

She shrugged and decided not to strain her neck by trying to see his face. “At the risk of angering my father, I don’t like the look you have about you. You’re not my type, so I didn’t want to be introduced even though my father was keen on the idea.” She couldn’t gauge his response due to the dim light anyway, so she shouldn’t even try. “You don’t take the hint very well, do you?”

“Not well, no.” He chuckled and looked at her through the darkness. “A more interesting topic of conversation would be
why
you don’t like my looks.”

Eva took a sip of her tea and shrugged. “It isn’t your looks that bother me. It’s the way you’ve been looking at me that I find offensive.”

“What’s that look?”

“There’s something in your eyes that seems to be claiming possession of me and I don’t think it’s appropriate.”

He slid his hands into his pockets and shifted slightly, almost leaning forward as if to see her more clearly in the dim light. “What kind of look would you allow that might be considered appropriate?”

She sighed with frustration and sat up higher in the seat, wishing she didn’t feel so small next to him. “I don’t need to be teased, sir. I don’t know who you are or what your relationship is with my father, but leave me out of it. If you’re trying to get ahead in my father’s company, good for you. He definitely appreciates an ambitious worker as long as you’re smart to go along with that ambition. But I’m not going to help your advancement by putting in a good word for you with my father, so you might as well stop the act and just move on to better ideas. Maybe stay late at work or something to prove your value would be a better use of your time?”

He smiled at her retort but she couldn’t see it because a group of clouds covered the moon, eliminating her only source of light. The more he talked to her, the more interesting she became. There was just something about her tone, perhaps the sarcasm or the defiance that he rarely encountered. Finding it in a sexy little female was unheard of. “I don’t work for your father.”

That startled her since most of the men her father introduced her to were his vice presidents or had some sort of affiliation with his company. It was one of the main reasons she was so easily able to reject their advances so this man not falling into a well established category just further irritated her. “Well, whatever business deal you’re working with him, I’m not part of it.”

“Family is always part of any business. It cannot be avoided, nor should it be. Family and social connections are what make good partners, add a good faith type of essence to the deal.”

She didn’t agree with him there, thinking that good business should be done with sound logic and business acumen, but she didn’t think she would win an argument with him. “Not in my mind. My father can just go it alone. I’m not for sale.”

“Good to hear. But why do you assume your father is in control in our relationship? Perhaps he is trying to get something from me by offering you up as incentive.”

She snorted. “Sure. My father’s a good businessman and has made a lot of money over the years. You’re a little young to be claiming that you have something my father wants. Save that claim to fame to that horrible Damon Kelopatros or whatever his name is.”

There was an odd hesitation before he said, “I take it you don’t like Mr. Kelopatros?”

She shook her head, wondering about the amusement she heard in his response. “I don’t care one way or another for the man. I’m just saying the old fart is probably the only man my father would sell me to. Not that I’d allow it, mind you.” She stood up and moved towards the path that would take her back to the house when he moved closer. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m done for the night. Enjoy the night air, sir.”

He stopped her by grabbing her arm and pulling her back around. “I want you,” he said, surprised that he wanted her so strongly. This was supposed to be a business deal but he found he was intensely attracted to the woman who apparently disliked him enormously since she was referring to him as an “old fart”. Not the worst name he’d been called, but having it come from his fiancée made it a bit more awkward. Even if she didn’t know she was going to marry him yet.

She wanted to pull her arm out of his grasp, but was afraid he wouldn’t allow it. She ignored the thrill of power and excitement that shifted through her body at his words, and focused on the arrogance and conceit of him. How dare he say something like that when they’d barely spoken and hadn’t even been formally introduced? What gall!

She peered up at him curiously, wishing her heart wasn’t pounding in her ears. “How could you know if you want me or not based solely on this short conversation? And equally intriguing,” she replied with her head cocked to the side, “how arrogant of you to think that simply saying something as offensive as that could make it so. I don’t even know how to respond to something so outrageous.” She continued to glare at him, hoping he could see her anger in the moonlight. “Please release me.” She held herself with as much dignity as possible, but she was shaking inside, the man’s touch making her feel things she didn’t like and couldn’t control.

“Let me take you out to lunch tomorrow,” he replied, ignoring her glare and actually moving closer. His hand didn’t release her arm, but it relaxed and slid down to her elbow and forearm, then took her hand in his while he examined her fingers. “I’d like to get to know you better.”

With his relaxed hold, she was able to snap her hand out of his grasp and take a step backwards, adding space so that she didn’t feel so small. She wasn’t a short woman, just small compared to this stranger’s extraordinary height. “I can assure you that the feeling is not mutual. I not only don’t want to get to know you, but I sincerely hope we’ll never meet again.”

He chuckled at her spunk, finding her refreshing and lovelier with each passing moment. “I can guarantee that we’ll meet again. And it will be very, very soon.” While he spoke, he was lifting her hand to his mouth. She thought he only meant to kiss her with old fashioned flair but she should have known better. Instead of a gentlemanly kiss, he turned her hand over and kissed the palm of her hand, smiling when he heard her gasp and felt the shivers intensify.

As he walked away, Eva shot daggers at his back, wishing she could say something pithy that would pierce his confidence. But she couldn’t think of anything at the moment.

How had he gained her hand again? She’d snatched it away from him!

Chapter 3

Eva closed her eyes, working through the scene and trying to come up with a good way to segue from one scene to the next. There was a clue to the murderer she had to add, but her main character, a female detective with a huge chip on her shoulder, needed to discover this one particular clue soon or the ending wouldn’t work as well. She already had that part figured out, even how the arrest was going to happen. It was the middle that was more of the puzzle. That was the part she loved too. It was all very intricate and detailed, making her think hard about how to shift the balance of power from the bad guy to the detective.

She really should be working on her lesson plans. They were more urgent, but her novel was coming along well and she’d made a great deal of progress today. She didn’t want to break the moment by working on plans for her investing class.

The phone ringing interrupted her concentration and she jumped at the sound, the ring shattering the silence of her apartment with a shrill sound.

With a sigh, she looked at the caller ID, not willing to break her work day up for just anyone. The phone number wasn’t familiar, so she pressed the button that would send the call to voice mail.

Once silence reigned once again, she stood up and paced her apartment. She’d set up her office in the second bedroom but it felt small today. Confined. And with the phone ringing, her whole concentration was interrupted. She’d lost the creative bubble that had been helping her to get through her storyline this morning.

It was all because of that man, she thought with a great deal of frustration. She walked into her kitchen and grabbed a diet soda, opening the top and trying to calm down. Every time she thought about the previous night she just got riled up again. She’d even had trouble sleeping last night because of that obnoxious kiss to her palm!

Of all the gall! Why did he think he could do things like that to her? Why would he even want to? They’d barely met and there he was, kissing the palm of her hand like some…..ugh! Just some….she couldn’t even think of a good enough epithet for him, she was just too angry.

When the phone started ringing once again, she turned around and looked at the phone number. It was the same number, so she supposed she should answer it. Besides, she wasn’t making any more progress today. Her whole mind was shot because of last night’s dinner party now that the phone had interrupted her. She should have unplugged it and just focused on her story!

“Hello?” she snapped as she answered the phone and then immediately regretted her tone. The caller wasn’t the cause of her frustrations so she shouldn’t be taking it out on the stranger. “I’m sorry. How can I help you?” she asked again, pushing her hair off her forehead.

“You can let me pick you up for lunch,” a deep voice said over the phone lines.

She stood absolutely still as her mind reeled with recognition. “You!” she growled. “Why are you calling me?”

He laughed softly. “I thought I made that clear a moment ago. Are you always this feisty in the morning? I think I like it.”

She could just see the man leaning back in his big, black, leather chair and smiling maliciously at her discomfort. “I’m never feisty except when you are around. And no, I won’t go to lunch with you. I have to hang up now. I have a deadline.”

“Don’t hang up, Eva,” he warned, his tone filled with authority.

Damn him! And damn her for reacting to the authority in his voice. “Why not?”

“Because if you do, I’ll think you’re scared of me.” He paused to let that sink in before he said, “And that might imply that you find me attractive which would then give me a great deal of satisfaction.”

She gasped and glared at the tree across the parking lot from her apartment, wishing it was his head and she could just chop it off! “I’m not afraid of you,” she snapped at him, furious that he would think that, even if it were true. She’d have to do a much better job of concealing her emotions if this man could get to her so easily.

“Then meet me for lunch and convince me that I’m wrong. Otherwise, I’m going to pursue you, assuming that you’re attracted to me but too intimidated to act on your feelings and just need reassurance that I’m very attracted to you as well.”

“Isn’t that a bit trite?”

He chuckled, a sexy sound that made her stomach clench with anticipation. “Not at all, if it’s incorrect.” His voice was very soft as he said, “Is it true, Eva?”

Her breath was shaky but she thought she was able to hide it well through the phone. “Absolutely not!”

“Great. Lunch in two hours at Il Bodega. I’ll either meet you there or I’ll have the answer to my question with your absence,” he said and hung up the phone.

Eva couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. She actually laughed at how he’d impressively trapped her into having lunch with him, giving him points for his creative mind. She was still chuckling as she stood up a half hour later to get ready to meet him, but promising herself that she wouldn’t take anything he said too seriously.

Two hours later, she wasn’t amused any longer. She’d arrived at the restaurant and saw him across the room, already seated at a table and talking on his cell phone. He saw her enter and stood up, but the hostess was already guiding her across the room so he remained at the table, watching her approach.

There was a significant difference between talking to the man over the phone and being amused by his manipulations, and walking towards him in the bright light of day, his dark eyes watching her with that look that made her stomach quiver with something she refused to believe was excitement or eagerness.

She was no longer amused, she was back to being irritated. Which, in her own mind, she accepted was because the man scared her silly but she’d never admit that to him. Anger was a much easier emotion to explain, and it wouldn’t give him as much power over her.

Good grief he was tall and scary looking, and just downright intimidating the closer she got to him. Couldn’t he please sit down so he didn’t tower over her like this?

Damon watched with fascination as Eva walked across the room. She really was a stunningly beautiful woman with a lush figure that drew other men’s attention, which actually irritated him, he realized. When had he ever cared if other men noticed the females he escorted? If other men had looked at his previous companions, he’d not noticed, nor would he have cared.

It was because this woman was going to be his wife, he thought possessively. When other men looked, they considered the possibilities. And there would be no possibilities with his wife. Not with anyone but himself!

When she reached the table, he already had the chair pulled out for her and he enjoyed the soft scent of her as she gracefully took her seat. Her perfume wasn’t heavy or cloying, but a subtle, flowery smell that wafted around him. A barely there scent that made him think of sex and freshness.

Eva sat down, glaring at the man across the table from her. “Okay, I’m here. What more do you want?”

He chuckled and leaned back in his seat. “Ah, Eva, my dear. There is so much more that I want and I’m not sure you’re ready to hear those thoughts at this point.”

“You’re Damon Kelopatros,” she pointed out.

“I’ve accepted that in my life.”

She squirmed under his amused gaze, trying to figure out how to pierce his good humor. “You’re the man who is single handedly destroying the entire waterfront on the west side of the city.”