This time, she didn’t argue. At least that was private, and, God knew, sex was the last thing on her mind in that moment. ‘Fine,’ she said, through gritted teeth. ‘Just don’t touch me. I need to think.’
She’d never been so grateful in her life than that she’d suggested a restaurant right next door to her hotel. It was easy to pick their way across the cobblestoned footpath towards the lobby. Now, though, that the shock of seeing Nikos had worn off, she was aware of how many people were looking in their direction. Her stomach was in loops as they rode the elevator side by side, for Genevieve’s part being careful not to so much as brush her hand against his.
The doors opened into a blessedly deserted corridor, with the same mid-century décor—brown and orange accent colours and yellow light shades. She slid the key into the door, twisted it then stepped inside, holding it open for Nikos to pass. Until he stepped into the room, she hadn’t even noticed how narrow the little entrance way was, but it was physically impossible for him to pass by the door when she was standing there without brushing against her. A fact her body rejoiced in even as her mind was trying to calm things down.
He moved beyond her, thank goodness, into the room, allowing her a moment to take in a breath as she shut the door behind them.
‘You’re Nikos Konstantinou,’ she muttered, crossing her arms over her chest as she raked her gaze across the man in front of her.
Not only was the entrance corridor tiny, but the room seemed it now, too. He looked around, as if at a loss for where to stand, and eventually settled for moving towards the window. His gaze shifted to the view, and she wondered if he was doing what she had so often in the last twenty-four hours: looking for the island.
‘It’s not relevant.’
She compressed her lips.
‘Nikos, this is a disaster.’
He angled his face to hers. ‘That might be the first time any woman has ever had that reaction.’
She ignored his arrogant response. ‘If you’re trying to be funny, quit it. This is not amusing.’
His eyes bored into hers. ‘Do I look amused?’
‘Nikos, I have…an agreement with my ex-husband. I can’t be photographed with you. I can’t have those photos hit the Internet.’ Her skin felt all cold and clammy, and she must have looked awful because a moment later he was sweeping across the room and drawing her to the bed.
‘Sit,’ he commanded, and then eased her down when she didn’t immediately comply. He crouched in front of her, reminding Genevieve of that first evening in the cabin, when he’d patched up her wounds so tenderly. ‘Tell me about this agreement.’
Now that she knew who he was, she could see the easy command with which he approached situations. It had been obvious on the island, but she’d put that down to his superior outdoor skills. Now, she saw it for what it was, as she was in possession of all the facts: this man was a born leader. A dynamic, brilliant, world-leading entrepreneur, who was worth more money than she could even contemplate.
If James saw photographs of her and Nikos together, he’d lose it. He’d renege on their agreement, and use her breach as the cause. He’d stop paying the medical bills. He’d go to the press with the truth of her father’s gambling, ruining his reputation. She felt herself trembling and clasped her hands together in an attempt to stop it.
‘Start at the beginning,’ he suggested.
She couldn’t really imagine saying ‘no’ to Nikos. Not when he was in this mode. ‘Our divorce was not amicable,’ she said slowly. ‘He didn’t want me to leave, but I threatened to go to the press if he made me stay. It was…a tense negotiation,’ she whispered. ‘To put it mildly.’
Nikos’s face was blanked of emotion, but she knew him too well. Those eyes of his, stormy like the sea, gave away his distaste.
‘Our prenuptial agreement was ironclad. I wasn’t entitled to anything, besides a very small stipend. My mother’s medical bills are insane, and James is paying them. I didn’t have a job—James didn’t want me to work, and I agreed, at first, because I thought I was in love, and then, because I was so desperate to keep the peace…’
Nikos nodded, silently encouraging her to continue, but Genevieve was in the past, reliving that godawful day when they’d sat across a long table in his lawyers’ offices and worked through the details.
And then, the moment he’d had the lawyers leave, to show just how completely he wanted to ruin her life.
She sucked in a deep breath.
‘He agreed to pay off the bills, on two conditions. The first, that I sign a non-disclosure agreement about our marriage. I’m not supposed to have even told you what I did. And if I’d known who you are, and the circles you have access to,’ she said, dropping her head forward. ‘You and James probably know several of the same people.’
‘I have no intention of betraying a word you’ve told me.’
Even without him saying that, she knew it to be true. She didn’t really want to think about the trust she felt for him—it ran counter to every pledge she’d made herself, post-divorce.
‘I just thought—’
‘That I was a cave dweller,’ he supplied, his hand moving to her thigh and rubbing there.
She squeezed her eyes shut. ‘I thought you were as far removed from that whole world as anyone.’
‘I am.’
