Chapter One #3
She froze. It hung between them—the instant rush of unstoppable lust. But that he’d ever be capable of keeping her happy beyond that—that he could ever be enough for her? No. It had been a flight of fancy.
She tore her gaze from his. ‘It’s only minor paperwork,’ she said bravely. ‘We had to be separated two years before the divorce can be finalised.’
So she knew that and still hadn’t done anything about it.
‘You think we’ve been separated?’ He couldn’t resist provoking her. ‘For these two years and four months?’ He nearly laughed at the defiant flash in her eyes.
‘You haven’t accepted that I abandoned you?’ Her breath hissed.
Oh, she had. She knew it. He knew it. And the lawyers would certainly agree it was a fact.
But right now he would argue the sky was green just to disagree with whatever came out of her beautiful, sultry mouth.
He’d missed this—her moving to meet him like a little sparrow taking on a lion.
Always game, even when she was way out of her depth and had no chance of winning.
That didn’t stop her. So once more he steeled himself in readiness for her rejection.
Angry that he even had to. But he’d been burned by a young and inexperienced woman.
She’d been nobody, had had nothing. He’d given her riches and a lifestyle she’d never known, things he’d not given anyone before.
Yet for Bethan it wasn’t enough. It had taken a shockingly short time for her to realise she didn’t want more than his body—and even that only for a while.
Although it seemed that even now she still noticed his physique.
He deliberately moved closer, noting the undeniable reaction in her eyes and deepening colour in her cheeks as he entered her personal space.
She didn’t back away, but lifted her chin. While he could appreciate her fiery proud stance in this second, he also hated her for it. He got close enough to feel her heat. It would be nothing to touch her. Kiss her.
No. He would never do that ever again. Didn’t want to. He damned well did not want to.
‘Why haven’t you pushed for the divorce, then?’ he queried quietly. ‘Or is it that you don’t really want to?’
Her nostrils flared. ‘Of course I want to,’ she growled.
‘You’d best get to Greece and renounce me, then,’ he said huskily, her fury both a reward and an ache.
‘I’m never going back to Greece.’
He stared at her appalled expression. Didn’t she know? Still a little na?ve, then. How sweet. ‘But, Bethan, you have to.’
‘No, I don’t.’ A lick of her lip gave her nerves away. ‘The lawyers can handle it.’
‘Then why haven’t you asked them to?’
‘Why haven’t you?’
His trickle of satisfaction went full flow.
He’d come to London to expedite their divorce—as smoothly and easily as possible—because she was right about the time requirement and they were way over it.
But she was also very wrong. He would indeed get his damned divorce, but maybe he would also get a soupcon of revenge.
Maybe he would make her pay—just a little.
Bethan glared up at the man she’d married in a whirlwind few weeks of heady romance.
She’d been swept off her feet, consumed by temptation, by the desire to believe the best of him.
She’d thought she’d found her fairy-tale romance like the one her parents had.
Intense. Wonderful. Easy. Instant. It was laughable what a fool she’d been.
But Bethan’s childhood home had been filled with photos and her father had shared the stories daily—generous in keeping the memory of her mother alive, in building an impossible ideal.
Theirs had been love at first sight and would have lasted a lifetime if her mother hadn’t died tragically young.
What was between Bethan and Ares was little more than uncontrolled lust. Always and only lust. What she’d na?vely believed was some kind of heroic silent stoicism was Ares coldly forming a calculated plan to use her.
Well, she wasn’t that dreamy fool now. She was shutting this down and her damned body could hurry up and obey because she’d suffered enough loss already.
But it didn’t. Her eyes locked on him, her heart raced, and that traitorous secret part of her melted.
It was the shock—right? By turning up unexpectedly he’d pitched her headlong into a tumult of conflicting emotions.
It wasn’t fair of him but then Ares had never played fair.
He just did whatever he thought was necessary to get what he wanted, no matter the impact on anyone else.
And in only two seconds of being back in his company, she was as attracted as ever. Hormones were such basic things.
‘Bethan,’ he said slowly as if she were an idiot. ‘If you want rid of me as your husband, you have to present in front of the notary. In person. In Greece.’
Uh, no. She was never going back to that beautiful place—all steeped in history, in heat and wild herbs and heartache.
She’d gone there to honour her grandmother’s last wishes, soothing her grief, and met him.
She could never, ever go back to the place her already bruised heart had been so brutally broken.
But when she didn’t answer, his eyebrows lifted superciliously.
‘Why hasn’t your lawyer informed you of this?’
Because she’d gone to an inexpensive, barely qualified lawyer who’d obviously not had enough experience to tell her.
All he’d said was that there had to be a two-year time lag before she could get the divorce.
She’d decided to hide out and allow that time to pass.
But she hadn’t hidden all that well. The pitiful truth was a weak part of her had hoped that Ares would come to his senses and come after her.
That he would go to the ends of the earth to find her and declare his love in some grand passion.
..like that fairy-tale, one-and-only romance of her parents.
But of course he hadn’t because that wasn’t what they were.
She’d stopped hoping a long time ago and tried to start healing.
But the second she saw him tonight, the scab had been ripped off.
For a moment—just one stupid moment—she’d thought he was here to get her back.
Because she’d taken one look and wanted him as deeply, madly, badly again.
‘That’s why you’re here,’ she said flatly.
Disappointment thumped all over again. He hadn’t had some change of heart and come to see her. He wanted them to be over.
His long lashes dropped, veiling his gleaming eyes. ‘Of course, why else?’ He cleared his throat and stepped back. ‘I see no reason to wait any more. Go inside and get your passport.’
‘What?’
‘We’ll fly to Athens first thing and see the notary in the afternoon.’
Yeah, that didn’t explain why she needed to get her passport right now. This commanding attitude was vintage Ares.
‘No,’ she said slowly—as patronising a tone as he’d used before. ‘I’m not flying with you. I’ll meet you in court in Athens.’
He folded his arms and shook his head. ‘You disappeared on me once already. You think I’ll take the risk of that happening again?’
Fire swept through her, pushing her to get in his face. ‘Do you really think I’m just going to do whatever you want?’ She rose on tiptoe in a vain attempt to get more on eye-level. ‘I’ve wised up, Ares. But you’re as controlling as ever. Only out to get what you want.’
‘But don’t we want the same thing?’ He tilted his head, bringing his mouth closer to hers. ‘Divorce,’ he enunciated clearly. ‘As quickly as possible.’ His voice dropped. ‘Or is there something else you want?’
‘There’s nothing I want more than to be completely rid of any connection with you.’ She jabbed her finger into his chest.
‘Nothing you want more?’ He grabbed her hand and pressed it flat over his heart.
Stunned, she stilled. She could feel his heart thudding beneath her palm, its pace as fast as her own. And then she felt the fire.
‘What are you doing?’ She was hot with anger—not lust.
‘Nothing you want more?’ His breath was soft. ‘Oh, Bethan, we know that’s not the case. That guy could never give you what you need. He’s not your type.’
‘Don’t be feral.’ She curled her fingers into a fist, desperate to reject what she was feeling. ‘You don’t know what I need. Or what my type is.’
‘Don’t I?’ His other arm wound around her waist, holding her in a loose embrace. ‘Don’t you think I remember exactly what it is you like? How you like it?’
‘You think that’s you?’ She panted, battling the insane urge to lean right against him. ‘You’re the most arrogant jerk.’
‘But am I wrong?’ he challenged as if he could feel the yearning tearing her apart. ‘I’m the one who taught you, remember?’
Memories flashed. Unstoppable. Unwanted.
Undeniable. Their first kiss. Her first time.
The way he’d made her shake and scream and in the end cry from the earth-shattering beauty of it.
She’d not known what her body was even for until she’d met him.
She closed her eyes, trying to block the images flooding her senses.
Trying to stop trembling from need. Trying to recover the cold, hard fact that he’d hurt her.
Almost no one here in London knew her connection to Ares. She’d reverted to her maiden name, not even told Elodie and Phoebe who she’d married or how powerful he was. She’d simply nicknamed him ‘the Greek’ and she’d been so obviously heartbroken, they’d carefully not pried for details.
She suppressed another tremble. Hating herself for such a damned obvious reaction. She desperately needed to get away and stay away from him for good.
‘If you don’t come with me now, I will contest our divorce and drag it out for years,’ he said softly.
‘What?’ Her eyes flashed open. ‘Why on earth would you do that?’
Didn’t he want to be rid of her as quickly as possible too?
‘Maybe it’s been convenient for me to be married,’ he purred, still holding her close.
Oh. Of course. There was the unvarnished truth.
Their marriage had always and only been about a convenient benefit for him.
It had never been an emotional decision—no love match.
But that was what he’d allowed her to believe.
And she’d been so infatuated she’d not questioned him as she should have.
She’d not stood up for herself and what she deserved.
That would never happen again. She was independent and whole.
She knew what she wanted. And she would never settle for less ever again.
Nor would she ever suffer loss. No more heartbreak. She’d had enough.
‘Well, you’re not staying married to me,’ she snapped. ‘We’re divorcing and you can’t stop it. Go find yourself a new fool.’
‘Because you’ve “wised up”?’
‘Absolutely,’ she shot back. ‘And gotten what I want and need elsewhere.’
‘You sure about that?’
His hold on her hadn’t tightened any, yet somehow she felt caged. Heat overwhelmed her from the inside out. They were barely touching yet they might as well be naked for the fire now scurrying along her veins.
‘Let me go,’ she breathed. ‘Now.’
He immediately dropped his arms and those treacherous cells within her screamed with disappointment. How could she be so weak?
She dragged in a difficult breath. ‘I’m not letting you turn my life upside down again.’
‘Is that what happened?’ he muttered dryly. ‘Or was it my life that was wrecked?’
No, he didn’t get to act as if he’d been at all bothered by her departure.
‘I wrecked nothing. You just can’t stand that I walked out on you—that the great Ares Vasiliadis was humiliated by the clueless bride he’d thought was infatuated with him.
You thought that you could have your cake and eat it too.
’ She laughed bitterly. ‘It’s your fault for stringing me along, you know we never should have married. ’
She wasn’t in his league. He didn’t just have money, but power and the status of the elite.
School had taught her how poor outsiders to that level of society fared.
Those flush snobs bitchily believed in their superiority.
She would never fit in that world—but the worst thing was Ares had known it, he’d planned to use that fact.
‘So come to Greece,’ he said harshly. ‘Get this done and then we’ll never have to see each other again.’
So he’d not meant that threat to argue against the divorce?
‘How long will it take?’ she asked.
‘You’ll only need to be there for the declaration then you can leave again right away.’
One night. Perhaps two. A short stay in an Athens hotel would be expensive but no way was she staying anywhere near him. She’d use the savings she’d been slowly accumulating with her broadening work portfolio but it would be worth it to be free of him at last.
‘You want rid of me, right?’ he growled.
Desperately. Her awkward date tonight had made it crystal clear. She needed to sever all ties to Ares Vasiliadis. She needed to be free.
‘Then come with me now.’ He was callous and clearly impatient and his eyes glittered. ‘Or are you too scared to spend a mere twenty-four hours with me?’
‘Can’t you come up with a better tactic than some schoolboy challenge?’ she jeered back, then lied through her teeth. ‘You don’t scare me.’
He shot a disbelieving smile down at her, then bent so his hot whisper brushed the top of her ear. ‘I terrify you.’ He stepped back and sighed, his mouth a thin line. ‘Rest assured the feeling’s mutual, sweetheart.’
Oh, please. She didn’t terrify him, she was nothing more than a minor irritant. But while she’d been putty in his hands over two years ago, she wasn’t going to be as malleable this time. The only reason she was considering this was because, in this moment, they wanted the same thing.
‘It’s really very simple.’ He inhaled sharply and braced, legs apart, hands on his hips, every inch a Greek warrior. ‘Get your passport. Now. I’m leaving nothing to chance until we’re absolutely over.’