"Why would you? In your world business and money is G.o.d," she said flatly. "Though you would be surprised how many very wealthy men like Bratchet use and abuse children. Perversion cuts across all levels of society and it costs money to fly to Cambodia," she opined cynically.
"And you compare me with Bratchet?" Rion queried hollowly.
"No." She knew Rion"s s.e.xual preferences all too well. Seeing him standing there watching her with dark haunted eyes, she felt her heart swell with love and compa.s.sion and knew it was time to go. "But people are usually judged by the company they keep, and as you said yourself yesterday, you would do business with a serial killer if it was legitimate and a good deal."
Now Rion knew what she had been hiding-why she had refused to go on the dive. And, worse, he realised that one exaggerated throwaway comment he had made had killed any hope he had of keeping Selina.
"I know it is a lot to ask, because it is your precious business, but do me a favour when you speak to Bratchet again: don"t mention what I have told you. When you caught me on the phone the other night I wasn"t calling Aunt Peggy, but Trevor, to tell him I"d seen Bratchet and learnt he was heading back to the Far East. His sort never change, and with luck he might be caught and not be able to buy his way out again."
"You have my word," Rion promised quietly, but inside he was a seething ma.s.s of emotions-fury at Bratchet, and at himself for being so blind, so arrogant he had refused to recognise the love he felt for Selina until now, when she was leaving him.
"Thank you. And, hey, look on the bright side. If Bratchet is arrested you might get his company even cheaper and we"ll both win," she said facetiously.
Rion slowly shook his head, the hint of a smile quirking the corners of his mouth. "You are an incredible lady, Selina." Sadly he resigned himself to the fact she was never going to be his. He didn"t deserve her after all he had done. "I"ll arrange you a flight back to England."
"No need. I have already got my flights booked for Cambodia. I usually spend a month every year helping Beth and Trevor-though it is only going to be three weeks this time."
Her eyes lifted to his and Rion saw the disdain in their amber depths. He knew she was remembering why her trip had been cut short. As was he. And if it was possible to feel worse he did.
"Then let me make a donation to the charity," he offered.
"It is simple. Just mail the Taylor Foundation." Selina reeled off the e-mail address. "But I would make it anonymous. Beth is a real crusader for justice-much more high-minded than me."
Rion didn"t try to stop her when she turned to leave. Didn"t even touch her. He didn"t dare.
"Your luggage is in the car. I"ll tell the chauffeur to take you where you want to go."
His original thought of persuading Selina to stay a night or two more with him, never mind marry him, was dead in the water and, moving to sit at his desk, he simply nodded as she walked out of the door.
Half an hour later Rion hadn"t moved, but still sat with his head in his hands. He knew with gut-wrenching certainty that the same day he had finally realised he loved Selina he had lost her ...
The phone rang and he ignored it. His secretary walked in and he told her he was not to be disturbed for the rest of the day.
He glanced around his state-of-the-art office and rose to his feet to walk to the vast gla.s.s wall. He gazed out over Athens but it did nothing for him. He had health, wealth, work he enjoyed-a great life by any standard. Yet the one person he needed was forever un.o.btainable to him, and the pain was crippling.
CHAPTER ELEVEN.
SELINA stopped in the centre of the elegant foyer of the luxurious hotel in the centre of Rio that had been her home for the past ten days and turned to smile up at Antonio. Six foot tall, powerfully built and wearing a black tuxedo, white dress shirt and red bow tie, he was strikingly attractive-and a refreshingly honest man for all his wealth.
"Thank you, Antonio, it was a lovely evening," she said. "And it has been a real pleasure working for you again. But I am leaving early in the morning so I will say goodbye now." She held out her hand but, ignoring it, he caught her shoulders and kissed her on both cheeks.
"You could change your mind and accept my offer to stay on as my mistress," he prompted with a grin. "Currently I have a vacancy-in fact I will always have a vacancy for you, Selina."
Stepping back, Selina laughed up at him, shaking her head. "You are incorrigible, Antonio-and, no, I could not. But if you ever need a translator again you know how to find me."
"True. And if you ever change your mind, Selina, or need me for anything you have my number. Call me. If I can"t have you as a lover I"ll settle for a friend." He smiled.
Selina saw the warmth in his dark eyes and was touched. "Thank you. I will. Goodbye." And, turning on her heel, she headed for the bank of elevators without looking back.
Once in her room, she gave a sigh of contentment as she closed the door. Another successful job completed, she thought and, kicking off her shoes, crossed to sit on the edge of the king-sized bed. She began unpinning her hair from its intricate chignon.
Antonio Soares, the head of the largest mining consortium in Brazil and with interests worldwide, was one of the good guys, Selina reflected. She had met him two months ago, as a client in Australia, and she had travelled to China with him. Then he had hired her again for a Chinese delegation visit to Brazil. The trip had been a success for both parties, and tonight had been the final celebratory dinner before the delegation left in the morning.
She finger-combed her hair, smiling. Antonio was a self-confessed womaniser but he was also fun, and he made her laugh with tales of the doyennes of Brazilian society who kept trying to get him to marry their daughters. He was like Rion in a way-he worked hard and played hard-but, unlike Rion, Antonio was not hard of heart. She had met his ten-year-old son, Eduardo, and knew his much-loved wife had died in childbirth and he had no intention of ever replacing her.
In fact, she thought, given a year or so to get over Rion she might even accept Antonio"s offer to be his mistress ...
Rising to her feet, she reached around to untie the halter neck of her dress and paused. For the first time in the three months since leaving Rion she realised she was beginning to think more positively of the future, even considering another man. That had to be a sign she was getting better.
She was about to unfasten the bow at the back of her neck when she heard a loud knock on the door.
Odd, she thought, it was after eleven, and she had not ordered anything from room service. She walked towards the door, not intending to open it until she"d asked who it was. But she never got the chance. The door opened and a man walked in, slamming the door behind him.
"You!" Selina exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock even as her traitorous heart leapt as she recognised Rion. His hair was longer and falling over his brow, she noted, and his usual sartorial elegance had slipped a little. The superbly tailored navy suit he wore no longer fitted so well. The jacket was loose across his chest and he looked leaner, his handsome features honed to an even more chiselled edge.
"What on earth are you doing here?" she asked, shocked rigid. Her insides were shaking. "And how did you get in?" Stupid question. "Never mind. Just get out or I will call the manager." She didn"t like the ferocious look on his face and suddenly she was afraid.
"Call away, but it won"t do you any good. I own this hotel, I have a key, and I want to talk to you."
"Own the hotel?" she parroted, a host of conflicting emotions flooding through her. "But how did you know I was here?" she demanded.
Rion ran his hands through his hair. It was that or grabbing Selina, and he didn"t trust himself to touch her after witnessing the scene between her and Antonio Soares in the foyer. But he could not take his eyes off her. Her glorious hair tumbled around her bare shoulders and the golden-brown shot satin dress she wore revealed a tempting cleavage. The satin slid sensuously over her shapely body to the floor. She looked beautiful and s.e.xy and she was driving him out of his mind.
Rion shrugged his shoulders in an attempt to ease the fierce tension in his long body. "I decided to look you up."
"Look me up ... Hunt me down, more like," Selina said, her voice rising incredulously. Her amber eyes flashed with temper, clashing with blazing black, but she was too angry to care. A few minutes ago she"d been congratulating herself on beginning to get over Rion, and now, like some evil genie, he"d popped back into her life.
"What the h.e.l.l for?" She swore. "It is almost midnight in Brazil-halfway round the world from where you live, for heaven"s sake-and yet here you are. Are you crazy?" she demanded furiously.
Rion grabbed her around the waist and hauled her hard against him. For an instant desire flared between them, and savagely she tried to crush it. But too late. She registered his eyes, glittering with an almost manic light.
"Crazy, maybe-but it is you who have made me this way. And I"ll hunt you down to the ends of the earth if that is what it takes to get you back. Because I can"t stand the thought of you with someone else. Everything in me-everything I am-yearns for you," he declared harshly.
This was a Rion she had never seen before. He was like a man possessed. "You can"t just hunt-"
But he carried on as though she had not spoken, and being held against his body was making her temperature rise.
"Do you think I haven"t suffered the torment of the d.a.m.ned since we parted? Knowing the truth almost unmanned me. You were mine first, and I don"t give a d.a.m.n about any in between as long as you are mine last. As for Antonio Soares-I spoke to him downstairs and he won"t bother you again."
"Spoke to him? Bother me?" She was turning into a parrot. "Antonio is a client-a friend, you Neanderthal," she shot back furiously, and tried to wriggle free. But he tightened his grip and with one hand stroked up her back, tangling his fingers in her hair and forcing her to look up into his dark face.
"Where you are concerned I am. I can"t help myself. I lied when I told you I didn"t do jealous. I only need to see you smile at a man to be consumed by the green-eyed monster because I love you. I don"t expect you to believe me but I do."
Selina blinked. Had she heard right ...? No, it was impossible. She glared at him belligerently. "If this is another ploy to get me into bed you are wasting your time. Now, let me go."
"No. Never again, Selina." He lowered his head and kissed her with a possessive, seductive hunger that she fought to resist. But her traitorous body betrayed her and she felt her heart thud, the blood flow thicker in her veins. She raised her hands to push him away, but somehow her fingers involuntarily splayed across his broad chest and crept around his neck as she gave in to the sensual awareness Rion never failed to arouse in her and kissed him back.
Rion groaned and buried his face against her throat, inhaling the delicate scent of her skin. "Forgive me." He lifted his head. "I swore I wouldn"t do this, wouldn"t touch you until we"d talked and I"d explained." His anguished expression tore at Selina"s heart. "I know I don"t deserve you, but I do love you, Selina."
Loved her? Was it possible? She raised a hand to feel his brow and brushed back a stray lock of hair. "Are you ill? Have you got a fever or something?" She didn"t dare to believe in a penitent, loving Rion.
"Only a fever for you. When I think of how brutally I cut you out of my life, divorced you without a word, I"m appalled. Discovering that my own sister was too frightened of me to tell me the truth makes me cringe inside. I never considered myself a vengeful person, and yet I took advantage of your grandfather"s will on the day of his funeral and used your generous heart, your caring for Anna, to get you back in my bed."
"You"re a ruthless man when you want something," Selina said bluntly. Though her lips throbbed sensuously from his kiss, and his confession was balm to her wounded heart, she was still not prepared to believe the seismic change from outraged macho male to supplicant lover.
"I know. It is my character, I guess, but I am working to change it."
A hint of a smile twitched Selina"s lips.
"I can"t help it-the same way I can"t help wanting you. I love you, but I can"t find the words to describe my feelings. I have never had to try before," Rion said with a touch of his usual arrogance, pressing her closer to his long body.
The heat and the strength of him enveloped her.
"To say I love you sounds so tame in comparison to what I really feel. That last day in my office, when I realised you had never betrayed me and I asked you to marry me again, that was the moment I finally recognised the limitless depths of my feelings for you ... that I loved you."
Five times he had mentioned love, and Selina was beginning to believe him. "You don"t have to tell me this," she said gently, noticing the lines of tiredness etched about his eyes, his mouth. Lifting a finger, she traced the contours of his lean, harshly handsome face. He was either ill or he did love her, and she knew which she"d prefer.
"Yes I do. For a few glorious moments I was euphoric. Then in less than a minute I was in h.e.l.l. When you told me you didn"t like the company I kept and why, and I realised what you did with your money ... the Taylor Foundation ... I had never been so horrified or ashamed in my whole life. Then I realised from your parting statement that I had in one careless comment made you forever a.s.sociate me with that monster, Bratchet, and I had to let you walk away."
"Oh, no ..." She was shaken by the bleakness of his tone, and wanted to rea.s.sure him. "You might be arrogant, and look and act like a ruthless tyc.o.o.n sometimes-well, most of the time-but I would never ever compare you with that horrible man."
"Thank you-I think," he said wryly, and brushed his lips across hers in the briefest of kisses. "That is what Dimitri said a week ago, when he arrived in Athens to visit his parents and we had a drink together. It is thanks to him I am here. He told me I looked a wreck, and asked me what had happened. I"d had a bit to drink and told him the story of our relationship. He told me I was a coward. If I loved you I had to fight for you. Then he mentioned he had seen you leaving an airport in Rio with Antonio Soares as he was dashing to catch a flight to Greece. He also told me there was a picture of you and Soares in some geological magazine, taken in China a month ago, and if I had a grain of sense I wouldn"t waste any more time. Am I too late?"
Selina lifted wide amber eyes to his but his long lashes lowered, shielding his eyes. But they could not quite hide the unfamiliar vulnerability in their black depths.
"Or can I hope?"
"Antonio is a nice man."
"I know him. He came on a few diving expeditions with Dimitri and I, and I liked him ... But I am not such a nice man ..."
"Oh, I wouldn"t say that. Antonio is a friend-nothing more. You were my lover."
"I don"t like the past tense."
Should she take a chance and tell Rion the truth? Well, she had nothing to lose. "Remember when you suggested extending our cruise, I wanted to say yes."
Rion tensed, his long fingers digging into her waist as his other hand moved to cup her chin. "You did? Then why ...?" There was confusion in the dark eyes that held hers, and something else that made her heart leap in her breast.
Selina took a deep breath. "Remember the night I left your bed and told you the next day it was because I had almost fallen out? Well, it wasn"t true. That was the night I realised I had fallen in love with you again. I also realised with our shared past it was hopeless. I saw no point in prolonging the trip for a few more days because that was all it could ever be. Plus I was frightened I"d let slip what Bratchet was really like, and I didn"t trust you not to tell him. Stupid, really. I ended up telling you anyway."
"You said you loved me?" Rion stared fixedly at her and she was struck dumb at the emotion she saw in his eyes. "You humble me," he rasped. "I know I can"t expect you to still love me after the way I have behaved, and I can"t blame you for not trusting me-I have done precious little to earn your trust. But I swear if you will give me another chance and marry me I will spend every day for the rest of my life trying to win your love and trust." He kissed her lightly, almost reverently, on the lips, taking a step back to set her free.
Selina stood in the middle of the bedroom, emotion at his words blocking her throat. She swallowed hard and searched his face for the truth. The rigidity of his features was betrayed by a muscle pulsing under the tanned skin. Her golden eyes met his and she saw his heart in his eyes, the mask of arrogance stripped away to reveal the vulnerable man beneath. She believed him, and yet she was still nervous.
"Are you really sure about this ... us ...?"
"I was never more certain of anything in my life. And if you still don"t believe me-tough." The vulnerable penitent gone, he reached for her and swung her up in his arms and onto the bed, pinned her beneath him. "I will have to convince you-in my defence, I love you."
"Wait ..." But he bent his dark head and took her mouth with a hard, hungry kiss that sent liquid fire flowing through her veins, and Selina wrapped her arms around him and gave in to the inevitable magic of his touch.
"I worship you, Selina," he groaned staring down into her wide, gleaming gold eyes. "Everything that you are-funny, caring, compa.s.sionate, with a heart like a lion, beautiful inside and out. My life is meaningless without you," he told her throatily, his mouth grazing hers again.
Between kisses and caresses he stripped off their clothes, and with his great body half covering her they kissed-a slow, deep kiss full of promises of love and pa.s.sion that made Selina"s heart tremble. Lost in the wonder of his love, with eager hands she caressed his powerful body, her eyes closing in ecstasy as Rion worshipped every inch of her with hands and mouth and husky words of love, until finally they were one in every way-heart, body and soul.
Selina stirred happily in the protective curve of Rion"s arm and glanced around. Pulling herself up on one elbow, she looked down at him.
"Do you really own this hotel or did you just say that to shut me up?" she asked with a grin, stroking her hand across his broad chest.
Rion groaned and caught her hand in his. "Yes, I"d never lie to you. I own quite a few properties in the centres of major cities-they are a good investment."
She hid a smile. The tyc.o.o.n was talking. Then she remembered. "You told me that before. I should thank you for keeping quiet," she said seriously. "Bratchet did go back to Cambodia, and he was arrested, but he couldn"t bribe his way out of it this time and his trial is in a few months" time in America."
"That"s great." Rion"s eyes hardened for an instant. He already knew. By contacting the right, if not the most law-abiding, people he had made sure of it. Where bribery was concerned there was always a higher bidder. It was not something he ever did, but with Bratchet he had made an exception. But with Selina, the woman he loved, sprawled naked over his chest he wasn"t about to tell her and spoil the moment. "I dropped out of the deal when you dropped out of my life."
And, wrapping a hand around the back of her head, he kissed her and showed her all over again how much he loved her.
A long time later she opened her eyes to see Rion staring down at her, a wary expression on his handsome face. "What?" she asked languorously.
"You have not said yes, you will marry me."
Selina burst out laughing. "I don"t think you ever asked. You simply told me."
"So will you marry me-again?"
"Yes."
He kissed her brow, a decidedly smug smile on his face, and smoothed back the tangled ma.s.s of hair from her face.
"But I am thinking I don"t want to get married-"
"What?" Rion exclaimed.
"Let me finish." She grinned. "I was going to say in Greece-because I had no luck last time. I would like it to be just the two of us at a registry office in England."
"Fine." Rion heaved a deep breath, his moment of panic over. "I will arrange it as soon as we get back-and this time will be different, I promise. No more working sixteen-hour days."
Suddenly Selina wasn"t so sure she was doing the right thing. It had all happened so fast. And Rion had swept her off her feet once before.
"I"ll believe that when I see it-and what about the other women?" she blurted, memories of the past coming back to haunt her.