Blackmailed For Vengeance (14 page)

Lee had pulled her hand back,
as Yanis had smiled at the other man, his hand snaking around her
waist in a possessive manner

“Yes” he said “I asked her
three days after we met to marry me, and now we are engaged” he
said smiling into her eyes, his look daring her to say anything
else

She had smiled back at the man
before her.

“When he asked….I just couldn’t
say no” she said seeing how Yanis’s mouth had twitched at her spin
on the truth.

“How long have you two known
each other” he asked in surprise, his eyes still fixed on Lee, his
face not able to hide the hurt and shock he felt

“Nearly a month, isn’t it
Cara
” Yanis had replied looking down at the woman in his
arms who was staring at the other man before him, making the blood
in his veins boil. He didn’t like her looking at another man in
that way and the jealousy ripped through him like a tidal wave.

Lee had nodded gently “not even
that” she said softly

David had pulled himself
together, and with a smile which did not reach his eyes had offered
them both congratulations, before moving away, his body stiff.

“So you and David Jones were an
item” Yanis said softly into her ear, “am I to believe that he was
the one name on your list, because if so then you should have
definitely got him to ask you to marry him” he said mockingly

Lee turned to look at him, her
eyes steely, as a sudden feeling of anger towards him had flashed
through her “Actually he did” she said moving away from him,
gaining little satisfaction at the look of surprise which crossed
his face. Seeing David again had knocked her for six, yet what
shocked her most was the way she could only think of Yanis, seeing
how well he dominated the room as he watched her with those dark
eyes which had her bones turning into liquid every time he would
look so sensually at her. For six months since their separation,
Lee had found her thoughts and dreams filled with David’s face, and
she was only now aware that since meeting Yanis she had not thought
of him once, adding to the shock of seeing him there

Yanis had frowned, confused
suddenly. David Jones, was a multi millionaire, young, handsome,
rich and successful and like himself regularly topping the most
eligible bachelor list. He could see the way the other man still
looked at her, and wondered why she would turn down such a prize
catch. It was clear to see that whatever had happened, the end of
the relationship had not been David’s choice, and an uneasy feeling
pricked at the back of his mind. Following her, he had taken her
arm, moving her in the direction of more acquaintances of his, his
mind in a turmoil, so full of questions.

For more than an hour, Lee had
continued to follow him around the room, ignoring the way that
David would keep looking over at her, his eyes full of hurt,
feeling her head slowly becoming more painful within the warm noisy
room. Finally, as Yanis had been in deep conversation with another
man, Lee had felt the need for air and quietly slipped away to
stand outside at one of the French doors which led out onto a small
garden. She had enjoyed the feeling of the colder breeze brushing
over her warm skin as she gulped in the fresh air, feeling the dull
ache in her head receding as she allowed the tranquillity to wash
over her, sighing gently. However, after a few minutes she had
become aware that she was no longer alone, and turning around, she
had once more come face to face with David, who was blocking the
entrance to the party

“Hello Lee” he said softly his
eyes holding hers

“Hello David” she responded
quietly “All alone” she asked looking behind him

“All alone” he had confirmed
softly “still trying to mend my broken heart from destroying the
chance I had with the most beautiful woman in the world” he
said

“Don’t David..” she began as he
moved closer to her

As he had stopped short of her
his eyes had been so sad “I tried so hard to contact you…just to
speak to you..to explain” he had said his tone so tortured

Lee had looked at him “There
didn’t seem any point David…it was over” she replied sadly

“Please Lee…we were good
together you and I” he said gently “So good, we could have got past
what happened”

She had looked at him with
disbelief

“You slept with another woman
David” she cried out “You didn’t even wait for my answer”

He had looked at her with a
look of misery on his face

“I was heart broken Lee…you
needed time to think…what kind of answer is that…”

He stopped abruptly

“But you said yes to Yanis
Demitri only days after you met him” he said a look of contempt on
his face “What kind of life do you think you will have with him…do
you really expect him to be faithful to you”

“That is none of your concern
David.. the one thing I am sure of is that you weren’t” she
retorted turning her back on him

“Please Lee, end this, he is
not the man for you….please give me another chance” he begged

“I just don’t want to see you
hurt” he had said softly moving behind her so that she could feel
his breath on her hair.

She had laughed a harsh sound
“You don’t want to see me hurt….coming from you that is almost
funny” she said moving forward to put more distance between them
before turning to face him.

“It’s over David” she said
softly, as he had looked at her with a strange expression on his
face

“I’m sorry, I should rejoin my
fiancé” she said making to move around him.

However, David had moved in
front of her his eyes blazing down on her as he had grabbed her
shoulders firmly

“No, you are not leaving me
again” he said as his mouth had moved down to capture hers. Lee
gasped in shock before pulling herself free from him

“Stay away from me David” she
said shakily seeing how he had made to move forward again, his arm
on her shoulder, before a deep voice had stopped him in his
tracks

“You heard the lady David..let
her go”

David had looked down at Lee’s
face his full of pain

“Please Lee, I made a mistake,
but I still love you, and this” he said looking at Yanis “Is a
mistake”

As Yanis moved forward David
dropped his hand from her

“One day you will forgive me
Lee and I’ll be waiting for you” he said softly to her,

before moving quickly back into
the main hall

Yanis had gritted his teeth
suddenly angry at the way the other man had touched her, held her,
declared love for her. She had stood with her back to him as he
moved to place his hands on her shoulders, wanting to remove the
other mans touch from her

“Another of your victims Lee”
he said tightly, his voice dripped with contempt as he turned her
around so that he could look her in the eyes. He was shocked,
however, to see the tears running unchecked down her cheek as her
lips quivered

“Leave me alone” she cried
tremulously trying to push herself away from him, as he had held
onto her tightly

“My God, he really got to you”
he said in surprise looking at her distraught face, the feeling of
jealousy within him now causing a knot in his stomach to twist
painfully. For a second he seemed not to know what to do, before he
had placed an arm around her shoulders and had walked further into
the garden with her until he found a seat in which he sat them both
down

“What happened Lee” he asked
her gently, so gently she had started to cry softly again. With a
sigh he had pulled a handkerchief from his pocket pushing it gently
into her hands, which she had taken thankfully wiping away the
tears. After she had stopped sniffing he had asked her the question
again, and looking down at her hands she had started to talk, her
voice low and emotionless

“He asked me to marry him, and
I was so scared. I thought I loved him, but I couldn’t answer him…I
told him I had to think about it”

She stopped briefly as another
tear fell

“I went to his apartment two
days later… and found him in bed with another woman…. Jim was the
one person who helped me through it”

She added softly

“He told me that if David had
really loved me then he would have waited”

Yanis sighed gently, looking
deeply into her hazel eyes which glowed so green at that moment

“Jim was wrong Lee” he said as
she had looked back at him with surprise

“If you had loved him you would
not have hesitated or needed more time” he continued

“You wouldn’t have been
scared.. If you loved him you would have said yes… and he knew that
Lee”

Taking her hand in his he
added

“But if he had really truly
loved you he would not have given up.. he would have kept
trying”

Lee sniffed gently a thoughtful
look on her lovely face

“Do you think so” she asked her
voice low and vulnerable, causing sensations to run through Yanis
he could not fully understand

“Do you regret not marrying
him” he asked

Lee shook her head

“No” she said almost inaudibly
realising that she had never really loved him. Now she knew that
the love she felt for him had shown her how little she had really
cared for David. She wanted to tell him that when he wasn’t with
her she felt so lost, and yet when they were together she could
hardly breath for the way she yearned to tell him how much he had
come to mean to her, how thoughts of him filled her whole mind and
his touch and smell were so part of her she felt sick at the
thought that soon he would throw her out for some wrong he had
thought she had done to his friend. His sudden gentleness was only
adding to the maelstrom of emotions churning through her and she
had once more cleaned her eyes with the handkerchief.

Pulling her against him he had
placed his arms around her hugging her comfortingly. She had
enjoyed feeling his chest against her cheek and when he had kissed
the top of her head soothingly she had raised her head to look into
his eyes. With a small sigh he had pulled her in tighter still to
him, his mouth finding and kissing her as she had shuddered under
his touch.

Standing he had gently pulled
her to her feet.

“Let’s go to bed” he said as
she had nodded, not really wanting to see David again. As they
returned to their room, Yanis had stood with her by the edge of the
bed. As he had unclasped her dress, kissing her, he had started to
make love to her with an intensity that she had shared, the thought
of any other man loving her suddenly filling him with a primitive
jealousy and the need to make her solely his, to wipe from her mind
thoughts of any other man, and as she had cried out his name, he
had smiled, knowing that she was his and his alone.

The next morning they had
enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, before finding a more secluded sandy
beach in which to relax. Neither had relished joining the many who
were already moving around the pool, as they openly flirted with
each other.

They had both enjoyed swimming
in the sparkling aqua water in which the visibility was so clear
that they could see the small fish as they swam to the bottom 10
feet below them. Although she was a strong swimmer, she had admired
the way he moved so effortlessly in the water. As they had lain on
the sand both enjoying the feel of the sun on their bodies, they
had chatted contently with each other and Lee had felt pure
happiness.

When his mobile phone had rang,
Lee had frowned slightly at the sudden interruption hoping that it
was nothing that would drag him away. As she peered over at him he
had looked at her with a sudden look of worry, which had her
sitting up with concern

“What’s the matter” she said as
he had rung off

He had moved closer to her his
eyes looking deeply into hers

“Now Lee, promise not to panic”
he said seeing the sudden look of fear in her eyes

“What’s wrong” she
whispered

“Last night the nurse we hired
for Mrs Green went to her home and found her on the floor.”

As Lee had gasped in shock her
hands flying to her mouth he had sought to calm her

“She is in hospital, Lee, they
think she had a minor heart attack, but they are still running
tests”

Lee had jumped to her feet.

“I have to go to her” she said
moving backwards and forwards in a state of shock

“Oh God, Yanis, she needs me”
she cried as he had pulled her into his arms

“I’ll organise to get us right
back” he said calmly holding her as she shook. As he walked back
quickly with her to the chateau, he had made several phone calls,
none of which she had heard, as her mind had reeled with panic and
self recrimination

“I should have been there” she
moaned gently to herself over and over again as he had moved
silently beside her. When they had reached their room the maid was
already leaving, having finished packing their cases, leaving out
an outfit for each to wear.

As she pulled on the shirt and
skirt the tears within her had finally fallen as she had sat down
on the bed her head in her hands. He had pulled her hard against
him, soothing her as she sobbed into his chest

“It’ll be OK, Lee” he said over
and over” before whispering soft words in Greek which she was not
able to understand but which sounded so soothing to her tortured
mind

“I’m Sorry” she finally managed
“All I seem to be doing is crying on you these days” she said with
a small attempt at a smile playing on her lips”.

He had grinned back at her

“That’s OK, I seem to reduce
most women to tears eventually” he said “makes a bit of a change
that it isn’t me that you are crying about”

Lee had managed a shaky
laugh

“Come, the boat is waiting for
us, and my plane is already to go.”

Lee had smiled thankfully at
him, leaning on him for support, as they moved back down to the
dock. As promised a car had taken them to the waiting plane, which
was met by yet another car which took them immediately to the
hospital.