Blackmailed For Vengeance (7 page)

Peter Andrews was about 5.10
and of a slim build. Unlike his sister his hair was dirty blonde
and neatly cut. However, the most striking thing about him was his
large green eyes and wide smile which gave him a handsome
approachable look. Yanis had instantly liked the young man. He
could see the way he fought to maintain a respectful air towards
him, while at the same time to ensure that his intentions towards
his sister were pure. Prior to her coming down the stairs he had
quizzed Yanis about their plans, showing surprise at the speed of
their engagement. He had felt a warmth towards the young man at the
way he seemed to want to ensure his sister did not get hurt,
feeling slightly guilty knowing that this was exactly what his
intentions were.

“Shall we” Yanis said moving
over to take Lees hand as he led the way into the dining room

During the meal which was as
usual delicious Lee had watched as Yanis had gone to great lengths
to put the younger man at his ease, as Peter had been uneasy around
him knowing his reputation as a keen business man and obviously in
awe of the older man. For once she had smiled over at him with real
warmth on her wonderful face and inexplicably he had found himself
almost entranced.

Yanis had already noted how
that smile could transform her whole features, but this time, it
had moved something deep inside him and with an uneasy sensation he
realised that he had wanted her to look at him in that way. Looking
over at Peter, he had been confused by him too. He was sure that
the young man would know perfectly well that he owned the company
he worked for but at no point during the meal had he brought up
this fact. It struck him that Peter Andrews was not out to profit
from his sister’s connections.

“So Peter, you work for Mr
Smith at Harrows” he said almost matter of factly, watching as the
young man had fidgeted slightly

“Yes, yes I do” he
responded

“He speaks very highly of you”
Yanis continued, seeing the look of surprise on both Lee and
Peter’s faces

Peter had looked
uncomfortable

“I hope you won’t mind Yanis”
he said softly “but I really wanted to keep my sisters engagement
with you quiet” he said, quickly adding

“Not that I have any problem
with you two… it’s just that I don’t want them to feel that I’m
trying to get ahead…you know” he trailed off in embarrassment.

Yanis had smiled warmly at the
young man

“That’s OK Peter” he said
softly “I have to admire your attitude”

“While we are on the subject”
Peter said looking a little uncomfortable

“I had a few phone calls from
the press…I didn’t really know what to do or say…so I just ended up
ignoring the phone for the morning….any ideas” he asked looking at
Yanis, who had frowned slightly

“I’m sorry” he said “keep on
ignoring them and if you are bothered just keep refusing to comment
– tell them to contact my office”

Peter had nodded winking at his
sister “I don’t really have a good side” he joked as they had moved
to more pleasurable conversations.

For the rest of the meal Peter
had bombarded Yanis with stories of his childhood and of how Lee
had taken care of him, offering every embarrassing story he could
remember. Yanis found himself enjoying the meal, laughing at both
Lee and Peter’s ease and friendly bickering. It was strange for him
to hear this side of her life, which was so in direct contrast to
the gold digger that he knew her to be and it had confused him
slightly. However, he had then wondered if perhaps the brother was
in on it too. Looking at them both he told himself that people like
they tried to portray didn’t really exist, and with an inward smile
he had reassured himself.

When Peter left it was late.
They had moved from the dining room to the large comfortable
sitting room, where they had spent many hours sitting chatting.
When he had left Peter had shaken Yanis’s hand with such a warm
smile that he had returned one back just as warmly.

“Welcome to the family Yanis”
he had said with sincerity.

Behind him he could see Lee
turn away a hurt look on her face as she bit her lip to stop
herself telling her brother the truth.

Peter had then kissed her on
the cheek giving her another big bear hug.

“Don’t forget to call me now
that you are living in the lap of luxury” he joked at her “I’ll be
only too happy to come over and use all your stuff” he grinned,
before he had once more entered the chauffeured car to be taken
back home.

As the door closed behind him
Yanis had turned to look at her

“Your brother is nice” he said
absently

Taken aback as she had rounded
on him “Feel any guilt at trying to frame him” she said her tone
icy. Yanis had frowned at her

“It had nothing to do with
Peter” he said softly “You know that”

Lee had glared at him

“Can you justify anything to
yourself Yanis, or at any point do you draw the line”

Quickly she had turned from him
to walk up the stairs before she had felt him grabbing her by the
arm and turning her around to face him, his angry eyes blazing down
on her

“You are so quick to condemn
aren’t you Lee” he growled “How quickly you forget about Jim lying
in a hospital bed because you decided to play with his heart, you
don’t give a damn about anybody but yourself, so don’t condemn me”
he snarled at her before letting her go and moving back down the
stairs. She had raised her chin in defiance, feeling her lips start
to quiver as angry tears had risen in her eyes, quickly turning
from him to run up the stairs to put as much distance between them
as was possible.

In the sanctuary of her room
she had pulled a chair over to the door, propping it against the
handle to ensure that he would not make another appearance in her
room that night, as he had done earlier. Sitting on the edge of the
bed she had felt her whole body shake, as she dashed away the tears
with fell silently down her cheek with the back of her hand.

“Damn you” she muttered to
herself feeling hatred for the arrogant man, who had so completely
broken down all of her defences that afternoon, and yet as she lay
in bed later and closed her eyes her dreams were filled with his
handsome face and muscular body as he made love to her.

The next morning she had lain
longer in bed, showering and getting ready, but staying within the
safety of her room. Only when she heard the slamming of his car
door, did she venture down the stairs moving into the kitchen to
join Maria, who had already prepared toast and tea for them
both.

“Are you going shopping today”
the older woman had asked, raising an eyebrow as she had shaken her
head

“No, I have some meetings with
some charitable groups” she replied checking her watch, before with
a small grin adding

“Best be going, don’t want to
embarrass Yanis by being tardy” she said with a small giggle

The older woman had watched her
leave, a small frown on her face. She had been Yanis’s housekeeper
since he was a young man, and come to know him well. Normally he
had confided in her with regard to what went on in his private
life, but his relationship with the young woman who had just left
was shrouded in secrecy. She was aware that they slept in different
rooms, something most unusual for Yanis, as any woman who stayed
over, usually did so because they were his lovers.

When she had heard they were
engaged she was equally as surprised, but surprisingly she had been
happy. Maria realised that she liked Lee Andrews, liked her very
much.

For the rest of the day Lee had
spent her time meeting with different groups of people. They had
been impressed with her knowledge of their work, knowledge gained
from Yanis the evening he had first eaten with her. They had also
found her to be highly intelligent and practical, giving good solid
suggestions as the meetings had progressed. Soon the members had
come to realise that perhaps Lee Andrews the future wife of their
biggest benefactor was not just somebody who would be a figure
head, but somebody who would actually contribute in a meaningful
way, and she had quickly made friends wherever she went.

That evening, after visiting
Jim alone, as Yanis had called her on her mobile to tell her he was
working and unable to attend, she had gone to bed early tired from
the round of meetings she had attended. She was thankful that he
had not returned yet, to torment her with his accusations,
forgetting to place the chair against the door, as she had crawled
into the soft bed snuggling into the soft bedding as sleep had
taken her.

Yanis had returned home late,
looking at his watch he could see that it was nearly midnight and
discarding his brief case and suit jacket he had poured himself a
large whisky, enjoying the smooth liquid as it travelled down his
throat. Placing the glass back on the tray he had looked for any
sign of Lee, wanting to see her face for some unknown reason.
Realising that she was not downstairs, he had scowled and moved
upstairs. Standing outside her room, he had not heard any sound,
and gently he had opened the door moving quietly into the room.

As his eyes had adjusted to the
darkness he had finally spotted her lying asleep. He had watched
her breathing so softly and had frowned at the way his body had
responded to her. As he stood there she had moved to lie onto her
back and he could see the curve of her breasts, as she lay so
innocently with her arms thrown over her head. Yanis Demitri had
enjoyed many women, but seeing her there he had never wanted one
more. All his life women had been putty in his hands; he knew the
effect he had on them and had become blasé in his attitude to
them.

Yet this woman, one who had
treated his friend so badly was getting to him, and with certainty
he knew that it would only end when he had bedded her. She excited
him, with her innocence, although he knew it to be an act, her
wonderful face and body and the way she fought him, refusing him
while her own body betrayed her as she fought against her own
desire for him. He found himself also attracted to her intelligence
and sense of humour, something he had not bothered with in women
before and he had frowned. Lee Andrews would have to be his and
soon he promised himself feeling the way his body cried for him to
wake her up there and then and satisfy the desire within him. With
gritted teeth he had moved back out of the room, moving to his own
room and the cold shower he so badly needed at that point.

Waking next morning Lee had
looked at her watch suddenly aware that she had slept in. With a
small sigh she had jumped into her shower, before dressing in a
soft baby blue summer dress which clung to her young body. She was
relieved that she had no appointments that day having left the day
clear so that she could meet with the children at a local
orphanage. While it had been on his list, it had stood out to Lee,
who had understood what it was to be left parentless at a still
young age. She had spent nearly an hour on the phone with the
administrator, who had been delighted when she had offered to spend
some time with the children.

She had been looking forward to
the meeting and had moved down the stairs to meet with Maria for
some breakfast, not sure if the older woman would have eaten
already as she was so late up. As she passed the dining room, a
deep voice had stopped her in her tracks.

“Good morning”

Lee had scowled. She had felt
sure that given how long she had slept in that he would have left
much earlier. She had hoped that given his busy work schedule she
could limit the time that they actually spent together, not fully
willing to admit to herself the real reason for her need to limit
this time with him.

“Good morning” she replied
turning to move into the room he was seated

He had looked at her with an
almost knowing look in his eyes

“Anybody would think you were
trying to avoid me” he said softly

Lee had looked back at him
saying nothing

“Shouldn’t you be at work” she
finally asked, as he had continued to look at her appraisingly

“How very domesticated of you”
he mocked, “but don’t worry Lee, being the boss has got its
advantages”

“I bet” she said
sarcastically.

“Do anything interesting
yesterday” he asked innocently, although she was aware of a strange
look in his eyes

“Nothing special” she replied
matter of factly

He had nodded absently before
continuing

“So what do you have planned
today?”

Lee had shrugged her shoulders
“This and that” she replied vaguely, as he had raised his
eyebrows

“Nice to see you getting into
the spirit of it” he said

“Perhaps I could drop you off
at your first appointment” he said conversationally.

Frowning slightly she had
shaken her head

“I’m just going to visit Mrs
Green this morning” she said in a tone designed to discourage any
more involvement with her plans.

“No problem, perhaps I could
meet with your elderly friend” he replied, his eyes watching her
keenly.

Gritting her teeth, she had
smiled back sweetly

“No, really that isn’t
necessary….and she doesn’t like strangers”

He had grinned once again
reminding her of a cat toying with a mouse

“But I’m sure that given the
papers interest” he said throwing several papers over the table at
her “That she would be upset if you didn’t introduce her to your
fiancé”

Lee had lifted several of the
papers at the pages he had opened them to, before gasping at the
large headlines. Many had shown pictures of her and Yanis as they
kissed outside the restaurant, with headlines such as

“The Golden Couple” and “LEE n
on me”