The Greek Bridegroom

‘No,’ she denied, and knew she lied.

Jace’s eyes narrowed as he observed her monitor her ex-husband’s progress towards a reserved table, and witnessed her fleeting expression the moment the man recognised her presence. It was neither embarrassment nor awkwardness…but fear.

‘Well, hello.’

Rebekah kept her head erect, her eyes wide and steady. The action was a well-practised one, for she could never be sure what Brad’s next move might be.

‘Brad.’ The acknowledgement was stilted, remote.

‘Introduce me to your…companion.’

‘Jace Dimitriades.’ Jace’s voice held a faintly inflected drawl and was dangerously quiet, almost lethal. He made no effort to rise to his feet or take Brad’s extended hand.

Rebekah saw something move in Brad’s gleaming gaze, recognised the early-warning sign of his temper, and felt her apprehension accelerate.

Brad focused his attention on Rebekah. ‘Keeping it all in the family, darling?’

‘The maître d’ is waiting to show you to your table,’ Jace intimated with deceptive mildness. Although anyone with any nous would see it as a dismissal. Those who knew him would have quailed at the leashed savagery lurking just beneath the surface.

Brad inclined his head. ‘Of course.’ His voice softened with silky threat. ‘Take care, Rebekah.’

She hadn’t realised she’d been holding her breath until she released it, and she forced herself to pick up her spoon and scoop a small serving of fruit, then eat it.

Calm? She felt the antithesis of calm. Yet she’d learned her lessons well, and it was far better to attempt normality. In the beginning, after the shock of discovering Brad’s dual personality, she’d gone through an entire gamut of emotions…from heartbreaking tears, to anger, remorse, dislike, only to discover it made things worse.

‘We can go somewhere else for coffee.’

Rebekah picked up her water glass with a steady hand. ‘It’s OK.’

Not, Jace determined as he surveyed her features. She was far too pale, and her actions were too rigidly controlled for his liking.

Almost as if she guessed his intention to summon the waiter and request the bill, she voiced quietly, ‘Please, don’t.’

‘His presence here is making you feel uncomfortable.’

Now, that had to be the understatement of the year.

‘You don’t understand.’

His eyes narrowed, and she sensed a watchful quality evident. ‘You think if we leave, he’ll have won?’

He was too astute for her peace of mind. ‘Yes.’

‘Meanwhile you eat food you no longer taste, sip water or wine while we wait for coffee,’ he pursued in a silky voice. ‘And tie your stomach in knots during the process.’

She knew Brad’s modus operandi only too well. Interpretation of her ex-husband’s wild mood swings, anticipating his reactions had become an integral part of her survival.

‘It’s better this way,’ she said coolly.

‘Not for you,’ Jace declared with certainty, and saw the slight lift of her chin as she met his gaze.

His own didn’t waver from hers as he ordered coffee from a hovering waiter, and he settled the bill, waited patiently for her to finish, then he led her from the restaurant.

‘I’ll take a taxi,’ Rebekah said stiffly, and incurred his swift dark glance.

‘The hell you will.’

She didn’t say a word, couldn’t, for her throat was tight with nerves, and she walked at his side in silence, then slid into the passenger seat the instant he unlocked the car.

It didn’t take long to reach her apartment building, and during the short drive she stared sightlessly out the window, unaware of the familiar scenery, the traffic.

Her mind was filled with the scene in the restaurant, Brad, and the electric presence of the man seated within touching distance.

‘Thanks for dinner.’ Politeness had been ingrained from a young age. She reached for the door-clasp, and froze as his hand captured her wrist.

‘Is your ex-husband likely to confront you?’

She paused a few seconds too long. ‘Why would he do that? He has no control over my life.’

Jace had questions he wanted to ask, but now was not the right time to get answers…even if she’d be willing to give them to him. ‘I’ll be in Melbourne for a few days with Luc. I’ll ring you.’

‘There’s no need.’

He leaned closer and slid a hand to capture her nape, tilting her head so she had to look at him. ‘Yes,’ he said quietly. ‘There is.’

For a heart-stopping second she thought he was going to kiss her, and she unconsciously held her breath, aware that a part of her craved the feel of his mouth on her own.

There was a hunger she couldn’t quite control, and she trembled with it, wanting in that moment to be absorbed by this man. To have him take her to a place where she could temporarily forget the vindictiveness that lived inside Brad Somerville, and begin to repair the damage caused to her emotional heart.

She heard a faint sound emerge from his throat, and she swallowed painfully as he brushed his thumb over the curve of her lower lip, tracing its fullness.

His eyes were dark, too dark to determine his intent, and she felt the tension in him, the restraint, and knew instinctively the next move was hers.

All she had to do was use the edge of her teeth, the tip of her tongue on the tip of this finger to offer an unspoken invitation.

Dear God, she wanted to, she wanted him. Except she hesitated too long, and she thought she glimpsed the gleam of a faint smile, sensed the slight edge of his regret as she pulled back.

Then he did smile, and the hand holding her nape gentled and soothed the tension there for a few seconds, then he released her and eased back in his seat.

She felt as if her limbs were fused together, restricting mobility, and she was intensely aware of the sensual electricity apparent. Explosive and primitive, it shimmered as an elusive force, poised to shatter the shell she’d painstakingly erected around her fragile heart.

‘Goodnight.’ The word emerged as little more than a strangled sound, and she fumbled for the door-clasp, almost breathless in the need to escape.

Except the constraint of the seat belt stopped her, and she uttered a silent cry as his fingers sought the safety clip and unfastened it.

Within seconds she slid from the car and she almost ran the few steps to the haven offered by the entrance to her apartment building. The keys were plucked free from her purse and she selected the appropriate one as she punched the security code freeing the external door into the lobby.

From there it took only a moment to use her key to gain the area leading to the triple bank of lifts.

She was trembling by the time she reached her apartment, and inside she made for the kitchen, extracted bottled water from the refrigerator and gulped several mouthfuls before seeking a chair.

The evening was over. Although instinct warned whatever she shared with Jace was far from done.

It was as if something deep and primal was being resurrected from her soul, his. The sane, sensible part of her brain questioned any metaphysical connection, but the illogical part queried if they hadn’t been joined together in a previous life, and their souls were forcing recognition.

Then there was Brad. She tamped down the memories and the pain. A few years was but a small window in the picture of her life. Hadn’t that been the professional advice given at the time?

The sudden peal of the phone startled her, and she stood to her feet to take the call, except she was unable to reach the handset and pick up before the answering machine cut in.

Her automated greeting was brief, and she hesitated, wary as to who would be calling at this time of night.

‘Having fun with your new man, sweetheart?’

It was followed by a click as the caller replaced the receiver.

Rebekah felt the blood drain from her face.

Brad. There was no mistaking his voice.

Shock jolted her senses and was quickly replaced by a sickening fear.

Her telephone number was unlisted. What ruse had he used to gain it? Had he also gained access to her cell-net number?

She crossed her arms and hugged them together across her midriff as her mind whirled with facts and possibilities.

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