The Millionaire's Virgin

By nine o’ clock that evening Lisa was curled up tensely on the sofa at the penthouse she called home. Warm and pink after her bath, she was anything but relaxed. Wearing her favourite plush robe, she had the music turned down low, a crystal goblet of good burgundy on the side table next to her, and a new book just started. She had read the first page three times, and still didn’t have a clue what it said.

Zagorakis’s chauffeur would call round, she knew that, but still she flinched and dragged her robe a little closer when the doorbell rang. Thankfully Vera would take care of it. Vera, confidante and housekeeper, knew exactly what she had to do.

Just as Lisa had anticipated, the exchange between Vera and Zagorakis’s chauffeur lasted no more than a few seconds. With a sigh of relief, she turned back to her book. But she couldn’t relax… She tried changing the music. She could always find something to suit her mood amongst her vast collection of CD’s… Tonight was different, tonight she had to force her fingers past the boxed sets devoted to the heavenly voice of La Divina Callas. The impassioned Greek-American voice of Maria Anna Sophie Cecilia Kalogeropoulos was the last thing she needed to hear. Right now anything remotely Greek was off limits. Finally, she settled for some low, smoochy jazz. The plangent wail of Miles Davis’ trumpet seemed appropriate somehow.

Returning to her book, Lisa turned the pages dutifully, all the time trying to ignore the keen dark eyes and mocking smile occupying her thoughts. When the doorbell rang again she was surprised and then angry. Zagorakis had some nerve sending his chauffeur round twice in one evening. Couldn’t he take a hint?

Vera answered the door, but Lisa’s curiosity got the better of her. Padding barefoot across the room, she froze. The man’s audacity was unbelievable. His unannounced visit to her office building had been bad enough, but this was outrageous— and Vera was having trouble getting rid of him.

‘Thank you, Vera, I’ll see to this.’

Lisa couldn’t pretend she wasn’t thankful that Vera remained hovering in the background. ‘Yes?’ She stared up at him. Tino Zagorakis was more casually dressed, and even more brazenly male. Without a jacket she could see how toned he was beneath his black shirt. His assessing stare was every bit as hard as she remembered.

‘We arranged to have dinner tonight.’

‘You arranged to have dinner tonight, Mr Zagorakis.’

‘It’s time you called me Tino.’

Oh, really? ‘It’s late—’

‘Exactly,’ he said. ‘And as you pointed out, Lisa, we still have things to talk about.’

Lisa? When did she give him permission to use her first name? Jack Bond’s first law of survival: keep everyone at a distance. Everyone… She relaxed minutely. He was carrying a briefcase. Of course, Zagorakis was a man who would far rather trade than indulge his carnal appetites, but she had already set up their next meeting for the following morning. She had no intention of being railroaded by him twice in one day. ‘Business will have to wait until our respective teams are present.’

‘If you insist.’

‘I do insist. Our next meeting will be held tomorrow morning.’

‘Thank you for reminding me… but we still have to eat.’

His casual shrug and the smile that accompanied it threw her, and while she was trying to figure out his angle he walked past her into the apartment.

‘Like I said, Mr Zagorakis—’ she went after him ‘—it’s late—’

‘And so I took the trouble of ordering in.’ He paused mid-step to turn round and look at her. ‘I didn’t want to put your housekeeper to any trouble.’

And now Vera was sharing a flirtatious smile with him! What was this? A conspiracy?

In fairness, she couldn’t blame Vera; the man was hot. His shirt was open far enough to show some hard, tanned chest, and his blue jeans appeared pressure-moulded to thighs of iron. And there were certain other impressive bulges below the heavy-duty belt…

‘Are you sure you don’t mind me coming inside?’

Lisa quickly adjusted her gaze. The only thing sure about this was that her face was heating up. ‘I don’t wish to appear ungrateful.’

‘But?’ he pressed.

‘I’m tired. It’s late. And I’m ready for bed.’

‘So I see.’

His lips tugged up at one corner in a way that made her painfully aware that she was naked beneath her robe. The split second it took to look down to check that the robe was securely fastened was enough for his chauffeur to march past her carrying a hamper. ‘Where do you think you’re going?’

Zagorakis stepped forward and barred her way. ‘In here?’ he said, protecting his man’s back by resting one arm against the doorframe of her den.

Lisa’s mouth dropped open. The only thing left for her to confirm, apparently, was the venue for the picnic he had brought with him. ‘You have some incredible nerve—’

‘Please… no more compliments.’ He held up his hands in mock defeat and she had to be prodded twice before Vera could make her presence felt.

‘Hadn’t you better get changed?’ Vera suggested discreetly. ‘You don’t want him guessing you’re naked under there.’

Lisa could see the sense in that. ‘Stay with them, will you, Vera? I’ll be back as quickly as I can.’

Jeans and a T-shirt might have been a practical choice, but smart navy trousers and a tailored white blouse made Lisa feel more in control. The sex-stripping pop socks and boring flat shoes were an inspiration, and, with her hair scraped back into a pony-tail, she was satisfied that she had done everything possible to strip anything lightweight from her appearance. A slick of clear lip-gloss was her only concession— but then she sucked it off again. No point in playing Zagorakis’s game—she’d stick to her own.

The angry words she had been rehearsing all the way down from her bedroom died the moment she entered her den. The room had been transformed. Candles had been lit, and were flickering on every surface. Champagne was cooling in a bucket… and on a low table between the two sofas a platter of fresh seafood emitted a faint, salty tang. Another mouth-watering aroma said the bread in the wicker basket was still warm, and, inside a crystal bowl nestling in a dish of ice, yellow butter pats were asking to be slathered over one of the crisp, golden crusts. And she was hungry—starving, in fact, Lisa realised, praying her stomach wouldn’t rumble.

‘Can I tempt you?’

Transferring her gaze to Constantine Zagorakis’s dark, slanting eyes, Lisa stared at him coldly.

‘A few prawns, perhaps?’ he murmured, reaching for a plate.

He was baiting his hook with a lot more than seafood, Lisa suspected, seeing the smile hovering around his mouth.

‘What’s the matter?’ He put the plate down again.

Lisa had been distracted momentarily. She was sure she had just heard two sets of footsteps leaving the apartment; two voices mingling as the front door closed.

‘Where are you going now?’ he said.

Lisa looked down at the hand on her arm. Zagorakis released her at once. ‘It’s nothing,’ she said. ‘I must have been mistaken—’

‘Mistaken?’

‘I thought I heard Vera leaving.’

‘Your housekeeper? You did.’

‘No.’ Lisa shook her head. ‘Vera would have come to say goodnight to me before she left.’

‘Not if she was being discreet.’

‘Discreet?’

His shoulders eased in a shrug. ‘It’s no trouble for my chauffeur to take her home. He passes her door—’

Raising one hand, Lisa silenced him. ‘Let me get this straight. You sent my housekeeper home?’

‘It’s getting late.’

‘I would have called a taxi.’

‘I thought I’d save you the trouble.’

‘Trouble?’ Trouble had come through her door at nine o’ clock that morning and she hadn’t got rid of him yet.

‘That’s all right with you, isn’t it Lisa?’

Lisa? She wasn’t going to let him get to her, even though he was asking one thing while his eyes were suggesting something else. She had no intention of giving him the satisfaction of seeing her shrink from the prospect of being alone with him either. ‘Yes, Tino, that’s absolutely fine with me—’

‘Good.’

He seemed pleased to have got that out of the way, and then her guard must have dropped because he raised her hand to his lips and dropped a kiss on the back of it.

‘I realise it’s late.’ He tried for contrite. ‘Do you forgive me?’

Lisa snatched her hand away. ‘Do you always march uninvited into other people’s homes?’

His lips pressed down ruefully, attractively…

‘I’m sorry, Lisa, I thought we had both earned some downtime.’

He was sorry? She didn’t think so. But since when could someone brush a hand with his lips and set a whole body on fire?

‘Don’t you ever relax?’ he pressed, his perceptive gaze refusing to release her.

‘When I’m given the opportunity.’

‘Surely you must get out of this starchy uniform of yours, and kick back once in a while?’

‘Surprisingly, I tried to do that very thing this evening. I took a long, warm bath, slipped into a comfy robe, and came down here… to relax.’

‘Touché,’ he murmured softly.

Lisa sighed with frustration. Technically, Zagorakis was her guest—and she couldn’t forget that his money could rescue her company. She couldn’t afford to be too rude to him—and the food did look delicious…

‘Why don’t you let me choose something for you?’ he suggested, picking up the plate again.

‘I can manage, thank you. Really, you don’t need to—’ Raising her voice, she was forced to insist, ‘Give me that plate.’

‘Certainly.’

By the time she went to take it from him it was loaded with delicacies—but he kept his grip on it, so that she was bound to him by a too-small china plate… and when he stubbornly resisted her attempt to pull it free she could feel her cheeks start to burn. ‘You really didn’t need to go to all this trouble.’ She tugged a little harder, refusing to give him the upper hand.

‘It was my pleasure, I assure you.’

‘Why exactly?’

‘Perhaps you deserve a little spoiling. Perhaps we both do.’

It was hardly the answer she had been anticipating—and certainly not when it was delivered in that frank and engaging way. His eyes were so deep she was in danger of drowning in them, and they were standing far too close. The warmth of his body was curling round her like a seductive cloak and she could almost forget that, as far as Bond Steel was concerned, Constantine Zagorakis was arch enemy number one—

Breaking eye contact, she pulled away.

‘Champagne?’ he said pleasantly.

She was still fighting off his powerful sexual aura. But then common sense kicked in: definitely no champagne. She loved it, but she wanted to keep her wits about her. What she should do was go to the kitchen, fill a jug with iced water, and pour it over both of them. ‘Thank you, I’d love a glass of champagne.’

The expression in his eyes should have brought her to her senses. She was on the point of crossing an invisible line, a line she knew she always had to stay behind. She only had to remember her mother’s fate to know that she could lose everything, if she ever allowed her senses to take the lead… but she couldn’t risk antagonising Tino Zagorakis. He was a formidable business opponent, and on a personal level perhaps even more dangerous… but forewarned was forearmed—and one glass of champagne couldn’t hurt.

As Tino handed her the glass of champagne he lifted his own and tipped it towards her in a silent toast. She replied by walking away to perch on the edge of the room’s only straight-backed chair. She needed a moment to collect herself. This encounter was something new for her. In the past men had always been happy to follow her lead, which was hardly surprising since most of her relationships were conducted in her head—she didn’t have time or inclination for anything else. She liked her life the way it was—tidy, successful, and absolutely safe.

‘Are you sure you’re comfortable over there?’

In spite of all her good intentions, the look Tino gave her made Lisa’s heart pound. If nothing else Tino Zagorakis set new standards for her fantasies. ‘I’m fine, thank you.’

‘More champagne?’

‘Why not?’ She could handle it. She could handle him too.

As he crossed the room she noticed that his movements were fluid like the big cat she had first thought him. Moving on silent feet, he reached her side before she even had time to hold out her glass.

He left her alone after that, and they ate in silence seated at opposite ends of the room, which should have been a relief. But Lisa’s sensory self had taken over from the rational side of her being. The delicious food and wine slithered down her throat with dizzying speed, and the alcohol loosened her inhibitions. Some very primitive thoughts were entering her mind… just watching his mouth work as he ate was compulsive viewing; his teeth were so white and strong, his lips so firm, and mobile—

‘Lisa?’ He picked up on her stare. ‘Would you like something more?’

As Lisa’s eyes cleared she waved the bread basket away and she shook her head. ‘No, thank you… that was absolutely delicious, but I couldn’t eat another thing.’

‘Then I think it’s time we got to know each other a little better, don’t you?’

CHAPTER TWO

TINO took her plate, stacking it with his on a side table. Lisa watched warily as he came towards her, and almost flinched when he was close enough to touch. But then, instead of grabbing her, he snatched hold of his briefcase and dipped inside. Bringing out some financial reports, he spread them across the low table between them.

‘I think we both know you’ve got a few problems, Lisa—’

For a moment when his glance flicked up Lisa thought he was talking about something other than business, and blushed violently.

‘I’ve noticed a few discrepancies here and there,’ he continued. ‘All easily explained, I’m sure. No doubt our respective bean-counters will soon iron things out.’

It was a relief for her mind to click back into business mode.

‘Take a look at these.’ He passed her some sheets. ‘It’s only fair that you should have sight of all my findings.’

Fair? Tino was pointing up the fact that he had uncovered a whole clutch of Bond Steel skeletons in the shortest time imaginable, in order to prepare her for a much reduced offer price, Lisa suspected. ‘That’s very good of you, Tino.’

She was careful to sound noncommittal. She wanted to see exactly what he had found out before showing any reaction to it.

‘I’ll leave the rest of these for you.’ He closed his briefcase.

‘You’re going?’

‘Not if you don’t want me to.’

He had changed in a heartbeat from cold-blooded businessman to someone very different. Her pulse rate quickened in response. But this was wrong. Worse than wrong, it was dangerous.

Her gaze was drawn to his hand resting on the door… his strong, supple hand resting on the door. ‘I’ll see you out.’ Her voice sounded distant and undecided. It was as if she were looking down at herself, or rather at the woman she might have been if her life had been different. She didn’t want him to leave. The apartment would be so empty without him… She would be lonely again. Lonely but safe.

Tino had tossed a pebble into the pond and waited to see how far the ripples would travel. He had to admit he was surprised. She had capitulated rather sooner than he had imagined. Mixing business and pleasure was new to him, but for Lisa he would make an exception. He wanted Bond Steel, and he wanted Lisa Bond. Business was a game he always won, and she had become part of that game.

She thought herself strong and controlling. How strong? How controlling? He would test her boundaries and find out. His body ached for release. The thought of dominating Lisa held real appeal. It would be to her benefit too, of course. If she had the good sense to surrender he would give her the ride of her life.

As Tino caught hold of her arm Lisa snapped out of the trance. ‘That’s the second time you’ve done that,’ she told him angrily, ‘and I don’t like it.’

‘Really? Then you must forgive me,’ he said in a voice that managed to be both penitent and amused.

But he didn’t let her go.

And now they were close, too close, and their breath was mingling. There was no sound other than the two of them breathing. And then, perhaps by accident, the joint of his thumb brushed the side of her breast, and she sighed.

He felt her tense as he accidentally touched her when he shifted position, but that sigh was sending out a very different message. She didn’t try to pull away, and now he felt the tremor running through her. He could feel it coursing right up his arm.

She wasn’t jaded, and that pleased him. Her experience in the commune had only prepared her for him, heightened her capacity for pleasure… He allowed his gaze to slip to her breasts, to the full swell pressing urgently against her chaste white business shirt. He centred his attention on the taut nipples straining against the lace of her bra, and was gratified to see them harden still more beneath his interest. Lifting his head, he saw the pulse fluttering in her neck and the pink flush of desire tinting her skin. He understood her torment. He understood it and therefore would prolong it.

He was rewarded when the tip of her tongue crept out to moisten her lips. She fully expected him to kiss her. But instead he stared into her eyes, gauging her level of arousal. As he had anticipated they were almost black with desire, with just a faint rim of green remaining. She was breathing fast and the tiny gasps were making the fabric pull against the buttons on the front of her shirt. He longed to rip it off—but he wouldn’t do that, because he knew she would like it too much.

She was quivering with frustration. She had never been so aroused. She had never been aroused by a man before… She could control most things, all things—so why not this? And why wouldn’t he kiss her? One kiss was all she wanted, and then she would kick him out. She licked her lips, and saw his attention drawn to the full swell of her bottom lip.

Her lips were moist where she had touched them with her tongue… swollen with desire. He recognised all the signs, and, though he planned it to be this way, the sight was nearly too much for him. Dragging her close, he held her so their lips were almost touching, raising the danger level for them both.

She responded, and white-hot passion flared between them, but at the very point when he intended to pull back and teach her a lesson she stiffened and made an angry sound low in her throat. She strained against him—not with passion now, but with absolute determination to break free. He released her at once.

‘Get out.’ Her voice was barely above a whisper, but it contained more venom than he had ever heard. She didn’t look at him. She remained frozen in place, with the back of her hand covering her mouth as if she wanted to hide it from him, wanted to hide the signs of her arousal from him. And she had been aroused, but then so had he.

‘Get out,’ she repeated, snapping the words at him.

In place of his surprise, Tino felt his anger beginning to rise. ‘Why?’ he said. ‘Because I almost kissed you before you could kiss me?’

‘Is that what you think?’ She looked at him incredulously.

His pride was all over the place. He had never misjudged a situation so badly. ‘Don’t tell me you didn’t want that?’

She rallied then, straightening up to confront him, her face drained of colour. ‘You’ll be telling me I deserved it next.’

‘What? You think passion between a man and a woman is some form of punishment?’ He grasped the back of his neck with his hand, and the look on his face told Lisa she was wrong about him—horribly wrong.

Straightening up, he stared at her coldly. ‘I don’t need these mind games, Lisa.’

‘Then get out!’ She made an angry gesture. ‘What are you waiting for?’

‘When are you going to learn that not everyone wants to dance to your tune?’

‘Or yours?’ Her eyes were blazing. She thought she heard him murmur something more. ‘What did you say?’

‘I said, you’re nothing but a control freak, Lisa.’ He stared straight at her so there could be no mistake.

Lisa didn’t show by even a flicker that he had come closer than any man alive to proving that a lie. ‘I think you’d better leave now.’

‘That’s the first thing you’ve said this evening that makes any sense.’

‘What do you mean, she didn’t make the meeting?’

Shifting the satellite phone to his other shoulder, Tino stared out at the clouds above Stellamaris, his private island, barely seeing the beloved contours of lush greenery, sugar sand and rock as he listened to what his right hand man was trying to tell him.

‘They said she was sick—’

‘Sick?’

‘I don’t know, Tino. I couldn’t find out any more. I don’t think it’s serious, headache perhaps, women’s problems— who the hell knows?’

‘Find out for me, will you? And get back to me right away.’

‘I’ll do the best I can.’

Tino’s voice hardened. ‘That’s not good enough, Andreas.’

‘OK, leave it with me.’

‘And, Andreas…’

‘Yes?’

‘Start making overtures to Clifton Steel, will you?’

‘Clifton? But I thought you wanted Bond—’

Tino’s voice was uncompromising. ‘Just do as I ask, Andreas.’

‘Yes, boss.’

He couldn’t afford to feel like this about anyone, let alone Lisa Bond. Have her occupy his thoughts to the exclusion of everything else? Was he mad? After what had happened between them, professionally, he’d bury her. He would buy out Clifton and Bond. That would solve the problem—permanently. By the time he had finished with her she would never want to hear his name again.

Cutting the connection, Tino eased back in the leather armchair he used when he wasn’t flying the jet himself. His eyes narrowed as he thought over the events of the past forty-eight hours. He had never met anyone like Lisa Bond. She had blind-sided him, slipped beneath his control. She had led him on, and then pulled back at the last moment.

But she was a woman in her late twenties, and grown women didn’t behave that way. The signals they gave off were always clear. Why were Lisa’s signals so misleading? Her behaviour puzzled him, and he didn’t like puzzles. She was acting like a kid, a virgin, even, rather than the ball- breaking bitch everyone said she was.

And why was he still thinking about her at all? Had Lisa Bond turned his shrew-capping tactic on its head, and squirrelled her way into his limited bank of caring instincts? He had always imagined those instincts had been beaten out of him in his youth, but she had made him look at her as more than a business adversary.

He couldn’t afford to go soft. With a gust of exasperation, Tino released his seat belt before the jet touched down. He was impatient to breathe the fresh clean air of Stellamaris. When Lisa Bond came back into his life he would be ready for her. And she would come back, they all did. She wanted the same thing everyone else did—his money. It always came down to that in the end.

* * *

‘What do you mean, he didn’t turn up?’ Lisa demanded, rolling over onto her stomach in bed so that she could rest her chin on her hand.

‘Just that,’ Mike, her PA, assured her. ‘Everyone else was here, of course—just you two were missing.’

‘Don’t bracket me with that man. I have no idea where Constantine Zagorakis is, but, I can assure you, he’s not here with me. Make certain everyone else knows that too, will you, Mike?’

‘So, what’s up? You never take time off.’

That was true. Like her father, only a stretcher carting her off to hospital could get in the way of her work. Mike knew that as well as she did. But her one-to-one with Tino had left Lisa more shaken than she had expected.