Innocent in Her Enemy's Bed Read online

  He was taken aback, not that he showed it, but he went very still and his eyes narrowed as he tried to discern what the catch might be.

  She enlightened him. “In return I would insist you hire a qualified CEO and do everything in your power to keep Callas Cosmetics thriving.”

  “Your forty-five percent is worth ten million euros.”

  “Yes, I know.” She offered a flat smile. “And I assure you that if you pursue the Pagonis shares just so you can destroy Callas, I will drive up the price until you pay thirty million for fifteen percent. Or you may have forty-five for one hundred thousand. My research tells me you’re a shrewd negotiator. Well done.”

  “Your negotiation skills are terrible. What would you get out of that?”

  Freedom.

  “A clean conscience,” she said. “I accept that I benefited from your father’s work. It was unknowing, but I did. Losing ten million is a blow. Losing something I built with great pride and care would also cause me great distress. But having served me my just deserts, I assume you’ll leave me alone in future.” She hoped.

  He steepled his fingers and swiveled his chair, head cocked as he reassessed her. “Are you trying to protect Midas by handing me the keys to your company? Did he send you here to make this little gesture to distract me from going after Pagonis International? It won’t work. I won’t give up.”

  She bit back a hysterical laugh. “I can see you’re very determined.” His ruthlessness was glowing like a neon sign. “The only people I’m trying to protect are the innocent ones.”

  Her employees from top level to floor-sweeper were a tight, dedicated team. There was already an ache behind her breastbone at knowing she wouldn’t see them every day, but she was good at compartmentalizing. Showing this man how distraught she was wouldn’t help her case. In fact, he would probably use it against her.

  She stood tall and aloof as she waited for his next move.

  His head fell back as he regarded her through the screen of his spiky lashes. “Are you angling to stay on as CEO?”

  “No.” She suppressed another choke of laughter. “My company is being used as a pawn between you and Midas. I refuse to become one myself. Take the spoils and fight your fight, but leave me out of it. Shall I have the paperwork drawn up?”

  “Your eagerness to run is suspicious.” His gaze flickered all over her, leaving little burn marks everywhere it touched.

  She had made a mistake. She preferred to stay in the background, but she had caught his full attention and it was deeply disconcerting, both because his antagonism was plain and because she was reacting to him in such an inappropriate way. Some girlish part of her was squirming, worried her hair was out of place or there was a drip of coffee on her blouse.

  “What if I asked you to stay on as CEO?” he questioned. “What if I made that my condition for accepting your offer?”

  Her heart skipped then stretched with longing. She had built her company with more than pride and care. She had put her soul into it. She didn’t care that her father had eventually decided Midas was the better businessman based on his stolen technology and named him president of Pagonis International. Ilona knew in her heart she outpaced Midas when it came to financial intelligence, marketing insight and management skills.

  Much as it would kill her to walk away from what she had created, however, the idea of finally escaping the Pagonis tentacles was even more appealing. That 15 percent in Callas Cosmetics had kept her beholden to Midas after their father passed. If she gave up her company, however, she had no reason to continue associating with any of them.

  She would finally be free.

  Thanks to this man with the broad shoulders and glinting silver eyes and a sensual mouth that put shocking thoughts in her head.

  “Tempted?” he chided in that infuriatingly seductive tone.

  “No,” she lied. Her skin was still prickling, wondering if he found her appealing which was so stupid. “The idea of partnering with a man who hates me and wants to use me to exact revenge against my family sounds like a marriage best not undertaken. I suggest—”

  “Marriage,” Leander cut in, sitting straight up with another screech of his chair. “Now there’s an idea.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  “WHAT?”

  Ilona Callas’s eyes widened as Leander shot to his feet and came around his desk toward her. In fact, there was a split second where he glimpsed genuine fear flare behind her startled gaze.

  Then she blanked her expression and seemed to subtly rebalance her weight, but her knuckles turned white where she held her shiny black handbag. The tendons in her neck stood out with distress.

  With a disconcerting swerve in his chest, Leander veered across the room to throw ice into glasses. He opened a bottle of sparkling water, glugging it over the cubes, using the action to steal a moment of reassessment.

  Marriage to the illegitimate Pagonis daughter had already occurred to him as the ultimate means to his revenge, of course it had. For a decade and a half, he had mulled every possible path into their empire.

  He had set aside approaching Ilona for several reasons, the primary one being that it would tip his hand. Making a stealth move on her company had put him in this first, fail-safe position of having a foot in the door. Morally, he had balked at romancing a woman under false pretenses, even one whose family he categorically despised.

  Now that he had met her and she had brought it up, however, marriage returned as a possibility. That stark fear he had just witnessed was concerning, though. It had even briefly eclipsed his blinding desire to destroy the Pagonis family. Much as he wanted to make them pay, terrorizing a woman with sexual threats was not something he would ever do, under any circumstance.

  Most especially if he was trying to talk her into marriage.

  Is that what he wanted, though? Marriage? To her?

  “I realize you didn’t steal the tech yourself, but you’ve lived off those profits, Ilona. That’s how your father was able to invest in your company. That’s why I’m coming after you along with the rest. You don’t get to be a Pagonis only when it works to your advantage.”

  There was such a loaded silence behind him, he glanced over his shoulder.

  Her glower at his back quickly reconfigured into calm dignity. “I just offered to make good on that.”

  She had and he was still puzzling through that offer.

  He set the fizzing glasses on the coffee table, nodding at her to join him as he took his customary armchair.

  After the briefest of hesitations, she came to perch on the corner of the sofa farthest from him, ankles crossed, hands folded, demeanor one of polite interest.

  Damn, but she was beautiful. He had noted that, too, in his many online research trips, but he was far more interested in whether a woman had an engaging personality or a unique perspective on life that challenged his own.

  Still, he was red-blooded enough to react to Ilona’s unadulterated sex appeal. She had a supermodel figure—tall and slender, but rounded in all the most alluring places. Her bone structure was delicate, but her depthless brown eyes were steady and unflinching. Her shiny black hair was clasped behind her neck. Her manicure and makeup were natural shades. Even her lipstick was a nude shade with only the barest hint of berry pink.

  Somehow that was more tantalizing than garish red, drawing his gaze back to her wide, lush mouth again and again.

  She wore simple gold jewelry—hoops in her ears, a chain with an ornate knot that sat in the hollow of her throat and a ring designed like ivy that twined toward the knuckle on her middle finger. Her clothing was a classic navy skirt suit with a pinstripe and a white shirt with its collar popped. Her shoes were a matching blue-black with red soles.

  She wasn’t flirting or throwing out lures, though. So he wasn’t sure why he felt such a tremendous pull. It had accosted him the moment she had entered his office, quiet and graceful as a ballerina. Slithered, he had told himself of her near-silent entry. He wanted to view her as a viper, like Midas.

  She was too sensual looking to be a cold-blooded reptile, though. He couldn’t tell what she was beneath her understated, faultless demeanor.

  Inexplicably, a hummingbird came to mind, one that appeared pretty and small when she was still, but with a heart that was beating a mile a minute. He didn’t know that, but he sensed the way she remained alert, ready to dart away at the least startling movement.

  She didn’t touch her water, didn’t fidget or press him to speak. She sat very quietly, exactly as his receptionist had reported she had behaved in the pressure cooker, the room in the reception area where he sequestered those he didn’t really wish to see.

  Rather than grow overheated and angry at his rudeness, or trying to maximize her time by making calls, Ilona had sat and waited.

  Waiting was hard. Leander knew that because he had had to wait for his opportunity to take Midas down. The wheels were in motion but had yet to pick up momentum. Marriage to Ilona could provide the rocket fuel, but thinking about something like that and doing it were very different.

  She was a Pagonis and not to be trusted.

  On the other hand, she held a stake in the company. Pagonis International was publicly traded, but the family owned a substantial interest. Their father had bequeathed his shares equally between his three children. His widow owned a similar amount and the family always voted together, maintaining control.

  But what if Leander could disrupt that? At the very least, marrying into that family would allow him to reap some of the financial benefit that should have been his all along.

  He nodded, warming even more to the idea
of capturing this reluctant little pawn.

  “You’re not married,” he noted. “Are you engaged? In a relationship?”

  “I don’t think it would be wise to offer you any more leverage than you currently possess,” she said with a faint smile.

  “Interesting that you think a relationship would be a weakness, not a strength.”

  “Goodness,” she said with a glance at her naked wrist. “Did my therapy appointment overlap with my business meeting? I’ll speak to my assistant. There’s no reason you should feel compelled to do double duty.”

  He refused to like her, but he was a sucker for sarcasm delivered on such a frosty platter. May I assume you’re prompted by product loyalty?

  He was still privately smirking over that cheeky remark.

  “I find committed relationships to be a liability myself,” he volunteered, presuming he would have unearthed any serious liaisons while he’d been researching her and her family. “I have no problem with monogamy, but demands on my time are very high. I don’t like people in my space, expecting me to answer to them. I don’t like being emotionally accessible. It’s...tedious.”

  “Hmm.” The noncommittal noise neither agreed nor disagreed.

  Such a mysterious creature. He was reluctantly curious, wondering what it would take to get a real reaction out of her. Not a reflex like pain or fear. Laughter. Passion.

  She must possess some of the latter. Callas Cosmetics was enormously successful in a crowded market. Her father’s initial investment was well-documented, and the family name had definitely helped her along, but she hadn’t relied on gimmicks or risky gambles or dirty plays that he could find. She had scaled strategically, always raising money through outside sources with sound proposals.

  As someone who had grown his own business from next to nothing, Leander knew there had to be a deep emotional driver to propel a person into doing the hard work every day. His motivator was revenge. The way Ilona was prepared to sacrifice herself for her employees and customers suggested something less dark. It had to be passion.

  He could definitely work with that.

  “If we were to marry—” he began, then surprised himself with a fantasy of her long, slender legs squeezing his waist while he plumbed the depths of her sensuality, his mouth catching her cries of culmination.

  A hot bolt of desire grounded itself behind his fly, causing the flesh there to twitch and thicken. He bit back a curse, nearly missing what she was saying.

  “You have completely misconstrued my remark.” She brushed at her knee. “I meant that taking a position under you in my own company sounds like an arrangement that is doomed to fail. It would be similar to a marriage where everyone says, ‘It was obvious from the beginning that it wouldn’t work out.’ I don’t like making obvious mistakes.”

  “Thank you for connecting those dots for me. I’ve moved to a new page where I am proposing—” Was he really going here? Taking a position under you...

  Her words rang in his ears, but this wasn’t about sex. It was about using her as a Trojan horse to get inside the family so he could deal Midas the lethal blow he deserved.

  “I propose you allow me to buy the fifteen percent from Pagonis,” Leander stated, growing more resolved as he located pieces from one of his many plans and modified them to fit this moment. “I will then give you all of my shares in Callas as a wedding gift. You will own Callas Cosmetics outright and may run it however you see fit.”

  Her eyes widened with exhilaration before she dropped her lashes, screening her reaction while she looked to the hands she had arranged in her lap.

  “That’s an attractive offer, but I don’t wish to marry.” Her gaze came up again, thoughts shuttered. “At all. It’s not personal.”

  “No?” He thought again of that flash of fear she had revealed. Was she afraid of all men, not just him? That thought caused an uncomfortable prickle across the back of his shoulders.

  Maybe she wasn’t into men at all. He didn’t see that as an impediment to a marriage for business purposes, though.

  “I wouldn’t think marriage was something that interests you, either,” she said in a remote tone. “You said you don’t like people in your space. Ironically, we’re a perfect match in that regard. I’m also very private. That’s why it’s best if we stick to our own corners.”

  “We could have our own corners,” he decided abruptly. “Separate bedrooms.”

  “A marriage without sex? That is a compelling offer.” She was being facetious again, the minx.

  “I’m serious. I happen to be straight and was under the impression you are, too, but sharing a bed with my wife is not a deal breaker for me.” He couldn’t believe those words were emerging from his mouth. He loved sex.

  He wasn’t an opportunist, though. He didn’t take whatever was available for the sake of it. Besides, he’d be a fool to trust her. Yes, there was often a power imbalance when a man brought a woman into his bed, one that typically favored a man, but there were plenty of men who became ruled by lust. He wouldn’t become one of them.

  She tucked her chin, brows coming together with skepticism. “A marriage in name only? Really?”

  “Disappointed?” he mocked. “Do you want to have sex with me?”

  “Of course not,” she said a little too quickly. “I only met you five minutes ago.” Her snippiness was the first hint of true emotion she’d displayed since walking in here. A stain of pink touched her cheekbones and her gaze slid away from his. Her spine inched a notch taller.

  So defensive and wasn’t that interesting.

  He rubbed the backs of his fingers against the nap of whiskers under his chin, biting back a smug grin.

  “You don’t want children?” he prodded.

  Her averted gaze widened as though he’d sucker punched her. She recovered in a blink and swiveled her head to look him dead in the eye.

  “No.”

  Such a lie. One she baldly made straight to his face. That ought to be ringing all sorts of alarms inside him, but he was far more interested in why she refused to admit she wanted children. He had always assumed he would have a few one day, after he’d achieved the justice he sought.

  His desire to marry her took on a new angle, one where he would have the time to pry out all these little secrets and evasions she was hoarding behind her standoffish exterior.

  Don’t, he warned himself. She was a means to an end. That’s all.

  “So, it’s agreed,” he stated, having discovered years ago that those words made his wishes come true. “We’ll marry and live in the same home, but within our separate spaces. We’ll confine our marital duties to public appearances and hosting events like family dinners...” He grinned in anticipation of that bloodbath.

  “It is not agreed,” she said, quiet, but firm. “I cannot marry a man who hates me. How can you even consider tying yourself to someone you loathe? Unless the point would be to make my life as uncomfortable as possible?”

  “On the contrary,” he assured her. “In exchange for switching your allegiance to me, I would provide you with a more comfortable life than ever. You would take full control of your company and all of my wrath would be directed toward the other members of your family.”

  “Mmm. And I’m sure being extorted into a marriage of revenge would soon provoke my affection toward you.” Her pained smile fell away. “But I’ve thought of a new avenue I can pursue.” She rose so abruptly he practically heard the burr of wings in his ears. “Keep your shares. I’ll sell mine to my employees. If you then wish to harm the company, you’ll be destroying the livelihoods of invested co-owners who have nothing to do with your thirst for vengeance. If you need a referral for a good PR firm to help weather that scandal, I’m happy to provide some names. Thank you for your time today.”

  “You’re really going to walk away from all of this?” The bold black line of her hair down her spine was as enticing as a ribbon to a cat. He wanted to snare it with a claw and drag what was attached into his mouth. “You don’t care that I intend to level Pagonis? You’ll be impacted, too.”