‘Well, why don’t you come, too?’
‘He can’t. It’s a themed party, remember?’ Alice snapped. ‘And Kyros isn’t dressed for it!’
‘Oh, I don’t know—he looks divinely decadent to me,’ gurgled Kirsty.
‘You think so?’ Kyros’s lips curved into a smile. ‘Well, I should like to come along if you are sure I will not be in the way? If you are sure that your host will not object, ne?’
He was peppering his words with Greek deliberately, thought Alice furiously, knowing damned well the effect they had on women—for hadn’t they once had that same effect on her? Just as he was dazzling Kirsty with one of his rare and brilliant smiles. Either way, her friend was shaking her head as if he had just suggested the most outlandish thing on earth.
‘Object—to you?’ Kirsty gave him a conspiratorial grin. ‘I don’t imagine you ever have much trouble getting into parties, Kyros! Anyway, it’s a pretty casual do. The more the merrier—and single men are always at a premium.’
Especially men like you, her eyes seemed to say and Alice bit her lip, furious now. Kirsty was managing to make them sound like a small pack of man-eating women! The kind who were pushing thirty and were desperate to get their hands on anything with testosterone. How could she?
It was true that she had convincingly told her friend that she’d got over Kyros years ago. But she’d mainly been getting in practice for when she came face-to-face with him herself. Surely Kirsty could have guessed that she didn’t want him anywhere near her?
But at least the party was local—a few short streets away. It would be all too easy to leave unnoticed once it got going—and she could lose herself in the crowd. Why, doubtless Kyros would quickly be surrounded by women and probably wouldn’t even notice her slip away.
‘Yes, you’re very welcome to join us, Kyros,’ Alice agreed indifferently, although her fast-pounding heart told a different story entirely.
Kyros felt the flare of desire mingled with curiosity as she deliberately turned away from him and he observed the stiff set of her back, which was at such odds with the delicious curve of her bottom. Was she really as immune to him as she appeared? Would he have to work very hard to get her into bed tonight?
But the prospect of such a sexual conquest as this thrilled him and it was a long time since a challenge had filled him with quite so much excitement.
CHAPTER TWO
THE party was in a big, old house whose garden spilled down to the river—and clearly no expense had been spared. It was already in full swing when they arrived, as waitresses wearing very little bobbed around with trays of exotic-looking cocktails. Fairy lights were threaded into the branches of the trees, giant torches flared on either side of a specially constructed walkway, and there was a huge marquee with loud music blasting from it.
‘I’m surprised the neighbours haven’t complained about the noise,’ said Alice as they stood at the edge of the marquee’s black and white dance floor and watched people dancing around with varying degrees of skill.
‘That’s because they’ve invited all the neighbours!’ giggled Kirsty. ‘Oh, look—there’s Giles—won’t be a minute, I must say hello!’
Alice could have screamed as she watched Kirsty wiggling her silver bottom before being swallowed up by the crowd. She might have objected to the way that her friend had been fawning over Kyros all the way over here, but the last thing she wanted was to be left alone with him.
Yet she wasn’t alone, she reminded herself—there must be over a hundred people here with more arriving by the minute—and what could possibly happen in full view of everyone, if she didn’t want it to?
‘Some party,’ murmured Kyros, looking around.
‘Yes.’ Alice saw someone she’d been at school with, and waved. ‘The couple holding it are both bankers—they’ve just bought this house and this is their housewarming. Let’s go and find them,’ she suggested.
He turned then, a flicker of irritation flaring in the depths of the ebony eyes. ‘But I don’t want to find anyone.’
‘Don’t you think that’s a little rude, Kyros?’
‘Not really.’ His mouth curved into a half-smile—the kind that usually warned people that it was pointless to waste their time arguing with him. ‘Look around—see for yourself. People are drinking enough to ensure they have headaches by midnight and the more adventurous have already started dancing. In other words, Alice, everyone is doing their own thing. No one knows me—and why should they want to?’
Alice grabbed a vicious-looking purple cocktail from a passing tray and drank a potent mouthful. ‘Oh, please don’t be disingenuous, Kyros. Despite the fact that you’re woefully underdressed compared to everyone else, every woman in the garden noticed you walking in and every man is watching you out of the corner of their eyes to see what you’ll do next. Or rather, where’re you’ll strike.’
‘Strike?’ he echoed.
‘Like a predator,’ she said, before she had time to think about the wisdom of her words.
‘Then let me put their minds at rest,’ he said softly, cupping her elbow within the palm of his hand. ‘I am not interested in any of the women here—except the one whose perfume is invading my senses. Is it rose?’ he questioned.
‘Jasmine,’ she said automatically as the cocktail fizzed its way round her bloodstream.
‘Ah, jasmine. Sweet and intoxicating.’ Just like her. His thumb began to idly stroke at the satin texture of her skin and he felt it prickle into goose-bumps beneath his touch. ‘What I want is a few uninterrupted moments alone with you—catching up as ex-lovers do. To see what the world has done to us both in the intervening years.’
‘I don’t think—’
‘Then don’t think,’ he drawled dismissively. ‘You’re curious. I’m curious.’ The pad of his thumb now traced a featherlight line down to her wrist where he could feel the thready flicker of her pulse and see the dark blue tracery of veins beneath the fair skin. ‘Very curious.’
Had he deliberately couched his words to sound like a sexual invitation? Probably. She wanted to tell him to stop touching her—just as she wanted to tell him to stop dipping his voice like that, so that it resembled rich, creamy chocolate which was gliding sweetly over her skin. But no words came—all that came was a terrible awareness of the aching emptiness inside her.
But maybe in a way, he was right. Maybe she needed to fill in the yawning gaps of her imagination with a few facts because he must have left scores of broken-hearted women behind. Women just like her. And wouldn’t it be good for her to hear that? To understand that what she had shared with him had not been unique or special. It might be painful—but if she could see their relationship as it really was, rather than what she had wanted it to be, then mightn’t that help take Kyros off the pedestal where he stubbornly seemed to stay, no matter how fervent her efforts to remove him?
‘Okay. Why not?’ she questioned carelessly, but quickly moved away from the temptation of his touch before beginning to walk away from the marquee.
The garden was long and they stopped by a quiet, shaded spot near to where the dark river water lapped against the bank—far away enough not to be bothered by stray guests or the insistent music, but Alice found that she was trembling, even though the summer air was thick and warm and scented with flowers.
He gestured to a bench which curled all the way round the trunk of a tree. ‘Let’s sit here.’
Though hard, the seat was oddly intimate and Alice was uncomfortably aware of how close his thigh lay to hers—and how she had to keep surreptitiously tugging at the hem of her satin dress to stop her stocking tops from showing.
‘Oh,