‘For someone who wasn’t even born on the island, you have a lot to say for yourself,’ Alexander Kosta observed coolly.
‘My father was born here. He was—’
‘A fisherman? Yes, I know. And your mother was an English woman who deserted him.’
‘It wasn’t like that…’ Ellie knew she was losing control when it was imperative to remain clear-headed. But when Kosta dared to criticise her family—‘My mother made a choice, and I respect that—’
‘Respect?’ One brow shot up.
‘My English mother taught me respect,’ Ellie returned coldly, ‘which is why I honour my Greek father’s name—’
‘And why the locals have asked you to speak for them? From what I know, your mother chose safe suburbia over her Greek lover, and you didn’t so much as set foot on this island until she died—’
The callous way in which he was talking about the parents she loved fuelled Ellie’s anger. ‘When I came here I fell in love with the island and its people.’ One part of her brain simply refused to accept that she had also been running as fast as she could from an elderly friend of her mother’s who had attacked her when her guard was down.
He had to court this woman. He couldn’t cast her aside, though he sincerely wished he could. The locals trusted her; loved her, even. She was the key to unlock this island and make his vision of progress run smoothly. When her father had been lost at sea the locals had adopted her. On that day Ellie Mendoras hadn’t become the orphan she had expected to be, but the cherished daughter of a family in mourning; a family that encompassed every living soul on Lefkis. The hold she had over them was his last remaining sticking point. ‘You don’t belong here!’ he exploded, uncharacteristically losing his cool even after reasoning things through. ‘You’re not even Greek.’
‘My heart belongs here!’ she roared back at him.
She roared at him? Was Alexander Kosta losing his fabled self-control? It was time to put things back on an even keel. ‘Lefkis belongs to me now,’ he reminded her, with a closing gesture of his hands.
‘You don’t frighten me!’
Didn’t she know when to be quiet? ‘Really?’ he said with menace. ‘Then perhaps I should.’
A shiver tracked down Ellie’s spine as she gazed up at Alexander. She’d had no idea they would engage in a fight like this. She had imagined his bodyguards would cart her off, once she’d had her say, which would be long past by now. But there was a passion between them, the air simmered with tension. Ellie stood her guard, held her head high; she knew Kosta didn’t so much as pay lip-service to the meek and mild. His goal was clear, and he was determined to drive it through.
But so was she. ‘We survived the rule of Demetrios Lindos, and we will defeat you—’
‘Brave words, Ellie Mendoras, but where is your army now?’ He glanced around. The audience was waiting patiently for him to return. ‘It looks to me like these people don’t want to be stuck in the past with you and Demetrios Lindos, after all.’
Ellie flushed red. Where the past was concerned Kosta was right—a part of her would always be locked there.
‘Why do you stay on the island?’ he probed. ‘What is it to you?’
My sanctuary, Ellie thought immediately, but no way would she tell him that. She sought safety in the facts instead. ‘Lefkis was my father’s home, and now it is mine—’
‘Then if you wish to remain here, you had better learn to accept change like everyone else.’
That was a threat, Ellie realised, but she had gone too far to crawl back. ‘Change prescribed by you?’
‘That’s right, Ms Mendoras.’
Of course. The man who had bought the island could do anything he wanted to. And she had felt so safe here at one time, Ellie thought wistfully, but now there were so many strangers on the island; people she didn’t know, men she didn’t know—
‘I don’t have time for this,’ he said.
She jerked away.
‘I have no intention of touching you, Ms Mendoras.’
Why was she so frightened of him? Alexander asked himself. It was then he noticed the scar. Round and ugly on her cheek, it looked as though someone had tried to put their brand on her. And when she saw him staring at it she brought her hair down, using her fingers like a comb to cover it.
He switched his attention. He had no intention of making any of this personal. ‘See to the ladies,’ he commanded to the bodyguard who had approached. He threw a contemptuous glance at the squawking females, some of whom were still milling about the stage.
Ellie tried to moisten her lips with a tongue turned suddenly dry. She was surrounded by powerful men, but Alexander Kosta had no need of bodyguards when he could hold her in place with nothing more than a stare. She watched the women on the platform being ushered down the steps like so many sheep. Panic had made them shrill and their bird-like voices grated on her. Shouldn’t they also reassure her? Ellie reasoned. Alexander Kosta would hardly be interested in molesting her when he’d brought his harem.
Ellie had to stop herself tracing the scar on her cheek. She had no doubt Kosta had not only noticed, but had also calculated how she got it. She felt vulnerable. She didn’t want him to know anything about her. She had to be strong and not allow herself to be distracted.
But that scar was a mark of her past…The worst of it was, she had trusted and admired the old man who had attacked her. He had been a friend of her late mother’s, and had been kind to her. He had been one of the first to offer friendship when her mother died. She just hadn’t realised how many strings were attached to that friendship. He was the reason she had fled to Lefkis and, though he was nothing like Alexander Kosta, he had left her with a fear of men that had never faded.
‘So, Ms Mendoras…’
Ellie looked at Alexander.
‘What am I going to do with you?’
Everything had quietened on stage and they were alone on the platform. The physicality of the man facing her, his sheer brute strength…‘How do you know so much about me?’
As his sensual lips curved in a confident smile she noticed that his eyes remained cold.
‘I make it my business to know everything that happens on this island.’
‘Then you must know my determination—’
‘To speak? Yes, I do,’ he said as if this was obvious. ‘But not here and not today.’ And when she started again he added firmly, ‘This is not the appropriate forum for a heated discussion, Ms Mendoras—’
‘So you say—’
‘Yes, I do say.’
To her amazement he flicked out a business card. ‘I think you’ll find there are better ways of getting your point across.’ His voice turned faintly mocking. ‘For example, you could make an appointment with my secretary…’
She had massively underestimated him. She had pictured herself in the middle of an impassioned protest that included all the locals. But where were they? Had Kosta won them over with little more than a fairground for the children, and an endless supply of good food and wine…?
As a member of his security team approached them Ellie guessed this was the moment when she would be bundled unceremoniously off the stage.
The man glanced at her as he whispered something to his master, and Kosta smiled and shook his head. Then he added some remark in Greek she couldn’t catch. ‘This isn’t funny, Kirie Kosta—’