To Blackmail A Di Sione. Rachael Thomas

itself, but on a much more dramatic scale. Her family name and reputation was being used once more, callously gambled with, but this time she couldn’t see any way out. Not if she wanted the bracelet.

      ‘And who exactly would you suggest?’ He leant back in his seat, his wine untouched in front of him. She had the uneasy sensation of being more like a hunting eagle’s quarry, set up and unwittingly waiting for the moment she would be swept away from all she’d ever known and devoured.

      ‘I will find someone.’ She could hear the desperation in her voice. Could he hear it too? ‘There are agencies, although how they’d look upon the request for a fake fiancée, I don’t know.’

      She tried hard to think who it could be, but single women able to offer him what he wanted were few, and those she could think of wouldn’t stand a chance against his lethal charm. She had no need to be close to a man, so maybe she was the best woman for the job.

      He folded one arm across his body and raised one to his face, his thumb on his chin and his finger rasping over the hints of stubble; the sound, although hardly audible, set her nerves even more on edge. ‘That won’t be necessary. I am certain we can come to a mutually satisfying arrangement. I have something you want and you are in a position to give me what I want.’

      ‘How long have you been in New York, Mr Dragunov?’ She used his surname and couldn’t help the smile which caught her lips at his annoyed expression. She noticed his eyes glitter, making them ice cold.

      ‘I have been doing business here for a few years on a small scale, but now our engagement will ensure the success of my latest and biggest venture. It will turn my company global. I will still keep my main office and home in St Petersburg, where I grew up.’ The last few words had a harsh edge to them that was hard to miss.

      ‘And your family? Where do they live?’

      ‘I have no family.’

      ‘So there is no danger of your family finding out about this engagement?’ She flung the question at him, giving voice to the concerns she had over how her family would take the news. He didn’t appear at all worried about deceiving everyone.

      ‘Not at all. My parents died when I was young.’ She saw his jaw clench, saw the flash of pain in his eyes. Pain she knew only too well. Her heart twisted. He’d lost his parents too. He knew the pain she’d grown up with wishing she had known her mother and father, wishing she had more than snippets of memories.

      ‘I’m sorry,’ she said softly, not wanting to open up to him about such things. She never told anyone that she could barely recall her mother and had no memories of her father whatsoever, but hearing Liev’s pain, seeing it in his eyes, opened up that shame and exposed her pain. She fought hard against the urge to confide in him, reminding herself they were not in a real relationship. This man was not to be trusted. In any way.