‘You choose,’ he said abruptly. ‘I despise all titles—though I suspect you have already chosen the one that suits you the best.’
Yes, she had—or thought she had.
‘No?’ Iannis demanded when she didn’t answer. ‘Would you like my help?’ And without waiting for her reply, he grated, ‘How about this one—Iannis Kiriakos, eligible bachelor?’
Charlotte’s face went white as she stared at him. ‘You despicable, arrogant man! Not only do you imagine that I can be bought, but you seem to think that I would sleep with a man in order to trap him into marriage. You are wrong on both counts Mr Kiriakos. I can’t be bought—and I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man on earth. You say I tricked you?’ She gave a sharp, ugly laugh of incredulity. ‘You slept with me, but withheld your true identity. You deceived me, you used me. And now you calmly stand there, daring to suggest that I would sell you out—or, worse, that I choose my partners on the basis of their bank balance.’
‘Partners?’ Iannis roared, surprising himself with the force of his reaction. ‘How many men—?’
Charlotte cut across in a voice of pure steel. ‘Don’t think for one moment I am going to allow you another opportunity to hurt me, Iannis. You have done quite enough just by proving how little you really know me. I thought I had found someone special, someone untouched by all the cynicism and suspicion of the world I left behind when I came to Iskos. But I was just fooling myself, wasn’t I? All you wanted was a trophy to put on your shelf with all the others!’
And who knew better about trophies? Charlotte raged inwardly as her mouth tightened with disdain. ‘You just put on a convenient front to lure me into your bed, Iannis! How many times have you done that before?’
‘How dare you suggest I would stoop so low?’ he accused, coming a menacing step closer.
‘Why shouldn’t I when you treat me like this?’ Charlotte said, not yielding an inch. ‘Or is what I’ve said just too close to the truth for you, Iannis?’
‘I have never lured a woman into my bed—’
‘And how do I know that?’ Charlotte continued relentlessly. ‘Because you tell me so? How can I believe anything you say when by your own admission you have made such a good job of deceiving me? But you needn’t concern yourself any longer with what I might stand to gain from you, Iannis. You can keep your wretched money! I’m not interested in your money, or in anyone else’s money. I am quite capable of supporting myself. And in a few short hours I’ll be out of your life for good. So relax, Iannis. You can keep your precious bank balance intact. And now, if you don’t mind, I’ve got a plane to catch.’ When he didn’t move, she added flatly, ‘If I haven’t made myself clear, I’d like you to leave.’
Iannis continued to stare at her, his eyes like twin probes, blazing their way into the very depths of her soul, searching for truth. ‘Not until you give me some assurances.’
‘Assurances?’ Charlotte demanded softly. ‘What more do you want from me, Iannis? You’ve taken everything I’ve got. And you’ve got my film card in your hand. The article? Here—take it.’ Removing the disk from her laptop, she thrust that at him too. ‘I think that’s everything. You can stay, if you want, and watch me erase the master document from my computer—or you can take my word for the fact that I cannot wait to be rid of it. As for the copy I have already mailed to my editor—I will tell her that I wish to have it withdrawn immediately. When I leave Iskos I want nothing to remind me of my time here or anything Greek—especially you.’
‘Unfortunately it’s not that simple,’ he countered coldly.
‘Of course it’s that simple,’ Charlotte insisted.
‘You don’t seem to understand,’ Iannis said evenly, making himself comfortable on the chair. ‘You see, Charlotte, I cannot take the risk that once you leave here you might just go ahead anyway.’
‘I have given you my word.’
‘In this instance that’s not enough, I’m afraid.’
‘You can’t hold me here against my will,’ Charlotte said, pressing her lips together in impotent anger.
Taking his mobile phone out of his back pocket, Iannis keyed in a number, his gaze fixed on her face the whole time.
A chill ran down Charlotte’s spine as she listened as he instructed his lawyers.
‘That was totally unnecessary,’ she said coldly, the moment he cut the line. ‘You’re throwing your money away. I could have done that just by e-mailing my editor—then I would have confirmed everything on Monday, when I return to work.’
‘You may not be at work on Monday,’ Iannis observed. ‘And e-mail is all very well, but I find court orders are always more effective.’
‘So you don’t trust me?’
‘Should I?’ he queried sardonically. ‘Unless this matter is concluded swiftly, and to my complete satisfaction, I will have an impediment of departure placed upon you and you will remain here on Iskos—as my guest.’
‘And that’s supposed to fill me with gratitude?’ Charlotte demanded, her voice dry with shock. ‘It sounds as if you mean to take me hostage.’
‘Please spare me the amateur dramatics,’ Iannis said coldly, ‘and do not credit me with your own flair for invention. I am merely offering you an extended stay as my guest, incurring no extra cost for you.’
Was she supposed to thank him? Charlotte wondered. She felt more like punching him. ‘I don’t want an extended stay,’ she said firmly.
Iannis shrugged dismissively. ‘I’d say you don’t have much choice. Why don’t you send that e-mail?’
The laptop was too precious to throw at him.
Charlotte’s fingers flew over the keyboard. She wanted to hate him, it would be so much easier, but even now her feelings were dangerously far from hate.
‘There,’ she said finally, tilting the screen so he could see. ‘It’s all finished—done with. Now will you let me go?’
‘No,’ Iannis said flatly. ‘You stay here with me until I hear from my lawyers. You can ignore me, be as awkward as you like, but it won’t change a thing. Until I have confirmation that this business is over I’m not leaving, so you might as well get used to the idea.’
‘And what if I refuse to stay?’
She watched him tense slightly on the seat, as if he might leap to his feet at any moment and restrain her. She would never escape from him using conventional methods, Charlotte realised. She would have to be a lot more subtle than that if she wanted to get away…
WHERE would she go? Charlotte wondered as she worked quietly at the kitchen table. Filling in time while Iannis waited for the call from his lawyers, she was sketching out some ideas in note form for her next piece of work. So far she had written ten words. It was one thing planning to escape—but escape to where, and to whom?
With only one flight a week leaving Iskos, she didn’t have a lot of choice. If she missed this one Marianna was the only person she knew well enough to land on her doorstep unannounced. She had said she lived next door to Iannis. It couldn’t be that hard to find her. And anything was preferable to being held captive in her own villa, Charlotte mused, slanting a look at her captor. He was completely unrepentant, even though he was just as guilty of deception as she was. And he had the audacity to look more desirable than ever, reading the local papers as if he belonged here—feet resting on a stool and his mobile phone close to hand. He might not have had a care in the world.
Was this the type