“He messed you up, Nikos.” She said the words softly, slowly, burdened under a wave of sadness. Her childhood had been empty, her strongest memory was of craving for someone who would hold her, kiss her, hug her, love her unconditionally.
All she had ever wanted was to have a family.
Nikos, he had had one. And yet he had known less kindness than she had.
She heard Nikos’s laugh through the filter of her own teetering emotions. It was fire in his eyes, curving that sinful mouth. It mocked her for feeling sorry for him. “Everything Savas has done has been to my advantage. Have you seen where I’m in my life right now? I will be the CEO of Demakis International in a few months, will have everything my father didn’t have. Do you think I will ever be hungry again? We both know what that desperation feels like, agape mou. Admit it. Admit that any price is worth paying for it.”
“I have seen your place in the world. I almost drowned in that glorious bathtub. Are you truly blind to what price you’re paying for all this? Even sex is a transaction for you.”
He hulked over her in an ever so gentle way. But his gentility, his concern, they were all lost on her. “You can dish it out, Lexi, but can you take it? Do you want to hear some truths, as well?”
Her stomach dipped and dived, her nerves pinging with a thrilling excitement that spread through her like a fever. Now she knew why she had drawn him with that look in his eyes. Being near Nikos, feeling everything she did in his presence, she couldn’t spend another moment fooling herself.
She suddenly knew why her relationship with Tyler had failed on so many levels. Tyler and she had never meant to be more than friends. Ever. It was as if an invisible portal had been opened. Now she couldn’t unbelieve its existence whatever she did. “You’re right, I can’t,” she said, opting for cowardice. She wanted to run away before she betrayed herself, if he didn’t know already. “I can, however, tell you that Venetia and Tyler...whatever they share is not so weak as you imagine. There’s a fire between them. I’ve never...” She paused, the heat of his gaze lighting the very fire she had thought herself unaware of.
“You’ve never what?” His gaze widened with a dangerous curiosity that sent a pang of alarm through her. “With all your antiquated notions, did you refuse to put out, Lexi? Is that why he left you?”
Her gut flopped. She shivered, amazed at his razor-sharp mind. He was so close to the pathetic truth. “The P.I. couldn’t figure out if I had already lost my V card?” She was attracted to Nikos, and it was nothing like she had ever felt before. It was intense, and it made her feel frayed, as if she was coming apart at the seams.
Why else would his amusement hurt so much?
He grabbed her wrist and tugged her closer. “Articles in Cosmo have nothing over practical experience.”
“Are you volunteering then?” she said, before she could lock away the thought. “Will you help me practice so that I can then seduce Tyler away from your sister?”
A cavern of tension sucked them right in.
His dark gaze moved over her with lingering precision from the top of her hair to her feet clad in open-toed sandals. There was such a jaded look in those eyes that something within her rebelled and twisted.
He had no interest in her. She had seen his type and like every other man on the planet, it was boobs and legs. Neither of which she possessed enough to count, sadly.
For the first time in her life, she wished she had paid more attention to her clothes, had worn proper makeup. Because she wanted him to feel that hunger she felt for him, she wanted him to be mindless in his craving for her.
“I’m sure I can be persuaded,” he finally answered.
The color leached from Lexi’s face, leaving a pale mask behind.
Nikos instantly regretted his words.
She recovered fast, her mouth trembling with her fury. “I’m glad I’m such a source of amusement for you, but I’d rather be dumped by Tyler another hundred times than take you up on your offer. I’d rather sleep with one of the guys that frequent the club. You’re unfeeling, manipulative and arrogant. You’re toying with me just for the fun of it, and I don’t need your pity sex.”
She ran out of the garage as though the very devil was behind her. Stunned by how hard her words hit, Nikos forced himself to breathe, a storm of inexplicable emotion surging through him.
He had never meant to hurt her. He had only needled her, as he always did. His curiosity about every facet of her life, about her relationship with Tyler, it knew no bounds, shattering his usual reserve.
Had he hit the truth? Was there no end to her innocence? Why should it matter to him if she had slept with her blasted boyfriend or not? So he had covered his stunned reaction to it by needling her some more.