“I’m fine,” he said tersely. “And you?”
She gave an abrupt nod. She didn’t trust herself to speak.
“You can’t be,” he decided, his voice a rasp. “I can see the whisker burns on your skin from here.
There were faint scratches all over her body. He had marked her in more ways than one. “And I see a love bite on your neck.”
He raked his hands through his long hair. “That’s different.”
No, it wasn’t. Jodie turned her attention back to the beach before she started an argument. He had encouraged her to explore his body in the middle of the night. Nothing she did or said had shocked him. But did he find her desire for him unseemly in the light of day? Should her lust not match his?
She guessed she was supposed to be innocent, passive and fragile. Right now she felt fragile. She felt as if she was going to burst into tears.
Stergios took a few ground-eating strides to reach her. “Give me your cell phone,” he said as he stretched out his hand.
She automatically took a step back. “I don’t think so,” she said as she held her purse close to her body.
His eyebrows rose in surprise and her fingers tightened on the leather. Did Stergios expect unquestioning obedience after she had yielded completely to him last night? “I want to add my number to your contact list.”
Jodie stared at him. “Why?”
His lips compressed into a line. “I will need to know if there were any consequences from last night.”
“There won’t be.”
“How can you be so sure? Are you on the pill?”
“Well, no...” There had been no reason for her to have a prescription.
His shoulders hunched as the harsh lines of his face deepened. It looked as if he had the world on his shoulders. Had he felt this way four years ago when they first had made love?
She raised her hands as if she could soothe his troubled thoughts. “You have nothing to worry about.”
“You’re wrong.” There was a bite of anger in his voice. “If you get pregnant, everything I have worked for all these years will disappear.”
Jodie went still. It hurt that she was a distraction, a hindrance to his dreams, but how would her presence in his life ruin everything? “What are you talking about?”
“Do you know the fight I would have on my hands if I had a baby out of wedlock? A love child with my stepsister?” His face was ashen. “The board of directors would crucify me. The scandal would damage the Antoniou Group. I would be forced to marry you and I can’t let that happen. When I marry, it will be to strengthen my family’s power base, not because of a mistake.”
Jodie bent her head and stared at the ground. He sought for extraordinary power so no one could harm him and he would use marriage to get it. Jodie wanted him to feel safe even if it meant he had to stay away from her. Peace was the one thing she couldn’t give him. She never could.
There was one thing she could do for him. She could leave and never come back. Sever all connections. Jodie winced as she imagined the hole it would leave in her heart. But she had to let go of Stergios so he could find what he needed.
What they both needed, she amended. Because he would marry for power and she would marry for love. Whatever this was that they shared wouldn’t last. She wouldn’t waste his time or hers anymore.
“I expect you to call me whether or not you’re pregnant.” His hands were bunched at his sides. “If you don’t I will hunt you down and get my answer.”
It would be a repeat of what happened last time. Only this time she would know that he was pursuing her. And she’d let him catch her. And if he found her again, they would fall back into bed and the cycle would continue. Jodie twisted her lips. He would be drawn to her and hate the power she had over him. It wouldn’t stop him unless he thought she had fallen into bed with another man.
Another man. Jodie lifted her head. What if she said another man had a claim on her? Her pulse started to race. No, no, no. She couldn’t do it. It would be too painful. The ultimate betrayal in Stergios’s eyes. She immediately discarded the idea. If she told that lie, Stergios would cut her out of his life for good.
Which was what she wanted, didn’t she? She had to end this relationship before it became an unhealthy obsession that changed the course of their lives. But if she did this, there was no turning back. Stergios would never forgive her.
Which was why she had to go through with it. It was the only way. Her mouth was dry and she nervously licked her lips. “Like I said, you don’t have anything to worry about,” she said in a whisper. She wasn’t sure if she could do this.