A head taller than every other man in the hotel, he wore a pale grey suit that fitted his broad shoulders to perfection and loosely followed the fine of his great torso. He moved with a lithe grace for such a big man, and he was moving towards her. . . Theo Kadros. . . She could hardly believe her own eyes. Frozen in shock, she simply stared. A ghost from the past—but unfortunately all too real. It was Theo.
His black hair was streaked with silver now and if anything he was more stunningly handsome, more powerfully masculine than she had ever allowed herself to remember.
His eyes gleamed black as night and were fringed with thick curling lashes that any woman would kill for. Willow now noticed that his eyes were fixed on her, with a disturbing intensity. She silently groaned. Seeing Theo again was all she needed at this point to melt what little shred of delight she had in winning the award to dust. But even so she could not tear her eyes away from his. It was a replay of the first time they'd met—she was dumbstruck.
'I think Miss Blain has answered enough of your questions.' Theo's strong hand quickly curved around her elbow, and Willow found herself being marched across the foyer and straight into a large office.
'You.' Willow finally found her voice, and glanced wildly around—they were in the manager's office! 'We can't come in here,' she said inanely.
'We can when I own the hotel,' Theo Kadros declared arrogantly. Turning to the startled manager, he said, 'Get out there and get rid of those two news hounds. Reassure Miss Blain's publisher that she won't be a minute, and shut the door behind you when you leave.'
'No,' Willow said shakily. This could not be happening to her. Wide blue eyes fixed in horror now on his hard, handsome face, she felt a slither of fear slowly trickling down her spine.
She had convinced herself over the past nine years that she would never see Theo Kadros again. Now standing in front of him she wondered what the odds were of them bumping into each other like this. Probably astronomical! This had to be the most disastrous coincidence of all time, and instantly Willow realised the consequences could be catastrophic.
It was so unfair; at her moment of triumph, Theo Kadros had appeared like a spectre at the feast. What kind of rotten luck was that? she silently screamed. Tearing her gaze from his, she looked around her, terrified he would see the fear and turmoil she knew must be reflected in her eyes.
At their first meeting she had taken one look at him and been utterly entranced by his masculine beauty. Even now, looking back, she inwardly cringed with embarrassment at how very young and innocent she had been.
It had been an unhappy time in her life. Her mother and father had both been in the Foreign Office. Her father had died in an accident in Africa when she was a baby and she did not really remember him. But her mother had continued with her career in the Foreign Office. Willow had spent most of her childhood with her grandmother in Devon. During the holidays Willow would visit her mother at whichever embassy she was attached to, and at the age of twelve she had been sent to boarding-school.
Unfortunately Willow's grandmother had died three months before her eighteenth birthday, and she had been on her way to spend the summer holiday with her mother in India. Alone in London for the first time, and supposedly protected by close friends of her mum, she had been no match for the sophisticated seduction skills of Theo Kadros.
With her only experience of life garnered from books, and her head stuffed full of romantic teenage fantasies, Willow had been instantly mesmerised by the wondrous gleam in his deep dark eyes. And for the first time in her life she had suffered the full force of a man's overwhelming sensual attraction and had been totally captivated. It had been no contest—Willow had surrendered on the spot. She'd fallen head over heels in love with him, and then fallen into bed with him, and had spent a dream-like night making wild, passionate love.
No, not love, sex. . .Willow instantly amended. She had discovered the true meaning of her Quaker grandmother's many dire warnings about men and sex and their lack of respect the morning after.
Like a besotted fool she had believed Theo when he'd asked her to spend the weekend with him, so they could get to know each other better. She had watched him fall asleep and then returned to her room and packed. Later, feeling every inch a real woman, she had slipped downstairs to ring her mother to tell her of her change of plan. Her head had been full of love and happy ever after. But before she'd had a chance to call the telephone in the hall had rang.
Politely answering, she had listened in numb disbelief as a woman called Dianne had asked to speak to her boyfriend, Theo Kadros. Shocked into answering honestly, Willow had said he was still in bed asleep. The woman had hesitated for a moment, and then laughed, saying, 'He is probably tired because I kept him up till dawn the night before. Don't bother waking him; I am flying over today, and I want him rested for tonight.' She had then instructed Willow to inform Theo as soon as possible that his fiancée had called.
Anna had appeared as Willow had slowly replaced the receiver, and had asked who had called. Willow had told her that it was Theo's fiancée, and had had the horrible truth confirmed when Anna had replied, 'Dianne, you mean.'
Even then Willow had not wanted to believe what she'd been hearing. She had hated herself but she hadn't been able to help questioning Anna. She had asked her if Theo had known Dianne very long, and had been mortified when Anna had informed her about a year, which was a record for her brother. Anna had explained that this was probably because Dianne was prepared to put up with his playboy lifestyle, but had added that their dad had been grumbling lately that it was time Theo settled down.
Th
e final nail in the coffin for Willow had been when Anna had confirmed that Theo had just flown in late last night after visiting Dianne in New York. Willow had not needed to hear any more. She'd realised what a complete and utter fool she had been, and half an hour later she had been in a taxi heading for the airport.
Now, nine years later, she looked back up into his darkly attractive face and her blue eyes clashed with gleaming black. For a moment the breath left her lungs as she realised he was watching her with cold, almost angry scrutiny. Even so, she could not prevent the sudden acceleration of her pulse rate and the sick twist of sensual hunger that tied her stomach in knots.
'What exactly do you think you are doing?' she asked in a voice that was not quite steady. Hating the ease with which he had affected her all over again, Willow took a couple of steps back.
'Rescuing an old friend.' His dark eyes narrowed on her pale face. 'Unless of course you want to pose some more for those two randy men out there.' He paused, one dark brow arched sardonically. 'Topless, maybe?' His heavy- lidded eyes raked slowly over her, taking in the top of her head, lingering for a moment on the unchanged beauty of her face and down further, hesitating briefly on the creamy curve of her breasts revealed by the low neckline of her dress. 'As I remember, Willow, you certainly have the figure for it.'
She battled back the blush that threatened at his blatant masculine appraisal. But she could do nothing except pray that he would not notice the sudden tightening of her nipples against the soft fabric of her dress. 'I didn't need rescuing,' she said, aiming for a firmness she did not feel. 'I am perfectly capable of looking after myself, thank you. Now, if you will excuse me. . .I have a meeting to attend.'
'Yes, I heard, with Ben Carlavitch, no less. But first allow me to congratulate you on winning the award. I have read your latest book and thoroughly enjoyed the deviousness of the mind that wrote it. You have certainly done well for yourself.' His dark eyes gleamed appreciatively down into hers, and his firm male mouth curved and softened in a slight smile. 'But then I always knew you had hidden talents,' he drawled silkily.
With maturity Willow had attained a certain degree of sophistication, and she did not deign to acknowledge his obvious innuendo. Theo Kadros was a conceited, arrogant devil. She had once looked up the meaning of his name, Theodore—Gift of God, and if ever a man thought he was God's gift it was Theo. Always larger than life, he was a handsome, dynamic man, self-assured to a degree that intimidated most people. Willow knew that she was no exception, but she had no intention of letting him see her fear.
'Thank you,' she said coolly, bravely holding his gaze.
She had read about him over the years; it had been unavoidable. He was incredibly wealthy and had inherited the family business on the death of his father a few years ago. Typically Theo had gone on to quadruple the size of the company. He was feared and respected in equal degrees by the business world, a ruthless, powerful man who had his fingers in many pies. It was just her appalling bad luck that one of the pies happened to be the very hotel she was booked into for the night.
'I am glad you enjoyed the book,' she continued steadily. 'But now, if you will excuse me.' She turned and headed for the door. Meeting Theo Kadros again was her worst nightmare, and she had to get away fast.
'Of course, you have a meeting,' Theo said smoothly and moved quickly to open the door, but put a restraining hand on her arm. 'But later, perhaps you would care to join me for dinner?' He paused and added softly, 'Willow?'