She raised her chin. ‘I thought it wise to learn a little bit more about my enemy.’
The label grated. Badly. ‘What else did you try to discover while you were rooting around my family tree?’
‘Your brother Sakis had some trouble with a saboteur on one of his oil tankers.’
He nodded. ‘We dealt with that quite satisfactorily.’
‘And now your brother Ari is engaged to the widow of the man who tried to throw your company into chaos?’ She frowned.
A reluctant grin tugged at his mouth. ‘What can I say; we thrive on interesting challenges.’
‘You also seem to make enemies with the people you do business with. So far you’ve led me to believe it was my father who wronged you. How do I know it’s not the other way round? That you’re not here because you deserved everything you got?’
The stem of the wine glass snapped with a sickening crack. Even then it took the cold wine seeping into his shirt to realise what he’d done.
The top part of the glass landed on the table, rolled off and smashed onto the deck.
Inez gasped. ‘Theo, you’re bleeding!’ She surged to her feet and sprang towards him.
‘Stop!’
‘But your finger…’
‘Is nothing compared to what will happen to your foot if you take another step.’
She glanced down at the broken glass an inch from her bare foot and glanced back at his bleeding forefinger. Anguish creased her pale features.
‘Sit down, Inez,’ he instructed tersely.
‘Please, let me help,’ she implored.
Gritting his teeth, he grabbed a napkin and formed a small tourniquet around the gaping wound. ‘It’s not deep but will need to be cleaned properly. There’s a first aid kit behind the bar.’
She nodded, slipped on her sandals and dashed for the bar. Theo stood and moved from the dining table to the wraparound sofa to give the crew member who’d arrived on deck room to sweep up the broken glass. He glanced up as Inez rushed back and set the kit on the coffee table.
Her eyes were turbulent with worry as she glanced from his face to the blood-soaked napkin.
‘Are you going to stand there staring at me all evening? I’m bleeding to death here.’
With a hoarse croak, she jerked into action. She carefully cleaned the wound with antiseptic and applied gauze before securing it with a plaster. All through the procedure, she darted quick, apologetic glances at him.
As he stared at her, he felt a different sort of jolt run through him. One he hadn’t been aware he was missing until he felt it.
Care. Concern. Fear for him.
When was the last time anyone besides Ari and Sakis had felt like that about him? When was the last time his own mother lavished such attention on him? Inez slid him another worried glance and his breath shuddered out.
‘Calm yourself, anjo. I’ll live. I’m sure of it.’
She exhaled noisily and her agitated pulse pounded at her throat. ‘Sinto muito,’ she said in a rush.
‘Don’t apologise. It wasn’t your fault.’
‘But…if I hadn’t accused you of…’
‘You’re operating in the dark and want to find out the truth. I respect that. But I can’t tell you what my business with your father is until I’m ready. You have to respect that.’
‘But…this…’ She glanced down at his finger and shook her head. ‘Your reaction…the claustrophobia and the touching thing…I can’t help but fear the worst, Theo,’ she whispered.
Against his will, his chest constricted at the anguish in her voice. He wanted to comfort her. Wanted to take that look of anticipated pain from her face. He wanted to kiss her until they both forgot why she was his prisoner and why he was beginning to dread the day he had to set her free.
He swallowed hard.
‘Let’s make a deal. For the next twenty-four hours, no talk of your father or the reason why I’m in Rio. Agreed?’
Her mouth wobbled and her teeth worried her bottom lip as she glanced back at his finger. Her eyes were no less turbulent when they rose to his but he saw determination flare in their depths. ‘Agreed.’
* * *
Theo stood at the railing on the third floor deck and watched her swim in the pool on the second deck the next morning. She moved like a water nymph, her long black hair streaming down her back as she scissored her arms and legs underwater.