Carole Mortimer - Irresistible Greeks - Defiance and Desire

She frowned. ‘What does that mean, exactly?’

His jaw tightened. ‘Precisely what I said.’

She gave a confused shake of her head. ‘Are you going to open up more offices there, or something?’

Drakon’s mouth firmed as he sensed impending disaster. ‘Or something.’

Gemini looked at him searchingly, but as usual that dark and harshly handsome face revealed none of his inner thoughts or emotions. This man could have posed for the original Egyptian Sphinx, his expression was so damned inscrutable!

She swallowed before speaking. ‘Exactly what are you, as President of Lyonedes Enterprises, intending to do with Bartholomew House?’ She ensured the preciseness of her question didn’t allow for further prevarication on his part.

‘Perhaps we should have dinner first—’

‘Is that because you’re hungry? Or because I probably won’t want to eat once you’ve answered my question?’ Gemini prompted shrewdly.

‘The latter,’ he allowed grimly.

Her chin rose determinedly. ‘Drakon, will you please tell me what your intentions are with regard to Bartholomew House?’

He breathed deeply. ‘For the house itself? Very little.’ He gave a shrug of those broad shoulders. ‘For the land it stands upon? Extensive.’

Gemini continued to stare at him, her expression remaining blank even as her thoughts inwardly raced. Bartholomew House was a beautiful three-hundred-year-old four-storey mansion house, standing on half an acre of prime land in the very heart of fashionable London. Land that Drakon Lyonedes seemed to be implying was his main reason for the purchase.

If that was so, then what did he intend doing with the house that stood on that piece of land?

‘Oh, my God!’ Gemini gasped weakly even as she felt the colour draining from her cheeks. ‘You intend to have the house knocked down!’

Drakon scowled darkly as he heard the shocked accusation in her tone.

It was not an entirely incorrect accusation…

‘PERHAPS you should sit down before you fall down!’ Drakon rasped harshly as he clasped the white-faced Gemini’s arm to steady her before gently guiding her across the room to sit down in one of the armchairs. Putting his hand at the back of her neck, he pushed her head down between her knees.

Just what he needed. An unconscious Gemini Bartholomew in his apartment!

‘Breathe deeply,’ he instructed gruffly. The hand he held against the slenderness of her nape revealed that she was shaking. Badly!

Breathe deeply? Gemini wasn’t sure how she could be expected to breathe at all when he had just revealed that his company intended destroying the house that had been in her family for hundreds of years! The same house where she had been born and had spent such a happy and carefree childhood…

‘Drink this.’

Gemini raised her head enough to see the full glass of white wine Drakon now held in front of her, reaching up to take it from him before downing the contents in one go. ‘Could I have some more, please?’ she breathed shakily.

‘I do not think—’

‘Drakon, please!’ Gemini rallied enough to look up at him pleadingly through the curtain of her hair.

He shrugged those broad shoulders before taking the empty glass from her shaking fingers and once again crossing over to the bar to refill it. ‘I merely wished to point out that your drinking too much wine will not change anything.’ He walked slowly back across the room.

Gemini’s hands shook as she pushed her hair back over her shoulders before taking the refilled glass from him. ‘I don’t think I particularly care about that at the moment.’

He raised dark brows. ‘Which, unfortunately, will not prevent you from suffering a hangover tomorrow morning.’

She laid her head back against the chair, breathing deeply. ‘At this moment I’m more than happy to let tomorrow take care of itself!’ She frowned suddenly. ‘Are you even able to legally demolish a house as old Bartholomew?’

That square jaw tightened. ‘Not completely, no.’

‘What does that mean?’

He seemed to choose his words carefully. ‘It means that our plans for the redevelopment of the site have, by necessity, to incorporate the original house.’

Gemini’s heart sank. ‘Incorporate it how, precisely?’

He shrugged. ‘Plans have already been submitted and approved for the building of a hotel and conference centre.’

Gemini’s hand tightened about her wine glass as she felt a sudden wave of dizziness. ‘And no doubt Angela has known about these plans from the beginning?’

Drakon drew in a deep breath before turning and walking away, his back towards her as he looked out of one of the floor-to-ceiling windows. ‘I believe your stepmother was made fully aware of our intentions at the outset, yes…’

Gemini would just bet that she was! She was sure Angela had been aware of it and no doubt inwardly gloated about it! It wasn’t enough that she now owned the home that she knew full well Gemini had wanted for herself; the other woman was selling Bartholomew House to Lyonedes Enterprises knowing it was that company’s intention to totally change, if not obliterate, the house and grounds as Gemini knew them…

‘Intentions that I assure you I would have done everything in my power to block if I had known of them!’ she cried.

‘No doubt.’

‘It would appear that I’m only just in time to present you with my own offer.’

Drakon’s eyes narrowed as he turned slowly, allowing none of the regret he felt at seeing Gemini so pale and obviously distressed to show in the deliberate blandness of his expression. Which didn’t mean that at that moment he wouldn’t have liked to strangle Angela Bartholomew with his bare hands for being the initial cause of that distress!

He’d had no idea of the rift that existed between the two Bartholomew women when he’d entered into negotiations for the family house and grounds. Not that it would ultimately have made the slightest difference to those negotiations—but he usually made a point of being aware of any extraneous circumstances in his company’s dealings.

He did not particularly care for the way Gemini now looked at him as if he were about to commit murder! ‘What sort of offer?’ he asked.

She stood up, only to sway slightly on her feet as the effects of the wine she had just consumed kicked in. ‘Do you have a bread roll or something that I could eat?’ she asked self-consciously.

Drakon gave an impatient sigh. ‘We will sit down and eat dinner. Afterwards you will tell me about this offer you wish to make me.’

Sit down and eat dinner? Gemini felt as if even attempting to eat the bread roll she had requested would probably choke her! ‘I think we’ve gone well past the stage of politely eating dinner together, don’t you, Drakon?’ she said dully.

‘Then I suggest we impolitely eat dinner together.’ He pulled one of the chairs back from the table and looked at her pointedly.

She gave a humourless smile as she walked slowly across the room and sat down abruptly in that chair. ‘It might be as well if you gave lighting the candles a miss,’ she advised heavily.

He nodded as he stepped round the table and began to take food from the hostess trolley and place it in front of her. ‘We will not talk again until you have eaten something,’ he assured her gruffly as he sat down opposite her.

For all the notice Gemini took of the meal—smoked salmon, followed by individual beef Wellingtons and tiny roasted vegetables, with some intricate chocolate confection to finish—Drakon might as well not have bothered putting it in front of her. Gemini was only able to chew disconsolately on a bread roll as she remained lost in the misery of imagining the beauty of Bartholomew House swallowed up by a hotel complex. It was unthinkable—unacceptable that such a thing should be allowed to happen.