Free Alien Vengeance by Sara Craven Page A

girls.’
    ‘Is that a fact?’ He leaned back in his chair, surveying her through lazily narrowed eyes. ‘But if you are so free with your favours, Gemma mou , why the virtuous protests?’
    Gemma could have ground her teeth in frustration and temper. She had been certain that he’d wanted her to admit she was a virgin—that for some reason, probably to make his revenge totally complete, she supposed bitterly, it was important to him. It had been a long shot, but she’d hoped that if she claimed experience, hinted that he would be one of a long line, he might find it sufficiently distasteful to bring about a change of mind where she was concerned.
    She said sharply, ‘Because I prefer to have a choice. Having forced me into this situation ...’
    He laughed. ‘What force have I used?’ he challenged. ‘Within the confines of this house you move freely. I have not tied you to my wrist— dragged you screaming into my bed. There are no marks of violence on your skin—no bruises.’
    She met his glance defiantly. ‘Not yet.’
    ‘Not ever.’ He lifted a dismissive hand. ‘Why should I use brute strength when I know a little patience will succeed in bringing me everything I desire from you?’ His eyes met hers, steadily, unsmilingly. ‘As we both know, Gemma mou ,’ he added softly.
    The silence between them seemed to crackle. Gemma swallowed quickly. ‘You—you revolting egotist,’ she said.
    His mouth twisted. ‘So—if we are calling names—you, my lovely Gemma, are a little hypocrite. At Knossos you were as aware of me as I was of you. I need not have been honest with you. I could have sought your acquaintance, as if you were any pretty tourist to whom I was attracted—could have brought you here, seduced you, taken you body and soul—and then, but only then, told you the truth. It was a temptation, believe me, matia mou . Is that what you would have preferred?’
    She sat very still, her mind considering and rejecting the all-too potent images his words had conjured up. She could imagine only too well how she’d have felt, falling asleep in his arms, sated with passion, believing herself desired, then waking to the ultimate cruelty of the truth.
    It could, she realised stunnedly, have destroyed her—and the shock of that realisation drained the colour from her face. It contained implications she had no wish to explore—implications with the power to terrify her.
    From a great distance, she heard him repeat quietly and remorselessly, ‘Is that what you would have preferred?’
    She said thickly, ‘No.’
    ‘That is what I thought.’ He sounded as if the question had only been of minor interest to him. He drank the rest of his coffee, and pushed the cup away, glancing at his watch as he did so.
    Gemma took herself in hand. ‘An appointment?’ she asked with heavy sarcasm. ‘Please don’t let me keep you.’
    He smiled thinly at her. ‘You could not, Gemma mou , if I did not wish to stay. And, as it happens, I do have an appointment—business to attend to elsewhere today. I hope you will not be too lonely.’
    She stared at him. ‘Oh, I imagine I’ll survive.’ She spoke calmly, but her heart was beating faster with the first stirrings of excitement. He was actually going to leave her here—alone. Of course, he’d be taking the jeep, she hadn’t the slightest doubt about that, but there were other ways— there had to be ...
    ‘I expect you will.’ His smile widened slightly. ‘But to ensure it, I have arranged a companion for you.’
    The balloon of hope inside her deflated as quickly as if it had been stabbed with a pin. She forced her face and voice to remain impassive.
    ‘You’re very thoughtful, kyrie . But I really don’t need a surrogate jailer.’
    ‘You think not?’ He pushed back his chair and got up. ‘But you need something, pedhi mou , to protect you from the consequences of your own recklessness. And I feel sure that if I left you here, completely alone, you