Free The Innocent's Surrender by Sara Craven Page A

retrieved her toiletries, then quickly checked the contents of her handbag to make sure that her passport and wallet were still safely inside, and that she could just?walk away. Not unscathed. There were some memories that would haunt her for a very long time.
    But not forever. Because there would come a day she would belong to herself alone again, and this would appear nothing but a bad dream.
    I swear it, she told herself, and went to take her bath.
     
    The warm water, scented with sandalwood, turned out to be precisely what she needed, although she could have done without having to put on last night?s discarded clothes again afterwards.
    At the first opportunity, she thought as her face warmed, I shall burn every damned stitch. I need no reminder of how I was once made to take them off.
    Dressed, with her hair twisted back into its knot, she went to pick up her bags, then paused. Maybe there was one more memento she could take and burn, she thought. That letter.
    She walked round the bed and opened the drawer in the night table, but the file had gone, along, she realised, with his laptop, which had been on the floor.
    She sighed with frustration, then went back across the room, flinging open the unlocked door. Only to walk into the human equivalent of a brick wall.
    As she recoiled, she realised it was the man who?d met her at the airport last night.
    ?Kalimera, thespinis.? His greeting was just as expressionless as it had been then. ?Breakfast is waiting for you on the terrace. I will take you there.?
    ?Thank you, but I?m not hungry,? Natasha returned coldly. Actually, she was ravenous, but she wasn?t going to admit it. ?And I would prefer to leave at once.?
    ?That is something you must discuss with Kyrios Alexandros, thespinis,? he said, detaching her bags from her grasp with implacable firmness. ?He is waiting for you. Go with me, please.?
    She almost said, And if I don?t? but decided she didn?t really want to hear the answer.
    If, after all, she was to be forced into another encounter with the enemy, she reasoned, she?d rather walk there than be carried under someone?s arm, perhaps, with her feet ignominiously dangling.
    Maybe she could even salvage some vestige of dignity at their final meeting.
    The terrace in question was at the rear of the house, and a table had been set at the far end in a pergola shaded by bougainvillea.
    Alex Mandrakis was sitting there, reading a newspaper, the top button of his immaculate white shirt unfastened and his silk tie pulled loose.
    At her approach, he rose courteously, indicating that she should take the seat opposite that her bodyguard was placing for her.
    When they were alone, she said coldly, ?Is your watchdog really necessary??
    ?I think so.? He picked up a jug of chilled orange juice and poured some into a glass for her. ?Until I am sure I can trust you, Natasha mou.?
    That did not sound like goodbye, and it jolted her, her earlier optimism fading fast.
    Her mind working feverishly, she took one of the hot rolls from the napkin-lined basket he proffered to her, and spooned cherry jam onto her plate.
    ?There is coffee.? He gestured towards the tall pot waiting in the middle of the table. ?But there can be tea, if you prefer.?
    ?Please don?t put your staff to any more trouble on my account.? Her dry mouth relished the coolness of the freshly squeezed oranges.
    ?Nevertheless, you must let them know about any requirements you may have,? he said. ?I wish you to be comfortable.?
    ?In that case,? she said, ?perhaps you?ll get your chauffeur to drive me home. That is all I find necessary.?
    ?Then you will be disappointed,? he said, shrugging. ?Because your home is now with me, until I decide otherwise.? He paused. ?And the sooner you accept that, agapi mou , the better it will be for you. So, please believe that, and let us enjoy breakfast together.
    ?The first of many, I hope,? he added softly, and smiled at her.

     
    CHAPTER FIVE
    NATASHA stared at him for a long moment, her green