CHAPTER 3

       Dea swallowed the gasp of outrage and fought the compelling need to fling the contents of her glass into his face. Damn it! Her new and improved image was already slipping. She was never in control when she was around her stepbrother.

          She had to get away from Theo or risk making a scene.

          Making a scene wouldn’t help her gain forgiveness from her father.

“Don’t confuse me with the women you associate with, Theo.”

          Dea turned on her heel.

“Running away already, Aundrea?”

          She whipped around, wobbling to a standstill as she glared at him. Theo had sounded disinterested and bored while she was a jittery mass of nerves. It wasn’t fair.

“I don’t run away. I never had and never will. That’s your signature move, stepbrother dear, not mine.”

          The muscle bunching in his cheek was the only indication that her words had hit the target.

“You know how to create a disaster and leave without a trace while everyone else deals with the aftermath. The merger had fallen apart after that night because Alexis suddenly didn’t want to get married. It has taken me years just to get the Kralidis-Galanis wedding to this point.”

“I didn’t run and I didn’t disappear without a trace… I was banished.”

          She wanted to stamp her feet. This was bad. It was as if her hard-earned poise had disintegrated into nothing. How she hated him…

“There’s a difference, Theo.”

“‘Banished’?” Theo repeated with skepticism. “You’ve always been such a drama queen.”

          ‘And you’ve always been a cold and hateful bastard.’

          No, she couldn’t say that because it wasn’t entirely true. Theo had been tolerant the first time she’d moved in with the Kralidis family. He had been her only friend, her one true confidant.

          But gradually, Theo had become distant. The more he was around her, the more he knew and learned about her, and the more hostile he became. It had been a relief and yet agony when he missed her eighteenth birthday to work overseas on a project.

          He had returned a few months later but her joy had been brief and misplaced. It had become obvious that Theo couldn’t stand being in the same room with her... breathing the same air…

“If you were banished, Aundrea, why are you working so hard to return to the family fold?”

          His tone was casual but he watched her with open suspicion.

“You’re not the type to forgive.”

          Theo knew her too well. Having one person understand her should bring comfort, but this man would use that knowledge against her. That’s why he was there, talking to her. To find out her reasons for being there and act accordingly.

“I am here for one reason only,” Dea said slowly, emphasizing each word. “Not to ruin the Kralidis family balance, but to repair my relationship with my father.”

“That’s all?!”

          No, this time she wanted Dillon Etheridge’s concern and interest. She wanted to be a priority for her father. She’d always wanted that from him but she had tried to gain it the wrong way when she had been a teenager. Dea lifted her head when she suddenly understood Theo’s question.

“Oh... You think I’m here to get revenge or to cause trouble… To stop this merger that you need so badly. I hate to disappoint you, Theo, but the Kralidis family isn’t worth my time.”

          One winged eyebrow arched at her statement. As if he couldn’t believe his family wasn’t everyone’s top interest.

“You returned just when Alexis and Astra are about to get married.”

“I genuinely didn’t know. I’m sorry I’m here in these circumstances, but I didn’t get the family newsletter,” she said with exaggerated sweetness, “or I would have timed my visit better.”

          She was about to flounce away but Theo easily read her next move. He grabbed her arm, his large fingers biting into her pale flesh as he held her still. Her skin went hot as she remembered the last time he touched her. She knew better than to look at him or she would betray her conflicted emotions.

“I don’t trust you, Aundrea.”

          The way he was saying her full name sent her chills. He was the first to call her Dea when she expressed the wish to be called only that. His voice was low against her ear. She shivered from his nearness.

“Too bad for you. I really don’t care.”

          Theo’s grasp tightened.

“Listen to me and listen carefully. Stay away from Alexis.”

“With pleasure,” Dea replied in a hiss and forced herself to look into his dark eyes. “Now let go of me.”

          Dea saw the turbulent emotions chasing across his face before he abruptly released her. She was uncomfortably aware of how her skin tingled from his touch.

“Just so you know, I have no romantic interest in Alexis,” she continued. “I never had and never will. I didn’t seduce him back then and I’m not pursuing him now.”

“Why should I believe you? You’re just a no-good liar.”

          Her anger flashed wildly. Yes, she had lied in the past, but it had been a stupid and instinctual attempt to protect Theo that night. She had made a sacrifice for him and he couldn’t see it… He couldn’t appreciate it.

          The hurt and the injustice of it all rolled inside her.

“Well, that’s your opinion. But hear this, Theo Kralidis: if I wanted to seduce Alexis, there is nothing you or the entire Kralidis clan could do about it,” she slung at him.

“I’m warning you, Aundrea.”

          His voice was low and menacing. She pressed her lips together. Why did she say that? What was the point? Why was she provoking Theo? This wasn’t her… She knew better but she was unable to stop.

“I could have had him in my bed like that.”

          She gave a satisfying snap with her fingers.

“I certainly wouldn’t have picked a… cold wall in a dark wine cellar.”

          They stared at each other, instantly trapped in the inconvenient memories. She shifted, her spine aching as she remembered the rough brick against her back.

          Dea swallowed as she recalled how she had laved her tongue against Theo’s warm skin. She felt her cheeks flush as the echoes of their mingled gasps and incoherent words reverberated in her mind. She couldn’t think about that. Not now, not here, not ever.

“I could have contacted Alexis any time over the years,” Dea declared in a rush. “And he would have dropped everything for the chance to have sex with me.”

          Theo sneered with disgust.

“So… You know the power you have over him.”

          She did now, not when she had been eighteen.

“I know the power I have over all men,” she said loftily. “Alexis is more susceptible than most.”

“And why do you think that is?”

          No doubt he saw it as her fault.

“I haven’t encouraged him at all, but warn me off again, Theo,” Dea said in a growl as she glared at him, “and all bets are off. I promise you that.”

          Theo braced his legs as if he was preparing for battle.

“You dare to threaten me?”

“There is very little I wouldn’t dare,” she told him boldly as her legs shook. “I am here to be with my father. So, mark my words. If you block that in any way, I will do everything in my power to stop the Kralidis-Galanis merger.”

          His expression went blank. There was no anger or repulsion. It was like a mask and that unsettled Dea more than his cold fury.

“As I’ve said a few moments ago… It wouldn’t take much.”

          She knew she had to stop talking and yet she pursed her lips and made a show of looking around the party.

“All I have to do is snap my finger and Alexis will…”

“You have always been a destructive force.”

          His voice was just a rasp.

“But I won’t allow you to destroy this family.”

“I seem to miss the point, Theo. I do not care about the Kralidis. Not one iota.”

          The family was simply an obstacle to her goal. She had to play nice with them if she wanted even a tenuous bond with her father. Theo set his hands on his lean hips.

“You need to leave now and never return.”

          Dea regretted saying anything to Theo. He could prevent her from getting what she wanted. She wished she had planned a better strategy to meet with her father. She had been too impulsive, too impatient, and too scared of getting rejected again.

          But she couldn’t show her uncertainty or Theo would use it against her. She lifted her chin and met his gaze.

“Since you’re not a god, that is out of your control.”

          His smile chilled her to the bone.

“It’s foolish of you to think that.”

          Dread trickled down Dea’s spine. It was foolish for her to go toe to toe with Theo. He was a dangerous animal who lashed out if he felt threatened or cornered.

“I have every right to be here.”

“And I have a right, better yet, a duty to protect my family at all cost.”

          She’d always known that. It was one of his traits she had admired and it used to hurt that his protection hadn’t included her.

“Well, according to Alexis, I too am part of this family.”

          Theo’s eyes narrowed into slits.

“I have NEVER considered you family.”

          Those words would have slayed her when she was fifteen but now… Now they slid right off her.

“It’s easier for you to think that, isn’t it?”

          Dea leaned closer, refusing to show how his words, his presence, had shaken her.

“Well… If it helps you sleep better at night…”

          The mask fell away and exposed Theo’s wrath. A ruddy color seeped beneath his golden skin. His eyes glittered as he hunched his shoulders, ready to pounce. Dea’s chest seized as she watched his upper lip curl, pulling tightly at his scar.

“After all… the great,” she said, her voice trembling, “the virtuous Theo Kralidis is supposed to be trustworthy and do what is right. He strives for excellence and discipline. So… He would NEVER have sex with a virgin without marrying her. Right?”

          His jaw clenched and she knew his restraint was slipping. She had just made her most dangerous enemy very angry. She knew she should retreat and hide… No, she should beg for mercy, but the words kept spilling from her mouth.

“He would NEVER, under any circumstance, have sex with his eighteen-year-old stepsister, right? And then walk away without a backward glance, pushing her away like she was dirt under his shoe…”

          The rejection had swamped her that night but she didn’t stumble over the words now.

“Discard her and throw her to the wolves…”

          She saw the pure hate glowing from his eyes and she wanted to recoil. Did he hate her for reminding him of his moment of weakness? Or was it something more? Did he hate her because she continued to show him what kind of man he truly was?

“But… I know the real Theo Kralidis,” Dea confessed, driven to finish what she’d started. “I saw it that night... years ago. You’re just like every other man I’ve met. Threaten me all you want, stepbrother dear, if this is what you like... But this time, rest assured of one thing... I won’t go down easy. I’ll stay and take my chances. So, bring it on, Theo! I'm ready.”