Adonis in Athens - Page 58

“What do they do? Are they olive farmers? No, wait—fishermen?” He was grinning at her, condescension all over his face.

She shook her head. “Does it make a difference, Tom? You want Raegan? You can have her, but she won’t be interested in your little McMansion and weekend golf outings once she’s back on her feet. Remember the girl with the pink hair and tattoos? Not exactly the country club debutante you have in mind.”

He snorted. “She’ll do it because she wants the money, the prestige—and she’ll do anything to stay away from her daddy.”

Paige stiffened, unable to believe Raegan had told him about that. “Well, that’s between you and her, I guess, but I don’t want anything to do with you.”

“No?” He walked towards her again, pausing right in front of her, making her uncomfortable with his proximity. “Not even a little bit jealous, honey?”

“Not a single iota.” She turned her face away, taking a step back as he leaned forward. “Besides, if you want Raegan, why do you care what I think?”

He chuckled. “Men like me? We don’t like to lose…” His voice dropped to a whisper. “You wasted nearly two years of my life and now I have to start over with Raegan, who’s going to need a lot of training to learn how to behave, how to dress, how to act appropriately in front of my colleagues—time I don’t have. I’m up for a promotion in January and I need a fiancée before then.”

“If you think that’s going to be Raegan,” she laughed, “give it your best shot. She won’t give up her piercings and tattoos for anyone—much less you.”

“She gave it all up when she was in my bed last weekend,” he shot back. “And I have pictures to prove it.”

She couldn’t help but chuckle. “You know Raegan collects sex videos, right? Like, she has them of pretty much every guy she’s slept with. It’s her idea of porn.”

He growled, advancing on her until she was up against the wall. “You really fucked me over, Paige. Now I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel because I’m out of time.”

Paige felt a moment of concern but reminded herself she was in a public place and he was a big baby anyway. She remembered a time he’d hurt his ankle golfing. It wasn’t even a sprain but he spent two days on the couch, moaning and whining like he’d broken a bone. Despite his bullish stance, she wasn’t afraid of him; she was too ticked off.

“Leave me alone, Tom,” she said in a tired voice, wondering why she’d put up with him for so long. “If you think Raegan is the woman you can mold into what you need, go for it. Take her home and take care of her and pay all her bills—she has a ton, by the way.”

He grunted. “She’ll pay me back. One way or another.”

“Really?” Though she just wanted to get away from him, part of her was angry that not only was he willing to replace her with her best friend, but that he was taking advantage of Raegan’s precarious situation in the process. If she’d told him about her father, he knew Raegan would do almost anything not to have to go home to Phoenix. Which left her at his mercy.

“What’s the matter, Paige?” He reached out to rub his knuckles across her cheek. “You starting to see what you’ll be missing?”

Paige was vaguely aware of the elevator door opening again but she was squirming to move away from his disgusting touch and nauseating closeness. “Get away from me!” she hissed. “I don’t miss anything about you!”

“How are you going to pay your rent without Raegan’s share, hmm?” He chuckled. “You’ll be on your knees, begging me to take you back—probably in about two months. And that’s where I’m going to make you stay—on your knees.”

“Go to hell!” Paige moved to the side, trying to get away, but he closed fingers around her wrist painfully. “I’d rather be homeless on the street than living with you!”

“You’re too proud for that and you know it! Maybe if you drop to your knees right now, and give me a little head, I’d consider—”

“The only thing you should consider is taking your hands off my wife.” Apollo’s deep, resonating growl made both of them jump, but Paige reacted first, practically vaulting herself into her husband’s arms.

15

“Apollo!” She buried her face in his chest as one of his arms closed around her waist and held her tight.

“Who the fuck are you?!” Tom spat out.

“I just told you—I’m her husband. And if I ever see your hands on her again, I’ll tear you apart.”

“You and what army?” Tom snarled, suddenly full of bravado.

Someone moved from behind Apollo, a tall guy with a bald head and the biggest hands Paige had ever seen. She blinked, lifting her head slightly to stare.

“The name’s Michael Laughlin,” the big man said to Paige, winking and smiling down at her. He glanced at Tom. “Also known as the army that’s going to kick your punk-ass if you don’t get the hell out of here.”

Tom’s face was red and he was sputtering, but he moved into the open elevator doors. “You’ll be sorry, Paige! You and Raegan both will be sorry! Mark my words—when these Neanderthals leave you high and dry, don’t come running to me!”

“I won’t,” she whispered, shaking her head. “Believe me.”