Page 17 (1/2)

CHAPTER ONE

‘I’M TOO BEAUTIFUL to be dumped,’ Fabiana told Xan in all seriousness, her perfect face a lish, isn’t it? I’—’

‘No,’ Xan contradicted with gravity, s to her native Spanish ‘The movers will be here in an hour to help you pack We’ve been together two eer than that—’

‘But you can’t not wanther reflection an appreciative appraisal in the nearestdark curls

‘I don’t want you anyto wonder how the hell he had enjoyed even one encounter with the brunette, infused as she ith astronomical vanity

‘Where a hi that she was unlikely to ever have a better-looking man in her bed Six foot three and beautifully built, his black hair cropped short over a lean, devastatingly handsouru, Xan Ziakis, would be a very hard act to follow and without him she would lose access to the exclusive events she had so much enjoyed

‘Your possessions will be stored and a hotel rooround now because he had been changingnew about the status quo and Fabiana had benefitted richly froh his visits had been few

Reflecting on that last surprising truth, Xan questioned his libido He was only thirty years old Obviously he was bored with Fabiana, he told himself impatiently Yet, in truth, work and the pursuit of profit had alon out over the thrill of sex for Xan Some day he would heed hisa wife but that day was many years off His father, Helios, hadXan with a costly and troublesos, and he was determined not to repeat his father’swhile Xan intended to wait until he was in his forties, at the very least, and had sown every last wild oat available to him

Not that Fabiana and her faceless, virtually indistinguishable predecessors had much in common ild oats, he conceded ry self-mockery All his bed partners had been models or minor actresses, the sort of wo they wanted in return for their bodies Fraed without shame, but that very basic format worked well for him and the one ti and idealistic, it had gone badly wrong for him

Xan believed love was a dangerous risk His father had fallen in love repeatedly with demonstrably unsuitable women Xan had had his heart broken when he was only twenty-one and nothing would’ve persuaded hi experience

A financial genius, who had becoe of twenty-five, Xan was the acclaimed mastermind behind City coups worth billions He had quickly repaired the giant hole in the Ziakis family fortunes left by his ianise his sex lifeelse around him because disorder of any kind put him in a bad mood He liked his life smooth; he preferred a routine he virtually never deviated froe breakdowns and hugely expensive divorces that had decier than that and infinitely cleverer, indeed smarter than most of the people around him, and the only risks he took were in the financial field where he trusted his gut and aggressive instincts

His phone vibrated, instantly freeing hi it out, i why D hied So very precious from him, and he stalked out of the apartment his mistresses used without another word to the brunette His penthouse apartment was his sanctuary where he entertained neither women nor anyone else The idea that any person could violate his London home in spite of all the security he had put in place sent his hot temper nuclear

&n

bsp; ‘The maid?’ he breathed with audible distaste

‘Or her son She let hiainst the rules,’ Dmitri filled in stiffly ‘I could pursue this discreetly or call the police—’

‘You call the police and provide them with the evidence,’ Xan cut in fiercely ‘You punish theht of the law!’

Xan collected i sums and he had placed that little brush pot in the hall for his own enjoyment because it was a reed to a Chinese eht a punishment for thieves

The following day, Elvi’s teenaged brother flung hihtmare is my fault!’

‘Let’s cal her little brother’s face with both sreen eyes that he had been crying alone in his room for some time ‘I’ll make some tea—’

‘I don’t want tea!’ Daniel protested ‘I want to go down to the police station and admit it was me and not Mum!’

‘No, we’re going to talk about this first,’ Elvi overruled ‘Mum protected you for a reason—’

‘Bloody medical school! It doesn’t matter—’

Of course it ht ruefully, that Daniel wanted to be a doctor like their late father It was all he had ever wanted to be since he was a little boy and a conviction for theft would totally destroy that ambition Furthermore, Daniel had already been awarded a place at Oxford to study because his academic results were the very best She knew exactly why her mother had lied and taken the blame for her son, but what she could not understand or credit was that Daniel would ever have stolen anything