Greek Mavericks: His Christmas Conquest. Cathy Williams

light shining directly down on to her, he could easily make out Sophie’s thoughtful expression.

      Instead of getting to his feet, Theo pushed himself back from the desk and continued to look at her, fingers steepled under his chin.

      He had known that she would come back. Sooner or later. If she hadn’t, then he would have sought her out under some pretext or other, but he was pleased that the necessity to do that hadn’t arisen. Active pursuit would not have sat quite right with him.

      But now…

      He wondered what she would think if she knew what was going through his head right now. After his performance a couple of days ago, chances were high that she would belt him. He had, he admitted, not behaved in a very gentlemanly manner. In fact, he had committed the ultimate sin as far as a woman was concerned—he had succumbed to a physical situation only to reel away in disgust, and Sophie would not have known that his disgust had been aimed at himself. She would have felt insulted and mortified. Especially as she had responded so eagerly to him.

      The doorbell rang again and he saw her stare upwards impatiently, one foot tapping, hands thrust into her coat pockets.

      With a little sigh, Theo stood up and headed out towards the front door.

      He took his time, giving himself an opportunity to talk himself out of his decision. The past three days had not been good for Theo. In fact, dealing with the long months of grieving had almost been easier. At least grief was a known quantity, an emotion he could understand and deal with accordingly. He could lose himself in reckless abandonment on the ski slopes and twice against the unforgiving face of a perpendicular cliff face. He could take financial risks and savour the illusion it gave him of being alive. Of course, in the end, he had always returned to his silent mourning but even that, he now acknowledged, had a quality of predictability about it.

      But succumbing to ten seconds of physical connection with another human being had catapulted Theo into a state of unacceptable confusion.

      For three days he hadn’t been able to concentrate. The dull background noise of his computer, once such a comforting sound, had thrown him into a mindless reverie in which he’d dwelled on the way her lips had felt as they had touched his, the feel of her soft skin crushed against his hard body, the sensation of his own body flaring out of control.

      It wasn’t going to do. Nor did he intend to dwell on it as a problem which had landed on his doorstep and lacked a solution. Every problem had a solution and every situation could be dealt with.

      He had dealt with Elena’s death and he could certainly deal with the sudden war raging now between his body and his brain.

      Theo had looked at the situation with the cold detachment of someone intent on analysing and staring down a dilemma.

      He had responded to the woman and he wasn’t a fool. He knew why. Removed from his normal environment, indeed from the routine of his life, he had behaved in a manner that was extraordinary given the iron control he had maintained over himself over the past year and a half. Without the eyes of the world upon him, he had broken away from his normal pattern of behaviour. This was excusable.

      But facing the reality of his motivation had done very little to staunch the surge of inappropriate lust he had felt every time he thought about her.

      That was something he was less certain about. Why her? There had been many a more enticing woman beckoning before and he had managed to ignore them all. Indeed, they had irritated the hell out of him. So why finally crack with someone like his landlady? A woman who was annoying, abrasive and not particularly headturning at that?

      Again he arrived at the conclusion that it was all to do with the circumstance in which he now found himself, far removed from the reality of London and his working life and with no links to anyone he personally knew. Freedom to behave how he wanted with the comforting blanket of anonymity around his shoulders.

      He was feeling for the first time in well over a year and Theo, recognising that with dispassionate honesty, treated the unforeseen situation in much the same way as he had dealt with the horror of Elena’s unpredictable death. He was a man of action and he would take action. If his body was telling him that it was finally stirring into life, then he would obey the demands of his body. The fact that the unlikely recipient of his awakening was a woman he would never have looked at twice before was in itself a good thing. There was no risk of entanglement. They were physically attracted to one another but beyond that there was nothing. She might even dislike him, strange though the concept was.

      The thought of her actively disliking him was peculiarly jarring. He relegated it to the back of his mind and focused on the immediate prospect of seduction, free from questions about a future and unconcerned with questions about the past. A moment in time and a step forward for him.

      Concerns about Sophie’s compliance in this general scheme of things barely crossed Theo’s mind. He knew, with the instincts of a deeply sexual man, that she was attracted to him, had enjoyed him touching her, had wanted more. For him, that was enough. He had no problem being a moment in time for her. Indeed, he would have had it no other way.

      He pulled open the door and Sophie was greeted with a crooked smile that made her heart do a little somersault inside her. She had half expected him not to let her in but he stood aside and, after a moment’s hesitation, Sophie brushed past him before turning to face him in the flagstoned hall.

      ‘An unexpected surprise,’ Theo drawled. He gently shut the door, noticing that she wasn’t removing her coat. ‘Would you care for something to drink?’

      ‘No, thank you. I’ve just come to tell you that there is going to be a power cut tomorrow. Only for a few hours, but I’m afraid you won’t be able to use your computer. Or anything else, for that matter. Well, anything that relies on current, which is pretty much everything.’ Sophie smiled nervously while he continued to watch her through narrowed eyes. She wanted to edge towards the door but he had stayed put right in front of it. She knew that he wasn’t trying to hem her in. In fact, he seemed perfectly relaxed, almost friendly in a frankly too good-looking kind of way, if that was possible. He had obviously forgotten about the little incident, as she preferred to think of it, and she was immensely relieved about that.

      ‘You should back your book up,’ she advised.

      ‘Good idea. Thank you.’ In a minute she would make a bolt for it and Theo wasn’t having that. Now that he had made his mind up, a calm sense of purpose had settled over him. He took a couple of steps towards her and noticed how she flinched, as nervous as a kitten. What did she imagine he was going to do? The answer was as swift in coming as it was obvious. She was wary of him touching her. He wondered what scared her more—the thought of his touch or the prospect of her response.

      Without guilt yapping at his heels, Theo felt a spurt of pure adrenaline rush through him as he contemplated the sweet scent of seduction.

      If someone had told him a fortnight ago that he would have been looking at another woman like this, enjoying the anticipation of bedding her, he would have floored them for daring to insult the memory of the woman he had so nearly married.

      Now his eyes drifted lazily over her face, appreciating the rise of delicate colour to her cheeks.

      ‘Am I making you nervous?’ he asked.

      ‘No! Why should you?’

      ‘Because the last time I saw you the situation between us got a little out of hand…’ He strolled towards her, hands in his pockets. ‘Neither of us meant it to.’ While he spoke, Theo maintained direct eye contact with her. She might be feisty, but she was also as gullible as hell and the combination was intriguing.

      ‘I’d…really rather not talk about it…’ Sophie stammered. She drew in a sharp breath and tilted her chin up.

      ‘Well, I’d quite like to…’ Theo said mildly. Now he was standing inches away from her. Yes, the door was clear but could she make a dash for it? No. Circumnavigating him would have been as straightforward as circumnavigating a mountain blindfolded and also, deliberately