Beauty and the Greek Read Online Free PDF Page B

lodged like a lead weight in her aching throat?
    â€˜I don’t know what you mean…’
    He cut her off with an impatient gesture. ‘You’re in love with my brother.’

CHAPTER THREE
    B ETH felt the blood drain from her face as she stared at him in horror. ‘That’s totally ridiculous!’
    He raised his brows in mock surprise. ‘I did not realise it was meant to be a secret. My apologies.’
    It took a massive amount of willpower not to drop her gaze. Tired of pushing her glasses back up her nose, she took them off and placed them on the desk before fixing him with a glare of thinly disguised loathing.
    â€˜You know what you can do with your apologies and your sick sense of humour!’
    The transformation was nothing short of incredible. She still wasn’t a raving beauty but if his brother saw her with her cheeks flushed, her small bosom heaving and her eyes glittering with anger he would have noticed her.
    â€˜Andreas has just got engaged to a beautiful woman. You wish to wallow in self-pity and perhaps look at the photo you keep in your wallet.’ The cynicism in his smile deepened as he watched her eyes fly to her handbag. ‘No, it was a lucky guess—I have not been going through your bag.’
    â€˜Is that some sort of joke?’ The joke, she realized, feeling sick, was herself. Did everyone know…? The idea of being the butt of gossip, maybe even pity , made her feel physically sick.
    She gathered her dignity around her and lifted her chin, inadvertently winning Theo’s admiration for her gutsy effort, and said coldly, ‘I work for your brother. We do not have a personal relationship…unlike you and…’ She broke off guiltily, her eyes widening in dismay.
    She had never kicked anyone when they were down—not that he looked down—but, under his nasty cold exterior, Theo Kyriakis had to have his normal share of emotional vulnerability…Their eyes connected, his glittered with a combination of amused contempt and challenge that made her rapidly rethink her vulnerability theory as antagonism traced a path down her spine—all this man had was an overreaching ego and stone as dark and cold as his eyes where his heart should be!
    â€˜Unlike me and…?’
    She shook her head and straightened a pile of already straight papers. ‘I really am very busy.’ She aimed her smile at some point over his left shoulder.
    â€˜You possibly refer to my relationship with the delightful Ariana…?’ He arched a questioning brow.
    The dratted man. Why wouldn’t he just let it drop? Beth thought. ‘That was a long time ago.’ Had it been a lucky guess or was she really that obvious? And, if he had guessed, did that mean that Andreas knew as well?
    A film of hot mortification washed over her pale skin at the thought. Hot, she slipped the top button of her blouse and then the second because her chest felt tight.
    Theo felt his eyes drawn to the bare few inches of flesh at her throat; he could actually see the blue-veined pulse spot on her neck vibrating. ‘The past is frequently relevant to the present.’
    Having delivered this seemingly unrelated philosophical observation, he pulled a chair from the wall, dragged it toher desk and straddled it, placing his hands along the back of it before he returned his attention to Beth.
    Beth, who no longer wanted an explanation for this conversation, lowered her gaze as far as his hands, curved lightly over the back of the designer chair. He actually had good hands—elegant but strong, with long tapering fingers—and sent up a silent prayer for him to leave.
    She needed to think—not a possibility while he was enjoying his cat-and-mouse game with her—the man clearly got some twisted pleasure from seeing her squirm.
    â€˜I suspect that part of Ariana’s attraction for my little brother is our previous relationship; he’s very