Drake Sisters 07 - Hidden Currents

her family home with the man destiny had intended for her, but he had rejected her. Her stomach churned at the thought. She’d put an ocean between them and stil he tried to reach her, his voice a faint buzz in her head, trying to persuade her to return—to what? A man who didn’t want children or a legacy of magic. He refused to understand that was who she was—what she was. In rejecting her legacy, he rejected her. And she needed a man who would help her. Who would understand how difficult it was for her to face her future. She needed someone to lean on, not someone she had to coax or take care of.
    â€œCome home with me,†he repeated.
    El e shook her head. “I can’t, Stavros. You know what would happen if I did and we can’t go there.â€
    His white teeth flashed at her. “So at least you’ve thought about it.â€
    El e tipped her head back and looked up at him. “You know how charming you are. What woman wouldn’t be tempted by you?†And she was.
    It would be so easy. He was so sweet to her, always attentive, wanting to give her the world. She reached up and touched his face regretful y.
    â€œYou’re a good man, Stavros.â€
    She was ashamed she’d suspected him of the heinous things she had—human trafficking among the worst. Yes, he’d started out smuggling guns in his freighters, years earlier when he had nothing. But he seemed to have more than made up for al of his mistakes, and as far as she could ascertain, he was truly legitimate. At least she could clear his name with Interpol and the other agencies around the world where his name kept cropping up. That would make her feel better about spending these past months working to befriend him and earn his trust.
    â€œI’m hearing a ‘but’ in there, Sheena,†Stavros said.
    El e spread her arms wide, taking in the yacht and the shimmering sea. “Al this. This is your world and I can step into it occasional y, but I could never live in it comfortably. I’ve looked at your track record, Stavros, and you don’t believe in permanency. And no, I’m not holding out for marriage with you. I just know myself. I get attached to people and breaking up is terribly painful.â€
    â€œWho says we have to break up?†Stavros said. “Come home with me.†His voice was soft, persuasive, and for a moment she wanted to give in, wanted to take what he was offering. He made her feel like a beautiful, desirable woman, when no one else had—but in the end, she wasn’t glamorous, sophisticated Sheena. She was El e Drake and she carried her baggage with her everywhere she went.
    â€œI can’t tel you how much I want to go with you, Stavros,†she said sincerely, “but I real y can’t.â€
    Swift impatience crossed his handsome face and he blinked, his dark eyes growing a little frosty. “The boats are beginning to take some of our guests back to shore. I need to speak with a few of them. Stay here and wait for me.â€
    El e nodded. Where was the harm in that? After tonight, Sheena MacKenzie was going to disappear and Stavros would never see her again. Maybe he already knew she was saying good-bye. She couldn’t blame him for being upset. She’d tried to stay within boundaries, not lead him on, yet gain his trust enough to get into his inner circle. She’d attended his charities and his parties, and never once had she heard the whisper of il egal activity. If he was the criminal her boss suspected, he was amazingly adept at hiding it, and she no longer believed it was possible.
    So why couldn’t she fal in love with him? What was wrong with her? Certainly the worm—he-who-could-never-be-named—was not worth holding out hope for. Was she stupid enough to do that? Hope that he would come after her? That would never happen. He didn’t want her. He didn’t want her legacy—or her name—or her house—and he certainly didn’t want the seven daughters that would come along with her.
    No, she had stopped hoping Jackson Deveau would ever come to love or even want her.
    Now she just had to stop hurting.
    She watched Stavros as he talked to his guests, smiling and seemingly happy. As if sensing her looking at him, he turned his head and sent her a warm smile. Her heart did a funny little flip, not the way it did when the