Leopard 03 - Burning Wild

with me, Sheena.”
    She tried not to wince. Sheena. She was such a fraud. This was the man she should fall in love with, not the worm—he who could never be named, who had broken her heart. Here was Stavros, handsome, intelligent, wealthy; a man who solved problems and seemed to care for many of the same causes she did. Why couldn’t he be the man she fell madly in love with?

    “I can’t,” she said gently. “Really, Stavros. I want to, but I can’t.”
    His eyes darkened, became stormy. Stavros liked his way and was definitely used to getting it. “You mean you won’t.”
    “I mean I can’t. You want things from me I can’t give you. I told you from the beginning we could be friends—not lovers.”
    “You’re not married.”
    “You know I’m not.” But she should have been. She should have been settled in her family home with the man destiny had provided for her, but he had rejected her. Her stomach churned at the thought.
    She’d put an ocean between them and still he tried to reach her, his voice a faint buzz in her head, trying to persuade her to return—to what? To a man who didn’t want children, or a legacy of magic. He didn’t 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.
    “Come home with me,” he repeated.
    Elle shook her head. “I can’t, Stavros. You know what would happen if I did and we can’t go there.”
    His white teeth flashed at her. “So at least you’ve thought about it.”
    Elle 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 regretfully. “You’re a good man, Stavros.”
    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 all 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 file kept coming up. That would make her feel better about spending these last months working to befriend him and earn his trust.
    “I’m hearing a ‘but’ in there, Sheena,” Stavros said.
    Elle spread her arms wide, taking in the yacht and the shimmering sea. “All this. This is your world and I can step into it occasionally, 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.”
    “Who 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 really Elle Drake, and she carried her baggage with her everywhere she went.
    “I can’t tell you how much I want to go with you, Stavros,” she said sincerely, “but I really can’t.”
    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.”
    Elle 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 and not lead him on, yet gain his trust enough to get into his inner circles. She’d attended his charities and his parties, and never once had she heard the whisper of illegal 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 fall in love with him? What was wrong with her? Certainly the worm—he who could not be named ever again—was not worth