Leopard 03 - Burning Wild

but would it stand up to the kind of investigation a man like Stavros Gratsos would demand? Was this the reason he was taking her to his island? Because he’d discovered that she was undercover?
    “Why are you pushing me?”
    Stavros leaned toward her, his gaze locking with hers. “I want you. I have never wanted a woman the way I want you.”
    Was that the simple truth? She doubted it. Sheena was beautiful and a woman of mystery and intelligence, the type that would attract and intrigue Stavros. But he wasn’t known for falling for women. He escorted them, spent time with them, but he inevitably walked away. Why was he so determined to claim Sheena for his own?
    Elle sighed. “You’re going to have to get over it, Stavros. I’ll be as honest as possible with you. Birth control won’t work on me. I have this anomaly that runs in my family. No form of birth control works.
    Even if you used a condom, chances are still very high that I can get pregnant. I’m not doing that to you. Or to me, for that matter.”
    His eyes darkened even more as he searched her face for the truth. She actually felt his mind reach out to hers and she pulled back, afraid for the first time that he might be able to read her as she did others.
    She allowed only the truth of her statement in her mind where he might catch her thoughts. Not only did he look intrigued, he looked pleased.
    “You speak the truth.”
    She nodded. “I have no reason to lie. I really can’t take the chance, and since I want children someday, I can’t take care of the problem permanently.”
    “So you didn’t sleep with the man who broke your heart?”
    She shook her head and looked out toward sea. The shore was fading as the yacht picked up speed, heading toward his private island.
    Stavros let out his breath, drawing her attention back to him. “Then I will be your first. Your only.”
    There was deep satisfaction in his purring voice.
    “I told you I can get pregnant. No, not can, Stavros. I will get pregnant.”
    “I want children,” he said. “I have no problem with you getting pregnant.”
    Her heart jumped. There it was. Stavros was handsome, charming, wealthy, and he wanted children.
    She was certain he was psychic. Why couldn’t the Drake house choose him? Maybe there was more than one man who would fit with her, and fate had intervened to give her another choice. Stavros Gratsos who was forcing her to accompany him home.
    “Stavros,” she said gently, “you are the sweetest man, but you’re way out of my league. Half your guests wonder what you’re doing with me.”
    “Let them wonder.”
    Sid approached in his silent way and leaned down to whisper in Stavros’s ear. Stavros immediately patted her hand. “We’ll be home soon. I have to take this call.” He dropped a kiss on top of her head as if they had already settled everything and walked away.
    Elle stayed by herself as they moved across the water, but either Sid or one of the other bodyguards hovered close to her, as if Stavros was afraid she might fling herself overboard. She fought with herself, trying to figure out whether she should try to reach out to Jackson. She knew it would take a trauma to reach her sisters across the distance, but Jackson—the worm—could find her just about anywhere. And why was that? Why did it have to be him when he didn’t want her? They weren’t that far from their destination—Stavros’s island was only a few miles off the mainland—and they were rapidly getting closer.

    Elle took a breath and let it out. As the yacht approached the island, she could feel a faint buzzing in her head. At first it was annoying, but it began to swell in volume almost to the point of pain. Pressing her fingers to her temples in an effort to relieve the ache, she caught Stavros watching her. There was a gleam of satisfaction in his eyes, as if he knew of the pressure in her head. She glanced at Sid.
    Whatever she was feeling, so was he, but he hid it better. He kept walking with Stavros, his face turned away from his boss, but she knew that same pressure was in his head as well.
    She closed her eyes. She needed to reach her sisters and let them know where she was, but the distance was too great. They were back in the United States, and unless the psychic link between them was shattered, they wouldn’t feel her. But . . . There was the worm. Jackson Deveau. His psychic connection to her was strong, and if she reached out to him, she might be able to