prey wasn’t hiding somewhere. Although, why the lovely woman might hide, he wasn’t sure. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind ever since that morning when he’d spotted her in Central Park. He’d been trying to contact her for three days. It was infuriating that a woman could distract him so badly. He was sure that a simple conversation with her would satisfy his curiosity and allow him to regain his normal control.
“Can I tell her what this is in regards to?” the woman called out from behind him.
Dimitri rested his hand against the door handle as he turned back to the woman. “It’s personal,” he admitted, then walked out, fully expecting a phone call from Ms. Abbot within the hour.
Although, he’d been expecting that phone call for three days now, and it hadn’t happened.
Curiosity, he told himself as he slipped into the open door of the waiting limousine. He was simply curious. Nothing more.
Twenty-four hours later, Dimitri was ready to fire anyone who spoke to him unless the person was a gorgeous brunette in outlandish clothes. He was furious that the beautiful, elusive woman hadn’t called, which was why he was now standing in front of her apartment door, ready to break it down if she didn’t answer.
A moment later, the heavy door swung open and there she was! He stared down into a face surrounded by thick, dark, wavy hair, enormous light blue eyes fringed by dark lashes and pale, beautiful skin. Her nose was small and her lips red and impossibly sexy as she smiled up at him.
Damn, she was even more beautiful up close. Of course, he’d only seen her through the window four days ago, but still…those eyes! Her blue eyes were surrounded by the longest, lushest lashes he’d ever seen. Surely, they must be fake. But he didn’t care. Those crystal blue eyes glowed up at him and he felt that ridiculous zing shoot through him. He remembered feeling that same sensation four days ago when he’d watched her smell that damn flower. Now he knew it wasn’t a fluke.
Jerking out of his stunned silence, he shifted his feet slightly. “Ms. Abbot?” he asked.
“Yes?” she replied, leaning against the door as if she were prepared to slam it shut at any moment.
“I’m Dimitri Bosalis,” he explained. “I have a business proposition for you.”
The woman blinked, watching him warily as if she knew that he was lying. The truth was, he had no idea what he was doing here. And that infuriated him. This woman had ignored his calls, hadn’t responded when he’d gone to her office personally, and had ignored every other effort on his part to contact her. Which was why he was standing here in front of her door, looking like a fool. Dimitri hated looking like a fool!
“Um…I think that you should speak to my business manager,” she explained cautiously. “I’ll get her phone number.”
His hand sliced through the air impatiently. “I don’t want to deal with Nancy Cordon. I will deal only with you.”
The woman frowned thoughtfully and he wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her full, red lips. He wanted to hold her soft curves in his arms and…? Ti Diablo! Ochi! He was here simply to speak to her, to get her out of his mind so that she would stop distracting him!
Pepper’s neck hurt from looking up at this stranger. He was huge. Tall, handsome, and she absolutely loved the lilting accent that revealed his Greek heritage. Josh had called her several days ago, letting her know that a guy named Dimitri Bosalis wanted to talk to her about a business issue. She remembered her brother-in-law’s comments that this Bosalis guy was a good man. Since Josh respected him, and had done business with him, she knew that she was safe. Josh Starke was wonderful and Pepper loved him simply because he loved Pepper’s sister so completely. So if Josh said that this Bosalis guy was worth her time, she’d talk to him.
“Come in,” she finally said, stepping back to allow the man into her loft.
But as soon as she turned and closed the door, Pepper knew that she’d made a mistake. There was something about him, something that she didn’t understand. He was…“big”…the word kept popping into her mind instead of other, more apt adjectives. And handsome. She liked that scar just under his hard jawline and the sharp look in his dark, penetrating eyes. She liked his