Page 14 of Contractually Wed

His gaze found hers and it was like two stars colliding somewhere in the cosmos, leaving an explosion and rubble behind. Only it was in her body. “Especially valuable ones. Even if it’s from themselves.”

Jia glared at the exit long after Apollo vanished. Shoving her legs roughly into her jeans, she cursed him and herself. She didn’t need his damned pity or his honor. And, really, he’d done her a favor by...playing with her desire. He’d shown her that, for him, it was only another form of currency, another weapon.

At least now it wouldn’t be hard to resist the damned man.

CHAPTER FOUR

APOLLOSTOODINhis private office and watched as the junior architect team surrounded his wife, peering over her modifications to his initial designs for an eco-resort in one of the Aegean Islands. Her enthusiasm and wit made them swarm to her like bees to honey and it had been so since day one. His staff didn’t know he was watching them from within his office and never before had he felt the need to.

He was not a man given to impulses, detours and illogical actions but ever since he’d seen her snoring in his favorite armchair, every rule he’d lived by was suddenly moot.

In the weeks since they’d arrived in Athens, he still hadn’t told his family that he and his shiny new bride were here. It wasn’t a conscious decision or even the strangest thing he’d done either.

Jia had looked exhausted when they’d arrived at his penthouse in Athens late into the night. Without sparing him a glance, she had moved into the guest bedroom and closed the door.

He wasn’t used to having women in his personal space and while a part of him had been relieved that she wasn’t going to encroach on his, a part of him felt increasingly restless with each passing night, knowing she was under the same roof. He wanted her next to him, beneath him, where he could explore all those tattoos day and night.

Now that she’d taken it away, he realized how charming and addicting her easy honesty could be. He hadn’t slept well in days now, the fact that he’d hurt her sitting like a weight on his chest.

Which was illogical in itself.

He’d never once cared about how abrupt and aloof he came off to his partners. Work had always been his number one priority and it should be now too. And he was damned if he apologized for something he’d had to do. Better she learn that there were some things he wouldn’t tolerate.

To break the ice, he’d brought her into work that first morning, into the offices of his architect firm and introduced her as his latest hire and not his wife. He had a reputation for drawing talent from all over the world.

He’d been eager to see her in action, to see if she was truly as good as she’d painted herself to be. And in the meanwhile, she would thaw and realize that it was ridiculous to freeze him out when he was looking out for her. That he’d give her what she’d so brazenly demanded if only she admitted that he was right.

Now, three weeks later, Apollo had to concede that she was as stubborn as him, if not worse. Not once in three weeks had she smiled at him or let loose one of her sarcastic comments that put him on edge, or brought up their deal in any way.

If anything, watching her parade in his designer shirts—he’d no idea when she’d filched his stuff—and booty shorts that showcased her long legs and round ass as she cooked breakfast every morning, or those silk slips in the evenings while she played video games in his living room, was slowly driving him out of his mind.

He’d never before cohabitated with a woman, so the experience was unique enough. But wanting a woman’s attention and being treated as less than a dust mote was...something else.

Even the shopping spree he’d forced on her on day three by inviting a team of designers with their latest couture collection hadn’t thawed her. Usually, it was what he used when his sisters got upset with him. But, instead of enjoying the experience, Jia had simply chosen skinny jeans and lacy tops in different colors, added a couple of work jackets when the stylist commented that her lacy tops might not be suitable for work attire. The whole thing had been done in thirty minutes.

For a woman who wore the same thing over and over, her stuff took over his home. Hairpins, earrings, bottles of dark nail polish and chocolate wrappers...he couldn’t walk out of his bedroom without seeing her plastered all across his home.

At work though, she was polite and direct, forever calling him Mr. Galanis in a saccharine sweet tone that grated. With everyone else, her smiles, her words, her actions...were genuine. Enough to turn him into a grumpy bastard with his staff.

If there had been any doubts about her talent, she’d ground them into dust. She wasn’t just brilliant but innovative, with a fresh outlook toward how living and working spaces should and would look for a younger generation. She had not only fit in well with the team, but in the short time frame of three weeks, she’d made herself its locus.

Everyone swarmed to her—men and women, old and young—and Apollo knew she was an asset on many levels. And yet that word felt cheap and reductive. He wondered what it said that she had sold herself to him as such and that he had taken her on as such.

A sudden burst of laughter brought his head up. One of his brilliant young hires—though Jia was the youngest—a man named Paulo from Italy, had his hand on her shoulder and whispered something into her ear. The more he wanted to go out there and pull Paulo’s hand away from Jia, the more Apollo resisted the urge. It would only embarrass her and the team.Christos, he was thirty-nine years old. He should have a better handle on his baser instincts.

She hadn’t even asked him why he’d hidden the fact that they were married. Instead, she’d simply gone along with it and the lack of protest bothered him even more. Was this how Jay had treated her too and she’d simply given in to keep the peace?

The idea of her not fighting him and his dictates made Apollo’s stomach knot. As did the idea that she thought he was the same as her father.

Outside his office, Jia smiled at Paulo, replied in English and slipped out from under his hold. When Paulo would have insisted, she flashed her ring at him, a gentle rebuke on her lips. Paulo raised his palms, said something that made her blush and then with what looked like genuine regret, put distance between them.

Having had enough of gawking at her like some lovesick fool, Apollo reached for the door. Even the realization that she had somehow won this battle between them wasn’t enough to stop him. He would eventually win the war, he told himself.

Right now, what he wanted more than winning was to kiss his wife until she couldn’t ignore him anymore.

Summoned to his office, as if she was nothing more than one of his minions.

He’d never before singled her out during the day. Was he going to get rid of her already? Jia’s stomach swooped. Around her, smiles wavered and encouraging comments multiplied. He’d been a demanding, irrational beast for the past week and they didn’t even know the half of it.

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