Chapter 6

Colette knew the exact moment Matheo realized she was here to draw blood. His eyes narrowed into furious slits as he stared at her, noting how the men around them openly admired her. The possessive animal within him roared to life. Without warning, he stretched out his arm, grabbed her elbow, and pulled her towards himself, almost half-hugging her in an attempt to shield her from the eyes of the onlookers.

“Colette!” he growled, his voice low and filled with warning. She could sense the threat in his tone, a promise of retribution once they were out of the public eye.

But she no longer cared. “What, you don’t like my dress?” she asked, batting her eyelashes innocently as she looked up at him. “I thought people should finally know what you married me for. To let them all see what you saw in me. The only thing you ever saw in me.” Her voice was soft, but the words hit him like a slap, and she had the satisfaction of watching him get the shock of his life. He couldn’t believe she had just said that, in front of all these people. God knows how much they had heard, but at this point, Colette was far beyond caring.

Matheo’s face turned a shade paler as he struggled to control the avalanche of fury inside him, forcing himself to remain calm in the face of his errant wife. He managed to put on a strained smile and addressed the men around them, who were still openly staring at Colette.

“Excuse me, gentlemen,” he said, his voice tight with barely suppressed anger. “My beautiful wife just got here. I would like to have a dance with her and get her a drink before we resume our business discussion. I hope you don’t mind.” The men nodded, though half of them were still glued to Colette with admiring eyes. “Of course, please, Mr. Angelis.”

But Iris wasn’t as easy to dissuade. She caught up with them just as Matheo tried dragging Colette away from the crowd. “Matt, this was the perfect chance. The CEO was ready to give in. If you leave now and wait, someone else might get a better word in,” she protested, her voice strained as she tried her best to hold onto Matheo even for the five minutes it would take him to deal with Colette.

But now, as he looked at her, in that scrap of a dress that barely covered anything, the slit running almost up to her crotch, her shoulders bare, her half-cupped breasts exposed, he realized Iris might have been right. Just because he hadn’t brought her here, Colette had decided on another tactic to get his attention: wearing something like this in front of the elite of Australian society.

His fury grew as he looked at her and that dress, which barely qualified as a dress. “What were you thinking?” he demanded, his voice a harsh whisper. “Coming here dressed like this? Do you have any idea how many people were staring at you?”