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the ground,’ he acknowledged grimly.

      ‘A perfectly understandable reaction; I would have wanted to pulverise him too,’ Samantha assured vehemently. ‘Did you do it?’

      ‘No.’ A nerve pulsed in Xander’s tightly clenched jaw. ‘I wanted to, but somehow managed to keep control long enough to pass the problem off to security.’

      ‘Doesn’t that restraint prove to you that you’re nothing like your father?’ Samantha gave him an encouraging smile. ‘That you never could be?’

      Xander continued to look down at her for several long minutes, before drawing in a deep breath. ‘Thank you for that. I appreciate it, after all I’ve just told you.’

      He did appreciate Samantha’s confidence, belief, in him. More than he could possibly say. More than he dared think about, when Samantha seemed so determined to keep him at arm’s length, physically, at least. For the moment he would settle for her opening up to him emotionally.

      ‘I want to help you, if I can, Samantha,’ he encouraged gruffly. ‘You aren’t without powerful friends of your own now,’ he pointed out softly. ‘Andy and Darius. And now me.’

      Was Xander her friend?

      Sure, he had become fond of Daisy these past four days, but things had been so strained between the two of them since Saturday evening, that Sam had been sure Xander must be counting the days until she left his apartment.

      His concern now and the confidences he had shared with her regarding his own childhood, while not exactly making them friends, had certainly broken down the barriers they had both been keeping about their emotions since Saturday evening.

      ‘What did your ex-husband say to you this morning, Samantha?’ he prompted gently.

      She drew in a deep breath. ‘Well, for one thing, he apparently isn’t happy that Daisy and I are staying here in your apartment, even temporarily.’

      ‘Tough.’ Xander scowled. ‘What else?’

      ‘He wanted me to have dinner with him this evening.’

      Xander stilled as he looked at Samantha.

      ‘And are you going to accept the invitation?’

      ‘I already turned him down.’ She gave a humourless smile. ‘And it was more of a threat than an invitation.’

      ‘What does he want besides dinner?’ Xander rasped harshly. As if he couldn’t guess. As if he didn’t already know what the man wanted!

      Samantha was an incredibly beautiful woman, a woman with a warm and loving heart; any man would have to be completely stupid to have ever let her go in the first place.

      ‘He wants me to become his mistress,’ Samantha confirmed, her gaze no longer able to meet his.

      Xander drew in a deep controlling breath, continuing to breathe deeply until he felt capable of talking again. ‘And how does he intend to retaliate if you don’t agree to that?’

      The colour drained from Sam’s cheeks. ‘He said he’ll apply to the court for visiting rights with Daisy. Which I can’t allow to happen,’ she continued emotionally. ‘Malcolm never wanted Daisy in the first place. He ignored her very existence when we lived with him, by imposing all sorts of ridiculous rules regarding her behaviour. And he’s had absolutely no interest in seeing her since the two of us parted and divorced.’

      A nerve pulsed in Xander’s tightly clenched jaw at the thought of any man—any father!—ignoring his own daughter in that way.

      Although it certainly explained why it was Daisy never visited her father and why Samantha didn’t want her to now.

      It also explained the way Samantha had bristled with reaction to that list of rules Xander had come out with the evening she and Daisy arrived here.

      No way, absolutely no way, was Xander going to allow Samantha’s ex-husband to bully and blackmail her into doing what he wanted. Into forcing her to share his bed.

      ‘Exactly who is he, Samantha?’ he grated. ‘Well you’ve already told me his name isn’t Smith,’ he rasped as Samantha looked up at him questioningly.

      ‘Howard.’ She swallowed, her gaze now avoiding meeting his. ‘His name is Malcolm Howard.’

      Xander’s eyes narrowed. ‘Of Howard Electronics? That Malcolm Howard?’ He only knew the other man by reputation, mostly to do with business, although he seemed to recall hearing Howard had been married briefly a few years ago. He didn’t remember ever hearing mention of a child from that marriage, though. Obviously that was because Howard had chosen never to tell anyone about the daughter he had no interest in.

      Samantha drew in a deep breath. ‘You know him?’

      Xander shook his head. ‘Not personally. I seem to recall he has a membership to the Midas nightclub.’ A privilege Xander was now going to look into cancelling at the earliest opportunity! ‘Darius knows him far better than I do. Of course, that’s what Howard was doing at the hotel on Saturday; he was one of the evening guests invited to Darius and Miranda’s wedding.’

      ‘Yes.’

      ‘I’m pretty sure Darius has no idea what sort of man he is.’ Xander scowled. ‘Did you know he—? No,’ he answered his own question impatiently. ‘You had absolutely no idea your ex-husband was going to be at the wedding too. If you had you would have made sure to leave before he arrived. Or possibly you would not have gone to the wedding at all.’

      ‘No.’

      ‘What did he do to you when you were married to him, Samantha?’ Xander pressed softly.

      She looked up at him wordlessly for several long seconds, a frown creasing her creamy brow. And then that frown cleared as she glanced down at her bandaged wrist. ‘Emotional cruelty can be just as unpleasant as physical violence.’

      He knew that, had watched his father torment and control his mother and brother for years, by physically threatening Xander. Just as Malcolm Howard’s threats now, regarding Daisy, were designed to deliberately torment Samantha, to control her.

      To a point that she was actually thinking of giving in to Howard’s demands?

      Over Xander’s dead body was that going to happen.

      He gave a shake of his head.

      ‘Malcolm Howard is a very wealthy man, and yet you and Daisy—’ He hesitated, wincing his discomfort as he realised what he had been about to say.

      ‘And yet Daisy and I live in a one-bedroomed flat and I work at jobs like this one, and the one at Andy’s studio, to make ends meet.’ Samantha obviously felt no such reticence.

      ‘Yes.’ He frowned darkly.

      She gave a rueful grimace. ‘You already know so much, so why shouldn’t you know the rest? Malcolm offered me a deal when I divorced him, a small monthly maintenance payment for Daisy, no alimony or settlement for me, the return of all the jewellery and gifts he had given me during our marriage, and in exchange he would give me full custody of Daisy.’

      ‘Full custody of the child he didn’t want in the first place?’ Xander said softly.

      ‘Yes.’ She smiled shakily.

      Xander had never heard of anything so diabolical in his life. It was utterly disgusting. Malcolm Howard was worth millions, and yet he had begrudged his ex-wife even the small amount of money she needed to be able to take care of her daughter?

      A diabolical deal he was now threatening to renege on unless Samantha gave in to his demand that she become his mistress.

      What sort of man did that to the woman he had once been married to, the same woman who was the mother of his child?

      ‘Do you trust me, Samantha?’ Xander asked huskily.

      ‘To

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