His Last Chance at Redemption

by Michelle Conder

  After her initial uncertainty last night she had felt so uninhibited. So free! Her insides started to melt at just the thought of all the things they had done together.

  It was everything she had ever fantasised sex could be and more. So much more. When he had moved over her and his body had first joined with hers something inside her had shifted and she remembered thinking that she would be forever changed after that. That no other man could ever possibly make her feel the way he did.

  But that was absurd … and unnecessarily sombre.

  Feeling silly at the thought she lay still, straining to hear any signs of life in the outer rooms of Leo’s private suite. Almost relieved when she didn’t hear anything but seagulls circling overhead and the low, intermittent murmur of distant voices through the open balcony doors.

  Relaxing slightly, her mind flashed back to his childhood revelations. She felt warm knowing that he had trusted her with such sensitive information and wondered if he’d told anyone else. He wasn’t at all what she had expected after meeting him in her office. He wasn’t the privileged, shallow bigot she had first thought.

  Like her, he was damaged. He truly believed he had nothing to offer his son but the pain he had experienced as a boy. She thought that if his father was in the room right then she would smack him. How anybody could hit a child she didn’t know and her own childhood upset at having an absent father faded into the background compared to the agony Leo had suffered.

  Lexi instinctively felt that there was no way Leo was like his father. There was no way a person who hurt others cared about his staff the way Leo did and nor would they care that their son might feel afraid spending a weekend in a strange apartment with a nanny he had never met before. Nor, she felt sure, would they get six monthly checks carried out on a son they supposedly didn’t care about to ensure his safety.

  Ty!

  She’d forgotten all about him!

  Was he okay? She knew that he liked Carolina but Carolina wouldn’t know where to find her if Ty should need her.

  Jumping out of bed, she quickly scrambled around for her dress and felt a blush flood across her cheeks as she remembered that Leo had torn it down the middle.

  At least her knickers were still in one piece. She found them on the carpet and wriggled into them, berating her memory for reminding her how he had peeled them slowly down her legs last night. Shaking off the effects of those memories she walked into Leo’s wardrobe, her eyes growing bigger than balloons as she took in the rows of beautifully crafted male clothing on offer. All of it formal, or semi-formal. She felt a bit awkward riffling through his shelves in search of a T-shirt and a pang of regret that he had not stayed to wake her this morning punctured the small bubble of bliss she had been feeling.

  Last night he had said she was beautiful, feminine—and she had felt as if he adored her. Only that was silly. He didn’t adore her. He wasn’t even here.

  And why wasn’t he here? Had last night not been as good for him as it had been for her? She swallowed hard and pushed those unwanted thoughts aside. He was just busy. He had things to do. He wouldn’t have had time to wait around for her to wake up and wasn’t it more considerate that he’d left her to sleep?

  Yes. No. Maybe. It would have been nice to have been kissed awake by him. Had he wanted to do that? Had he even stopped for a moment beside the bed and watched her sleep? No, of course he hadn’t and wanting the opposite to be true was a one way ticket to heartache and misery. She knew that better than anyone.

  Finally locating maybe the only casual item of clothing in his wardrobe, Lexi donned a long-sleeved black T-shirt that dangled way down over her hands and covered her almost to her knees. Feeling decently covered, she grabbed her sling back heels and rolled her dress into a tight ball. She considered fixing her hair and straightening the bed but thought maybe it was best to get out of there before the maid showed up to make it.

  Or, worse—Leo himself. Because she wasn’t sure how she was going to face him now. Cool sophisticate who entered into one-night stands whenever the desire took her, or … actually there was no ‘or.’ The ‘or’ was a clinging, love-struck fool. She’d played that role once before with Brandon and it hadn’t been any fun then either.

  Hearing a clamour of raised voices outside, Lexi walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows that faced port-side and realised that they were docked in Athens.

  The yacht must have sailed through the night and it was time to go home. In a couple of hours, last night would be nothing but a pleasant memory. She leant her forehead against the cool glass. Why did that thought make her feel so hollow? Surely she wasn’t silly enough to want more from a man like Leo Aleksandrov … A man who had turned short term relationships into an art form.

  Last night she had said that she didn’t live in a fantasy world and she didn’t. Not any more. When she was younger she’d always dreamed of her father coming home, of her parents being reunited, and she hadn’t realised how affected she was by her father’s abandonment. Oh, she knew the thought of finding love made her nervous and she didn’t need to see a shrink to tell her that that was because of her father’s inconsistent role in her life and Brandon’s treachery. But she hadn’t realised until last night how much she had shelved the idea of having a family of her own.

  She pushed away from the glass, the revelation strangely unsettling.

  And really, it was a good thing that Leo hadn’t waited around this morning. This was more honest. This told her exactly where she stood in his life.

  Yes, Lexi smiled to herself, it was a very good thing he had left.

  She was lying to herself. It wasn’t a good thing.

  Slowly, over the course of the morning that had now turned into afternoon, Lexi’s insecurities had taken such a stranglehold that she felt as if she were choking.

  She hadn’t expected him to come chasing after her as if she were the love of his life, but nor had she expected to be totally ignored. His continued absence told her more clearly than words that last night had meant nothing to him.

  And she didn’t want that to make her feel empty. Sad. She didn’t want it to make her wonder if she had actually been terrible in bed. She hadn’t seized up as she had done with Brandon but … that didn’t make her a femme fatale either, did it? She shook her head. Just the thought was laughable.

  Home. She needed to go home. Off this yacht and away from Leo so she could lick her wounds in peace and forget that she’d most likely just made a bigger mistake than she had with Brandon.

  She watched Ty splashing around in the pool with Carolina and felt anger start to take hold. She didn’t know if it was directed more at Leo or herself, and she didn’t much care—it just felt a lot better than self-pity.

  Leo had to get off this yacht and the sooner the better. He’d woken up with a horrible sense of well-being that had set his heart beating so fast he wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d had a heart attack. He’d been wrapped around Lexi Somers as if his life depended on it. Then he’d remembered everything he’d told her the night before and could have cut out his own tongue. Thank God, he’d had meetings to finish up and guests to see off his yacht all morning to keep him busy.

  But now that he was alone in his office his mind turned to Amanda Weston and what he was going to do about Ty. He didn’t want the responsibility that came with relationships, knew he wouldn’t be any good at them. And despite Lexi’s assertions last night that he wasn’t like his father, he knew he couldn’t be a parent to Ty. He controlled his aggression nowadays but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t hurt Ty one day. And he’d rather die than do that.

  Ty deserved more than he could give. He deserved a man who knew how to be a father. A man who knew how to love.

  A crisp knock on his office door brought his mind back and he called out, ‘Enter,’ with a little more relish than he was actually feeling.

  Lexi stood framed in the doorway, wearing a white strapless sundress that was partially transparent where the red tria
ngles of her bikini had dampened the fabric. Her glorious sable hair, also damp from the pool, hung down her back and her chin was angled, her eyes glittering bright gold.

  ‘I’m sorry to bother you, but I wanted to know what time we were due to leave for London,’ she said, standing before him as if she had a steel pole for a backbone.

  No prizes for guessing her mood, he thought, somewhat humourlessly.

  He leaned back in his admiral’s chair and wondered what had set her off. ‘And good morning to you too, angel.’

  ‘Actually, you’re a little late with that particular greeting—it’s afternoon.’

  Ah, so that was it. She was upset because he hadn’t seen her all day. Women always wanted the post-sex cuddle and conversation and naturally she wouldn’t be any different. But he’d known that and hadn’t that been one of the drivers in keeping him so busy all day? That and the fact that she was so damned nice and that last night had been so damned good.

  But was that her fault? And was it anything to truly be worried about?

  So he had slept with her and it had been possibly the best sex of his life.

  Nyevazhno. Unimportant.

  That just proved that his instincts were on the money. He’d known sex with her would be dynamite and it was. And that made the fact that he still burned for her completely normal. What man wouldn’t want to repeat an experience like that? He felt his body stir predictably as memories of last night sifted into his consciousness.

  And it also wasn’t her fault that his life had been turned upside down and punishing her for Amanda’s deception was not going to accomplish anything.

  ‘I apologise,’ he said in a perfunctory fashion that did nothing to lessen the grim set of her pretty mouth.

  ‘For?’ She stared down her nose at him and he realised she wasn’t going to make this easy. He could hardly blame her. Last night had been beyond sensational and he’d treated her like a one-night stand. Maybe worse.

  He spread his hands out over his desk, choosing his words carefully. ‘I should have been there when you woke up this morning. In my defence, I wanted to let you sleep and I had guests to see off. Meetings to finish up.’

  ‘I only asked what time we were leaving, Mr Aleksandrov,’ she said dismissively. ‘I don’t need a breakdown of your whole day.’

  Mr Aleksandrov? She was seriously peeved and he felt irrationally annoyed with her. What did she think last night had been about, anyway? He’d made no promises to her.

  ‘I’ve apologised for my behaviour and I’m sorry I hurt you.’

  She arched a brow. ‘You didn’t hurt me, but it’s clear you regret last night and I’m happy to forget it as well.’

  ‘I regret a lot of things about last night, angel, but the sex isn’t one of them.’

  ‘Well, that’s the part I do regret!’ she cried and then clamped her mouth shut as if she’d said too much. Which she had.

  He relaxed back in his chair. ‘Last night was phenomenal.’

  ‘Whatever.’

  ‘You don’t agree?’

  ‘I’d just like to go home.’

  Leo tapped his fingers on some papers on his desk. He wasn’t used to women wanting to forget a night in his bed. Quite the opposite, in fact. He glanced down at the folder he was absently tapping and noticed it was the prospectus for a hotel in Santorini his investment team were planning to visit at the end of the week. It was old and barely standing but, still, the proprietor would no doubt pretend he had the upper hand. It was the way business was done here.

  But why would his busy team need to travel out here when he was already in Greece? It would be no skin off his nose if he detoured to view the property before leaving the country. It would take half a day at the most and would give him more time to figure out what to do about Ty if his security team failed to locate Amanda any time soon.

  ‘That’s not possible, moya milaya.’ She blinked at him, looking as surprised as he felt at coming to such a rushed decision.

  ‘Excuse me?’

  Committed, he continued. ‘Unfortunately, I have further business to attend to in Greece and have decided to stay on a bit longer.’

  ‘So why do you need me?’

  ‘I would have thought that was obvious.’ Let her interpret that as she would.

  ‘Ty has bonded with Carolina and she’s great with him.’

  ‘Maybe so,’ he said, recognising that what she said was most likely true, but not ready to have her leave him just yet. ‘But yesterday when he hurt himself no one could comfort him but you.’ She looked frustrated. ‘And last night did you not suggest I should stay on?’ he reminded her.

  ‘I suggested you take a holiday with Ty. Not work.’

  ‘And so I will.’

  He hadn’t planned to do that at all but there was a saying in his country: ‘One who sits between two chairs may easily fall down.’ Once he found Amanda and worked things out with her he’d hand Ty back, but in the meantime maybe it wouldn’t hurt to get to know him a little.

  An image of Lexi and Ty lying on the carpeted floor of his private library drawing and laughing together the afternoon before came into his mind. At the time he’d been reminded of images of his own dysfunctional childhood but what had stuck the most was that, rather than feeling awash with the cold sweat of fear he’d felt when he’d first seen Ty at the childcare centre, he’d felt something else. Something calmer. And for the first time he hadn’t seen Sasha when he had looked at his son.

  Yes, maybe it was time to sit on the chair—at least for an hour here and there between work.

  ‘I can’t stay. I have to work tomorrow.’ Lexi’s words sounded loud in the loaded silence and he frowned. What she had to do was to get back into his bed, but right now he didn’t think she’d be too amenable to that suggestion.

  She couldn’t stay. Not when all he wanted was for her to help him out with Ty. Already her heart was racing at the thought of spending more time with Leo, her mind telling her all sorts of fanciful things. That she cared for him—more than cared for him. Which she didn’t, of course. She just wasn’t the type to have casual sex and her mind automatically wanted to attach meaning to what they’d done last night. It was what had happened with Brandon. Back then she had ignored her instincts that had warned her he was a player and convinced herself she was in love with him. Thankfully, she was mature enough to see the potential for that now, but still … staying in this man’s orbit would be like putting Ty in a chocolate shop and telling him he couldn’t eat anything.

  ‘Don’t you have someone else who can take care of the centre in your absence?’ he asked.

  ‘Sure. I’ll call up one of my many minions, shall I?’ she tried to joke, but it fell flat.

  ‘You must have other staff who can take over in case of emergencies.’

  ‘I do. But this isn’t an emergency and I also have a business proposal I need to write.’ A proposal she had planned to work on this weekend and hadn’t touched!

  ‘A proposal for what?’

  Lexi was so tense at being this close to him and not letting on how much he affected her she nearly stormed out. Only he would likely follow and answering him was undoubtedly quicker.

  ‘A new childcare centre Aimee and I want to open.’

  ‘You’re expanding?’

  His surprise was obvious and she didn’t know whether to feel pleased or insulted!

  ‘Not if I don’t get the current building problems ironed out.’

  He regarded her thoughtfully and the room grew hotter. ‘I will help you.’

  ‘What? How?’ She shook her head. That was the last thing she had expected him to say.

  He looked at her with benign patience. ‘Lexi, I run a global company. I think I might be qualified to help you with a business proposal.’

  She hadn’t thought of that.

  ‘It’s what I believe you English call a no-brainer,’ he continued. ‘You help me, I help you. And it will make up for your refusal to let me pay you for
the past three days.’

  Lexi mulled this over. She wanted her new childcare centre more than anything else and Leo was supposed to be an incredibly savvy businessman, but … could she really stay on with last night still lying heavily between them? She squirmed a little and told herself if it meant getting her new business up and running, of course she could.

  Maybe …

  ‘What time frame are we talking about?’ she asked, standing behind the chair facing his desk.

  Leo smiled as if she had already agreed and her lips pinched together. ‘I don’t expect what I need to do to take more than a couple of days.’

  ‘I’ll need my proposal completed by Friday,’ she told him smartly.

  ‘We’ll do it tonight.’

  Lexi sucked in a breath. ‘And it’s just business, right?’ The question was out of her mouth before she’d fully thought it through and it landed between them like a dead weight.

  His smile hardened. ‘Are you asking me or telling me?’

  Lexi could feel her heart galloping behind her breastbone and she just hoped he couldn’t see it. Because what had happened between them last night—the way he had treated her this morning—made her feel too raw, too vulnerable for her to risk sleeping with him again.

  ‘Telling you.’

  He nodded stiffly. ‘Then I will, of course, respect your wishes.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘Sudovolstviyem, moya milaya.’

  Lexi didn’t know what he’d just said and didn’t ask for a translation, just watched as he walked out of the room with the lithe grace of a world class athlete and took all the oxygen in the room with him. Then she flopped onto the chair she’d been gripping like a life buoy.

  Well, that was easy. But what had she expected? That he would put up an argument? Insist on sleeping with her?

  She felt flat and heavy and strangely deflated and yet she should be happy. Leo was taking his responsibilities as a father seriously and he was going to lend her his vast experience in business to help make one of her dreams come true. What more did she want?