Seemed simple enough when said like that. But the reality was a bit more…overwhelming.
“Maybe we should focus on getting through dinner first,” Lana suggested.
Three startled expressions stared at each other. Then they burst out laughing at the same time as they all realized that they’d abandoned Christoph.
“Oh, my! He’s going to be furious!” Lana exclaimed, then slapped a hand over her mouth to stop another burst of laughter.
“He’ll deal,” Willow grumbled, but there was a grin on her beautiful features as well.
They all turned and looked in the mirror, checking their appearance. A bit of hair fluffing, another dab of lipstick and Lana nodded. “Okay, let’s get through dinner and then we’ll figure something out.”
Back at the table, they found Christoph still there, but he was no longer sitting alone at the table. As soon as they realized who he was talking to, Lana and Willow linked arms with Tamara who had come to a halt as she glared at the tall, dark-haired behemoth sitting in her chair.
Sheik Jurad bin Casees of Tular.
Her fiancé!
“Just relax,” Lana soothed, patting Tamara’s arm reassuringly.
“He’s not here for you,” Willow promised Tamara. “It is just a fluke.”
Tamara nodded jerkily, her eyes wide with fear. But even as Lana watched, that fear turned to anger. Tamara straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin.
“I’m fine,” she whispered. “He hasn’t spoken to me in over a year, and even then, our communication was via e-mail. He’s…!”
Tamara couldn’t say what her fiancé was or wasn’t, so her comment trailed off to nothing.
At their approach, the two men stood and turned, politely waiting for the ladies to join them.
“Good evening, ladies,” Sheik Jurad greeted each of them, bowing slightly. “You look lovely tonight.” Then his gaze turned to Tamara. Lana felt her friend’s body stiffen with horror and outrage.
“Princess Tamara, you have been gone for quite a while. I know that your parents miss you a great deal.”
Lana felt her friend’s trembling increase, but Tamara rallied quickly. “I doubt my parents are aware of my absence, Your Highness. But thank you for your concern. If you will excuse us, our food is getting cold.”
The man bowed, but the gesture seemed mocking somehow. “Of course. We will talk more tomorrow, my dear.” And with that, he left.
They sat down, but there was a charged silence. They sat stiffly, sneaking glances at each other but no one said a word. Lana and Willow waited for Tamara to react. It took a moment, but her chin lifted, her chocolate eyes relaxed, and she nodded as if she’d just come to a decision. A moment later, Tamara smiled. “Well, I haven’t seen him in a while. He hasn’t changed much, has he?”
Willow and Lana blinked at her for a moment, stunned. Then Willow chuckled. “Not really,” she replied in agreement. “Still the arrogant ass he’s always been.”
Tamara smiled. “Exactly.” Then she turned to look at Christoph. “Where were we?” she asked.
Willow looked down at the table, all three of them suddenly realizing that their plates were gone. “And where did our food go?”
Christoph resumed his seat and flipped his napkin over his lap. “I had the waiter take everything back to the kitchen to keep warm.” With that, he signaled to the waiter and a moment later, their food was returned.
For the remainder of their meal, the conversation was purposely kept light and non-controversial.
When Christoph’s driver pulled up outside of Lana’s father’s house instead of her loft, no one said a word. Lana was relieved that her friends understood that her loft was her escape. A sort of secret retreat, although she hadn’t actively tried to hide it. Her father knew about her apartment. He hadn’t liked that she’d lived separately, but Lana needed her privacy and had ignored his efforts to get her to move back into the family home. Nor did she want Christoph to know about her secret place.
Unfortunately, her friends went into the enormous house while Christoph touched her arm, stopping her from following.
“Are you okay?” he asked gently as he pulled her into his arms.
Lana felt his hands resting heavily on her waist and held her breath. Although, why she should be surprised, she wasn’t sure. He hadn’t hesitated to touch her from almost the first moment they’d met.
“I’m fine,” she said, wanting to pull away, but…something stopped her. A need? A desire to see what he might do? She wasn’t sure. And since her conversation in the bathroom with Willow and Tam, her thoughts had been swirling, confusing her with new ideas. New possibilities.
“Care to tell me why you rushed away from the table earlier in the evening?”
She sighed, biting her lower lip as she grasped for a reasonable explanation.
But before she could, he lowered his head and kissed her. This was a gentle kiss, a promise of tomorrow. Of more to come.
Before she was ready, he stopped the kiss and stepped backwards. “Good night, Lana,” he said, and a moment later, he moved back into the limousine and he was gone.
Chapter 8
Lana angrily pushed the covers off and climbed out of the bed, frustrated that sleep continued to elude her. “At this rate, I’ll become a zombie and he won’t want to marry me!”
As the words echoed through her old bedroom, she froze on her way to the bathroom, shocked at the sadness that poured over her at the thought of not marrying Christoph. “When did that happen?” she asked, but there wasn’t anyone there to answer.
“This is ridiculous!” She stomped into the bathroom. After a shower and pulling on her favorite pair of jeans, a warm sweater and boots, she added a bit of makeup, fluffed her curls, and winked sassily to her reflection.
“There’s only one way to get through this,” she thought. “Forward and in control.”
With that thought, she grabbed her purse and car keys, heading out of the house. She left a note on the fridge for Tamara and Willow before leaving her father’s house.
Twenty minutes later, she pulled up in front of Christoph’s building. Taking a moment to breathe, she gave herself a pep talk. “Just be patient and firm. Get your point across. You’re not being unreasonable.”
With that, she stepped out of her car and headed towards the lobby of the building.
“May I help you?” the guard in the lobby asked.
“I’d like to see Mr. Anastas,” she said, thinking confident thoughts.
He looked at her as if she were asking to fly to the moon. “Do you have an appointment?”
Lana hadn’t been anticipating this. Actually, she hadn’t really thought through her plan very much at all, beyond wanting to talk to Christoph.
“Just a moment,” she said and stepped back. Pulling her phone from her purse, she texted a message to him, asking if he had time to talk. A moment later, she received the reply that she could come over at any time. “Good. I’m here in your building,” she texted right back.
A pause and then the guard called out, “Ms. Kostas?”
Lana smiled, thinking Christoph was efficient, if nothing else.
“Yes,” she smiled.
He directed her to the elevators and told her to go on up.
The door to the penthouse was already open and a smiling housekeeper greeted her. “Mr. Anastas is in the gym. He said to go on in.” And the woman gave her directions through the penthouse.
Lana looked around, startled by the sheer size of Christoph’s home. Her father was wealthy and lived in a huge house. But that was nothing compared to this place. This was wealth on a whole other level. This was Tamara’s kind of wealth, she thought. Then she remembered dinner last night and that Christoph seemed to be on friendly terms with Sheik Jurad and a few more pieces of the puzzle fell into place.
The door to the gym was closed, but she didn’t hesitate, hearing the clanking of metal on metal. Obviously, Christoph was working out and Lana
curiously walked deeper into the room. Everything was new and modern with a breathtaking view of Athens. How he could work out with this kind of view, Lana couldn’t imagine.
Then the clinking started again and Lana looked around, finally spotting him over by the massive weight machines. Christoph was on his back, bench pressing what looked to be several tons of weights. As she watched, the muscles in his arms and shoulders strained with the weight, his abs tightened and…whoa! He was…magnificent! Startling! Seeing the muscles that had been hidden under the business suits made her mouth go dry. And other parts of her body…were not dry! Parts of her body throbbed with awareness and interest.
She should announce herself, she thought. But the words wouldn’t come. She continued to watch, awed by the muscles flexing and straining, the sweat glistening on his skin.
The weights clanked again and, a moment later, he sat up and saw her. Once again, she knew that her manners dictated that she stop staring. But…she was only human. And those muscles were….hot! The raw power she’d felt in him before was on full display. She’d never seen a man with muscles so pronounced before. Oh, sure, there were the body builders in magazines and on the internet. But…they didn’t seem as appealing as what she was looking at now.
That’s when he stood up. She tried to pull her eyes away from all of those delicious muscles, but…she couldn’t. As he came closer, her fingers itched to reach out, to explore.
“Lana!” he growled, but before she could react, he’d pinned her against the wall behind her. He didn’t touch her in any way other than with his hands on her wrists and his mouth on hers, but it was too much too early in the morning. And she’d had too little sleep the past two nights. If she’d been more awake and alert, she might have fought him. Maybe not. But because she was so tired and had dropped her guard, she didn’t pull back. Nor did she fight him. In fact, she lifted her face up, eagerly anticipating his kiss!
She felt his mouth and his tongue, moving back and forth over hers, but she needed more. Pulling at her hands, she tried to get him to release her. But he was stronger than her and he didn’t relent. And that seemed to turn her on more, this sense of vulnerability, of being controlled. And yet, she knew that she could get him to stop with just a word.
Obviously, she didn’t say anything. Instead, she silently pleaded for more, her body aching to touch his, but he held himself away from her. If she’d been more aware, more capable of rational thought, she’d be grateful for his efforts. He was sweaty and she was in a sweater. Sweat and cashmere didn’t comingle well. But still…being kissed like this and unable to touch was torture.
He pulled his mouth away from hers and she felt herself breathing hard. “Christoph!” she gasped, opening her eyes to look up at him.
“You can’t look at me like that, Lana, and expect me to ignore the invitation in your eyes.”
She laughed nervously, licking her lips as she admired his shoulder muscles. “I didn’t offer an invitation.”
He groaned even as he pulled back, releasing her hands. “You sure as hell did!” But he didn’t kiss her again. Instead, he grabbed a fluffy, white towel that she hadn’t realized was behind her, rubbing his face and neck, his arms and chest. “What brings you here so early in the morning?”
Why had she come? Lana watched, jealous of the towel.
“Lana?” he prompted.
Lana jerked her eyes upward, then wondered if he knew what she’d been thinking. The small smile that curved the corners of his mouth indicated that he was fully aware of her every thought.
Damn him!
And yet, her eyes dropped once more, staring at his chest, amazed at all of the ridges along his stomach. Lower still, she noticed…!
Lana jerked her eyes higher and he laughed outright this time. “I’ll go shower. You head upstairs and I’ll meet you for breakfast. We’ll talk then, okay?” and without waiting for her agreement, he bent down and kissed her again. Just a brief, hard kiss and then he was walking away.
Lana watched, more impressed with all of the muscles along his back. Even his butt looked firm and…
Speaking of hardness, the man was…huge!
Nothing she wanted to think about at the moment, she thought and turned away. Not before he disappeared into the shower, but she counted it as a victory that she didn’t follow to watch him. Yep, one had to count the small triumphs in one’s life, she told herself as she retraced her steps back up the stairs. The housekeeper led her into a small dining room and Lana could smell the delicious scents of breakfast being made. Her mouth watered and she was surprised at how hungry she was. Normally, she skipped breakfast, not really hungry in the mornings.
Pouring herself a cup of coffee, she settled at the table and waited.
When Christoph walked in a few minutes later, his hair wet and wearing a crisp white shirt and charcoal slacks, a tie and a matching suit jacket tossed over his arm, she knew that she was in trouble. Now that she knew what was underneath that tailored shirt, she wanted to rip it off and explore. He smelled fresh and clean and…he bent down to kiss her again. This time, he lingered a bit, his lips caressing hers. Again, she wondered why she was allowing him to kiss her like this, but she couldn’t pull away.
When he lifted his head and sat down across from her, she was surprised that her lips still tingled. She’d felt that way last night and again this morning, but hadn’t had the brainpower to analyze the sensation. But now, watching him sit down, she wondered if she was further gone than she’d thought. Were her feelings for him stronger than she’d acknowledged? How was that possible when she’d known him for such a short period of time? It seemed shallow to be so enamored of a man simply because he kissed so well. And because he had a great body.
“What kept you up last night?” he asked, nodding his thanks as his housekeeper brought in two plates piled high with food.
She wasn’t sure if she should address his comment or the amount of food first. Glancing down, then up at his rugged features, she ignored both issues and decided on a direct approach.
“I want to discuss our…um…well, how we will move forward with our relationship.”
“You mean other than getting married tomorrow?” He took a bite of an egg white omelet. “The judge is standing by, ready to marry us at eleven tomorrow morning.”
She stared across the table at him. He’d said marriage before, but faced with a date and time, things he’d already arranged, she wasn’t sure what to say.
“About that,” she said, then choked and had to pause to take a sip of water. When she could breathe properly again, she sat back, ignoring the food as she tried to formulate a cohesive argument in her mind.
“What about it?”
“I’d like…I think…” when he lifted an eyebrow at her bumbling, she stopped and took another breath. “I don’t think we should be intimate!”
He continued eating, but she could tell that he was thinking about her comment.
“But you will be my wife.”
She blinked, trying to come up with a good reason. Or just more time? More time to get used to him? And yet, there’d been so many times he’d kissed her and…she hadn’t needed more time during those kisses. “Yes, but only legally. I don’t really know you, Christoph. In fact, a week ago, you were enemy number one.”
He smiled, winking at her as he wiped his mouth with a linen napkin. “That implies that I’m no longer in first place. I knew you’d recognize my charm.”
She laughed, shaking her head. “Yes, well, the fact that you’re willing to take over the mess of my father’s company without laying off the employees went a long way towards winning me over.”
His eyes sharpened as his amusement faded. “Just to be clear, Lana, if they aren’t good employees, they are gone. I run a lean organization. There are some people who won’t be able to transition to a new role and they’ll have to find other employment.”
Lana mentally sighed, wishing there was an alternative. Then again, if an employe
e wasn’t performing up to his standards, why should they stay on as employees? “I appreciate the warning and respect your plan. But still, it’s very generous of you to help any of the employees to learn a new role. Others taking over an organization as large as my father’s wouldn’t be so kind.”
He shook his head. “I’m not kind, Lana. No one has ever used that word to describe me.”
She paused, looking at him carefully. “I wouldn’t have thought so last week either. But I’m starting to see the man behind the monster mask you wear in public.”
He shook his head and took another bite of his omelet. “Why are you afraid of having sex with me?” he asked, bringing them back to the original topic.
She looked down, toying with her water glass. “I just…I don’t know you. I don’t know anything about you other than what you allow me to see.”
“And you’re not into casual relationships.” It was a statement.
“I’m not, you’re right. I need to feel a connection with someone before I…become intimate…with them.” She couldn’t say, “have sex” for some reason. Especially not around Christoph. It seemed so…blatant. And the man was already blatantly sexual enough.
“You don’t think you’ll feel a connection with me by the time we are married tomorrow?” he asked.
She was stunned by the silky, soft tone of his voice. But she shook it off. “No. I don’t know you well enough to have any sort of connection. I think we should postpone the wedding until….”
“You’re forgetting that the next payment is due to your bank. You and your company are out of cash. Not to mention, there are several lawsuits pending that need action. You have contracts that are expiring, several of them are critical to the continued momentum of many projects. The vendors aren’t willing to renew their contracts with you as the leader for the company. Which means that several of your more profitable business lines will cease. Without the production crews in place, everything comes to a screeching halt. That would mean layoffs. And once one part of a company is threatened or halted, other vendors start to worry about your ability to pay their invoices. I’d wager that, in less than two weeks, all of your vendors and contractors will require cash up front. Your line of credit will dry up with everyone. Then what will you do?”
Her Enemy, Her Lover (The Ladies of The Burling School Book 1) Page 8
