by Sara Wood
‘There’s no time! I’m so busy! I planned a surprise party for you. It’s all arranged for tonight,’ she said in an unrecognisably small voice. ‘To celebrate your coming divorce. You will be there, won’t you?’
Dismayed, he knew he couldn’t shame her by making her cancel it. ‘Of course.’ Tenderly he patted her hand. ‘Thank you.’
Even in her expensive white designer dress and coiffed and tended by countless beauticians, his mother looked unsure of herself. It was as if she’d never been comfortable with wealth and might have been happier remaining a poor shepherd’s wife.
He felt a strong sense of sympathy for her. His father had embraced the new life, working to build the business into the billion-dollar property empire it was now, with Angelaki developments springing up all over the world. But his mother had suffered from intense insecurity, terrified of doing and saying the wrong thing, unnerved by the social occasions she was expected to co-host. Gradually she had hidden behind a cold hauteur to disguise her lack of confidence and rarely let down her guard.
He wanted to find the laughing, tender mother he remembered from his childhood. The woman who had baked fat little bread men for him, who had run into the garden barefoot with him to watch sunsets. She was there—and he would find her.
He took her hand and kissed it with great tenderness. ‘See you in a moment,’ he said fondly and slipped into the stateroom to dress.
When Olivia emerged into the brilliant afternoon sun some twenty minutes later, she saw what she had surmised—that they had docked in the small fishing port of Olympos. Dimitri was leaning on the rail, lazily observing the sleepy little village whose cube-shaped houses clambered haphazardly up an olive-clad hill behind the harbour.
‘Has your mother gone?’ Olivia asked when she came to his side.
‘Back to the house.’
‘What did you tell her?’
‘That you would be staying with us to keep our arguments as private as possible.’
‘How did she take that?’
‘Badly. I think she’s afraid I’ll find you irresistible,’ he drawled.
She tilted her head insolently and put her lashes to good use. ‘Maybe you will.’
His eyes caressed her and she surrendered to the delicious melting of her bones. ‘I think we’ll both enjoy our pretence. You know that’s all it is, don’t you?’
She snorted. ‘I want to be free of you,’ she said fervently.
Free of the compulsion to yield up her heart again. Free from having him constantly on her mind and in her dreams.
‘Olivia…’ Unusually, he seemed to be struggling for the right words.
‘What?’ she asked, frowning.
‘I don’t want to announce we’re back together immediately. I want my mother to see for herself what is happening and to accept it willingly.’
‘She won’t! Not ever!’ Olivia said fervently.
He frowned. ‘You’re wrong. She will if she thinks it’s what I want. She accepted my marriage in the end—’
‘No. You’re wrong. She didn’t.’
‘That’s ridiculous! I know what you think of her. You’ve told me often enough—’
‘Everything I’ve told you is true,’ Olivia said doggedly. Marina had been a bone of contention between them throughout their brief time together. ‘You never believed me because she was always careful to keep her spiteful comments for when you were not around. But she undermined me and made my life miserable while you were away—’
He stopped her with an impatient wave of his hand. ‘I’m not going over old ground. The past is past. Although she had reservations—and made them plain—she didn’t say a word against you after our wedding day. Reading between the lines, it seemed to me that you made no effort to be friendly.’
‘I did!’ she insisted. ‘I tried to fit in, to be a good daughter-in-law, but—oh, what’s the use? It doesn’t matter any more.’
‘No, it doesn’t,’ he snapped. ‘Except that I don’t want to hurt her. She can’t be unaware of the sexual chemistry between us, but our reunion is supposed to be something more. We need to convince everyone that we are falling in love. Understand?’
‘Agreed,’ she said quietly and, feeling a sudden flurry of nerves, she turned her attention to the scene before them.
‘You think you can handle this?’ he asked.
‘It’s worth it to get shot of you quickly. And there’s the compensation of being here,’ she whispered with a sigh of pleasure. There was nowhere like it on earth.
Fishermen mended bright orange nets, their heads bent low in concentration as their fingers flew in and out, deft and sure. The diamond-faceted water slapped gently against the streamlined sides of Dimitri’s yacht. Children played happily on the nearby beach, their joyous voices ringing out excitedly.
She saw Dimitri’s thoughtful gaze on the children and the spasm of pain that crossed his face at the same time that an echoing pain slid into her heart. How lovely it would be to have children to adore. Dark-eyed, dark-haired, strong and vigorous like Dimitri…
Impatiently she snapped out of her futile dream, wondering glumly if he still saw Athena and his child. The question burned inside her but she couldn’t bring herself to ask. Instead, it sat like a cold stone in her heart.
‘Shall we go?’ she suggested, her tone hard with the effort of concealment. ‘I’m looking forward to seeing the house again and swimming in that glorious pool.’
‘I won’t deny you the enjoyment of luxuries.’ He looked disappointed, his eyes oddly dead as they walked to the gangplank. ‘I’d better warn you that Mother has laid on a party at the house. A celebration of my divorce-to-be.’
‘She doesn’t waste much time,’ she muttered. ‘I’ll hide in my room.’
‘I want you there.’
‘Your runaway wife? Won’t people think that odd?’
‘Unusually civilised, perhaps. But a public occasion will be ideal for our purpose. I have the impression that Eleni will be there.’
Olivia grimaced. ‘How far do we go?’ she asked.
‘Lingering looks. Dancing too close. Too much touching,’ he drawled.
She thought she could cope with that. Most of it would be for real, anyway. She just had to make sure she remembered that all his feelings were centred below his belt.
‘OK,’ she said airily.
‘You have no problem with that?’ he queried, clearly surprised she could contemplate being close to someone as compelling as him and not fall under his spell.
‘Yes. One.’ She produced a siren smile, her eyes dancing with amusement when he interpreted that as a tribute to his irresistible appeal. She simpered and sighed, ‘I don’t have a thing to wear!’
He laughed, but there was a challenge in his eyes. ‘If only my problems were that small,’ he observed in a drawl. ‘However, all the clothes you left behind are still in your dressing room.’
‘Are they? I’d have thought you would have flung them in the bin ages ago,’ she said in surprise.
‘The room was shut up the day you left,’ he said abruptly. ‘Come on. Let’s go ashore.’
Olivia could hear the cheerful strains of lively music while she was trying on dress after dress, and discarding each one in a frenzy of indecision. Running to the window, she peered out at the pool terrace, where the party was to take place. White-coated waiters scurried about importantly among the classical statues and ancient urns, bearing silver salvers of food to a long buffet table. A small Greek orchestra gently switched from a traditional folk tune to a more sentimental ballad, a famous local singer huskily crooning passionate words of love and desire.
Marina hurried here and there, her thin frame resplendent in a long, glittering gown that must have cost Dimitri a fortune. This was a party to set him up for Eleni, she thought. How ruthless Marina was, to virtually sell her son to enhance her family standing with Greek aristocracy!
People began to arrive. Assured and elegant, they strolled around
the pool, admiring the exotic plants and romantically lit statues.
Olivia’s nerves grew worse. In despair she stared at the clothes heaped on the silk counterpane, uncertain whether to be demure and wifely or—as her instincts urged—to be a flamboyant temptress and thoroughly put Eleni’s nose out of joint. It would be fun to explode on that scene. And, in the back of her mind, she knew she wanted to make Dimitri’s tongue hang out.
‘Not dressed?’
She whirled, flustered, glaring while Dimitri ran a raking glance up her stockinged legs to her lacy black suspender belt. He dwelt for a heat-seeking moment on her minimal briefs, then let his gaze wander up to settle on her breasts, uplifted by her balcony bra.
‘Fantastic deduction,’ she scathed when she’d got her breath back. ‘Don’t you ever knock?’
‘It’s my house.’
‘But I’m not your woman!’ she scowled.
‘To all intents and purposes you are,’ he pointed out.
She was trying not to look at him. One glance had been enough. Her heart had always fluttered when he wore a formal dinner suit and this was no exception.
The way his jacket had been moulded over his beautiful chest made her want to run the palms of her hands over his torso. His smoothly shaven face invited her touch or the pressure of her lips. Already she was aching for him. And they hadn’t even begun their little play-acting for the evening. She groaned.
‘This is a private room. I can throw things, you said so,’ she muttered obstinately, contemplating a marble figurine with an air of menace.
‘Throw whatever you like,’ he said obligingly. ‘But I must be seen to come in and out of your bedroom. Tongues must wag.’
‘I suppose so,’ she said grudgingly, and blindly reached for one of the dresses on the bed.
‘Not that one.’ He strode forward and took it from her hands. ‘A nun could wear that and not be ashamed. This one.’
He held up the scarlet sheath she had longingly stroked and rejected without even trying it. This was her favourite—and had been his. But she hadn’t dared to wear anything so blatant.
She wrinkled her nose in doubt. ‘Isn’t it a bit tarty?’
‘Not at the price I paid,’ he said. ‘It’s a knockout. All eyes will be upon you. No one will be surprised when I spend most of the evening by your side.’
‘Aren’t you worried that Eleni and her father will be offended?’
‘Everyone else will be willing us to get back together,’ he said, holding the dress out for her. ‘People are sentimental at heart. My business partner won’t be able to show open disapproval, not when marriage is so important, so sacred.’
Sacred. Her lower lip quivered. If it was that special, why had he destroyed it?
‘But your mother will go ballistic!’
‘Not in public. And she will be consoled by the fact that the family will be spared the shame of divorce.’
‘Until you reveal the truth and we really do end our marriage,’ Olivia pointed out.
He smiled with infuriating self-belief. ‘I’m confident that I can persuade her then that divorce is the only answer.’
‘Oh, I’m sure she’ll agree with you there,’ she said wryly. ‘She’ll help you put the flags out.’ Dimitri laughed, but she didn’t. There was a sick sensation in her stomach. ‘Two weeks. And then we’ll both be free,’ she mused.
‘So let’s make our bid for that freedom,’ he purred, encouraging her to step into the dress. ‘The sooner we start, the sooner we’re rid of one another. Put this on.’
‘I’ve only worn this dress once,’ she said, hesitating.
‘In New York,’ he said throatily, his eyes glistening like melted chocolate. ‘The Starlight Ball.’ He smiled beguilingly, his gaze fixed on her parted lips. ‘All those celebrities and you outshone them all. Everyone was talking about you. And I felt a hundred feet tall, having you on my arm.’
Her lashes dropped to hide her sadness. She’d been a bit of arm candy. An accessory to make him proud. And the bonus was that she was good in bed, too.
That decided it. She’d wear the dress and show him what he’d lost. One hell of a woman who’d loved him more than life itself. Who would have given him sons by the yard and daughters he could pet and adore. If only he hadn’t been greedy and vain. If only he hadn’t needed the flattery of other women.
The dress slid up her body, following her curves and hugging them possessively. On the pretext of smoothing creases, his hands shaped around the female swell of her hips and swept into the enticing dip of her waist.
He could hardly breathe. Obediently he responded when she turned her back, and slowly zipped up the dress. His fingers skimmed her warm buttocks and when he fastened the hook and eye almost at the base of her spine where the dress finished, he fumbled like a teenage kid who’d been offered his first chance to stroke a girl’s nakedness.
‘Let’s see,’ he growled.
Her eyes were bright and sparkling when she turned around again. He tried to cast an objective eye over her but it didn’t come off. He knew he’d tensed. His teeth were jammed together, his loins were doing their own thing as usual and making him forget he had a brain at all.
At that moment, Olivia heaved in a breath, causing her incredibly high and generous breasts to swell alluringly above the low-cut neckline. He couldn’t help himself. His head dipped and he was letting his lips move experimentally over them while his hands curved around her small and curvaceous rear.
She gave a little gasp and his mouth scalded hers. He bent her backwards, revelling in her compliance, the silky material sliding sensuously over her willowy body. The pressure of her knee between his legs made him groan and intensify the pressure of his searching mouth as it travelled along the line of her jaw and then her pulsing throat.
Beneath his fingers the naked small of her back arched as she writhed against him, her arms dragging his head harder towards her in a satisfyingly fierce demand.
‘Dimitri!’ she whispered.
And brought him to his senses. He straightened, a mocking look in his eyes to hide his need.
‘Isn’t that proof enough? Your dress sets me on fire,’ he commented tightly. ‘Every man tonight will wonder why I don’t put you over my shoulder and carry you off. Nobody will blame me for wanting you.’
‘What a shallow lot,’ she snapped, breathing heavily and adjusting her dress. He noticed the thrusting dark nipple of her left breast and wished he could surround it with his lips and tug it until she begged for mercy. But she had wriggled the scarlet silk back to its proper place and the moment was lost. She had seen his gaze, however. ‘I’m just a body to you, aren’t I?’ she flung, hot and flustered. ‘Nobody seems to care if I have a mind—’
‘I did,’ he objected, moving away and cooling himself down by standing at the open window. ‘Once,’ he added, before she got the wrong idea. ‘Are you ready now?’ he asked imperiously.
‘Nearly.’
Her voice seemed to be shaking but he didn’t turn around to see why. He needed a moment to steady his nerves. Many a time in the early days he’d been almost sick with apprehension before a big deal. But the way he felt now beat that hands down.
Tonight he must subdue his raw lust and dig out those long-forgotten gestures and glances of love that had been shut away in his heart. He knew that tapping into his emotions like that would be dangerous. Olivia had hurt him so badly that he’d vowed never to let any woman near his heart again.
He stared into the dark velvet night, inhaling the night scents. Behind him, Olivia fiddled with some jewellery. Perhaps she’d chosen the ruby necklace she’d left behind in the safe when she’d disappeared, and which he’d placed on the dressing table earlier, with the rest of the jewels that had escaped her voracious hands.
‘Dimitri.’ He stiffened against the softness of her voice.
‘What?’
Olivia gulped. Her nerves were in shreds and he was barking at her! ‘I need your opinion,’ sh
e managed, reasonably evenly. ‘Tonight is important for both of us.’
With an irritable sigh, he moved from the window and faced her. For a moment his angry expression faded and she saw admiration in his eyes. Then the warmth vanished, to be replaced by coldness.
‘You’ll do.’
‘Oh, thanks,’ she muttered, slamming down the hair-brush.
His hands came down on her shoulders. They were burning hot, searing her skin as if he was branding her. In the mirror she saw his dark, enigmatic face close to hers.
She lifted her head in an unconscious effort to remain cool and detached and watched her pendant earrings swaying gently, the rubies flashing in the centre of the diamond star as if they were on fire.
‘You look and smell wonderful. How much more admiration do you want?’ he grated.
She scowled, hating the way he treated her. When he wanted sex he coaxed and purred. All other times he walked all over her.
Huffily she replied, ‘I only wanted to know if the rubies were right—’
‘They are. Time to go.’
Olivia felt like throttling him. But she’d get her revenge another way. Gracefully she rose and deliberately she lifted her narrow skirt to expose a generous length of leg. Taking her time, and enjoying the fact that Dimitri’s breathing seemed all over the place, she tucked her feet into a fabulous pair of jewelled sandals before letting her skirt swish back to brush her ankle bones.
‘I’m ready,’ she announced with a sweet smile.
It wasn’t returned. Glowering, he muttered, ‘I’ll go down first. Follow in ten minutes.’
‘But—!’
‘We can’t arrive together. You need to make an entrance. I’m sure it will be a memorable one.’ His assessing glance all but stripped her naked and the hunger in his eyes made her stomach clench. ‘I have no doubt that we will leave together, however, and spend the night inventively. You will surrender to me as you never have before. And I will pleasure you until you wonder if it is possible to die of that pleasure.’ His eyes blazed into hers. ‘Keep that in mind all evening. Think of it, anticipate it, hunger for it,’ he murmured, and was gone before she could draw breath from her collapsed lungs.
