“Who knows with him.”
She told herself not to interfere, but the research she’d done on the Smirnovs had been too revealing: rumors of drug-taking in his clubs abounded, that he perhaps participated in that drug trade highly debated.
She shot him a look. “He’s a bad man, Aristos. Why do you do business with him?”
“Our dealings are purely financial.”
“Yes, but him being an investor reflects on you. On your business.”
His jaw hardened. “Do you know how many squeaky-clean sources of money there are in the world? Very few.”
“So you choose to look the other way?”
His lip curled. “Are you picking a fight, Princess? And here I thought we were celebrating.”
Being railroaded into an engagement was putting her in a funny mood. She pointed her glass at him. “Why is this casino so important to you? Why, with all the other properties you have, is Akathinia such an obsession?”
His gaze narrowed. “Because it is the jewel of the Mediterranean...because the world’s elite vacation there...because no one’s been able to crack it before now. When it’s done it will put any other hotel and casino on the planet to shame.”
“And,” she pointed out, “it’s your roots. It will prove to those who gave up on you how far you’ve come. That they were wrong about you.”
He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Putting words in my mouth, Alex? Maybe it’s not so insightful as that. Every developer in the world would kill to build on Akathinia.”
She conceded the point with a dip of her head. Pushed the piece of fish she hadn’t the appetite for around her plate, her engagement ring sparkling in the muted lighting.
“You done with that?” His low drawl brought her head up. “Because if you are, I thought we could continue the celebration in private.”
The look of intent in his sinful eyes vibrated through her. She lifted her chin. “I have a headache.”
His gaze sharpened. “Is that so?”
She lifted a shoulder. “A tension one from today.”
He threw his napkin on the table. “Good thing, then, that I am an expert at working the knots out.”
She eyed him. He held out a hand and pulled her to her feet. They stood toe to toe, taking each other’s measure. “It’s been a long day,” he murmured. “You get a massage. Anything more than that, you can let me know. You won’t ever get anything you don’t want from me, Alex.”
Her heart went into free fall. Feelings she couldn’t suppress bubbled to the surface, enveloping her in a warmth, a hot headiness, that threw her mixed feelings into a tempest. “That would be perfect,” she said softly. “My shoulders are a mess.”
Aristos’s suite was bathed in a muted glow when they arrived, dozens of candles burning from tapered silver holders scattered around the room’s sleek, luxurious surfaces. Roses of dark pink and red tumbled from vases, filling the air with an intoxicating aroma.
Her gaze moved to Aristos’s. “You did this?”
“I asked Yolande to.” He nodded to the bathroom, where a rose-scented bath had been drawn. “Go take a bath first. It’ll help with the knots.”
She stripped off her dress and underwear and stepped into the heavenly water. It did wonders for her stiff muscles and disposition. When she climbed out and wrapped herself in the silk robe hanging on the door, Aristos was typing out a message on his phone. He nodded toward the bed. “Be right there.”
She perched on the edge. He tapped out the rest of the message and tossed the phone onto the dresser, his gaze eating her up as he closed the distance between them.
“You know what I was thinking that first night we were here,” he said huskily, his fingers toying with the lapels on her robe, “when you had that blue wrap dress on...”
She shook her head, eyes glued to his.
“That I wanted to unwrap you like a present. That you are so beautiful, any man lucky enough to get his hands on you should savor the opportunity. Recognize his good luck.”
A shiver went through her. He captured her left hand, blazing with his sapphire on it, and brought her fingers to his mouth. “That makes me an exceedingly lucky man tonight, angel.”
The maelstrom of emotions swirling through her intensified, until she felt as if she were in the eye of the storm. “Always?” she asked quietly. “Are you always going to feel that way? Or will it fade as ‘evolutionary history dictates’?”
His mouth twisted. “I’d say we’re both in uncharted territory here. The truth is, we fit. I know when to give you the push you need and you—” her heart sat suspended as he searched for words “—you show me what’s possible. You show me the things I want to have.”
Her insides dissolved. She saw it then in his dark-as-night eyes, the infinite possibilities for them. The spectacular and never-ending kind, if she was patient enough to wait for them. Brave enough.
He reached for the sash of her robe. Tugged it open. Her breath caught in her throat as he took her in, his gaze tracing a line down to her breasts, to the vee at the apex of her thighs, down over the curve of her legs to her coral-tipped toes. It turned her insides to liquid.
“I think,” she said breathlessly, “the bath worked out those knots.”
His mouth curved. “The head?”
“Better.”
She waited, nipples hardening, body anticipating his caresses. Still he didn’t touch her.
“What do you want?” he asked quietly, eyes on hers.
She stepped closer. “You.”
It was like sealing her fate, the kiss that followed. Gentle, passionate, never ending—it was all of those things. His hands moved to her shoulders, slipped the robe from her. Her fingers dispensed with the button on his shorts. When she reached inside his boxers and closed her fingers over the hard, thick length of him, he was velvet over steel.
Tentative, then gaining confidence, she explored him. Stroked him. He closed his fingers over hers, tightened her grip, showed her how he liked it. It was so erotic, heated her blood to a slow simmer to do this with him. To share this with him.
His hand at the small of her back, he pushed her toward the dresser, setting her hands on its polished surface. Her gaze met his in the mirror. “Stay there,” he murmured.
The ripping sound of a condom wrapper pierced her sensual haze. It stoked her blood even hotter. He came back to her, ran his palms down her spine to cup her buttocks. His foot nudged her feet apart. She allowed herself to be put where he wanted her, the blood roaring in her ears as she watched him behind her. He sank his teeth into her shoulder in a wicked caress.
His palm cupped her between her thighs. She was ready for him, more than ready. His low rasp of approval as he parted her silky flesh sent another shiver through her.
“Thee mou, but you do something to me.” He sank his fingers inside her. She moved into his touch, reaching for him. He pushed her hands back onto the dresser. “Leave them there.”
She did. If his intent was to make her vulnerable, to leave her wide-open to him, to demonstrate how completely he owned her, he had succeeded. Her breath left her in a gasp as he placed one hand on her buttock and brought himself to rest against her moist, willing flesh.
“Arch your back,” he commanded, eyes burning into hers. She did. He slid into her with a slow penetration that set every nerve ending in her body screaming for more.
“Aristos.”
“Look at me, angel. I’ve got you.”
She anchored herself in his gaze. His hands cupped her buttocks as he stroked his way inside her. Harder, deeper, until she could feel him everywhere, touching the very heart of her. He was so big and powerful, the places he hit inside her so intensely pleasurable, she started to shake under his hands.
He leaned forward, capturing her earlobe in his teeth. Scoring it lightly. “Relax, angel.”
Relax? She was ready to beg for him to touch her, to push her over the edge, but it was his body that did it instead. The power
of him that made her tighten with a desperate clench, the throb of her orgasm radiating out from her center as a scream left her throat.
He gripped her hips tighter and thrust inside her, pleasure exploding in his eyes. Just when she thought it couldn’t get any better—it always did.
He carried her to the bed when they’d recovered their breath. The weight of her engagement ring felt foreign as she curled up against him, her hand tucked against her cheek. Made her feel fidgety, restless.
Aristos pulled her tighter against him. “You’re mine now,” he said roughly. “Forget about the rest.”
How could she? The shock in her mother’s voice when she’d called to give her the news replayed itself in her head. Her pointed question as to whether she knew what she was doing with Aristos.
She was taking the longest of long shots. Risking it all for a man who didn’t commit. Who’d sworn he wouldn’t. And yet with the slide of Aristos’s hand against her back, sleep consumed her.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“THE SASSICAIA OR the Excelsus?” Aristos’s French chef lifted a brow. “Or both...?”
Alex surveyed the two bottles of wine. You really couldn’t go wrong with either with the meal they were serving Dimitri and Galina Smirnov, but she was being a perfectionist because it was so important to Aristos, and he had put her in charge.
“I think both,” she said, “but let me check with Aristos.”
She made her way to the casino, the afternoon shower having given way to sunshine in anticipation of their guests’ arrival. She had been happy to help with the dinner given the insanity of the past few days...the field day the press was having with both the nude and official engagement photos, although that sport seemed to play second fiddle to the fun they were having predicting how long the playboy billionaire’s marriage would last.
They had been making bets. Taking polls. It was enough to make her think she had lost her wits in agreeing to marry him.
Carin’s chair was empty, her fiancé on the phone when she walked into Aristos’s office, his New York lawyer’s voice coming through the speakerphone.
She sat on the corner of Carin’s desk and waited, not wanting to hurry him as he and the lawyer went through a contract. Aristos, efficient as always, plowed through the terms in minutes. When they were done, his lawyer asked him if he needed anything else.
“Start working on a prenup for me.”
Her shoulders stiffened.
“Sure. You got a ballpark figure in mind?”
Aristos named an outrageous number that made her mouth drop open.
“That’s very...generous.”
“I don’t intend to give it away. I’m a lucky man. Not to mention Alex will bring considerable assets to the table herself. It’s an advantageous union from all angles. A politically advantageous union for Nicolades Inc.”
“No doubt,” agreed the lawyer.
Her stomach tightened. A politically advantageous union? She told herself to focus on the “lucky man” part. But did that have more to do with what she brought to the table personally or her lineage as a Constantinides?
Aristos ended the call. She stayed where she was for a good couple of minutes so it wouldn’t be clear she’d overheard the conversation, then slid off the desk and made her way into his office. She didn’t mention what she’d heard. Wasn’t sure why not. Maybe because she thought she was being oversensitive, that just because Aristos needed Nik’s casino license for his current obsession it didn’t mean that’s all they were.
But it festered as she dressed for dinner that evening in a silver-beaded cocktail dress. Aristos came up behind her in the mirror as she stood choosing her jewelry.
“I haven’t seen this one yet.” He rested his hands on her hips. “I like it.”
The smoky, intimate tone he’d undoubtedly used on every one of the women the papers had mentioned as notable exes inspired the usual flock of butterflies in her stomach, but she held herself stiff beneath his hands. “Stella chose it.”
He gave her a long look in the mirror. “Anything wrong? More outrageous press coverage?”
Too much to count. She shook her head. “You should get ready. We need to go.”
He surveyed the carefully schooled expression on her face. Pulled her back into him and set his lips to her jaw. “You playing hard to get, angel? I could like that game.”
She pushed against him and stepped out of his arms. “No. I still need to do my hair.”
The look he scorched her with could have stripped paint from a car, but he stepped back, made his way to the wardrobe and acquired a shirt. A fine pair they were going to make, she thought, grimacing, as she gathered her hair on top of her head. Aristos the powder keg in advance of the Russian’s visit, her distinctly off.
* * *
The Smirnovs were waiting for them on the main terrace. Dimitri, a tall, thin, elegant figure with a sharp face and eyes that missed nothing, pressed a kiss to both her cheeks.
“Congratulations on your engagement. And here I had no idea you were a princess.”
“We weren’t broadcasting the fact given the political situation.”
“Understandable.”
Alex greeted Galina more warmly while her fiancé shook his nemesis’s hand. They sat down to drinks, then dinner. Galina asked about her and Aristos’s wedding plans. She tried to focus on the innocuous conversation, but her attention was captured by the cat-and-mouse game going on between the two men.
Aristos was direct and to the point. Dimitri was noncommittal and evasive, a game player. One who flouted the law and who could someday become a liability to her fiancé, but he wouldn’t acknowledge it. Not that she was anything but polite to the Russian, if coolly so, but as the dinner wore on, her patience wore thin.
“I’m opening a new club in Moscow in October.” Dimitri directed the comment at Alex as dessert was served. “You should come.”
“I’m afraid I’m not much into clubbing,” she returned evenly.
Dimitri lifted a dark brow. “Oh, but this one is like no other. Lions in cages. Waitstaff suspended from the ceiling. It’s something to see.”
“I’m quite sure you’re right.”
Dimitri gave her a long look. Aristos gave her knee a squeeze.
She could have stood up and given a cheer when the meal was over. But it wasn’t to end there, unfortunately. Dimitri declared himself in favor of a nightcap. The staff relieved for the night, Aristos went off to procure a bottle of brandy. When Galina got up to use the ladies’ room, Alex rose to follow her. Dimitri put a hand on her arm. “Stay and keep me company.”
What could she do? She suggested they move to the comfortable lounge area that overlooked the sea. That used up some time. When she sat down on the sofa, Dimitri sat beside her.
“I get the feeling you don’t like me, Princess.”
She widened her eyes. “Why would you think that?”
“I’ve asked you to call me Dimitri twice. You refuse to.”
She’d never been a liar, nor was she about to start now. Crossing her legs, she lifted a shoulder. “Your business is with my fiancé.”
He sat back, a hard glitter in his eyes. “I’ve offended you.”
“Not at all.”
“My reputation offends you.”
“Perhaps we should choose another subject of conversation.”
“I’d rather finish this one.”
Oh, but he was a piece of work. There was no escaping this. She set her gaze on his. “I don’t like your business practices, Mr. Smirnov. But what I have to say is irrelevant to my fiancé’s business.”
He took a sip of his wine. “You think my association with Aristos will tarnish your family’s reputation.”
“I didn’t say that.”
He pressed the rim of his glass to his chin, his eyes on her. “The press like to print a lot of garbage about me, Aleksandra. Don’t believe everything you read.”
His smug they’ll-never-catch-me look was
too much for her. “Where there is smoke,” she said softly, “there is usually fire, Mr. Smirnov.”
* * *
Aristos returned from the cellar to find that Alex and Dimitri had moved to the lounge. Alex’s stiff body language immediately had his antennae up. She excused herself not long after that, Galina at her side, happy to leave the business to the men.
Intent on solving his impasse with the Russian tonight, Aristos poured a liberal amount of brandy into their glasses. He wasted no time in getting to the point. “I need a firm commitment you’re in, Dimitri.”
The Russian lifted a shoulder. “I’m finding I need a faster return on investment these days. Your casino could be delayed for months. Years.”
Aristos’s blood pressure rose. “It won’t be. Reports say Idas is ill. His son will come to the throne any day and it will be over.”
“And if it isn’t?”
His gaze narrowed. “Either you’re in or you’re out.”
Dimitri sat back in the sofa, taking his tumbler with him. “I don’t think your fiancée likes me.”
“I’m sure you’re mistaken.”
“She doesn’t like my business practices. She thinks I’ll be a detriment to your reputation. The royal family’s reputation.”
His back stiffened. “Did she say that?”
“That she doesn’t like my business practices? Yes.”
Alex had not said that. She would know better than to say that. Aristos’s fingers tightened around the glass. “What the royal family thinks or feels is of no bearing to my business.”
Dimitri inclined his head. “Still,” he drawled, “I think the gestation time on this investment is going to be too long, I’m afraid. I’m out.”
With those two words, the Russian put his casino on borrowed time. “I think you shoulder reconsider,” he said tightly. “The prestige of this project will be like no other.”
“Funny thing about that, Nicolades. It always seems that way until the next best thing comes along.”
* * *
Aristos sat on the terrace by himself, putting away another glass of the brandy as he worked to control his fury...contemplated his future. He thought he had his temper under control by the time he let himself into the room where Alex was up, reading, but just looking at her made his vision go red.
Claiming the Royal Innocent (Kingdoms & Crowns) Page 15
