by Sarah Morgan
‘No.’ She gave a wan smile. ‘It was just a deckhand.’
‘You were the only child on the boat that day—?’
She frowned. ‘Yes—I suppose so.’
‘Theos mou—’ His voice was hoarse and he raked an unsteady hand through his glossy dark hair. ‘I didn’t know—’
‘Didn’t know what? What difference does it make?’
‘You were injured? And you lost both of your parents.’
Her gaze slid guiltily away from his. ‘I’m fine now.’
Sebastien surveyed her in frowning contemplation, sure that she wasn’t telling him the truth. But why would she lie? Having confessed as much as she had, why would she now choose to conceal the truth about the accident?
‘Sebastien?’
Aware that her teeth were still chattering, Sebastien’s frown deepened. ‘What?’
‘Could we just go to bed?’
Faced with a potential solution which was well within his sphere of experience, Sebastien seized on the suggestion with enthusiasm and immediately lifted her into his arms.
‘I could probably walk,’ she murmured into his neck and he tightened his grip.
‘Probably is not good enough,’ he growled, lowering her on to the bed as if she were made of something extremely fragile and covering her with a sheet.
Her eyes flew to his. ‘Aren’t you joining me?’
Humbled by the question, Sebastien inhaled deeply. ‘Do you want me to? I dropped you in the water—’
She gave a tired smile. ‘You didn’t know—’
‘But I know now and from now on nothing is going to hurt you, agape mou,’ Sebastien vowed, stripping off and joining her in the bed with a flattering degree of speed.
With characteristic decisiveness he hauled her against him and rearranged her so that every shivering inch of her was pressed against his own body.
‘Feels nice,’ she mumbled, her eyes closing as she nestled against his shoulder.
Discovering feelings of protectiveness which he hadn’t known he was capable of, Sebastien lay still, afraid to move in case the shivering started again.
No wonder she’d hated his family, he mused grimly, breathing in her warm, tantalizing scent and forcing himself to ignore it.
And no wonder Dimitrios Philipos blamed the Fiorukis family for everything. Not only had his beloved only son been killed on the Fiorukis yacht along with his wife, but the last remaining member of his family, his precious granddaughter, had been injured.
Was that why he’d had her educated in England? Sebastien mused.
Had Philipos removed her from Greece for her own safety?
Clearly he’d misjudged Dimitrios Philipos, Sebastien conceded, stroking aside a strand of blonde hair from Alesia’s face and noting with relief that her colour was showing a definite improvement. In choosing to link their two families then he was indeed healing a rift that had been painful for both parties.
And, once he’d consulted experts and cured her of her water phobia, their marriage could begin properly.
Starting from tomorrow, Sebastien vowed, they were going to be a proper family.
Alesia held tightly to Sebastien’s hand, grateful for the distraction that his conversation offered. He’d already apologized about a hundred times for the fact that they had to board the helicopter in order to return to Athens but he’d assured her that the alternative boat trip was much longer and would be more agonizing for her.
Touched by his concern and feeling much safer than she could have imagined possible, Alesia kept hold of his hand and forced herself to concentrate on other things as the azure-blue Mediterranean blurred beneath them.
Traumatic though the incident had been, she was glad that he knew. In a way she’d revealed an important part of herself. And if anything they were closer than ever and she knew now that she loved Sebastien Fiorukis with a wild passion that she hadn’t believed possible.
Never had she thought she’d share this with a man and if, deep down, part of her was constantly reminding her that she wasn’t being totally honest with him, she was managing to ignore it.
For the first time in her life she was truly happy and she wasn’t going to allow anything to spoil it.
Sebastien’s mobile phone rang as soon as they landed and he gave a frustrated sigh. ‘End of our peace and quiet,’ he drawled as he shot her a look of apology and took the call.
Alesia smiled. She didn’t mind that he took the call. She understood his dedication to his business, the fact that he cared what happened to his employees, the fact that he took his responsibilities so seriously. It was one of the many qualities that she’d grown to love about him.
Sebastien ended the call and looked at her, indecision evident in every plane of his handsome face.
‘What’s the matter?’ Relieved to finally be on dry land, Alesia relaxed.
‘That was the office.’ He gave a rueful smile. ‘A crisis awaits—’
‘Then you should go.’
‘I don’t want to leave you,’ he confessed, his dark eyes sweeping her face with visible concern. ‘You were so unwell yesterday and I feel totally responsible.’
Basking in the totally new experience of having someone who wanted to take care of her, Alesia smiled at him happily. ‘I’m fine now. I’ll just rest and wait for you to come home,’ she assured him, thinking that his absence would give her time to phone her mother and experiment with all those wonderful new cosmetics he’d presented her with. Hopefully the rack of clothes would still be there too, and she’d be able to wow him with an amazing outfit on his return from the office.
‘I won’t be long,’ he promised, bending his dark head to deliver a drugging kiss to her parted lips, ‘and if you feel at all ill you’re to call me on my mobile.’
‘I don’t know the number.’
He looked startled, as if it hadn’t occurred to him before now that she’d had no way of getting in touch with him. ‘I’ll get you a phone straight away, with my number programmed into it. The slightest problem, I want you to call.’
With visible reluctance he strode back towards the waiting helicopter without bothering to change.
That must be one of the benefits of being the boss, Alesia mused, watching in a fog of total infatuation as he boarded the helicopter again. You could dress any way you liked. Not that Sebastien needed clothes to give him stature. He oozed confidence from every taut muscle of his amazing body. He could have been dressed in a bin bag and it still would have been obvious who was in charge.
Recalling just how long it had taken her to apply her makeup on the previous occasion, Alesia hurried up to their bedroom and walked into the dressing room, noticing with considerable disappointment that the rack of clothes had disappeared. The only outfit remaining was the skimpy skirt and top she’d worn for the nightclub.
She studied it thoughtfully. She’d loved that outfit and she was pretty sure that Sebastien had loved it too. Why not wear it again? First they’d have dinner, then perhaps he’d take her to another nightclub and they could dance and dance and after that—
Delighted with her own idea, Alesia virtually skipped down the stairs to discuss suitable dinner menus with Jannis, Sebastien’s head chef, and then returned to their bedroom suite to begin the transformation she had planned.
She bathed in richly scented water, daydreamed about Sebastien and smiled at the thought of the evening ahead. This time she managed her make-up in half the time and was reasonably pleased with the result. Feeling transformed and extremely feminine, she slipped her feet into the same pair of shoes that she’d worn for dancing, vowing that this evening she’d remove them and dance in bare feet.
Once she was ready she settled down to wait for Sebastien.
And she waited.
Twice she picked up the phone he’d had delivered to her and stood with her finger poised over the right button only to return the phone to the table with a sigh of frustration. She wasn’t going to phone him to ask him w
hen he was coming home. He’d said that he’d be as quick as he could. She didn’t want him to think she was clingy.
More time passed and Alesia chewed her lip and paced backwards and forwards in their bedroom. He was an important man, she reasoned, and he’d been away for an entire week. It was only natural that he needed some time in the office. Loads of people probably needed to talk to him.
By the time the sun went down her fingers were once again itching to pick up the phone. Why didn’t he at least call? Had she misunderstood his desire to be home early?
Then she heard footsteps outside and the bedroom door crashed open. Sebastien stood there, dark stubble grazing his hard jaw, his dark eyes glittering dangerously in the dim light.
He looked remote, distant and thoroughly intimidating and nothing like the man she’d spent the last week with.
Alesia looked at him warily. ‘Y-you don’t look as though you had a great day,’ she said nervously and in response he strode into the room and slammed the door shut behind him.
Alesia winced. ‘If you’re hungry, then—’
‘I’m not hungry.’ His voice was lethally smooth and he paced towards her, his shimmering dark gaze never leaving her face. ‘Aren’t you going to ask me if I had an interesting day at the office, agape mou?’
She shivered slightly at his tone and instinctively took a step backwards. ‘You’re very late so I expect you were busy—’
‘Extremely busy.’ His tone was almost conversational. ‘Busy discovering plenty of interesting facts about my new wife. Facts which she hadn’t thought to reveal herself even though we’ve just spent a week getting to know each other.’
Alesia felt the colour drain out of her face.
How much did he know?
‘Sebastien—’
She couldn’t believe how different he was from the man who’d been so concerned about leaving her only half a day earlier. Gone was the warmth and consideration that she’d enjoyed so much. In its place was cold disdain.
But was that really so surprising?
How could she have thought that this fairy-tale existence could continue when it was built on such shaky foundations? A good relationship needed trust and honesty and she’d given him lies and falsehoods. Nothing built on that could be sustained. It was inevitable that it would come crashing down in spectacular style.
‘Perhaps you’d better tell me what you’re talking about,’ she said stiffly and he gave a cynical laugh.
‘Why? So you can work out what I already know so that you don’t reveal more than you have to? Don’t worry, agape mou, I already know just how good you are at keeping secrets. I learned today a number of interesting facts about your life. Like the fact that up until two weeks before our wedding you have had no contact with your grandfather since you were seven years old.’ His expression grim, he fixed her with his chilly dark gaze. ‘So who paid the fees for that expensive school you attended?’
Feeling sicker by the minute, Alesia forced her voice to work. ‘I won a music scholarship,’ she croaked. ‘There were no fees.’
He registered that admission by a tensing of his broad shoulders. ‘And, according to my sources, once you were at university you held down no fewer than three jobs. You had two waitress jobs and you played the piano in a bar. How did you achieve your degree? When did you do any studying?’
‘I was often exhausted,’ she confessed with a glimmer of a smile that faded as soon as she registered his blackening expression. He was furiously angry with her. ‘I’m not afraid of hard work.’
‘Well, that, at least, is one thing in your favour,’ he bit out harshly and she shrank slightly. Clearly he didn’t think there was much else.
‘Most students take one job,’ he growled, pacing across the floor like a man at the very limits of his patience, ‘and I can understand that you needed money because you had no parents to provide for you and a grandfather who refused to acknowledge your existence, but why three? What did you do with the money?’ His eyes slid over her in silent question. ‘All the clothes you possess, I bought you with the exception of your wedding dress. You don’t shop and you’re so fragile that you clearly don’t eat much.’
Her gaze shifted from his and she swallowed. ‘General living costs—’
‘General living costs?’ He stopped dead and repeated her words slowly, as if he were struggling with his English, and the tone he used revealed just how ridiculous he found her mumbled statement. ‘Presumably this is why you went along with this deception and agreed to the marriage. Why should you struggle financially when a simpler, more lucrative option was available to you?’
She winced. Once again he made her sound just awful, as though the only thing she ever thought of was money. She wanted to tell him about her mother but she just couldn’t; it wasn’t her secret to divulge.
Sebastien started pacing again, the growing tension in his powerful frame clearly making it impossible for him to stand still. ‘But the question I really want answered is why your grandfather wanted this marriage,’ he growled. ‘As I suspected at the beginning, he was not playing Happy Families by pursuing the idea of a match between us. Clearly he has no concern for your welfare whatsoever. You are merely a pawn in his evil game, although clearly a very willing pawn. And now I want to know what the game is, Alesia. For once I want the truth.’
Alesia stared at him, appalled. Her life was collapsing in front of her eyes. To tell him would ruin everything that they’d built over the last few weeks and she just didn’t want that to happen. She knew now that Sebastien was nothing like her grandfather. He was a responsible man with a strong sense of family and duty and fairness. And above all else he respected honesty. How could she confess that she’d deceived him in the cruellest way possible?
So how did she confess the enormity of her crime to a man like that?
The irony made her eyes sting with tears.
She loved him.
She loved him and she had to tell him probably the worst thing that a wife could tell a Greek man. He would never understand the desperation that had driven her to such a distasteful action. Their short, bittersweet relationship would be over virtually before it had started.
She started to shake so badly that she could no longer stand up. ‘Sebastien—’
‘Just one look at your ashen face warns me that I’m not going to like what you’re about to tell me,’ he bit out grimly, striding over to a small table and pouring himself a large whisky. ‘I knew there was something more behind this “deal” but my father is an old man and was determined to end the feud once and for all. Stupidly, I went against my better judgement and decided to trust him.’
Alesia closed her eyes and wished she was somewhere else. Anywhere else.
Sebastien downed the drink in one and strode back over to her, the expression on his handsome face utterly forbidding. ‘Since he clearly wasn’t bothered whether you lived or died,’ he said harshly, ‘presumably your caring, devoted grandfather never wanted great-grandchildren either. And, since that was his stated reason for desiring this marriage, then I assume that his method of revenge must be somehow linked. Am I right?’
Alesia felt the nausea rise in her stomach. She was going to have to tell him. She was going to—
‘Alesia—?’ His tone was a sharp command and her eyes flew open and she lifted her chin.
This was her crime. Indefensible, but still her crime. She had to stand by what she’d done.
‘The explosion left me badly injured,’ she told him, just hating the fact that her voice was shaking so badly. ‘The doctors said I would never be able to have children.’
Registering that announcement, Sebastien stood in rigid stillness, every muscle in his powerful body tense as he watched her. ‘Just what exactly are you saying?’ he asked hoarsely and she felt a lump building in her throat as she forced the words out.
‘I can’t give you children, Sebastien. Ever. It isn’t possible.’
He inhaled deeply. ‘And y
our grandfather somehow knew this?’
She nodded bleakly. ‘My grandfather knows everything—’
Sebastien gave a harsh laugh and ran a hand over the back of his neck in a visible effort to relieve the tension. ‘This, then, was his latest revenge. To deprive my parents of the grandchildren they long for so badly and to deprive me of a child.’ He paced the length of the room one more time and made a sound of disbelief before he turned and fastened her with incredulous eyes. ‘And you agreed to this? Your grandfather is renowned as an evil, manipulative man with no morals. But you? For the right sum of money, you were prepared to go ahead with this deception?’
Alesia shrank inside herself and stared at the floor in utter misery.
What could she say? The answer was quite obviously yes and she wasn’t in a position to explain why the money had been so very important to her.
He made a sound of derision. ‘Whatever my family may have done to yours, there is no excuse for that level of dishonesty.’ His voice was thick with barely contained anger, streaks of colour accentuating his fabulous bone structure. It was as if something was about to explode inside him. ‘How could I ever have thought a relationship was possible? Not only are you a gold-digger but you are also a liar and a cheat.’
‘You can divorce me,’ she whispered in anguish and he turned on her, raw anger blazing from his dark eyes.
‘I cannot divorce you,’ he contradicted her savagely, one lean brown hand slicing through the air to emphasize his point. ‘Your scheming grandfather ensured that. The contract we both signed binds us together until you produce a child.’
Alesia swallowed painfully. ‘I know I did wrong, but you have to understand—’
‘Understand what?’ He cut through her whispered attempt to defend herself with ill-concealed derision. ‘That I married a woman completely bereft of human decency? I should have been more wary of your lineage. The Philipos blood runs in your veins and you have clearly inherited his complete lack of moral code.’
Driven by disgust that he didn’t even attempt to hide, he strode out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him, leaving Alesia numb with horror.
