The Shy Bride

by Lucy Monroe

  Her mother had been an invalid, and yet rather than giving the small child Cassandra had been extra love and attention to make up for that, she’d been thrown into a world of public performance that clearly terrified her. Worse, she’d been forced to stay there.

  Neo might have grown up on the streets, with a short stint in an orphanage, but he knew that wasn’t acceptable behavior for a family. He could not regret her father was dead, or Neo would be tempted to beat the man. Not that her manager was entirely safe. The temptation to destroy the man was strong, but Neo would rather focus his energies on helping Cassandra regain certain elements to her life.

  Like travel.

  She had seemed so excited at the prospect of going to Dubai, and even Napa Valley with him. He would never have thought she enjoyed travel so much, being as connected as it was to her public performing.

  But apparently the incredibly talented pianist had found one thing to enjoy on her concert tours. Experiencing new places.

  He was determined she would know that joy again.

  He would look at his schedule in the morning to see when they might plan the trip to Napa Valley. It would have to be soon, because if he ended up going to Dubai, it would be in the next month. And chances were good on that trip. He wanted to take Cassandra. He wanted his new friend to experience all the delight life had to offer.

  Including, but not limited to, devastating sex.

  And maybe he would find her a new manager, one who saw Cassandra as a person, not a meal ticket. Or at least was very good at pretending so.

  Cass woke in a strange bed for the first time since her father died and she stopped travelling for her music. It was a comfortable bed with soft sheets and duvet of perfect weight. She could easily snuggle down and go back to sleep, a sense of warmth and safety enveloping her.

  Until her brain supplied just whose bed she had woken in.

  Neo’s!

  She could still smell him on the sheets. That yummy aftershave he wore and a scent she would forever associate with sex. She reached out, but found the sheets beside her empty. They were still warm from another body, though. Neo had slept with her.

  Memories of strong arms holding her, a tender kiss on her lips and a whispered “Good night, yineka mou” warmed her.

  She could barely wrap her mind around the fact he had slept with her—all night long, much less her lascivious memories of the night before.

  Sitting up in the Ralph Lauren white T-shirt Neo had lent her to sleep in, she felt only tiny twinges in muscles used so differently from her normal exercise regime. The mineral bath had helped. A lot.

  She bit her lip on the smile Neo’s insistence she soak in the enhanced hot water brought to her face. He’d been so sweet, but she intuited he would not thank her for saying so.

  He’d taken such good care of her, but what had really surprised her was him carrying her to his bed after the bath. She’d assumed that if she was staying over, she would do so in the guest room. But that wasn’t what happened.

  He’d brought her to his bed. Without the slightest hesitation or discussion.

  And though she’d never once slept in the same bed as another person, she had rested deeply, waking only once in the wee hours of the night. Rather than being bothered by the body wrapped so protectively around hers, she had reveled in the experience, knowing it might not ever happen again.

  She didn’t think Neo made a habit of sleeping with his mistresses. No doubt he’d made an exception for her because it had been her first time.

  He really was a nice man.

  “What’s put that smile on your face?” the man himself asked from the doorway, dressed immaculately and obviously ready for work.

  “You,” she admitted.

  His brows rose.

  “Really. You’re a very nice man, Neo Stamos, billionaire business mogul.”

  He shook his head. “Don’t let my contractors hear you say that.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

  “Dora has breakfast waiting for you when you are ready.” Cass looked around, but did not see a clock. “What time is it?”

  Neo flicked a glance at his watch. “Seven-thirty.”

  “You look ready to go to work.”

  “I am. I woke late, but have a meeting I must attend.”

  “Can I return to my house today?” she asked, fearful of the answer. She couldn’t help noticing, he had never mentioned Cole Geary calling the night before with the all clear.

  “Yes, of course. Cole’s team finished the installations before dinnertime yesterday.”

  “You didn’t say anything.”

  He shrugged, but the skin over his sculpted cheekbones went a burnished hue. “I was enjoying your company.”

  “Ditto,” she hastened to assure him. “I certainly don’t mind, but it would be good to get back to work on my composition.”

  “Get done what needs doing by Friday.”

  “There goes that bossy gene again.”

  “Ahazard of spending your time around business moguls.”

  “You think?”

  “I know.”

  “Just so you don’t expect to always get your way.”

  “Just so you don’t expect me not to try.”

  She laughed, feeling more free than she had since her initial decision to stop performing. “What’s happening on Friday?”

  “We’re flying to Napa Valley after dinner and staying for the weekend.”

  Shocked to her pink, bare toes, she jumped out of the bed. She hadn’t let herself hope he meant it about travelling together, but hadn’t he told her at least once he did not say things he didn’t mean? “You’re serious?”

  “I’ve instructed my pilot to book both takeoff and landing slots and Miss Parks to rent a house for the weekend.”

  “All since waking up?”

  “I texted them both last night, after you fell asleep.”

  “But it’s such short notice.”

  “Money—”

  “Talks and the rest of the world listens.” She shook her head in disbelief. He gave her so much and didn’t seem to even realize it. “You’re amazing! Thank you!”

  He accepted her enthusiastic hug without a glimmer of hesitation, but kept his kiss swift. “I cannot afford to get sidetracked by your too-alluring lips this morning.”

  “You find my lips alluring?”

  “Most definitely.”

  “Good to know.” She was feeling positively giddy and it showed in her voice.

  “You think?”

  “Sure, knowledge is power,” she said cheekily.

  “So they say.” His eyes travelled down her T-shirt-clad body, the heat factor increasing steadily until he gave her a look that singed her to her toes. “Know this, if I did not have to attend this meeting, I would be taking you back to bed and touching you until you screamed.”

  “Wow. Maybe we can try that scenario in California this weekend.” Yes. Please.

  “Consider it done.” He took a deep breath. “I am leaving now. Do not be intimidated by Dora. She is my housekeeper, therefore not a stranger.”

  It said a lot about how much she trusted him and how comfortable she was in Neo’s home that his words actually settled inside her with truth. “Got it. Not a stranger.”

  “Will you be okay with her driving you home?”

  “Surely that’s not in her job description?”

  He shrugged. “I thought you would be more comfortable with her than my usual driver.”

  “So, you do use one.”

  “When necessary, yes. I like driving though.”

  “And you like being on time. Go.”

  He shook his head and then grabbed her and placed a hard, lingering kiss on her lips. Then he spun on his heel and left the bedroom.

  She put her fingers over her lips. “Wow.” She spun in a circle. “Just wow.”

  Dora turned out to be a Greek woman in her mid-fifties with salt-and-pepper hair worn in a neat bun. She had a
kind smile and the apparent desire to feed the nations. The breakfast she laid out for Cass was big enough to feed an army.

  When she said so, the older woman grinned. “One day That One,” she said, tilting her head toward the door as if Neo were still in the apartment, “will settle down and give me some bebes to cook for.”

  The image of little boys with green eyes and dark hair teasing a sister into eating her dinner so they could all leave the table to play flashed through Cass’s mind. It filled her with a longing she thought she had long ago conquered. “He’ll make a wonderful father.”

  “Not that he knows it.” Dora rolled her eyes as she poured Cass a cup of aromatic coffee. “Men!”

  Cass laughed. “I don’t have much experience with the species, except my manager.” And Bob was less a man in her mind than the nagging voice of business.

  Neo’s bossiness didn’t really bother her, but when Bob got overly demanding, she felt borderline bullied. One thing was for sure, if he could have cajoled her into returning to the stage, he would have done it. Goodness knew he kept trying.

  He’d played every guilt card in the deck. At least twice.

  “You are the pianist. Mr. Neo told me. I enjoy your music.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You will have to slow down when you have children. Two CDs a year.” She shook her head.

  “I doubt I’ll ever have children, but I would not mind cutting back on my composing for their sake if I did.”

  “Why should you not have children?”

  “Some people never find that special person to spend their lives with. I wouldn’t wish myself on a child as a single parent, either.” Not with her limitations. It wouldn’t be fair to the child.

  “So, you’re a little shy. I’ve read your biography. Not everybody likes to be the center of attention. You’ll make a wonderful mother. You mark my words.”

  Cass just smiled, hiding how much she wished the other woman’s words weren’t just wise, but were prophetic. Only Cass knew how impossible such dreams were in her life. “Neo said you would drive me home this morning.”

  “Yes. He did not think you would like going with his driver, or so he said.”

  “That’s right. Strangers can intimidate me.”

  “Yes, I’m sure. It has nothing to do with the fact his driver is a very attractive young man. No. Of course not.”

  Cass was startled into laughter. “I do not think Neo is the jealous type.”

  Dora made a noncommittal noise and then told Cass to eat her breakfast.

  Cole Geary was waiting for Cass when she arrived at her house.

  She was amused to discover that Dora had no intention of leaving Cass alone with a man. The older woman’s traditional values were showing. Cass was only surprised Dora didn’t seem to think less of her for so obviously spending the night with her employer.

  Cole walked Cass through all the changes, which were pretty unobtrusive. Getting used to the alarm system was going to be the hardest part.

  “Strange to look out through a window and realize the glass wouldn’t shatter if a neighbor kid hit a ball at it.”

  “You get used to it,” Cole said.

  Dora nodded. “Mr. Neo’s got a glass partition around his balcony that’s supposed to stop bullets. It’s got to be cleaned just like any window.”

  “It’s top-quality shatterproof material.” Cole sounded proud of that fact. “The same stuff they used during the president’s acceptance speech.”

  “He takes his safety seriously,” Cass remarked.

  “He has to.”

  Cass felt an internal shudder at that reminder. “Sometimes, I forget he’s such a successful tycoon.”

  Cole looked at her like she’d lost her mind, but Dora’s smile was clearly approving.

  Once they’d finished the tour of the new security measures and programmed her palm print into the biometric locks, Cass offered the other two coffee. Cole declined due to another appointment. Dora accepted, offering to make the coffee while Cass changed into fresh clothes for the day.

  As Cass was dressing for the second time that morning, it occurred to her she may well have made a second friend.

  The phone rang that night just as Cass was getting ready for bed. It was Neo.

  “Dora said Cole walked you through the changes.”

  “Yes. They’re better than I expected. They even painted all my window trims the same color they were. You can barely tell the difference.”

  “I told you.”

  “It’s not nice to rub it in when you are right, Neo.”

  “You did not mind me being right about how good intimacy between us would be.”

  She choked out a laugh. “Jerk.”

  “Seriously? You just called the great Neo Stamos a jerk?”

  “I was teasing, oh, Mr. Greatness.”

  His laughter was rich and warm.

  “Were you late for your meeting this morning?”

  “Naturally not.” He paused. “But I did not have time to do my usual preparations.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “You do not sound so.”

  “What do you expect? I impacted the great Neo Stamos’s schedule. That’s pretty impressive.”

  “Proud of yourself, are you?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “I feel the same.”

  “You do?”

  “You can ask that after the honor you did me last night?”

  “Was it such an honor?”

  “Very much so.”

  “So, um…you haven’t had a lot of experience, with virgins I mean.”

  “No, but more importantly, I have never made love to a woman who touched me like you do.”

  “I don’t know how to touch you,” she wailed, admitting one of her fears. She’d spent the day reliving the night before and one thing had become glaringly obvious; she had been the recipient, not the giver. She was going to have to do some research.

  “I was not talking about the physical, but trust me when I tell you there is nothing to fear there.”

  “I do trust you.”

  “I know. You are flying to Napa Valley with me.”

  “You sound like I’m doing you a favor and we both know the opposite is true.” For the first time in years, Cass felt like she was truly living, not just existing through her music.

  “Every time you give me your time it is something to appreciate.”

  “Your brain doesn’t work like other men.”

  “You are just now realizing this?”

  She laughed. “Don’t be annoying.”

  “But I am good at it. Ask anyone.”

  “I don’t believe it. Demanding. Commanding. Brilliant even. But not regularly annoying.”

  “Perhaps it is a talent that only comes out with you.”

  “It does that. I still can’t believe you kidnapped me from my house yesterday.”

  “Do you regret it?”

  “Not even a little.”

  “Good.”

  “Will you still be here for your piano lesson next week?” she asked. “Yes.”

  “I promise not to waste time on pleasantries,” she teased.

  “I do not.”

  “No?”

  “No. I find it very pleasant to kiss you.”

  “If you expect kisses and…other stuff…you had better schedule extra time because I expect you to learn more chords.”

  “You are a slave driver.”

  “I’ve heard that one before and I’ll tell you what I’ve told my other students.”

  “That is?”

  “You bought lessons to learn to play the piano, not sit and stare at it.”

  “Technically, I did not buy the lessons at all.”

  He had a point, but she wasn’t foolish enough to acknowledge it. “Zephyr would not be happy to hear his lessons were being wasted.”

  Neo said something in Greek and she laughed.

  “I get the feeling I don’t want to know what
you just said.”

  “Certainly I do not want to tell you.”

  “Embarrassing much?”

  “Perhaps a bit. You can take the boy out of the streets, but not the streets out of the boy.”

  “I don’t believe that. You’ve come too far from your origins to see yourself as a homeless urchin in any way.”

  “I do not forget my beginning. It drives me to achieve more in the present.”

  “Will it ever be enough? The success you’ve achieved?”

  “Funny, Zee asked the same thing recently.” The bantering humor had dissolved from his voice to be replaced by something that almost sounded like melancholy.

  “What did you tell him?”

  “That he was just like me.”

  “Which is not an answer at all.”

  “I do not know.”

  She knew Neo did not mean he didn’t know what he had said, but rather that he did not know if his success would ever be enough.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Now, you sound like you mean it.”

  “You should be happy with what you have done with your life, proud of yourself, but you’re still striving to prove something to yourself.”

  “It is not something I think about.”

  “Maybe you should.”

  “Perhaps, but right now, I am too busy thinking how I am going to schedule enough time to have both you and my lesson next week.”

  “Focus on clearing your schedule for the weekend. That comes first.” And he’d probably get enough of her he wouldn’t feel the need to do more than study piano the following Tuesday.

  Neo called the next morning to remind her to turn off her alarm system before stepping outside. He called again after lunch to ask how her current composition was going. She told him if she got it done, she would play it for him over the weekend.

  She wasn’t at all surprised when the phone that never rang did for the third time as she started making preparations for a solitary meal.

  “Hello, Neo.”

  “How did you know it was me?”

  “No one else calls me, except my manager and people from my CD label. None of them ever calls after five p.m. I guess they don’t keep your kind of hours.”