She was alone.
Just like him.
They were born alone, they died alone, and they were marrying—alone.
It wasn’t just the sight of her stepping slowly towards him, with no other human to keep her company, that made his breath labour in his lungs.
As she walked purposefully up the aisle, he couldn’t help but realise how little she resembled the no-nonsense assistant he’d propositioned.
Just like the night at the club, Alice Smart had transformed into something and someone completely different. This time, she was less sex siren and more Princess-in-Waiting. The dress was utterly spectacular, though he suspected on its hanger, or on another woman, it would barely catch his eye. But worn by Alice, it was a piece of mastery, flattering her body, teasing with every shift of fabric, making him want to touch it, to touch her, to feel every single inch of the fabric, and what was beneath.
Then there was the veil. While the dress was beautifully crafted and made him ache to examine it in greater detail, the veil was like something other-worldly. Made of tulle, it had a fine lace edging and on closer inspection he saw that flowers had been etched into the fabric, and, at each edge, a very fine cluster of diamonds was stitched into it. He stared at her through the gauze, the lurching in his gut entirely unwelcome and inappropriate.
‘Hi.’
Her softly voiced word had sanity surge back inside him, because he heard her trepidation and nervousness and realised what a jerk he was being to be focussing on the fact she looked impossibly, tantalisingly beautiful. This was a huge deal for Alice. Sure, it was a fake wedding, but that didn’t change the fact that the world’s elite had flown in to watch them say their vows; it didn’t change the fact there were television helicopters buzzing overhead, that the media had camped at the end of the private road that led to this hotel estate.
It didn’t change the fact that this was her wedding day and she was way out of her comfort zone. As was he, come to think of it, but he stood to gain immensely from this wedding.
He smiled—reassuringly, he hoped—and put a hand out for her. She placed her own in it, her fingertips trembling, so he squeezed and tucked her hand in his.
‘You ready?’ he asked quietly, leaning towards her. And as with outside the nightclub, she blinked her eyes up to him and nodded. Fearless, even when he suspected she truly was afraid.
The ceremony was short enough—just the vows, the legal stuff, and finally, the invitation that he may now kiss his bride.
His bride.
He looked towards Alice and studied her face in profile, wondering at the wisdom of this, simultaneously knowing it was too late to change a thing.
Remembering their audience, and one man in particular, he put an arm around her waist and drew her close enough to whisper so only Alice could hear, ‘It’s show time, Mrs Stathakis.’
The words were teasing, intended to be light-hearted, but there was nothing light-hearted about being close to Alice. Nothing light-hearted about the way passion soared through him, desire hammering against his body like a call he must answer.
He had just a moment to see her eyes widen and surprise flare in their depths before he kissed her.
It was a performance, an act. Except, it wasn’t.
True, Kosta Carinedes was there watching, as well as four hundred other interested people, but Thanos pulled Alice into his arms and kissed her as though he was picking up right where they’d left off outside the nightclub.
He kissed her as if there were no one else in the marquee, he kissed her with all the desire that had been firing between them since he’d walked into his office in New York and come face to face with the woman who’d reorganised his life and dealt with every possible query he could throw at her.
He kissed her and his arms came around her bare back, so he groaned when he felt her naked flesh beneath his fingertips, holding her tight to his body, his kiss deepening even when he knew he ought to pull back, to lift his head, to give them both space to breathe. Right when he was about to do so, she pushed her own body closer, as though she too couldn’t get enough of this, her hips shifting a little from one side to the other, just as they had in the club, moving so perfectly, so sweetly, that he ached for her in a way he recognised as pure white-hot desire, and from which he knew he needed to run a thousand miles.
Except this felt so good. So right.
He couldn’t help but surrender to it, for just a little longer.
Besides, if Kosta Carinedes had any doubts whatsoever about the veracity of this hastily arranged marriage, then he imagined they were quickly fading into nothing.
Telling himself it was purely for the older man’s benefit, he gave up trying to fight the kiss and he gave into it entirely. His tongue duelled with hers, his chest moved in time with Alice’s, their breathing in unison as they exploded—simultaneously—in a moment of passion that could only have been better if there had been a bed within easy reach.
* * *
‘You used to work for him, didn’t you?’
Alice blinked up, her eyes chasing the question. The wedding reception was taking place in the grand ballroom of the Stathakis hotel, and there were at least twice the guests in attendance as had been at the ceremony itself. Trays of locally produced champagne were circulating in cut-crystal glasses and the hors d’oeuvres had all been exceptional. An enormous oyster bar stood in the corner, brimming with the crustacean, which could be enjoyed au natural or with any number of additions—beluga caviar, sour cream and smoked salmon, bacon and Worcestershire sauce.
Alice turned away from the incredible display to regard the woman who’d approached her, who was asking how she knew Thanos. She was tall, skinnier than a beanpole, dressed in silky couture with perfect make-up, perfect nails, and long blonde hair that had been curled into loose waves, which now hung with artful elegance around her face.
‘Yes,’ Alice responded, hiding her uneasiness with a look that could freeze ice. She didn’t bother smiling—she didn’t need to move in these social circles to see the way these women were looking at her.
As if she didn’t belong. As if she’d come in and taken some kind of prize from their laps.
Of their own accord, her eyes skipped across the room, not stopping until they found him in the crowd. Despite her repeated mental reminders that this was just a job, a performance, her stomach did a funny little lurch at the sight he made.
There, in the middle of the polished marble floor, he was dancing, but not with any one of the glamorous women making eyes at him. Thanos had a little girl in his arms, and he was twirling her around the room, his eyes crinkled in the corners with laughter, as she held on tight and giggled.
She’d been introduced to Leonidas’s wife Hannah and their eighteen-month-old Isabella earlier in the day. She’d never really thought of Thanos as someone with family—even though she knew the bare details. His father was in prison, and of course his brother was his business partner; they owned their enterprise together.
But seeing Thanos with these people humanised him in a dangerous way, in a way she didn’t welcome. It made her want to know more about him. To ask him questions about his life growing up, about his relationship with his brother and sister-in-law, to know more than the bare facts of his father’s imprisonment, and more than she could find on the Internet. She wanted to know how Thanos had felt. How he had survived such an awful phase of his life.
It was easier for Alice to think of him as a billionaire tycoon—successful, arrogant, fiercely intelligent and determined. It was easier for her to think of him as the ‘playboy prince of Europe’, to remember he had a reputation for taking women to bed with the same kind of regularity with which most people changed underwear.
Seeing him play with a little girl, though, added another dimension to his personality. One Alice wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to recognise.
‘It’s strange,’ the blonde beside her continued. ‘I was with him only a few weeks ago and he never mentioned you.’
‘I’m not surprised,’ Alice murmured, figuring there wasn’t much more she could say.
‘You must be pregnant,’ the woman continued thoughtfully. ‘That would make sense.’ She dragged her gaze over Alice’s body questioningly.
‘If I am, it would be news to me.’
‘I just think it’s weird that he never spoke about you.’
Alice’s gut lurched at the lie they were perpetuating. This woman’s confusion was easy to understand. This wedding had come out of the blue—for all of them.
‘We wanted to keep it private,’ she murmured. ‘The media can be such a pain.’
‘Don’t I know it,’ the blonde agreed, and Alice found herself softening towards the other woman a little. ‘You get used to it eventually. Sort of.’
Alice nodded, even though she knew there’d be no need to get used to it. Not in the long term. Sooner rather than later, this marriage would be ended, and Alice would go back to her real life, her real self. As much as possible, anyway, given that she’d be a millionaire.
At that moment, Thanos tilted his head and his eyes caught Alice, and everything inside her went completely off-balance. Anticipation was a tsunami inside her and it was dragging her forward and sucking her under. She was losing all of herself in that moment, losing everything she knew about herself, everything she’d ever thought. She stared at him, powerless to look away, even when the blonde began speaking again.
‘You’ll have to come away with us next time we sail.’
‘Oh?’ Alice was going through the motions of the conversation now. Her body was pulling her forward, onto the dance floor, begging her to move to her groom’s side.
He hadn’t looked away and Alice was drowning in the depths of his eyes.
‘A big group of us go a few times a year. It’s fine. Lots of champagne. Sunshine. Too much food.’ The woman—about the size of a pencil—grimaced, but Alice didn’t see the gesture.
‘Sounds fun,’ she said, wondering in the back of her mind if she’d even be around when the next trip took place.
‘He’s a real catch, you know,’ the woman said on a small sigh. Alice nodded, and in that moment she rather suspected he might be.
For someone else.
The words rushed through her body, jolting her back to reality.
Not for Alice.
Never for Alice.
He had laid all his cards out on the table. This was just business. Nothing personal. He didn’t want this to be anything more than a business transaction.
Whatever desire was zapping between them simply had to be controlled.
And it was more than just Thanos’s wishes. Alice had learned her lesson at her mother’s side and then again when she’d briefly let her own guard down, she’d paid the price with a heart that had been shattered well beyond repair. At least, well beyond a point that would allow her to trust again.
He lifted a hand, beckoning her slowly towards him, and she straightened, schooling her breath into a soft, gentle pattern, telling herself this was just a performance and that she must, as he’d said during the ceremony, play her part.
‘Excuse me,’ she murmured, turning a vague smile in the direction of the wedding guest she’d been speaking to. ‘I’m going to dance with my husband.’
CHAPTER SIX
IT WAS EVERY bit as troubling as dancing with her in the nightclub had been. More so, because now Alice was his wife. Mrs Stathakis. And despite all the promises he’d made himself over the years, his utter certainty he would never do anything so foolish as marry, he felt an odd puffing of his chest when he thought of Alice in those terms.
She moved in his arms so perfectly, her body moulded to his, and his hands roamed her back distractedly, feeling the smoothness of her skin, the ridges of her spine.
‘Do you actually know all these people?’ she murmured, looking up at him so he tilted his head down to hers. Their eyes locked and for a moment his dancing slowed.
He started moving again, swirling her around gently. ‘Most of them. Why?’
Her smile was self-deprecating. ‘It’s just so many people. It’s kind of overwhelming.’
‘I don’t know many of them well,’ he amended honestly.
‘So they’re mostly business associates?’
Thanos considered that. ‘Many are, yes. But I suppose a few hundred are people I socialise with.’
‘But aren’t actually friends with?’ she prompted, a teasing smile on her face, a divot between her brows that he had an irrational urge to drop his lips to and kiss.
‘What’s your definition of a friend?’
‘Someone you could call at any time, day or night, who’d have your back when you needed support.’
He lifted a brow, his stomach churning a little. ‘In that case, I have only one friend.’
‘Oh?’
He swivelled his head, moving his gaze across the room. ‘My brother, Leonidas.’
‘Ah.’ Her smile was just a lift at the corners. ‘I think that’s cheating.’
He laughed, a sound that ruffled through his broad chest. ‘Is it?’
‘Yep. And I can’t compete because I have no siblings, so it’s not really fair.’
‘You didn’t invite any of your friends?’
She pulled her mouth to the side a bit, as she thought about that. ‘I don’t really have any friends.’
He saw regret cross her face followed swiftly by confusion, almost as though she’d said more than she’d intended, and wanted to draw the words back in. But he wouldn’t let her. Her admission fascinated him.
‘Why not?’
‘Honestly?’
‘Yeah.’
‘It’s complicated.’
He arched a brow. ‘I’m your husband, remember.’
She pulled a face and lowered her voice, lifting up onto the tips of her toes so he alone would hear her. ‘In name only.’
‘Ah.’ He grinned. ‘Don’t hold that against me.’
Alice lowered her body back, staying close to him, her brow furrowed thoughtfully. ‘I’ll try not to.’
‘So? Friends?’
She expelled a soft sigh. ‘We moved around a lot when I was growing up. It was hard to meet friends, and once I did, we’d leave town again. I used to email a few, but after about my sixth school, I stopped even trying to learn the names.’ She grimaced. ‘Work is no different. I mean, I’m a temp, so by the very nature of my job, I’m never in the same place for long. And when I am, and I do by chance come across someone I click with socially, I can’t really catch up with them because I care for Mom so much of the time.’
Thanos hadn’t been born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth. True, he’d known excessive wealth and comfort during his childhood, but he’d also known a corresponding degree of pain and emotional distance, of loss and hardship, and yet he found it hard to think of a single thing he’d gone through that could compare to the sheer loneliness of what Alice had experienced.
‘I’m only twenty-four but I don’t really do the stuff people my age are into. I can’t afford it.’
He smiled but it was completely without humour.
‘There wasn’t anyone I could think of to invite,’ she said with a lift of her shoulders.
‘I’m sorry.’
‘Please don’t be,’ she said with a shake of her head and a slightly tremulous smile. ‘If you’re going to feel sorry for me, feel sorry for me because my dad never wanted to know me or because my mom is in a coma, or because I had a credit-card debt the size of Mount Everest until you entered the picture. I can live without friends.’
He slowed his dancing once more, thinking again how similar they were, how independent, how determined t
o show that they were okay with being on their own.
‘I’m sorry for those things, too.’ He stared down at her, wondering at the twists and turns life had served this woman, at the reality she’d been forced to live, and sympathy tore through him.
But she smiled, and even if it didn’t reach her eyes, it totally changed her face.
‘It’s our wedding day,’ she reminded him. ‘We should look happy, not glum.’
Before he could reply, they were interrupted by the arrival of Kosta Carinedes.
‘Thanos,’ he said with a nod, his eyes shifting to Alice’s with obvious interest. ‘Miss Smart.’
‘Mrs Stathakis,’ Alice corrected without missing a beat, tilting her face towards Thanos’s and smiling in a way that was now a perfect imitation of a woman madly in love. And even though she was simply pretending, something like warmth spread through Thanos, starting at his chest and radiating out through his body in waves.
‘Of course.’ Kosta still seemed as if he was waiting for the punchline. He looked from one to the other with a sense of bemusement.
‘We’re so glad you could join us,’ Alice enthused, going over the top of his doubts with a truly gifted performance. ‘I felt quite bad the other day, when you came to the office and we didn’t confess the truth.’
Thanos’s eyes narrowed.
‘So this was going on then?’
Alice arched a brow teasingly. ‘We just got married,’ she pointed out. ‘Of course it was going on then.’
‘So you’ve been an item for some time?’
Thanos stroked Alice’s side without realising he was doing it. ‘We wanted to keep things quiet for as long as possible. You know, privacy concerns.’
‘Naturally.’ Kosta’s eyes narrowed. ‘How long have you been dating?’ he prompted, like a dog with a bone, refusing to give up on his inquisition.
Thanos ground his teeth together, pushing his impatience aside. ‘It feels like a very long time ago that I first saw Alice and lost my heart.’
Bride Behind The Billion-Dollar Veil (Crazy Rich Greek Weddings Book 2) Page 7
