Then he put a name to the other emotion she exhibited: sadness.
“Sweet, beautiful Elena,” he murmured, rubbing his thumbs over her high cheekbones, his gaze raking over her open mouth, her round eyes. “I’m not asking for forever. I’m asking for right now.” He kissed her again. “Give it to me?”
She appeared to want to do exactly that as she strained her hips against his. Then she bit her bottom lip and looked away.
“I can give you nothing. It’s not mine to give.”
Ari tried to deny her escape, but her resolve forced him to step back away from her.
“I’m…sorry. So sorry,” she whispered as she picked up her bag and ran away from him, her hair tangled, her mouth swollen, and the strap of her dress still dipping low over her shoulder.
4
THIS WAS CRAZY. Insane. She was a day away from marrying a good man. A very good man who loved her. Everything was arranged, guests had been flown in from all over the world. Her mother looked healthier than she had in a long time, since before her father had died.
And Elena had indulged in a wanton make out session in an alleyway with a virtual stranger.A sinfully tempting stranger. A hungry, predatory, insatiably hot stranger.
Elena closed her eyes tightly, blocking out the fiery hues of the sun diving for the western sky. She felt the jerking of the small skiff even more acutely as it cut across the caldera on its way to The Spartan Queen, Manolis’s well-appointed yacht.
She told herself that her uncharacteristic behavior was due to her building anticipation of her wedding night. She’d waited so long to sleep with her groom. And with one touch, she’d misdirected those emotions toward Ari.
It was also the place. She’d come down with a touch of holiday fever. Since she’d never gone on spring break with the rest of her classmates, she always guessed that their well-photographed and videotaped wild behavior was caused by the unnamed virus. The simple act of being in a foreign place, seduced by its beauty, feeling outside yourself, was to blame for uncharacteristic behavior. It was something she’d never experienced…until now.
Because never before had she done something so utterly…shameless.
Of course, she was experiencing that shame now. But she couldn’t ignore that she also felt wonderfully, exhilaratingly alive.
She wished her best friend, Merianna, had been able to make the trip. She was a little more experienced in these matters. The successful attorney, who was even now tied up with an important criminal trial back in Seattle, admitted to her once that there existed taped footage of her flashing her breasts during Mardi Gras in New Orleans. She’d been nineteen at the time, Merianna had bemoaned, and she’d had a few drinks. Now she spent many a late night praying that no one at the law firm ever came across it.
“That’s more like it,” her mother said.
Elena looked at the woman standing next to her. “What is?”
“You’re smiling.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Well, you haven’t been doing a whole lot of it since we left Washington.”
Elena grasped the side of the boat when they hit a wake left by a speedboat. “Of course I have.”
“No, you haven’t. You looked like you were going to your death instead of getting married.”
Had she? Elena turned her head to stare back out at the impossibly blue sea. Could what her mother said be true? Had she not smiled?
And if she was smiling now, what was the cause?
Ari…
She refused to believe it. She was getting married tomorrow. In this lovely place. To a marvelous man. She was on top of the world.
And happy that she had known the taste of Ari’s lips, if only for a brief moment. A snip in time that no one else had to know about. Her husband would be reaping the rest of the benefits from here on out.
Her smile widened and she closed her eyes, allowing the sun to wash her face in golden light.
“FOR A GUY WHO DIDN’T want to go to this thing earlier, you’re in an awful hurry to get there now,” Troy said, checking his cufflinks while he and Ari waited for the skiff that would ferry them the thirty feet to Manolis Philippidis’s yacht The Spartan Queen.
Ari grinned unabashedly. “The sooner we’re there, the sooner we can leave.”“I knew you had to have an ulterior motive.” Troy smacked him on the shoulder. “Thanks for doing this.”
“No need for thanks. We’re in this together.”
Troy looked out over the Aegean, though Ari suspected he didn’t see a drop of it. “Yes, well, sometimes I wonder about that.”
Ari squinted against the sunlight that bounced off the sparkling waves. “If that’s the case, then I apologize. It was never my intention.”
He felt a twinge of guilt. Not because of his involvement, or lack thereof, in the company’s current business affairs. Troy had never wanted or needed his help beyond what he asked him to do. Ari hated going over the same numbers and contracts again and again. The way he saw it, you nailed something down and moved on. You didn’t debate it to death. It was either right or it was wrong. There was no room for middle ground or doubt.
His brother was more than capable of taking care of the contract end of things. And Ari had no intention of being a second cook in the kitchen.
No, the guilt he felt was because he wasn’t being entirely honest with his brother. Oh, he had every intention of leaving this party early. Far earlier than Troy could imagine. Because he had a woman to seek out. And he intended to begin that search as soon as possible.
“Here we are,” Troy said, indicating Ari should board the skiff first.
Ari did so, his eyes trained on the high cliffs behind them. Was she there in her villa? And if she was, was she scanning the sea looking for him, as he searched for her?
He grinned. Ah, yes. He was going to be leaving this party as soon as he arrived…
“ELENA, WHERE ARE YOU?”
Elena blinked her mother’s face into view. Where was she? She was standing on the first deck of a four-deck megayacht next to her groom-to-be in the middle of dozens and dozens of people she didn’t know, her groom at her left elbow, her mother at her right, a little less than a half of a day away from her wedding.She’d been on the four-hundred-foot yacht before, but then it had been easy to deceive herself into thinking that only the one deck existed, only the one cozy cabin. But with countless guests arriving in their sparkling best, and disappearing somewhere on the yacht, white-clad servers offering up flutes of champagne and trays of fancy hors d’oeuvres, a live if abbreviated orchestra playing, she felt almost lightheaded.
Then again, maybe it was the champagne. Before she’d realized it, she’d downed one glass and was well into her second. And, if she wasn’t mistaken, the yacht was no longer anchored.
“Carlo! Come here. I want you to meet my lovely bride-to-be, Elena,” Manolis said, putting his arm around her waist.
As she had a number of times already, she smiled and extended her hand to another Mediterranean older man with a younger woman on his arm. She’d made the mistake of referring to one as the man’s wife when apparently she’d been his mistress, so she’d stopped asking personal questions.
She pulled at her dress, wondering why it suddenly felt too tight, when just a short time ago it had fit perfectly.
There were too many people, and none of them were family, save her own. She’d hoped to meet Manolis’s adult children from a previous marriage, but he’d told her tonight that they wouldn’t be attending. As for his mother, and siblings, he’d said Elena would meet them at the ceremony tomorrow.
The only people close to him that she knew were his ever-present Greek bodyguard, Gregoris, who towered over her by a foot and made her uneasy whenever he looked her way, and Caleb, one of the top executives of his multinational company, a man who couldn’t be much older than she was and who always had a different woman on his arm.
“Eat something,” her mother said, holding a plate of hors d’oeuvres in f
ront of her.
Elena gently pushed it away. “We’re going to be sitting down for dinner soon.”
Where were they going to fit all these people? She noticed the event and wedding planner moving through the room. She should ask if everything was under control. Unfortunately, she calculated that by the time she reached where the planner was now, the other woman would be long gone.
“Are you all right, darling?” Manolis asked.
Elena smiled at him and nodded. “Fine. I’m fine. Do you think we have enough tables for everyone?”
Manolis smiled and held her a little closer to his side. “Everything’s taken care of. There’s nothing you need to worry your pretty little head about.”
Elena resisted making a face, even as she laid her finger on exactly what was bothering her—she wasn’t used to being the pretty little head in any situation. Since her father had died, she had become more accustomed to being the organizer than the one hiring the organizer.
That was okay. She’d just have to adjust, that’s all. Besides, she didn’t think they’d be hosting such a large event again anytime soon. She’d have plenty of time before the next one to get her bearings.
She took a sip from her champagne flute again then realized she hadn’t intended to. Water. She needed some water.
“Are you ready?” Manolis asked her, his hand on her shoulder.
Her breath rushed from her. She hadn’t known how much she’d wanted to hear that question until he’d asked it. It was all so confusing. Overwhelming. She wasn’t sure if she was ready.
She opened her mouth to speak when she realized that he wasn’t asking her if she was ready to get married, but if she was ready for dinner.
“Mr. Philippidis. Thanks so much for inviting us. You have a phenomenal craft.”
Manolis turned toward the male voice. It belonged to a man Elena didn’t recognize but one who looked somewhat familiar.
“Mr. Metaxas. Thank you for coming. I’m glad you could make it.” Manolis shook his hand.
“You remember my brother, Ari, don’t you?”
Elena’s heart skipped a beat at the sound of the name. And then stopped altogether when the man stepped aside, revealing the one person she’d never expected to see again.
HEY, HEY, HEY. Looked like he wasn’t going to have to go searching for his dream girl after all.
Ari grinned widely. Talk about kismet. He’d come to the event so he could duck out, only to find what he was looking for right, smack dab in front of him.“Of course, I remember Ari,” Manolis Philippidis was saying as he shook his hand. “I don’t think you’ve had the pleasure of meeting my intended, Elena.”
Ari’s hand dropped like a stone to his side. Had Manolis just said what he thought he had?
He suspected he was staring at her in much the same way she was staring at him, with an expression that could only be described as a bad impression of a grouper.
She was Philippidis’s trophy-wife-to-be? It wasn’t possible. How, with all the tourists and locals inhabiting the Aegean island, had he met and become infatuated with the one woman off limits to him?
He felt Troy’s elbow in his side. “Ari?”
He realized Manolis was eyeing him suspiciously.
“Have you met my bride-to-be already, then?” Manolis asked.
Ari looked at him and smiled coolly. “No. No, I have not. If I had, I’m sure I would have remembered.” He turned back to Elena, forcing himself to breathe as he raised her hand and kissed it. “Her beauty has rendered me speechless, I’m afraid.”
Manolis beamed proudly, Ari’s brother, Troy, sighed in relief and Elena tugged her hand back with more force than was necessary.
“Come, come,” Manolis said, waving for them to follow him. “We’re just sitting down to dinner. I’d like it if you’d sit at our table.”
Elena flashed him a look of panic, as if pleading with him to refuse.
“We’d be honored,” Ari said instead.
She couldn’t breathe.
Elena made her way out to the side deck, somewhere, anywhere there were few people. The past hour had been a study in patience as she sat two chairs away from Ari and endured the ceaseless smoky looks he’d sent her way, making her feel so hot she was afraid her dress would spontaneously combust.She’d never been so relieved when Manolis had wished her a good night, excusing himself and several of his male guests as they retired to enjoy cognac and a cigar and talk shop, leaving her on her own for the rest of the evening.
“Elena?”
She swung around to face her mother.
“What’s the matter, agape mou?” she asked, referring to her as “my love.”
She tried for a smile. “I don’t know. I just needed to get some air.”
And what air it was. Fresh and fragrant, the salt of the sea coating her lips.
Ekaterina moved next to her and they stood side by side staring out at the rising moon. “Every bride gets cold feet.”
Elena tightened her grip on the top rail. “I don’t have cold feet.”
She didn’t, did she?
She recalled her earlier thoughts about everything moving too quickly. “It’s just that…” She looked at her mother. “Don’t you find all of this…overwhelming? So much…wealth. So much material possession. I mean, I knew Manolis was rich, but I don’t think I understood just how rich until now.”
“And that is a bad thing?”
Elena laughed. “I know, it sounds stupid, doesn’t it?”
Her mother put an arm around her. “Not stupid…oh, okay. Maybe it does sound a little bit naive.”
Naive. Now that’s a word she had never been called. Which meant this was a day of firsts for her. Not the least of which was her unexpected attraction to a man not her intended.
“I’m going back in,” her mother said. “You should come with me.”
Elena nodded but didn’t budge.
“Don’t be too long.”
“I won’t,” she promised.
She just needed a few more moments to try and wrap her head around everything.
Elena closed her eyes tightly as she listened to her mother’s footsteps retreat then she drew in a deep breath. Everything had seemed to happen so naturally. One event led to the next and then to the one after that.
So why was she suddenly experiencing such a deep and full case of the doubts? Could it be the cold feet her mother had talked about? Was it true that all brides went through the worry she was experiencing? That after tomorrow all would be well and bright?
She couldn’t imagine everything being right again. Only different. Terrifyingly different.
“Here I spent the past hour wondering how I was going to get you alone,” a male voice said a little too close to her ear. “And you went and solved the dilemma for me…”
Why did she have the icy certainty that this was but the beginning of a dilemma no one would be able to solve for her?
5
DAMN, BUT SHE WAS even sexier than he remembered. And that was nearly impossible, because he’d already built her up to impossible proportions in his mind all afternoon, ever since their parting near the outdoor market.
Ari let his gaze trail over her bare shoulder, down her arm and then to her rounded bottom. Even her slender ankles seemed to beg him for attention. And it was all too easy to imagine them crossed behind his back, those decadent lips of her parted in ecstasy.Elena quickly turned, interrupting his perusal.
“What are you doing?” she whispered urgently, looking both ways up the deck, though no one was there; the guests were too busy enjoying dessert in the five-course dinner service. “Someone could see you.”
He moved closer yet, her scent filling his senses. An intoxicating mix of gardenia oil and sea air. As much as she tried to pretend that his presence on the yacht didn’t move her, he could tell that she was just as aware of his proximity as he was of hers. It was as if every move seemed to take forever. Every gaze lingered for an hour. Every heartbeat echoed
in his ears, making it impossible to concentrate on casual conversation over the thundering racket.
He wanted her. Badly.
It was as simple and as complicated as that.
He wanted her and he intended to have her. Wealthy grooms, angry brothers and the entire world be damned.
“Please don’t look at me that way.” Her voice was barely audible and made his hard-on ache beneath the fabric of his tux pants.
“Why?”
“Because I can’t think when you do.”
Honesty. He liked that. “The way I figure it, it’s only fair that you feel the same as I do.”
“You don’t even know me.”
“Mmm, nor you me. But that didn’t stop what passed between us earlier in town.”
She looked away, and he was pretty sure she blushed, although it was difficult to tell in the dim light.
“I want to finish it,” he murmured.
She gasped, her eyes wide. “I’m getting married tomorrow.”
“And that affects me how?”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but judging from dinner conversation, you and your brother are trying to close a business deal with Manolis.”
“Yes, and we’re standing on a 405-foot megayacht that is worth ten times the investment we’re asking for.”
“How do you think he’ll react when he finds out you’re stalking his fiancée?”
Ari hiked a brow. He’d been called a lot of things, but he’d never been accused of being a stalker.
“Is that what you think I’m doing?”
“It is, isn’t it? Your following me out here like this. Earlier in town.”
“I’m trying to seduce you, Elena. There’s a difference. And I think you understand that because I get the definite impression that you want to be seduced.”
She appeared not to know what to say.
“All you have to do is tell me to go away, Elena.”
He didn’t miss her shiver. “Go away,” she whispered.
He tsked. “You’ll have to do better than that.”
Blazing Bedtime Stories, Volume III Page 3
