He was a hardened cynic, and after his sister’s first designer had turned out to be a crook he had been mistrustful of Belle and opposed to a relatively unknown designer making Larissa’s wedding dress. But he had given her a chance and brought her to Aura—whereupon she had immediately dropped her knickers for him like a cheap tart.
Images taunted her of his naked body pressing down on hers, his mouth on her breast and his wickedly invasive fingers touching her intimately. In an agony of embarrassment she pressed her hands to her burning cheeks. She’d screwed up—literally, she thought grimly. No doubt Loukas was at this very minute arranging her departure from his island.
‘Ah—you’re awake. I was beginning to think you’d never stir.’ He strolled into the bedroom through a door that Belle guessed led from the en-suite bathroom, looking every inch the suave business tycoon in a superbly tailored dark grey suit, crisp white shirt and navy tie. Belle was immediately conscious that she was naked, and clutched the sheet to her, her eyes wide and unknowingly wary as she tried to assess his mood. Would he shout at her in a furious rage, as John had so often done during her childhood, when he had accused her of some misdemeanour or other? Or would his anger be controlled and coldly sarcastic as he reviled her for her wanton behaviour?
Loukas walked over to the bed, and despite everything Belle’s pulse-rate accelerated as she stared at his chiselled features, his smooth jaw an indication that he had recently shaved. He was so gorgeous that it was hardly surprising she had succumbed to his virile masculinity, but that was no excuse for what she had done, she acknowledged dismally.
‘I know what you must be thinking,’ she said falteringly, wishing he hadn’t lowered himself onto the edge of the bed so that the familiar scent of his aftershave teased her senses. ‘I just want you to know that I have never done anything like…like last night before.’
Loukas frowned. ‘Do you mean you were a virgin?’
She gave him a startled look. ‘No—of course not, I had a relationship with a guy at university. Well, it wasn’t a relationship as such—we were friends and ended up having a one-night stand.’ She flushed, realising that she was waffling. ‘It wasn’t a good idea, really,’ she mumbled, suddenly conscious that she had told Loukas more about herself than she had intended. ‘Anyway, what I meant was that I’ve never…had sex…with someone only a few hours after meeting them.’
Did she have any idea how painfully vulnerable she seemed? Or how tempted he was to pull her into his arms and cover her tremulous lips with his mouth? Loukas wondered. Last night, as the moonlight had slanted silver beams over her slender body, he had thought that she could never look more beautiful. But this morning, with her blonde hair tangled around her bare shoulders and her mouth softly swollen from his kisses, she was a sleepy sex kitten, and his body was already hardening in anticipation of making love to her again.
He did not know why he was so pleased by her admission that she had only had one other lover. Her past was of no interest to him, and neither was her future, when in a few weeks from now their lives would take separate paths. All he was interested in was the present.
‘Why does it matter if we had sex hours rather than days or weeks after we first met?’ he queried coolly. ‘It was going to happen at some point. The chemistry between us was white-hot from the minute we laid eyes on each other,’ he insisted when she opened her mouth to deny it. ‘Why wait when it was something we both wanted?’
‘But we don’t know each other!’ Belle said shakily.
He shrugged. ‘We know a few basic facts about one another, and we learned last night that we are extremely sexually compatible. What else do we need to know? It’s not as if we’re planning to spend the rest of our lives together,’ he added sardonically.
For some reason his words evoked a little pang inside her. She had a sudden recollection of the moments after they had made love, when they had lain together while their breathing slowed and she had felt a sense of security—of belonging—that she had never felt in her life. Even before she had learned that John was not her real father she had felt like a cuckoo in the nest, she thought bleakly. But the idea that she somehow belonged with Loukas was ridiculous.
She glanced at him from beneath her lashes and her stomach contracted when she saw the feral desire in his eyes. Memories of his naked body descending onto hers, the feel of his rock-hard erection slowly penetrating her, caused a flood of honeyed moisture between her legs, and she instinctively tightened her grip on the sheet. Somehow she needed to regain control of the situation. It did not appear that Loukas was going to sack her, and from now on she was determined to focus on the job he had brought her to Aura to do.
‘Well, anyway, it’s certainly not going to happen again,’ she said firmly.
‘Of course it is,’ he contradicted her smoothly. His arrogant self-assurance rankled, but before she could argue he leaned forward so that he was much too close for comfort. She shrank back against the headboard, her heart thudding when he placed his hands on either side of her head. His mouth hovered tantalisingly above hers, so that his warm breath whispered across her lips. ‘One night wasn’t enough for either of us. But I’m sure that by the time of Larissa’s wedding we will have sated our desire for each other, and then we will both move on with our lives.’
Shock at what he seemed to be suggesting battled with shameful longing inside Belle’s head. ‘Are you saying you want us to have an affair while I’m staying on Aura?’ she demanded.
‘Can you think of a good reason why we shouldn’t?’ he countered equably. ‘We’re both consenting adults, free to do as we please. I’m not involved with anyone at the moment, and I assume you’re not either?’
He was making it sound so simple—and maybe he was right, said a little voice inside her. Maybe she was looking for complications that didn’t exist. Why shouldn’t she have a brief fling with him? The sex last night had been indescribably wonderful. Admittedly she wasn’t very experienced, but she knew instinctively that he had been as blown away as she had by the fiery passion that had blazed between them.
It was not as if there was any danger she would fall for him, she assured herself. He was not a bully, like her stepfather, but he was still too overpowering for her. The few men she had dated in the past had been gentle, artsy guys—sensitive and undemanding. Maybe a little boring, if she was honest, but she did not have time for grand passion when she needed to focus all her energy on establishing her business.
She chewed on her bottom lip. ‘I need to concentrate on making the dresses in time for the wedding. And what would Larissa think?’
Loukas shrugged. ‘I don’t suppose she would care. The only problem is that my sister might view our relationship as a love-match. She’s worried I’ll be lonely once she has married Georgios and moved to Athens, and is keen for me to fall in love,’ he explained, the biting irony in his voice a clue to his views on the subject. ‘But there is no reason why she should even know. Lissa phoned earlier to say that Constantine underwent emergency heart surgery first thing this morning. Apparently everything went well, although he will remain in Intensive Care for several days. Larissa has decided to stay with Georgios at his family home in Athens so that they can visit his father. She’ll fly back to Aura for dress fittings.’
That meant that she and Loukas would be alone at Villa Elena every night, Belle realised, catching her breath when he traced the delicate line of her collarbone with his finger and continued down to the valley between her breasts.
‘Do you really want to lie in your lonely bed night after night, tormented by fantasies of my hands caressing your body?’ he murmured. He tugged the sheet out of her nerveless fingers and his eyes glittered with sensual heat as he stared down at her naked breasts, her nipples as hard as pebbles. ‘How many nights do you think you could resist the carnal hunger that consumes us both?’
Belle stared at him numbly, but he did not seem to need a reply—perhaps because he knew that she was incapable of
resisting him, she thought, mortified by her weakness. But the truth was she couldn’t resist him. She longed for him to kiss her, to roll her nipples between his fingers as he had done last night and create those exquisite sensations that she had only ever experienced with him. Disappointment swooped in her stomach when he suddenly stood up and strode across the room to the huge expanse of windows that ran the length of one wall and offered spectacular views of the sea.
‘There is one other thing we need to discuss.’ The sensual warmth had disappeared from his voice and he sounded terse, his body language no longer relaxed. ‘I did not use a condom last night, so unless you are on the pill we had unprotected sex.’
Anger burned like acid in his gut—anger directed solely at himself. How could he have been so criminally careless? Loukas asked himself for the hundredth time since the truth had hit him like a blow to his solar plexus, forcing the oxygen from his lungs.
He had woken at dawn to find that Belle had moved from the side of the bed where he had lain her when he had carried her down to his room and was curled up against him, soft and warm, with her glorious hair spilling over the pillows. His arousal had been instant, but as memories of the passion that had exploded between them the previous night had flooded his mind so too had the shocking realisation that he had forgotten about contraception.
Self-loathing churned in his insides. Hadn’t he vowed after Sadie had ended her pregnancy that he would take every possible precaution to prevent another woman accidentally conceiving his baby? He hadn’t intended to make love to Belle on the roof terrace. But, like the sailors in the tales of Greek mythology his father had recounted to him as a boy, he had been lured by a siren and bewitched by her beauty. When he had taken Belle in his arms he had forgotten everything but his desire for her, and it did not matter how many recriminations he piled on himself, the stark truth was that she could now be pregnant.
He turned to face her, and the horrified expression on her face dashed his faint hope that she was on the pill.
‘Oh, God! I didn’t think…’ The bottom dropped out of Belle’s world. The possibility that she could be pregnant was too awful to contemplate. How would she manage? How would she be able to devote all her time to Wedding Belle if she had a child? ‘It would be a disaster.’ The words spilled from her—an instinctive reaction to a nightmare scenario. She did not notice Loukas’s jaw tighten.
‘I take it the idea of motherhood holds no appeal for you?’
There was a curious inflexion in his voice, but her mind was reeling from the potential consequences of the night she had spent with him and she did not pay it any attention. ‘It certainly doesn’t at this point in my life,’ she admitted. ‘I want to focus on my career—at least for the next few years.’
She knew it could take years to establish herself as a top designer. The truth was she doubted she would ever have children. She firmly believed that every child deserved to be brought up by both its parents, who preferably were married. But she did not want to get married and risk the unhappiness her mother had suffered with John. At twenty-five, she assumed she had years yet before her biological clock forced her to think seriously about whether she wanted to be a mother. But because of her irresponsible behaviour last night the decision might already have been made for her.
‘When will you know if you have conceived?’ Loukas asked grimly.
She made a hurried mental calculation and expelled a shaky breath. ‘In a few days—but I think it will be okay. It’s the wrong time of the month for me to fall pregnant.’
Loukas’s expression was unfathomable. ‘Let’s hope so.’ He walked back over to the bed and trapped her gaze, almost as if he was trying to see inside her head. ‘I want to know. If you are pregnant it will be because of my negligence, and I will accept full responsibility.’
Something in his tone sent a little shiver through Belle. How would he react if she had conceived his baby? she wondered. And what did he mean when he said he would accept responsibility? For her? For the child? ‘I’m sure it will be all right,’ she said again, desperately trying to convince herself. The alternative was too difficult to think about.
He sat back down on the bed, and she swallowed when he slid his hand beneath her chin, tilting her head and holding her prisoner. ‘I want you to give me your word that you will tell me if in a few days from now the situation is not as we both hope it will be.’
Was he acting out of concern? Or was this another example of his desire for control? She was finding it hard to think straight when he was so close, and she was disgusted with herself that even with the possibility of pregnancy hanging over her she longed for him to kiss her. She moistened her lower lip with the tip of her tongue, the gesture unknowingly inviting. ‘I will tell you,’ she assured him.
‘Good.’
The rigid set of Loukas’s shoulders relaxed a little, but a different tension filled him as he focused on Belle’s reddened lips. He shouldn’t be here. He was due at an important meeting. But instead of concentrating on business matters all he could think of was pushing aside the sheet to feast his eyes on Belle’s slender body. And not just his eyes, he thought derisively. What was it about this woman that made him want to ignore his strong work ethic, and last night had made him abandon his principles of never having unprotected sex?
The distant sound of a helicopter approaching Aura jerked him to his senses. He had five weeks in which to satisfy his inconvenient desire for Belle, and forcing himself to wait until tonight to make love to her would heighten his anticipation. He lowered his head and captured her mouth in a brief, hard kiss, desire kicking in his gut at her eager response. It took all his formidable willpower to break the kiss, and he smiled at the flash of disappointment in her eyes.
‘You’ll have to be patient until tonight, my beautiful Belle. I have work to do—and so do you. Larissa’s just arrived,’ he told her, feeling a curious little tug inside him as he watched colour flare along her high cheekbones. For someone who described herself as a hard-headed businesswoman she seemed intriguingly unworldly. Belle was a potent mix of innocence and sensuality which he intended to enjoy for the next few weeks until Larissa’s wedding.
Somehow Belle managed to act normally in front of Larissa, even though her mind was reeling from the events of the previous night. In the bright light of day she could almost convince herself she had dreamed the wild passion she had shared with Loukas on the roof terrace, but the slight sensitivity of previously unused muscles told their own story.
She blushed when she remembered how he had aroused her with his hands and mouth. He was an expert, a maestro in the art of making love, but no doubt he’d had plenty of practice, she thought ruefully. He had a reputation as a playboy and had often been pictured in gossip magazines with one glamorous mistress or another.
She couldn’t imagine what he saw in her, for although she was averagely attractive Belle was well aware that she did not compare with the stunning supermodels Loukas favoured. But his desire for her had been urgent and demanding, and he’d made it clear that he wanted them to be lovers for the next few weeks while she was staying on Aura.
If she had any sense she would refuse. There were a hundred reasons why she should not have an affair with Loukas. But being sensible had never seemed less inviting, she admitted silently, as she bent her head over her sketchbook, where she was drawing her ideas for Larissa’s dress.
There was no danger she would fall in love with him, she reassured herself. She did not need a man in her life; her career was all that mattered to her. But where was the harm in enjoying a few weeks of mind-blowing sex with a gorgeous Greek?
‘Oh, that’s exactly how I want my dress to look.’ Larissa said excitedly as she peered over Belle’s shoulder and studied the sketch. ‘I love the draped bodice and the long train.’
‘I was thinking that the train should be made of Chantilly lace, and maybe the veil too,’ Belle explained, forcing herself to concentrate on her designs. ‘This is a s
ample,’ she added, sifting through the piles of material that were spread across the table and handing Larissa a square of gossamer-fine white lace.
‘It’s perfect.’ Larissa stood up and stretched. ‘I think we’ve done enough for today. It’s four o’clock. I hadn’t realised we had been up here for so long.’ A look of surprise crossed her face at the sound of a helicopter, and she glanced out of the window. ‘I wonder why Loukas is back so early. Still, I’m glad he is, because his pilot can take me to Athens. Georgios’s father is still in Intensive Care, but we can visit him for a few minutes this evening.’ She hurried over to the door. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow, Belle.’
Down in the entrance hall of Villa Elena, Chip could not hide his surprise when Loukas walked into the house. ‘You’re home early, boss. Everything okay?’
‘Why does everyone expect me to spend my life in my office?’ Loukas growled, ignoring the fact that he often worked until eight or nine every night. His PA had been as shocked as Chip when he’d told her that he was finished for the day and not to put any calls through to him unless it was absolutely vital. ‘I do have a life outside of work, you know. Where is my sister?’
‘In the workroom with Belle—they’ve been up there all day—’ Chip broke off when Loukas strode past him and took the stairs two at a time. He suspected there was a good reason why the boss was back so early—if the loaded glances between Loukas and Belle over dinner last night were anything to go by. Well, there was no denying that Belle was a looker, he mused. But he’d never known Loukas to put his interest in a woman before his dedication to running Christakis Holdings.
Belle was leaning over the table, adding the final details to the sketch she would work from when she made Larissa’s dress. Engrossed in her work, she did not realise that she was no longer alone, and Loukas watched her for a few minutes, struck anew by her delicate beauty. Her pale hair fell in a silky curtain around her shoulders. He recalled how soft it had felt against his skin and his body instantly stirred as memories of making love to her the previous night assailed him.
After the Greek Affair Page 8
