by Sarah Morgan
Cinderella, he thought dryly as they walked down the red carpet a little while later, wishing he hadn’t done quite such an effective job in transforming her from shy nurse to sexy socialite.
On the other hand, it was possible that the transformation would affect her in other ways.
Perhaps she would realise that they could be good together.
He watched as she smiled her way through a million introductions, ate the banquet and danced until her feet ached.
He hadn’t seen her so happy since those first few months they’d spent together, when their whole lives had been focused on their work and each other.
She sat by his side, her eyes wide as the charity auction started and some of the bids ran into the hundreds of thousands.
When one of the prizes was announced, she turned to him. ‘Seven nights at the Mariakos Spa Hotel in Greece? Did you donate that prize?’
‘Of course.’
Her eyes twinkled. ‘So—if someone wants it, they just offer money, yes?’
‘That’s right.’
‘And all the money goes to the charity, so it’s for a good cause? Are you going to bid for something?’
‘Of course.’
At that moment the huge screen at the back of the room flashed up pictures of the hotel. The camera lingered on an exclusive private villa within the extensive grounds of the hotel, an oasis of serene tranquillity opening onto a private infinity pool. The turquoise water appeared to blend with the sea beyond and there were a few wistful sighs in the room. A yacht sped across a sparkling sea, dolphins played in the blue depths of the bay and behind were mountains.
‘I want to go there,’ Ella whispered dreamily. ‘I want you to bid for that.’
Nikos shot her an amused look. ‘You want me to bid for a chance to stay in my own hotel?’
‘Yes.’ She gave him a pleading look. ‘Can we? It looks fabulous. Is it smart?’
‘Extremely exclusive,’ he drawled, his mind thinking of a way in which he might be able to turn this to his advantage. ‘Why not? A week of sun, sea and sex sounds good to me.’
Colour touched her cheeks and her glance was suddenly shy. ‘I wouldn’t be able to get the time off work.’
‘Ella, you have been working without a break for the past four months,’ he murmured, raising his hand to include himself in the bidding. ‘You’re due a holiday.’
‘They won’t be able to spare you.’
Indifferent to the fact that most of the room were looking at him as if he’d gone mad, Nikos raised his bid. ‘I will find them a replacement. I have a friend working in London who owes me a favour. He might be able to step in.’
‘Seriously?’ Her face was alive with excitement. ‘So we might be able to go some time?’
Bored with the game of bidding, Nikos offered an astronomical amount that drew gasps and then stunned silence from the audience.
‘It’s for a good cause,’ he told Ella, lowering his head to plant a gentle kiss on her open mouth. ‘So—we now have seven days staying in one of my own hotels. It will be an interesting experience. I’ve never actually stayed in one of my hotels as a guest before.’
Ella was giggling. ‘I can’t believe you just did that.’ She leaned across and hugged him impulsively. ‘Thank you. I’m so excited.’
As she pulled away, Nikos caught her face in his hands and stared into her eyes, trying to read her expression.
‘Let’s go back to the hotel,’ he said huskily. ‘I want you to myself.’
Within minutes of arriving back in the hotel they were in bed again and this time, as he dragged every last drop of response from her quivering body, he took her face in his hands.
‘Marry me,’ he demanded in a hoarse voice and she gave a moan, so shockingly aroused that she couldn’t think straight.
‘Don’t do this to me, Nikos,’ she gasped, ‘not now. I just—I need—Please…’
It was a moment of exquisite intimacy, so intensely personal that there was nowhere for her to hide, and in that single moment as she lifted her dazed eyes to his Nikos gritted his teeth with the effort to hold back.
He lost the battle, his driving thrusts tipping her over the edge into an erotic sensual paradise, their passion carrying them along on a tidal wave of pure ecstasy.
Afterwards, he kissed her damp forehead and smoothed her tangled hair away from her face. ‘Talk to me,’ he murmured, and she gave a faint smile.
‘You expect me to talk after that?’ She pressed her lips to the base of his throat but he shifted away, wanting to look at her.
What was going on in her head?
Why was she still refusing him?
And when was she going to say what he wanted to hear?
Ella woke early the next morning, a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach because she knew that tonight she’d be sleeping in the house again.
‘What are you thinking?’ Nikos asked, coming into the room, frowning down at her as she lay staring up at the ceiling.
‘That I’ve really enjoyed this weekend,’ she said softly. ‘It felt as though—I don’t know. We were somewhere else. It was good. What time do we have to leave?’
‘Right now.’ Nikos drew her up to him. ‘We’ll shower, change and then we can make an early start.’
And she was supposed to be pleased about that?
Feeling sicker by the minute, Ella followed him into the shower but this time when he made love to her, she started to cry.
‘Theos mou, what is wrong?’ Nikos switched off the shower and smoothed her damp hair away from her face with a gentle hand. ‘Have I hurt you?’
‘No, nothing like that.’ She pressed her face against the hard muscle of his chest, feeling really stupid. ‘It isn’t you. It’s me. I suppose I don’t want to go home.’
He cleared the water from his eyes with the sweep of his hand and then lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him. ‘We’re not going home, agape mou. We’re going to Greece.’
Ella stared at him, sure she must have misheard. ‘How can we go to Greece?’
‘You made me bid for a holiday, remember?’
‘But not to go today.’
He shrugged. ‘There is no time like the present. We both need some time alone together. So far our entire relationship has been conducted with the emergency department as a backdrop.’ He gave a wry smile. ‘I think it’s time to think about romance, not resuscitation, don’t you?’
‘You can’t be serious.’ Stunned, Ella just gaped at him. ‘Rose gave us the weekend off, not the whole week.’
‘I have fixed everything. Stop worrying.’
Ella gave a disbelieving laugh. ‘We’re going to Greece for a week?’
Nikos reached for a towel and wrapped her up. ‘Let’s go. The sooner we arrive, the sooner you will stop repeating yourself.’
Ella lay on a sunlounger, staring at the still water of the infinity pool that appeared to blend seamlessly with the ocean beyond. The hot sun warmed everything it touched, from the bright green lizard basking on the low wall to the hazy peaks of the mountains behind her.
England seemed a million miles away.
‘How are you feeling?’ Nikos’s smooth, dark tones interrupted her thoughts and she quickly picked up the book she’d abandoned.
‘Fine. Apart from the shock of finding myself relaxing in Crete instead of racing around the emergency department. I can’t quite believe I’m actually in your villa. I thought we were staying in the hotel.’
‘I thought we deserved privacy, and it seemed ridiculous to stay in the hotel when my villa is lying empty.’ He sat down next to her. ‘Have you used sun cream?’
She nodded, acutely conscious of his spectacular physique. Every time she looked at him, her stomach curled with excitement and longing and she was mildly shocked by the effect he had on her. Would there ever come a time when he wouldn’t have this effect on her?
‘I love this place,’ she said simply. ‘How long have you owned it?’
/>
‘I bought it fifteen years ago.’
And she just knew. ‘You bought it after your wife died.’
‘Yes.’
‘Did you live here with her?’
‘No. We lived in Athens.’ Nikos rose to his feet and she saw the tension in his broad shoulders.
‘Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.’
‘It’s fine. And now I need to make some phone calls before dinner.’ His tone was formal and distant. ‘I’ll see you later. If you need anything, just ask one of the staff.’
Ella watched him go, wishing she’d kept her mouth shut. Just a mention of his wife and he’d closed up.
Enjoying the peace and the warmth, she spent the rest of the afternoon lounging by the pool, doing absolutely nothing.
Nikos finally appeared when she’d showered and dressed for dinner.
‘Are you ready?’ He was wearing a casual shirt with a pair of lightweight tailored trousers and the ends of his hair were still damp.
‘Are we going out?’ Ella slipped her feet into a pair of pretty wedge sandals and picked up her bag. ‘I assumed we were having dinner on the terrace.’
‘Not tonight.’ He held out his hand and led her towards the front entrance of the villa. ‘We’re having dinner with my family.’
‘Oh.’ Suffering from an acute attack of nerves, Ella glanced down at herself. ‘What if I’m not what they want for you?’
‘Stop worrying.’
He drove along dusty, winding roads, past olive groves and tiny secluded beaches until they reached a small village.
‘Your parents live here?’
‘My father was born here. He moved to Athens when he started the business and now he is semi-retired he divides his time between Athens and the island just over there…’ Nikos inclined his head and Ella saw an island rising out of the sea.
‘They live on an island?’
‘It reduces his security bills,’ Nikos said dryly, parking the car by the side of the road and leading her towards a sleek, expensive-looking motorboat that was moored by a jetty. ‘Do you get seasick?’
‘Ask me in five minutes,’ Ella said faintly, allowing him to help her into the boat and settling herself in the comfortable leather seat.
Nikos pulled up the anchor, started the engine and skilfully guided the boat into deeper water. Then he eased the throttle back and the boat picked up speed.
Ella laughed with delight as the speedboat bounced across the waves like a dolphin in a playful mood. With sea spray cooling her face and the wind in her hair she suddenly felt ridiculously light hearted. ‘This is fantastic.’ She turned to look at him, wondering what his colleagues would say if they could see him now. The Ice Doctor was no longer in evidence. He looked relaxed, bronzed and every inch the billionaire tycoon.
He may have rejected that lifestyle but, looking at him, no one would have been left in any doubt that he’d been born to it.
As they approached the island the water became shallow and Nikos steered the boat confidently alongside another small jetty.
A man and a woman were waiting hand in hand and the woman stepped forward and spoke in a torrent of Greek, tears in her eyes as she embraced first Nikos and then Ella.
Slightly startled, Ella assumed that this demonstrative exchange was a Greek custom. And then she felt the tightness and warmth of the hug and realised that this embrace had nothing to do with social convention. Drawn into the circle of the woman’s arms, Ella felt that generous, welcoming hug unravel every cautionary layer she’d so carefully wrapped around herself. Without thinking, she found herself relaxing and tightening her arms in response.
The unconditional acceptance brought a lump to her throat and when she was finally released, Ella didn’t trust herself to speak.
When was the last time anyone had hugged her like that?
‘This is my mother,’ Nikos said gruffly, and Ella simply nodded, feeling foolish and yet at the same time comfortable because the woman still had a grip on her hand and that touch felt so natural.
Shyly, Ella greeted Nikos’s father and then looked up in surprise as a horde of children came sprinting towards them.
‘Nieces, nephews, cousins—my family is never-ending,’ Nikos drawled, but she could tell from the sudden softening of his eyes just how much he loved them.
For the next twenty minutes she watched in stunned amazement as he shrugged off his cloak of icy indifference and opened himself up to his family. One by one, he scooped up his little nieces and nephews, while listening indulgently to a tirade of Greek from his father.
He responded with the occasional word, and then turned his attention back to his mother. As he hugged her again, Ella felt the lump in her throat grow larger.
How could she ever have thought him cold?
This man wasn’t cold. He was guarded.
And she knew all about being guarded.
The family swarmed around Ella, asking endless questions, drawing her into their midst, until eventually Nikos took her hand in his and led her towards the house.
‘My family are a little overwhelming.’ There was wry humour in his eyes. ‘I think you can probably understand now why I have my own villa, and why it is an hour from here. I made sure I was far enough away to make it inconvenient to drop in unannounced.’
‘I think they’re wonderful.’
His eyes lingered on her face. ‘So why are you looking sad?’
‘Not sad.’ Just stunned, because she’d seen a different side of him. ‘You have a lovely family. You’re lucky.’ What would it have been like, she wondered, growing up knowing you were that loved?
Nikos looked at her quizzically but, before he could respond, his mother descended on them and drew Ella onto a beautiful terrace that surrounded a breathtakingly beautiful infinity pool.
Unsure what to say, Ella glanced around her, feeling as though she was standing on a movie set. ‘You have a beautiful home.’
‘A beautiful home, yes. We are very fortunate.’ Nikos’s mother slipped her arm through Ella’s. ‘But a house is just a building, isn’t it?’ She glanced around the beautiful terrace, her gaze lingering on the orange trees planted in large terracotta urns and the brightly coloured bougainvillea spilling over whitewashed walls. ‘What makes a house special is the people who live in it. And today I am a happy woman because I have my whole family around me.’
‘I hope you don’t mind me visiting,’ Ella said awkwardly, slightly shocked to see that Nikos’s mother was looking at her with tears in her eyes.
‘Mind? It is because of you we are having this celebration. We had all given up hoping that Nikos would give his heart again. It has been so long.’ She gave a slow shake of her head. ‘The things I have read about him—the way he has lived his life—not good. Understandable, maybe, after everything he suffered, but not good. A Greek man should be settled with a woman. For all his cosmopolitan lifestyle, Nikos is a Greek man. He needs a wife and babies.’
Ella put her hand on her stomach, hideously embarrassed and self-conscious. ‘He told you about the baby?’
‘Of course.’ The older woman looked delighted. ‘And now we must plan the wedding. You must tell me what you have always dreamed of having and I will arrange it.’
Ella’s eyes widened and she opened her mouth to say that they were still a long way from choosing wedding cakes when she saw the tears of joy in the other woman’s eyes.
‘Wedding? I haven’t really thought that far,’ she said lamely, but Nikos’s mother pulled her into another tight embrace.
‘You don’t need to worry. I will do all the planning. It will be my gift to you.’
Nikos strolled across to them, a frown in his eyes. ‘Don’t put pressure on her.’
‘Pressure?’ Still holding Ella’s hand, his mother gave him a disapproving look. ‘You are the one who should have been putting the pressure, Nikos. This woman carries your child and she isn’t even wearing an engagement ring! I can’t believe a son of mine would b
ehave like this. You should be ashamed of yourself!’
Nikos drew back his broad shoulders as if taking a blow, but he said nothing in his own defence.
Then he drew breath and his mouth tightened.
Sensing that he was about to divulge the true nature of their relationship, Ella reached out and took his hand. ‘Nikos bought me a ring,’ she said quickly, ‘a beautiful ring, but it was too big for my finger so it is being adjusted as we speak. I think it’s due to be delivered to the villa tonight. And as for the rest of it—we’ve been working so hard, this is the first break we’ve had. We haven’t had time to think about a wedding. If you would help, that would be fabulous.’
Nikos stared down at her, his eyes blazing dark, his powerful body unusually still and tense.
Ella stood on tiptoe and kissed him and Nikos’s mother gave a sigh of pleasure and delight.
‘This is the best news I have had for a long time.’ She clapped her hands. ‘Celebrations. Time to eat.’
As everyone moved towards the loaded tables, Ella was enveloped by his family and for the rest of the evening she barely saw Nikos.
They were the warmest, most welcoming group of people she’d ever met, all of them insisting on speaking English so that she wouldn’t feel left out.
By the time Nikos finally extracted her from two of his cousins and dragged her off to bed, Ella’s head was buzzing.
‘I love your family,’ she said breathlessly as the door closed behind them. ‘In fact, I love everything about this place. But I especially love your mother.’
The bedroom suite overlooked the pool and Nikos strode across the cool tiles to close the glass doors.
Only when he’d secured their privacy did he speak. ‘Is that why you went along with her marriage plans?’ His tone was harsh. ‘Because you didn’t know how to say no to her?’
Ella sank down onto the end of the huge bed, shocked by the chill in his voice. ‘No.’ Her heart was thudding. ‘It wasn’t. I—It just felt like the right thing. I want to marry you, Nikos. If it’s what you want, too.’
