In Petrakis's Power

by Maggie Cox

  But in truth, she reflected, he was clearly lacking the one thing he perhaps craved above all else—the thing most people yearned for. Unconditional love and acceptance. From family, friends and colleagues, and—given time—the person they fell in love with. Even though that last part of her realisation made her pulse race, Natalie knew she wouldn’t deny her lover anything. Not now, when she’d just surrendered her most precious gift to him.

  Pressing himself deeper and deeper inside her, Ludo wound his fingers through hers as they began to move as one, his breathing becoming more and more laboured as he succumbed fully to the passion that drove him so hungrily to seek release.

  For Natalie, the tide of molten heat that had consumed her from the moment he’d welcomed her into his room was now at its peak, and the power of it was like a ferocious drowning sea, sweeping her away to a heart-pounding place of no return …

  Wrapping her in his arms as he lay spent beside her, Ludo felt his mind teeming with questions. His heart thudding, he lightly twined a long strand of her silken hair round his fingers and asked, ‘Why didn’t you tell me that this would be your first time?’

  Meeting his glance with her big grey eyes, Natalie gave him a long, considered look. ‘Would you have still made love to me if I’d admitted it?’

  ‘You are far too irresistible for me not to have. But I would have tried to be a little more gentle … more considerate.’

  ‘I loved it that you were so passionate, Ludo. I may not have much experience, but even so I have desires—just like you.’

  His heart thudded a little less hard but he was still confounded by her frank response. Confounded and enthralled. He’d never met a woman like her. ‘What made you wait so long to give yourself to someone?’

  She blushed, and because she looked so adorable Ludo couldn’t help planting a light kiss on her forehead.

  ‘My mother always told me to wait until the time was right … until I was sure that the man I gave my virginity to was worthy of it. Well, today was the day I knew the time was right and the man more than worthy.’

  ‘See what you’ve done, my angel?’

  ‘What do you mean? What have I done?’

  ‘You have made me want you all over again.’

  With a shameless grin, Ludo impelled her firmly onto his aroused manhood, proud and pleased that she fitted him like the most exquisite satin glove.

  ‘Except this time, although I will be no less passionate, I will endeavour to go more slowly … to take my time and savour you more so that you may experience the utmost pleasure.’

  Her long hair cascaded down over her naked breasts like a waterfall and her beautiful eyes widened to saucers. ‘Like lessons in love, you mean?’

  With a throaty laugh of sheer delight, he stilled any further inclination she might have to talk by capturing her lips in a long and sexy, heartfelt kiss …

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  EVEN THOUGH THE afternoon at his parents’ had not gone as well as he might have dared to hope, it had been one of the most wonderful evenings of his life. Natalie had Ludo in a spin. The air of innocence that he’d sensed about her from the beginning had been proved to be right. But he was stunned at just how far that innocence had extended. More than that, at the fact that she would willingly surrender that innocence to him. In spite of the upsetting altercation with his father earlier, he was walking on air—and predisposed to take his lover out to dinner.

  He no longer cared that the locals would see him and know that he’d returned, or indeed if they made private unflattering judgements about him. It was strange, but with Natalie by his side Ludo felt as if he could deal with just about anything—even the painful realisation that he would probably never have his father’s love and regard.

  His favourite local restaurant overlooking the moonlit bay was heaving with tourists and locals alike tonight, and as soon as he and Natalie walked in heads turned to observe them. Deciding it was because his partner looked so ravishing in her mint-coloured dress and the cream pashmina that she’d draped round her shoulders, Ludo felt a strong glow of pride eddy through him.

  ‘Kopiaste … welcome. Come in and join us,’ the restaurant staff eagerly greeted them. Accustomed to getting a table wherever he went, whether he’d booked ahead or not, Ludo decided not to go elsewhere when he was told they were fully booked tonight but would not dream of turning him and his beautiful partner away. He smilingly kept hold of Natalie’s hand and waited patiently while a space in one of the most attractive parts of the restaurant was hastily made available and an extra table was laid. The friendly maître d’, whose family Ludo had known for years, attended them personally, and on his instruction a young waiter and waitress brought appetising plates of mezes and some complimentary ouzo to their table in celebration of his return home.

  But although the staff behaved impeccably Ludo could see in their eyes that they were having difficulty containing their curiosity. He had read the speculation in the Greek press three years ago about why he’d left the country so abruptly following his brother’s funeral. The picture they’d painted of him had not been a good one …

  ‘Everybody seems so pleased to see you,’ Natalie commented, her grey eyes shining.

  ‘Of course.’ Ludo couldn’t help being wry. ‘Money talks.’

  ‘Please don’t be cynical. Not tonight. I’m feeling so happy and I want to stay feeling that way … at least until the evening is over.’

  Reaching for her small elegant hand, he could have bitten off his tongue for bringing that wounded look to her eyes. ‘I fear my cynicism about people has become a habit. But it doesn’t mean that can’t change,’ he added, smiling.

  ‘No, it doesn’t,’ she agreed and, lifting his hand, brushed her soft lips across his knuckles.

  ‘You are a dangerous woman, Natalie Carr,’ he responded, deliberately lowering his voice. ‘A small kiss and one approving glance from your bewitching grey eyes and I’m undone. All I really want to do now is take you home and teach you some more lessons in love.’

  Her pretty cheeks coloured, just as Ludo had known they would.

  ‘Well … I know I have a lot to learn. But, as tempting as that sounds, I’d really like something to eat first. What do you recommend?’

  He didn’t even bother to glance at the leather-bound menu he’d been given. He knew it like the back of his hand. There had been many occasions in the past when he and his brother Theo had dined here. He deliberately set the heartrending memory aside to concentrate on Natalie.

  ‘Leave it to me.’ He smiled, and immediately signalled for the maître d’, who had made sure to stay close by in readiness to take his order.

  That night Natalie fell asleep in Ludo’s arms, with the sweet scent of night-blooming jasmine drifting in through the open windows of the bedroom. It seemed that everything that had happened was taking on the magical qualities of a dream, and she wished that life might imitate that dream forever.

  When she woke early the next morning, with her head on Ludo’s chest, Natalie couldn’t resist spending several minutes just breathing in his unique warm scent and observing the handsome features that looked more peaceful and vulnerable than she’d ever seen them. There was nothing remotely threatening or untrustworthy about him, she concluded. He had a good heart. Why couldn’t his father see that? She refused to believe her perception was coloured rose just because she only saw the good in Ludo, and because she was head over heels in love with him.

  Hugging herself at the reason why she suddenly felt so light and free, she planted the softest kiss on the blade of his chiselled jaw and regretfully left the lavish warm bed. Leaving him to sleep on, she dressed in a pair of light blue denims and a white cotton shirt, then made her way downstairs in search of some coffee and perhaps some delicious Greek bread to go with it. Making love certainly built up an appetite, she thought. She was absolutely starving!

  She was drinking her second cup of coffee, courtesy of Allena, when Ludo walked out onto the p
atio to find her. He too was wearing jeans, but with an ice-blue shirt that emphasised the stunning hue of his incredible eyes. She noticed that he hadn’t had a shave, and his jaw was shadowed with bristles. There was no question that it suited him. The less groomed look made him appear dangerous and sexy as hell, Natalie decided, the tips of her breasts tingling fiercely at the delicious memory of his ardent lovemaking last night …

  ‘Good morning,’ she said with a smile, her hands curved round her still steaming cup of coffee.

  ‘Kalimera.’ He strode round the table and with a grin removed the cup of coffee and put it down on the table. Then he gently but firmly hauled her to her feet. ‘I was worried when I woke up and found you gone,’ he intoned huskily, moving her body intimately close to his.

  ‘There was no need. I only came down here for a cup of coffee and some bread. My appetite is at its sharpest in the morning.’

  ‘Really? Then why did you desert me? I would have willingly satisfied your hunger if you’d stayed in bed with me.’

  Feeling as though she’d strayed to the edge of a cliff and was about to plunge headlong over the precipice, Natalie dug her fingers into Ludo’s hard lean waist as if her life depended on it. ‘You’re a very bad boy,’ she said softly, unable to help the slight quaver in her voice.

  He lifted an amused eyebrow. ‘If I’m bad, it’s because you’re always tempting me, Miss Carr. Promise me you’ll never stop being the one temptation I can never resist?’

  He kissed her hard, angling her jaw so that he could deepen the scalding contact even more. Natalie was dizzy with desire and longing for him. Her blood pounded hotly through her veins as though she was on fire. When he laid his hand over her breast beneath her shirt she couldn’t help wishing with all her heart that she had indeed stayed in bed with him this morning, instead of leaving him to go in search of coffee.

  ‘Excuse me, Mr Petrakis, your father is here to see you.’

  Allena’s slightly nervous but respectful voice had them both turning abruptly in shock and surprise. Ludo’s features suddenly turned unnaturally pale. With his blue eyes briefly conveying a silent apology, he moved away from Natalie to go and stand in front of his housekeeper.

  ‘Where is he?’ he asked her.

  Allena told him that she’d taken him into the living room and was about to make him some coffee.

  ‘Tell him I’ll join him in a minute.’

  When Allena had returned inside Natalie went straight over to Ludo and instinctively reached for his hand. He flinched as though abruptly woken from a dream. It was easy to see that this unexpected turn of events had caught him on the raw, and she wondered what he was thinking.

  ‘Are you all right?’

  ‘Not really.’ He freed his hand from hers to drag his fingers through the already mussed golden strands of his hair. ‘Whatever he wants to say to me, it can’t be good.’

  ‘You don’t know that yet. Why don’t you just go in and talk to him, help put your mind at rest, instead of standing out here worrying?’

  He scowled, already turning away from her. ‘Like I said, whatever he has to say to me, it can’t be good. It never is. Go and finish your coffee, Natalie. No doubt I’ll be back soon.’

  She watched him go as though he were about to present himself in front of a firing squad, and silently prayed that whatever Alekos Petrakis had to say to his son it wouldn’t make him despise himself even more than he already did over the tragic events of three years ago.

  His father had his back to him when Ludo entered the living room, and he realised that he was twisting and turning a long string of tasselled orange marble worry beads known as komboloi that had been passed on to him by his own father when he was young. The sight jolted him into stillness for a moment. It had been a long time since he’d seen him use them. The last time had been at his brother’s funeral.

  Sucking in a deep breath to steady himself, he announced his arrival with, ‘Hello, Father. You want to see me?’

  The older man hastily slid the beads into the pocket of his immaculate suit jacket and turned round. Once again it shocked Ludo to see the deep new lines of worry that furrowed his brow.

  ‘Ludovic. You were not about to go out, I trust?’

  ‘Not immediately, no.’ Ludo did indeed have plans for himself and Natalie that morning, but it wouldn’t hurt to delay them.

  ‘Good. Shall we sit down? I believe that your excellent housekeeper is bringing some coffee.’

  They moved across the room to the two lavish gold couches positioned either side of a carved mahogany table. Almost right on cue Allena appeared with a tray of coffee and a dish of small baklavas. Thanking her, Ludo reached forward to hand his father a cup and saucer and poured him his beverage. It was such a simple, commonplace gesture, but somehow he had a sense that it had more significance than he perhaps realised.

  Stirring a generous spoonful of sugar into his coffee, Alekos asked, ‘Where is your charming fiancée this morning?’

  ‘She’s waiting for me outside on the patio.’

  ‘As much as it would please me to have her join us, I think it best that she does not. At least not until we have had some private time together … do you agree?’

  Taken aback that his father would even consider his opinion, Ludo lightly shrugged a shoulder. ‘I agree. There is no point in including her in our conversation if things are going to be unpleasant.’

  Alekos Petrakis gravely shook his head, as if he couldn’t quite believe what he had just heard. ‘Am I such an ogre that you automatically expect things to be unpleasant between us? If you do, then all I can tell you is that I truly regret that.’

  Stunned into silence, Ludo watched him wipe away the tear that had trickled down over his weathered bronzed cheek. Never before had he known his father to weep, or indeed to be sentimental in any way. What on earth was going on?

  ‘You had better tell me what you want to say, Father. I’m sure you must have some particular reason for coming here to see me today.’

  Returning his cup and saucer to the table, Alekos Petrakis sighed heavily and linked his hands together across his lap. ‘I came here to tell you that I love you, my son. And to express my deep regret that for all these years you did not know it. Your mother and I had a long talk last night after your visit, and she made me see how foolish and stubborn I have been … how blind I have been about you. It was fear that made me that way. Fear of losing you.’

  His mouth drying, Ludo stared. ‘What do you mean, fear of losing me?’

  Alekos’s dark eyes met and cleaved to his. ‘We have never told you, but you were born premature and we nearly lost you. The doctors worked day and night to save your life. One day our hopes would be high that you were going to survive, and the next …’ After a helpless catch in his voice he made himself continue. ‘The next day we’d prepare ourselves to bury you. We were told by the doctors that even if you lived you would never be strong. When you did survive, and we brought you home, your poor mother watched over you day and night like a hawk, and I somehow convinced myself that it was my fault you were so weak … that I had in me bad seed. What other reason could there be? Theo was big and strong—why weren’t you?’

  Rising to his feet, Alekos pulled out a handkerchief to mop his brow. ‘My logic was ridiculous. I see that now. Your mother always told me that Theo might be the big and strong son but you—you were the handsome and clever one. I wish I had seen that when you were a boy, Ludovic, because your mother turned out to be absolutely right. But whether you are handsome and clever, or big and strong, it does not matter. What matters is that you know I am proud of you and love you as deeply and strongly as I loved your dear brother. Can you forgive a very foolish old man for the stupidity of the past so that he may build a happier relationship with his beloved son in the future?’

  Already on his feet, Ludo strode round the table and embraced his father hard. It was as though the dam that had been closed against the forceful sea of emotion behind the
gates of his heart had suddenly burst open, and the relief it brought made him feel as if he could breathe freely again.

  ‘There is nothing to forgive, Father. I too have made a grave mistake in believing that you didn’t care for me as much as you did my brother. I also have a stubborn streak, and sometimes believe I am right when I am wrong. I deeply regret walking away after Theo died. I convinced myself that you had no time for me, that my achievements were not as worthy of regard as his were, and that if I stayed it would be like rubbing salt into the wound of losing him.’

  ‘He would be cross with us both for being so stubborn and wasting so much time in feeling aggrieved, no?’

  Grinning, Ludo stepped out of the embrace and slapped his father on the back. ‘He would. But he’d also be happy that we have at last made amends. So will my mother when you tell her. Nothing would make me happier than knowing that she feels more at peace about our relationship.’

  ‘I have a question for you,’ said Ludo’s father.

  ‘What’s that?’ Old habits died hard, and Ludo couldn’t help tensing a little in anticipation of what he was going to ask.

  ‘I wanted to ask you about Margaritari … your island. What do you intend to do about it now? It has been a long time since you have allowed people to stay on it, and it seems such a shame to leave such a beautiful place to lay in waste when it could bring people pleasure. Nor should you let what happened to Theo destroy your own pleasure in it, Ludo.’

  ‘I admit that I’ve missed visiting the island. It is like no other place on earth. When we visited it as children Theo and I knew it was special. That’s why as soon as I had the chance I bought it.’

  His father looked thoughtful. ‘Then go and visit it again. Take Natalie and go and create some happy memories there to alleviate the sorrowful ones. For what it’s worth, my son, I really think you should take my advice.’