“He’s perfect, you know,” Alex whispered, his voice filled with wonderment. “So absolutely perfect. You did good.”
Guilt plagued Lauren, causing tears to fall. After watching Alex these past two weeks, she’d contemplated a dozen or more times every single word his mother had said.
Alex already loved Nick… A sniffle escaped her as she tried to check the tears that now suddenly streamed down her face.
“Glykia mou, what is it? Why are you crying? I wanted to let you sleep. I had him.”
“I know. It’s not that. It’s…” she stopped. What could she say? What words would make the situation right itself? There were none.
Alex’s strong fingers came to rest on her shoulders and he began kneading her shoulders. “You’re too tense,” he said. “Relax so you can climb back into your bed and fall asleep again. Do not worry. I have you, agapiti. I have you.”
Did he? Did it matter?
Lauren let her head fall forward as Alex’s fingers worked their magic. His gentle yet insistent touch traveled up her neck, through her hair, down her throat, and over her shoulders. She leaned into him, letting his strong body support hers. This much she could have. This much she could savor.
“There you go,” he whispered, his warm exhale light against her ear. “Relax, angele mou. Everything’s fine. I’m here.”
He’d called her his angel. Through the thinness of her nightdress and robe, Lauren could feel Alex’s body next to hers. She felt when the caress of his fingers turned from providing soothing into providing pleasure; she felt the hardness of his arousal press into her back.
Here in the nightlight’s soft glow, she knew she’d never stopped loving him. She’d lied, created her own world, and deliberately shut him out. Her reasons for doing so didn’t matter.
Could she make him forget? Make him love her again despite everything?
Fresh tears threatened to fall, and Lauren needed escape. She tried to take a step forward, away from his magical touch, but trapped by the crib, she was forced to turn and face him. Her step faltered.
Close up Alex cut an impressive figure. Her fingers moved to touch his jaw and she traced his lips with her forefinger. He wet the tip and somehow she found her voice. “I should go back to sleep. Nick will be up in another three hours and you have to work.”
The nightlight’s glow added mystery and shadows to his face, but nothing disguised the need and desire clearly evident.
“You are so beautiful, theá mou. Even now, so beautiful. I mustn’t, but then again destiny is telling me I must. Just this once. One taste. You are a siren…”
The husky words that came from deep inside him sent an illicit thrill through her. His hand reached forward, snaking gently into the golden strands of her hair.
Inch by inch he came closer: that handsome, perfect face that Lauren had once planted endless kisses over. There was his smooth olive skin, the proud square chin, the straight nose, and those lips that could kiss ever so gently or be wild with unrestrained passion.
The last thing she saw were his deep, fathomless black eyes as his mouth claimed hers.
For nine months, she’d had nothing but memories, and the second his lips touched hers, the embers of the fire that was always Alex Pappas and Lauren Andrews flared fully to life. The passion that burned gave legitimacy to repressed need and Lauren and Alex’s lips molded together as if both were afraid water could douse the flame at any minute.
Although that could not be possible. Not with a kiss this tantalizing.
He plundered her mouth and a wash of pure desire thundered through her, sending heat pooling to her curled toes. Her arms slid around his neck, her hands moving to cup each side of his face. The night’s beard growth was fuzzy beneath her fingers, gently prickling and teasing her fingertips as she stroked his face.
His mouth demanded a mating from hers and Lauren swayed into him, her own need as evident as his.
Then he set her aside, away from him. A wash of cold chillier than an early morning outdoor shower immediately descended around Lauren’s heart.
“Stin orgy! May I go to hell!” Alex swore at himself in both Greek and English. She stepped forward and he held up his hands, indicating she should stay away.
“Look at me! No better than a rutting animal.” He shook his head savagely, nightlight illuminated visibly shaken to his core. “You had surgery only two weeks ago. I could have hurt you. I could have hurt you.”
“Alex, it’s okay. It was only a kiss.” Lauren pressed her finger to her tingling lips. “I didn’t mind. It was…”
She faltered as he laughed bitterly. “I guess this proves how much we still turn each other on. But my behavior was unacceptable. Get some rest. As you said, Nick will be up soon.”
With that, Alex strode from the room.
*****
Chapter Eight
Theé mou! Last night he’d been kissing Lauren! He still couldn’t believe it.
Alex pushed aside the room service plate containing the delicious breakfast. He’d lost his appetite this morning. He’d had even less sleep. Even pregnant he’d found her physically desirable, and had vowed not to live the rest of his life celibate.
But he hadn’t expected his reaction to her kiss.
Kissing Lauren had been pure fire, like a volcano erupting after long being dormant. The intense power of their kiss had shaken him to his very core.
After all this time, their kiss should have been weak, tepid; his desire and need for Lauren all but distant memories. Instead he’d wanted and craved her with every inch of his being, even more so than he had when he’d first met her.
He banged his fist on the table and the silverware jumped. He expected to have sex with her after their marriage—after all, Nick would not be an only child. Everyone in the Pappas family had at least two.
He’d expected to be duty bound to touch her. As a man, he knew his flesh would enjoy his physical duties while he remained mentally and emotionally detached. But his rationality had frozen, and his body had craved and molded itself to her during the kiss. He’d lost all control; he’d been swept away.
Had somehow maternal magic made her even more powerful, even more of the siren he’d called her last night? He’d been in heaven and hell. That kiss held the power to remove all restraints away.
Yet she’d betrayed him in the worst possible way. The kiss had him questioning, as in why did he care? It had weakened his resolve to never forgive. Last night’s intimacy had proved one thing—that Lauren Andrews still had claim over his heart, which gave her the power to take it from him and dash it to the ground as she had twice already.
She was his Achilles’ heel. She was the one wave that could deteriorate the vrahas, the rock, and turn it into useless sand.
“Good morning.” Lauren appeared in her bedroom doorway, a sleeping bundle cradled in her arms. Alex’s fresh squeezed orange juice turned into powder in his mouth.
Her long blond hair hung loose around her shoulders, the strands splaying where his fingers had touched the night before. Her white robe covered her rounded breasts, hinting at her full, lush curves.
His gaze dropped to her feet, which were bare and devoid of polish. She looked like a nymph bringing herself as an offering.
He shuddered. He was but a man, and the vision of her standing in the doorway had him craving things he should not want or desire. He was no mere moth; he should not seek her flame. He forced his lips to work.
“Good morning. How did you sleep?”
“Not well.” Her feet padded over the hard wood as she came forward. She placed Nick in the wicker bassinet.
“Our kiss.” She faltered.
“I’m sorry about that. We need to wait until you are cleared by the doctor.”
“Oh. That’s not…”
He cut her off. “You are going to be my wife. My judge friend is out of town for the next two weeks, which is the only reason our marriage has not yet taken place. I expect us to have to kiss.
And have sex. Lots of sex. While I apologize for my actions, don’t be mistaken. Last night proved one thing. I still want you. I will not be celibate. I will have you again.”
He gave another short laugh, but he had to let her know she would never have his heart again. She couldn’t hurt him. He wouldn’t allow it.
“Your expression is priceless. Don’t you want me to speak the truth? Why shouldn’t I tell you that, despite your betrayal, I still want your flesh to cling to mine? I want to stroke your body. I want to feel you beneath me, feel the passion that flared hotter yesterday than ever before. I can’t wait to taste and touch you. Oh yes, Lauren. I want all of that. And, as my wife, you will not deny me. Not that you wanted to deny me last night. Your body craved mine as much as mine did yours.”
He moved to stand next to her, daring to reach his hands forward to cup her breasts. Even through the robe he could feel how full they were and he hardened. She pulled away, but not before he’d felt her nipples tighten.
“See? Your body needs mine as much as mine needs yours. Let’s at least be honest about that. We have needs of the flesh that only each other can fill. It’s already been far too long.”
She rallied. “What a month?”
His lips curled into a smile. She was a spitfire, and he ached to tame her again. “You think so little of me. Try since you left.”
Her hand touched the base of her throat and she paled. “You aren’t serious.”
“Why would I make that up?” What do I have to gain?” He ran a finger down her check and she trembled. His thumb rubbed her lower lip. Her mouth opened and her eyes widened.
“You don’t have a mistress?”
“Why do I need one of those? You are more than hot enough. You never failed to satisfy.”
He touched her again and she trembled, but from longing. “See, our bodies remember. We were good together, Lauren. We will be again. I promise that, and I believe I have proven lately that I can keep my promises.”
Then, unable to deal with the emotions running through him, he turned on his heel and left her standing there, speechless.
#
It had been a long day, Lauren decided as she put Nick in his crib for a late afternoon nap. He’d been especially fussy during his awake times, as if realizing that his parents had a disagreement earlier in the morning and that his mother was still agitated by her overwhelming emotions.
Make love to Alex Pappas? Last night she’d wanted him from the top of her head to the tip of her curled toes, and if her body had been physically capable of making love, she wouldn’t have stopped him from taking her, had he only gestured to bed.
But making love with Alex was a dangerous proposition. Feelings already bubbled dangerously just beneath the surface, proven each time her breath caught in her throat when she saw him holding his son. Yet if they made love, could she somehow use that to bring him closer to her? That eventually he wouldn’t care anymore about the past, but only look to the present?
The sound of the front door opening caught her attention and she frowned. Housekeeping had been through earlier and she didn’t expect Alex until much later in the evening. Leaving her bedroom, she walked out into the living room.
“You’re back sooner than I…” Her voice trailed off. Theo, not Alex, stood in the foyer. She planted her hands on her hips. “What are you doing here?”
“Where is he?” Theo said. He stepped into the living area and began looking around.
“He’s at work.” Her body guarded the bedroom door. “At the office. As you also work there, I’m sure you know the way, so why don’t you leave and try finding him there?”
Theo shook his head and went to the double doors leading to Alex’s bedroom. He glanced around and came back.
“He’s not at the office. He’s getting erratic about his office attendance, and he’s not been there since one.”
She crossed her arms in front of her. “I don’t keep track of his schedule. I gave that up long ago. He’s not here. Call his cell phone.”
“His cell phone is turned off.” Theo towered over her, his stocky body movement made to intimidate. Lauren refused to budge and he paused, mid-step. “Is the illegitimate brat in there?”
Lauren was a lioness defending her cub. “He’s sleeping and is not to be disturbed.” The tone of her voice and the position of her body sent a clear warning to Theo to not even consider entering her private space. Like the rebel soldier, Theo stopped short.
His face darkened. “Don’t try to thwart me, Lauren. You’ve managed to keep a tenacious hold on this family long past your usefulness. I couldn’t believe that you had a fetish for brothers, and if I’d realized the long-term repercussions I would have found a permanent way to send you scampering long before you dug your claws into Christopher as well. I can’t believe you would stoop low enough to have Christopher’s child.”
“I wasn’t going to abort it.”
“Maybe you should have. Tell me, do you think it would have survived had you dropped it in jail?”
“You need to leave.”
Theo shook his head disgust evident. “I’ll leave when I’m ready. You should have taken the check I offered you. Tell me, Lauren, how much, money will it take this time? How much to buy Christopher’s shares and your permanent disappearance? I can make you a very rich woman. Isn’t that what you want?”
“You need to go,” Lauren repeated. Only years of IBF training held her immobile, kept her body neutral despite the coiled tension permeating it. She would not give Theo Pappas the satisfaction of knowing that she was afraid. Never again. “I’ll tell Alex you stopped by.”
Theo gave a magnanimous shrug. He then leered. “Don’t bother. If he’s not here, I know where he is, especially if his cell phone is off. At least some things haven’t changed. Men have needs, and despite your clever little claws, I doubt you’ll be able to hold his interest long. Do yourself a favor and be like my wife. Turn a blind eye. It will make life easier for you.”
His eyes raked over her dismissively before Theo grinned with cruel satisfaction.
“Especially with you in your shape. No wonder men find thin, beautiful mistresses after their wives have children. Even if you wanted me, I doubt I could stomach touching you, even in the dark. Tell you what, think about my offer and call me if you come up with a figure. All you have to do is name your price.”
With those nasty parting words, Theo turned on his heel. Lauren clenched her fists and waited until the foyer door clicked closed before she raced over to the ornate door and threw the small privacy crash bar across it.
It was still locked that way when Alex came home hours later, two bags of Chinese takeout containers in his hands.
“I brought sweet and sour chicken. Why the bar? Did something happen?” he asked as she let him in.
Her decision was instantaneous. Alex had never listened to her before when she’d brought up his cousin. She would handle Theo herself.
“I set the bar out of habit.” She hated her herself for lying, but she couldn’t help it. Her gaze searched his collar and scanned his attire for signs of something, anything, to give credence or absolution to her fears. She saw nothing and struggled to calm herself. Alex had promised her faithfulness. He’d told her this morning that he didn’t have anyone else, and that he’d been celibate.
“How was the office?” she asked.
“Hectic,” he replied. “Non-stop from the moment I got there until the moment I left. But I don’t want to talk about it. Tell me, did Nick do anything new? What did I miss?”
“He discovered his fists today,” Lauren said.
Alex rarely wanted to discuss business with her, and despite her doubts as to where he’d been, she warmed to her topic. “Nick kept putting his hands up in front of his face and his eyes would get real wide.”
“That’s great. I wish I’d been here. Maybe he’ll do it for me later.”
She smiled. “I wouldn’t doubt it. He can’t seem to stop.”
“Pappas,” he snapped. He gestured at Lauren to come and eat. She walked to the table and sat. “You are kidding me. Sixty dollars a share?”
His voice sounded incredulous and Lauren hazarded a glance. Thunderclouds had darkened Alex’s face. He paced, as if forgetting Lauren was seated in the same room. “This is getting ridiculous.”
He raked a hand through his dark hair, growing more frustrated as he listened to the caller. “No,” Alex suddenly gritted out. “We will not involve her…”
The caller cut Alex off and at that moment, Alex glanced up sharply and noticed Lauren was watching him. She blinked and looked away.
“Katarameno náne.” With that Greek curse, Alex strode into his bedroom and shut the door with a decisive click.
Business. Always business.
Lauren waited a long, twenty-minutes before Alex returned. He gestured at the unopened cartons. “You should have eaten without me. You’re taking care of two. You need your strength.”
Lauren began to serve herself, but Alex remained standing. He lifted the top of a container and he looked inside before setting it back down. “I’m not hungry. Is Nick sleeping?”
“Yes.”
Alex undid a cuff link. “Do you mind if I go see him before I change and go pack?”
She froze. “Pack?”
His face broke into haggard lines and he appeared older than his thirty-five years. “That phone call meant that, unfortunately, I must fly to Greece tomorrow. No one can seem to handle this takeover crisis without me.”
“Greece?” Lauren set her fork down, the sweet and sour chicken pasty in her mouth.
Alex closed his eyes, clearly weary. “Instead of succumbing to a takeover, I’m coordinating an extremely important but unpopular merger with the Favazzas. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone.”
The Greek Billionaire's Secret Baby (Contemporary Romance) Page 9
