Expectant Bride

by Lynne Graham

  ‘Mr. Alexiakis—’ she began, keen to disabuse him of his eagerness to assume the worst.

  ‘You have made your choice. So be it.’ Dio surveyed her with cold, lethal menace. ‘I will destroy you for this.’

  Ellie’s tummy performed an unpleasant somersault. ‘You’ve got it wrong,’ she protested feverishly. ‘I only got as far as dialling the operator!’

  With a look of thunderous derision, Dio swung on his heel and strode away, outrage etched in every line of his lean, tight, powerful body.

  For an instant, disconcertion froze Ellie to the spot. Oh, yeah, just drag me out to the airport on your stupid helicopter and then dump me with no money and a very nasty threat! Only unfreezing as fear for her co-worker Meg’s future job security assailed her, Ellie raced after Dio Alexiakis, hating him like poison.

  ‘Get out of my way,’ he growled when she got in front of him.

  ‘That call I was trying to make wasn’t what you thought it was either!’ Ellie argued hotly.

  He simply sidestepped her.

  ‘You are so stubborn!’ Ellie flung wrathfully in his wake. ‘All I did was try to make a reverse-charge call to my boss at the bookshop…all right?’

  Stilling, Dio swung back with stormy reluctance. ‘What bookshop?’ he ground out.

  Ellie stared at him with a frown, sensing something missing, and then she exclaimed, ‘What the heck have you done with the bags? For goodness’ sake, you just walked off and left them lying on the floor, didn’t you?’

  Ellie went into automatic reverse, spinning round to retrace his steps. Her attention settled on the abandoned carrier bags with relief. Hurrying back, she grabbed them up.

  ‘What bookshop?’ Dio repeated stonily when she’d made it back to his side, laden like a packhorse.

  ‘I work in one during the day. I also live above the shop…’ Ellie paused to get her breath back. ‘I have to contact Mr Barry to warn him that I’ll be taking time off. He’ll call the police if I suddenly vanish—’

  ‘Rubbish! He’ll assume that you’ve taken off with some boyfriend. Staff of your age are often unreliable,’ Dio Alexiakis asserted, unimpressed.

  Affronted by the response, Ellie breathed in very deep to control her temper, but it didn’t work.

  ‘You know, I’ve had it up to here with you!’ she told him bluntly, tipping back her silvery fair head to survey him with angry resentment. ‘I do not have a boyfriend and I am not unreliable. Don’t underestimate me and don’t talk down to me, Mr Alexiakis. I always turn in for work. I’ve been in the same job for five years, and for the past two I’ve virtually been running the business—’

  ‘So what are you doing slogging as a cleaner five nights a week?’ he incised drily.

  ‘I need the money…OK?’ she flared. ‘Is that really any of your business?’

  ‘Your insolence outrages me.’ Shimmering dark, deep-set eyes raked over her, the lean, bronzed features hard as steel.

  ‘So I don’t like you…what do you expect? I haven’t done anything wrong. I made a silly mistake, but it’s being treated like a major crime!’ Ellie recounted in an accusing undertone. ‘You’re blackmailing me into doing what I don’t want to do…and I don’t appreciate your conviction that because I’m poor I’m more likely to be dishonest!’

  ‘Are you quite finished?’

  Feeling as if she had run smash-bang into a brick wall and bruised herself all over, Ellie reddened and compressed her lips.

  ‘Today of all days,’ he breathed with harsh emphasis, ‘I am not in the mood for this nonsense. Come on. We have wasted enough time.’

  ‘You believe me, then…?’ Ellie prompted a minute or two later as she struggled to keep up with his long, powerful stride.

  ‘All I believe is that I caught you before you contrived to disobey my explicit warning not to telephone anyone,’ Dio contradicted with succinct bite. ‘You’re little and sneaky. Why does that not surprise me?’

  ‘I am not sneaky!’

  ‘You could have explained that you had another employer. I’m not an unreasonable man,’ Dio stated grimly. ‘But you chose to sneak instead of being open and honest.’

  If he said ‘sneak’ again, she swore she would slap him. Her cheeks flamed, but the threat of thirty lashes at dawn wouldn’t have dragged an apology from her. Asking him permission to do anything would have choked her. And, whether he liked it or not, that call to Mr Barry still had to be made. Unfortunately the prospect of telling little white lies to Mr Barry in Dio Alexiakis’s presence made her squirm.

  Ellie didn’t make a habit of lying. If anything, she tended to be too honest, too blunt. She knew her own failing well, but some of her failings were also her strengths. She was fiercely independent and had never been a team player. She loved having the freedom to make her own decisions. As a result, both her jobs suited her perfectly. She preferred to work alone and without interference.

  Almost an hour later, when Dio’s brooding silence was fraying her nerves, her passport and her keys were handed over at a prearranged meeting point by an older man in a dark suit, whom Dio called Demitrios. Both men totally ignored her, and talked for what felt like a very long time in Greek.

  ‘I hope you didn’t leave my place in a mess,’ Ellie finally remarked, rather loudly.

  When she spoke, Demitrios frowned in complete surprise, much as if a suitcase had suddenly opened its mouth and tried to chat.

  ‘And I hope you locked up properly again.’ At that point a strangled groan erupted from Ellie. ‘For goodness’ sake, how the heck did you get past the alarm system in the first place? And did you reset the—?’

  ‘My security staff are not stupid,’ Dio interposed crushingly, openly aggravated by her interruptions. ‘The premises will have been left in order.’

  Ellie tilted her chin. ‘It must be comforting to know that you have staff who can trespass as efficiently as burglars.’

  Dio dealt her a thunderous glance from brilliant black eyes.

  ‘It’s rude to ignore people,’ she told him stubbornly, and spun away.

  But then you’re just a cleaner, she reminded herself in exasperation. The lowest of the low in any staff hierarchy. Even worse, she was stuck with a guy used to being waited on hand and foot by servants. Behaving as if she was the invisible woman didn’t tax Dio in the slightest. He expected her to maintain a respectful silence unless first invited to speak. But she had never been that good at keeping her tongue between her teeth, she acknowledged ruefully.

  Feeling cold now that she was no longer being kept warm by carting heavy bags around, not to mention the need to walk at about five times her natural speed, Ellie took out the black coat, ripped off the sale label and put it on. The hem hit the floor. If she pulled up the collar she would look like a small moving blanket.

  ‘Here…’ Dio Alexiakis extended his mobile phone to her.

  Ellie blinked in complete disconcertion.

  ‘Your story checks out. Demitrios confirms it. You may call the owner of the bookshop.’

  Ellie punched out the number. As soon as he heard her voice, Mr Barry asked anxiously if something had happened at the shop. Reassuring him, but resentfully conscious of Dio listening to every word, she explained that she would be off work for a couple of days, and apologised for the lack of warning she was giving him. She said a close friend was ill.

  Ending the call with relief, she returned the phone to Dio Alexiakis.

  He shot her a grim, measuring look. ‘You’re a very convincing liar.’

  Several hours later, Ellie was appreciatively conceding that the interior of the Alexiakis private jet was something else.

  Her eyes roved with keen curiosity in every direction. Opulent cream leather seating, plush carpet and elegant dcor. The cabin was far more like a luxurious reception room than mere passenger space. And did Dio Alexiakis realise how lucky he was? Did he heck!

  Ellie surveyed her reluctant host. While they had waited endlessly at the airport for a
fresh take-off slot for the jet he had paced the VIP lounge, exuding frustration and wrathful impatience in enervating waves. Now they were finally airborne, but from what she could see he was in no better a mood.

  Even so, she still found herself studying him. The dense blue-black hair so perfectly styled to his well-shaped head. The spectacular eyes enhanced by luxuriant ebony lashes. Eyes the colour of midnight that could glint like diamond stars. The hard planes and hollows of his fabulous bone structure. Strong cheekbones added character. His arrogant nose gave warning. And that wide, perfect mouth? Passion and sensuality. She pondered on the mystery of how a particular set of features could add up to such a devastating whole.

  And by the time she surprised herself at that stage, she’d got distinctly hot and bothered, and acknowledged a truth she would sooner have denied. She fancied the socks off Dio Alexiakis! Who had she been trying to kid when she’d told herself he revolted her? But it had been such a very long time since Ellie had been physically attracted to a man that she was sincerely stunned by the revelation. Just hormones playing a trick on her to remind her that she could be as foolish and fallible as any other woman, she told herself. Urgently.

  But even in a filthy mood, Dio Alexiakis was incredibly sexy. If she had noticed, he had to be! Possessed of that rare fluidity of a male totally in touch with his own body, he moved like a big cat prowling on velvet paws. And he was beautifully built. Broad shoulders, taut, flat stomach, slim hips, long, lean powerful thighs, she assessed, taking individual note of each attribute. Fantasy man…well, until he opened his mouth, she conceded, or left her carting the bags, or looked through her with supreme disdain while never once enquiring if she was hungry or thirsty. Not a feeling guy. Tough, selfish, single-minded and utterly ruthless in attaining his own ends…

  Caught staring, Ellie clashed in shock with Dio’s narrowed intent gaze. Eyes that could turn to the glowing gold of topaz in sunlight, she registered, suddenly running alarmingly short of breath. But it was a kind of alarm new to Ellie’s experience. Edge-of-the-seat excitement, she labelled in disbelief, finding it impossible to break free of that smouldering golden appraisal. Feverish tension held her fast, the thunder of her accelerated heartbeat pounding in her ears like surf as her mouth ran dry. An arrow of twisting heat coiled up through her and warm colour stained her face.

  ‘It’s three in the morning Greek time. You should lie down for a while and try and get some sleep,’ Dio murmured thickly.

  The very sound of that deep, dark drawl was like honey drenching her every straining sense, sending a delicious little shiver through her taut frame.

  Ellie blinked like a sleepwalker waking up. ‘Lie down?’ she mumbled.

  A dark line of blood now accentuated the hard arc of his cheekbones. He reached out and pressed a service button. His astonishing eyes were semi-veiled by his lush lashes. The raw tension churning up the atmosphere turned her stomach over. Complete bewilderment assailed her, followed by a sudden stark flood of intense embarrassment.

  As Ellie rose jerkily upright, looking everywhere but at Dio Alexiakis, the female flight attendant appeared. Ellie was shown into a sleeping compartment. She sank down on the edge of the surprisingly large bed, powerfully disconcerted by the lingering ache in her swollen breasts and the still urgent tautness of her nipples. Never before had a man simply looked at Ellie and made her feel a hunger so powerful it hurt. But Dio Alexiakis had.

  Ellie was shattered by that discovery, and ashamed of a physical reaction she had been quite unable to control. Had he realised what was happening to her? Had he recognised the effect he was having on her? She shut her eyes tight. She was appalled by the suspicion that Dio had not only recognised her helpless sexual response to him but banished her from his sight because of it.

  A couple of hours later, a quiet but insistent voice roused Ellie from her uneasy doze. ‘Miss Morgan…?’

  Ellie came up slowly on one elbow. The flight attendant was hovering with a tray and a look of uncertainty. Ellie reached up with a grateful smile to accept the food finally being offered to her. ‘Thanks…yes?’

  ‘We…well, the cabin staff wondered if perhaps you would like to wake Mr Alexiakis,’ she confided tautly. ‘We’ll be landing in fifty minutes, and naturally we’re all anxious not to intrude any more than we have to—’

  ‘Intrude?’ Ellie queried, all at sea and wondering why on earth such a strange request should be made of her. Was Dio a grizzly bear when he was woken up? Had she qualified for the short straw? Did she look like cannon fodder?

  The other woman sighed. ‘Someone has to wake Mr Alexiakis up now so that he can dress for the funeral.’

  ‘The funeral…’ Ellie echoed, her voice just fading out altogether.

  ‘I’m afraid this flight is very late, Miss Morgan. The delay back in London and the further delay in landing means that you’ll have to travel to the funeral direct. I hope you won’t think I’m being too personal, but we all think it’s wonderful that Mr Alexiakis has brought someone with him for support,’ she shared, and slipped out again.

  Fully awakened now by sheer horror, Ellie stared into space. Oh, dear heaven, Dio Alexiakis was flying out to Greece to attend a funeral! That was why he had bought her all that black clothing! And the cabin staff had decided that she had to be somebody important in Dio’s life because she was accompanying him. She remembered him saying that he hadn’t wanted company on this particular trip, and groaned out loud at the memory while wondering whose funeral it was. Obviously somebody close. A relative? A dear friend?

  After hurriedly choking down the breakfast on the tray, Ellie got up and rushed into the compact bathroom. She would have loved to take advantage of the shower but there wasn’t time. She took out the black suit and put it on.

  Her appearance in that suit astonished her. The light jacket fitted like a glove, nipping in at her tiny waist, hugging her slim shoulders, the deep vee-neck moulding her full breasts. The narrow skirt outlined the all-female curve of her hips and then tightened to outline her slender thighs. She looked sensational, she registered in amazement. Then, reddening at a vanity that seemed inappropriate, she turned from the mirror, irritated with herself for being so superficial.

  Returning to the cabin, she saw Dio’s impossibly long and powerful length sprawled at a most uncomfortable angle across one of the fancy leather seats. Her now tenderised and conscience-stricken heart smote her.

  Shorn of his formal jacket and tie, his silk shirt open at his strong brown throat and his jawline darkly shadowed by stubble, he looked so much younger and less intimidating. He also looked absolutely exhausted, and if it hadn’t been for her presence he would naturally have enjoyed the comfort of his own bed.

  Ellie tensed even more. To think the cabin staff had clearly been nervous of intruding on his grief! She herself had done nothing but intrude! Recalling every angry combative word she had slung at the airport, Ellie cringed with guilt and shame. So the poor guy had been in a rough mood. In the circumstances, that was hardly a surprise, and his preoccupation had been equally understandable.

  With a gentle hand on his shoulder, she shook him awake. His incredibly long lashes lifted off his flushed cheekbones, and with a soft sigh, he lifted his tousled head to check his watch. With a stifled expletive, he then plunged forcefully upright and headed for the sleeping compartment.

  ‘Mr Alexiakis…?’

  He stilled, but he didn’t turn round.

  ‘I didn’t know you were attending a funeral,’ Ellie said awkwardly. ‘I wish somebody had mentioned it.’

  He swung back, frowning at her in genuine surprise. ‘Don’t you read newspapers?’

  ‘I don’t get time to read them.’

  ‘It’s my father’s funeral,’ he responded curtly, and strode away.

  Ellie slowly breathed in deep, but it didn’t make her feel any better. His father! What could be worse? Of course he hadn’t wanted to be lumbered with a total stranger over the next couple of days. So w
hy on earth had he insisted that she had to accompany him?

  Those extremely confidential business plans he was so fired up about, this pretending to be interested in one company while really being interested in another, she recalled in exasperation. She wished she understood how that information could be as hugely important as he seemed to think it was. A spy, she thought afresh, shaking her head in wonderment. Cops and robbers. Thriller territory. Way beyond anything she could even imagine.

  But then Dio Alexiakis lived in a gilded world of immense wealth and privilege. He wheeled and dealed in incredibly high-powered circles. Even the night before his own father’s funeral he had still been talking business. Had it been a very sudden death? Whatever, on reflection, Ellie was surprised that he hadn’t already been in Greece. Even before she had entered the equation and complicated matters, hadn’t he been cutting things a bit fine?

  It was after seven in the morning and a bright and beautiful day when Dio Alexiakis and Ellie finally walked into Athens airport.

  Wearing the suit combined with the long dramatic gloves, the extravagant-brimmed hat and the designer sunglasses which Dio had given her, Ellie felt as if she was taking part in a fancy dress parade. They were waved on by grave-faced officials. But as they passed through the barriers a wave of shouting men with cameras surged forward, held at bay only by a squad of equally determined security guards.

  Ellie just froze in the glare of flashing cameras. Dio closed a powerful arm round her and carried her on through the crush as if it wasn’t there, impervious to the questions being thrown in several different languages.

  ‘Who’s the woman?’ she heard a man roar loudly in English.

  Ellie was unnerved by the aggressive behaviour of the paparazzi. Dio was coming home to his father’s funeral. What had happened to privacy? The giving of a little respectful space? For goodness’ sake, was Dio hounded like this everywhere he went? Ellie hadn’t the slightest idea.

  But during breaks in evening shifts she had frequently heard her co-workers discussing Dio’s private life in the most lurid of terms. He lived in the fast lane. He featured in glossy magazines and made endless gossip column headlines. Having enjoyed affairs with a string of gorgeous, high-profile women, he was a real sex god to the cleaning staff. But Ellie had always felt rather superior during those sessions. She hadn’t had the slightest interest in the exploits of a male she neither knew nor ever expected to meet. So she hadn’t listened any further.