Theo glanced across at Kerry as they climbed out of the helicopter on Drakon Notara’s island. Her hair was whipping about in the wind, and as she put up her hands to hold it back from her face he saw that she was pale and shaky after the flight.
She’d never complained, even though he’d asked her to join him on many of his trips, but Theo knew she wasn’t a good traveller. Chances were she hadn’t slept much the night before, and the limo had picked her up very early that morning. Tiredness always made her travel sickness worse, and he guessed she was feeling pretty rough. But he wanted her bright and appealing, to convince Drakon to sell him the island.
‘I know the way to the house,’ he said, as the old man’s quirky assistant came towards them. ‘My fiancée needs a moment to recover from the journey—some fresh air and solid ground under her feet for a while will do the trick.’
He reached out, looped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. He felt a tremor pass through her as she tensed and tried to pull away from him.
‘Lean on me till you get your strength back,’ Theo said, tightening his hold on her. Then he dropped his voice and spoke quietly, for her ears alone. ‘Don’t forget why you are here. You are my fiancée and you will act like it.’
With a deliberate effort Kerry relaxed her body and allowed herself to lean against Theo. She was surprised that apparently he’d picked up on how she was feeling—he’d never shown any sign of noticing her tendency to motion sickness before. But this time it was particularly awful—probably almost anyone would have noticed if she looked even half as bad as she felt.
All she could do was concentrate on drawing calming breaths into her lungs and putting one foot in front of the other. Theo’s arm was around her—a steady anchor and a welcome distraction from the nausea that rolled through her.
However, it didn’t take long before her awareness shifted entirely onto the sensation of his hard body next to her. The stressful journey and the way it had made her feel so rotten slipped away, and she was simply conscious of how closely Theo was holding her.
His body was strong and athletic, and she could feel his muscles moving as they made their way along the rocky path together. They were walking in unison, and she suddenly realised that meant he had matched his stride to hers. For some reason that realisation sent a shiver skittering down her spine. Whether it had been intentional or instinctive, on some level Theo had been attuned to her body and the rhythm of her movements.
‘Feeling better now?’ he asked. His deep, masculine voice passed like a physical vibration right through her, setting her nerve-endings alight and making her even more conscious of his powerful male form beside her.
She turned to look up at him, suddenly convinced that he had known the exact moment her attention had shifted onto the sensual experience of walking with him. Somehow the thought made her feel exposed and vulnerable.
She lifted her head and his eyes caught hers, holding them locked to his dark gaze. He was studying her intently, and all at once she got the feeling that he was probing—trying to read her mind. She didn’t remember him looking at her like that before—as if he thought she was guilty of something.
Then she suddenly realised that she’d never had anything to hide from him before. Was she imagining his scrutiny because she had an enormous secret?
‘The house is just over the brow of the hill,’ he said, lifting his hands to cradle her face gently. ‘Drakon may be old—but his mind is sharp. He’ll be watching us, so never let the pretence that you are my fiancée slip.’
‘I don’t want to lie,’ she said, pulling away from him slightly. She’d enjoyed meeting Drakon the previous year, and, despite his funny old ways, she had liked him. ‘It doesn’t feel right.’
‘Then we’d better make our act convincing, so Drakon won’t ask you any tricky questions,’ Theo said. ‘And, as they say, actions speak louder than words.’
Before she realised his intention, one strong arm had slipped around her back and pulled her hard against him. The other hand lifted to cup her chin and tip her face up to his.
She opened her lips to protest, and at that moment his mouth came down on hers.
CHAPTER FOUR
THEO’S kiss took Kerry completely by surprise, but her body responded instinctively. It seemed the most natural thing in the world for her to lean into him, pressing sensuously against his hard, athletic body, and part her lips in invitation.
His tongue swept into her mouth, hot and demanding, and she felt herself become molten with longing. There was nothing tender about his kiss—it was a fierce and passionate reminder of all the times they had made love. Of all the times he’d taken her to the point of ecstasy.
She lifted her own tongue to meet his, surrendering to the intense desire that suddenly stormed through her body, and kissed him back wildly. Her hands ran up to his shoulders, revelling in the hot, hard feel of his muscles, and she clung to him tightly—as if she never wanted to let go.
Then, without warning, Theo broke away from the kiss.
Kerry gasped in surprise, swaying unsteadily as he abruptly released his hold on her.
‘Quite convincing,’ he said, as he stepped away and stared down at her through narrowed eyes.
She held her breath as she looked up into his face, and for a moment the world stood still. She’d dreamed of Theo kissing her again for more than a year—but in her fantasy he had been kissing her because he had realised his mistake, realised that he loved her.
Her dream had never been like this—her kissing him desperately, with embarrassing eagerness. And with him appearing to be completely unmoved by the whole thing.
She felt the hot colour of humiliation staining her cheeks, and she looked down at the ground, mortified that she had given herself away so completely. Then a wave of anger rose through her, and her eyes snapped back up to meet his.
‘It was my intention to be convincing,’ she said. ‘But there’ll be no more free demonstrations. I’m here to help you with Drakon—not to be nice to you in private.’
Theo raised his straight black brows in surprise, but his lips quirked in amusement, and she had the feeling he’d seen right through her.
‘Let’s go and meet our host,’ he said, sliding his arm around her waist and turning to continue along the path.
‘I understand you weren’t feeling too well when you arrived,’ Drakon said, looking across the table at Kerry with sharp eyes. ‘I trust you’re feeling better now?’
‘Yes, I’m fine,’ she said. ‘Thank you for asking.’ She took a sip of her drink and smiled across at him. It was lovely sitting outside under the shade of the twisted old olive trees, enjoying the stunning view over the bay to the Adriatic. And making small talk with Drakon stopped her thinking about what had happened with Theo on the path from the helipad.
‘Kerry suffers from travel sickness,’ Theo said, taking her by surprise. She’d assumed he’d only guessed how she’d felt earlier because she had looked particularly rough. She’d never realised that he’d always known that she often felt ill on long journeys. ‘After a short rest she’s usually back to normal,’ he added.
‘What a nuisance travel sickness must be,’ Drakon said. ‘Especially when you travel such a lot.’
‘Don’t make me feel bad.’ Theo’s tone was wry. ‘Even though I know she suffers, I ask her to come with me because I can’t bear to be without her.’
‘Love is selfish sometimes,’ Drakon said, knocking back a huge swallow of ouzo.
‘It can be.’ Theo turned his piercing gaze onto Kerry.
A strange feeling washed over her as his dark eyes found hers, and suddenly she couldn’t maintain eye contact with him. She took another sip of her drink, hoping to cover up how disconcerted she felt. The direction the conversation had taken had knocked her totally off balance.
When they’d been together Theo had told her the same thing—that he wanted her to travel with him because he couldn’t bear to be without her.
At the time his words had made her feel special—valued. Never before in her life had anyone shown so much desire to have her around.
She’d grown up feeling unwanted and unloved—and when she was eighteen years old she’d found out just how true that was. Her grandmother had not wanted to care for her, but had grudgingly become her guardian out of a twisted sense of duty, having refused to accept that her teenage daughter was capable of looking after her own baby.
But it had turned out that Theo hadn’t genuinely valued her company either. She’d made one mistake—and then he couldn’t get rid of her fast enough. Drakon’s mention of love being selfish was just another cruel reminder of how little she’d meant to Theo. He’d never loved her and she knew he never would.
‘I hope that tomorrow you will allow us to view the whole island,’ Theo said to their host, pulling Kerry out of her thoughts.
‘No business talk now.’ Drakon waved away his request and looked at Kerry. ‘My dear, I haven’t seen you for such a long time. I know I don’t leave the island much, but there were a couple of occasions in Athens when I was hoping to meet you again.’
‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ Kerry said, feeling a knot of tension tighten in her stomach as she found herself on the spot. She did not want to think about how Theo would react if she failed to convince Drakon that they were still together. ‘Unfortunately I haven’t been able to accompany Theo to every event lately,’ she continued. ‘I’ve been spending a lot of time in London—I’ve had family commitments.’
She pushed her long fringe out of her eyes and thought about Lucas. She was completely and utterly committed to her baby boy, and would do anything for him. Unlike her own mother—who had been too young and too weak when Kerry was born, and had not managed to stand up for herself or her baby.
‘Nothing serious, I hope,’ Drakon said, looking concerned. ‘No one sick?’
‘No, no…’ Kerry’s voice trailed away as a barb of guilt twisted inside her—as if somehow by hiding his existence she was betraying her son. ‘Personal things…nothing important.’
She took a breath and smiled reassuringly at the old man, who still looked worried—all the time feeling like the very worst kind of mother. How could she imply—even though of course she didn’t really mean it—that giving birth to Lucas had not been important?
‘I’m glad to hear that,’ Drakon said, as he pushed his chair back and levered himself up to standing. Theo was on his feet beside him in an instant, but Drakon waved his help aside impatiently. ‘I’m going to rest before dinner. Take a look around the house if you’re interested. Tomorrow you can see the island.’
Kerry stood up too, and waited quietly as Theo held the door into the house open for their elderly host.
‘The door stays open on its own,’ Drakon said tartly as he shuffled past. ‘I don’t need your help.’
A smile flashed across Kerry’s lips as she saw Drakon roll his eyes irritably at Theo. She really did like the old man.
Then she realised Theo was staring at her, and the smile faded from her face as quickly as it had come. A shiver prickled down between her shoulderblades as their eyes met—it felt just as if his dark gaze was boring right into her.
‘Something amusing?’ he asked, closing the distance between them in two long strides.
‘I like Drakon,’ she said, turning away to escape his penetrating gaze. ‘It’s good to see him again.’
She tried to concentrate on the amazing view of the bay below the house—a gorgeous crescent of rocky shoreline, edged by wizened old trees that seemed to lean right out over the azure Aegean Sea. But all the time she was ultra-aware of just how close Theo was standing.
Suddenly his arm slid possessively around her waist from behind, and she couldn’t help drawing in a sharp breath. She tried to ignore the tremor that ran through her as his fingers brushed against her skin, just under the hem of her top.
‘It’s good to see you again,’ he said, letting his hand slip further up inside, so that he was caressing the sensitive skin of her midriff.
‘You’re not looking at me,’ Kerry said, attempting to pull away, but he held her firmly against him.
‘Then it’s good to touch you.’ He eased her closer, so that she was standing with her back pressed against his chest.
‘Touching me wasn’t part of the deal,’ she protested, instinctively pulling in her stomach muscles as his other hand slipped around her waist on the opposite side.
‘We never made any deal.’ His voice was a murmur, so close to her neck that his lips brushed her skin and set off a whole new series of tremors within her. ‘You came because I told you to. And because you wanted to.’
‘No. I—’ Kerry’s voice caught in her throat as Theo pressed his open mouth against her neck and nibbled gently, making exquisite sensations ripple through her.
She couldn’t hide the way her body was suddenly trembling. Maybe it was because it was so long since she had felt Theo’s touch, but suddenly the combination of his tongue moving across her skin and his warm breath feathering her neck felt like the most sensual thing she had ever experienced.
Her breath escaped her in a long, shuddery sigh, and he responded immediately by rocking his hips forward and pressing against her. The feel of his hard erection nudging into the soft curve of her bottom made a torrent of hot arousal cascade through her and her heart started to race.
‘I’ve missed this,’ Theo said. ‘And I can tell you’ve missed it too.’
‘No. I haven’t.’ Kerry’s voice faltered as Theo ran his tongue lightly up the side of her neck and pulled on her earlobe with his lips. Another wave of tremors rolled through her—but she knew she had to put a stop to Theo’s seduction.
If she let herself fall any further under his spell she wouldn’t stand a chance—she knew she would end up in his bed. She could not let that happen. Not after the way he had treated her. And not with the huge secret she was keeping from him.
‘I want to have a look around,’ she said, taking a positive step forward and breaking away from his touch. ‘Drakon said we could. I’m surprised you don’t seem keen to take the opportunity to survey your potential acquisition.’
A smile spread slowly across Theo’s face as Kerry pulled away from him, and he released his grip, letting her slip out of his arms. He burned to make love to her—hot, hard, passionate love—but he would wait until tonight.
He knew how much she still wanted him—it had been impossible for her to hide the way he’d so easily set her body alight with desire. She might be playing hard to get, but that just made him want her even more.
He walked behind her as she headed for a gap in the trees at the edge of the paved area. The view of the shimmering sea stretching out from the bay beneath them was stunning, but he only had eyes for the sublime sway of Kerry’s hips as she moved.
God, he’d missed her—missed losing himself in her beautiful, receptive body.
Theo would never forgive her for what she had done—she’d abused his trust to interfere with matters that did not concern her, and the consequences could have been tragic. She would never share his life again—but she would share his bed that night.
‘Drakon doesn’t like change.’ Kerry turned back to speak, taking him by surprise. ‘He doesn’t believe in discarding old things on a whim—just to get something bigger, better or flashier.’
‘He’s not totally averse to progress,’ Theo pointed out, pulling his thoughts back from erotic images of making love to Kerry. ‘He has a nice new helipad, and travels to Athens by helicopter whenever the whim takes him.’
‘I wonder where he plans to live after he sells the island,’ she said.
Theo frowned. ‘It’s not going to be easy to persuade him. I think he’d like to end his days here. But he also wants to leave things in order for his daughter,’ he said. ‘She lives on the mainland with her family, but from what I understand she has her hands full looking after her husband, who was injured in an accident. She ha
s no head for business and Drakon doesn’t want to add to her burden.’
‘He’s a thoughtful man.’ Kerry stopped and looked at him. Her silky-soft hair was blowing in the breeze coming off the sea and she put up her hand to hold her fringe out of her eyes. ‘How do you know all that? I don’t believe he told you. He seems to be quite a private person.’
‘That’s not your concern,’ Theo said, lifting his hand to cover hers. Her fingers felt cool and slim beneath his. ‘Why did you cut your hair?’
For a moment her eyes opened wide with surprise, and in the bright Greek sunlight Theo saw that they were the clear blue he had believed them to be—then she schooled her features into a blank expression and met his gaze steadily.
‘I felt like a change,’ she said. ‘But now I’m growing the fringe out again—that’s why it’s always in my eyes.’
‘I like to see your face.’ He lifted his other hand and smoothed all the tendrils back from her forehead.
‘You weren’t there, so I didn’t think you’d mind.’ She shook her head with a touch of irritation and he let go. Her hair fell forward again, but not before he’d noticed the horizontal creases that had appeared across her forehead when she frowned. ‘I’m going inside to get changed for dinner,’ she added, turning away and heading for the house.
‘You go on ahead,’ he said. ‘I’m going to look round a bit more.’
He watched her walk across the paved area and into the house, the bewitching movements of her body sending another surge of hot desire through his veins.
Her body seemed different somehow—slightly fuller, perhaps. Maybe it was his imagination, because he was so hot for her, but her breasts definitely seemed bigger than he remembered them. He pictured the way they’d look naked in his mind’s eye—gorgeously ripe and full—and suddenly it was almost more than he could do not to follow her straight to the bedroom.
The Diakos Baby Scandal Page 4
