Illicit Night with the Greek

by Susanna Carr

  Rejected, Stergios thought. So she pulled stunts that would create more attention.

  Jodie was lost in her thoughts as she stared at the fire. “I often wondered what would have happened if I had run away from one of those schools. Would my parents have looked for me?”

  “Of course they would.” His response was automatic.

  “You would assume that, Stergios,” she said with a soft chuckle as she patted his shoulder. “But your family was different than mine. They always wanted to keep you close,” she said with a longing sigh. “You knew all your relatives would do everything in their power to find you.”

  “True. I taunted my captors with the knowledge all the time. That the wrath of the Antoniou family was going to rain down on them.” A vengeful smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “And it did.”

  “And now you protect them with the same drive.” Her eyes shone with admiration. “You take care of every relative no matter how faint the blood connection.”

  “Not Pagonis. He may have been my biological father but he had me kidnapped. All to get my mother’s fortune.” Stergios felt the bile rise as he thought of the man. Pagonis hadn’t considered how it would traumatize his son. “He deserved to die in prison.”

  She rested her head against the back of the sofa and watched the flames dance in the fireplace. “I suspect you never told anyone what happened during your ordeal. You needed to spare them the details.”

  He gave her a startled look. Jodie understood him too well. His silence had been his way of protecting his family from the unpalatable truth. “The less they know, the better.”

  She stroked his clenched hand. “What happened that made you hate the dark?”

  “I know the dangers that the night holds.” He had overcome every one of them. “But it’s nothing to what the darkness had revealed inside me.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  The truth pressed against him, ready to break free, but he had learned to keep it to himself. “Everything I knew and believed in changed in one night.” He spoke slowly as the words did not come easily. “We often camped in the wilderness. I had been left outdoors, chained and caged.”

  He remembered the metal rattle of his prison. His kidnappers liked to drag their weapons against the bars. The overwhelming clatter reverberated in his ears and he was stuck in that time and place until Jodie squeezed his hand.

  “One of my captors...” Stergios paused as he tried to purge the face from his memory. “He thought I was easy prey. I was young and trapped. But I fought back.”

  “You had no choice,” Jodie said.

  The memories started to collide. It had happened quickly and he had no time to think or strategize. It had all been instinctual. “I almost killed him. I probably would have if his coconspirators hadn’t stepped in.”

  “It was self-defense.” Jodie didn’t look horrified or shocked. She didn’t draw back in fear. Instead she leaned closer. “You were just a child and he wanted to hurt you.”

  “I saw how much damage I could cause at a young age.” Stergios could still feel the warm blood and hear the echoing screams. “I didn’t know there was so much violence and rage inside me. That night I discovered what I could do when I am cornered.”

  “Why do you let people think you’re afraid of the dark? It’s not true.”

  “There’s some truth in it. I avoid being in a position where I can’t see potential threats. But it’s easier for them to accept that I hate the dark. They don’t want to dig deeper and I don’t want them to know that the darkness is a trigger. It reminds me what I had to do to survive.”

  Their gaze connected and she didn’t look away. He was caught in the depths of her blue eyes. He didn’t move, didn’t speak. For one infinitesimal moment, he found the peace he had been searching for.

  “What happened after you fought back and wounded that man?” Jodie asked. “Your captors must have punished you.”

  “Ne, it’s how I got this scar.” He gestured at his mouth.

  Jodie moved closer and brushed her thumb against his lip. “It didn’t stop you from fighting back again, did it?” she whispered.

  Her touch broke the spell. “Careful, pethi mou.” He wrapped his fingers around her wrist but he didn’t pull her hand away. “I am no gentleman. I am an animal. I am red in tooth and claw.”

  There was no fear in her eyes. Jodie didn’t listen to his warning. Didn’t care. The tenderness in her gaze left him unsettled. He slowly set her hand away from him.

  “Don’t worry, Stergios. Your secret is safe with me,” she promised.

  He leaned forward and rested his arms on his knees. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  “Why not?” she asked as she drew back. “You had to tell someone. It’s not something you want to share with your family. They already feel so guilty they couldn’t protect you during that time.”

  “I don’t know why I told you.” He knew it was a moment of weakness that he was going to regret.

  “Because you don’t see me as family,” Jodie said as she rose from the sofa. “You don’t need to protect me.”

  He gave a humorless laugh. “Ne, I do. You’re not smart enough to be cautious around me. At times you bait me, wanting a reaction. Now you know better.”

  “I can take care of myself,” she said as she walked to the kitchen. “And you.”

  Stergios scowled. That was the last thing he wanted. He did not want to rely on Jodie Little. She was unpredictable and seductive. Trouble. He was safer on his own.

  * * *

  Stergios woke up abruptly. He jackknifed up and looked around. He was on a sofa in the main room. There were ashes in the fireplace and light was blazing from the lamps. He glanced outside and saw that it was night. He heard the downpour outside but he didn’t hear the whistle of the trees in the storm.

  Checking his wristwatch, he saw it was past midnight. Stergios sat forward and rubbed his hands over his face. He didn’t feel refreshed from his nap. He was mentally exhausted and on edge.

  The lights must have woken him. He remembered Jodie went to bed a few hours ago after she gave up on talking with him. He had been defensive and uncommunicative. He had shared something personal, something he wouldn’t have shared with anyone, and now he was waiting for the backlash.

  He rose stiffly from the sofa and stretched. The way his shirt was creased, he guessed his sleep had been troubled. It usually was if he thought too much about his time in captivity.

  Stergios needed to move around. Think about something else and the memories would vanish for a while. Grabbing the dirty dinner plates from the side table, Stergios walked into the kitchen. He went still when he saw Jodie by the sink.

  The ivory slip she wore was innocent and seductive. It looked delicate, as if it would fall apart under his touch. Stergios swallowed hard as he noticed how the silk clung to her curves and angles. Lust smashed into him as his gaze followed the lace edge that emphasized her cleavage.

  “Oh, you’re awake,” she said as she drank water from a glass.

  His hands gripped the plates so tightly that he thought they would crack. “What the hell are you wearing?” His voice lashed in the electric atmosphere.

  She glanced down. “What’s wrong with it?”

  He strode to the sink and tossed in the dishes. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Jodie flinch from the loud clang. “You were going to wear that at Dimos’s wedding?”

  “Well, not at the ceremony.” Jodie set her glass in the sink. “When I was in my room and sleeping. Alone.”

  He didn’t believe it. That was the kind of lingerie a woman wore when she had seduction in mind. “A woman does not wear that when she’s sleeping alone.”

  “That’s enough, Stergios.” She gave a tired sigh and held her hands up to stop him. “You
no longer think I had my eyes on Dimos, so what gives? Are you trying to start an argument?”

  He was and he hated that Jodie had called him on it. He felt exposed. To Jodie, who knew his secrets and his dreams. She knew how to hurt him and worse, how to make him feel stronger. She had the ability to be his most dangerous enemy, and the one person who stood her ground when others would retreat. He had to create some distance.

  Stergios towered over her. “You think you know me, but you don’t.”

  Instead of backing down, Jodie rose on her tiptoes and met his gaze. “From what I understand, you have a problem with what I sleep in.”

  “I do.” His gaze flicked along the low-cut nightie. His skin burned as he imagined trailing his fingers down the valley between her breasts. “What man bought it for you?”

  She settled back on her feet, obviously surprised by his question. “I bought it because I like it.”

  “You were thinking about a man when you bought it.” Jealousy, hot and corrosive, bled through him. No other man should have the privilege to see her like this.

  She gave a huff of exasperation and gestured at the ivory silk. “What is it about this nightie that you find so offensive?”

  “That you’re in it,” he bit out.

  He saw the angry spark in her eyes. She set her hands on her hips and the silk pulled at her curves. His tongue cleaved to the roof of his mouth as he stared at the outline of her hard nipples. He was tempted to snap the thin straps with his fingers and watch the silk glide off her body and pool at her feet.

  “Would you like me to take it off?” she asked sweetly. “Right here, right now?”

  His stomach clenched as he imagined her striptease. “It’s that attitude that got you banished from the Antoniou family.”

  Her chin jerked up. “Is that right?”

  “Gregory has always been embarrassed by your sexual behavior,” he told her as the lust pounded through his veins. “How many schools kicked you out because of boys? Do you think your father was proud of that?”

  Her eyelashes fluttered. She wasn’t prepared for these accusations and line of questioning. “But only you know that I didn’t do anything with them.”

  “And your father wasn’t surprised when you were accused of trying to seduce two men in the wine cellar,” he pointed out. The anger and desire clashed inside him. “He didn’t stand up for you. He knew what you were.”

  Her cheeks went pink. “Why is it a problem for me to have sex?” she asked.

  “Have as much sex as you want.” He remembered how he had claimed her in the wine cellar. Stergios’s arousal was painfully swift. The sex had been unforgettable and he was never able to recapture that feeling. “In marriage. With your husband, not a revolving door of lovers.”

  She glared at him. “Your double standards exhaust me. Is it wrong that I liked having sex with you?”

  “Ne! Yes!” he said through clenched teeth. His nostrils flared as he remembered how Jodie’s orgasm had gone on and on. She had held nothing back.

  She was telling him this because she wanted him to remember. She knew he was on edge and his good behavior could easily snap. He shouldn’t have told Jodie anything about himself. She was using the information to her advantage.

  “Despite what your family thinks, I am not a whore,” she said as she walked past him. “I am a healthy woman with a healthy appetite for sex. Deal with it.”

  He watched her strut away and fought the urge to follow. To hunt. Stergios’s muscles locked as he fought to remain where he stood. He was not an animal. He was not—

  Stergios chased Jodie before he even realized it, his footsteps quiet as raw need ate away at him. When he grabbed her arm, he knew he was already past the point of no return. Whirling Jodie around, Stergios slammed his mouth against hers.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  HIS KISS WAS hard and punishing. Jodie tried to resist as he forced her lips open with his tongue. Stergios’s hand spanned against her breast as he invaded her mouth. His possessive touch nearly undid her. Her nipple tightened as she imagined his rough hand and his inquisitive tongue roaming against her bare skin.

  “No,” she whispered.

  “Ne,” he said in a hiss before he nipped her bottom lip with the edge of his teeth.

  She gasped as the bite sent stinging hot sensations throughout her body. Jodie jerked her head to the side. Her rejection didn’t stop him from dragging the tip of his tongue along the curve of her throat.

  Jodie pushed against his shoulders. “No, Stergios. This isn’t going to happen.” Her strong words were undermined by her breathless tone.

  Stergios’s large fingers slid against her hips. She sensed he wanted to crush her silk slip in his hands. Desire pooled between her legs as he grabbed her bottom with a rough urgency that excited her. She couldn’t stop the whimper from escaping her tight throat.

  He chuckled as his lips pressed against her collarbone. Her fluttering pulse beat against his mouth. “You want it as much as I do,” he said triumphantly.

  She squeezed her eyes shut but she couldn’t ignore the truth. She did want this. She wanted him more than anything else. Jodie knew she should be ashamed. She desired a man who couldn’t stand the sight of her.

  Stergios thrust his knee between her trembling legs and she bucked against his hard, muscular thigh. Jodie held back a sob of pleasure. She was weak against him. She didn’t care what Stergios thought. She needed him deep inside her.

  “You don’t want this,” she said in one last-ditch effort to stop this madness. “You just want to display your dominance over me.” She shivered with anticipation as she imagined how he would take her. It wouldn’t be making love. It would be a primal mating. “I won’t let you.”

  “You will, pethi mou,” he predicted as he rocked her hips harder against his thigh. “You will beg me.”

  No, she wouldn’t. She couldn’t! It was humiliating that she was hot and ready for him in an instant. She needed to salvage some of her pride. “You’re doing this because you revealed too much to me,” she shot back. “You don’t want anyone to know you, least of all me!”

  Stergios gripped the back of her head. “Open your mouth for me,” he said in a rasp before he lowered his head.

  She pressed her lips together but Stergios would not be denied. His kiss ignited the ferocity inside her. He knew just how to touch and excite her. Stergios had set the standard for her and no other man had made her feel like this.

  Jodie wanted to go wild in his arms. She wanted all he had to offer but she was afraid. This man had almost destroyed her after the last time they were together.

  “We can’t do this,” she said against his mouth. “We shouldn’t!”

  “I know.” His hands clenched her waist and he suddenly lifted her up. Jodie clung to his shoulders as he wrapped her bare legs around his lean waist. She saw the raw passion in his dark eyes as he carried her to his room.

  The overhead lights blazed in the master bedroom. She only caught a glimpse of the stark and modern decor before he tossed her onto his bed. The mattress was wide and low to the ground. She barely noticed the cool white sheets against her back before he tumbled on top of her. He reached for her hands, lacing his fingers with hers, and stretched her arms above her head.

  She twisted underneath him. “You’re going to regret this,” she warned.

  “You are to blame,” he decided as he burrowed his face against her neck.

  She stiffened. “Me?”

  He let go of her hands and palmed her breasts. His touch was urgent and demanding. “You can’t tolerate the idea of being invisible,” he muttered as if he were in a trance.

  She arched her spine as his hands rubbed her sensitive nipples. “Shut up.” She shouldn’t have made that confession to him.

  “You used to
wear the most provocative clothes at home.” His voice thickened and his words began to slur as he slid his hands against her rib cage. “The boldest colors. Anything that would capture my attention. My imagination.”

  Her face burned hot. It was true. Had she been that obvious years ago? And she had fallen in the same pattern tonight without recognizing it. Jodie shouldn’t have taunted him but she wanted him to notice her. Claim her. She had always needed to be the center of his attention. To be the most important person in his life.

  But she couldn’t be. She was everything he didn’t want in a woman. In a wife.

  “You had me in agony for years,” he confessed as he shoved the hem of her slip above her hips. “When you walked into a room, I had to leave.”

  Her hands clenched the pillow beneath her head. What was he saying? She couldn’t concentrate when he stared at her with such intensity.

  He bunched the silk in his hands and revealed her abdomen. He bent down and pressed his mouth against her clenching stomach. His warm breath wafted over her skin and she shivered. “If we were at the dinner table, I had to sit where I couldn’t see you.”

  Her chest rose and fell as he tore the slip off her body. She was splayed out before him. His for the taking. She writhed under his touch, the anticipation overwhelming.

  “I found no reprieve,” he continued as he took her breast into his mouth.

  Jodie tossed her head from side to side as he teased her unmercifully with his tongue. Just when she didn’t think she could take it anymore, Stergios bit down on her tight nipple. She cried out as the fiery sensations scorched through her veins.

  “You were everywhere,” he whispered before he laved his tongue against her tender flesh. “In my home, in my dreams.”

  He reached for her other breast and pinched her nipple. Jodie arched her spine, her feet digging into the mattress, as he took her to the edge of pleasure and pain.

  “But I couldn’t have you. I wouldn’t allow it. I knew I wouldn’t be gentle or careful if I touched you.” He paused. “I was right.”

  “I don’t want you to be gentle,” she insisted in a gasp. She wanted him to be reckless. She didn’t want Stergios to hide any part of himself.