Up on her tiptoes, her arms wrapped around him, she found herself loving the broad expanse of defined muscle on his back. Her body pressed so close against him, she could feel his desire pulsing now through the fabric of his trousers, and her shorts.
‘I desire you, Susan, as I’ve never done before,’ he murmured against her ear.
They were exactly the words she wanted to hear, because—although he didn’t know it—Alex desired her, not Susie.
‘I said I wouldn’t oppose your relationship to Spiros if I thought you were marrying for love, but how can you claim to love him and deny the attraction between us?’ he posed, shaking his head in incomprehension. ‘I can no longer deny my attraction for you, even though I don’t welcome it.’
The admission made her heart sing. All she’d assumed had been wrong. The attraction he felt for her was more than any he may have felt for her sister, and the reason he didn’t welcome it was surely because he didn’t approve of Susie’s lifestyle and the bad choices she’d made. Could Leah build on his attraction before he discovered the truth?
‘Be honest,’ he pressed. ‘What I’m feeling is mutual.’
Was it a trap? Pulling away from him slightly, she looked more deeply into his eyes. There was confusion in those black depths. A grudging acknowledgement of his growing passion for her. For her.
‘You know I’m attracted to you,’ she finally admitted tentatively, half expecting to be snared in a vice of her own making. ‘And I’ve been fighting against it too. Can there really be a truce between us?’
There was only quiet satisfaction in his eyes. No smug sense of victory.
‘Alex, can you forget all the reasons you don’t like me and why I’m here? Can you act as though you are meeting me for the first time?’
‘That’s a big ask. It could be dangerous.’
‘What’s life without a little danger?’ And for the first time in her life, Leah was embracing danger. This would be the biggest gamble of her life.
‘I’m a man used to satisfying my desires. Will you agree to go with the flow and see where that takes us?’
Could he respect the depth of her attraction for him while still thinking she was shallow, indecisive Susie? Shouldn’t she tell him the whole truth right now? She let out a breath she hadn’t realised she was holding. God knows, she wanted to be honest, but a large part of her still lacked confidence in her ability to hold his interest.
‘Let’s go with the flow,’ she agreed breathily.
The second he pulled away from her, she felt her disappointment. Her one consolation was the ragged note in his voice as he suggested, ‘Let’s go back to the villa.’
When he took her hand in his, it felt completely natural, like their hands belonged together.
Nothing was said as they made their way back to the villa. Instead of talking, she focussed on all that she felt walking next to him. Feelings soon turned into fantasies. A voice of caution sounded in her head, warning her that such a change in him was too sudden, that it couldn’t be real, that this must be some sort of set-up.
No. That was negativity talking. The nagging voice stemmed from her self-doubt and she was determined to put that behind her, to take a leap of faith and believe in her own femininity for once. Surely no man could fabricate a physical response so immediate for a woman he had no attraction for.
After waking up despondent, happiness now bubbled up inside her like a fountain. She couldn’t contain it. Didn’t want to. She’d been doing everything so far for Susie. Now she wanted to do something for herself.
Alex looked down at Susan as they walked back. There was a starry look of happiness in her eyes that reminded him of a child discovering a pile of presents under the tree on Christmas morning. It made him feel like an utter bastard.
There was a pure male satisfaction in her being so captivated by him. Despite that, guilt was churning in his gut. Playing with someone’s emotions was foreign to him. That wasn’t the way he operated. He’d never done that to anyone — in business or in his personal life — and felt guilty to be playing with her emotions. He was setting her up for a giant fall. How would she cope when she hit the ground?
He wanted her like hell, but had to remember who she was and control his urges. Lock his emotions away. If he didn’t, he would never carry out his plan.
Hell — this woman is far more physically and intellectually appealing than I expected. The attraction he felt for her was stronger than any he could ever recall, but it was also more dangerous. This young woman was still trying to manipulate him. She still possessed the power to ruin his brother’s future, and only Alex possessed the power to stop her. He’d stick to his plan and time things perfectly.
They arrived back at the villa. He drew close to her again and said, ‘Go and change into a swimsuit, and I’ll meet you at the beach.’
Her expression revealed her disappointment. It told him she’d hoped he’d take her to bed as soon as they’d returned to the villa. As much as his body was tempted, his brain battled against that physical craving. Reminding himself that timing was everything, he kissed her. That was no hardship — her mouth was so sweet, so inviting.
‘Go now. I’ll see you shortly.’ He heard the rasp of desire in his voice.
There was the faint glisten of tears in her eyes as she smiled at him, nodded and turned away. This time his guilt gave him a hard kick in the gut. Her seduction was going to be easy. She was so wrapped in him, like a teenager with her first crush.
Damn it all! Susan was all deception. It wasn’t as though she was some innocent teenager he was planning to seduce. The fact was that she was an extremely worldly young woman who’d tried to seduce him before. However, he didn’t intend to carry his seduction of her through all the way, just up to a certain point...
Leah stopped her walk to the beach as she saw Alex reclining on a lounge chair. Her eyes ran over him in awe. He wore only brief, black swimmers. The muscular contours of his body had been amazing in the moonlight, but in the light of day she could see he could easily win a bodybuilding contest. Each strong muscle was clearly defined. Her hands itched to touch the smooth deltoid muscles of his shoulders, to run her hands through the smattering of dark hair that covered the strong pectoral muscles of his chest.
Safe behind the screen of Susie’s sunglasses, she allowed her eyes to roam over the ripple of muscles that stretched across his taut abdomen and to linger on the masculine bulge contained within his swimmers. God, he was gorgeous. Michelangelo would have loved to have sculpted that body and preserve it for eternity, the same way he’d sculpted David. In her opinion, compared to Alex the famous David paled into insignificance.
Taking a deep breath to calm her raging hormones, she started toward him again, sitting on the chair next to his.
‘I owe you an apology,’ he told her, straightening and swinging his legs so he faced her. ‘You were right in saying I stereotyped you. I didn’t realise you would be so well-versed in the Greek classics.’
It was hard not to squirm. Most of his opinions about Susie were probably correct. The unpalatable truth was that not only was her twin shallow and egocentric, but that she had always scoffed at Leah’s love of learning. She shrugged. ‘It doesn’t matter. I think most people would make the same assumptions.’
He passed her some sunscreen. ‘Use this. You’re a stranger to this climate, and your beautiful skin needs protection.’
Self-consciously, she applied a liberal amount of cream all over herself, aware that he was watching her every movement. It was torture to have his eyes on her — all she wanted was the contact of his body.
He stood and pushed the recliner flat. ‘Lie down on your front. I’ll do your back.’
Her breasts felt uncomfortably tight as they swelled, her nipples standing to immediate attention at the thought of his hands roaming over her body. She quickly complied, hoping he wouldn’t notice the reaction of her body to his sensual suggestion.
Then his hands were
on her. The combination of the warmth of his skin and the cool cream as he lathered it on was sensational. Over her shoulders, down her back, under the strap of her bikini top, and along the indentation of her waist. Her mind ran riot again with fantasies of an x-rated nature.
She felt unbelievably aroused as he continued to rub the sunscreen into her body, as though he delighted in touching her.
She wanted his fingers to explore her intimately again as they had that night on the beach. Did she dare voice her need and tell him to make love to her right here and now?
‘What made you start taking drugs?’
Her body tensed. Her blood chilled.
‘I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I’m just trying to understand.’
How could she answer that question? Her sister spoke of the pressures of the lifestyle and her nervousness performing in front of screaming fans. What would she say?
He filled the awkward silence. ‘Anna tells me she’s almost certain you’ve kicked your dependency. That took a lot of courage.’
She swallowed. ‘The lifestyle of a pop star is a lot more demanding than I dreamed it would be.’
‘Your parents know about your drug use?’
There was no missing the edge to his voice – the judgement in his tone.
‘No,’ she said. ‘They’d be devastated if they knew.’
‘But how could your father not know? He’s your manager, isn’t he? Doesn’t he travel with you all the time?’
‘He’s very busy as my manager. He can’t be at my side every second.’
His hands dipped just under the line of her bikini bottoms, making sure she was fully protected from the sun. Her breath caught at such an intimate gesture. Then his hands were on her legs, massaging as they went.
She wanted to steer the conversation away from Susie. She wanted to know more about him.
‘You must miss your wife.’
His hands stilled on her calves. ‘Must I?’
She rolled over to face him and sat up. ‘Why didn’t you tell me the night at the beach, that you weren’t married?’
He held her gaze, but his features had tightened, like a shutter had closed over them. ‘It’s not something I talk about.’
‘Alex,’ she ventured tentatively. ‘I want to understand you, too.’
He regarded her intently for a long time. She panicked — had she pressed for too much, too soon? He might push her away now. She sought for something to say to restore the easy feeling between them, but then heard his long exhalation.
‘I don’t miss my wife.’
Slanting her head sideways, she frowned. ‘You didn’t love her?’
‘I thought I loved her.’ He screwed the lid back on the bottle of sunscreen. ‘It turned out I was in love with a lie. She wasn’t the person she’d pretended to be.’
Leah swallowed hard. Guilt formed in tight bands around her heart, making it an effort to pump blood around her body.
His wife wasn’t the person she pretended to be, just like I’m not the person I’m pretending to be.
His voice was distant. ‘I found out too late.’
‘That she was an alcoholic?’
He hesitated. ‘That she lied to me by claiming to be pregnant. That she would’ve said or done anything to get a slice of my wealth.’ He stood up abruptly. ‘I’m going for a swim.’
She watched him walk down to the water. Her heart went out to him. No wonder he didn’t trust that Susie was pregnant after his own wife had tricked him to the altar.
Clearly Alex had loved his wife, but that love had been betrayed. His mother had cheated on his father. Now Leah was deceiving him — he didn’t deserve that.
Alex was a powerful man. Sometimes he could be an arrogant man, but he was flesh and blood. Although she sensed he tried to bury his emotions, he couldn’t submerge them completely. He felt a great depth of love and loyalty to his family. She shivered. To be the object of such intense emotions would be wonderful.
She buried her face in her hands. She hated lying to him, and wanted to end her role in this deception but couldn’t. Not yet.
Internal debate raged. One by one, like a litany, she listed all the reasons why she should continue with her charade. By the time Alex rejoined her, her head throbbed.
‘You look unwell.’ His voice was full of concern.
‘I have a headache. I think I’ll go in and rest.’
‘I swam for too long. I should’ve realised the heat would be too much for you.’ He walked around to the other side of his recliner and opened a cooler. The mere sight of the bottled water made her realise how parched she was. ‘Here. Drink this.’
She accepted it, appreciative of his thoughtfulness.
‘Make sure you drink plenty of fluid or you’ll end up dehydrating.’
‘Thank you.’
Once she’d drunk a few mouthfuls and screwed the cap back on, he took the bottle from her and set it on the sand.
Reaching out for her hands, he pulled her to her feet and then into the circle of his arms. ‘You need to sleep,’ he murmured close to her ear, before brushing his lips softly across each of her temples.
‘I’m planning on sailing to see some friends on a nearby island tomorrow. They own a tavern. Sunday lunches there are a traditional affair, with music and folk dancing. Would you like to come with me?’
Despite her headache, she brightened. ‘I’d love to.’
‘Spend the remainder of the afternoon resting. I’ll ask Soula to bring your meal up.’ He soothed her brow with his hand. ‘Tomorrow will be a long and tiring day. I plan to leave straight after breakfast.’
She nodded. ‘I look forward to it.’
‘Rest now, paidi mou.’
She was disappointed to be parted from him, but relieved to take a break from the role she was playing.
He shot her a dazzling smile, and her breath caught in her chest. Her legs felt weak. It took a lot of effort to command her legs to move away from him and toward the house.
A minute or so later, she heard Alex’s voice. She looked over her shoulder and saw that the housekeeper had arrived at the beach.
The tone of Soula’s voice as she spoke in Greek to Alex, and the serious expression on her face, suggested something important was going on. Alex nodded and then sprang to his feet, collecting his gear with great urgency.
His eyes met hers. He waved to Leah, but the action seemed forced. Somehow she knew that something important was happening, something vital to her situation. But what could it be?
She continued along the uneven pathway, but then stumbled as her concentration zeroed in on the most likely possibility. Spiros had made contact. Her heart skipped several beats. Were the newly wed couple about to arrive on the island?
Chapter 8
The email from Dimitri was finally there.
Alex scanned through it, grateful that his housekeeper had alerted him to its arrival. He drummed his fingers on his desk as he waited for his computer to open the accompanying attachment.
At last, a photo of Leah Bristow. Every muscle and sinew in his body felt taut as he waited for the image of Susan’s friend to load up on his computer monitor. Was Susan telling the truth about not knowing the identity of the blonde woman?
The email’s message indicated that one of Leah’s neighbours had provided Dimitri with the photo. It had been taken a couple of years ago at a street Christmas party.
His hand tightened on the computer mouse as he scrolled down the image and maximised it. As soon as he saw the full picture, he released a long breath from between his lips in a low whistle. Leah Bristow was gorgeous! Her hair was long and wavy, the colour of polished chestnuts. Her eyes were a deep emerald green, and they seemed to sparkle with laughter. She looked young and guileless. Uncomplicated. Familiar.
Familiar?
He looked harder at the photo. Did he know this woman?
With a growl of frustration, he closed the image of Leah.
What was w
rong with him? First, he was attracted to a woman who he knew to be sheer poison. Now he was finding her friend desirable, too? It had obviously been too long since he’d taken a woman to his bed.
He got up and prowled around his office, resisting the temptation to pour himself a straight scotch. Leah wasn’t the blonde he’d seen with Spiros at the hotel in Paris, so at least Susan hadn’t been lying about that. His brother would soon arrive — then Alex would know the identity of the blonde woman and how she fitted into his brothers’ life.
The trap he’d devised for Susan was set. He was just waiting for was the exact moment to spring it. He clenched his jaw. His conscience was nagging at him again.
Damn it all! No, he’d stick to his plan. It was the only thing he could do to protect Spiros and Elena’s future happiness and the only way to honour the promise he’d made to his father.
Leah flung open the shutters of her bedroom window and beamed as she stretched her arms above her head. It was a perfect day, and she was going to spend it with Alex. Better still, they were going to spend the day on the water. She loved sailing.
A quick look in the mirror assured her that she looked neat in the plain white t-shirt and navy blue shorts she’d chosen to wear over her modest one-piece swimsuit. Grabbing a hat and her sunglasses, she threw them into a tote bag and made her way downstairs to the terrace for breakfast.
Alex was already eating. She couldn’t drag her eyes away from the way his white t-shirt hugged his broad shoulders and revealed the well-tanned biceps beneath the sleeves.
He stood and smiled as she approached, affording her an unobscured view of his denim jeans, which were cut off above the knee.
‘Good morning, Susan.’
A lump of awareness parched her throat so badly that it hurt when she swallowed.
‘Hi,’ she responded. ‘It’s a great day for sailing.’
‘The wind should pick up throughout the day,’ he told her as she took the seat opposite him. ‘Have you done any sailing?’
‘Yes,’ she replied honestly. ‘I find it a great way to recharge my batteries.’
Mistaken Identity Page 11
