by Leslie North
“Eva?” Dareios swore and looked around the nightclub. “Where is she? I can’t believe you brought your sister—”
“Relax.” Alexandra reached across the table and laid a hand on his forearm. “I would never bring Eva in here. She’s back at the hotel.”
Dareios pulled away. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Why Milan? And why did you try to make me think you weren’t who you are. And will you please take off that mask?”
Slowly, she reached up and undid her mask. In truth, it felt good to get it off. She also pulled off the wig. She fluffed her sweat-matted hair and shook it out. “Eva wants to go to art school. We came over to check out some universities.”
Dareios gave a snort. “Is that what you told Antonio?” His expression relaxed and he gave a laugh, a real one. “Of course you did. He’s so caught up in Claire and being a new husband, he didn’t even think about your trip. I don’t suppose he remembered to tell Eva her acceptance letter came from the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.”
“What?” Alexandra sat up. “Really? Eva has always loved Paris. To go to school there would be amazing!” She shook her head. “Uhm…well, I do see one problem with her going there. She doesn’t speak French.”
“So she’ll learn. Now let’s get back to this evening. Why the act? Is this some kind of joke? A bet?”
Alexandra nodded and then shrugged. She stared out at the dance floor. She could still feel Dareios’ hands on her, and she could still smell his scent. How could she explain that she’d wanted to turn the spark between them into a bonfire—if she could. How could she tell him that she’d felt a failure when he’d recognized her. What a mess!
“Alexandra?” he said. His voice had softened. She swallowed hard and looked at him. He relaxed and let his hands fall to his side. “What brought you to Club Senza tonight?”
“The fundraiser. Antonio made a sizable donation.”
“Uh-huh. That’s about half of it. What’s the other half? Antonio donates to a lot of charities and you don’t go rushing off to party with the other donors.”
She fanned her face. “It’s gotten hot in here.”
Dareios kept his eyes fixed on her. “It’s going to get even hotter for you if you don’t come clean about this.”
She stiffened. “I’m not twelve!”
“You could fool me the way you’ve been acting. You used Eva as an excuse to travel to Milan. And then you show up here. Why? Were you looking for trouble? Or just…oh, hell, I don’t even know what.”
Alexandra debated with herself for several minutes. Sighing, she decided to just lay her cards out on the table and see what happened. She bit her lip. It couldn’t get any worse than it already was. “I came here because I knew you would be here.”
Dareios sat back. His mouth dropped open.
Chapter Nine
She wondered if kissing her had been as amazing for him as it had been for her. This attraction between them had been growing—it was going to be even harder to ignore now that she knew what he tasted like.
He shook his head. “So you knew who I was when I rescued you from that cut-rate vampire? You planned this whole thing out?”
“What choice did you give me? Oh, come on, Dareios. You’ve been noticing me and I’ve been noticing you notice me. I wanted—I want to…we need to get this out of our systems.”
Dareios shook his head. “Your brother would kill me.”
“Would he? I’m not a child. Maybe five years ago he would have been protective, but I’m twenty-two. I know what I want.”
“No, you don’t. You’ve only dated a few—”
“I dated a lot of boys at university.”
“Yeah, and I heard about Carl. That jerk was not a great choice. He was out for your money.”
“At least he wanted something from me!”
Dareios shook his head. “What do I do with you now?”
Alexandra rolled her eyes. “You liked that kiss.”
“I liked it when I didn’t know I was kissing someone who is just about my little sister.”
“Oh, come on. I’m not related to you—not even close. And are we going to go on just watching the other person—wanting and never having?” She leaned over the table. She saw his eyes dip to her breasts and she smiled. “You want me. You know you do.”
“What I know is that Antonio is expecting you to find a good boy and settle down.”
“He’s not papa—Antonio is not demanding I start having babies.” She saw the blush on his cheeks and knew he was thinking about the ways to make babies. “You take every girl you meet into your bed, except me. Why? What’s wrong with me?”
“That’s why you wanted to be a different girl?” He touched her mask. “That’s why this and the wig? You thought if I didn’t know who you were I’d—”
“You did kiss me. And you liked it.”
He sat straighter. “I’m not the kind of man you should marry.”
“Who’s talking about marriage?”
“You are!” He waved a hand at her. “And Antonio would be talking weddings if he found out we were—” He cut off the words but waved a hand between them. “So we won’t.”
She smiled. “What if he finds out you kissed me? You devoured me in fact. What if he learns that you and I were here—in a private back room?”
Eyes narrowing, he stared at her. “You wouldn’t.”
“I won’t…if you agree to take me back to Athens with you on your yacht. I know you’re having the Kairos brought to Taranto. So I’ll sail back with you.”
“That is blackmail.”
“No…I think it’s extortion. Come on, Dareios. It’s a good plan. A couple of weeks sailing in beautiful weather. We’ll have some fun.”
“It’s impossible!”
She let her smile widen. “We’ll find out if we’re right for each other.”
He shook his head. “We’re not—I’m not right for any woman. It’s why they all leave me—or why we have a fun time and then part friends.”
“That’s all I’m asking. A fun time and then we can be friends again. And Antonio never has to know anything else. Dareios, this thing between us—if we let it go on and on and keep building, it’s going to explode. You know that—you know that because of how you kissed me. You’ll keep thinking about that kiss. I will, too. We’ll dream about what it would be like with you and me in bed together. We’ll make the fantasy so amazing that we have to act on it. And then it will blow up in our faces. We’ll resist until we give in—and Antonio will catch us. Or Eva will. And then we’ll have to marry, and—”
“We’ll make each other miserable.”
Alexandra smiled. She heard defeat in his voice, she saw his shoulders slump. He was seeing what she saw now. “We should give into this attraction. That kiss proved there is more here—a lot more. If we get this out of our systems, we can go back to being good friends. And we’ll have great memories.” Under the table, she crossed her fingers. She wasn’t sure if he was going to buy into her logic, but if she kept at him, maybe she could wear him down.
Dareios shook his head. “I think this is all a mistake, but I’ll…maybe you’re right.” He held up a finger. “I’m not saying you are, but…well, I’ll take you back to your hotel tonight, and back to Athens as well. And I’ll think about it.”
With a nod, Alexandra grabbed her wig and mask. And she started to plan how to drive Dareios wild over the next two weeks.
Chapter Ten
After making sure Alexandra found her hotel room without incident, Dareios headed to his own hotel. Alexandra had left him in knots. He was too wound up to sleep, and he didn’t want to go out looking for female company to take off the edge. He was also still trying to think about what to do with her.
Two weeks sailing the Mediterranean with Alexandra sounded like heaven—and hell. She’d be in one of those skimpy bikinis she loved to wear. She’d be tempting him. And he’d give in. He knew his limits, and his ability to resist a beautiful
woman such as her was not one of his great strengths.
It was the weakness of his family. His father had had it. His grandfather, too. Both of them kept a string of mistresses, made their wives miserable, and never managed a faithful day. When he’d turned eight, his father had taken him aside and explained how life worked—how a man needed a lot of sex and a woman needed children.
Unfortunately, Dareios had been an only child—and his mother had been miserable at his father’s straying. Dareios had known he could never make any woman so unhappy. But he’d also seen how his father made all his mistresses very happy—that was the way to live.
Keep every woman like a mistress, and move on before the tears and heart ache could happen. He’d lived that way so far, but Alexandra was not a woman to take to bed and drop. No…she deserved better. Now he had to convince her of that. And he had to stop thinking about her.
She’d been so sweet and responsive in his arms. Her lips had been just as soft and sweet as he’d always imagined, and her scent…
No…he was not thinking about that. She was Antonio’s sister, and she would find a good man, a man who did not want to sleep with every woman he met, and she would marry. He would hate the day, but it was best for everyone if he kept thinking of her as a sister.
At his hotel, he found he’d missed a call from Antonio. Great—not what he needed tonight. However, Antonio had asked him to look into a few business matters in Italy and in London. He thought about texting Antonio, but that would take forever. He’d better call.
He tried to go over the conversation that was about to take place, trying to find a way to break the news to Antonio about his sister’s latest adventure without also letting Antonio in on what had happened in that back room.
Picking up the phone, he called Antonio’s number. After a few seconds, Antonio’s voice came on. “Dareios, you’d better have a damn good reason for interrupting my evening.”
Dareios grinned. If Antonio had already forgotten he’d called earlier, then Claire must have distracted him, or Antonio had been worshipping his wife’s delectable body. Dareios was glad they’d married—they were good for each other. It made him almost wish he was a different man, but his playboy ways had shown him already that he was just like his father.
“Did I call at a bad time, Tonio?” Dareios asked, trying to sound innocent, as if he didn’t know he’d pulled Antonio from bed.
“Do you have any idea what time it is? And yes—you did call at a very bad time.”
Dareios chuckled at the sound of frustration he heard in his friend’s voice. It was the same frustration that now had his balls blue and his body unsatisfied. But Antonio had a wife waiting for him. Dareios only had an empty, cold hotel bed.
“Claire is not going anywhere. Anyway, I just need a few minutes of your time.” He quickly filled Antonio in on a rough report of what he had seen at Antonio’s banking offices in London and Milan—Antonio had been getting regular reports from his staff, but he wanted someone to glance in on the operations.
Antonio worried too much that others saw him as weaker than his father—Matthias Rosso had been a forceful man, and a tough businessman. But Antonio had no reason to worry—he’d hired good people, or rather his father had.
When he finished, Antonio asked, “And other than that, how is London?”
“It was as it always was. Mother complained when I would not stay with her and wouldn’t ask about Father, even though I knew she wanted to know if he has a new mistress. But Milan is much better. By the way, I ran into your sister, Alexandra, this evening at a fundraiser for the children’s hospital cancer center here in Milan.”
“I thought she sent that donation off weeks ago,” Antonio muttered.
“Well, I guess since she and Eva were already here, she decided to check out the fundraiser for herself. Anyway, I’m having my new yacht, the Kairos, brought up to Taranto and planned to sail it back. I offered to let the girls tag along and they seemed excited about the idea.” And there—that should do it. He would bring Eva with them and that would remind Alexandra that she, too, was just a little sister to him. “We’ll fly to Taranto the day after tomorrow and then sail home. The girls seem to be enjoying some down time, and they love being out on the water.”
“They do at that. Tell them to have fun, and don’t let Alexandra near the wheel. She got distracted by watching dolphins and almost ran us into the reefs last time. ”
“Not to worry, this ship is big enough to have its own crew.”
“To be honest, I’m glad they won’t be gallivanting around Italy on their own. They won’t take security with them, and I worry. But I know you’ll look after them. Has Eva said anything about the schools in Milan?”
“No, and you really should have told her about the acceptance letter for Paris. When I mentioned it to Alexandra, she was thrilled. I think Eva will be even more so.”
“To be honest, I wanted her to look around a little more. I wish she would stay in Athens, but she thinks if she stays, Alexandra and I will keep treating her like a little girl.”
Dareios winced. Was that how he and Antonio treated Alexandra? They talked for several more minutes. Dareios asked about Claire and how she was settling in Athens. It seemed she still missed New York, but Antonio was planning a trip back for her as a treat. Claire was learning Greek now, but had a terrible American accent. Antonio sounded…content. Dareios was only mildly jealous at what his best friend had found. He knew that such a thing was not for him.
“Go back to ravaging your wife,” Dareios said with a laugh. After he hung up, he stared at his empty bed and kept imagining Alexandra in it, her golden gown spilling off her. And that was just where such images should be kept—in imagination only.
Chapter Eleven
The next day, Dareios arrived back at Alexandra’s hotel at the same time a uniformed waiter was pushing a breakfast cart up to Alexandra’s room. Dareios had already arranged for his private jet to deliver him and the Rosso girls to Taranto tomorrow, and he planned on spending today with both young women.
Someone had to keep Alexandra out of trouble. Dressed in comfortable, well-worn jeans, a black T-shirt, and his Italian loafers, he thought he looked like any other tourist visiting Milan on holiday. And that’s what he was today.
He tipped the waiter and told him, “I’ll take it from here.” Dareios pushed the cart to the penthouse suite and rapped on the door. He heard the noise of someone moving inside the room, and then Eva threw open the door and grinned. “If you’ve got food, come in!”
He frowned at her. “Eva, you didn’t even check to see who was out here. You should be more careful.”
She gave a shrug, giggled and hugged him. She had on baggy sweat pants and a ratty T-shirt. Snagging a fresh pastry from the tray, she grinned. “You have food—and this hotel is very safe.” She skipped back into the main room, leaving Dareios to bring the cart.
Dareios pushed the cart to the couch. He glanced around, but didn’t see Alexandra. He wasn’t certain if he should be relieved or sorry. Instead, he poured himself a cup of coffee from the cart.
The hotel had decorated the penthouse suite with a mixture of comfort and modern. Clean lines and plush pillows. The view looked out over the skyline of Milan. Huge vases of roses gave the room the scent of a lush garden. “Didn’t your sister tell you we ran into each other last night? I’ve invited you both to join me on the Kairos?”
“What? Where are we sailing off to?” Eva asked, excitement in her voice. She curled up on an overstuffed sofa.
“Home. To Athens,” Alexandra said, walking into the room. She smiled at her sister, and turned to face Dareios. She was no longer a goddess in gold, but wore slim, form-fitting jeans and a pale-blue silk shirt. She’d pulled her long dark hair back into a pony tail and had bare feet. She looked…like Alexandra. Like Antonio’s sister.
“Good morning.” She came up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist for a brief embrace.
He stiff
ened, patted her back and gently set her away from him. For as long as he could remember, Alexandra had used a lemon-scented shampoo on her black hair. Now that she had grown up, she also used a special fragrance. It had a hint of citrus in it, along with several floral fragrances that seemed to fit her perfectly.
He couldn’t help but think she hadn’t worn her perfume last night—he would have known her at once if she had. He forced a smile. “Kalimera, Alexandra,” he said, giving her the traditional Greek greeting for good morning. “You slept well?”
She smiled back—that cat had the cream smile, which said she was up to no good. “I had wonderful dreams. Very erotic ones about a masked man in black. And you?”
He gulped his coffee and almost scalded his tongue. “Come and eat and we’ll decide how to spend the day.”
“We? You’re spending the day with us?” Alexandra asked, eyebrows lifting high.
“I am. We fly to Taranto tomorrow. I spoke to your brother, so he knows you two will be accompanying me home.” He stressed the words—he wanted to put Alexandra on notice that he was hiding nothing from Antonio. Well, almost nothing.
Alexandra started to respond, but then she saw the pensive look on her sister’s face. “What’s wrong? You love sailing?”
“I do. But I can’t help feeling like I’m forgetting something. Something important.” Eva rubbed her lower lip.
Alexandra took up a glass of orange juice from the cart. “I’m sure you’ll remember it soon.” She turned to Dareios and brushed her hair back from her face. “Now, what shall we do today?”
Images of plunging his hands into her hair, of pulling her face close, of spending the day kissing her, jumped into Dareios’ mind. All the things he’d wanted to do last night hovered close. He drank back his coffee—bitter and black and put the cup down with a clatter. “I have a surprise for Eva.”
Chapter Twelve
Alexandra watched her sister as they entered the room where Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper was displayed in the Santa Maria della Grazie. She looked around the church and then at Dareios and mouthed, ‘Thank you.’
