I’m in love with him.
Loving him wasn’t a mistake.
When they reached the ladder, he got in the boat first, then helped her up and wrapped her in one of the beach towels. He kissed her on the side of her neck, on her chin and nose, her cheeks, eyelids, earlobes.
Before he reached her mouth she said, “I’m going to fix our lunch while you relax. After we’re full, I’ll give you a big kiss for dessert.” Raina was afraid that if she stayed on deck with him another instant, she’d forget everything else.
“Coward,” he whispered against her lips before letting her go.
She hurried down the steps to the bedroom and dressed in another pair of shorts and a top. There was nothing she could do about her hair until she showered later.
In the fridge she found the ingredients to fix a Grecian-style sandwich. She made a fresh pot of coffee and put everything on the table with a couple of oranges. Akis joined her. While they finished off their orange sections, he told her they were going to head to Cape Lefkas, the inhospitable part of the island with cliffs seventy meters high. The lighthouse was built on the old temple of Apollo. From there you could view incredible vistas including Kefallonia Island.
He got up from the seat first and pressed a passionate kiss to her mouth. “That’s the sweetest dessert I ever tasted. Save me more because tonight I’ll be starving.”
Akis could have no idea of the depth of her hunger for him. She didn’t know how much longer she could go on without loving him completely. If she did that, then she’d never want to leave him. But what did Akis want?
Her experience with Byron proved to her that living happily ever after with the same person you married didn’t necessarily happen. She couldn’t bear the thought of a long-term relationship not working out with Akis. For the moment they were in a short-term situation because soon she would have to go back to California and once again take on the weight of her responsibilities.
If he wanted a life with Raina to continue, could a long-distance relationship back and forth from Greece to California work? A week fit in here and another week there throughout the year with months of separation in between?
Raina knew she was getting way ahead of herself, but every second spent with him was condemning her to be fatally in love with him for the rest of her life.
There was one thing Raina refused to do. Become so desperate that she’d marry someone else who came along in the future just to be married and have children. She could meet dozens of men and none of them would ever measure up to Akis. If her grandfather were still alive and could know this bigger-than-life man, he’d understand why Raina would never be able to settle for anyone else.
Her only choice was to spend this precious time with the man she loved and see what happened. Stop analyzing this to pieces, Raina.
He wanted to show her his Greece, so go with it and let come what may. She’d come to Athens for Chloe’s sake and had found joy beyond belief. If it meant that she could only experience it for a little while, then it was worth it. Casting any worries aside, she hurried up on deck and felt two arms grab her from behind.
“It took you long enough. I’ve been waiting for this.” He turned her around and lowered his head, covering her mouth with his own. Once again she was swept away. They’d started devouring each other when Akis unexpectedly lifted his lips from hers. “I can’t get enough of you, Raina.”
She let out a shaky breath. “I’m in the same condition.”
His hands gripped her shoulders. “I thought I could do this, but I can’t.”
When she saw the torment in his black gaze, she shuddered. “What’s wrong?”
With a sound of reluctance, he let go of her. “I’d intended to vacation with you, but it’s not working. Do you mind if we go back to the house?”
Raina took a step away from him. “Is it me? Something I’ve done?”
His answer was a long time in coming. “It’s nothing you’ve done. I want to make love to you more than you can imagine, but I don’t have the right.”
Afraid her legs wouldn’t support her, she found the nearest banquette so she could sit. Filled with anguish, she couldn’t look at him. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re wonderful, Raina, and you’ve changed my life to the point I don’t know where I am.”
She threw her head back. “Since you asked me to dance at the reception, my life hasn’t been the same, either. Taking a vacation probably wasn’t a good idea, but I’ll never regret the time we’ve spent together. If that’s what you want, then by all means let’s go back to Anti Paxos.”
His face was an expressionless mask. “It isn’t what I want, but I don’t see another alternative for our situation.”
She didn’t know what was driving this latest decision. But if by situation he meant that not making love to her had ruined the trip for him, then she agreed there was no point in prolonging it.
“All right.” In a quick move she reached for the life jacket and put it on. “While you get us under way, I’ll go below to clean things up in the kitchen and pack.”
He didn’t try to stop her. After getting the work done, she stayed below the whole time and rested her leg on the bed, knowing he would prefer to be alone. Her pain had gone beyond tears. When he cut the motor, she realized they’d returned to the harbor and was surprised the return trip had been so fast. There was only a slight rocking movement of the boat now that he’d pulled into the slip.
She heard footsteps in the hallway and checked her watch. It was seven-thirty. He peered inside the bedroom with an indecipherable expression in his dark eyes. “I’ll take your bag to the truck. Are you ready?”
“Yes.” Raina got up and followed him to the deck. “Just a minute. I need to stow the life jacket.” Once she’d taken it off and put it under the bench, she reached for the hand he extended to help her onto the dock. She thought he’d let go, but he kept it grasped in the warmth of his until he helped her into the truck in the parking area.
They drove in silence to his villa nestled in the greenery. It already felt like home to her. When it came time to say goodbye to this place, the wrench would be excruciating. She got out with her purse and started ahead of him along the path leading to the house. No longer needing the crutches she’d left behind, she climbed the steps to the back door. Akis let them in.
He walked her to the guest bedroom and put her bag down. “While you freshen up, I’ll start dinner.” Whatever emotions had been building inside him, he hadn’t made her privy to them.
“I won’t be long.”
She headed for the bathroom to shower and wash her hair. After using a towel to dry it, she put on her sundress. Raina had picked up a lot of sun. Even with the sunscreen, her skin felt tender. The straps of the dress wouldn’t hurt so much.
Once she’d brushed her hair, she put on lipstick and felt ready to face Akis. Before the night was over she knew there’d be a conversation and she was dreading it. When she walked into the living room, she saw that he’d opened the terrace doors. The table had been set on the patio.
He flicked her a glance and told her to come and eat. Akis had put another salad together along with fruit, rolls and coffee. He helped her into her chair and took a seat opposite her. “You picked up a lot of sun today.”
“I know. I’m feeling it now.”
“Skin like yours needs special care.”
Don’t keep it up, Akis. I can’t take it.
She’d lost her appetite, but ate a little of everything so she wouldn’t offend him. “Thank you for taking me to Lefkada. I loved every minute of it, including the helicopter tours.”
He eyed her over the rim of his coffee cup. “Do you still remember the word I taught you?”
“S’agapo. I promise to try it out on Chloe’s parents as soon as we fly back.�
� When there was no response, Raina got to her feet. She couldn’t stand their stilted, unnatural conversation. “Since we’re both through eating, I’ll clear the table. I can’t tell you how nice it is to be able to walk around without crutches.”
“I can only imagine.”
After two trips to the kitchen, she returned to the terrace, breathing in the fragrant air. It filtered through the house, arousing her senses. This was all too much. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to phone Nora. I promised her I’d call her, but I forgot last night. I don’t want her worried.”
Akis had gotten to his feet. “Don’t take too long. After you’ve assured her you’re all right, come back to the living room. I want you with me. We need to talk.”
He wanted her with him? She didn’t understand him. Her heightened pulse rate refused to go back to normal. “Nora may not even be available. If not, I’ll leave a message.”
As it turned out, the call went through to the Milonises’ voice messaging. She told them Akis had brought her to Anti Paxos and they’d been out in the cruiser to Lefkada. After saying she’d see them soon, she hung up and returned to the semidark living room. Akis was still out on the terrace.
His arms were stretched out against the railing, presenting a hard muscled silhouette against the starry sky.
“Akis?” she called quietly from the doorway.
He turned so he was facing her. “I made a promise to you before we flew here. But today I was so terrified I was going to break it, I had to do something to stop myself. The only thing I could think of was to bring you back here while I got myself under control.”
She swallowed hard. “Did it occur to you that I wanted you to break it?”
“Yes,” he said in a gravelly voice. “But I don’t think you know what you’re saying. If I touch you, I won’t be able to stop. I want you so badly, I’m trembling. I thought I could vacation with you and handle it, but it isn’t possible to control what I’m feeling. Tomorrow I’ll take you back to Chloe’s.”
Her heart rebelled at his words. “What are you afraid of?”
“I don’t want an affair with you and then have to say goodbye.”
Raina could hardly breathe. “Why does it have to be an affair?”
“Because I want to make love to you. But you’re the kind of woman a man wants to marry before he takes her to bed.”
“And you don’t want marriage because you prefer to remain a bachelor. Is that what you’re saying?”
His chest rose and fell visibly. “More to the point, you wouldn’t want to marry me. I could never be your equal.”
“Why would you say something like that? I know we haven’t known each other long. But if you feel as strongly about me as I do you, what is there to prevent us from marrying? Is there some dark secret you’ve been hiding?”
His hand went to the back of his neck. “Not a secret, but I’m not marriage material for a woman like you.”
A slight gasp of pain escaped her lips because he’d delivered the words with a chilling finality. “What do you mean a woman like me? If this is your unique way of letting me know up front that marriage isn’t in your future, I get the message. You’re the one who brought it up, not me.”
“After the pain your ex-husband put you through, I’m trying to be totally honest with you.”
“Except you haven’t told me why you’re not marriage material. What am I to think about a cryptic comment like that?” Her anger flared. “However honorable you’re trying to be, you have no clue about what I’m thinking or what drives me.”
He moved closer until she could see his black eyes glittering. “I know a lot more about you than you think. You’re the gorgeous young heiress to the Maywood fortune, the darling of the paparazzi from coast to coast. The Maywood estate in Carmel is one of the wonders of your state. Your corporation is one that helps keep the economy of California afloat. Your philanthropic projects are well known.”
His admission stunned her so much she couldn’t talk.
“According to the newspapers, besides your important work at its jet-propulsion laboratory, you run the entire corporation like a captain runs his ship, involved in every aspect. I happen to know that the Maywood tactical defense-system group works on air-defense issues, particularly air-vehicle survivability where the vulnerability of the US Air Force is concerned. Do I need to go on?”
By now her body was trembling. “So you’ve done your homework on me. I guess that means Chloe didn’t keep her promise to me after all.” The knowledge stung.
His expression grew fierce. “What promise?”
“That she wouldn’t tell her husband-to-be that her old scandal-plagued heiress friend was coming to Greece. Did you know she’d asked me to be her maid of honor? Much as I would have loved to do that, I told her it wouldn’t work. It was her special day. I didn’t want my being there with all my baggage to ruin it for her. That’s why she chose Althea.”
Akis shook his head. “Neither Chloe nor Theo said anything to me. You’ve got this all wrong.”
“Then how did you find out about me? No one was supposed to know I was coming. In order to keep the press from creating chaos at her wedding and swarming around me instead of focusing on her at the church, I chose to slip into Greece unnoticed.
“Out of consideration for her I flew on a commercial airline and stayed in a budget hotel in order not to be recognized. We agreed that I’d attend the reception as one of the guests. She made sure that there would be a place for me to sit at one of the tables in the rear of the ballroom while I watched.”
“I believe you, Raina. Now you need to listen to me. I found out about you from a completely difference source.”
“What source would that be?” Her voice sounded shrill, even to her own ears. “It’s finally making sense that you singled me out for a dance in the ballroom. I honestly believed it was pure accident that we met. You were the best man and as such, you took on the job of entertaining me. I can hear the conversation now.”
“Stop, Raina. It was my brother who told me about you.”
She blinked in shock. “What do you mean, your brother?”
“He knew I had a lot of questions about you and he did some digging without my permission.”
Adrenaline filled her system. “You two really do watch out for each other. What happened? When he found out my secrets and told you, did you decide to give me a thrill and ask me to dance?
“Was it because I’d had such a bad time of it with that awful husband of mine, you took pity on me? I was so vulnerable, you knew I wouldn’t turn down the best man. And once again I was so desperate for attention, I bought it. No matter what I said or did, you kept coming and refused to be put off.”
“If you’ll let me explain—”
“Explain what?” She was borderline hysterical. “For the first time in my life I thought, here’s a man who wants to get to know me better, just for me and no other reason! What a joke!
“You have no idea what a heady experience it was to see you barge in on Chloe’s parents looking for me.” Tears trickled down her hot cheeks. “Here I thought something extraordinary had happened that night. But all along you put on an exhibition that rivaled anything Poseidon could have done with all his power.”
“Raina—”
“I have to hand it to you, Kyrie Giannopoulos.” She kept on talking, too fired up to stop. “All this time you’ve been toying with me, shoring me up while I was in Greece because I was a pathetic mess. But it shook you up when I brought up the m word. That idea became too real to you.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“No? Who better to take on the responsibility than the best man Akis? My sprained ankle gave you the perfect excuse to see to my comfort, but you played your part too well and it has rebounded on you.”
She was running out of breath. “Let me tell you something. I never want to be someone’s project.” The tears were gushing now, but she didn’t care. “I suppose I should be grateful to your brother. It’s taught me there’s absolutely no one in this world I can trust. For the first time in his life, my grandfather was wrong.”
“Don’t say anymore,” he whispered from lips that looked as pale as his face.
“I won’t. I’m through and am ready to leave.”
“Agape mou—”
But she was too far gone to acknowledge his cry that came out in Greek. “Tomorrow I’ll go back to Chloe’s. You can remain here and you won’t have to lift a finger for me. You’ve done more than enough. Who could have been more qualified than a Giannopoulos to carry the water without complaint?
“In case you don’t understand the expression, it means you took on the job of giving this old maid a thrill out of the kindness of your heart. Congratulations to you and your brother who’ve gotten everything you want out of life, yet can still throw a few crumbs to those less fortunate.”
* * *
Akis stood there dumbfounded while she ran down the hall to the guest room and shut the door. Because of his fear that he didn’t have the credentials to be the kind of husband she deserved, he was afraid to propose marriage to her. But he’d handled this all wrong and had said things that had turned the most heavenly day of his life into a nightmare.
He couldn’t let another minute go by allowing her to believe the worst about him. This was all his fault and he had to make it right no matter the cost.
As he walked down the hall, he could hear gut-wrenching sobs. The sound tore him apart. He rapped on the door. “Raina? I need to talk to you.”
She refused to answer. He couldn’t blame her, but there was no way he was going to let this go without her knowing the truth. Relieved that he’d never had the door fitted with a lock, he opened it and stepped inside.
Raina lay across the bed with her face buried in her arms, still dressed in the white sundress. Her body shook with tears that tortured him. He stole across the room and half lay on the bed facing her. Acting on instinct he slid a hand into her glossy hair.
The Millionaire's True Worth Page 11
