by Abby Green
A car was waiting outside and they’d soon joined the chaotic Roman traffic to move across the city to the stunning medieval palace where the gala was being held.
Maggie’s jaw was almost on the ground as they walked through an open courtyard and into a palatial frescoed room lit by hundreds of candles and chandeliers. Mirrors on the walls reflected the sheer glittering opulence of the room and the people in it.
‘This is amazing...’ she breathed.
‘Is it?’ Nikos said, sounding almost bored.
She stopped and looked up at him. ‘Are you really so jaded that you can’t even appreciate how impressive this is?’
He looked at her. ‘More impressive than the Colosseum?’
‘Oh, no...well, that was just...mind-boggling. I mean, you’d have to agree that there’s nothing quite like it.’
An expression that looked almost wistful crossed his face, and then he plucked two glasses of champagne from a passing waiter’s tray, handed her one and said, ‘I’ve never been in it, actually.’
Maggie’s jaw dropped again. ‘How can you never have visited the Colosseum? What about school trips? There were loads of schoolkids there today.’
Nikos shrugged. ‘I had a tutor in Greece and then I was sent to boarding school in England. By the time I got to Rome I was more interested in staking my claim in the business and being a thorn in the side of my father by behaving outrageously than in sightseeing.’
‘And after he died?’
Nikos’s jaw tightened. ‘I had a reputation to live down to and I was working hard.’
Maggie felt an unexpected lump in her throat. She took a quick sip of champagne to push it down.
‘Nikos Marchetti! The very man!’
They were interrupted by a tall man who clapped Nikos on the back and looked at Maggie with undisguised interest. Nikos put his hand on her back again and Maggie wanted to groan. How was she going to handle an evening of Nikos touching her bare skin? This dress had been a terrible idea.
‘Count Alfredo Pizzoli—please meet my wife, Maggie.’
The man held out his hand. ‘A pleasure, my dear. So it wasn’t an urban myth, then, your marriage?’
The man guffawed and Nikos said a few more words to him before expertly guiding Maggie deeper into the room, where she was introduced to many more people. This was a very different milieu from Alexiou’s friendly and lively Greek birthday party. There was a more cynical edge here.
After a sit-down dinner, and some speeches by various guests about the work that the charities were doing, everyone got up and started milling around.
Nikos stood up and held out a hand for Maggie. He led her towards a room where she could hear soft jazz. It was another ballroom, with a band in the corner on a raised dais. Couples were dancing, bathed in the soft golden light of lots of candles. It was incredibly romantic.
‘Like to dance?’
Maggie looked up at Nikos. ‘Do I have a choice?’
He led her onto the dance floor even as he said, ‘You always have a choice, Maggie.’
Yes, and she’d made a profound one last year, when she’d chosen to succumb to this man’s seduction.
Yet even now—finding her way in his world, uncertain about his relationship with Daniel, with her—could she regret it? Not for Daniel’s sake, obviously. And not even for her own.
Even if he never loves you? asked a voice.
He wants me, she answered herself almost desperately.
He pulled her close against his body, his hand moving over her back, one hand high against his chest. They fitted. Even in high heels her head came to just below his jaw.
And I want him.
Maybe that was enough? She knew she was fighting a losing battle, resisting him. She wanted to sink into him now and let him take her whole weight. So she did—and it was the easiest thing in the world. Too easy...
She looked up at him, admitting wryly, ‘I was afraid I was attracted to you because of your charisma and power. My mother always said that was what dazzled her about my father—until she saw what he really was... But after meeting the people here this evening I know it’s not that. They have charisma and power, but they’re not nice people.’
Nikos’s mouth tipped up at one corner. ‘Are you saying you like me for myself?’
Maggie heard the mocking tone in his voice and ignored it. ‘Would that be so bad?’
Tension came into his body. His hand stilled on her back. But his voice was light. ‘I keep telling you I’m not that nice.’
‘I don’t think that’s really for you to decide.’
Nikos stopped moving, ‘Don’t do this, Maggie. Don’t think that I’m different from these people. I’m one of them. I come from this world. You’re a romantic—you’re trying to make me fit into the template you have for a happy future. You know I can’t promise you that.’
His cynicism rubbed her raw—especially when her whole body ached for fulfilment. ‘Don’t patronise me, Nikos. Maybe let’s just see what kind of future we can have before writing it off, hmm?’
She pushed free of his arms and went to walk away, but her hand was grabbed and she found herself being whirled back into Nikos’s arms. It would look as if they were still dancing, but the tension between them was thick.
Before Maggie could do or say anything else Nikos was cupping her jaw and holding her close. And then his mouth was covering hers.
At first Maggie resisted with everything she had. But it was futile. She wanted him too much, and she hated it that knowing he hadn’t been with anyone else since here made her desire for him even more potent.
Anger at him for having such a cataclysmic effect on her made her accept his kiss, and she felt a surge of adrenalin rush through them both as she wound her arms around his neck and matched him. Pressing close. Tongues duelling.
They both pulled back at the same moment, breaths coming fast and hard. Hearts pounding.
Nikos just said, ‘I want you. Now.’
Maggie didn’t feel conflicted any more. She felt needy. Aching.
She said the only word she could. ‘Yes.’
Nikos took her hand and led her off the dance floor and out through the main ballroom, still thronged with guests. Maggie’s cheeks were burning—surely their desire for each other must be glaringly obvious?
They went straight out to where the car was waiting. As soon as Nikos joined her in the back he said something to the driver, who raised the privacy partition before they drove off.
Nikos reached for Maggie, putting his hands around her waist and pulling her towards him so that she was on his lap. Their mouths fused and then Maggie’s hands were pushing at his jacket, reaching for his bowtie to undo it but only getting it tangled.
Nikos drew back and huffed out a tortured-sounding laugh. ‘Would you believe I’m usually a lot more sophisticated than this?’
Maggie said, ‘I don’t care.’
Nikos drew her up. ‘Pull your dress up and straddle me.’
She did it, knocking her head on the roof of the car. She could feel Nikos’s arousal pressing against her and she moved.
He groaned. ‘I want to see you...this dress...’
He reached for it at the top and pulled it down from her shoulders, revealing bare breasts that had been supported magically by the boning of the dress. They fell free now...heavy, aching.
Nikos cupped them and licked her nipples, first one and then the other, sending shards of exquisite pleasure down to Maggie’s groin. She reached beneath her to Nikos’s belt and trousers, fingers clumsy as she tried to release him.
Eventually she rose up and he took her hand away, releasing himself. She could feel his heat and strength and she almost wept with need. The fact that they were in the back of a car, being driven in loops around the city of Rome, was a decadence she couldn’t think a
bout now.
Nikos pushed her underwear aside and ran a finger along the seam of her body. She bit her lip—and then she felt the thick head of his erection.
Nikos said something guttural in Greek, but she understood instinctively.
She came down on his length until every hard inch was embedded in her body. They were both breathing fast. Her hands were on the seat-back behind Nikos as she tried to control her movements, coming slowly up and down again. His hands were on her waist, helping her. It was the most erotic experience of her life and she couldn’t last.
Sensing how close she was, Nikos took her, holding her hips as he thrust up. Deeper than before. Harder. And Maggie came, over and over again, barely aware of the warmth of Nikos’s explosive release inside her.
She slumped over him, spent. Sated. At peace.
Nikos never wanted to move again.
What the hell was that?
His body was still semi-hard. Still embedded within Maggie’s snug embrace. If she moved—Theos, he would want her again. Already. The control this woman had over him was not something he wanted to dwell on...
He carefully extricated himself, wincing as the connection between them was broken. Maggie made a little sound that almost had Nikos hauling her back into his arms, but he forced himself to pull her dress up, to hide those magnificent breasts from his gaze.
She moved off his lap and then snuggled into his side like a cat. Nikos had instinctively wrapped his arm around her before he realised that this was the kind of behaviour he’d never indulged in.
Before.
But Maggie was his wife. Things were different now. That was all.
When Maggie woke the next morning she could hear Daniel gurgling in the apartment—presumably with Marianne. She lay on her back for a long moment, reliving the urgency of that coupling in the back of the car.
Nikos had had to carry her in from the car. Her legs had been too weak to hold her up. He’d brought her to her room and she’d been reaching for him again when Daniel had emitted a cry in the room next to hers.
Nikos had been the one to pull back, stand up. ‘You should go to him.’
Maggie could only give thanks now that she hadn’t exposed herself spectacularly in her ravenous need for more.
She turned over and buried her face in the pillow, groaning softly.
A few hours later they were on their way to Madrid—but without Marianne. She’d had to go back to Paris for a minor family emergency and wouldn’t be able to join them again until they were in London.
In a way, Maggie was glad of the reprieve. She wouldn’t have to attend the event that evening with Nikos. She wouldn’t have to try and hide the fact that each outing only seemed to expose her more and more in her growing need for him. Physically and emotionally...
Madrid
Nikos came back to the apartment after midnight. He’d missed Maggie by his side tonight. It unnerved him how quickly he’d become used to her presence. How natural it felt and how unnatural not to have her there.
He opened his tie and the top button of his shirt, shucked off his jacket. He felt restless—a different kind of restlessness from the kind of dissatisfaction that had plagued him for the last few years. He hated to admit it, but it usually dissipated in Maggie’s presence.
The way it had dissipated the first time he’d set eyes on her.
He poured himself a shot of whisky and opened the sliding doors that led out to a terrace which looked over the majestic capital city of Spain. He recalled Maggie’s awe and wonder at the Roman medieval palace. He could barely remember a time when he’d felt that same kind of awe. He’d been so angry for so long. And since his father had died, he’d focused solely on work and pleasure. Nothing in between.
He heard a sound and tensed. It sounded like a cry. He went back inside and put his glass down. He heard it again.
Daniel.
Nikos walked down the corridor to the bedrooms and stood outside Maggie’s door for a moment. He could hear Daniel gurgling to himself now. Following an instinct he couldn’t ignore, he pushed the door open. One low light was on. Maggie was in bed, asleep on her back, hair spread out around her.
Nikos went over and stood by the cot. Daniel was on his back, arms and legs kicking. Eyes wide open. Dark. Nikos put his hand over Daniel’s belly and at the same moment the baby smiled up at him. A wide, gummy smile.
Nikos felt as if he was falling. Falling with nothing to cling on to. It was exhilarating and terrifying all at once.
Daniel gurgled again and Nikos looked over at Maggie. She frowned in her sleep. He could see the shadows of tiredness under her eyes even from where he was, and so he did the scariest thing he’d ever done in his life. He put his hands under his son and lifted him up, cradling him against his chest.
He took him out of the bedroom before Maggie could wake, and walked back into the main living area. And then he stood there and looked at his son in his arms. And he felt a kind of awe infuse him, washing aside any hint of restlessness or dissatisfaction.
When Maggie woke she sensed immediately that something was wrong. She looked over and saw that Daniel’s cot was empty and jumped out of bed, instantly awake.
Marianne wasn’t here and Nikos had gone out. Where could—
She left the bedroom—and came to a stumbling halt in the doorway leading to the living room.
Nikos was standing on the terrace, just outside the French doors, and she could see Daniel’s head in the crook of his arm. Her heart stopped and started again. She was afraid to breathe in case she disturbed the moment.
She could hear Nikos talking to his son in a low voice, in Greek? Italian? Saying...what? She didn’t care. The fact that Nikos had actually taken his son in his arms... Her chest felt tight and she put a hand to it. This was huge.
After a moment she walked further into the room and stood in the doorway leading out to the terrace. He must have sensed her presence, as he tensed and turned around.
‘He was a awake. I was afraid he’d wake you too.’
Maggie smiled. ‘That’s okay. Thank you.’
But now, sensing his mother was near, Daniel let out a cry, and Nikos looked suddenly uncertain. ‘What did I do?’
Maggie reached for him. ‘Nothing—it’s just time for his feed. That’s why he was awake. You bought me a few more minutes of sleep.’
Maggie sat down in a nearby chair and undid her nightdress buttons, helping Daniel to latch on without baring too much of her breast. She looked up and saw Nikos had an arrested expression on his face.
She said, ‘Would you mind getting me a muslin cloth from the bedroom? There should be some on the nappy changing table near the cot.’
‘Of course.’
Nikos left and came back quickly with a couple of cloths. Maggie took them. Nikos sat down on a sofa nearby.
‘Do you want me to get you anything else?’
She shook her head. ‘No, thanks. How was the event?’
‘Not as much fun without you there.’
Maggie’s heart hitched. ‘I’m sure that’s not true.’
They settled into a companionable silence, the sound of Daniel feeding the only thing breaking the silence. It felt intimate in a way that she hadn’t felt with Nikos before.
When she’d finished feeding him she put Daniel on her shoulder and stood up. ‘I’ll put him down again.’
She went back into the bedroom and winded and changed Daniel before putting him down. He was already fast asleep. She felt wide awake now, and couldn’t stop thinking about how Nikos had looked at her as she’d fed Daniel.
She’d fully expected that Nikos would have gone to bed, but she found herself going back to the living room. He was still there. He was lying on the couch, shoes off. Arm above his head. Was he asleep?
Maggie went over and closed the French doors. Ni
kos hadn’t moved. She couldn’t help standing and watching him for a moment, even though she felt like a voyeur. He looked so much younger in sleep...his brow smoothed. She felt an urge to place her fingers against his lips and stepped back before she could do something stupid.
But as she was turning away her hand was caught.
‘Where do you think you’re going?’ His voice was a rough growl.
‘I thought you were asleep.’
Nikos tugged her down onto the couch beside him. He came up on one elbow. She could feel his gaze on her as he brought his hand up and flicked open the couple of buttons on her nightdress that she’d just closed.
It had to be the most un-erotic piece of clothing—a white cotton nightdress with buttons strategically placed to make it easy to breastfeed—but suddenly it felt like the most provocative thing in the world.
Nikos looked at her as he put his hand underneath the cotton to cup her breast. She sucked in a breath. It was still sensitive after feeding. But deliciously so.
He brought his hand up then, catching her hair and looping it around his fingers, tugging her down towards him until she was flat against his chest and her mouth hovered above his. Their breaths intermingled. He was like steel underneath her.
‘Do you want this, Maggie?’
It freaked her out how much she wanted him. All the time.
She nodded.
He reached up and their mouths touched. She groaned. He speared her hair with his hands, angling her to make the kiss deeper, more explicit. Maggie wanted to rub herself against him like a needy cat.
Urgency gripped them both. Nikos pulled back for a second, grabbed her hips and pulled her on top of him so that her thighs fell either side of his hips. She wasn’t wearing any underwear. He reached down and found this out for himself. They both gasped.
Maggie unbuttoned his shirt, needing to feel his chest. Nikos undid his trousers, lifting himself up to pull them down. And then she felt him there, released and hot and hard against her hungry flesh.
