by Annie West
And Strato would be there. Her pulse accelerated as she thought of him and that wonderful, mind-melting kiss.
She’d missed him when she took the logical option to return to the Nicolaides house rather than the yacht. She’d rather have bathed with him, even if it meant a rush to get ready because they’d been busy doing more interesting things than dress for dinner.
Cora smoothed her hands down her dress. She’d spent ages getting ready, not wanting to look out of place amongst his friends and acquaintances. But mainly because she wanted Strato to look at her in admiration.
You want him to look at you the way Damen looks at Steph. Not just with sex on his mind but as if you’re the one and only woman in the world for him.
Horrified, Cora bit her lip.
She couldn’t be so naïve.
Yet as Cora took one final survey of her reflection, she avoided her eyes in the mirror. Because she feared what she might see.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
STRATO PACED THE sitting room. He’d arrived early and Damen and Stephanie weren’t down. Nor was Cora and, short of knocking on every door in this vast place, there was no way of finding her.
His discussions with Damen had gone successfully yet he’d found it difficult to concentrate.
That argument on the yacht and Cora’s obstinacy over a little thing like buying a dress! He’d been trying to protect her from a potentially uncomfortable position.
The women tonight would be dressed expensively and he didn’t want them looking down their noses at Cora. She was worth a dozen of them. He’d dragged her into this world. It was up to him to look after her.
Strato paused mid-stride. Was that why he was agitated? He wanted to look after Cora?
He breathed deep, controlling a ripple of unease.
It was a long, long time since he’d tried to look after anyone. Tried and failed abysmally.
His gut clenched so viciously it was like a hammer blow.
He set his jaw and yanked his thoughts to the present. This was different. He was doing the right thing by his current lover. Despite what the press said, he had at least a thread of decency in him. His mouth quirked cynically.
Cora was proud and independent yet it irked him that she didn’t trust him enough to accept his help without argument. She trusted him with her body. Why fuss over a credit card?
Other women would happily spend his money.
Maybe that was why he was restive. He wasn’t used to unpredictability. Cora hadn’t returned to him at the yacht. When Damen said the women were late and Cora would get ready at the house, Strato had wanted to demand she meet him. Except he didn’t have her phone number! He refused to use Damen as a go-between, passing a message via his wife.
Strato had felt powerless and he didn’t like it.
A sound made him turn and he lost his train of thought.
‘Cora.’ His voice was so thick her name sounded unfamiliar.
She stood in the doorway and for the life of him Strato couldn’t move. His feet were soldered to the floor, his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth.
He knew her body intimately. He ran his fingers through her long hair daily and never tired of watching expressions chase across her lovely face. Yet she surprised him.
Her olive skin glowed and her hair was a gleaming curtain over one shoulder. She’d done something that made her eyes smoky and her lips...her parted lips made him want to devour her.
That dark red dress accentuated every dip and curve. The V neck plunged deep but not outrageously. The fabric clung to breasts and hips but flowed freely around her as she shifted her weight on pretty shoes that gave her added height.
His stasis broke and he strode closer. He hungered for her lush body, her mouth...
‘Strato.’ She sounded breathless.
Good. He’d hate to think he was the only one.
But when he wrapped his arms around her, she put her palm to his chest and glanced over her shoulder.
‘Someone’s coming.’
‘And I should care because...?’ He lowered his head.
Her smile sent relief shooting into his bloodstream. He’d missed her. He hadn’t liked it that they’d parted without properly resolving their argument.
Though, looking at her ravishing form, he could see she’d clearly accepted his help. That outfit was worth every penny of its no doubt exorbitant cost.
Before he could kiss her she whispered in his ear. ‘I’m nervous enough. I’d rather not meet the others wearing smudged lipstick.’
Strato didn’t care what others thought. He didn’t care about her lipstick. She should be thankful he didn’t pick her up and take her straight back to the yacht. Yet he stopped.
He closed his eyes, breathing deep. Her delicate scent wafted to him and he pressed his mouth to her neck, nibbling and kissing. Cora sighed and arched in his hold, grabbing his biceps as if afraid she’d fall.
Now Strato felt better. Now he held Cora close and felt her eager, yielding body.
Crazy that he’d wondered if she’d had enough of him. That she’d rather browse the shops than be with him.
His plan to bring her to the city where there’d be distractions had been madness. He wanted her completely to himself.
‘Strato. What do you think of Cora’s dress?’ He lifted his head to see Stephanie enter on her husband’s arm. She wore a mischievous smile.
Reluctantly he straightened and turned, holding Cora to his side. The silky material beneath his hand slipped across firm, rounded flesh and he swallowed hard.
‘Beautiful. Almost as exquisite as the woman wearing it.’ He felt Cora start as if he’d surprised her.
How could that be? She knew he was fascinated by her body. So much so that he contemplated negotiating an extension of their time together. Though he suspected little negotiation was necessary. The way she leaned against him suggested she’d be as eager as he.
Belatedly he focused on his hostess. ‘I’m lucky to be in the company of two such gorgeous and clever women.’
Stephanie’s grin widened and Damen made a smiling comment about not trying to sweet-talk his wife.
If Strato weren’t so eager to have Cora to himself he’d have enjoyed an evening in their company. He respected Damen’s business acumen and liked him and his wife. But soon they were joined by more guests.
The evening didn’t go as Strato had envisaged.
He’d imagined being in company would lessen his preoccupation with Cora. The opposite was true. The guests were pleasant, witty and well informed but he wasn’t interested. Not when, for the first time, he felt jealous.
It took a while to realise what it was. That sour tang of annoyance, that tightening of his shoulders whenever the art collector across the table looked at Cora as if he’d like to add her to his private gallery. Or the young archaeologist, who shared her passion for scuba diving, kept trying to monopolise her.
Strato told himself it didn’t matter. She’d go home with him. Yet he prickled with discomfort when she smiled at another man, or got absorbed in what they had to say.
Possessiveness was unprecedented. Never had he cared enough about any woman to feel jealous.
It was illogical. Yet he couldn’t conquer it. Could only weather it and warn off her admirers with glares and blatant signals that Cora was his.
Strato’s consolation was the way she leaned close to him. And the tremor he felt run through her when he stroked her leg beneath the table. And her smiles, that promised so much.
So he endured it. He talked with the other guests, ate his meal, and complimented their hosts on a pleasant evening. But at the first chance after dinner he pushed back his chair.
‘I’m afraid you’ll have to excuse us. It’s time we left.’
‘Left?’ The art collector frowned. ‘But it’s early.’
Cora turned, a question in her eyes. He held her gaze, his mind full of the things they’d do when they got back to the yacht. Colour flushed her cheeks.
‘We’re sailing tonight.’
‘Tonight?’ That was Damen. ‘But you just arrived today.’
‘It was a flying visit.’
‘But surely—’
Cora moved her chair back. ‘You’re right. We don’t want to miss the tide.’ As if that mattered. She turned to their hosts. ‘Thank you so much, I’ve had a lovely evening.’
Strato took her hand and felt the pulse at her wrist jump. Was she wound as tight with need as he?
The goodbyes took too long, but he contained his impatience, again thanking Damen and Stephanie, and watching as the two women said fond farewells. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, bringing Cora here, but she’d been unhappy earlier and it was good to see she’d bonded with the other woman.
Finally, as his patience reached its limit, they were on their way. Strato folded his arms across his chest, took a deep, shuddering breath and released it.
* * *
‘What’s wrong?’ Cora looked from the soundproof glass separating them from the driver to Strato, who avoided her gaze. What had happened to the man whose molten stare had promised passion ten minutes ago?
‘Nothing.’
‘Strato, I can feel the tension radiating from you.’
Finally he turned his head, and she saw in the passing streetlights that his face was set.
He breathed deep, his chest and crossed arms rising. ‘What’s wrong? Apart from the fact I had to sit for hours while every man there ate you up with his eyes?’
Cora’s heart leapt in disbelief. Strato was jealous?
She’d wondered if their relationship was morphing into something new, but told herself that was because her feelings for him were changing. She’d never expected his to alter. Strato had made it clear, and reiterated often, that he didn’t want anything long term.
‘I wasn’t attracted to any of them.’ There was no need to tell him that. Yet it felt important to make that clear. ‘I enjoyed the conversation and the interesting company but the only man I want to spend the night with is you.’
‘I’m glad to hear it.’
He took another breath, yet kept his arms folded.
Cora frowned. ‘You were the one I let touch me under the table.’ She’d done some touching too, her hand straying to the rock-hard muscle of his thigh. She’d revelled in his twitch of response. ‘It’s ridiculous to get grumpy about men looking at me.’
She refused to apologise for having a good time. Even if the best part had been seeing Strato’s stunned reaction to her appearance. That had given her confidence, and a thrill, feeling her feminine power so blatantly.
‘There’s no need to sit with your arms crossed and your jaw clenched as if I’ve done something wrong.’
‘You think that’s what I’m doing?’
‘What else? You’re keeping your distance.’
She’d grown accustomed to his touch and missed it now, especially after the way he’d looked at her earlier.
Abruptly he laughed, the husky sound curling around her in the darkness. ‘I’m sitting like this, Coritsa, because I’m trying, very hard, to resist ravishing you in the back seat of this limo.’
Cora’s eyes widened and heat speared deep into her pelvis. ‘Oh!’
‘Yes, oh. I might have a reputation as a profligate but I refuse to strip that delectable dress off you in full view of our driver or anyone on the street.’
Cora opened her mouth to say he could ravish her without stripping her naked, then thought better of it.
‘I like that you’re tempted, but I think I’d rather wait till we have privacy.’
‘My thoughts exactly.’ His voice dropped to a growling rumble that did devastating things to her.
No man had affected her as profoundly or as easily as Strato. Not even the man she’d once believed herself falling in love with.
The difference between him and Strato, whose muscles bunched as he fought not to touch her, couldn’t be greater. How had she thought them similar?
On impulse, she wanted to tell Strato how much that meant. He’d done so much for her. Not just saving her father’s hotel. Or giving her the holiday of a lifetime, or even the most wonderful sexual pleasure. He’d helped heal wounds that had festered too long. He’d given her back her confidence as a woman, her sense of her own power, and, most surprisingly, her ability to trust.
She’d been so busy cutting herself off from her past, she hadn’t given herself permission to process what had happened or move on from it. Instead she’d pushed it into a locked box labelled ‘Adrian’ and tried not to think of it.
Cora swivelled on the seat to look directly at Strato. ‘There’s something I like even more than your passion.’ She paused, feeling as if she crossed a bridge with this confession, but feeling she owed it. ‘That’s your honesty.’
‘Because I admit I want to have wild, unrestrained sex with you in the back of a moving vehicle?’ His voice was harsh as if he really suffered from the effort of holding back. In the gloom she caught the glint of his eyes on her.
‘That’s part of it.’ She gathered her thoughts. ‘From the start I knew where I stood with you. You never try to hide things I might dislike, or dress things up in fancy words.’ She paused, realising she still hadn’t got to the nub of it. ‘You respect me. That first day on the beach you realised I might feel threatened and you deliberately set out to ease my fears and put limits on your behaviour. Some men wouldn’t have done that.’
Some men would have tried to force her into acquiescence.
‘It’s a small enough thing. I don’t like people who say one thing in public and do another in private.’ His voice sounded grim, as if she’d touched a nerve.
‘Exactly. There are too many who lie to get what they want. I admire that you don’t, Strato.’
Even if increasingly she wanted more than he offered.
She yearned to understand him. Would he one day trust her enough to share his feelings and his past?
‘Thank you, Coritsa.’ He unfolded his arms. In the darkness his gaze held hers. ‘Are you going to tell me about the person you’re comparing me to?’
‘How do you know there was someone—?’
‘You speak so passionately. From experience. Someone hurt you.’
She’d never spoken about it, never wanted to. But suddenly she wanted to share. To feel less alone. Maybe that would complete the healing Strato had unwittingly begun. Perhaps it might encourage him to share too.
‘His name was Adrian and I worked on his father’s yacht in the Caribbean between research positions.’
‘Let me guess.’ Strato’s voice hardened. ‘He seduced you.’
Cora nodded. ‘He was handsome, rich and privileged, used to getting whatever he wanted. You reminded me of him that first day.’
‘I suspect that’s not a compliment.’
She shrugged. ‘He was also attentive, polite and friendly. I was wary, though. We came from separate worlds and I refused to fall for his charm.’
‘Which increased his determination to have you.’
‘I didn’t realise it at first. I thought his persistence and patience meant he cared. I was naïve.’
‘What happened?’ Cora couldn’t pinpoint the change in Strato’s tone except she wondered if he spoke through gritted teeth.
‘We had an affair. I thought it was more. I was falling for him and thought he felt the same.’ She felt anger and something like shame at being so gullible. ‘It wasn’t till his friend came on board that I realised that for him I was just a convenient body. A notch on his bedpost.’
A shudder scraped her spine as she remembered overhearing Adrian talking to Brad about her. Not as h
is girlfriend but in the crudest terms about her body. Comparing her to other women he’d had. She’d felt like an animal at market, appraised by potential buyers.
‘He offered me to his friend as if I were...’
A large hand covered hers, squeezing hard. ‘I get the picture.’
Cora’s heart hammered but she was determined to finish. She should have told someone long ago. She didn’t want sympathy, but finally sharing this would ease the hurt she’d felt so long.
‘When I refused, Adrian was annoyed, as if I’d insulted him or let him down. Later, after he’d given the rest of the crew the night off to go ashore, he came to me full of apologies, saying he hadn’t meant to insult me. He said he knew I’d like Brad once I knew him better and suggested a threesome to break the ice!’ She almost gagged on the words. ‘He wasn’t happy when I refused.’
‘Did he hurt you?’ No mistaking Strato’s tone now. He was furious, yet his hands grasping both of hers were gentle. ‘Tell me his name and I’ll deal with him.’
‘No need.’ Though remembering Adrian’s ugly look and his friend Brad’s excited leer, she knew she’d been lucky to get away. Adrian wasn’t used to being denied and the pair had cornered her. ‘One of the crew was still aboard, heard the argument and came to help me. I left straight away.’
‘You were all right?’
‘I was fine.’ She’d been shaken and sick with disgust but okay. Strange that she’d been the one to feel shamed by what had happened.
‘It’s a wonder you even spoke to me that first day. If you thought me like him.’ Strato’s voice was tight.
Cora shook her head. ‘My brain was trying to warn me but the truth was...’
‘Yes?’ He leaned nearer.
‘I was fascinated.’ She’d never known such a profound or instantaneous reaction to any man. ‘Logic told me to be careful but there was something about you I couldn’t resist.’
