The Greek's Penniless Cinderella

by Julia James

  For a moment that was timeless, endless, his eyes held hers, infusing that promise deep into her. Then, knowing he had said enough for now—knowing, too, that if he held her this close any longer he would not be able to resist kissing her with passion—he gave her hands one last squeeze and let them go. He knew with every male instinct in him that a passionate kiss was not, alas, something she could cope with right now.

  In quite a different voice, light and cheerful, he said, ‘Time for breakfast. And today,’ he added, ‘we will simply—enjoy!’

  * * *

  Rosalie sat herself down at the table set at the front of the little villa. Maria bustled out with a tray piled high with breakfast.

  ‘As ever, enough for half a dozen,’ Xandros murmured good-humouredly as Maria disappeared again.

  Rosalie gave a flickering smile. Xandros was being so nice—as cheerful and easy-going as he had been yesterday. Gratefully, she went with it. A sense of emotional exhaustion over anything else had taken her over, as if she just couldn’t cope with anything else right now.

  Besides, the scent of new-baked bread and the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee plucked at her senses.

  ‘Tuck in,’ Xandros urged with a wide smile, passing her the butter and a pot of golden honey.

  She felt her anxious thoughts ease a fraction. He was showing her a way to cope with them, to cope with the tumult of feelings inside her. And she would follow the lead he was setting for her, would find her own way, her own path. Take her time. She would feel only the ease of being here, in this beautiful place, and enjoy all it brought.

  She would enjoy her breakfast, enjoy the loveliness of this beautiful island, and enjoy the sheer pleasure of eating al fresco like this, with the sun sparkling on the azure sea.

  It was so infinitely distant from the life she had known till now, from the mean streets and ugliness of London—even from the busy bustle of Athens. This, here, now, was peace—absolute peace. Absolute beauty.

  And Xandros was smiling at her—there was warmth in his voice, in his eyes... He was being so kind, so considerate.

  Memory plucked at her of how kind he’d been that dreadful morning when she’d fled her father’s house with all her stupid hopes smashed to pieces, when she’d sobbed all over Xandros... She’d done the same last night and he’d been just as kind...

  She felt her heart swell and emotions swirled in her again. Quite what they were, she did not know—she knew only that it was Xandros at their centre... Only Xandros.

  ‘So, what would you like to do today?’ he was asking now.

  He was giving her, she knew with a little pang, a timely interruption to her thoughts...to emotions she could not yet make sense of.

  ‘We could take a dip in the sea again, and then catch some rays before the sun gets too high. And then maybe, if you feel up to it, we could take the dinghy out later? How does that sound?’

  She gave a flickering smile again, nodded. Letting him take the lead, guide her forward.

  He wanted her to enjoy the day and she found that she did. It would have been impossible not to.

  She swam, the cool salt water easing her body and the low ache between her legs dissipating, and then she let the sun warm her, giving herself to its golden balm. Then there was a leisurely al fresco lunch—more fresh bread, Maria’s goat’s cheese, sweet tomatoes and succulent home-grown olives. And afterwards, as he had promised, Xandros took her out on his dinghy, skimming them peacefully across the sun-drenched bay, back and forth, not talking while she leaned back, feeling the breeze fill her hair as well as the sail. Feeling a sense of peace fill her.

  On their return, Maria attempted to feed them again, but Xandros took her for a walk—not up the cliffs this time, but inland, to Maria and Panos’s home.

  Panos proudly showed her his vegetable garden, groaning with produce, and his fruit-laden peach and lemon trees, and his olive grove, and his well-fed chickens and his stout pigs, and his two very fine-looking mules. She admired all of them unstintingly, and then he sat them down and plied them with almond biscuits washed down with a glass of his lethal home-distilled peach brandy, while his two deceptively fierce-looking dogs leaned heavily against Rosalie’s legs, panting gently in the heat and inviting her to pet them, which she smilingly did.

  Before they left Panos pressed a huge watermelon into Xandros’s hands, and a basket of sun-warmed tomatoes into Rosalie’s.

  ‘Epharisto poli...nostimo!’ she ventured, trying out her phrasebook Greek. She thought it meant ‘Thank you...delicious!’

  Panos’s weathered face split into a huge grin, and with some voluble Greek he promptly added a pair of ripe peaches to the basket.

  ‘We must make our getaway before we empty their larder!’ Xandros murmured with a laugh, and they did just that.

  They set off back to the villa, accompanied by Panos’s dogs until he called them with a piercing whistle, whereupon they padded back to him.

  ‘They have a good life, Panos and Maria,’ Rosalie heard herself say. ‘Simple, but good.’

  ‘They do.’ Xandros nodded. ‘But you know...’ his tone was thoughtful ‘...I sometimes wonder whether, if I tried to live like Maria and Panos, Kallistris would lose its magic. Sometimes when you have too much of something you enjoy, it palls.’

  She glanced out to sea, thinking about what he’d said.

  But I’ve had so little all my life! So little of anything, really—except my mother’s love. In that, I have been rich indeed.

  But of everything else she’d had so little as she’d grown up—even in comparison with her contemporaries. They had had girlfriends, boyfriends, romance in their lives...

  Her eyes flickered back to the man walking along beside her, who could melt her with a single glance, a single touch, a single kiss. Who had revealed to her, last night, a desire that had swept her away into a sea of searing passion...until her inexperienced body had confused and confounded her.

  But now he was promising her not shock and tears, but ecstasy in his arms...promising to make her truly his as she had never thought she would be.

  He will be my lover—and I his...

  She had not thought this strange, brief marriage would bring her that—had not looked for it or allowed herself to dream of it—but if it did, why be shy of it? Why refuse what she had never thought would be hers?

  He wants me as I want him!

  And why should that not be something to rejoice in? Even for the short duration of their time together? Her life had changed utterly in so short a time, all thanks to Xandros. She would be grateful to him for ever. Grateful for all he was making possible. Grateful that he desired her as she did him.

  And it will be good—oh, so good! For he is everything I could ever dream about in a man! Everything!

  The wonder of it filled her. She felt a warm rush around her heart and lifted her eyes to his. He caught them, smiling down at her, warm and caring.

  For her and her alone.

  For the night to come—when she would give herself to him and take all that he was offering her.

  For all their time together.

  * * *

  In the dark of the night, in the warmth of his bed, she lay in his arms, filled with a golden incandescent glow. How was it possible to have felt such bliss, to have responded to his skilled, but oh, so gentle possession?

  She had cried out—not in pain this time, but in wonder, just as he had promised her—and joy had flooded through her, along with a pleasure, an ecstasy so intense her spine had arched like a bow, her limbs straining, her hands clutching at the strong, straining sinews of his back. And he had thrown his head back as he, too, had reached that same peak of absolute union.

  And now she lay in his arms, with an exhaustion so profound and a wonder so deep binding her to him as her hectic heart rate eased. She felt her breath, warm upon his strong
, supporting chest, felt her eyelids close, sleep washing over her in the cradle of his arms.

  In all the world this was the only place she wanted to be.

  * * *

  As he felt the soft, trembling body in his arms lapse into restful slumber Xandros slackened his hold. His own body was succumbing to the torpor of satiation, but before the last of his conscious thoughts ebbed from him he knew that one was uppermost. The one he treasured most.

  Just as he had promised her he would, he had made it wonderful for her... And for himself as well.

  Like I’ve never known it.

  But why...? Why should that be?

  Like feathers on a stream, thoughts drifted through his mind. Never before had he been a woman’s first lover—and never before had a woman been his wife...nor shared his haven on Kallistris...

  Were they the reasons it had seemed so...so special...with Rosalie?

  The question hovered like a drop of rain held in the still air...and as sleep finally flowed over him it dissolved like mist. Yielding no answer.

  * * *

  Rosalie lay in the sun, offering her body to its warm caress. Her skin was no longer pale. The passing days had turned it to golden honey...

  Five blissful, sun-kissed days!

  Five even more blissful nights...

  Nights of giving herself entirely to Xandros—to what they had together.

  She felt her breath catch in wonder and delight.

  Xandros—oh, Xandros!

  She cried out his name in her head and felt her heart glow as warmly as her body.

  How was it possible to be so happy?

  How impossible was it not to be?

  Day after day they had taken their leisure—swimming, sailing, paddleboarding, snorkelling, taking picnics up to the headland, going for easy walks amongst the wild goats through the herb-scented maquis, drinking cocktails on the beach, watching the sunset and the moonrise, feasting every evening on Maria’s groaning banquets to give them strength for the long, long nights when they burned with passion and desire...finding ecstasy in each other’s arms...

  She felt heat beat up in her cheeks. Was it because he was her first lover that it was so good? So special? Was that the reason?

  Or was it because she had taken one look at him as she’d opened the door of that rundown rental house she’d been cleaning and known he was the most fantastic-looking male she’d ever seen in her life?

  Or was it because he had swept her out of her grim, grinding poverty to bring her here, to the land of her forebears, showering upon her this amazing life of wealth and luxury, promising her that never again would she know hardship and deprivation?

  She did not know why—she knew only that it was so, and that in Xandros’s arms she knew a bliss that she had never imagined possible.

  Why it was, she left unspoken.

  Unanswered.

  * * *

  Xandros crunched across the pebbles, his eyes going immediately to Rosalie, sweeping over her dozing form. He felt desire quicken, as it always did, and he hunkered down beside her, indulging himself in softly brushing his hand over the soft swell of her midriff, exposed by her brief bikini.

  Her eyelids fluttered open and her face broke into a smile.

  He brushed her mouth with his. ‘Can I tempt you to a swim before lunch?’ he asked, and smiled, drawing back.

  ‘You can tempt me to anything.’ She gave an answering smile.

  ‘Now, there’s an offer!’

  There was a glint in his eye as she sat up.

  Today was their last day on Kallistris—they would be heading back to Athens first thing tomorrow morning. He wasn’t looking forward to it. He never liked to leave Kallistris anyway, but now his reluctance was even more marked. He’d happily spend more time here, lotus-eating with Rosalie, rather than go back in Athens, plunging head-first into all the work that making his merger with Coustakis a reality entailed.

  He was conscious of the irony—after all, he had only married Rosalie to achieve the merger he wanted, and yet here he was wishing he could have more time with her here. Back in Athens he’d be putting in long days at the office and would only see her in the evenings.

  Well, he would strive to make it possible to get back here as much as he could. Even a weekend would be better than nothing.

  He helped her stand up now, and then stripped off to his swim shorts. Both of them waded into the waiting sea.

  His thoughts went back to that first swim they’d had together. Before he had made her his own. Was it really only five days ago? They seemed to have been lovers for so much longer. It was as if they’d always been together. As if they always would be.

  He frowned, wondering where that thought had come from, and dismissed it immediately as he launched into a powerful freestyle, ploughing out to sea. It was Kallistris, he thought, increasing his speed. It had that effect on him...making him forget about anywhere else. An island, indeed, of lotus-eating, where time stopped and there was neither past nor future, only an endless blissful present.

  But time didn’t stop in the world beyond, and back in Athens his time would be busy. His agenda non-stop. Maybe the enchantment he was feeling with Rosalie would start to wear off there. Perhaps here, on Kallistris, where he’d never brought his amours, she seemed more special than she really was.

  He left it at that, focussing on exerting his every muscle to accelerate and maintain his speed, then curving around to head back to shallower waters, where Rosalie was sedately criss-crossing the bay in a gentle breaststroke.

  He dived under the water, surfacing beside her in a shower of diamond water drops, and she gave a start of surprise. He grinned, and caught her for a kiss.

  ‘I wonder,’ he said wickedly, ‘what making love in the water might be like?’

  She gave a gurgle of laughter. ‘Leave it to the dolphins!’ she quipped.

  He laughed in answer, wading ashore with her.

  ‘Okay, I’ll trade it for a leisurely siesta instead,’ he promised her, with a knowing glint in his eye.

  Sleep would not be on the agenda...

  Tomorrow morning they might be back in Athens, but for today, at least, lotus-eating and lovemaking were all he would allow.

  All he wanted.

  * * *

  Rosalie stood gazing at her reflection. She had dressed with particular care, wanting to look her most beautiful for Xandros this evening.

  Our last evening here...

  A pang smote her. She was not looking forward to returning to Athens, but she knew they must. Xandros needed to get on with all the work that making his merger with her father’s business entailed. That was what they had married for.

  Their marriage was a means to an end—nothing more than that.

  The fact that she and Xandros had become lovers was irrelevant to achieving that goal.

  That is what I have to remember and never forget. The day the merger is accomplished is the day our marriage ends and we go our separate ways.

  She turned away from her reflection, not wanting to see the woman there—the woman whose life had been transformed in ways she had never realised it would be when she had first landed on this beautiful enchanted island. Tomorrow they would be leaving, but she would arrive back in Athens a different person. There could be no going back to the one she had been.

  She felt emotion catch at her, but let it slip away. It was best that it did. Best to simply pick up her flowered shawl and make her way out to the walled terrace. Maria, she knew, had prepared a farewell feast for them, and Xandros would be waiting for her. She must make the very most of this last evening here.

  In Athens it would be...different.

  She would not have his constant company...would need to be self-reliant. Already she had resolved to fill her days productively. Exploring Athens, learning Greek, and
even, she had decided, picking up her online studies. Qualifications were never wasted, and when she was back in England they would come in useful even with the incredibly generous divorce settlement Xandros was promising her.

  She might start her own business...make investments...after all, she had the rest of her life ahead of her. Her life beyond Xandros...

  She felt a chill strike her and pulled her shawl a little closer around her shoulders.

  Yet it did not seem to warm her.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  DESPITE HER RESOLVE to be self-reliant when they were back in Athens, and not expect Xandros to dance attendance on her, Rosalie found she had to keep reminding herself that his priority was not her—it was making the merger he had married her to achieve a reality. It meant he spent long days at his office—long days in which she had to occupy herself.

  She did just as she had resolved to do—assiduously exploring the city and its cornucopia of ancient treasures, attempting to learn the language as she’d told herself she would and picking up her online studies again, courtesy of the brand-new laptop Xandros had presented her with. She also, at Xandros’s behest, sampled the many upmarket fashion shops in Athens in order to extend her designer wardrobe yet further—it was frivolous, but wonderful to be able to indulge herself as a budding fashionista...

  After the grim, exhausting slog of her London life she knew she should only be grateful that her days now were this easy, and if her evenings alone in his apartment stretched, with Xandros often not home till late, and working weekends as well, she refused to let herself feel neglected.

  She had no right to feel that way.