‘We will, however, have to be seen out together at least once before our engagement party.’
‘Seen out?’ She looked at him sharply. The pleasure at the picnic he’d arranged had diminished the reality of their situation, but she must realise that while she played the role of his fiancée, she would be expected to be at his side when he attended important functions. Especially the charity ball in Athens. It was a charity he’d started and Xena would ask questions if Rio didn’t go. He’d always had a beautiful woman on his arm at such events. This time it would be Rio. His temporary fiancée.
‘It’s an annual event I always attend. A charity close to my heart. Xena and most definitely my mother would find it strange if you didn’t accompany me.’
‘Surely it would be better if I stayed with Xena? After all, that’s why I came, to keep her company, help her recover.’ There was an element of pleading in her voice, but he refused to be drawn by it.
He might have used Xena as the reason to bring Rio to Greece, but if he was completely honest, it had been for his own reasons. He’d always found it difficult to let anyone emotionally close and Kyra’s deceit had only intensified that. From the moment he and Rio had met, she’d had a strange power over him. She’d begun to prise open the door to his emotions. A door he’d slammed shut after Kyra’s rejection. But Rio was changing that, and he’d refused to accept they were over. Not when there had been so much desire simmering around them. She made him feel and he wanted that, wanted to open himself to her, to connect on a level he’d blocked out for so long.
He poured the coffee, allowing the strong aroma to sharpen his senses. ‘You are a true friend to Xena, doing all you can to help her recover.’ He didn’t miss the slight lift of her delicate brows. He hadn’t been referring to their engagement deal, but she’d taken it that way.
‘You didn’t leave me much choice, Lysandros,’ she berated him, swiftly taking the opportunity he’d unwittingly created to let him know her true thoughts. ‘Even in the hospital you made me feel I wasn’t a good friend if I didn’t agree to your suggestions.’
The annoyance in her face was clear and he tried to soothe her ruffled mood. ‘Xena is happy, settled. Everything the doctor said she needed to be to get over her amnesia. I hope that happens soon. I don’t like seeing her like this.’
Rio changed position, going from kneeling to curling her legs at one side, and she couldn’t look him in the eyes. ‘I hope so too.’ She looked down, her attention intensely focused on the picnic before her, which they had both forgotten. He leant closer, needing to look into her face, to see the expression her beauty could so easily mask.
She still didn’t look at him, still focusing all her attention on the picnic as if it were a lifeline.
‘I want Xena to get better as much as you do. Why do you think we are doing this?’ He paused, allowing the soft rush of the waves onto the beach to fill the silence.
‘But now we are engaged.’ She looked into his eyes, the passion of her words taking him aback.
‘An engagement that will end as soon as Xena’s memory returns.’ He held her gaze, watched as her eyes darkened and, just as they had yesterday, her lips parted invitingly. ‘Is being engaged to me really so bad?’
‘No.’ Her soft whisper spurred him on. ‘There was a time when...’
Her words trailed off, taking him back to that afternoon in London. Back to the recital, the kiss that had left her glowing with desire. How could that have changed so swiftly?
‘What happened, Rio? Why didn’t you meet me that evening?’
Rio shook her head, refusing to say anything. He sensed he was closer to discovering why and he needed to know. This was more than just wounded male pride.
‘Did you regret saying you wanted to spend the night with me? Did you change your mind?’
Rio looked at him as if she was considering her answer, as if she was trying to find a way to not admit what she really wanted to admit.
‘It wouldn’t have mattered if you had,’ he continued when she didn’t answer. ‘I’m not in the habit of forcing myself on a woman.’
Her eyes widened, and she dragged in a long, deep breath. Did she really believe that he was like that? He touched her hand gently. ‘Rio?’
‘Yes. I changed my mind.’ There was so much sadness, so much emotion in that answer that for a moment he couldn’t say anything, the sound of the sea enveloping them.
‘Why, Rio?’ Eventually he found the words. ‘Why, when you seemed so happy?’
He frowned. Why was she holding out on him? Suspicion and fury blended together. He looked at Rio as large tears sprang from her eyes and began to roll down her cheeks.
‘Rio.’ Shocked by the wave of protectiveness that had surged over him, he moved to take her in his arms and offer comfort.
She curled into him, her cheek pressing against his chest as he knelt next to her. She shuddered, fighting for control, and instinctively he pressed his lips against the top of her head. The fresh scent of her shampoo invaded his senses. Heated memories erupted, reminding him of the desire just kissing her could evoke. Even a compassionate kiss like that.
He looked up at the blue sky, the heat of the sun warming his face. As he looked back down, Rio pulled slightly away from him, looking up. Her eyes, still heavy with tears, searched his, and all he could think about was kissing her and making her sadness go away.
He lowered his head and moved closer, so close he was almost touching her face, almost kissing her. With a force that shocked him she pushed away from him.
‘I can’t do this.’ She leapt to her feet, her breathing hard and fast. ‘I can’t kiss you again. I don’t want to.’
She turned and walked away from him, stumbling as she hurried towards the jetty and the boat he’d tied up there not so very long ago.
‘Rio. Wait.’ He hurried after her, bemused by her sudden change of mood. She’d looked like she’d wanted to kiss him. Her lips had parted, waiting for his to claim them. Then her mood had changed, drastically and quickly, because he’d tried to kiss her. He’d done almost the exact thing he’d just claimed he wasn’t in the habit of doing.
He caught up with her, grasping her hand, pulling her to a stop, needing her to look at him. When she did the wildness, the fear in her eyes shocked him.
‘I should never have come to Greece. I should never have agreed to this, any of it. I can’t do it, Lysandros. I just can’t.’
He had to know what this was about. ‘When you kissed me at the recital, it was a kiss of passion, full of meaning. It was there yesterday too, Rio. What exactly is it you’re scared of? Me?’
She tried to pull her hand free of his, but he didn’t want to let her go. He wanted to hold her closer still, keep her safe from whatever it was she feared.
‘Yes.’ She fired the word at him faster than a bullet from a gun. ‘I’m scared of you, so just let me go.’
‘Scared of me?’ He couldn’t help the incredulous tone of his voice as anger and confusion mixed together, making a potent cocktail.
He saw the same fear in her eyes that he’d seen yesterday when he’d told her to kiss him. Then he’d thought it was just the fear of confronting the attraction between them. Now he wasn’t so sure. This was not flirtatious and teasing. This was something more. Something that instinctively he knew would demand so much more from him than just proving he desired her.
* * *
Rio could hardly believe it had come to this. Lysandros had unwittingly unleashed that painful moment when Hans had taken advantage of her. Now Lysandros demanded to know exactly what it was that had made her end things between them. But she couldn’t tell him. If their engagement were real, if he truly wanted more than just passion from her, she might be able to. She could tell him if he felt the same way about her as she did about him, although she was fighting it with every breath. But none of this was re
al. Not the romantic breakfast. Not the ring on her finger. Not even wanting her to kiss him. It was all an act. An elaborate charade from a man who didn’t want a deeper or emotional relationship.
‘It was more the situation than you.’ Rio bluffed her way out of the corner she’d managed to back herself into. She couldn’t tell him anything now.
Hans had most definitely taken advantage of all her barriers being lowered. He might no longer be a threat to her, or any other woman, but Lysandros was. For very different reasons he was a threat to her. She did want more. Wanted him.
She longed to be held by him. Kissed by him. Longed for him to show her what passion and desire could truly be like. But she couldn’t risk her heart. Not when she knew he’d already planned the end of their fake engagement.
‘The situation?’ His voice had deepened, impatience laced through it.
‘I don’t want to be engaged, Lysandros—to you or anyone else.’
‘Neither do I.’ The cold, hard truth rushed at her like an icy wave on the beach during an English winter. ‘My ex-fiancée destroyed any ideals I had of marriage when she was unfaithful. Marriage is not for me.’
‘But your mother is looking to you for grandchildren?’ Curiosity forced the question out. Lysandros was finally allowing her to slip behind his defensive barrier.
‘She is, but hopefully Xena will marry and one day have children—the next generation to inherit the family business.’
His emotionless words left her in no doubt how adamant he was about not being a father. It was another reason not to allow her emotions to become any more attached to him. She had begun to question her haste at ending their relationship, had started to see a different side to him. One that put her heart in danger, making her want a future with him, but now she knew it could never be.
‘Lysandros...’ she began cautiously, wishing she could tell him the truth, but the dark depths of his eyes, devoid of all emotion, snatched away her frail confidence, snuffed out the fleeting opportunity to say anything.
‘I apologise for trying to kiss you just now.’ The sincerity in his voice touched her heart, adding to her confusion of how she felt about him, what she really wanted. ‘You have my word that I will not force you to do anything you do not want to do.’
He reached out and placed his hand over hers, sending a shock wave of pleasure rushing through her. It was a touch that told her he cared, told her he would be true to his word. ‘If anything happens between us, it will be because you want it to.’
‘What we had, before. It was good, but...’ She paused as her heart and her head did battle. Her head won. The moment to tell him the truth had gone. ‘I can never be what you need.’
‘If that is what you believe then I must accept it.’ The softness of his voice did untold things to her as her heart flipped over, disappointment filling her at what could have been, what could still be, if only she’d been brave enough. He made her feel unsure. She’d judged him harshly, believing his interest in her to be purely physical. Now she wasn’t so convinced. Maybe beneath the hardened exterior he was far more tender and caring than he’d allowed her to think.
‘And what about our so-called engagement? And the need to act out the romance?’ She kept her voice brusque and businesslike, determined he wouldn’t know just how much her heart was breaking right now.
‘We need only return from this weekend as a happy couple. A bit of hand-holding and smiling should convince both Xena and my mother. I have business meetings all week, so you can have time alone with Xena on the island, but I would like you to attend the charity party in Athens next weekend.’
‘Is that really necessary?’ Her shoulders drooped at the thought of being paraded around publicly as his fiancée.
‘Just a few hours at the party by my side, but the weekend away in Athens will further convince Xena and my mother that after I vowed I would never marry, you and I are engaged.’
‘Do you honestly think that is necessary?’
He nodded. ‘I do, Rio.’ He looked at her, his eyes searching hers. ‘We are doing this for Xena, remember?’
The unspoken words hung in the air between them. He was wrapping it all up as something honourable he was doing for his sister. And if she too wanted to help Xena, she had little choice but to accept his terms.
CHAPTER SIX
SINCE THEIR CONVERSATION on the beach Rio had been on edge. Completely trapped by this charade of an engagement. Lysandros hadn’t spoken of it again during lunch on the yacht and had disappeared below deck soon afterwards, leaving her to enjoy the warm sunshine. She tried to put everything—the kiss, the engagement and him—out of her mind and relax, but just knowing he was nearby, just remembering the way he’d held her so gently, as if he cared, made that impossible.
‘Would you like to have a swim?’ Rio looked at Lysandros and her pulse leapt. He was wearing only black trunks. She couldn’t take her eyes off him, the afternoon sunshine showcasing his toned physique to perfection. His bronzed skin glistened.
She blinked rapidly, fighting for words—any words. ‘A swim?’
His wickedly sexy smile left her in no doubt he’d noticed her reaction to him as she’d studied the muscled contours of his tanned body. His roguish tone made her heart flip and her stomach flutter as he stood there expectantly, waiting for her to join him. All she could do was look up at him. All that exposed flesh. That overpoweringly sexy masculinity. Damn him. Was he doing it on purpose? Pushing her to the edge? Proving a point? That their attraction was far from over?
‘Yes, a swim.’ He reached for her hand, his arms flexing as his muscles rippled beneath the sun’s rays. ‘It’s very freeing, swimming in the sea. You should try it.’
She thought of the costume she’d packed, the daring one Xena had convinced her to buy last year and she hadn’t yet had the courage or opportunity to wear. It was the only one she had with her but the thought of swimming in the cool, clear waters was very tempting.
‘I will go and change.’ She allowed him to help her up, allowed him to keep her hand in his, her eyes firmly fixed on his face as she came up close to his muscled chest. She inhaled deeply, taking in his scent, making herself dizzy with desire. She’d never seen a man naked, or even been this close to one who was all but naked. He was totally overpowering.
‘Don’t be too long or I’ll have to come and find you.’ The teasing note of his voice sent a shiver of pleasure down her spine and she smiled boldly at him, feeling the Rio Hans had almost obliterated pushing back to the fore. She could feel herself beginning to relent, beginning to want Lysandros all over again. Her body wanted him, longed for what could have been. As did her heart. But her head continued to reign supreme, keeping her safe.
She laughed lightly, desperate to find herself again, to once more be the woman who had told Lysandros she wanted to be with him all night. ‘In that case, I will be back as soon as I can.’
He raised his brows, a smile on his lips, disarming that all-too-powerful control he usually radiated but in turn ramping up his sex appeal. ‘Make sure you are.’
She changed so quickly she didn’t give herself time to worry about how the black swimsuit looked on her, how the cut-away waist made it virtually a bikini. She was too flustered by the image of Lysandros, burned into her mind, all but naked.
As she reached the bathing platform at the end of the yacht she suddenly felt far too exposed. Lysandros was in the sea, his arms moving with ease as he trod water, his gaze all but devouring her. She could feel the heat of it from where she stood and the only way to avoid it was to either turn and run back to her cabin or jump into the water. His threat of coming to find her if she didn’t join him filled her mind. It would be safer to be in the water than out of it.
Without any further hesitation she stepped off the bathing board and sank into the water. It was much cooler than she’d expected and she gasped with shoc
k. She’d never swum in the sea before. At first there was a moment of panic as she sensed the depth below her, the vastness of the cool water around her. It reflected perfectly how she felt each time Lysandros looked at her, and those feelings were getting stronger. She panicked, unable to co-ordinate her arms and legs into anything that resembled swimming. The truth of her thoughts numbed her as rapidly as the cool water.
Just as she thought she was going under the surface of the water she felt Lysandros’s arms around her, his body against hers as he pulled her close, powering them both the short distance back to the bathing board. Her breath was coming hard and fast as she looked up at him but it had nothing to do with the water. It had everything to do with the man who held her.
‘Are you okay?’ The same concern filled his voice that he’d shown her at the hospital when he’d crouched before her. She could almost believe he cared for her.
She should look away from him, try to avoid all he was fooling her into. She should move her body away from his, but she couldn’t. A spell had been woven around them, wrapping them together in the water. ‘I haven’t done this before.’
Her breathless declaration left her wondering what she was referring to. Swimming in the sea or being held by a man who was almost naked, a man whose muscled body was pressed against hers as he held her. The cool water accentuated every move he made as he kept them afloat.
It was wild. Erotic. After her experience with Hans, it should make her panic, but that was the last thing she felt. Right now, she wanted to stay in Lysandros’s arms, to savour the protection and safety offered by them. She looked into his eyes and knew it was too late. She was falling for him all over again. She wanted him more than ever. If he tried to kiss her now she wouldn’t ever want him to stop.
‘I need a swim.’ His voice was gruff as he let her go, leaving her clutching the bathing board rail. His eyes bored into hers and she couldn’t find any words to hide how she felt right at this moment, to tell him she didn’t want him to swim away from her.
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