by Sara Wood
CHAPTER FIVE
FROM her vantage point, with her shaking hands gripping the window sill, she watched Dimitri make his entrance down the broad flight of steps that led to the pool terrace.
Everyone seemed to stop talking for a moment. The women frankly stared. Men eyed Dimitri with open envy and admiration. He flashed a general smile at his guests and began to move among them, the genial and dazzling host she remembered from the parties they’d held here in the past.
Olivia saw Eleni detach herself from a group of giggling young women and head determinedly towards Dimitri, virtually pushing people aside in her eagerness to reach his side. He reeled under Eleni’s enthusiastic hug, stepping sharply back so that Eleni’s rapacious grasp was dislodged.
Enough was enough, she thought, loathing the way the girl simpered up at him. Now Eleni had begun to paw him on the pretext of admiring his jacket. Olivia felt as if her territory had been violated.
But she must remember that her role this evening was to act the swooning wife, not to feel it. And it annoyed her that she must seem to be besotted with him. It would flatter his ego too much.
Simmering still from Dimitri’s searing promise, she told herself that his parting words had been part of the power game he meant to play. He wanted her passion to look real. She sighed. It might be. But she intended that his would also be real. It would be an evening he’d never forget. She had weapons too. And he’d go to bed frustrated.
Battle stations, she decided. Knots tied themselves in her stomach as she checked herself in the mirror. Would Athena be there with Dimitri’s child? She couldn’t bear it if she was. Though she imagined that since Marina had arranged the party, Athena wouldn’t have been invited, not with Eleni taking centre stage. Was Athena still on the scene? She wished she knew—needed to know.
She heard the laughter below and bundles of nerves leapt and jiggled inside her. But this was too important. She couldn’t let a few jitters hold her back from her purpose. The sooner Eleni had realised she wasn’t likely to be Dimitri’s next wife, the sooner she, Olivia, could escape Dimitri’s clutches.
Brazen it out, she told herself. Enjoy rendering her arrogant husband helpless with desire for her! Tonight she was The Other Woman, despite being technically Dimitri’s wife! She giggled.
Recklessly she teased her hair forward so that it curved seductively over one eye and she practised a sultry look. Laughing at the result, she took advantage of the fact that humour had eased her nerves a little, and sallied forth, every inch the seductress.
The walk down the marble steps was the longest she’d ever made. Her body ached from being held in tension as she gazed with apparent interest at the now silenced crowd and gingerly felt for each step with the backs of her ankles.
To her relief, Dimitri moved into the space at the bottom of the steps, his hand outstretched. The abandoned Eleni stared, wide-eyed.
She could have heard a pin drop.
‘Olivia,’ he said, as cool as cucumber and kissing her on both cheeks. ‘Welcome.’
‘Hello, darling,’ she purred throatily, her arms curving around his neck so he couldn’t escape. Her lashes batted flirtily. ‘What a lovely party. I’m going to have such fun,’ she purred.
His eyes twinkled. ‘I can see that,’ he said drily. With sheer force of strength he shifted to one side and broke her linked hands. She realised this was born of years of practice. There had probably been a whole list of women he’d grown tired of, and had given the brush-off to in the exact same way. ‘Come and say hello to my mother,’ he said forcefully, driving her relentlessly towards Marina’s rigid figure.
Olivia swallowed and fixed a smile on her face as she dutifully kissed the cold, powdered face. ‘Good evening, Marina,’ she said, managing to keep the shake out of her voice. Marina was trembling and she felt pity for the woman. Dimitri had put them both in a very difficult situation. ‘You look lovely, Marina,’ she said truthfully. ‘And I see you’ve arranged the party with your usual flair and efficiency. It all looks wonderful, and the lighting is just magical.’ She admired the starry lamps, softly illuminating the scene, and the subtle floodlights which made the garden look mysterious and inviting.
‘Thank you,’ Marina said with a stiff inclination of her head. ‘Do you know why I’ve thrown this party?’
‘Yes,’ she said brightly. ‘To celebrate our forthcoming divorce. Such a good idea.’
Marina blinked, disconcerted by Olivia’s level and uncritical tones. ‘I…I didn’t think you’d want to come,’ she blustered.
‘Dimitri insisted,’ she replied with a smile, throwing the blame on him.
‘I couldn’t leave her in her room while we celebrated down here. It would offend my sense of Greek hospitality,’ he explained with great gentleness. ‘I’m sure everyone will think you are enormously tolerant and adult about my forthcoming divorce, Mother. They’ll imagine you personally invited Olivia—and they’ll applaud you for your generous spirit.’
Marina fluttered a little coyly and Olivia knew he’d made his mother feel better about the peculiar situation.
‘I suppose it doesn’t matter as Eleni is here.’ Marina put her hand on Olivia’s arm in an apparently confidential gesture. ‘She and Dimitri have been very close over the past few months,’ she whispered.
‘Lovers, you mean?’ Olivia said with a frankness that startled both Dimitri and his mother.
‘Oh! I wouldn’t know that!’ Marina assured her archly, though it was clear she believed they were. ‘But Dimitri has a man’s needs—’
‘Mother!’ Dimitri said quickly. He was crushing Olivia’s hand in his to stop her from bursting into laughter and she knew that he was controlling his laughter too. ‘We mustn’t keep you from your guests. And I think we should mingle, too. Excuse us.’
‘A man’s needs!’ Olivia murmured when they’d moved off. ‘You get carte blanche to do what you like, don’t you?’
‘Pretty well,’ he agreed with a grin. ‘And when I don’t, I do what I like anyway.’
‘No wonder you think the world turns around you.’
‘Don’t frown or they’ll think we’re having an argument. Smile sweetly and adore me,’ he urged.
‘Pretend to adore you,’ she corrected, blinking stupidly at him till he lost control of his twitching mouth and broke into delighted laughter.
‘What a night this is going to be!’ he said cheerfully.
‘Evening.’ She didn’t want him to be too sure of himself. It would give her pleasure to refuse his advances. ‘Cinderella is leaving at midnight and Prince Charming will turn back into an ugly rat.’
His eyes twinkled. ‘I said night and I meant night,’ he murmured into her ear. ‘And I think you’ve got the fairy tale a little muddled. Prince Charming was always the hero—’
‘Not from where I’m standing. He has all the characteristics of a class-one rodent,’ she shot, enjoying herself enormously.
‘You can’t accuse me of having cold blood,’ he protested.
‘A cold heart. And you scavenge for pickings from any heap of female flesh you come across—’
‘Cinderella,’ Dimitri said with a laugh, ‘we have social duties. We’ll continue this in bed.’
‘We most certainly won’t—!’
But he was already greeting his friends and she was forced to hold her tongue. ‘Olivia,’ he said with convincing warmth, ‘I think you know several people here—but not, perhaps, my more recent business friends. My wife, Olivia.’ She smiled at everyone a little nervously. ‘She’s here so we can arrange our divorce.’
There was a moment’s shocked silence and then people began to introduce themselves. His easy-natured acceptance of her made it plain sailing after that. Clutching a glass of champagne, she found herself being directed from one goggle-eyed huddle of people to another.
During the ensuing conversations, she and Dimitri made sure they cheerfully explained their separate plans for the future—whilst flinging fond gl
ances at one another. Olivia added the occasional flutter of her lashes, too.
She became aware that his hand was lingering on her naked back. That he was drawing her closer. And occasionally he seemed lost for words because he was staring at her as if hypnotised.
So she smiled up at him and let her widened-in-awe eyes do the talking. Her body was soon leaning in to his. It was like old times and it hurt, but she played along because she must.
Gradually she became bolder and flirted outrageously, reminding him constantly of things they’d done in the past. Although he seemed to be laughing with his friends at her witticisms and teasing, several times there was a warning light in his eyes. That only spurred her on to defy him.
‘You have met my partner, Nikos Kaloyirou, before,’ he murmured, whisking her away from a handful of people who’d been fascinated by the familiarity of their repartee.
Olivia sobered at once. This was Eleni’s father, a distinguished-looking grey-haired man with pleasant features and a dark, assessing stare.
‘Yes,’ she said warmly as Nikos took her hand and kissed it gallantly. ‘You came to London a couple of times when I was Dimitri’s secretary. And of course you came to our wedding with your daughter, Eleni. But our paths didn’t cross after that.’
Nikos nodded amiably. ‘You probably know that I left immediately after with Eleni to set up the New York side of the business. We spend most of our time there now.’ He lifted his glass in a silent toast. ‘I remember how kind you were when I was in London and caught flu. You visited me every day, interrogated me as to my likes and dislikes and hobbies, and sought out books and magazines to amuse me. And you took my darling Eleni shopping.’
She’d forgotten that. The girl had been impossible: spoilt, rude and petulant, the vilest fifteen-year-old she’d ever known.
‘It was fun,’ she said, focusing on the attention she’d paid to the ailing Nikos at that time. ‘I’ll never forget the look on the newsagent’s face when I walked off with a stack of fishing magazines, a book on fly-fishing and tying your own flies, a book on—’
‘Dirty dealings while orchid hunting in South America and one particularly gruesome one on whaling in the eighteenth century!’ Nikos finished with a chortle. ‘I enjoyed your selection so much that I was almost sorry to be well again!’
During this exchange, Dimitri kept a smile on his face, but she knew he was uncomfortable and she wished they weren’t deceiving this decent, honest man. She was about to make some excuse and leave when Eleni’s raised voice made them all turn in surprise. She seemed to be berating a cowed waiter. Dimitri frowned and detached himself from Olivia, till Nikos stayed him with his hand.
‘My dear daughter has such passions!’ he said fondly. ‘She’d give you a good run for your money, Dimitri!’
‘I’m sure she would,’ he agreed.
Nikos grinned, winked at Dimitri meaningfully and strode off to placate his daughter.
‘He adores her,’ she commented.
‘And is blind to her bad habits.’
‘Does he know you sleep with her?’ Olivia dared to ask.
Dimitri choked. ‘That’s the second time you’ve accused me of that! What gave you such a stupid idea?’ he spluttered.
‘Things,’ she muttered with a vague wave of her hand. ‘You said she was physically stunning. Since that’s all that registers with you where women are concerned, I assumed—’
‘Smile,’ he murmured. ‘Your claws are showing.’
She pinned on a particularly soppy expression and he laughed, annoyingly dropping a kiss on her nose.
‘You didn’t confirm or deny your relationship with Eleni,’ she persisted.
‘I don’t have to. The only thing you need to know is that I don’t want to offend Nikos. And that I am determined not to be hustled into marriage. I especially need to beat it into Eleni’s head, and my mother’s, that I am not interested in nineteen-year-old girls who have temper tantrums. Like that,’ he added grimly.
For a moment they watched the red-faced Eleni stamping her foot while her father ineffectively remonstrated with her.
Olivia chuckled. ‘I almost feel sorry for you,’ she said with a grin. ‘If I were truly vindictive, I might consider leaving you to Eleni’s mercy.’
‘Mercy?’ he said ruefully. ‘She’d have me committing suicide in a week.’
‘Rubbish. You love life far too much for that. Come on.’ She wrapped her arm around his waist, feeling extraordinarily cheerful. There was something wonderfully abandoned about being The Other Woman! ‘Let’s do a bit more play-acting. Darling.’
‘Wicked witch,’ he muttered, and nibbled her ear.
Olivia allowed her shudder of delight to surface, knowing that they were being watched and that people near by were leaning in their direction to listen to their conversation.
‘Naughty.’ She retaliated with a little nose play of her own, tapping him there with her forefinger. His eyes gleamed and she giggled as she continued, ‘What will your divorce lawyer say to such behaviour?’
‘Right at this moment, I don’t care,’ he growled sexily. ‘Tonight you are my wife and I intend to claim my rights.’
He pulled her roughly into his body and she only just kept her head, remembering that this was all make-believe. So she lifted an arched eyebrow and purred seductively, ‘Ohhh! I love it when you’re so dominating, like some puffed-up little potentate!’
His mouth twitched at the dubious compliment. And he whispered in her ear, ‘Watch it. You might regret that remark by breakfast time.’
‘Sounds thrilling,’ she said, eyes sparkling with devilry.
‘It will be. I promise.’
She laughed in delight and dragged him a short distance to four of his male friends who’d been riveted by their banter. They were all over her like a rash and seemed to find it almost impossible to unglue their eyes from her cleavage.
Dimitri played it to the hilt and became even more possessive. She loved every minute of his growling attention, and several times found herself gazing up at him with real adoration when she forgot that he was only pretending to be jealous.
He was appalled at the ease with which she flirted. Years of practice, he supposed. And in between she was managing to look at him with such melting love in her eyes that it made him want to shake her till she begged for mercy. Now he knew how she’d deceived him in the years up to their marriage. Even her eyes could lie convincingly.
‘Tell me, Olivia,’ said his friend Vangelis, his voice flatteringly croaky. ‘Will you stay in Greece after the divorce?’
‘You’ll be very welcome,’ butted in a bemused Andros, addressing her bosom. ‘Especially in my house.’
‘All of me or any particular part?’ she asked with a grin, and Dimitri’s irritation was swapped briefly for a smile.
‘Oh, all, yes!’ Andros said fervently. Dimitri worried cynically for his friend’s blood pressure.
‘That’s very kind,’ she murmured with a sweet smile. ‘Thank you.’
‘Time we circulated,’ Dimitri growled, and the men all looked at his menacing face warily. ‘I’d better tell you that Olivia is less certain about her future now we’ve met up again. And I’m becoming more and more uncertain about mine.’ He let his gaze rest on Olivia, staring deeply into her eyes.
‘Does that mean…you two…?’ Vangelis left the rest in mid-air.
Dimitri’s hand stroked her shoulder and she looked up at him with naked adoration, before fluttering her lashes and adopting a more flirtatious glance.
Lying eyes. Lying little tease! he thought, barely controlling his anger. He touched her parted lips with his forefinger, cynically admiring her clever little gasp that had his friends completely fooled.
‘Can’t comment now. Watch this space,’ he said in a parting shot, and whisked her away to a quiet, unobserved corner.
It would have given him the greatest pleasure to put her over his knee and slap her tight little rear. Hell. Why was he so
jealous?
‘I knew you’d make an impact,’ he muttered tightly through his plastered-on grin, ‘but I hadn’t expected my intellectual friends to mislay their brain cells quite so comprehensively.’
‘That’s the trouble with men and breasts sometimes,’ she said perkily. ‘The face doesn’t get a look-in. All normal communication is diverted southwards.’
‘You encouraged them,’ he growled.
‘I was only doing what we agreed,’ she defended.
‘And so very well,’ he mocked. ‘But it didn’t include making eyes at everything in trousers.’
‘It’s good for people to see that you can be jealous,’ she said, suspiciously demure.
He caught hold of her impatiently. ‘I just don’t like men thinking you’re up for grabs. You’re still my wife. Behave with some decorum and don’t bring your London morals here.’
‘Is this for real, or are you merely staging a show of Jealous Husband Syndrome?’ she asked, her eyes wide with wonder in the semi-darkness.
And he realised he was in danger of betraying the fact that he was behaving ‘for real’. So he conjured up a thin smile and tried to make his eyes join in.
‘Me? Jealous? If I wanted you, I could have you. There’d be no competition in sight. It would all melt away.’
Her hand stroked his cheek. ‘Such unbelievable conceit,’ she sighed. ‘And so misguided.’
‘Like hell it is!’
Provoked to the limit, he kissed her. Hard at first, then softening his mouth as hers began to yield. When he released her, he saw that her eyes were unnaturally bright.
‘What an exhibition we’re making of ourselves,’ she commented, desperate to hide her misery. Her mouth burned. Her heart felt sore. But she’d never let him know what he did to her.