Alyse wanted to protest that the marriage was only one of convenience, and would remain so for as long as it took for her to escape to Perth with Georg. Except that she wouldn’t consider voicing the words.
‘And now,’ Rachel declared, standing to her feet, ‘if you don’t mind, we’ll retire.’ Her smile wavered slightly as it moved from her husband to her stepson. ‘It’s been a long trip, and I’m really very tired.’
Alyse rose at once. ‘Of course.’ Her heart softened at the older woman’s obvious weariness. ‘There’s everything you need in your suite.’
‘Thank you, my dear.’
It seemed good manners to walk at Aleksi’s side as his parents made their way into the foyer, and it wasn’t until Rachel and Alexandros were safely upstairs that she turned back towards the lounge.
‘I’ll make some more coffee,’ Aleksi said smoothly. ‘I have a few hours’ work ahead of me in the study.’
‘There’s plenty left in the percolator,’ Alyse said with a slight shrug. ‘It will take a minute to reheat. I’ll bring it in, if you like.’
With a curt nod he turned towards the study, and it was only a matter of minutes before she entered that masculine sanctum and set a cup of steaming aromatic brew on his desk.
He was seated, leaning well back into a comfortable leather executive chair, and he regarded her with eyes that were direct and faintly probing.
‘What do you think of my parents?’
‘I hardly know them,’ she said stiffly, longing to escape. In the company of Rachel and Alexandros she had been able to tolerate his company without too much difficulty, but now they were alone she was acutely aware of a growing tension.
‘You like Rachel.’ It was a statement, rather than a query, which she didn’t bother to deny. ‘And my father?’
‘He seems kind,’ she offered politely, and saw his mouth curve to form a cynical smile.
‘Far kinder than his son?’
Her polite façade snapped. ‘Yes. You seem to delight in being an uncivilised tyrant!’
An eyebrow rose in sardonic query. ‘Whatever will you come up with next?’
Her eyes flashed a brilliant blue. ‘Oh, I’m sure I’ll think of something!’
The creases at the corners of his eyes deepened. ‘I have no doubt you will.’
The temptation to pick something up from his desk and throw it at him was almost irresistible, and her hands clenched at her sides in silent restraint as she turned towards the door.
‘Goodnight, Alyse.’
His drawled, faintly mocking tones followed her into the hall, and she muttered dire threats beneath her breath all the way into the kitchen.
An hour later she lay silently seething in bed, plotting his figurative downfall in so many numerous ways that it carried her to the edge of sleep and beyond.
It was almost midday when Rachel and Alexandros came downstairs, coinciding with Aleksi’s arrival home, and after a relaxing meal Rachel eagerly saw to her grandson’s needs, gave him his bottle, then settled him down for the afternoon.
Over coffee there was an opportunity for Alyse to become better acquainted with Aleksi’s stepmother, and it was relatively simple to fill in details of Antonia’s life, although she was aware of Aleksi’s seemingly detached regard throughout a number of amusing anecdotes.
‘I have some photographs,’ Alyse told her. ‘Most of them are in albums which are somewhere in transit between here and Perth, but I brought a few snaps with me that you might like to see.’
They were pictures of Antonia laughing, beautiful and lissom with flowing blonde hair and a stunning smile.
‘What about you, Alyse?’ Aleksi asked quietly. ‘Were all the snaps taken only of Antonia?’
‘No. No, of course not,’ she answered quickly. ‘There didn’t seem much point in bringing the others with me.’
His gaze was startlingly direct. ‘Why not?’ Humour tugged the edges of his mouth. ‘I would have enjoyed seeing you as a child.’
‘Perhaps I should insist that you drag out shots depicting your pubescent youth,’ Alyse said sweetly, and heard Alexandros’s deep laugh.
‘He was all bones, so tall, and very intense. An exceptional student.’
‘Yes, I’m sure he was,’ Alyse agreed with a faint smile.
‘At nineteen he filled out,’ Rachel informed her, shooting Aleksi a faintly wicked grin, ‘developing splendid muscles, a deep voice, and a certain attraction for the opposite sex. Girls utilised every excuse under the sun to practise their own blossoming feminine wiles on him.’
‘With great success, I’m sure,’ Alyse remarked drily, and heard his husky laugh.
‘I managed to keep one step ahead of each of them.’
‘Shattering dreams and breaking hearts, no doubt?’ The words were lightly voiced and faintly bantering, but his eyes stilled for a second, then assumed a brooding mockery.
‘What about your dreams, Alyse?’ he countered, silently forcing her to hold his gaze.
She swallowed the lump that had somehow risen in her throat, aware that their amusing conversational gambit had undergone a subtle change. ‘I was no different from other teenage girls,’ she said quietly. ‘Except that my vision was centred on a successful career.’
‘In which young men didn’t feature at all?’
How could she say that Antonia was a carefree spirit who unwittingly attracted men without the slightest effort, while Alyse was merely the older sister, a shadowy blueprint content to shoulder responsibility? Yet there had never been any feelings of resentment or jealousy, simply an acceptance of individual personalities.
‘I enjoyed a social life,’ she defended. ‘Tennis, squash, sailing at weekends, and there was the cinema, theatre, dancing.’ Her chin lifted fractionally as she summoned a brilliant smile. ‘Now I have a wealthy husband who owns a beautiful home, and an adored adopted son.’ Her eyes glittered, sheer sapphire. ‘Most women would rate that as being the culmination of all their dreams.’
Aleksi’s soft laugh was almost her undoing, and it was only his parents’ presence that prevented her from launching into a lashing castigation.
‘Shall I make afternoon tea?’ It was amazing that her voice sounded so calm, and she deliberately schooled her expression into a polite mask as she rose to her feet.
In the kitchen she filled the percolator with water, selected a fresh filter, spooned in ground coffee and set it on the element. Her hands seemed to move of their own accord, opening cupboards, setting cups on to saucers, extracting sugar, milk and cream, then setting a cake she’d made that morning on to a plate ready to take into the lounge.
When the coffee was ready, she put everything on to a mobile trolley and wheeled it into the lounge, dispensing everything with an outward serenity that would, had she been an actress, have earned plaudits from her peers.
Conversation, as if by tacit agreement, touched on a variety of subjects but centred on none, and it was almost four o’clock when Aleksi rose to his feet with the expressed intention of driving Rachel and Alexandros into town.
‘I’m looking forward to this evening, my dear,’ Rachel declared as she slid into the rear seat of the car, and Alyse gave her a smile that was genuinely warm.
‘So am I,’ she assured her, then stood back as Aleksi reversed the BMW down the driveway.
Indoors, she quickly restored the lounge to order and then dispensed cups and saucers into the dishwasher before crossing to the bedroom for a quick shower. Georg would wake in an hour, and she’d prefer to settle him down for the night rather than leave him to the babysitter.
Selecting something suitable to wear was relatively simple, and she chose an elegant two-piece suit in brilliant red silk, opted against wearing a blouse, and decided on high-heeled black suede shoes and matching clutch-purse. Make-up was understated, with skilful attention to her eyes, then she blowdried her hair and slipped on a silk robe, confident that within five minutes of settling Georg she could be ready.
‘The babysitter will be here at six,’ he told her as he shed his jacket and tossed it on to the bed. ‘We’ll collect my parents at six-thirty, and our table is booked for an hour later.’
Alyse merely nodded as his fingers slid to the buttons on his shirt, and he paused, his eyes narrowing on her averted gaze.
‘Is there some problem with that?’
‘None at all,’ she said stiffly.
‘Don’t indulge in a fit of the sulks,’ Aleksi cautioned, and she rounded on him at once with all the pent-up fury she’d harboured over the past hour.
‘I am not sulking!’ she snapped angrily. ‘I just don’t care to be figuratively dissected, piece by piece, in the presence of your parents, simply as a means of amusement!’
One eyebrow arched, and his mouth assumed its customary cynicism. ‘What, precisely, are you referring to?’
‘I didn’t sit at home while Antonia went out and had all the fun,’ she told him, holding his gaze without any difficulty at all.
‘But you assumed responsibility for her welfare, did you not?’ Aleksi queried with deceptive mildness. ‘And, as the eldest, shouldered burdens which had your parents been alive would have given you more freedom?’
‘If you’re suggesting I assumed the role of surrogate parent, you couldn’t be more wrong!’
He stood regarding her in silence for what seemed an age. ‘Then tell me what you did out of work hours, aside from keep house?’
Her eyes became stormy. ‘I don’t owe you any explanations.’
‘Then why become defensive when I suggested you took the elder sister role so seriously?’
‘Because you implied a denial of any social existence, which isn’t true.’
‘So you went out on dates, enjoyed the company of men?’
The desire to shock was paramount. ‘Yes,’ she said shortly, knowing it to be an extension of the truth. Her chin tilted slightly, and her eyes assumed a dangerous sparkle. ‘What comes next, Aleksi? Do we each conduct a head-count of previous sexual partners?’
‘Have there been so many?’
‘I don’t consider it bears any relevance to our relationship,’ she said steadily, and saw his eyes narrow.
‘Do you doubt my ability to please you?’
The conversation had shifted on to dangerous ground, and Alyse felt her stomach nerves tighten at the thought of that strong body bent over her own in pursuit of sexual pleasure.
‘Are you suggesting we indulge in sex simply for the sake of it in a mutual claim for conjugal rights?’
His eyes gleamed with sardonic humour. ‘My dear Alyse, do you perceive sex merely as a duty?’ He lifted a hand and cupped her jaw, letting his thumb brush her cheek. ‘Either your experience is limited or your lovers have been selfishly insensitive.’
It was impossible to still the faint rush of colour to her cheeks, and her eyes silently warred with his as she sought to control her temper.
Slowly he lowered his head, and she stood in mesmerised fascination as his lips caressed her temple, then slid down to trace the outline of her mouth in a gentle exploration that was incredibly evocative.
A faint quiver of apprehension ran through her body, and her mouth trembled as his tongue probed its soft contours, then slid between her lips to wreak sweet havoc with the sensitised tissues.
It would be so easy to melt into his arms and deepen the kiss. For a few timeless seconds Alyse ignored the spasms of alarm racing to her brain in warning of the only possible conclusion such an action would have.
A soft hiccuping cry emerged from the adjoining sitting-room, and within seconds Georg was in full swing, demanding sustenance in no uncertain terms.
‘Pity,’ murmured Aleksi as he released her, and her eyes widened, then clouded with sudden realisation as she turned quickly away from him.
Crossing into the sitting-room, she picked Georg up from his cot and changed him, then made her way to the kitchen where she heated his bottle and fed him.
He sucked hungrily, and she slowed him down, talking gently as she always did, sure that he was able to understand simply by the tone of her voice that he was very much loved. He seemed to grow with each passing day, and her heart filled with pride as she leant forward to brush her lips against his tiny forehead.
He was worth everything, anything she had to endure as Aleksi Stefanos’s wife. A truly beautiful child who deserved to be cherished, she decided wistfully as she settled him almost an hour later.
Swiftly discarding her robe, she quickly donned the silk evening suit and slipped her feet into the elegant high-heeled suede shoes. A brisk brush brought her hair into smooth order, and she sprayed a generous quantity of her favourite perfume to several pulsebeats before standing back to survey the result in the full-length mirror.
Muted chimes sounded through the intercom, and Aleksi emerged from his dressing-room.
‘That will be Melanie. She’s a dedicated law student, the eldest of five, and extremely capable. I’ll let her in.’
The breath caught in Alyse’s throat at the sight of him, and she rapidly schooled her expression as she took in his immaculate dark suit, thin-striped shirt and impeccably knotted tie.
Any feelings of unease at leaving Georg with a total stranger were dispelled within minutes of meeting the girl Aleksi introduced as the daughter of one of his associates.
‘I’ve written down the phone number of the restaurant,’ he told her, handing over a slip of paper. ‘And the apartment, in case we stop for coffee when we drop off my parents. We’ll be home around midnight. If it’s going to be any later, I’ll ring.’
‘Georg is already asleep,’ Alyse added. ‘I doubt if he’ll wake, but if he does it’s probably because he needs changing. If he won’t settle, give him a bottle. He’s just started sleeping through the night, except for the occasional evening. If you’ll come with me, I’ll show you where everything is.’
Fifteen minutes later she was seated in the luxurious BMW as it purred along the ocean-front road that led into the heart of Surfers Paradise.
‘Where are we dining?’ she asked.
‘The Sheraton-Mirage; it’s located on the Spit.’
‘Where anyone important is seen, no doubt.’ She hadn’t meant to sound cynical, and she suffered his swift analytical glance as a consequence.
‘Rachel fell in love with the resort complex when she and my father were here last year. It’s at her request that we’re dining there tonight.’
She should apologise, she knew, but the words refused to emerge, and she sat in silence until the car pulled to a halt at the entrance to a prestigious multi-storey apartment block overlooking the ocean.
At attendant slid in behind the wheel as Alyse followed Aleksi into the elegant foyer, and seconds later a lift transported them swiftly to an upper floor.
The apartment was much larger than she had expected, with magnificent views through floor-to-ceiling plate glass of the north and southern coastline. Pinpricks of light sparkled from a multitude of high-rise towers lining the coastal tourist strip, and beneath the velvet evening skyline the scene resembled a magical fairyland that stretched as far as the eye could see.
‘You look stunning, my dear,’ Rachel complimented Alyse quietly.
‘Yes, doesn’t she?’
Alyse heard Aleksi’s faintly mocking drawl, and opted to ignore it. ‘Thank you.’
‘Would you prefer to have a drink here, or wait until we’re at the complex?’
‘The complex, I think,’ Rachel concurred. ‘I’m sure Alyse will be as enchanted with it as I am.’
A correct deduction, Alyse decided on entering the wide lobby with its deep-piled blue carpets, cream marble tiles and exotic antiques. The central waterfall was spectacular, as was the tiled lagoon with its island bar.
‘We must come out during the day,’ Rachel declared with a smile. ‘The mari
na shopping complex directly across the road is delightful. We could explore it together, and share a coffee and chat.’
‘My wife adores to shop,’ Alexandros informed Alyse with a deep drawl not unlike that of his son.
They took a seat in the lounge-bar and Alyse declined anything alcoholic, aware of Aleksi’s faintly hooded appraisal as she voiced her preference for an order identical to his stepmother’s request for mineral water spiked with fresh orange juice.
‘My dear, don’t feel you must abstain simply because I choose to do so.’
‘I don’t drink,’ she revealed quietly. ‘Except for champagne on special occasions.’
‘Dom Perignon?’ queried Rachel with hopeful conspiracy, and Alyse smiled in silent acquiescence.
‘In that case, we’ll indulge you both at dinner,’ said Aleksi, giving the waiter their order, then he sat well back in his chair, looking infinitely relaxed and at ease.
Alyse would have given anything to be rid of the nervous tension that steadily created painful cramps in her stomach. It was madness to feel so intensely vulnerable; insane, to be so frighteningly aware of the man seated within touching distance.
The image of his kiss, so warm and infinitely evocative, rose up to taunt her, and she had to summon all her reserves of willpower to present a smiling, seemingly relaxed façade.
No matter what private aspirations Rachel and Alexandros held for their son’s marriage, it was apparent that the union afforded them tremendous pleasure. Equally obvious was an approval of their daughter-in-law, and Alyse experienced a feeling of deep regret—not only for Antonia’s loss, but for her own. If she could have selected ideal parents-in-law, it would be difficult to choose a nicer couple than Aleksi’s father and stepmother.
Such introspection was dangerous, and it was a relief when they entered the restaurant and were shown to their table.
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE SETTING WAS superb, the food a gourmet’s delight, presented with flair and artistry. Except that Alyse’s appetite seemed to be non-existent as she selected cream of mushroom soup, then followed it with crumbed prawn cutlets.
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