The Mediterranean Tycoon

by Margaret Mayo

  Peta looked doubtfully at the second bedroom as she began to unpack the few clothes she’d brought with her. Of one thing she was sure; she wasn’t sharing a bed with Andreas Papadakis.

  As well as the bedrooms there was a kitchen, a living room and a bathroom. The same amount of space that she’d had at home for herself and Ben, and now there were four of them!

  The boys went eagerly to bed and at last she was alone with Andreas. ‘We’ll be safe now,’ he said confidently as they sat down in the tiny living room.

  ‘But for how long?’ she wanted to know. ‘We can’t stay here for ever.’

  ‘Of course not,’ he assured her. ‘But, whatever you do, don’t alarm the boys.’

  ‘What excuse did you give them for leaving at such an ungodly hour?’

  He grinned then, his teeth flashing white. ‘I told them it was a huge adventure and I had lots of surprises for them. Believe me, they’ll love it.’

  ‘It doesn’t feel like an adventure to me,’ Peta declared sharply. ‘For one thing I’m worried stiff, and for another I want to know what the sleeping arrangements are when there’s only one bed between the two of us.’

  His lips twisted wryly and there was an amazing twinkle in his eye. ‘I wondered when you’d get around to that.’

  ‘As a matter of fact, forget I asked,’ she retorted quickly. ‘I’ll take the bed, you can sleep where the hell you like.’ She looked doubtfully at the couch on which he was sitting. It didn’t look long enough to accommodate a man who was well over six feet, but why should she care? ‘Whose cabin is this, anyway?’

  ‘It’s mine—my mountain retreat,’ he answered. ‘Some of my friends use it but it’s where I come when things get on top of me.’

  Peta lifted her brows. ‘How often is that?’ She somehow couldn’t see anything getting on top of Andreas. He was the most together person she’d ever met. He was perfectly in control of his life—and those around him! It was only now, when his son was in danger, that she’d seen him lose it a little. But not much. He’d quickly worked out a plan of action and put it into operation.

  ‘There have been times,’ he admitted, a shadow she was beginning to recognise darkening his eyes.

  Like when his wife had died, she quickly surmised. She should have thought of that. ‘Has Nikos been here before?’

  ‘No. It’s just as much an experience for him as it is for Ben. You’ll see, Peta, they’ll have the time of their lives.’

  ‘Is there a phone?’ What if the kidnapper traced them here? What if the boys fell and seriously hurt themselves?

  ‘No, and my mobile doesn’t work up here either. It’s what I like best about it.’

  The man who was always in touch, always on the phone, always planning and organising, actually liked being cut off?

  ‘You look as though you find it hard to believe.’

  ‘I do,’ she said at once. ‘You thrive on work; you’re never away from it. You’ll be bored silly in a couple of days.’

  ‘With two lively youngsters? To say nothing of a very beautiful young woman?’ His eyes held hers as he spoke.

  Warning bells rang. Peta shook her head. ‘I’m here for Nikos’s sake, not yours.’

  He held up his hands, palms facing her. ‘Did I say anything different?’

  He was making it sound as though she was the one jumping to conclusions. Peta’s blue eyes flashed across the room. ‘It’s not what you said but the way that you said it.’

  ‘And you’re suggesting that I keep well away from you? Not so much as a tiny goodnight kiss? You’re going to force me to sleep on this tiny couch while you lie there in my bed and think about me.’

  ‘As if!’ A flare of indignant light blazed in Peta’s eyes.

  ‘Oh, I think you will,’ he said. ‘I don’t think you’ll be able to help yourself, even if it’s only to feel guilty.’

  ‘Never!’

  His lips quirked. He didn’t believe her.

  Well, she would show him. She jumped to her feet. ‘As a matter of fact I’m going to bed now. Goodnight, Mr Papadakis.’

  His eyes narrowed at the formality. ‘Sleep tight, Miss James.’

  ‘I will, don’t worry.’

  She’d just got undressed and into bed, when the door opened.

  ‘Pardon me for intruding,’ Andreas said with exaggerated politeness as he snapped on the light, ‘but I believe my holdall is in here.’

  Her wide blue eyes watched warily as he moved into the room. ‘I don’t think so,’ she snapped, knowing that he was using it as an excuse. ‘I’d have seen it if it was.’

  ‘I also need a couple of sheets and a pillow.’

  He found what he wanted on a high shelf in the wardrobe, his holdall had been tossed in there, too. Peta’s lips thinned. He’d intended sleeping in here all along—until she’d put her foot down. But she didn’t care. There was no way he was sharing her bed, even if he did manage to arouse every one of her baser instincts.

  Beneath the sheets her body was ready to go up in flames. All her senses had gone into overdrive, and she was so aware of him that she felt sure he must know it. She tried closing her eyes but that was worse, because she didn’t know then what he was doing.

  Please hurry up and go, she prayed silently. But he seemed in no hurry. He put the holdall down while he slowly and carefully folded the sheets over his arm.

  ‘If you’re waiting for an invitation to join me it will be a long night,’ she thrust acidly.

  ‘Why are you denying what you really want?’ It was a sexual growl, narrowed eyes fixed intently on hers.

  It sent a further tingle through her limbs. ‘I want more than anything to be left alone to get some sleep,’ she declared shakily. ‘I thought it was all sorted.’

  ‘You’d condemn me to that hard, lumpy couch?’

  ‘It didn’t look hard and lumpy to me,’ she riposted. Goodness, when was he going to get the message? Because the truth was the longer he stood there looking at her, the weaker she was becoming.

  ‘And not even a mite small?’

  ‘So what?’ she demanded. ‘It was your idea that we come here.’

  ‘Not my idea that we sleep in separate rooms.’

  ‘Then you should have thought about it before we left. You should have known I wouldn’t even dream about sleeping with you.’

  ‘Is that so?’ Lazy, mocking eyes laughed into hers. ‘I think the lady lies. I think you’ve thought about it a lot. In fact I think you even like the idea.’ As he spoke he walked around the foot of the bed to her side.

  ‘No, I don’t,’ she claimed, shocked to hear how husky her voice sounded.

  ‘OK, if the lady says no then the lady means no. But a goodnight kiss will do no harm, will it?’

  Andreas saw the panic in Peta’s eyes as he bent over her, and for a brief second wondered whether he ought to back off. But, no, faint heart never won fair lady—wasn’t that what they said? And he was certainly not known for being faint-hearted.

  She smelled so sweet, looked so lovely, that his male hormones wouldn’t behave themselves. And as his lips lightly brushed hers he felt a tremor run through her. Nor was it a tremor of fear; it was desire, he was certain of it. She wasn’t as immune as she made out; he’d proved that before when he’d kissed her. No matter how much she protested Peta James was one hell of a sexy lady. An aroused sexy lady!

  He’d intended the kiss to be light and friendly, so what was happening to him? Why was he deepening it? Why was he taking the chance of spoiling everything? Because he couldn’t help himself, that was why. He wanted to jump into bed with her right now; he wanted to take her into his arms; he wanted to make love to her; he wanted everything!

  But he couldn’t do that because it would ruin the time they had to spend here. He must never forget that Nikos’s safety was his first priority. And he needed Peta to help look after his son. He mustn’t antagonise her.

  So he raised his head. It took an achingly long time to do so. He fel
t as though he was held to her by a magnet, and the pull was so strong that it took an enormous effort to break the bond.

  He expected a further flow of indignation and anger, was surprised and somewhat pleased when all she did was turn away, letting the back of her head speak for itself. Disapproval, yes, but also an unhappiness within herself for allowing him to kiss her.

  He smiled softly as he left the room. It was certainly a step in the right direction.

  The couch was as hard and uncomfortable as he had known it would be. It wasn’t made for tall men to sleep on—not for anyone to sleep on. Only once before had he attempted to sleep there. The roof had developed a leak during the winter and heavy rain had ruined both beds. He’d hardly slept a wink, and the very next day he’d had the roof fixed and new beds delivered. He’d sworn that he’d never sleep on that couch again.

  Until a little minx by the name of Peta James had forced him to do so. He could, of course, have sent Ben in to sleep with his mother while he climbed in beside Nikos, but that would have created a precedent and spoilt any chance he had of ever sharing a bed with the woman who was beginning to drive him insane.

  He had thought never to love again after Maria died, had thought it would be disloyal to her memory, especially as he blamed himself, and he wasn’t even sure that he was in love now. All he did know was that this very beautiful redhead had got beneath his skin. He wanted her so badly that he was prepared to go to almost any lengths to persuade her into his bed.

  When dawn began to streak the purple sky he climbed stiffly from the couch and, picking up a towel, quietly made his way outside. A hundred yards or so higher up the mountain was a natural rock pool deep enough to bathe in. It was a favourite spot of his, always guaranteed to soothe the mind as well as the body.

  The chill of the water took his breath away but it did nothing to cool the rampant feelings he had where Peta was concerned. He came out of the pool feeling as hungry for her body as he had when he went in. He was finding it impossible to dismiss the thought of her.

  Perhaps it had been a bad idea to bring her up here with him. Maybe he should have come with Nikos alone. Maybe he should never have brought her to Greece in the first place.

  Suddenly he sensed that he was being watched and his first thoughts were of the kidnapper.

  And he had left the boys alone with a sleeping Peta! Some protection she would be!

  Heavens, he had allowed himself to be sidetracked by a pretty woman, forgetting the real reason he was here. He spun around—and in the half-light caught sight of a moving shadowy shape through the trees. Someone was keeping an eye on him while his accomplice did the dirty work!

  With a yell, and heedless of the fact that he hadn’t a stitch on, he sprinted in the direction of the shape, took a flying leap and landed on top of him. Except that it wasn’t a he. ‘Peta!’ he exclaimed as the awfulness of the situation hit him. ‘What the devil are you doing here?’

  Peta had thought herself unobserved, had been unprepared when Andreas came charging in her direction, and was now both embarrassed and breathless as he got to his feet and glared down at her. She could hardly avoid looking at him, and at close quarters he was even more magnificent than he had been a dozen yards away. His immediately rampant manhood sent a rapid response through her limbs.

  She scrambled with feverish haste to her feet so that at least her eyes could meet his on a level without other things coming between them. ‘I—I heard you leave. I wondered where you were going. I—’

  ‘Dammit, I could have killed you, skulking in the undergrowth like that. I thought you were one of the kidnappers. You had no right leaving the boys alone.’

  ‘You said they wouldn’t find us here.’ She rubbed her shoulder where she had fallen. Already it was beginning to ache.

  ‘You’d better get back to them,’ he snarled. ‘And if you want to see my naked body all you have to do is ask.’ He turned his back on her and tramped to the pool, where he snatched up the towel and wrapped it tightly around his loins.

  Peta found it impossible to move. He had the most gorgeous olive-skinned body. Lean hips, muscular shoulders and arms, but not overtly so; whorls of dark chest hair arrowing downwards, disappearing beneath the white towel. She’d been unable to take her eyes off him, had even been tempted to join him in the pool.

  Simply looking at him had stirred her senses, sent the blood scorching through her veins. Want and need had taken over and she’d been on the point of making her presence known when he’d spotted her. She hadn’t even had time to anticipate his action before he’d sent her crashing to the floor.

  ‘I thought I told you to get back to the boys.’ Andreas’s eyes were glacially hard, his whole body tense with rejection. ‘If Nikos has come to any harm then you’d better look out.’

  Peta snapped back to life, but too late; he was already striding down the mountain. She followed more slowly, conscious that she had neglected her duty and he had every right to be angry, but confident that nothing would have happened to the boys.

  For most of the night she had tossed and turned, thinking about Andreas, wondering how he was coping on the couch, almost giving in and suggesting they swap places. She had heard him get up and leave. What had made her decide to follow she didn’t know, but she had checked Ben and Nikos first and they were both fast asleep.

  If she hadn’t been so fascinated by his naked body she would have made her presence known, but one look and she’d been hooked, and the longer she’d stood there the harder it had become to call out. It had triggered so many responses that she’d felt as if she was melting on the spot.

  As she’d expected, the boys were still asleep, but Andreas didn’t apologise. Instead, after pulling on a pair of shorts, he jumped into the Range Rover. ‘I’m going to fetch supplies,’ he announced. ‘What little I brought won’t last long. And I’m warning you, don’t leave Nikos alone, not for one second.’

  Her eyes widened. ‘Don’t you think you’re overreacting?’

  ‘You’d feel the same if it was Ben,’ he told her coldly.

  ‘So what was the point in coming up here if you’re going to be paranoid? Nikos is an intelligent boy; he’s sure to pick up on it.’

  He started the engine. ‘What I do is my business and you’d do as well to remember that.’

  In other words she was here to do as he asked, not to question it. She heaved a sigh as he disappeared down the mountain. Some adventure this was proving to be. His anger was because she’d had the temerity to stare at his naked body, nothing else; not fear for Nikos. Well, he needn’t worry, she wouldn’t look at him again.

  While waiting for the boys to wake she spent her time cleaning the cabin. It was a fairly impersonal place with not much in the way of ornaments or pictures. The uneven stone walls had once been painted white but were now a dingy grey. It needed sprucing up, she felt, although if it was used so infrequently was it worth it? She couldn’t see Andreas feeling the need to escape very often.

  In the bedroom she finished putting away her things, hanging Andreas’s stuff in the wardrobe, too. It was in one of the drawers that she found the snapshot. Peta stared at it for a long time. Maria was beautiful; there was no getting away from it. Even more beautiful here than she was in the portrait done in oils. Rich raven-black hair, sensual lips and wide-spaced almond-shaped eyes. And so like Nikos that it was no wonder Andreas was reminded of his wife every time he looked at him. There was no way she could compete with a woman like this, with her extraordinary beauty and such a wealth of love for the man behind the camera radiating from her eyes.

  The sound of voices had her spinning around. ‘Mum, we’re hungry.’

  The spell was broken. And in half an hour Andreas returned.

  They spent most of the day wandering through the forest, the children playing hide-and-seek, splashing beneath waterfalls, finding all sorts of natural treasures which they stuffed into their pockets for looking at again later.

  Peta deliberately
kept all conversation between herself and Andreas impersonal, which wasn’t hard when he virtually ignored her. What was hard was ignoring the messages her body kept relaying. It was impossible to stand close and not be aware of him. Impossible to control the quivering sensations he created inside her.

  When night-time came she insisted that he take the bed and she the couch.

  ‘If that is your wish,’ he said with pained politeness. ‘But don’t put yourself out on my behalf.’

  ‘I think it will be best,’ she answered.

  He made no further objections.

  As Peta lay there, curled up in the foetal position, she couldn’t help thinking how uncomfortable he must have been. It was no wonder he’d got up at the crack of dawn. Amazingly, though, probably because they’d spent the day in the fresh air, she didn’t have any trouble dropping off to sleep.

  It didn’t please her when she got up the following morning to discover that Andreas had beaten her to it and already gone out, because it meant that he’d had to walk past her, might even have stood looking down at her. Her cheeks grew hot at the thought. Her nightie had ended up as usual around her waist, and although the cover had been pulled over her when she awoke, how was she to know that it hadn’t slipped off during the night and Andreas had replaced it?

  Where was he? At the pool again? She longed to go and look but knew that she dared not. It didn’t stop her imagination running riot, though. It was so easy to picture his hard naked body. He’d been perfectly at ease with it, no inhibitions whatsoever, even when he stood right in front of her. Whereas she, Lord help her, had been whipped by a frenzy of unwanted emotions.

  If he’d taken her into his arms at that moment she’d have let him undress her, let him lay her on the ground and make love to her. Even the thought of it sent a wild yearning through her body. She shook her head. Stop this, Peta, she warned herself. Stop it this instant. This man is not for you.

  The shower in the cabin was erratic, to say the least, and as she stood beneath it Peta thought longingly of the natural pool. If only she’d woken before Andreas she could have gone up there herself. Tomorrow, she promised herself. Tomorrow she would do it.