Troy appeared not to believe him.
“Fine. Don’t buy it. Frankly, I don’t give a shit.” He pointed at him. “But I’ll tell you what. I don’t intend to let things go so easily. I’m going after her.”
“Oh, no, you’re not. If you value anything in this life, Ari, I beg you to stay on board this boat until we leave.”
Ari stiffened.
“If luck is on our side, she can convince everyone that nothing happened.”
“No, if luck is on your side,” Ari corrected.
“No, Ari. I meant ‘our.’ As in Dad’s side, the company’s side. The town’s side. Right now I could care less about whose side you’re on. No. Wait. I know. You’re on your own side. Like you always are.”
“That’s unfair.”
“Is it? Because right now, I don’t think it is.”
Troy closed his laptop, then grabbed the contracts and stuffed them into his bag.
“I’m going downstairs to finish these up. I’m going to try to salvage what I’ve worked for the past ten months and pray that Philippidis has no idea that you took his wife-to-be on a trial honeymoon. You can decide what you’re going to do.”
Ari stood, torn. He looked toward shore and Elena, then back to where Troy disappeared belowdecks.
He shouted a curse to the gods above, damning them for getting him into this mess.
And wondering just how in the hell he was supposed to forget a woman who’d moved him as no other ever had…
OKAY, WHO MADE OFF with the old Elena and just where did she go to find her again?
Elena stood under the punishing shower spray, listening to her mother pounding on the locked bathroom door. She wasn’t surprised when she’d returned to the villa to find Ekaterina pacing the floor demanding to know her whereabouts from the amused maid. Her mother had advanced on her, throwing questions like stones, each hitting their mark unerringly as her armor wore away with every blow. Elena had fought to focus on the maid who stood in front of the bathroom holding a towel, indicating escape. And Elena had done exactly that, ducking into the other room before she ended up an emotionally bloodied pulp on the chic villa’s marble-tiled floor.For a long time, she’d merely stood leaning against the sink, her chin to her chest, her eyes closed, as she tried to stop the world from spinning. Not even her mother’s periodic knocking and demands for answers could compete with her own sense of bewilderment.
Until, finally, her mother had said, “You don’t deserve Manolis.”
It was then that Elena’s head snapped up and she stared at herself in the mirror.
“No, I don’t,” she’d whispered.
Then she’d finally stripped out of the borrowed clothes, carefully folding them and stashing them for safekeeping before climbing into a shower built for two.
Was it possible that in the darkness of last night, she had so easily forgotten everything else around her? Had she really allowed herself to focus only on what was in her line of sight? Granted permission to her body to do its will?
Ari…
She remembered his hold on her arm…the surprised expression on his face this morning. She swallowed hard.
But the instant she’d woken up to the sunshine slicing across her face, she’d understood that the secrets created in the shadows had been chased away by dawn’s bright, unforgiving light.
At least she’d finally found a way to warm her cold feet.
Elena groaned.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t seem to oust last night’s images from her mind. The hot waters sluicing over her naked body reminded her of Ari’s hands sliding over her, knowing and attentive, creating need and slaking it simultaneously. She squeezed her thighs together only to remember how he’d put his mouth there, laving her until she reached a pleasure point no other man had been capable of achieving. Water dropped from the tips of her breasts and through the shallow crevice between her legs, calling to mind how he’d filled her so utterly, so completely, touching places she hadn’t known existed, introducing her to her own body and the magnificent joys it could produce.
How had she gone so long without knowing the magic of sex? Of multiple orgasms? Of finding and residing in a place so outside of herself as to be surreal?
More importantly, how did she proceed in the path she predetermined for herself knowing these new truths?
Out there somewhere, over a hundred and fifty guests prepared to attend the lavish wedding ceremony. Manolis would still be on his yacht, coming in for the luncheon planned for the rest of the guests that she wouldn’t attend, since it was bad luck for the groom to see his bride before they met in front of the church.
Of course, it didn’t bode well that the bride had enjoyed the attentions of another man the night before the ceremony, either.
The shower spray began to turn cold. She shivered and shut it off, standing for a long moment before reaching for a towel. Where just a short time ago, she’d known exactly where her life was heading and with whom, now she stared at a gaping void filled with shocking question marks, each one larger and more insistent than the one before.
Her mother pounded on the door again, letting her know that the world wasn’t about to stand still while she figured everything out. “Elena! Damn it, girl, open the door this minute. The hairdresser’s here.”
She slowly reached for a towel and wiped the dampness from her face, biting down on the clean cotton as tears filled her eyes…
ARI JUMPED FROM the skiff before it had properly docked, nearly landing in the sea. The near miss barely registered as he ran up the steep walkway to the top of the cliffs.
He’d spent twenty minutes on the boat driving himself insane with an incessant series of what-ifs before grabbing a shower and deciding that he couldn’t act as if nothing had happened. The business contract and his brother be damned, he wanted—no, needed—Elena in his life. He would not stand by and watch her marry another man. As crazy as it all sounded, he needed to find out if what happened between them was a one-time, one-night deal, or if it was the beginning of something even greater.Okay, so maybe he had earned a reputation as being a man of little ambition. But he seemed to be the only one who knew that was because Troy worried and worked enough for both of them. Any attempts on Ari’s behalf to play a role were always firmly rebuffed.
But when all was said and done, he was ready to step in at a moment’s notice. And when he wanted something, he went after it full throttle.
And he wanted Elena.
Whether or not he could get her was another matter. But he had to try. He couldn’t let things stand between them as they had on the sailboat, with her in a state of panic, and his brother expediting her exit. He had no idea what he’d say to her once he had her ear, but his argument would probably be similar to the one he gave last night. His urgings would be even more urgent now, considering that in a few short hours she would become someone else’s wife.
Did he want to marry her?
The question caught him up short and his pace slowed even as sweat coated his forehead. It was too soon to even consider it, but…
His brother’s words flashed through his mind. Was he really capable of throwing away ten months of hard work and the future of Earnest, Washington, because of his unknown feelings for this one woman?
Yes, he realized, he was. While he might not know if she was the woman he would marry, he did know that the thought of sleeping in his bed without her in it was driving him mad. And, the thought of her sleeping with another man made him madder still.
He quickened his pace, immune to the beauty of the island that had captivated him only the day before. He’d found an even greater beauty in Elena.
Ten minutes later he wound his way around to the villas where she was staying, preparing himself for what was to come. She had hurried from the sailboat so quickly, they hadn’t had an opportunity to talk.
Would she talk to him now?
By damn, he would make her. Just as he had last night.
Of course, he couldn’t exactly dump her into the Aegean now, but surely even she understood that things had changed. Neither of them were the same people they’d been even twelve hours ago. At the very least, he had to convince her not to marry Philippidis.
He recalled his brother’s insinuations that Elena was marrying for money, and his instant defense of her.
Could he truly say that she wasn’t marrying for those reasons? No. But he sensed that she wasn’t. He’d bet his bottom dollar that a woman willing to sacrifice her future for marriage to a man twice her age wouldn’t have responded to him so openly as she had, so innocently. She wouldn’t have appeared so touchingly lost this morning, as if she’d known everything had changed.
Unfortunately, it looked as if he was going to have to bet that bottom dollar to find out.
Ari drew to a halt, staring at the white, arched doorway that led to the exclusive villas. He wasn’t surprised to see Philippidis’s goon standing there, his hand behind his back, guarding the entrance.
No, he was surprised. But he was disappointed. It meant that his job had just become that much more difficult…and critical. Because it seemed that it was full steam ahead for today’s nuptials…
9
ELENA HEARD THE RUCKUS outside the villa but was forced to remain seated in front of the vanity, while the hairdresser fussed over her. In the mirror, she watched as her mother went to the patio door, then nearly ripped the curtains from the rods as she drew them closed.
“What is it?” Elena asked, trying to get up.The hairdresser stopped her with a hand to her shoulder, telling her Elena would ruin all her work if she moved.
“Screw my hair,” she said, rising anyway.
Her mother stepped in front of her to stop her progress. “Sit down, Elena.”
“Get out of my way, Mother.”
Ekaterina blinked at her. Never had Elena spoken to her in such an impertinent manner. Nor had she ever called her Mother. It was always Mama or Mom, but never Mother.
“Elena, you need to ask yourself an important question before you do this—is it really worth risking a wonderful future with a wonderful man?”
Elena attempted to pass her.
“Do you really want to hurt Manolis?”
That did give her pause.
Of course she didn’t want to hurt him. He’d been so good to her and her family. A gentleman through and through. The last thing she wanted was to cause him any pain.
The crash of something sent them both rushing to the patio.
Elena pushed aside the curtains and opened the door, then stood looking at where Manolis’s bodyguard stood over Ari, who was sprawled on top of a broken clay pot of hydrangeas.
Gregoris appeared to be reaching for something under his white jacket. Something Elena feared might be a gun.
She placed herself between him and Ari, who was rubbing his jaw and stumbling to his feet.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded of the overgrown Greek.
Then it hit her.
Manolis knew.
Elena’s throat closed off, refusing air as she considered her circumstances. If Gregoris had been sent to guard her, and was fighting to keep Ari from reaching her, then Manolis knew about last night. He knew she had spent the night with another man.
Why else would the bodyguard be stationed there? He’d never been anywhere near her villa as far as she knew.
Until now.
Ari charged the larger man and Elena winced as his fist met with the other man’s jaw, sending him stumbling backward.
“That’s for hitting me,” Ari said.
Gregoris regained his balance and withdrew the gun he’d been reaching for.
“Stop it!”
Elena had thought she’d issued the command. Instead, it had been her mother.
She watched in amazement as Ekaterina crossed the patio and smacked the angry Greek across the face with a loud crack. “What in the hell do you think you’re doing? I want you out of here. Now!” she commanded.
Gregoris blinked at her a couple of times and put the gun away. Then his gaze landed on Ari again. He extended a finger in his direction and waggled it, as if to say he’d see him later. Then he stalked from the courtyard, likely on his way to report to his boss.
But Elena couldn’t concern herself with that right now.
“Jesus,” she said, turning to inspect the damage to Ari’s face.
Her heart pitched. Was it even remotely possible that she’d forgotten how strikingly handsome he was? Especially when he was looking at her as if the sun set and rose over her?
“Elena,” he breathed, as if he’d been holding her name in for a long time and was glad to finally say it.
“What are you doing?” she asked, her mind beginning to settle. “He could have killed you.”
“And I him.”
Ridiculously, a giggle bubbled up from her chest. She never giggled.
A grin turned up the corners of his mouth and she swallowed hard, filled with the sudden desire to kiss him.
Kiss him.
Right there in front of her mother and God and everyone.
On her wedding day.
“What are you doing here?” she whispered.
His expression reflected surprise, as if she should know what he was doing and exactly what he wanted.
“I can’t let you get married,” he said simply, as if his words made all the sense in the world.
THERE. HIS CARDS were on the table. Again.
Uh-oh. He didn’t like the look in her eyes. He also didn’t like that she appeared knee deep in wedding preparation, her hair half done up, a string of pearls around her neck.“You can’t possibly intend to go through with it?” he asked.
Her mother chose that moment to remind them of her presence. If he’d been hoping her standing up to Manolis’s goon meant he was in her good graces, he was proven wrong.
“Of course she’s going through with it. Manolis Philippidis is a good man who can provide for my daughter.” She gave him a once-over that made it clear she found him lacking. “What do you have to give her? Besides a lot of heartache.”
“Mama,” Elena said quietly.
But the elder Anastasios wasn’t done. “You know he’ll be back, don’t you? Probably with reinforcements.” She turned toward her daughter. “Which means Manolis will know, if he doesn’t already. In fact, I’m afraid he may already know anyway.”
“What is there to know, Mama?”
“That you spent the night with this man.”
Ari set his jaw.
“That’s right. I know. I may not have known it was him until just now, but when I returned to the villas last night and discovered you weren’t in your room, I knew that something must have happened. And now I know what.”
“You don’t have any idea what happened.”
“Don’t I?” She arched a high brow. “I am a woman, same as you, Elena. I know how a woman feels. And when you two met last night, I knew it had not been your first time. More than that, I knew what you shared was not casual.”
She shook her head. “This isn’t like you, Elena. Think this through, I beg of you. You’ve always been a practical girl.” She looked at Ari again. “This is only about sex. That will fade. And then what will you be left with? With Manolis, there is love.”
Ari watched Elena’s beautiful face fall as her mother spoke. His own mother had died when he was young, so he didn’t have much personal experience with maternal power. But he got the very distinct impression that Ekaterina Anastasios knew exactly what to say to her daughter to manipulate her in a certain direction. She’d been doing it since birth.
What chance did he stand against that?
“Mama, can you please leave us alone for a minute?” Elena asked.
She was going to ask him to leave. To allow her the freedom to marry Philippidis. He could see it in her every movement.
And, apparently, so could her mother. Because rather than argue, she nodde
d and went back into the villa.
Ari paced back and forth, reaching, grabbing for an argument that could not only counter Ekaterina’s, but beat it flat out before Elena had a chance to refuse him.
“You had cold feet,” he said.
Her gaze jerked up from where she’d been staring at the destroyed clay pot.
“That’s what your mother told you last night.”
She sighed. “We already discussed this…”
“Yes, but have you truly explored all the possible reasons why?” He was losing her, he could tell. Hell, he was flattering himself to think he’d ever had her to begin with. “Your mother said that there is love with…him.” He couldn’t bring himself to say Philippidis’s name. “Do you love him?”
“You have no right to ask me that.”
“Don’t I?”
He was losing ground fast. He wasn’t going to win her over by questioning her intentions.
He held up his hands. “Okay, we’ll forget that for now.” He drew a deep breath. “But can I ask if he loves you?”
Her eyes narrowed.
“What I mean is, does he love you the way you deserve to be loved? With the fever and passion of youth? Or with the cold, doting detachment of an older man? Do you want him to be the father of your children? Will he be able to get out on a soccer field with them, play with them? Will he even be around when they graduate high school?”
“That’s not fair.”
“Isn’t it? I don’t think it’s fair that I’m being shown the door because what I offer isn’t significant enough. Maybe you need a better, fuller, more balanced picture here before you make your decision.”
She tilted her head. “Are you saying you want to be the father of my children?”
Ari blinked at her.
She looked disappointed in his lack of response.
“What do you want me to say, Elena? Do you want me to proclaim my undying love for you and beg you to be the mother of my children? Would you even believe me if I did?” He shook his head. “I’m not going to lie to you and say that I know this, what’s ignited between us, is forever.”
Blazing Bedtime Stories, Volume III Page 6