by Annie West
‘Yes.’ Something pulsed between them. Raw and desperate. ‘We need you Sophie.’
‘We?’
‘Eleni—’
‘She’s worse?’ Sophie swallowed down the hard knot of anxiety that blocked her throat. It had only been a few hours since she’d left the hospital. Eleni had been fine then, though upset about Sophie’s departure. Had she taken a turn for the worse?
Costas’ face was grim as he held out his hand. ‘She needs you. Now. You wouldn’t deny her, would you?’
‘But I can’t. I have a flight.’ She gestured helplessly to the other door.
Costas’ hand sliced through the air between them. ‘That means nothing. I can book you onto another flight when this is over. If you want.’
She stared up at him, noting the drawn look around his mouth, the stiff set to his jaw. Whatever had happened was life-and-death serious. Her anxiety notched up another level. Poor, brave little Eleni.
‘You promise?’
‘When you want a flight I will personally see you on board.’
She believed him. Whatever else he might be, Costas was a man of his word. He’d been straight down the line with her. No prevaricating, no dressing up the truth with convenient euphemisms. He said what he meant.
‘But why me—?’
‘It’s you she needs.’
Sophie frowned. Eleni had grown attached to her—it had been mutual, after all. But surely Eleni’s father, her grandparents, were the ones who should be with her now?
‘It’s time we left.’ He stepped close, stretching out his hand as if to take her arm. She felt the fierce heat of his body reaching out to her, but then his hand dropped to his side. He maintained a small but telling distance.
And she was grateful for it. Even this close the tension seemed to shimmer between them, the air charged with a force that she couldn’t hope to ignore.
‘I’ll have to make arrangements for my luggage.’
‘It’s been taken care of.’ He motioned for her to lead the way out of the room. ‘It’s all in hand.’
‘In hand?’ In the act of walking out the door she stopped and spun round to stare at him. ‘You did that without even asking me?’
‘Sophie.’ She’d never heard this dreadful urgency in his voice before. ‘It was necessary. Believe me. This is an emergency.’
His face was set hard. But something about his eyes told her this really mattered. More even than her heartbreak. Or her pride. Pain radiated from him. And more than that—uncertainty. That was so remarkable it convinced her as nothing else could.
Eleni’s condition must be serious.
His pain tore at her already lacerated heart. She shook her head, wondering helplessly how she could feel so much for a man who didn’t want her. How had his pain become hers?
But so it was. Despite everything—her anger and her hurt—she didn’t want him to suffer. Not with the raw agony she saw staring back at her from his proud features.
His arm wrapped round her shoulders and he propelled her towards the door. His hold was light, but she sensed the steel behind it.
Her body reacted predictably. A tremor started somewhere deep inside her, spreading out until she was weak with barely suppressed longing.
The short man in the grey suit was in the corridor, waiting for them. ‘Everything is all right, Kyrie Palamidis?’
‘Yes.’ Costas reached out and shook his hand, but kept his left arm around her. ‘Thank you for your assistance. I regret the inconvenience.’
‘But that is nothing. Nothing at all. It was a pleasure to assist in such circumstances.’
‘And it was greatly appreciated.’
The other man beamed.
‘Now we must leave.’ Costas was already ushering Sophie down the hall.
‘What inconvenience?’ she asked as they emerged near the airport entrance.
The muscles in his arm bunched around her as they walked rapidly towards the exit. ‘Holding up your flight.’
‘What?’
‘It was easier to have you and your luggage taken off the plane before it departed than having it turn around.’
She stumbled to a halt and stared up into his face. He wasn’t joking. ‘You’d do that?’
He shrugged and somehow the action pulled her closer to him, close enough to recognise the hard, tantalising strength of his superb body. For his natural scent to tease her nostrils and ignite a flare of forbidden desire in her feminine core.
‘Of course. If it was necessary.’ The commanding tilt of his head, the arrogant line of his nose and the decisive glint in his eyes told her he wasn’t joking. This was a man to whom power was a natural extension of his will. He wouldn’t baulk at using it when it suited his needs.
She’d known he was influential. But would he really be able to have a jet turn around in mid-flight?
‘Ela. Come, Sophie. This is not the place.’
Of course not. Eleni needed them.
‘OK. Let’s go to the hospital.’ She stepped forward, shrugging to remove his hold. For a moment she thought he wouldn’t let her go. His arm clenched tighter round her. Then, to her immense relief, it dropped away. She breathed easier, glad of even this minimal space between them.
Yiorgos was waiting beside the limousine, his face anxious. He broke into a strained smile as they both appeared.
‘The luggage?’ Costas prompted as he ushered her into the spacious back section of the vehicle.
‘Already in the boot, kyrie.’
And within seconds they pulled away, leaving the airport behind. The privacy screen slid up, blocking them off from Yiorgos, emphasising the empty silence in the vehicle. Sophie slid to one corner of the wide back seat, well away from the daunting presence of the man beside her.
Her emotions were a confused jumble. Fear for Sophie. Numb horror that she had to face Costas again after what had passed between them. And, could it be? Yes, relief that she wasn’t leaving Crete just yet.
From the moment Costas had appeared in that bare little room and demanded she accompany him, it had been so unreal. For one cruelly short moment she’d really thought he’d come because he needed her himself. Because he couldn’t bear to let her go. The idea had brought a fizz of searing excitement to her bloodstream.
But she’d known, as soon as he mentioned Eleni, that it was his daughter who needed her. That was why he’d brought her to Greece after all. Her disappointment had been so acute that for an instant she’d even thought of refusing to go with him. But she could never turn her back on Eleni. She loved the little girl. Almost as deeply as she loved Eleni’s father.
Sophie’s heart sank at the idea of an emergency severe enough to recall her from a flight to Athens.
She turned her head towards the window, blindly staring out at the passing scene.
Costas sat back in the opposite corner, watching Sophie. His heart still pounded from the adrenaline in his bloodstream. He’d barely been in time to prevent her departure. It had been so close it scared him.
Now she was here, secure in his car. He waited for the sense of satisfaction to come. After all, he’d got what he wanted. Almost. She’d followed him like a lamb once he mentioned Eleni.
But he felt no lessening of the tension that gripped him in its vice. There were no self-satisfied congratulations.
For Sophie looked miserable, hunched like a prisoner in the corner. Exhaustion etched shadows in the contours of her face and her shoulders slumped heavily. His gaze dropped to her hands, clasped tight in her lap, and he shuddered.
On one arm she wore a wide, beaded bangle. But her other arm was bare and his stomach lurched at the sight of the bruise ringing her delicate wrist. Nausea welled in him.
He’d done that. He’d hurt her—used his physical superiority to try controlling her.
Costas drew a ragged breath, stunned at the evidence of his barbaric behaviour. In all his life he’d never used force on a woman. The very idea was anathema. Even in those darkest da
ys, when Fotini had driven him to despair and lashing fury, he had never come close to touching her in violence.
How could Sophie ever trust him after such a disgraceful act? No man of honour would do such a thing.
But then his honour was a tainted thing, wasn’t it? He’d taken advantage of her in the worst possible way. She’d been so vulnerable. So deserving of his protection. A guest. The donor who was saving his daughter’s life. A member of Eleni’s family. A woman grieving her own terrible loss and far from home.
Any one of those considerations should have ensured he treated her with absolute courtesy and care.
But none of it had mattered enough to stop him.
Guilt slashed him. He’d been no protector. He’d been insane, consumed by his own rapacious need and his determination to have her on his terms.
He’d been ruthless, so desperate in his craving for her that he’d thrown away his honour to possess her. He’d subjected her to the risk of pregnancy without a second thought. In fact, some deep-buried part of him exalted in the possibility that she might be pregnant to him.
No wonder she hadn’t waited to say farewell in person but had taken the opportunity to sneak away while he was absent. He should never have—
‘What’s going on?’ Sophie swung round from her contemplation of the scenery to fix him with accusing eyes. ‘This isn’t the way to the hospital.’
Even in her confusion, with a frown marring her features, her beauty made his throat constrict.
‘No, it’s not,’ he said, relieved that it was time to sort this out, once and for all. ‘I’m taking you home.’
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
HOME? THE WORD echoed in her ears. Home was an empty bungalow on the other side of the world.
And this was the coastal road leading to the Palamidis villa. The place where she’d known such hopes and such appalling disappointment.
Sophie stared into Costas’ eyes. They were almost black—a sign, she’d learned, of strong emotion. And the way he looked at her—hungrily, so intensely that she should be frightened.
Her breath caught. Sensation shivered down her spine.
Just so had he gazed at her two nights ago when he’d loved her so wondrously.
‘What’s going on?’ Suspicion flared as she took in his utter stillness. He was tensed, completely focused on her, like a predator watching its prey.
‘You’re not taking me to the hospital, are you?’ Realisation came in a rush. But even so she couldn’t quite believe what her brain was telling her.
‘Not yet.’
‘How is Eleni’s condition?’
He hesitated infinitesimally. ‘Physically she’s doing remarkably well. She’ll be coming home to us soon. But she was terribly upset about your plans to leave.’
‘You lied to me.’ The accusation was a whisper. Even in the face of the evidence Sophie couldn’t imagine Costas telling an untruth. ‘You deliberately made me believe Eleni’s condition was worse.’
‘All I said was—’
‘I know what you said, damn you,’ she gasped. ‘How could you be so cruel? You made me think…’
Suddenly he seemed much closer, his wide shoulders and his dark, compelling face filling her vision. He reached for her hand, his fingers hard and warm, but she wrenched out of his grasp.
‘I told you that we needed you.’
‘And you lied.’
‘No, I spoke the truth. We need you. Both of us.’
She shook her head, denying the flicker of hope in the chilled recesses of her heart. She was tired, so tired she couldn’t cope with this right now. But one thing she knew without doubt: Costas Palamidis did not need her.
‘Don’t lie to me. I won’t play your games.’
‘It is no game, Sophie. Only once have I told you an untruth.’ His gaze held hers and she couldn’t look away. ‘When I said I wanted you for a single night only. Do you remember?’
Oh, she remembered all right. Heat scorched her cheeks at the memory.
‘It wasn’t true, Sophie. I want more. So much more.’
Now it began to make some sort of crazy sense. Costas wanted more. And what Costas wanted Costas got. He’d decided one night wasn’t enough. She supposed she should feel complimented that he found her so attractive.
But she didn’t. She felt…sullied. It was her body he wanted. Not her.
He leaned close, his scent and his heat and his aura of energy encompassing her. But she had no difficulty pushing him away. Hard.
‘Stay away from me,’ she panted. ‘I don’t want you near me.’
‘Sophie.’ He reached out a hand and she slapped it back. The contact made her palm sting.
‘Stay away!’ Her voice rose. ‘If you think I want anything more to do with you, you’re wrong.’
Despite its luxurious size the limousine felt claustrophobically small. There wasn’t enough air for them both in the charged atmosphere. And though he didn’t touch her, Costas’ very presence crowded her. His energy was a palpable force.
Suddenly he reached away from her, to a control panel on his side of the car. The screen between them and the driver slid down and Costas shot out some orders in rapid-fire Greek. Then the screen slid into place again and Costas turned back to her.
The car slowed and turned. But instead of swinging round in the direction they’d come from, it slid to a halt off the road. Dazed, Sophie stared out the window. She recognised this place, a little glade on the edge of an ancient olive grove. They’d left the main road and were already on Costas’ estate. She hadn’t even noticed them slow to pass the security system on their way in.
She heard Yiorgos get out and automatically reached for the door. She didn’t know why they’d stopped here rather than at the house, but the sooner she got out into the fresh air, where she could put some distance between herself and Costas, the better.
Even as her fingers closed round the handle there came the soft, decisive click of the door locks engaging.
She swung round. Costas had his hand on the control panel.
‘Unlock the door.’
‘Soon. When we’ve talked.’
‘We have nothing to discuss. It’s all been said. We both know where we stand. And now I’d like to leave.’ Her heart pounded against her ribs and her breathing shallowed as she fought to maintain an appearance of calm.
‘There is still much to discuss, Sophie, before we both know where we stand.’ His voice was deep and smooth but she heard the strain in it. ‘You will be free to leave once we’ve discussed what’s between us.’
She shook her head. ‘You can’t do that. You can’t hold me against my will!’
‘Only until you hear me out.’ He reached for her hand and held it between both of his. She didn’t bother to struggle—she knew his strength would win out. So she concentrated instead on pretending to ignore the barrage of sensations flooding her at his touch. The heat, the sizzle of delight, the ravenous need.
How could she respond so mindlessly? And to such a casual caress? She tilted her chin high. ‘Then I hope you’re prepared to face trial for abduction.’
He ignored the threat.
Horrified, she watched him raise her hand to his mouth, felt the caress of his lips against her flesh and almost closed her eyes at the memories evoked by the sensation. How her body still craved him.
‘I mean it! I’ll lay charges. And then what about your reputation? Think of the talk, all the rumours. The stain on your good name.’
‘You must do as you think appropriate, after we’ve talked,’ he murmured against her wrist and turned her hand over to kiss her palm.
Darts of fierce desire shot along her arm, arrowing straight to the hollow, aching core of her need. Her taut muscles loosened as his tongue lapped, rough velvet against her sensitive skin.
She struggled to focus. ‘I don’t want you. Don’t you understand that? Where is your pride?’ Surely that, if anything, would get through to him.
He looked up,
his head still bent over her hand. His eyes were so hot she felt their incendiary heat burn deep inside as he met her gaze.
‘Agapi mou, you need me as much as I need you. I was a fool yesterday to think I could ever walk away from you.’
He leaned closer, looming over her, and she fought the absurd impulse to bury her head on his shoulder and wrap her arms tight round him.
‘Yiorgos will see us.’ She was desperate for anything that would stop his inexorable assault on her senses. On her self-control.
‘Yiorgos is already walking to the house.’ His breath was hot on her face as he leaned closer still. ‘We’re on my private property. No one will disturb us. And anyway, the tinted windows give us privacy.’
Privacy for what? Her mind raced as she read the raw desire in his stark features.
‘No!’ Frantically she shoved against the rock-hard wall of his chest. But it was like pushing against unforgiving granite. ‘I don’t want—’
His mouth on her lips stopped her voice. His tongue stroked against hers, inviting the response that shivered just a breath away. He leaned into her, pressing her back into the soft corner of the padded seat, his hands roving, skimming her body as if frantic to rediscover her.
He didn’t use force. If he had she would have been able to fight him.
But the devious brute used gentle, erotic persuasion. And that weapon, in this man’s hands, was unstoppable. Sophie didn’t have a hope.
She tasted him in her mouth, inhaled the tangy scent of him, felt the shiver of delight wherever his hands caressed. The fiery heat of his body was like a magnet, drawing her closer, inciting a passion so strong it overruled every last remnant of her will-power.
Their night of intimacy had merely set the seal on the emotion that had been growing inside her over the past weeks.
This was the man she loved. The man who’d stolen her heart. So bold, so strong. Handsome, tender, protective. The most sensitive, daring, passionate lover a woman could wish for. Her weak body, even her mind, worked against the memory of the devastating pain he’d inflicted on her.