by Penny Jordan
‘You and Saskia have already met?’ Andreas was repeating, frowning heavily as he looked from his grandfather to Saskia.
‘Yes. In Athens,’ his grandfather confirmed before Saskia could say anything. ‘She was very kind to an old man, and very concerned for him too. My driver told me that you had expressed your concern for my health to him,’ he told Saskia in a broadly smiling aside. ‘And I have to confess I did find that walk in the heat plus the wait I had for you to return from the Acropolis a trifle...uncomfortable. But not, I suspect, as uncomfortable as Andreas was, arriving at my office to discover that I had cancelled our meeting,’ he added with a chuckle.
‘You didn’t really think I’d allow my only grandson to marry a woman I knew nothing about, did you?’ he asked Andreas with a little swagger that made her hide a small smile. He was so very Greek, so very macho. She knew she should be annoyed, but he was so pleased with himself that she didn’t have the heart to be cross.
Andreas, though, as it soon became obvious, was not so easily appeased.
‘You decided to check up on Saskia—?’ he thundered, giving his grandfather a hard look.
‘You have definitely made a good choice, Andreas,’ his grandfather interrupted him. ‘She is charming...and kind. Not many young women would have taken the time to look after an old man who was a stranger to them. I had to meet her for myself, Andreas. I know you, and—’
‘What you have done is an insult to her,’ Andreas cut him off coldly, whilst Saskia stared at him in astonishment. Andreas defending and protecting her? What was this? And then, abruptly, she remembered that he was simply acting out a role...the role of a loving protective fiancé.
‘And let me tell you this, Grandfather,’ Andreas was continuing. ‘Whether you approve of Saskia or not makes no difference to me. I love her, and I always will, and there are no threats, no bribes, no blandishments you can offer that could in any way change that.’
There was a brief pause before the older man nodded his head.
‘Good,’ he announced. ‘I’m glad to hear it. A woman like Saskia deserves to be the focus of her husband’s heart and life. She reminds me very much of my Elisabeth,’ he added, his eyes suddenly misty. ‘She had that same kindness, that same concern for others.’ Suddenly he started to frown as he caught sight of Saskia’s ring.
‘What is that she is wearing?’ he demanded. ‘It is not fit for a Demetrios bride. I’m surprised at you, Andreas...a paltry plain solitaire. She shall have my Elisabeth’s ring, and—’
‘No.’ The harshness in Andreas’s voice made Saskia tense. Was he going to tell his grandfather that it was all a lie? Was the thought of Saskia wearing something as sacred to their family as his dead grandmother’s ring too much for him to endure?
‘No,’ he continued. ‘If Saskia wants a different ring then she shall choose one herself. For now I want her to wear the one I chose for her. A diamond as pure and shiningly beautiful as she is herself.’
Saskia could see Andreas’s mother’s and sister’s jaws dropping, as was her own at such an unexpectedly tender and almost poetic declaration.
Ridiculously tears blurred her eyes as she looked down at the solitaire. It was beautiful. She thought so every time she put it on. But for her to treasure such a ring it would have to be given with love. It was the commitment it was given with that made it of such value to a woman in love, not its financial worth.
But Andreas’s grandfather was brushing aside such irrelevancies, and demanding jovially, ‘Very well, but what I want to know now is when you plan to get married. I can’t live for ever, Andreas, and if I am to see your sons...’
‘Grandfather...’ Andreas began warningly.
* * *
LATER, AFTER A celebratory lunch and rather more vintage champagne than had perhaps been wise, Saskia made her way with solemn concentration back to her room. Andreas was with her, as befitted a loving and protective fiancé.
Outside the room Andreas touched her lightly on her arm, so that she was forced to stop and look at him.
‘I’m sorry about what happened in Athens,’ he told her, his brusqueness giving way to anger as he added, ‘My grandfather had no right to subject you to—’
‘In his shoes you would have done exactly the same thing,’ Saskia interrupted him quietly, immediately leaping to his grandfather’s defence. ‘It’s a perfectly natural reaction. I can remember still the way my grandmother reacted the first time I went out on a date.’ She laughed, and then stopped as she saw that Andreas was shaking his head.
‘Of course she would be protective of you,’ he agreed flatly. ‘But didn’t my grandfather realise the danger you could have been in? What if he had mistimed his “accidental” meeting with you? You were alone in an unfamiliar city. He had countermanded my instructions to your driver by telling him to keep out of sight until he saw him return to his own car.’
‘It was broad daylight, Andreas,’ Saskia pointed out calmly. But she could see that Andreas wasn’t going to be appeased. ‘Well, at least your grandfather won’t be trying to convince you that you should marry Athena anymore,’ she offered placatingly as they walked into the bedroom. She came to an abrupt halt as she saw the new cases Andreas had bought her for their trip in the middle of the bedroom floor. ‘What...?’ she began unsteadily but Andreas didn’t let her finish.
‘I told Maria to pack for both of us. We’re booked onto the first flight in the morning for Heathrow.’
‘We’re leaving?’
Even as she spoke Saskia knew that showing her shock was a giveaway piece of folly. Of course they were leaving. After all, there was no need for Andreas to keep her here any more. His grandfather had made it very plain during lunch that Athena would no longer be welcome beneath his roof.
‘We don’t have any option,’ Andreas replied flatly. ‘You heard my grandfather. Now that he’s been given a clean bill of health he’s itching to find something to occupy him. Organising our wedding and turning it into something between a lavish extravaganza worthy of a glossy magazine and a chance to gather as many of his business cronies under one roof as he can isn’t going to be an opportunity he’ll want to miss out on. And my mother and sister will be just as bad.’ He started to scowl. ‘Designer outfits, a wedding dress that could take months to make, plans to extend the villa so that it can accommodate the children my mother and my grandfather are so determined we’re going to have...’
Greedily Saskia drank in every word. The mental image he was creating for her, the blissful pictures he was painting were becoming more alluring with every word he said. Mistily she allowed herself to dream about what she knew to be impossible—and then Andreas’s next words sent her into shocked freefall.
‘We need to get married immediately. We just don’t have the time for that kind of delay. Not after... If you are already carrying my child then...’
‘What are you saying?’ Saskia protested, white-faced. ‘You can’t be serious. We can’t get married just because...’
‘Just because what?’ Andreas challenged her bitterly. ‘Because you were a virgin, an innocent who had never known a man before? I...I am Greek, Saskia, and there is no way I would ever abandon any child I had fathered. Under the circumstances there is nothing else we can do.’
‘You’re only half-Greek,’ Saskia heard herself reminding him dizzily, before adding, ‘And anyway I may not even be pregnant. In fact I’m sure I’m not.’
Andreas gave her a dry, almost withering look.
‘And you’re an expert on such things, of course. You, a woman who hasn’t even...’
‘They say you don’t always...not the first time...’ Saskia told him lamely, but she could see from his face that he had as little faith in that particular old wives’ tale as she did herself.
‘I don’t want this, Andreas,’ she insisted, trying another tac
k. Her voice and her body had both begun to shake with shock at what Andreas intended.
‘Even if I am to...to have a child...these days that doesn’t mean... I could bring it up by myself...’
‘What on?’ he challenged her. ‘Not the one million pounds you turned down from Athena, obviously.’
Saskia’s eyes looked bewildered at the way he’d slipped the thrust up under her guard.
‘A child needs more than money. Much, much more,’ she defended herself quickly. How did he know about Athena’s offer to her? Athena herself wouldn’t have told him. ‘A child needs love,’ she continued.
‘Do you think I don’t know that?’ Andreas shot back. ‘After all, surely I am far better placed to know it than you, Saskia. I had the love of both my parents as a child, and I can promise you I would never allow a child of mine to grow up without my love.’
He stopped abruptly as he heard the quick indrawn gasp of pain she had given, his eyes darkening with remorse.
‘Saskia, my beloved heart, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you, just to make you understand that I could no more walk away from our child than I can from you.’
Saskia stared at him, unable to speak, to move, to breathe as she listened to the raw fervency of his declaration. He was acting. He had to be. He didn’t love her. She knew that. And somehow hearing him say to her the words she so much ached to hear whilst knowing they were lies filled her with more anguish than she could bear.
Tugging frantically at the ring he had given her, she started to pull it off, her eyes dark with anger, sparkling with tears of pride and pain whilst Andreas watched her as he had been watching her all through lunch, and then afterwards when the wine she had drunk had relaxed her.
‘I felt so angry when Athena offered Saskia that money,’ Pia had told him passionately. ‘And so proud of her. She loves you so much. I used to think that no one could ever be good enough for you, my wonderful brother, but now I know I was wrong. She loves you every bit as much as you deserve to be loved, as I one day want to love the man I marry...’
‘She is perfect for you, darling,’ his mother had whispered to him.
‘She is a beautiful young woman with an even more beautiful heart,’ his grandfather had said emotionally.
There had been one unguarded moment after lunch, when his grandfather had been teasing her about something and she had turned to him, as though seeking his protection. The look in her eyes had made him ache to snatch her up and carry her away somewhere he could have her all to himself and create that look over and over again.
Finally she managed to pull the ring off, holding it out to him she told him, head held high, ‘There is no way I would ever marry a man who does not love me.’
Andreas closed his eyes, replayed the words to make sure he hadn’t misheard them, and then opened his eyes again and walked purposefully towards her. He was about to take the biggest gamble he had ever taken in his entire life. If he lost he would lose everything. If he won...
He took a deep breath and asked Saskia softly, ‘Shouldn’t that be you wouldn’t ever marry a man you did not love?’
Saskia froze, her face going white and then a soft, deepening shade of pink.
‘I...that was what I meant,’ she began, and then stopped as panic overwhelmed her. ‘I can’t marry you, Andreas,’ she protested as he closed the distance between them, masterfully sweeping her up into his arms.
‘And I won’t let you go, Saskia,’ he told her in a low, throbbing voice.
‘Because of what happened...because there might be a baby?’ she guessed, but the words had to be mumbled because Andreas was holding her so tightly, his lips brushing irresistibly tender kisses against her throat and then her jaw, moving closer and closer to her mouth.
‘Because of that,’ he agreed, whispering the words against her lips. ‘And this...and you...’
‘Me?’ Saskia started to squeak, but Andreas wouldn’t let her.
Cupping her face instead, he looked down into her eyes, his own grave with pain, heavy with remorse, hot with love and desire, as he begged her, ‘Please give me a chance to show you how things could be between us, Saskia. To show you how good it could be, how good it will be...’
‘What are you trying to say?’ Saskia demanded dizzily.
Still cupping her face, Andreas told her, ‘I’m trying to say with words what my emotions, my heart, my soul and my body have already told you, my beloved heart, my adored, precious love. Surely you must have guessed, felt how it was for me when we made love?’
Lifting her head so that she could look into his eyes, search them to see if she actually dared believe what she was hearing, Saskia felt her heart starting to thud in a heady mixture of joy and excitement. No man could possibly fake the way Andreas was looking at her, and if that wasn’t enough his body was giving her a very distinct and intimate message of its own. Unable to help herself Saskia started to blush a little as she felt her own body respond to Andreas’s arousal.
‘I...I thought that must just be sex,’ she told him bravely.
‘What have I said?’ she demanded in bewilderment when Andreas started to laugh.
‘My dearest love,’ he told her, still laughing, ‘if I hadn’t already had incontrovertible proof of your innocence, that remark would have furnished me with it. Any woman who had experienced “just sex” would have known immediately that—’ He stopped and smiled down at her, tenderly kissing her before telling her gruffly.
‘No. Why should I bother to explain? After all, there’s never going to be any way that you will know what it is to have “just sex”. You and I, Saskia, will be making love, sharing love, giving one another love for all our lives.’
‘Oh, Andreas,’ Saskia whispered deliriously as he pulled her firmly into his arms.
‘No, Andreas, we can’t,’ she protested five minutes later as he carried her towards the bed and started to undress her.
‘All my clean clothes are packed...I won’t have anything to wear...and...’
‘Good,’ Andreas informed her without the remotest hint of remorse. ‘I can’t think of anything I want more right now than to have you naked in my bed with no means of escape.’
‘Mmm... That’s funny,’ Saskia told him impishly. ‘I was thinking exactly the same thing myself!’
Epilogue
‘WELL, YOUR GRANDFATHER may not have got his own way over our wedding, but he certainly wasn’t going to allow us to have a quiet family christening!’ Saskia laughed with Andreas as they both surveyed the huge crowd of people filling the recently completed and refurbished ‘special occasions’ suite at the group’s flagship British hotel.
‘Mmm... Are you sure that Robert will be okay with him?’ Andreas asked anxiously as he focused with fatherly concern on the other side of the room, where his grandfather was proudly showing off his three-month-old great-grandson to his friends and business cronies.
‘Well, as your grandfather keeps on reminding us, he’s held far more babies than you or I in his time,’ Saskia said, laughing.
‘Maybe, but none of them has been our son,’ Andreas returned promptly, adding, ‘I think I’d better go and retrieve him, Sas. He looks as though he might be starting to get fretful, and he never finished that last feed...’
‘Talk about doting fathers,’ Pia murmured to Saskia as they both watched Andreas hurrying proprietorially towards his son. ‘I always knew that Andreas would be a good father, mind you...’
Saskia smiled at her as she watched her husband expertly holding their son—born nine months and one day exactly after their quiet wedding, tactfully arriving three weeks after his predicted birth date. But of course only she and Andreas knew that...just as only they knew as yet that by the time he reached his first birthday he would have a brother or a sister.
‘Isn’t that a bi
t too soon?’ Andreas had protested when she had first told him her suspicions, and Saskia had blushed and then laughed, remembering, as she was sure Andreas was as well, that she had been the one to initiate their first lovemaking after Robert’s birth.
Andreas was the most wonderful father, and an even more wonderful husband and lover. Saskia gave a small sigh, a look darkening her eyes that Andreas immediately recognised.
If his mother was surprised to be suddenly handed her grandson whilst Andreas insisted that there was something he needed to discuss with his wife in private, she gave no sign of it, going instead to join Saskia’s grandmother, with whom she had already formed a close bond.
‘Andreas! No, we can’t,’ Saskia protested as Andreas led her to the most luxurious of the hotel’s refurbished bedrooms and locked the door.
‘Why not?’ he teased her. ‘We own the hotel and we are married—and right now I want you so much.’
‘Mmm... Andreas...’ Saskia sighed as his lips found the exquisitely tender cord in her throat that always and unfailingly responded to the sweet torment of his lips.
‘Mmm... Andreas...what?’ he mouthed against her skin.
But Saskia didn’t make any verbal response, instead pulling his head down towards her own, her mouth opening sweetly beneath his.
‘I knew the first moment I set eyes on you that you were a wanton woman.’ Andreas laughed tenderly. ‘My wanton woman...’
* * * * *
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