She had no right to look hurt, Dimitri told himself, determined to ignore the tug on his insides when he glimpsed tears in her eyes. She had proved last night that she was a woman like her mother—willing to sell herself for the right price. He would not be taken in by the air of vulnerability that reminded him of the girl he had known years ago.
‘I’ve explained my terms—it’s up to you whether you agree them.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘My private jet is on standby at Orly airport and my chauffeur is waiting in the car. If you’re coming with me, you have precisely ten minutes to pack.’
‘For God’s sake—I have a job. I can’t just give it up.’ Louise glared at him, her temper simmering at his sheer arrogance.
‘You must be allowed to take annual leave?’
‘It will be difficult at such short notice.’ But not impossible, Louise acknowledged silently. A few weeks ago she had explained the situation with her mother to her manager and arranged to take time off if the need arose. There would not be a problem at work.
The problem was with herself, she admitted. She resented with every fibre of her being the idea of becoming Dimitri’s mistress—but what choice did she have? she thought bleakly. To refuse him would be to sign her mother’s death warrant. The only way to raise the money for Tina’s cancer treatment quickly was to sell Dimitri the island. And maybe he had a point. Maybe being forced to spend time with him, to live with him and share his bed every night, would free her from his sensual spell.
She drew a shaky breath, hardly able to believe what she was about to do. The sight of him reaching for the door handle prompted her to speak.
‘All right—I agree to your terms. But I want your signed confirmation that you will pay one million pounds for Eirenne, and that you will transfer the money to me as soon as possible.’ She crossed to the bureau and took out a sheet of paper and a pen which she held out to him. ‘Do it now—before we leave.’
He studied her speculatively for a moment, but made no comment as he strolled back into the room and took the blank paper from her. Resting it on the lid of the bureau, he scribbled a few lines, added his signature, and handed it back to her.
Louise scanned what he had written and nodded. She did not know how legally binding the agreement was, but she felt better for having something more than his spoken promise. Promises, as she knew too well, could be broken.
She lifted her head, and her heart thudded when she glimpsed the unguarded desire in his glinting gaze. It took every ounce of her will-power to say in a dignified tone, ‘I’ll go and pack.’
‘In a minute.’ His arm snaked around her waist and he jerked her towards him. ‘First I’d also like confirmation of our agreement,’ he drawled as he lowered his head.
His kiss was hard, hungry, demanding her response. He caught hold of her chin and pushed his tongue into her mouth to explore her with devastating eroticism until she was trembling and pliant in his arms. Louise hated herself for capitulating to him, but she could not deny him when molten heat was surging through her veins and she was aware of nothing but the feel of his hand on her bare breast as he slid it beneath her camisole and bra and rolled her nipple between his fingers.
Her mouth was swollen when he finally released her, and she dragged her clothes back into place with shaking hands while he watched with cool detachment.
‘I think we understand one another,’ he murmured. ‘Hurry up and get your things together, I have a busy schedule and I should have left Paris hours ago. One other thing.’ He halted her as she began to walk into her bedroom. ‘The suit you are wearing—where did you buy it?’
‘I didn’t—it was given to me.’ She gave him a puzzled look. ‘Why do you ask?’
‘I was merely curious.’
His tone was bland, yet Louise sensed that he was angry although she had no idea why. A movement from the windowsill caught her attention.
‘Madeleine!’ She was horrified that she had momentarily forgotten about the cat. ‘What am I going to do about her?’
‘Can you arrange for one of your friends to look after her while you’re away?’
She ran a mental check-list of her closest friends and shook her head. Nicole had recently given birth to her first baby, Pascale was on her honeymoon, and Monique had just started a new job. Louise felt reluctant to bother her. Even Benoit was not around.
‘The neighbour who sometimes feeds Madeleine for me is away.’
‘Then you’ll have to put her in a cattery.’ Dimitri did not bother to disguise his growing impatience.
‘Absolutely not,’ Louise told him fiercely. ‘Madeleine was abandoned by her previous owner and I’m not going to allow her to feel abandoned for a second time. She’ll have to come with us. Her carrier is in the kitchen.’
Dimitri was tempted to remind her that she was not in a position to dictate terms, but the determined gleam in Louise’s eyes told him she would fight to the death for the sake of her pet and he did not have time for any further delays. He caught hold of her arm as she walked past him.
‘I’ll see to the goddamned cat while you collect your things.’
‘I doubt you’ll manage. I told you—she doesn’t like strangers.’
Louise watched him walk back to the windowsill and stretch out a hand towards Madeleine. Bite him, she willed. But, to her amazement, the cat arched her back and purred blissfully as Dimitri stroked her ears. Of course. She had underestimated his ability to charm all members of the female sex—human and animal, she thought bitterly. It was stupid, but Madeleine’s acceptance of him felt like a betrayal, and tears stung Louise’s eyes as she marched into her bedroom and dragged a suitcase from the wardrobe.
CHAPTER SEVEN
LOUISE had travelled by private jet on a few occasions when her mother had been Kostas Kalakos’s mistress. As she glanced around the luxurious cabin of Dimitri’s plane she was reminded of how much Tina had relished the glamorous lifestyle she had enjoyed with her billionaire lover. Her mother had sold herself to the highest bidder, she thought bleakly. Tina had insisted she’d loved Kostas, but there was no doubt she had also loved his money.
Was what she was doing any better? Louise asked herself. The stark truth was that she had agreed to sell her body to Dimitri for one million pounds. He did not know and must never discover that she intended to use the money to save the life of the woman he hated and blamed for destroying his family.
She glanced at him, sitting beside her on one of the plush white leather chairs, and felt the familiar lurch of her heart as she studied his sculpted features. Would she have agreed to be his mistress if she hadn’t found him so attractive? The thought sat uncomfortably with her and she tried to blank it out and concentrate on the only reason why she was flying to Athens with him. Tina.
The journey had so far been effortless—Dimitri’s chauffeur-driven limousine had whisked them to the airport, where they had boarded his jet, and two impossibly elegant stewardesses had served them champagne as soon as the plane had soared into the sky. The signature of extreme wealth was everywhere—not simply in his material possessions but in the deferential way people treated him, Louise mused. She did not belong in Dimitri’s world, but for the next two weeks she would live with him and share his bed every night.
Nervous tension churned in her stomach. Part of her wanted to scream that she could not go through with it, that she was not a woman like her mother. But it was for her mother’s sake that she had agreed to Dimitri’s demands, and she would stick to her side of the deal because it was the only way she could give Tina a chance to beat the disease that threatened her life.
She tore her gaze from him to stare out of the window as the plane circled above Athens airport, unaware that her pensive expression was causing him to frown.
Despite her sophisticated clothes Louise looked young and curiously vulnerable, Dimitri brooded. He was reminded of the innocent girl Loulou, whom he had known years ago, and was momentarily assailed by doubts. Was she really a cynical
gold-digger like her mother, or could he have misjudged her? Her agreement to be his mistress in return for a million pounds surely answered that question, he thought grimly.
‘We should land in five minutes.’
She made no comment and his irritation grew. ‘You’re very quiet. In fact you’ve barely spoken a word since we left Paris. What’s the matter?’
Louise refused to admit that she felt as nervous as hell. Through the window she could see the airport runway grow bigger as the plane descended. It was hard to believe that less than a week ago she had made this same trip to Athens—although on an economy flight. When she had left Dimitri’s office she had felt optimistic that he would agree to buy Eirenne, but she could not have foreseen the condition he would impose.
She turned her head and met his hard gaze. If only she was immune to his sexy charm, but the acceleration of her heartbeat was a shameful reminder of how much he affected her. Bravado was her only defence against him.
‘I didn’t realise you expected me to entertain you outside of the bedroom.’
His smile faded and his jaw hardened. ‘I don’t. The knowledge that you will spend every night of the next two weeks naked and willing in my bed is all I want from you, glikia.’
She flushed at the predatory gleam in his eyes and tried not to feel hurt by his sarcasm. Years ago he had called her glikia mou—my darling—and meant it. At least she had believed he had. But her illusion that he cared about her had been shattered when she’d discovered he had only feigned interest in her to upset her mother.
The voice of the pilot asking them to fasten their seat-belts prior to landing was a welcome distraction, but as the plane touched down Louise could not shake off the feeling that she was trapped in a nightmare—destined to spend the coming weeks as the mistress of a man who clearly only regarded her as a sexual plaything.
Dimitri lived in an exclusive suburb to the north-east of Athens, where luxurious villas were surrounded by landscaped gardens. Louise’s tension had increased with every mile during the short journey from the airport, and as the car swept onto a gravel driveway and electric gates closed smoothly behind them she instantly felt as though she was a prisoner.
His house certainly did not resemble a prison, she acknowledged.
It was dusk, but even though the light was fading she could not fail to appreciate the beauty of Dimitri’s home. Built in a neoclassical style, it had graceful arches and elegant pillars. The tall windows must allow light to flood into the rooms, she thought as she climbed the sweeping stone staircase leading up to the front door. The light coral-coloured walls reminded Louise of the old villa on Eirenne where she and Dimitri had first become lovers, a lifetime ago it seemed, and she felt a sharp pang as memories flooded her mind.
The interior décor of the house reflected the timeless elegance of its exterior. The spacious high-ceilinged rooms were painted in neutral tones, and the plush sofas and pale oak furnishings were discreetly expensive. It was a home rather than a show house, she mused, as he gave her a tour of the ground-floor rooms.
‘Your home is not what I had expected either,’ she told him, recalling his surprise when he had looked around the tiny sitting room of her flat in Paris.
‘What were you expecting it to be like?’
‘I don’t know—a typical bachelor pad, I suppose. Minimalist chic meets playboy mansion, with lots of seductive lighting and leopard-print throws.’
He threw back his head and laughed—a deep, mellow sound that eased the tension between them.
‘Thee mou, I hope you will think my home more tasteful than that. I promise you won’t find animal print of any description here. I grew up here,’ he explained. ‘This was the family home until my parents split up. My father gave my mother the house as part of the divorce settlement, and when she died she left it to me.’
He glanced around the room they were standing in, which was at the front of the house, overlooking the drive.
‘This was the playroom when my sister and I were children. Every evening I used to kneel on the windowsill and watch for my father’s car when he came home from work, and then I would rush out to meet him and beg him to play football with me.’ Dimitri paused and stared out of the window. ‘He always did. However tired he was after a long day at the office, he always had time for me.’ He grimaced. ‘I wish things hadn’t changed.’
Louise knew he meant that he wished his father had not met her mother and felt guilty, even though she could not have prevented Tina’s affair with Kostas. In her mind she pictured a little boy watching excitedly for his father to return home. But although the boy resembled Dimitri it was their child she imagined. If her pregnancy had been successful they might now have a son, she thought wistfully. Perhaps they would have lived here in this house as a family—maybe even had other children.
The familiar ache of grief swept through her and she bit her lip to stop herself from blurting out the truth to him. There was no point in telling him about the baby she had lost. It was stupid to keep thinking about it and tormenting herself with daydreams of what might have been. There was a good chance that Dimitri would not have wanted their child—as he had not wanted her—and she would have spent the past six years as a single mother with all the problems that entailed, she reminded herself.
Dimitri swung away from the window and frowned when he saw Louise’s pale face. She looked fragile, with dark shadows under her eyes, and once again he felt a prickle of doubt about his decision to bring her to Athens. He had not forced her, he reminded himself. She was here of her own free will because she wanted something from him—namely for him to buy the island that should have been his.
‘You look as though you could do with something to eat,’ he said abruptly. ‘Dinner should be ready.’
Louise’s insides churned at the prospect of food, but she followed him across the hall and into the dining room, where the table had been set for them.
‘This is my butler, Joseph.’ Dimitri introduced the man who entered the room. ‘His wife, Halia, works for me as cook and housekeeper. Please sit down.’ He indicated that she should take a seat at the table. ‘Would you like wine or a soft drink?’
‘Water is fine, thank you.’ The need for a clear head was imperative, but perhaps it would be better if she got blind drunk, Louise thought wildly. At least then she would have no recollection of the night with Dimitri that was to follow.
Joseph had disappeared, but returned almost immediately to serve dinner. The roast lamb cooked with herbs and served with potatoes and vegetables smelled tempting and she suddenly discovered that she was ravenous. Was it only the previous evening that she’d had dinner with Dimitri in Paris? She had been so intensely aware of him that she had only picked at her food. So much had happened in the space of twenty-four hours.
The memory of what had happened during some of those hours made her blush. Dimitri undressing her and laying her down on the huge four-poster bed, stripping off his own clothes and stretching out beside her on the satin sheets, bending his head to her breasts and teasing her nipples with his tongue.
She choked and quickly took a gulp of water.
‘Are you all right?’
She could not bring herself to look at him. ‘Fine, thank you. The food is wonderful.’
Against the odds she enjoyed the meal, but afterward her tension returned. Through the French windows she could see the moon gleaming silver against the black sky. It was late in the evening, and she assumed that soon Dimitri would want to take her to bed.
‘Would you like dessert or coffee?’
Caffeine would not help the ache that was rapidly becoming a throbbing pain across her brow. She gave him a lightning glance, unaware of the faint desperation in her eyes. ‘Actually, I wonder if you would show me to my room? I have some headache tablets in my case.’
‘Of course.’ Dimitri rose from the table and led her out of the room and up the sweeping staircase. He strode along the landing, halted to open a door and
ushered her inside.
The suite of rooms comprised a sitting room which led through a big square arch into a bedroom. Like the rest of the house the rooms were luxuriously decorated, with champagne-coloured silk wallpaper, pale gold carpets and curtains, and sofas covered in a darker gold silk brocade that matched the bedspread.
Louise did not need to see the jacket slung over the arm of a chair, or the squash racket and sports bag on the floor, to tell her that this was the master suite. She stiffened when she noted her suitcase standing by the bed.
‘This is your bedroom, isn’t it? I know we have an … arrangement …’ She flushed hotly as she thought of the terms of that arrangement. ‘But I assumed I would at least have the privacy of my own room.’
‘I didn’t deem it necessary,’ Dimitri said blandly. ‘As you pointed out, we have an arrangement, the terms of which require you to share my bed every night. However, you do have your own bathroom.’ He crossed the room and opened a door to reveal a shower room and walk-in wardrobe. ‘This is for you, but there is a bath in my en suite bathroom which you are welcome to use.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘I have a couple of calls to make, so I’ll leave you to settle in. But I won’t be long.’ His green eyes glinted with amusement at her rebellious expression. ‘Make sure you wait up for me, glikia.’
Panic gripped her. Last night she had been swept away by passion, but tonight the idea of getting into bed with him, having sex with him, seemed so cold-blooded. ‘Is it too much to ask that I be allowed to spend this one night alone? I have a headache,’ she said tightly.
There was no hint of sympathy in his smile. ‘Then you’d better hope that your painkillers work quickly. I’ll be back in half an hour.’
How on earth had she fallen in love with him seven years ago? Right at this moment she could happily murder him. ‘You bastard,’ she said shakily.
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