The Greek's Acquisition

by Chantelle Shaw

  During the past three weeks he had run through a whole host of emotions—ranging from anger when Louise had turned down the apartment he’d found for her in Paris to confusion, frustration and increasing fury when she had not answered any of his calls. In the last few days a feeling of dull despair had settled over him—a sense that all the joy had disappeared from the world.

  That had changed when he had opened the letter addressed for his personal attention in Louise’s handwriting and skimmed the brief note attached to the cheque. It explained that she was returning the full amount he had paid for Eirenne. There was nothing else—no explanation of her reasons, or indeed why she apparently wanted nothing more to do with him.

  The lethargy that was so alien to him had been replaced once more by blazing anger. He deserved more than a pithy two-line note, he thought savagely. After three weeks of ignoring him, was that all Louise deigned to send him? No woman had ever ignored him before—and if they had he wouldn’t have cared, he admitted. But Louise was different—or maybe it was he who was different? He had never felt like this before—as if his heart had been ripped out.

  One thing was for sure: he was not going to allow her to ignore him any more.

  He hit the intercom on his desk and growled like an angry bear at his PA. ‘Arrange for the jet to fly me to Paris immediately. And cancel all my appointments—indefinitely. Please,’ he added. Because in all fairness the mess he seemed to be making of his life wasn’t Aletha’s fault, and he felt guilty that she had been tiptoeing around him as if she feared his temper might explode.

  Later that same day Dimitri stood in the hallway outside Louise’s apartment and felt an uncomfortable cramping sensation in his gut. He couldn’t wait to see her. Hell, he had missed her—he had refused to admit how much until now. But her note had given no indication that she missed him. There was every chance she would slam the door in his face when she saw him. He rang the bell and moved his foot forward, ready to jam it in the doorway.

  He heard footsteps from the other side of the door and remembered her apartment had bare polished floorboards. The security chain was drawn back and then the door opened.

  ‘Thee mou!’ He could not restrain his shocked reaction. Her face was paper-white and there were purple shadows beneath her eyes. She looked at him dully, and her air of fragility tugged on his insides.

  ‘Dimitri!’

  She blinked, as if her brain had only just registered him.

  ‘Glikia mou, what has happened?’

  Louise drew a shuddering breath. ‘My mother died.’

  Dimitri felt a jolt of shock. It was hard to take in. Tina Hobbs—his father’s mistress, the woman he had blamed for breaking his mother’s heart—was dead. Seven years ago he had despised her, but now he felt nothing but pity for Tina. And for her daughter.

  He stepped into the flat, remembering just in time to duck his head and avoid the low doorframe.

  ‘Pedhaki,’ he murmured gently, and drew her into his arms. She made no attempt to pull away, and as he stroked her honey-gold curls everything fell into place in his mind.

  ‘When did it happen?’

  ‘Two weeks ago.’ Her voice was muffled against his chest.

  He tightened his arm around her. ‘Why didn’t you call me? I would have come to you.’

  The tenderness in Dimitri’s voice brought tears to Louise’s eyes. Her emotions were still raw, but she felt embarrassed that she had literally thrown herself at him. She eased out of his arms and led the way into the sitting room.

  He looked gorgeous, she noted. Despite everything that had happened—especially her mother’s death—she was blown away by the sight of him in beige jeans and a black silk shirt. The dark stubble on his jaw added to his dangerous sex appeal and her heart gave a familiar lurch.

  ‘I tried to phone you many times but got no reply,’ he said quietly.

  ‘I was in America, and for some reason my phone didn’t work there. I didn’t contact you because …’ Her voice faltered. She moved away from him and stood by the windowsill, absently stroking Madeleine. ‘I couldn’t after what happened the last time you were in Paris—those horrible things I said. You had found that lovely apartment for us, but I.I was too scared to accept what you were offering,’ she said with painful honesty.

  ‘It doesn’t matter,’ Dimitri assured her. ‘I understand.’ She’d needed to feel secure in their relationship, and at the time he hadn’t appreciated how deeply her childhood experiences had affected her.

  Louise bit her lip. ‘There was another reason. I had done something awful.’ Her voice shook. ‘Dimitri, I sold you Eirenne so that I could use the money to pay for my mother’s medical treatment. She had cancer, and her only chance was to have treatment in America. I didn’t tell you because I knew you hated her and I was afraid you would pull out of the deal. You were my only hope—her only hope. Tina needed to start treatment immediately, and I knew you were keen to own the island and would push the sale through quickly.’

  She paused, and then continued in a choked voice, ‘In the end the money wasn’t necessary. She wasn’t strong enough for the doctors to try the treatment and she died in the hospital in Massachusetts. I was with her at … the end … and the funeral was held over there. I’ve always believed that your father should have left Eirenne to you, so when I came back to Paris I returned the money to you.’

  ‘I received your cheque this morning.’

  Louise’s eyes flew to his face. His expression was unreadable, but she was certain he must be furious at her confession. Legally she had done nothing wrong, but morally —morally she had been torn between him and Tina, she thought bleakly.

  She stared at the floor, tension spiralling inside her when she sensed him cross the small sitting room to stand in front of her.

  ‘I knew while you were in Athens why you needed the money.’

  He didn’t look angry. He looked … She was afraid to try and define his expression. She shook her head, utterly confused. ‘You can’t have. How could you have known?’

  He sighed. ‘I was curious about why you were prepared to sell Eirenne for a lot less than it was worth. When you said you needed money quickly I wondered if you had debts, if maybe a loan-shark was hounding you for repayment. I didn’t know what else to think,’ he murmured when she gave a horrified gasp. ‘I asked a private investigator to find out what he could. I wanted to protect you if necessary. But the investigator discovered that your mother was seriously ill and had been transferred to a specialist cancer clinic in the U.S. soon after I had agreed to buy the island. It wasn’t hard to work out why you were so desperate for money.’

  The room swam. ‘Why did you go ahead with the deal once you knew the money was for my mother?’ Louise said faintly. ‘You hated her …’

  ‘But you loved her.’ He gave her a gentle smile. ‘Faced with the same situation I would have done the same for someone I loved. I hoped you would trust me enough to tell me about Tina’s illness, and when you didn’t I felt that I couldn’t mention it.’

  He pulled her into his arms and Louise sagged against him, feeing too drained to understand anything any more except that Dimitri was here, holding her.

  ‘I find it hard to trust,’ she admitted thickly. ‘I never wanted to end up like Tina. She wanted to be loved, but when she was rejected by my father, and then by her lovers, she grew hard and used them like they used her.’

  Louise’s upbringing had left her with a ton of emotional baggage, and as a man who disliked emotions and kept his own under tight control Dimitri would ordinarily have run a hundred miles rather than get involved. But his life had been turned inside out from the moment she had walked into his office looking like a sex goddess in her short red skirt, he thought ruefully.

  ‘Do you trust me, glikia mou?’ He was conscious of the painful thud of his heart as he waited for her answer.

  ‘Yes.’ Simple, unequivocal. Louise knew she would trust him with her life.

  ‘Then
bring Madeleine and come with me.’

  She did not even ask where he was taking her. It was enough to be with him.

  Louise fell asleep on the plane. Dimitri carried her to the bedroom at the rear of the jet, laid her on the bed and tucked a blanket around her before he settled down with his laptop and fired off a few e-mails to his top executives. Kalakos Shipping was important, but Louise was more so, and he decided that it was about time he learned the art of delegation.

  It was a short journey from Athens airport to the port of Rafina, where his boat was moored.

  ‘Are we going to Eirenne?’ she asked him as they sped out of the harbour and headed in a direction she remembered from years ago.

  ‘Back to where it all began,’ he said softly. There was a little more colour in her cheeks after her sleep, but the breeze blowing her clothes revealed she had lost weight, and she looked so fragile that his heart clenched.

  The sun was low in the sky when they reached the island, a fiery orange ball that streaked the few wispy clouds to gold and bathed the path leading from the jetty in mellow light.

  ‘Nothing has changed,’ Louise murmured as they followed the path into the pine forest. She had mixed feelings about coming back to this place that held special memories but also regrets.

  ‘I was surprised by how well Eirenne had been maintained,’ Dimitri told her. ‘It was only when I came here two weeks ago that I discovered your mother had employed staff to take care of the island and the two houses.’

  The old house that had been built by Dimitri’s grandfather was just as Louise remembered it. Half hidden among the pine trees, its many windows looked out over the sea that sparkled like a precious jewel in the evening sunshine.

  Joseph and Halia greeted them at the front door. The couple were delighted with the staff cottage and happy to come to the island whenever they were needed, Dimitri explained as he led the way into the dining room. Louise couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten a proper meal; her appetite had been non-existent lately. But the baked sea bass served with a colourful salad was delicious, and the crisp Chardonnay Dimitri served with the meal was a perfect accompaniment.

  After dinner they sat on the terrace and finished the wine while the sun sank below the horizon and the air became filled with the song of the cicadas. For the first time in weeks Louise felt some of her tension leave her. She turned her head to study Dimitri’s handsome profile and tried to ignore the ache in her heart. Nothing had been resolved regarding their relationship, but here on Eirenne she could pretend for a little while that everything was perfect.

  ‘Thank you for bringing me here. I’d almost forgotten how beautiful the island is.’

  ‘I haven’t forgotten anything about this place.’ He met her gaze, and in the shadows of dusk she saw the golden flecks in his eyes burning brightly. ‘I remember bringing you to this house for the first time. I looked at you and thought you were more beautiful than any woman I’d ever seen.’

  She gave a faint smile. ‘That can’t be true. You had been engaged to that stunning American model, Rochelle Fitzpatrick, but she had broken off the relationship. Perhaps you would have been attracted to any woman when you were on the rebound?’ She voiced the doubt that still lingered.

  Dimitri threw back his head and laughed. ‘I wasn’t on the rebound from Rochelle. If anything I was glad I’d had a lucky escape. Your mother was right about one thing—Rochelle did dump me when she learned that I’d fallen out with my father and I was no longer his heir. I realised that she was in love with the fortune she’d expected me to inherit rather than with me. I admit my ego was bruised, and I was disappointed with myself that I hadn’t spotted her for a gold-digger, but I certainly wasn’t heartbroken.’

  ‘I see.’ Another ghost had been laid to rest, and Louise’s heart leapt when he stood up and stretched out his hand to her.

  ‘Somehow I doubt that you do,’ he said obliquely, but then he lowered his head and captured her mouth, and she was instantly lost in the beauty of his kiss.

  The scent of the pine trees was evocative. Memories swirled in Louise’s mind as Dimitri swept her up and carried her into the house. He set her down in the bedroom they had shared one night long ago, and undressed her and then himself. Pale fingers of moonlight gilded them, following the path of their hands as they explored each other’s bodies. He kissed her breasts and her stomach, then knelt to bestow the most intimate caress of all, gently parting her thighs to dip his tongue into her honeyed sweetness.

  When he laid her on the bed she reached for him and stroked his already hard arousal until he groaned and positioned himself over her. Their eyes met and held as he slid deep inside her, and when he began to move Louise thought that her heart would burst.

  Four days later Dimitri woke at dawn and found that he was alone. Pausing only long enough to pull on a pair of denim cut-offs and slip something into his pocket, he walked quickly through the quiet house. The front door was open and he felt a flare of relief when he looked across the garden and spied Louise on the beach.

  ‘That’s the second time you’ve disappeared from my bed,’ he murmured, remembering how she had left him sleeping at his hotel in Paris. He slid his arms around her waist. ‘I don’t like it, glikia mou. I’ve become addicted to waking and seeing your face on the pillow beside me.’

  She gave him a faintly wistful smile. ‘I was thinking that I need to go home. I’ve had almost a month of compassionate leave from work, but it’s time to pick up the threads of my life again. My mother would want me to.’ Her voice caught. ‘She was proud of my career.’

  Dimitri was conscious of a peculiar sensation in the pit of his stomach. Ever since they had arrived on the island he had been waiting for the right moment. And this moment, with the sun just rising above the pine trees and the sky streaked with pink and gold clouds that were reflected in the waves curling onto the shore, was the perfect moment.

  ‘There is a job vacancy at the National Gallery in Athens which Takis Varsos is very keen for you to accept,’ he murmured.

  Louise looked puzzled. ‘At best it’s a three-hour commute from Paris to Athens.’

  ‘But if you lived in Athens …’ He threaded his fingers through her hair and looked into eyes that were the colour of the sapphire hidden in his pocket.

  If he asked her to be his mistress would she have the strength to refuse? Louise wondered. Should she throw away a chance of happiness because she was afraid of how she would feel when their relationship ended?

  She was not her mother, she reminded herself. She was strong and independent and she was brave enough to live for the present rather than worry about the future.

  ‘Commitment was something I had no interest in,’ Dimitri admitted. ‘I never understood how two people could know for certain that they wanted to spend their lives together. But then I met a golden girl who crept into my heart—and she stayed there, even though I didn’t see her again for many years. Without realising it I compared every woman I met to her, but at last I understood and I knew that I wanted to be with her for ever.’

  ‘Dimitri …?’ Louise whispered. She had told him she trusted him. But she was afraid to trust the expression in his eyes, afraid to believe he could be saying what he seemed to be saying.

  ‘I love you, Louise. You are my golden girl, the love of my life.’

  Dimitri’s hand was shaking as he felt in the pocket of his cut-offs and withdrew a ring—an oval sapphire surrounded by diamonds that sparkled in the brilliant light of the new day. He heard Louise catch her breath, and he captured her hand and lifted it to his lips.

  ‘Will you marry me and spend the rest of your life with me? Will you be the mother of my children? When I watched you holding my sister’s baby something clicked inside me, and l imagined us having a child together—Sweetheart, what’s wrong?’

  Shock jolted through him as Louise snatched her hand out of his. She looked devastated. That was the only way he could describe her expression. And sh
e was backing away from him, shaking her head.

  ‘I can’t,’ she said in an anguished voice. ‘I can’t marry you. It wouldn’t be fair.’

  ‘Theos! I thought it was what you wanted—I thought, hoped …’

  He must have been mistaken to think she cared about him. The realisation was gutting. For the first time in his life Dimitri was utterly floored. He couldn’t think straight, and he felt a pain in his chest as though a knife had been plunged through his heart. This was why he had turned his back on emotions, he thought savagely. He had been perfectly content with his uneventful personal life that was never troubled by trauma and drama. But then Louise had gatecrashed his life and changed everything—changed him. She had made him love her and now he couldn’t stop.

  She had run down to the sea. For a moment he thought she was going to keep on running until the waves dragged her under, but she turned slowly to face him and he saw his pain reflected in her eyes.

  ‘There’s something I haven’t told you. Something I should have told you.’

  Fear made his voice harsh. ‘Then for pity’s sake tell me now.’

  Louise drew a ragged breath. ‘Seven years ago I fell pregnant with your baby. I was back at university when I found out, and I was shocked and scared, but …’ She bit her lip, as if she could somehow hold back the emotions surging inside her. ‘But I was excited too. I knew it would be difficult—I mean, it was totally the wrong time for me to have a child—but I wanted the baby … our baby. I loved it from the moment I knew it was growing inside me. I phoned you to tell you. I know now, of course, that you were in South America with Ianthe, but I assumed that you didn’t want to have anything more to do with me.’

  ‘Thee mou,’ Dimitri said in a raw tone. ‘I had no idea. I used protection—but nothing is one hundred percent effective. I should have checked you were okay after you went back to Sheffield, but I was angry that you had left me. And then Ianthe was injured and I was focused on her. But I did return your call eventually. Why didn’t you tell me then? And the child …’ The enormity of what she had revealed was only slowly sinking in. ‘What happened about the baby?’