Powerful Greek, Unworldly Wife

by Sarah Morgan

  Sending him a furious glare, Millie snatched up one of the neatly folded towels and retreated to the far side of the boat. Was he being intentionally cruel? Angry and upset, she wriggled into the minuscule bikini, snatched her clothes up from the baking leather of the seat and stalked back to him. ‘Satisfied?’

  ‘Not yet.’ His smile was wickedly sexy as his eyes trailed down her body. ‘But I will be. Remind me to thank the person who chose that. She followed my brief exactly. The emphasis being on the word “brief”.’

  Flustered by his lazy, masculine scrutiny, Millie stared down at the clear water. Shoals of tiny silvery fish darted beneath the surface and she watched them for a moment. ‘I don’t understand you.’

  ‘Evidently not. But we’re working to change that. You look fantastic in that bikini.’

  She opened her mouth to argue with him but he walked across to her, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. The heat he created with his mouth eclipsed anything produced by the sun, and Millie felt her body melt and her mind shut down. She forgot that she wanted to cover herself. She forgot to feel self-conscious. Instead, she felt beautiful and seductive.

  When he finally lifted his head, she felt dizzy. ‘How is your confidence now?’

  Basking in the sexual appreciation, she gave a reluctant smile. ‘Recovering.’

  ‘Good. Because we are flying back to London tomorrow.’

  Millie felt as though she’d been punched in the stomach. ‘Why?’

  ‘Because my business demands it,’ he said dryly, stroking her hair away from her face. ‘I have been absent for a long time—there are things that need my attention. And tomorrow night we have a gala evening to attend.’

  ‘Tomorrow?’ Millie tensed. ‘You haven’t given me any warning!’

  ‘I didn’t want you turning yourself into a nervous wreck.’

  ‘Who will be there?’

  ‘I will be there.’ Leandro released his hold on her and stepped onto the side of the boat. ‘And I am the only person that matters in your life.’ With that arrogant statement, he executed a perfect dive, his lean, bronzed body slicing into the water with powerful grace.

  Millie stared after him in frustration, realising that the only way she was going to be able to finish the conversation was if she followed him.

  Knowing that a dive would definitely part her from the tiny bikini, she opted instead to use the ladder that hung from the back of the boat.

  Sliding into the cooling water, she swam over to him.

  Her confidence had increased a thousand times over the past few weeks, but was she really ready to go back to their old life?

  She glanced up at the sky and, instead of being a perfect blue, it was grey and overcast.

  And during the night the rain came.

  Twenty-four hours later, Millie was back in London, reflecting on how much life could change in a few short weeks.

  She looked in the mirror and for the first time ever she didn’t wish that she could turn the lights down.

  After two weeks alone with a flatteringly attentive Leandro, it was impossible not to feel beautiful.

  Which was just as well because tonight they were going to be walking up the red carpet together. And there would be cameras.

  To test her new confidence, Millie wore a dress of her own choosing, shoes that made her feel like a princess, and chose to leave her hair loose and curly.

  Nestling against her throat was the heart-shaped diamond that Leandro had given her on their wedding day.

  As she slipped her feet into her shoes, Leandro strolled into the dressing room.

  He looked spectacular in a tailored dinner jacket and Millie felt a little pang as she realised that every woman in the room was going to be looking at him. For sheer visual impact there wasn’t a man who came close to him, she thought weakly, and he caught her soft sigh and frowned.

  ‘What are you thinking?’

  ‘I’m wishing you weren’t quite so attractive,’ Millie said dryly. ‘Then maybe women wouldn’t all gape at you and I wouldn’t feel so insecure.’

  ‘After the past ten days I have no energy left,’ he assured her in a silky tone, ‘so you have no cause for concern.’ He urged her out of the bedroom and down the stairs to the hallway. ‘You look beautiful. You know you look beautiful.’

  ‘I like hearing you say it.’ Oblivious to the staff hovering, Millie wound her arms around his neck and he smiled and lowered his mouth to hers.

  ‘Then I’ll say it again,’ Leandro murmured against her lips. ‘You look beautiful.’

  And she didn’t argue because she saw it in his eyes when he looked at her.

  ‘I didn’t straighten my hair.’

  ‘Good. I love your curls.’

  ‘I’ve worn this dress before.’

  ‘I know. I remember how good you looked in it the first time.’

  ‘Do you think it makes my bottom look big?’

  Leandro backed away from her, his hands spread in a defensive groan. ‘Never ask a man that question.’ He laughed, but he turned her sideways and dutifully studied her rear view. ‘It makes your bottom look like something out of a man’s fantasy. And now I want to—’

  ‘Don’t you dare rumple me!’ Wriggling away from the possessive slide of his hands, Millie couldn’t help laughing. ‘You’re insatiable.’

  ‘Yes. But unfortunately for me I am the guest of honour.’ With a regretful sigh, he reached for his BlackBerry and made a quick call. ‘Otherwise…’ he returned the phone to his pocket ‘…I would feel the need to devote the rest of my evening examining the size of your bottom at close quarters. My driver is waiting outside for us.’

  Millie walked towards the front door, but he stopped her.

  ‘Wait—I have something for you.’ His voice husky, Leandro reached into his pocket and retrieved a long black box. Opening it, he lifted out a slim, diamond bracelet.

  Millie gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

  ‘Leandro, you can’t—’

  ‘I can.’ He fastened it around her wrist and then stood back and narrowed his eyes. ‘It suits you.’

  ‘It matches my necklace.’

  ‘Of course.’ His hands firm on her shoulders, he turned her so that she could see her reflection in the hall mirror.

  The diamonds sparkled against her creamy skin and she lifted a hand and touched them reverentially. ‘I might get mugged.’

  His jaw tightened and he drew her close. ‘Never again,’ he said gruffly. ‘You’re with me. And that’s where you’re staying. And I will protect you.’

  As they stepped into the back of the luxurious car, Leandro spoke quietly to the driver and then turned to her. ‘There will be media,’ he warned her as they drew up outside the venue. ‘Just smile.’

  And she did.

  Millie smiled her way up the red carpet, smiled at the cameras, smiled at the guests who gaped and jostled each other for an introduction, and she smiled at Leandro, who was as sexy as sin in his role of powerful tycoon. He slipped easily from one environment to another, she thought as she chatted casually to the man seated to her left.

  She felt more confident, more at ease than she ever had before, and turned to Leandro with a grateful smile. ‘I’m having a nice time.’

  ‘Good.’ His searing gaze rested on her cleavage. ‘I’m not. All I want to do is take you home.’

  Millie reached for her wineglass, enjoying the feeling of power that she had over him. The tension gradually mounted between them and by the time Leandro announced that they could leave, both of them were desperate.

  They kissed in the car

  As they approached the gates of his house, Millie noticed the hordes of press and her heart sank.

  ‘What are they doing here? I thought they’d lost interest in us.’

  ‘Ignore them.’ A frown on his face, Leandro spoke to the driver in Greek and they were driven at speed through a network of roads which eventually brought them to the back of the house. />
  ‘I love this secret entrance.’ Millie giggled, lifting the hem of her dress so that it didn’t drag on the grass. ‘It’s so romantic. And I love the fact that the press haven’t discovered it.’

  ‘It’s useful,’ Leandro replied, but she sensed he was distracted by something. ‘Come on. Let’s go inside.’

  They were greeted by the housekeeper, who was clearly agitated.

  ‘I’m glad you’re home—something terrible…’ Nervously she rubbed her hands together and Millie felt her legs turn to jelly.

  ‘Costas? Is he ill?’ She stepped forward, panic making her legs shake. ‘I shouldn’t have gone out. Is something wrong with him?’

  ‘The baby is fine, madam,’ the housekeeper assured her, but the pity and embarrassment in her eyes made Millie drop back a few steps.

  ‘Then what’s wrong?’

  ‘How anyone can write such stuff—do they have no shame?’ Clearly distressed, the housekeeper blinked furiously. ‘We’ve had all the papers put in the conservatory, Mr Demetrios, and I’ve instructed the staff that they’re not to speak to anyone. The press have been knocking and calling, but we haven’t answered. It’s shameful, if you ask me, a man not being able to have peace in his own home.’

  Without uttering a word, Leandro turned and strode towards the living room.

  Feeling as though her shoes were lead weights, Millie followed him into the room and closed the door behind her. Even though she didn’t know what was wrong, her heart was thudding and she felt sick with dread.

  Even without looking, she knew that the newspapers would have done another hatchet job on her. But how? They’d only taken her photograph a few hours earlier.

  Leandro picked up the first of the newspapers and scanned it briefly. The expression on his handsome face didn’t alter as he threw it aside and picked up the next.

  Almost afraid to look, Millie stooped and picked up one of the discarded copies. The Hollywood actress smiled seductively from the front page, and the caption read, ‘Loving Leandro—my Unforgettable Night with my Greek Tycoon’.

  Millie dropped the paper.

  Her mouth was dry and her hands were shaking, but something made her pick up the next paper that he’d dropped. This time she read the copy.

  ‘She’s described your night together in minute detail.’

  ‘She has a vivid imagination,’ Leandro said flatly, picking up the last of the newspapers. ‘They all say the same thing. Leave them. It’s filth.’ But as he scanned the final newspaper his expression did alter, as if something printed there was the final straw.

  His mouth a flat, angry line, he quickly folded the paper but Millie reached forward and tugged it away from him, some masochistic part of her wanting to see what had upset him so much.

  ‘Millie, no!’ Leandro stepped forward to take it from her but not before she’d seen the pictures of herself in a bikini.

  ‘Oh, my God.’ Appalled and mortified, she felt like hiding under a rock. ‘How did they—? We—’

  ‘They must have had photographers near my island.’ Leandro jabbed his fingers into his hair and cast her a shimmering glance of apology. ‘This is my fault. I took you on that boat and I made you wear the bikini.’

  ‘You didn’t know there’d be a photographer nearby.’

  Millie gave a hysterical laugh. ‘Where was he? On the back of a dolphin?’

  Leandro undid his bow-tie and released his top button. ‘I’m truly sorry.’ He broke off and muttered something in Greek. ‘I’ll speak to my lawyers immediately. There may be something they can do.’

  ‘It’s already been done.’ Her mouth dry, Millie stared at the photos and the close-up of her scars. Then she looked at the photographs of the actress taken from her latest film. The cruel positioning of the two photographs took her breath away. ‘You can’t undo this, Leandro. It’s out there now. It will always be out there. And you can’t blame them for making comparisons between me and the Hollywood actress—it’s too good a story to miss, isn’t it? The entire British public will now be asking themselves the same questions I asked myself—why would you choose me? And that’s just going to keep on happening.’ Her lips felt stiff and her brain numb as she stumbled towards the door. ‘Excuse me. I need to check on Costas.’

  ‘Millie—’

  ‘I can’t talk about this right now, I’m sorry. I need to be on my own. I need some time to get my head round it.’ Without giving him time to intercept her, Millie shot from the room and took refuge in the nursery. She felt as though she’d been stripped naked and the sense of violation was worse than the vicious attack that had caused the scars in the first place.

  Everyone across the country would be staring at those intimate photos and everyone would be making judgements.

  As if in sympathy with her distress, Costas was screaming uncontrollably and Millie dismissed the nanny and lifted him out of his cot, holding him close, deriving comfort from his familiar warmth.

  ‘There, angel. It’s all right,’ she whispered, ‘I’m here now. It’s all right. You’re fine.’

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ the nanny apologised. ‘I can’t do anything with him. I think he’s going down with something. He’s been hot all evening and fretting.’

  ‘It’s OK, I’ll sit with him,’ Millie muttered, feeling the baby’s forehead burning. ‘You go to bed. There’s no sense in everyone being awake.’

  ‘Shall I stay while you get changed? I’d hate for him to ruin your dress.’ The nanny looked at her pityingly and Millie realised that she knew about the papers.

  Her face turned scarlet because she hated the thought of people pitying her. ‘I don’t care about the dress. You go to bed. Thanks.’

  The girl hesitated and then quietly left the nursery.

  Millie sat down in the chair, Costas in her lap, happy to hide away with the baby for a while. The alternative was facing Leandro, and she wasn’t up to that at the moment.

  She needed to get her thoughts straight.

  ‘What a mess,’ she murmured. ‘You have no idea what a mess this is. Why can’t people just mind their own business? Why do they love reading about trouble in other people’s lives? I’m never buying a newspaper again on principle. I’m going to read gardening magazines. They don’t hurt anyone.’

  Exhausted by the demands of the conversation, Costas hiccoughed a few times and eventually drifted off to sleep on her shoulder.

  As she laid him carefully in the cot, Millie stared down at him. She looked at the dark lashes and the dark hair and felt her stomach flip uncomfortably.

  The gossip and speculation was endless.

  It was always going to happen, wasn’t it?

  Maybe he wouldn’t have affairs, but while she was with Leandro there was always going to be someone willing to sell him out for money, or point out her imperfections for an audience of millions to laugh at.

  There would always be women willing to talk about their experiences in bed with him.

  Millie dragged the chair next to the cot and flopped down into it, miserable, vulnerable and worried.

  For half an hour she watched the baby sleep, checked his temperature and listened to his breathing.

  Leandro stood in his study, his tension levels soaring into the stratosphere as he finished talking to his lawyers. The newspapers were strewn in front of him. Ordinarily he wouldn’t have given any of them a first read, let alone a second, but this wasn’t about him. It was about Millie. And he knew that today it was newspapers, but next week the celebrity magazines would pick up the story and it would run and run.

  Thinking about Millie’s fragile confidence, he wanted to punch something.

  Being exposed to this wasn’t fair on her, was it?

  She was too sensitive.

  He had no idea where she was now but, knowing Millie, he suspected she’d be curled up in an insecure heap somewhere, convinced that their relationship was never going to work.

  His jaw tightened.

  Perhaps she was
right. Perhaps it never was going to work. Who on earth wanted to live with this?

  Needing to do something to relieve his frustration, Leandro took the stairs to the top floor and pushed his way through the door that led to the secluded roof terrace.

  Here, there were no cameras. No one watching.

  Just the soothing rush of water from the fountain in the centre, the scent of plants, darkness and his thoughts.

  He strolled to the balcony, from where he was able to see over the rooftops of London.

  Up until this point in his life he’d been indifferent to the media intrusion. It hadn’t bothered him. But now…

  Millie was a living, breathing human being with feelings.

  And those feelings had been badly hurt.

  Leandro thought about those few seconds before they’d known what was wrong. Her thoughts had immediately been with the baby.

  And when she’d seen those pictures of herself…

  Guilt ripped through him, intense and unfamiliar as he dealt with the knowledge that he’d put her in a position that had allowed those pictures to be taken.

  But the truth was that the media interest in his life was such that there would always be a photographer lurking, waiting to snap their picture. Even if he’d protected her from that one, he wouldn’t necessarily have been able to protect her from the next.

  And every time the press printed something nasty about her, another layer of her confidence would be shredded.

  To be able to withstand the media you needed the hide of a rhinoceros, and Millie’s flesh was as delicate as a rose petal.

  She’d be torn, he thought grimly. Ripped apart.

  And the decent thing would be to let her go—set her up somewhere new, where no one was interested in her.

  From below in his courtyard he heard the roar of a car engine, but Leandro was too preoccupied to give it any thought.

  Remembering that the last time he’d let Millie go had proved to be a mistake of gigantic proportions, Leandro strode back into the house and down the stairs, only to bump into the housekeeper, who was looking anxious and stressed.

  ‘Don’t tell me—more journalists?’ Leandro spoke in a rough voice, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. ‘What’s happened this time?’