by Maya Banks
Acres of costly marble and glass gave a sleek, contemporary feel to the place. Beautiful artwork added splashes of colour to the white walls; the furnishings were simple and elegant but the overall feel was one of incredible wealth and privilege. All of it a million miles from her own incredibly ordinary background.
‘We don’t have much time.’ Without breaking stride, Alekos led her up a wide staircase and pushed open a door. ‘The staff are all waiting to help you. I will leave you to get ready.’
‘But—’ Kelly had a million questions she wanted to ask, but he was already striding away from her, his mobile in his hand as he fielded yet another phone call.
Humbled and frustrated by the constant demands on his attention, she stood there feeling like an intruder.
‘Miss Jenkins?’ A woman hurried across the room towards her, her black hair caught up in an elegant knot at the base of her neck. ‘I’m Helen. If we could make a start?’
Relieved to have a purpose, Kelly followed her into a suite of rooms and stared in disbelief at the racks of clothes in front of her. It was as if an exclusive store had been opened up for her use alone. In the short time she’d spent with Alekos four years ago, she’d never seen this side of his life. They’d spent time walking barefoot on the beach; they’d shared dinner on the terrace of his villa wearing the same clothes they’d worn to visit a local market.
Now his life was laid out in front of her.
Two other women were hovering but it was obvious that it was Helen who was in charge. ‘If we could start by choosing the dress, Miss Jenkins, then we can decide on hair and make-up.’ Her eyes narrowed, she studied Kelly and then walked briskly to the rails. ‘I think I have something that would be perfect.’
Kelly, who had been worrying about exactly what constituted ‘perfect’ for a business dinner, stared as the woman whisked a dress off the rail. ‘Hot pink?’
‘You will look spectacular. Colours of the Mediterranean.’ Helen slipped the dress off the hanger. ‘Your eyes are the colour of the sea, your hair the colour of washed sand and this dress—’ she shrugged ‘—is the colour of oleander. Do you like it?’
Kelly stared at the mouth-watering silk confection on the hanger. ‘I’m trying to look grown-up and sophisticated—I thought maybe something safe. Something black?’
The woman gave her a pitying smile. ‘Black is for funerals. I was told that tonight is a celebration. Why don’t you slide into the bath that Nina has prepared for you and then we’ll try this for a change. If you don’t like it, we’ll find something else.’
A celebration?
Kelly’s heart fluttered. As she slid into scented water in the largest bath-tub she’d ever seen, she wondered exactly what they were going to be celebrating.
It must be something big if Alekos was going to all this trouble.
And he’d wanted her here, which meant it couldn’t be business-related or he would have done that on his own.
It must be about them, she thought to herself with a shiver of excitement. Over the past few weeks they hadn’t really discussed the future; they’d been concentrating more on the present and their relationship. Which was good, she told herself. That was the right way to do it.
And if a small part of her was slightly disappointed that Alekos hadn’t mentioned the baby, then another part of her understood. This was a big thing for him, wasn’t it? And he was nothing like her; he didn’t deal with problems publicly. He worked them out quietly for himself.
She needed to be patient and give him time.
The fact that he’d brought her here proved that he saw them as a couple. She was part of his life now.
Reflecting on the likely nature of the forthcoming ‘celebration’, Kelly trailed her fingers through the frothy, scented bubbles. Obviously they were going to be celebrating something that hadn’t happened yet.
Her heart gave a spring and she felt a flutter of excitement.
Was he going to propose?
She racked her brains to think of other reasons to celebrate, but nothing came to mind. Exams, new jobs: it couldn’t be any of those things.
Lying in the warm water, Kelly tried to work out whether she’d say yes straight away or make him wait.
But why make him wait? What would be the point of that? She loved him—she’d never stopped loving him—and now she was having his child. It was a pointless waste of time pretending that she didn’t want to be with him.
Her excitement levels rose to almost agonising proportions, and Kelly could barely sit still as one of the girls washed and conditioned her hair.
‘I dare not do too much to it or I will be in trouble with the boss.’ Helen trimmed it and then blow dried it into soft waves. ‘He is right that you have beautiful hair.’
‘Alekos said that?’
‘“I need her to stun the crowd, Helen”,’ Helen parroted as she repeated her instructions from Alekos. ‘“But don’t touch her hair. She has beautiful hair. And, whatever you do, don’t cut it short or you will never work for me again”.’
Taking the fact that she had to stun a crowd to be yet more evidence that he was introducing her to the world as someone important in his life, Kelly beamed. ‘You work for him a lot?’
Helen smiled and reached for the make-up she’d already spread across the table. ‘He used to fly me to Corfu to blow dry his grandmother’s hair. She always loved to look her best, but she found it harder and harder to travel because of her health, so Alekos took me to her. He adored her.’
‘Oh.’ Surprised by that revelation, Kelly realised that Alekos had rarely mentioned his grandmother. ‘I never knew her. She died before I met him. He told me that the Corfu villa was once hers.’
The doctor’s words flew into her head.
I remember you coming here to stay with your grandmother as a child. I remember one summer in particular, when you were six years old. You didn’t speak for a month. You had suffered a terrible trauma.
Corfu had been his sanctuary, she realised as she allowed Helen to apply her make-up. But he didn’t talk about it, did he? She wondered whether that was something Alekos would ever open up and discuss.
‘You look stunning,’ Helen enthused, standing back to admire the finished effect. ‘Now, the dress.’ She snapped her fingers and Nina passed it across. Slipping it deftly over Kelly’s head, Helen straightened it and stood back, eyes narrowed. ‘And now the shoes.’
Nina appeared again with something in her hand and Kelly pulled a face. ‘I’ll never be able to walk in those. I have a bit of a problem with shoes and shiny floors.’
‘That’s why God invented man. Alekos will hold your arm.’ Helen placed them on the floor in front of her. ‘They are perfect.’
As Kelly slid her feet into the shoes, Helen frowned at her. ‘We just need to decide on jewellery—the neck is too bare.’
‘Are you ready?’ Alekos strode into the room with his phone to his ear, spectacularly handsome in a white dinner-jacket, an impatient frown touching his bronzed forehead as he clearly tried to conduct a conversation and finish dressing.
A black bow-tie hung round his neck ready to be tied and cufflinks gleamed at his wrists.
When he saw her, his conversation dried up and Kelly felt her heart beat faster.
She didn’t need to look in the mirror to know that Helen had done her job well. Looking into his eyes was enough.
Impossibly excited about the celebration, and feeling incredible, Kelly turned and walked over to the mirror, treating him to a view of her bare back. The dress dipped low and she took his sudden indrawn breath to be a compliment. She needed that compliment because one glance in the mirror had told her that she looked nothing like herself. Normally she chose to wear black because it was safe. There was nothing safe about hot pink. It was bold and brave, but at the same time li
ght-hearted and fun.
What bothered her most was that the dress was undeniably sexy.
And she wasn’t sure it was a good idea to dress like this in front of Alekos.
They were supposed to be taking the whole sex element out of their relationship, weren’t they?
On the other hand, if they were going to be celebrating what she thought they would be celebrating, then what better way to make their relationship complete?
‘You look beautiful.’ His voice husky, he dismissed the staff with a barely discernible movement of his head. ‘I have something for you.’
Kelly’s heart accelerated.
Staring up at him dreamily, she waited, wondering why he’d bought her another ring when she already had a beautiful one on her hand—the wrong hand, admittedly, but that could be easily rectified.
Alekos drew in a deep breath. ‘But first there is something I want to say to you.’
Kelly smiled up at him mistily. ‘There’s something I want to say to you too.’ I love you. I’ve never stopped loving you.
‘I want to end this farce of sleeping in separate beds,’ he breathed. ‘It’s driving me crazy. I can’t concentrate on my work, I’m not getting any sleep.’
‘Oh.’ Slightly surprised by his approach, Kelly readjusted her expectations. It probably wasn’t altogether surprising that he’d approached it from that angle, she reasoned. He was a healthy male with a powerful sex-drive. ‘I feel the same way. It’s driving me crazy, too.’
‘I want a real relationship with you, and that includes sex.’
A real relationship.
‘That’s what I want too,’ she whispered, her heart pounding as Alekos slid his hand behind her neck and pulled her mouth to his.
‘I can’t help myself.’ He groaned the words against her lips. ‘I have to just—’
‘Oh yes.’ The erotic slide of his tongue unleashed emotions that she thought she had well under control. After weeks of abstinence, Kelly went up in flames. She forgot that they were supposed to be going out. She even forgot that she was waiting for him to propose. Her body felt hot and tight, and everything inside her was focused on the moment.
Desperate for him, she gave a moan of encouragement as she felt his rough palms slide up her bare thighs. Her hand went to the button of his trousers and she felt the hard ridge of his arousal straining against her fingers.
His mouth was hot and demanding on hers, and Alekos bunched the silk dress as he shifted it out of the way impatiently. Kelly’s arms locked around his neck and he lifted her where she stood, his dark eyes burning into hers as he gripped her hips.
‘Kelly...’
‘Yes, now,’ she groaned. There was a brief pause and then he lowered her to the ground, his breathing a harsh rasp.
‘Wait—we shouldn’t.’
On fire and just desperate, Kelly clutched at the front of his dress shirt. ‘Why?’ She was breathless. ‘I thought—’
‘No.’ His voice vibrating with tension, Alekos closed his hands over her arms and put her away from him. ‘Not here. Not like this. That isn’t what I meant.’
‘No?’
‘Later.’ Smoothing her dress over her trembling body, Alekos took her face in his hands and kissed her. ‘I don’t want a few crazy minutes with you,’ he said huskily. ‘I want more than that.’
She wanted more than that too.
She wanted for ever, and when Alekos put his hand inside his jacket Kelly felt her heart stop.
‘Alekos?’
‘I have something for you.’ His tone husky, Alekos withdrew a long, midnight-blue velvet box from his pocket. Kelly stared at it blankly, her brain refusing to compute the information that her eyes were transmitting. A long box: that was the wrong shape, wasn’t it?
‘What’s that?’ Her mind tried to explain away the anomaly. Maybe they’d run out of small boxes in the jewellers, or maybe he’d thought it would be more fun to disguise the gift as something different.
She was on the verge of telling him that he honestly hadn’t needed to buy her another ring when he flipped open the box and watched her face in anticipation.
Kelly stared down at the glittering necklace, unable to pretend any longer.
‘It’s a necklace.’
Not a ring. A necklace.
‘It will look perfect with your dress.’ Alekos slid his fingers under the diamonds. ‘I wanted to give you a present.’
He was giving her a present, Kelly thought wildly, not a future.
A necklace.
Not a ring.
Not a proposal.
Staring at the diamonds dangling from his fingers, Kelly felt the same way she’d felt when fallen flat on her face on the tiled floor. She was winded. Breathless. Slightly removed from reality.
Shocked and feeling quite ridiculously foolish, she didn’t have a clue what to say, but she knew she had to say something because he was staring at her expectantly.
‘I—’ Nothing came out of her mouth. ‘I don’t know what to say.’
‘You looked stunned.’
‘Yes.’ Her voice was flat; monotone. ‘I am.’
‘Diamonds do have that effect on people.’
Kelly forced herself to say something. ‘It’s very pretty. Thank you.’ Her voice was stilted and polite, like a child thanking someone for a gift because a strict parent was looking at her expectantly.
Aware that Alekos was watching her with astonishment, Kelly realised that her response was probably less than appropriate, given the value of the gift, but she couldn’t help it.
Somehow over the past few hours she’d managed to convince herself that he was going to propose—that the celebration that Helen had mentioned, was going to be their engagement.
Hot, embarrassing tears scalded her eyes. ‘Thanks—it’s lovely.’
‘Then why are you crying?’
‘I’m just—’ She cleared her throat and tried to pull herself together. ‘Well, a bit stunned. I wasn’t expecting this.’ Complete idiot that she was, she’d been expecting something different.
‘I thought it could mark this new stage in our relationship.’
‘The sex stage, you mean?’
‘This necklace isn’t about sex, Kelly.’ Eyes narrowed, he watched her cautiously. ‘Is that what you think?’
‘No. No, I don’t think that. I— Just ignore me. I’m pregnant, and pregnant women are often emotional.’ She emphasised the word slightly, watching for signs of discomfort on his part, but he seemed perfectly calm. In fact, his only emotion was concern for her.
‘Would you like to lie down? I wanted you to be there with me tonight, but if you’re not well...’
He wanted her by his side, she reminded herself.
All right, so he hadn’t proposed, but their relationship was going in the right direction. She was being horribly unrealistic thinking that their relationship would be fixed in a few weeks. It was going to take much more than that, wasn’t it?
She had to be patient.
Trying to calm herself down, Kelly pulled away from him and walked across to the mirror on legs so shaky it was as if she’d forgotten how to walk. He hadn’t proposed, but things had changed between them. She could sense it.
For a start he’d called this house ‘our’ home, not ‘my’ home. And he had agreed to her suggestion that they leave sex out of the relationship, which showed that he was at least trying to accommodate her wishes. He saw her as his partner, not just a sex object. And, most importantly, when she’d said the word ‘pregnant’ he hadn’t made a dash for his Ferrari.
That had to be a good sign.
Chapter 7
Simmering with frustration across the table, Alekos watched with mixed feelings as Kelly charmed the group of high-
powered businessmen. Bringing her with him had been a strategic move on his part to soften what would otherwise have been a difficult meeting. On the one hand he was relieved that the business side of things was going well, on the other he was raw with jealousy as he watched one of the younger men make her laugh.
It had been a long time since he’d seen Kelly so relaxed and happy.
She looked as though a light had been switched on inside her, as if she’d thrown off a weight of worry.
They were seated on the terrace of one of the best restaurants in Athens, shielded from other diners by a terrace of vines.
It was a perfect, blissful setting.
Alekos had never felt so on edge.
Not only was his temper reaching boiling point as he watched the young man flirt openly with Kelly, but his body still throbbed with sexual arousal because that one, torrid encounter in his villa had been nowhere near enough to satiate an appetite that had been building for far too long.
As Kelly leaned forward to reach for her water, the hot-pink dress gaped slightly and he saw a faint hint of shadow at the place where her breasts dipped. Sure that the other man was enjoying that view far more than the sights of Athens, Alekos tightened his fingers around his glass. He sat ultra-still, holding onto control by a thread.
Apparently oblivious to the danger he was facing, his business rival carried on his conversation. ‘When Alekos said he was bringing a woman, we were not expecting someone like you.’
Listening to Kelly’s delighted response to that outrageous flattery, Alekos tapped a slow and deadly rhythm on the table, his thoughts as black as thunder.
Was she doing it on purpose?
Was she trying to stoke his anger and jealousy?
‘What do you think, Alekos?’ It was Takis who spoke, the elder of the group of bankers. ‘Will the expansion have a negative effect on profits?’
‘I think,’ Alekos purred as he watched the young man reach out to touch Kelly’s golden hair, ‘that if Theo does not take his hands off my woman within the next two seconds I will look elsewhere for finance.’