Now was not the time, she conceded—and with Ianthe present, certainly not the place. She forced herself to swallow a segment of orange but when she dared to glance up again she was shocked by the stark hunger in Damon’s eyes before his expression was hidden behind the veil of his thick black lashes.
His heart might belong to Eleni, but he could not disguise his desire for her. The knowledge caused liquid heat to course through Anna’s veins and she was conscious that her breasts had tightened so that her nipples strained against her thin cotton top. If she had any sense, she would refuse to go to his farmhouse retreat on Poros and instead catch the next flight home. But when had good sense ever triumphed over love? she brooded grimly.
After weeks of desperately trying to ignore her feelings, she could no longer deny the truth. She loved Damon with an intensity that terrified her and, although she knew she should leave while her heart was still intact, the thought of walking away from him was unbearable. Besides, she reassured herself, there was Ianthe to consider.
From the moment Damon had introduced her to his daughter, she’d felt an immediate bond with the little girl. She’d still been reeling from Damon’s shocking revelation that Philip Stone was dead, her emotions had been raw, and the innocence of Ianthe’s smile had brought home to her the loss of her own childhood at the hands of her stepfather.
She would do everything in her power to protect this child, she realised. But the fact that Ianthe had come to mean so much to her in such a short space of time was something of a shock, and she was aware of an ache of maternal longing that six months ago would have astounded her.
‘Would you like another slice of melon, Anna?’ Ianthe’s voice broke into her thoughts.
‘No, thank you, I’ve had enough breakfast, and I’m sure you’ve had enough of waiting for me. Shall we see if we can persuade your papa to take us on his boat now?’ Anna gave the little girl a conspiratorial wink and pushed her empty bowl towards Damon.
‘Satisfied?’ she queried.
‘Not yet, pedhaki mou, but I live in hope,’ he replied softly, the gleam in his eyes sending liquid heat scalding through her veins.
He was the Devil’s own, she decided as she jumped to her feet, praying that Ianthe would not comment on her scarlet cheeks. But, dear God, she couldn’t resist his smouldering sexual promise for much longer and perhaps on Poros—away from this house that was a shrine to his dead wife—she wouldn’t have to.
Three days later Anna was willing to believe that she had died and gone to heaven. The island of Poros was a green paradise set in an azure blue sea, and yet it was little more than an hour’s boat ride away from noisy, bustling Athens. Damon’s holiday retreat was a rustic farmhouse that clung to a hillside and commanded spectacular views over the island and the sea beyond.
Anna loved the simplicity of the house, which was comfortable but basic, with cool stone floors and whitewashed walls. Unlike the villa in Athens, there were no staff at the farmhouse and she enjoyed the intimacy of helping Damon to prepare their meals while Ianthe set the rough wooden table with cutlery and napkins, and a vase of wild flowers that she had collected.
Playing at families was better than she could ever have anticipated, Anna acknowledged—but playing was all it was. In another few days they would return to Athens. Damon could not take time away from his business indefinitely, and neither could she. There were assignments booked for Australia and the Far East, commitments she must honour, and it was ridiculous to wish for time to stand still so that she could live here with Damon for ever.
With a sigh, she closed her book and rolled over onto her stomach. She had spent the morning on the beach with Ianthe, while Damon put in a couple of hours’ work on his laptop. The heat of the midday sun was making her feel sleepy, the sound of the waves lapping the shore hypnotic.
‘I hope you’re wearing plenty of sunscreen?’ A familiar voice sounded in her ear while at the same time something cold hit her back. Uttering a yelp of surprise, she opened her eyes to find Damon kneeling beside her with a bottle of lotion in his hands.
‘I can do it myself,’ she muttered breathlessly as her senses leapt into vibrant life at the feel of his hands on her sun-warmed skin.
‘But you don’t have to, pedhaki mou, when I’m happy to do it for you,’ Damon said equably. ‘Hold still, I don’t want to get cream on your bikini.’ He deftly released the clasp of her bikini top and Anna buried her face in her arms to stifle a groan when he began to massage cream into her skin.
‘Damon!’
He splayed his fingers on her back and then over her ribcage until he reached the soft swell of her breast. For a few mindless seconds she was tempted to turn over so that he could cup her breasts fully in his big hands. Maybe he would stroke his fingers across her nipples, or even push her bikini aside to take one engorged peak into his mouth.
Heat pooled between her thighs. She felt hot with desire. Did he have any idea what he was doing to her? She opened her eyes and noted the savage hunger in his with an element of satisfaction. This desperate longing was not hers alone. The sexual chemistry that had smouldered between them since their arrival on Poros was at combustion point, but this was a public beach and Ianthe was about.
‘It’s hell, isn’t it?’ Damon murmured in a matter of fact voice that was at variance with the slumberous sensuality of his gaze. He refastened her bikini with hands that shook slightly. ‘I’m just thankful that the sea is so cold. As you may have noticed, Anna mou, I spend a lot of time in it, trying to exorcise my more basic desires.’
Anna sat up and calmly met his gaze. The patience and sensitivity he’d shown her since she’d confided in him about her stepfather was humbling. He would never hurt her—or not physically, at any rate. Emotionally was a different matter. He didn’t love her and never would, but he cared for her, she would swear by it. She meant more to him than his previous mistresses. The very fact that he had introduced her to Ianthe and the rest of his family was proof of that.
He had sworn that he would not rush her, and even here on Poros, where they had spent every waking minute of each day consumed with a blistering awareness of each other, he was still waiting for her to give him some sign that she was ready to take their relationship to a physical level.
She stared at his face, noting the slant of his heavy brows, the strong nose and the sensual curve of his mouth. Love had caught her unawares and trapped her in its silken web. She didn’t want to love him. She’d spent her life vowing that she would never repeat the mistakes her mother had made and leave herself open to the anguish of rejection. But love, she had discovered, had a will of its own.
If she walked away from him now, she would leave her heart behind. She had spent the years since she’d left home meticulously planning every aspect of her life, until Damon had crashed into it. He had torn down her defences, but she was no longer afraid to admit that she needed him.
He would be her first and only lover. How could any other man come close to him? It was time to be daring, to live for the here and now and stop looking to the future where almost inevitably, one day, they would part.
Acting on impulse, she swung her legs round so that she was kneeling on the sand in front of him and gave him an impish smile. ‘I can think of several other ways of exorcising those desires, Damon,’ she told him softly. ‘And none of them involve swimming in the cold sea.’
For a moment he stiffened and she watched the way his broad chest heaved with the effort of drawing air into his lungs. ‘Would you care to elaborate, pedhaki mou?’
He had lowered his head so that his mouth hovered millimetres from hers and, uttering a low cry, she closed the space between them to claim his lips in a kiss that pierced his soul. For the first time Anna held nothing back. She wanted no more doubts or misunderstandings and she responded to the tentative sweep of his tongue by parting her lips and drawing him into her.
Passion ripped through them with the ferocity of a flame set to tinder. She heard Dam
on mutter something in Greek before his arms closed around her and he dragged her up against the solid wall of his chest. One hand tangled in her hair while the other roamed up and down her spine, forcing her hips into burning contact with his so that she was made achingly aware of the power of his arousal.
Finally, when she didn’t think she could withstand much more without dragging him down onto the sand and begging him to take her, he eased the pressure of his mouth on hers until the kiss was a gentle caress on her swollen lips.
‘Are you sure, Anna?’ he demanded rawly, the huskiness of his tone warning her of his tenuous hold on his self-control. ‘We don’t have to rush. I’m prepared to wait—’
‘But I’m not,’ she interrupted him softy, placing her finger across his lips. ‘I want you, Damon. When you encouraged me to talk about what happened with my stepfather, and then revealed that he can no longer hurt me, or any other vulnerable young girl—you set me free. I no longer feel dirty or ashamed. I feel beautiful, not because of my life in front of the camera, but because you make me feel beautiful. I want to thank you,’ she whispered. She linked her arms around his neck but Damon gripped her wrists.
‘You don’t have to thank me—certainly not like this,’ he told her fiercely, his eyes so dark that she thought she would drown in their depths. ‘When we make love, I want it to be because you are hungry with desire for me, not because you feel you owe me the pleasure of your body to repay a debt.’
The raw emotion in his gaze made her heart clench with love. Even now, when his big, powerful body was trembling with need for her, he was still determined to protect her. She had to bite her lip to prevent herself from spilling out how much he meant to her and instead she ran her hand over his chest, following the path of dark hairs that arrowed over his stomach, until she reached the waistband of his shorts.
‘I’m hungry now, Damon,’ she whispered provocatively and heard him growl deep in his throat. His face was a taut mask, desire etched onto every sharp angle and plane, but instead of taking up the invitation of her soft lips he reached out and smoothed her hair back from her temple.
‘Your timing leaves a lot to be desired, Anna mou,’ he teased gently. Ianthe’s voice drifted towards them on the breeze and Anna watched as the desire in his gaze slowly faded and was replaced with rueful amusement.
‘When are we having lunch, Papa? I’m starving,’ Ianthe announced as she threw herself down on the sand, blithely unaware of the simmering tension in the air.
‘Me, too,’ Damon murmured beneath his breath so that only Anna heard the heartfelt words. Suddenly the sun seemed to shine brighter and the sea was a more intense blue. Her senses were acutely aware of the salt tang in the air, the mew of a seagull circling above them and the lambent warmth in Damon’s eyes.
‘There’s plenty of time,’ she whispered, feeling as though her heart would burst when he lifted her hand to his mouth and grazed his lips across her knuckles.
‘All the time in the world,’ he promised with a smile that filled her with joy and a tiny flame of hope that she could actually mean something to him.
After lunch they took the boat out on a leisurely cruise around the island before mooring in a tiny, deserted cove where Ianthe could swim to her heart’s content. They returned to the farmhouse as the sun was setting and Anna showered and changed into a delicate chiffon dress with narrow shoulder straps and a tiered skirt in soft shades of green. The colour looked good against her golden tan and she felt a thrill of feminine pleasure when she stood back to inspect her reflection.
The sun had lightened her hair to platinum blonde and she caught it up in a loose knot on top of her head, leaving a few tendrils to frame her face. A coat of mascara to darken her lashes and a touch of pink gloss on her lips was the only make-up she needed, and she was spraying perfume on her pulse points when there was a tap on her door.
‘You look…exquisite.’ Damon paused in the doorway, unable to hide his reaction to her as streaks of colour ran along the sharp line of his cheekbones. She had never seen him looking anything other than supremely self-confident and the realisation that he too could be feeling vulnerable and unsure tore at her heart.
‘Thank you—you’re looking pretty good yourself. Almost good enough to eat,’ she added, her eyes dancing with mischief and another emotion that made Damon long to forget dinner and simply draw her into his arms.
‘Hold that thought,’ he bade her urgently. ‘I thought just the two of us could go out tonight. The family in the beach-front house are old friends who are happy for Ianthe to stay with them for a couple of hours.’
‘Have you asked Ianthe what she’d like to do?’ Anna walked over to him and calmly met his gaze. ‘I know she will always be the most important person in your life, Damon. It’s as it should be and I wouldn’t want it any other way. I certainly don’t want her to feel that I’m pushing her out. I know how that feels,’ she added huskily. ‘I think it would be nice if we all dined out together.’
‘You take my breath away, do you know that?’ he replied quietly, his eyes darkening with admiration. ‘You suffered a hellish childhood, but instead of being bitter and resentful you spend much of your time and energy raising money for children’s charities. You have incredible patience with my daughter and I thank you, pedhaki mou.’ He dropped a brief, tantalising kiss on her mouth and moved towards the door. ‘I’d better tell Ianthe to get changed. She’s been desperate for an opportunity to wear her new dress.’
They ate in a little taverna overlooking the harbour. Anna had dined in exclusive restaurants around the world, but she’d never enjoyed a meal more than in the friendly ambience of the family-run taverna.
Conscious of Ianthe’s presence, she kept her conversation with Damon light and innocuous, but she was aware of the far more intimate message in his eyes and her excitement grew. Tonight she would give herself to him completely. The thought no longer filled her with fear, but a heady sense of anticipation that made her eyes sparkle and brought a flush of rosy colour to her cheeks.
‘Would you like more wine?’ he asked towards the end of the meal.
‘I’d better not; it makes me sleepy.’
‘Definitely not in that case—I want you wide awake and conscious of every kiss and stroke and lick and bite when I make love to you.’
‘Damon!’ Anna gasped. Ianthe had jumped down from the table and was watching the boats bobbing in the harbour, but she was afraid the little girl might overhear. ‘You’re embarrassing me.’
‘I hope not,’ he replied, suddenly serious. ‘There is nothing embarrassing or disgusting about the act of love, pedhaki mou. I want to honour you with my body and give you more pleasure than you’ve ever known.’
His words caused a delicious shiver to run the length of Anna’s spine and she moistened her suddenly dry lips with her tongue. ‘Right—actually, shall we go? Ianthe seems to have finished and I couldn’t eat another thing,’ she said hurriedly, trying to ignore Damon’s soft chuckle.
They walked hand in hand back across the beach while Ianthe ran on ahead, laughing as she dodged the waves.
‘Straight up to bed, young lady,’ Damon bade his daughter when they reached the farmhouse. ‘Say good night to Anna.’
In reply, Ianthe wrapped her arms around Anna’s waist and squeezed. ‘I’m glad you’re here, Anna. We’re having a lovely time, aren’t we?’
‘We certainly are,’ Anna agreed. ‘Good night, darling, I’ll see you in the morning.’
Damon followed Ianthe up the narrow stairs to her bedroom in the eaves. The master bedroom and guest room were on the floor below and Anna hesitated on the landing, her heart thudding in her chest as she debated which room to enter, before she made her decision.
Ten minutes later Damon found her in his room, staring out over the bay where the moonlight dappled the sea with silvery fingers. ‘She was asleep the moment her head touched the pillow,’ he murmured.
‘I’m not surprised after all the swimming she�
��s done today.’ A little of Anna’s tension eased and she smiled fondly at the thought of the child whom she was quickly growing to love. She was aware of Damon crossing the room to slide his arms around her waist and draw her up against his chest. He trailed a line of kisses along her neck and she gasped when she felt him nip her earlobe.
‘You see, I told you biting can be pleasurable,’ he teased. He turned her in his arms and trapped her gaze, the gentle warmth in his eyes demolishing her nerves. ‘I understand the legacy of fear your stepfather inflicted on you and you have my word that I won’t demand more of you than you are prepared to give,’ he promised. ‘The moment you want me to stop, just say so, Anna.’
His mouth hovered above hers, tantalisingly close. She wasn’t worried about him stopping, she just wanted him to start, Anna thought desperately as she wound her arms around his neck. ‘Just kiss me, Damon,’ she muttered, and he needed no further encouragement.
He captured her mouth and initiated a sensual exploration that left her in no doubt of his hunger for her. Helplessly she tipped her head back and welcomed the thrust of his tongue between her lips while he dragged her hard up against his thighs and made her aware of the throbbing power of his arousal.
Slowly he slid the strap of her dress over her shoulder, followed by the other, and then peeled the material down to reveal her breasts. Anna could not repress a shiver when he cupped each soft mound in his palms and held her breath when he delicately stroked his thumb pads over her tight nipples.
Sensation flooded through her and she moaned when he trailed his lips over the pulse that was beating frantically at the base of her throat, down, down until finally he was where she wanted him to be. The stroke of his tongue sent pleasure spiralling through her and she clutched his hair and held his head against her breast while he took her nipple into his mouth.
By the time he had metered the same exquisite punishment on its twin, she was trembling so much that her legs could barely support her. Damon must have sensed it and he swept her into his arms and carried her over to the bed where he carefully laid her on the cool sheets.
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