She was a woman designed to tempt men.
Well, he had put a stop to that, at least so far as other, married men went. Men like his brother-in-law.
But at what cost?
Would he be able to resist her power? Or would he fall just as in love with her as the poor mugs before him?
“And I see the real you,” he said, reminding himself as much as her that he knew what motivated her.
“I should hope so.” She pushed away from him so that she could swim to the edge of the pool. She braced her arms across its coping and stared down at the ocean below.
Yes, he saw the real her. She was scheming, manipulative, sexy and irresistible.
He moved behind her, and braced himself on either side of the pool, an arm on either side of her head.
“Excuse me, sir.” At the sound of Alena, Sophie startled.
“Relax. It is only my housekeeper,” he whispered into her ear, keeping his body where it was to shield Sophie’s nakedness from view.
“There is a phone call for Mrs Petrides.”
“Who is it?” His voice was a bark.
“Mr Sandhurst, sir.”
“Eric?” She said, and Alex imagined he felt the quiver of anticipation in her voice. His temper spiked.
“Tell him Mrs Petrides is otherwise occupied,” he growled, more harshly than he’d intended.
“Alex,” Sophie whispered, wishing to turn around but not wanting to risk exposing herself to anyone.
“Sophie, it is our wedding night. Unless there is something drastically wrong, Eric will not interrupt us.”
“But the twins …”
“Are fine.”
“How do you know?” She demanded, her voice rising in intensity.
“Because. Helena would have called me if there was a problem.”
“Then it must be something else. Something important.” She thought of Helena, and a trickle of anxiety ran through her. “Please, Alex. I’ll be quick.”
He compressed his lips, his temper dark.
“Alena, please bring a phone to Mrs Petrides.”
“Yes, sir.”
The housekeeper walked back towards the house, and once she’d disappeared inside, Sophie turned in the water.
“I had no idea we weren’t alone.”
“We are alone.”
“Um, there was just someone here.”
“Alena and Harry are my domestics.”
“And therefore they don’t count?”
“Well,” he smiled despite his contained fury. “Yes, they count. But they are used to being unseen, and to not seeing.”
Sophie wondered at the impact of his words. Strangely, for she knew him to be a renowned womaniser, she hadn’t really thought of him with other woman before then. Now?
“I guess I’m not the first woman you’ve brought here.”
He felt a sense of satisfaction at her obvious hurt. It was beneath him, and yet he’d relished in inflicting the blow. “No.”
She nodded slowly, her eyes not meeting his.
“As I don’t doubt I’m not your first lover,” he said slowly. Pryingly.
“No,” she nodded. “You’re not.”
Hmm. Interestingly, the discomfort was not one-sided. He didn’t like the way his gut clenched at her admission.
“You’re my second.”
Alessandros was very still. Even his eyes didn’t move. She lies. She lies well. She is manipulative.
He didn’t even want to dignify her assertion with a response. Thankfully, Alena appeared before it was required of him.
She held the cordless phone on a tray, and Alex marvelled at the gesture, as he always did. It made him feel a little like James Bond when his domestics did that kind of thing. As though he was truly lord and master with bonafide servants.
He took the phone and handed it to Sophie, but didn’t swim away.
“Eric, hey,” she said, her voice unmistakably upbeat.
Alex couldn’t hear anything other than the muted hum of Eric’s words; certainly not enough to discern the detail of what he was saying.
“I … can’t really talk about that now,” she said, her eyes lifting to Alex.
“I understand. Just what we usually do. Yeah. Why don’t I call you in the morning? You’ll be fine. Eric? I have to go.” A pause while Eric said something else. “Okay, yes. I know. I know. Me too. Okay. Bye.”
She handed the phone back to Alex and he pressed the red button to disconnect the call. The time it took for him to pass the receiver back to Alena should have been enough to calm him, and yet he still felt a force of emotion in his gut when he turned to face his bride.
“I presume there was no disaster?” His voice, despite the torrent of feeling he was experiencing, was cynically cold.
“No.” She bit down on her lip. Something had changed within his bride. She was worried. Or was she missing Eric? He closed his eyes briefly on a wave of regret.
This plan had seemed simple at first. But if he stopped and thought about it, nothing was simple about marrying a woman he really, really didn’t trust. And deep down, possibly didn’t even like.
Beyond sex, what did they have?
He lifted his hands to her hips and brought her towards him. When he kissed her, it was with the deliberate intention of wiping anything from her mind but him and that moment. Their silky bodies were wet beneath the water.
He discarded her flimsy underwear and took possession of her with a desperate hunger, made all the more desperate by a simmering anger. Against the edge of the pool, he made her his, and he made sure she understood. Eric – whatever he’d meant to her before – was in the past. He, and this odd marriage of theirs, was her future.
* * *
Sophie stretched her arms above her head. A week of marriage to Alessandros Petrides had defied every single one of her expectations.
Her body was relaxed and satisfied, and she seemed to be existing in a permanently exhausted state. Days were merging seamlessly into nights, as they seemed to go from bed, to the pool, then back to bed, occasionally pausing to eat a meal – just enough to sustain them and ensure their energy wouldn’t wane.
Her smile was enigmatic as she let out a low noise of contentment.
Across the room, in the act of dressing fully for the first time since their wedding, Alex stilled. In the reflection of the floor to ceiling mirror, he caught his wife’s image, and a tangle of dark emotions jostled within him.
He had married her to remove an impediment from his sister’s life.
But making love to her had made her something else.
She was now an impediment in his life.
No. He returned to buttoning his shirt, his face scowling darkly. That wasn’t the right word. She was an addiction and a curse.
He knew her intimately. He knew what she liked. What she craved. What made her giggle. What made her groan. He knew that she liked to fall asleep with her head on his chest, listening to the pounding of his heart. He knew that she liked to hum to herself when she showered, and that she was always slightly off key. He knew that she hated wearing make-up and loved not wearing a bra. He knew that she had a libido that matched his, and a curiosity for the sensual world they had been exploring together. He knew that she considered apples and toast to be a complete food pyramid, particularly when topped up with coffee. And he knew that she liked to keep her toenails painted pink.
“Why are you putting on clothes?” She asked, and the hint of betrayal in her tone brought a reluctant smile to his face.
He moved back towards the bed, his manner difficult for Sophie to decipher. “I have to go to Athens today.”
“Athens,” she asked, her big blue eyes wide as they startled to his.
He made a sound of assent, and sat on the edge of the bed. He cupped a hand over her head, stroking her soft, flowing hair.
“For how long?”
“Only the day, or I would have suggested you come with me.” He flicked his shirtsleeve, squa
ring the black diamond cufflinks into place.
“Oh.” She dropped her gaze, wondering at the sense of loneliness and dread that was already crinkling her contentment.
“Another time, agape mou.”
“Sure. Yes. Of course.”
“You will miss me?” He prompted, pressing a finger beneath her chin. He wondered then at his masochistic streak. He was floundering in his plan.
“Do you want me to miss you?”
“Yes.” He needed space. He needed to remind himself why he had married her. And yes, she was intensely desirable but also, she was simply a means to an end.
“Believe me, I’ll miss you.” She smiled up at him, her forlorn bearing apparently evaporating. “And I hope you’ll miss me, too.”
He smiled at her and went to kiss her, but she put a finger on his lips. Her hands dropped to his belt and she unhooked the buckle then slid it from his pants. Alessandros wanted to maintain his schedule for the day, but curiosity held him still.
She undid his pants quickly, and freed his length from the confines of his boxer shorts. His fascination and desire leapt forward in equal measure.
She sat on his lap, easing herself onto his arousal while her arms wrapped around his waist and her mouth sought his. She was in complete control, taking him at her pace, and he allowed her the freedom to dictate their love-making. Her need for him was a heady aphrodisiac.
Her fingernails scratched through his shirt and his impatience grew. She moved slowly and sweetly, but he wanted more. He gripped her hips, and took control, moving her faster and firmer, until her face was pink and her voice was a fever pitch of longing.
They ascended the heavens together, an orgasm tore through them as one; they held each other tight, their bodies a mass of limbs and flesh. Sophie could have wept.
Her need for him was a bottomless well. No matter how often they came together, she craved him with a terrifying intensity.
“I will miss you.” His voice was gravelly. His hands – so insistent when they were making love – were gentle now as they stroked her nakedness lovingly.
“Why are you going?” She shifted her weight, and he smiled as he felt her body flicker in a post-love-making reaction.
“I am interviewing your replacement.”
“My replacement?” She startled, shifting her head so she could look at him properly.
“Mmm. Helena will need help, now that you are here with me.”
“Oh!” She blinked, her features showing her surprise. “Surely that’s something Eric and Helena should handle?”
She didn’t understand the expression in his eyes. “My sister has entrusted me with the hiring of her aid.”
Sophie chewed on her lower lip.
“You do not think this is a good idea?” He prompted, running his hands over her arms until he could link his fingers in hers.
“I … no. I didn’t say that.”
“Yes, you did,” he laughed. “You said it with the this little pout,” he ran a finger over her lips. “And this little line,” he pointed between her brows.
She nodded slowly. The secret worries she had about Helena had been becoming more and more burdensome. Not telling the man she loved that she thought Helena was suffering from depression now felt like a giant omission. The loyalty that had been so easy to claim for Eric was now being torn in two. Ultimately, she had to think of Helena and the boys. What was best for them? Helena needed help, of that Sophie was absolutely certain. And the boys?
Her heart squeezed painfully in her chest as she pictured them. A wave of sadness swept over her. The boys. Were they missing her as she was them?
She moved away from him, and stood, nibbling her lower lip as she tried to work out how to move forward. “It’s important to find the right fit,” she said quietly, toying with the silky blonde ends of her hair.
“Of course,” he agreed, standing and redressing.
But Sophie was anxious. “Do you have long before you go?”
“I am already later than I intended to be, courtesy of my wife.”
She swallowed past the anxiety in her throat. “I’ll see you tonight?”
“I’ll be late. Don’t wait up.” He kissed the tip of her nose and then stalked from the room. She watched him go with the certainty that she no longer knew who she was.
How had she let that happen?
She’d known him for barely a month! A month! And she could no longer see where she ended and he began.
She kept herself busy to stave off the way she missed him. Corfu was a beautiful island, and the town was a relatively short drive from Alessandros’s villa. But she didn’t yet feel up to driving one of his expensive sports cars, especially on the wrong side of the winding roads. And so she explored his villa instead. Rooms of beautiful things, it had been expertly decorated. There were photographs of Helena and the children in several of the rooms, and in the loft upstairs, a collection of pictures they’d posted to him over the years.
Sophie ate well. She had a whole week to make up for, and Alena seemed intent on spoiling her. The olives, cheese, tomato, baguette, cured meats and roast lamb seemed to stretch forever, but Sophie wasn’t complaining.
It was a relief, though, when dusk fell over the island, casting a pale golden glow over the villa, which gradually gave way to darkness.
Sophie settled with her iPad and was about to email her sisters when the phone began to ring. It was late, and she didn’t want Alena to be disturbed, and so she scrambled for the handset.
It was at that exact moment that Alex arrived back at the Villa. His day had been long, though fruitful. He had selected an excellent candidate for Helena. A woman with miles of experience, and a distinctly unglamorous bearing. She would be of little interest to Eric; the children and Helena would be safe.
He reached for the phone instinctively, grabbing it just as the ringing stopped.
“It’s me.”
He froze in the hallway as he recognised Eric’s voice instantly.
“Eric, is everything okay?”
“I suppose so.” Alex grimaced. His old friend was grumbling like a child.
“What’s the matter?”
“We miss you.”
“I miss you, too. I was almost in tears today, thinking of those boys.” Of course, missing the twins had only been a part of her sulking. Mainly, it had been her husband she’d been thinking of.
There was a long silence, heavy with Eric’s worry.
“Eric, how’s Helena?”
“That’s what I’m calling you about.”
“What is it?”
Something in Sophie’s voice caught Alex’s attention. She was worried. He gripped the handset tightly.
“Did you tell Alex anything?”
“No!” She sighed softly, and Alex could just picture her, the way her beautiful mouth would have swelled around the soft exhalation of breath.
“You mustn’t. I’ve been thinking about it. He would never forgive me.”
A dark emotion coursed through Alex.
“Eric …”
“I mean it, Sophie. It has to stay between you and me. At least until I’ve talked to Helena. Promise me.”
“Eric …”
“Promise me!” Eric’s tone was desperate.
“Eric, this is no one’s fault.”
Alex clenched a fist by his side. Is that seriously how his wife was justifying an affair with a married man.
“Alex would be furious. With both of us.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” She sighed again, but this time, it was loaded with angst. “I almost told him this morning, Eric.”
“You did what? Sophie, don’t be crazy! He’ll shoot the messenger. If anyone’s going to have this conversation with him, it’s me.”
“But I hate lying to him. I hate keeping it from him. Don’t you think he deserves to know?”
“I think it will make an enormous, dramatic mess if you get him involved.”
“He is i
nvolved! He’s my husband. And Helena’s brother.”
“Yes, and he is my friend.”
Sophie sobbed. “This is such a mess. We have to do what’s right, Eric.”
“Then just … don’t do or say anything yet. Not until I work out what to do about Helena.” Eric made a frustrated sound. “This would be so much easier if we could meet in the kitchen for one of our late night sessions, wouldn’t it?”
She smiled as she remembered their shared love of coffee and the midnight hours. “I’ll try to get over to see you all soon.” She thought of how lonely she’d been that day. “Perhaps next time Alex is travelling.” She would do anything to avoid being alone in the house without him, rattling around like a lovesick teenager.
Alex disconnected the call silently and stood, staring at the white wall opposite.
Everything he had thought to be true had just been confirmed, and in the most treacherous manner! To hear his wife and Eric casually discussing the hushing up of their affair – or worse, the continuation of it – was sickening.
He spun on his heel and walked back out the front door of his home. He needed to cool off before he saw her, or he wasn’t sure what he’d say. In that moment, he felt the angriest he’d ever been in his life.
“I’m sorry to bother you with this when you’re a loved up newlywed.”
She grimaced. “It’s fine. I know how worried you are. I just wish there was more I could do to help. The thing is, I know Alex would want to know. I know he would be able to help …”
“God, Soph. You’re his wife, but I’ve known him for years. When it comes to Helena, he is just totally controlling. If he thought her to be unhappy, he’d make it worse.”
“I just think you’re being unfair. He’s a great man. And he loves you both, not just Helena …”
Eric sighed. “I know. Just … let me try to get Helena on-board. Sometimes I think she realises how dire things are. Other times, she’s in complete denial.”
Sophie nodded. “Okay. I hear what you’re saying. But there has to be a time limit on it. I can’t keep this secret from the man I love for much longer.”
“It’s such a bloody mess. Helena just clams up whenever I mention it.”
“I know.” She nodded into her lonely bedroom. “We’ll work it out.”
The Greek's Marriage Revenge: To have and to hold until truth do them part... (The Henderson Sisters Book 1) Page 7