by Lucy Gordon;Sarah Morgan;Robyn Donald;Lucy Monroe;Lee Wilkinson;Kate Walker
‘Why not?’ Nikos examined the freckles on her nose and wondered whether she had them anywhere else on her body. Suddenly in the grip of a vicious attack of lust, he almost laughed at himself. Why, when faced with a woman designed to drive carnal thoughts from a man’s head, was he struggling with a massive erection? All right, so she had possibilities but he’d known that almost from the start. Some time between the removal of her glasses and the escape of her hair, he’d realised that Angie Littlewood had certain attractions—attractions of which she, herself, appeared to be unaware. But he knew better than anyone that sex was about so much more than the physical. He liked his women to be sophisticated, his equal sexually. He already had evidence that Angie’s definition of ‘erotic’ involved all the passion of a business presentation. He wouldn’t have been surprised to discover that she was a virgin. Realising that she was waiting for an answer to her question about the venue, he shrugged. ‘Why not here?’
‘It just isn’t the sort of place I’d associate with a man like you.’
‘Precisely.’ He didn’t even try to keep the impatience out of his tone. She might be an academic, but surely she wasn’t that naïve? ‘I, for one, am keen to avoid any sort of publicity. If the media discovered I was getting married, we would have been mobbed. I’m sure you wouldn’t want that any more than I do.’
‘Oh, yes, sorry. I’d forgotten how obsessed you are with your image.’ She glanced at the bodyguard. ‘You have no family here to celebrate with you?’
Ignoring her dig about image and determined to ignore the insidious throb in his loins, Nikos narrowed his eyes. ‘What is there to celebrate?’
‘You mean that you’re ashamed of me.’
‘I mean that I want the Brandizi diamond returned to my family and this appears to be the only way to secure that objective.’
He saw the faint flush on her cheeks and wondered for a moment whether he was seeing guilt. Then he reminded himself that she was a Littlewood and was betraying all the greed and money-grabbing tendencies that had characterised her sister’s behaviour.
The registrar cleared her throat and Nikos watched as something akin to panic flashed in Angie’s eyes.
‘Last-minute nerves, agape mou?’ He leaned forward, his eyes gentle as he lifted a hand and brushed her cheek in what appeared to those watching to be an affectionate gesture. ‘My dear, sweet Angelina.’ His lips brushed her skin and he lowered his voice, the rest of his words for her ears only. ‘Enjoy your last moments as a single, independent woman. You’re about to become my property.’
Chapter Six
EVERY minute of the brief civil ceremony was agonising and, as soon as it was over, Angie escaped from the oppressive heat of the register office and took refuge on the pavement, breathing in gulps of cool air. Despite the fact that it was June, the sky was ominously grey and it was now raining steadily. All around her Saturday shoppers grappled with umbrellas and jostled each other, laughing together and hurrying with bags stuffed with goods, anxious to escape the damp weather.
Ignoring the rain, Angie watched them with envy, wondering whether she could make a run for it and lose herself in their midst. Her life had been simple once. Her life had been—
‘Angelina!’ Nikos strode out of the building, flanked by two bodyguards and Angie straightened her spine, ready for the inevitable conflict.
‘Don’t call me Angelina.’
He stopped in front of her, powerful shoulders encased in a dark, expensive suit, his features hard and cold but so indecently handsome that passing women walked into puddles ankle deep because they were so busy gaping at him. ‘I can call you anything I like. You’re my wife.’ His lingering emphasis on those two little words made her shiver.
‘That doesn’t give you any rights.’
‘That’s where you’re wrong.’ He smiled and closed strong fingers around her wrist. ‘It gives me all the rights I need, agape mou. Give me the jewel.’
She hesitated. ‘Can I wear it a little longer? It’s just that I—it—’ It reminded her of her sister.
‘I need the jewel back and I need it now. It is, after all, the reason I married you.’
Unable to argue with him, she lifted her hands to the back of her neck and released the clasp that held the pendant round her neck. ‘It seemed the safest place for it.’
He gave a derisory smile as he took the pendant from her and handed it to one of his bodyguards. ‘Given the likelihood that few men have been given access to that area of your body, I’m forced to agree with you. And now I need to leave.’
Angie’s eyes were still on the jewel and she felt a lump building in her throat. Letting it go shouldn’t make a difference. She really shouldn’t mind. ‘Leave?’
‘I’ve already spent far too much time in this rain-soaked country.’ He glanced around him with distaste. ‘I have urgent business problems in Greece which require my personal attention.’
Finally his words sank in. He was leaving?
It was the best news she’d had for a long time. ‘Fine. Off you go, then. I’ve given you the jewel. We have no more to say to one another.’ Weak with relief at the prospect of his abrupt departure, Angie allowed herself a brief fantasy of an evening spent in the library, reading an ancient text.
‘You really think I’d consider travelling without my bride?’ His voice silky-smooth, he yanked her up against him and moulded her against his lean, hard frame. ‘We’re newly married, agape mou. We are supposed to spend time together. Indulge each other’s deepest and wildest fantasies. Wasn’t that your intention when you begged me to marry you?’
‘I didn’t beg you to marry me, at least not in the way you’re suggesting.’ The shock of his body so intimately pressed against hers caused her heart to thunder and her stomach to perform a series of acrobatic manoeuvres. ‘My intention was to curb your womanising, which I’ve successfully achieved.’ She tried to wriggle away from his hold but he held her easily. ‘You’re not allowed to be seen within a million miles of another woman for the next two years. That’s punishment enough for a man like you. I’ll stay here and you can go back to Greece and start your sentence.’
‘I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way.’ His tone sympathetic, he released her briefly but only to sweep her into his arms and drop her unceremoniously on to the back seat of the waiting car. ‘Where I go, you go. That’s what marriage and commitment is all about. Togetherness.’
She gave a gasp and tried to climb back out of the car but the doors were locked and she turned to him in outrage. ‘Unlock the doors.’
‘The car is already moving,’ he pointed out gently. ‘If I unlock the doors you will end up having a serious accident, which I can’t permit. You see, I don’t have time to take you to the hospital and have you patched up. I need you, alive and in one piece.’
Her hand still on the door handle, she stared at him. There was something in his tone that made her nervous. ‘What do you mean, you “need me”?’
‘The words should be relatively easy to understand by someone of your reputed intelligence.’
‘You can’t possibly need me.’
He flicked some dust from the sleeve of his immaculate and undoubtedly ferociously expensive suit. ‘I’m afraid the woman in my life is expected to perform a certain number of functions. I do a great deal of corporate entertaining.’
‘I’m sure you do.’ She let go of the door handle. ‘But I’m also sure you employ staff.’
‘Sixty thousand across the globe at the last count.’
He employed that many people? Hiding her shock, she turned away with a casual shrug. ‘Then I’m sure that at least one of those sixty thousand would jump at the chance of helping you with your entertaining.’
‘Without a doubt, but that isn’t permitted, is it?’ His voice was a soft, lethal purr. ‘You made me sign a clause which prevents me from ever being seen with another woman. The problem is that I need a woman in my life to fulfil certain vital functions and the only woman
I’m allowed to be seen with is you. So you’re going to have to do it.’
She turned to look at him. ‘By “certain vital functions”, you’re talking about hospitality.’
‘That’s one need, certainly.’ He inclined his dark head and his eyes glittered dangerously. ‘But not the main one.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘So what’s the main one?’
‘Stress relief.’ He suppressed a yawn and settled back in his seat, clearly starting to enjoy himself.
He didn’t appear in the slightest bit stressed, unlike Angie, who was feeling the tension in the air growing by the minute. ‘You’re saying that you need female company to relax?’
‘I’m saying that I need sex to relax, agape mou.’ He loosened his tie with a casual flick of long bronzed fingers. ‘The greater the pressure in my working life, the more sex I need and I probably ought to warn you that I’ve got some pretty major deals going on at the moment.’
Shock made the breath catch in her throat and there was something in his penetrating masculine gaze that made her feel distinctly odd inside. She’d never met a man as overtly sexual as Nikos Kyriacou. Even an expensive designer suit couldn’t disguise the slightly rough, basic aura that surrounded him. ‘The pre-nuptial agreement prevents you from seeing other women.’
‘I know.’ He gave her a sympathetic smile and dropped the tie on to the seat next to him. ‘You’re probably going to be completely exhausted, but I am pretty busy at work during the day so hopefully you’ll be able to catch up on some sleep while I’m in the office.’
She froze. ‘Why would I need to sleep while you’re in the office?’
‘Because I intend to keep you up all night,’ he said helpfully, his tone matter-of-fact.
Her pulse rate trebled with no warning. ‘You’re saying that you need sex,’ she said stiffly, managing not to stumble over the word, ‘but you should have thought of that before you broke my sister’s heart.’
His gaze was slumberous. ‘You should have thought of that before you restricted my access to other women, agape mou. I’m not capable of doing without sex. So I’m just going to have to make do with you.’
She gave a muted gasp. ‘You’re joking.’
‘I never joke about sex. I find it an extremely serious subject. Without sex I’m incredibly irritable. You wouldn’t like me.’
Her heart was pounding with rhythmic force. ‘I don’t like you now.’ She licked dry lips, aware of a growing heat low in her pelvis. ‘The whole point of this deal was to make you suffer. You’re going to have to learn to be celibate.’
‘Unfortunately there are certain words that just don’t appear in my vocabulary and “celibate” is definitely one of them.’ He stifled a yawn. ‘I’m not that great with “failure” or “impoverished” either and “no” has always presented me with significant problems, but I’m working on that one in certain circumstances. For example, if you were to ask me if I can do without sex then the answer is most definitely going to be “no”.’
His mocking tone infuriated her and she shifted to the edge of her seat, her whole body tense. ‘If you think I’d even contemplate going to bed with you, then you don’t know me at all.’
‘Well, sex will soon solve that. It’s an excellent way of getting to know someone. And actually, I know quite a bit about you.’ His gaze dropped to her mouth and then lifted. ‘You don’t even recognise the basic signs of sexual attraction, do you?’
She stiffened and gripped the seat tightly, wishing that she was better equipped to give a smooth put-down. ‘If you’re asking whether I find you attractive, then I’ve already told you that I don’t. I’m sorry if that hurts your feelings, but it’s the truth.’
‘You find me unbelievably attractive, that’s the truth.’
Before she could compose a suitable reply, the car door opened and Nikos gestured with his hand. ‘We need to move or I’ll be late for my meeting.’
She hadn’t even realised that the car had stopped and she stared in surprise at the large aeroplane on the runway. ‘What’s that?’
‘It’s an aeroplane,’ Nikos said helpfully, reaching across and bodily removing her from the back of the car. ‘It’s fuelled and ready for take-off once the passengers are on board.’
‘The passengers?’ Clutching her bag, she stood on the runway, staring at the huge aircraft.
‘Your questions are extremely entertaining but if I answer them all now I’ll never make my meeting. Make a list and we can go through them later.’ Without further attempt at conversation, Nikos snapped his fingers at his security team and then locked his fingers round Angie’s wrist and strode towards the steps.
‘Wait a minute.’ She tugged at her arm. ‘I can’t leave the country. My life is here. My job. My mother isn’t well—’
‘We both know that your mother received an instant cure to her ills the day she realised that her daughter was marrying a billionaire,’ he said dryly, not slackening his stride. ‘She was looking in radiant health this morning. Unlike you, who were as white as a snowdrift.’
Unable to refute his comment about her mother, Angie bit her lip. ‘I’m naturally pale—it goes with my hair colour—and you don’t seem to understand. I have a job at the Museum and I lecture at the University.’
‘You should have thought of those things before you blackmailed me into marrying you.’
The word made her distinctly uneasy. ‘I didn’t blackmail you.’
‘No?’ They’d reached the bottom of the steps and he paused for a moment, dragging her against him with a ruthless sense of purpose. ‘If I don’t marry you, I don’t get the jewel. What’s that if it isn’t blackmail?’
Hating the sound of the word, she stared into his glittering dark eyes and felt nerves flicker inside her. ‘All right—’ her voice cracked slightly ‘—I’m willing to admit that I might have overreacted slightly. I was very upset about my sister and you are so unfeeling, which didn’t help at all.’ She eyed the steps of the aircraft, suddenly facing the enormity of what she’d done. ‘But I can’t go to Greece. I can’t go with you. So we’ll just forget the whole thing. You can have the jewel and I’ll divorce you and—’
‘Giving up so easily, Angelina?’ His voice was silky-smooth. ‘I thought you wanted to punish me? This is going to be no fun at all if you don’t at least try to be a worthy adversary.’
She did want to punish him, but suddenly he seemed to be the one in control. They were about to board his plane to go to his country.
How had it happened? One minute she’d been making the demands and the next he’d taken over.
Trying to be something she wasn’t just didn’t work, she thought miserably as she struggled for an escape route. He’d goaded her into being angry and vengeful but the feelings hadn’t lasted because that wasn’t the sort of person she was. She hadn’t been thinking straight and she hadn’t been able to bear the thought of parting with the jewel. But now she just felt foolish and out of her depth.
‘We’ll just get divorced,’ she muttered, tugging at her hand. ‘I’ll see a lawyer this afternoon and sort something out.’
‘Don’t waste your time. My lawyer is the best there is. There won’t be any way out of this marriage until the two years that you stipulated are up.’ His fingers tightened around her wrist, removing any thoughts she might have had of making a run for it. ‘It’s a pity for both of us that you didn’t have your second thoughts a few weeks ago. As it is, there are no loopholes in the contract we signed. For better or for worse, we have to endure each other’s company for the next two years. Make the best of it.’
‘But—’
‘If you’re going to argue, would you mind doing it on board? My pilot’s ready to take off and I don’t want us to miss our slot.’ With that he propelled her up the steps towards the door of the aircraft, giving her no opportunity for further argument.
Bemused and uncertain, she stumbled into the aircraft and stopped dead, blinking with shock. She’d expected
rows of seats, all facing forwards with no leg room, but the reality was totally different.
It was like being inside an extremely elegant living room. Deep leather sofas faced each other across a deeply carpeted aisle, inviting the occupant to curl up and relax. Further down inside the aircraft was a large round table able to seat at least twenty in comfort, and beyond that were several doors.
‘Kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and cinema,’ Nikos drawled in a bored tone, nudging her inside and on to one of the sofas. ‘Put a seat belt on or my pilot gets anxious.’
‘Your pilot?’
‘You’re doing it again,’ he pointed out gently as he took a pile of papers from one of the four flight attendants who were hovering. ‘Asking questions. Tiana?’
‘Yes, sir?’ The blonde flight attendant who had given him the papers stepped forward, her manner discreet and respectful.
‘We’re going to need to eat and then I want a conference call with Christian and Dimitri.’ He signed the papers with a bold, confident sweep of his hand and gave them back to her.
‘Yes, sir.’ The girl took the papers and gave Angie a smile. ‘Welcome on board. If there’s anything at all you need, please ask.’
Angie suppressed the almost hysterical desire to laugh. Glancing round the enormous interior, she felt like asking for a map. She’d never been on a plane that looked like this one before. In fact, she’d seen apartments smaller than this plane.
‘Is it yours?’
Nikos glanced up from the remaining papers, his dark brows locked in an impatient frown. ‘Is what mine?’
‘This plane.’ She swallowed and rubbed a foot over the thick carpeting.
‘Of course.’ The expression on his face told her a great deal about what he thought of her question and she blushed slightly, wondering how her sister could have had the confidence to move in these circles. She felt totally out of her depth.
‘Why can’t you just fly in a normal plane like everyone else?’