‘I can only imagine how awful it must have been,’ she said softly, her heart clenching as she pictured Thanos’s vigil at his sister’s bedside. ‘Did other members of your family come to the hospital to wait with you?’
He shrugged. ‘I have no other family. My parents died when Melina was five years old, leaving me to bring her up. At first my aunt helped to look after her, but she was elderly and passed away a few months later. Then it was just the two of us.’ A nerve flickered in his cheek and he looked away from Tahlia, battling to bring his emotions under control. ‘There were times when Melina showed no sign of coming out of her coma and I feared I would be the only surviving member of the Savakis family.’
He must have felt so alone, Tahlia thought gently. As powerless as she had felt as she had watched her mother struggle with the illness that could so easily have ended her life. Instinctively she placed her hand over his, but when he stiffened she realised how stupid her action had been. Thanos now had irrefutable proof that she had not been his brother-in-law’s mistress, but she was sure he still blamed her for Melina’s accident. She expected him to reject her sympathy, and she made to snatch her hand back. But to her shock he curled his tanned fingers around her paler ones and held her prisoner.
‘How is your mother now?’
‘Completely recovered—thankfully. Actually, her recovery is a miracle—even her consultant says so,’ Tahlia said with a ghost of a smile. ‘Dad was overjoyed when we heard the news.’ She swallowed the lump in her throat as she recalled how her father had wept tears of relief when he had phoned her with the news. ‘That’s why it seemed so…so cruel that on the same day Mum was given the all-clear Dad learned that Carlton House was in danger of being repossessed by the bank. He took out a mortgage on the house to finance Reynolds Gems,’ she explained when Thanos frowned. ‘My mother has no idea of the situation. She thinks they are going to enjoy a wonderful retirement in the house that has been in her family for generations. And that’s exactly what’s going to happen,’ she added fiercely. ‘My parents have been through two years of hell, and now they deserve to be happy. Dad was so relieved when he heard that Vantage Investments were prepared to buy Reynolds because it meant that he could pay back the bank loan and the mortgage, and Carlton would be safe…’
‘And that is why—after you learned that Vantage is a subsidiary of Savakis Holdings, and I made it clear that I had no intention of saving Reynolds Gems—you agreed to sell yourself to me?’ Thanos suggested grimly.
Tahlia bit her lip, sensing his renewed anger. ‘Yes.’
‘Theos!’ he exploded, aware of a curious hollow sensation in his stomach. ‘Why didn’t you tell me your parents were in danger of losing their home?
Tahlia gave him a puzzled look. ‘Why would you have cared? You made it clear that you would never help my father. Time was running out, and I knew I would never find another buyer for Reynolds before the bank seized Carlton. The only thing I had to trade was my body,’ she finished huskily.
The silence that fell between them simmered with tension. Thanos could not bring himself to look at Tahlia as guilt at the way he had misjudged her surged through him. Far from being an immoral slut, like his father’s mistress, it seemed that she was a devoted daughter who had been desperate to help her parents. Her motivation in agreeing to be his mistress had not been to ensure her own financial security but to prevent her parents from being evicted from their home. And she had made the ultimate sacrifice, he thought bleakly. She had given him her virginity, aware that his motivation for taking her to bed was to seek revenge for a crime she had not committed.
He closed his eyes, shutting out the image of her pale, tear-stained face. In the name of heaven, what had he done?
‘How did you meet James Hamilton?’ he asked abruptly.
Tahlia shot him a startled glance. ‘A friend of mine was starring in a play, and James was a member of the cast. We got chatting when I went backstage after the performance, and he…swept me off my feet.’ She shook her head, remembering the buzz she had felt when James had singled her out. ‘He was handsome, charming, funny…My mother was desperately ill, and I was sick with worry about her, but when I was with James he made me forget my fears for a few hours. I hadn’t dated anyone in the years since Michael died,’ she explained quietly. ‘I was devastated by his death. He was so young and vibrant. We weren’t lovers, but our friendship had been developing into something deeper, and I was heartbroken to lose him. For a long time after he died I blamed myself. I had thought he was suffering from the flu virus that was going around the university campus, and by the time I realised that it was something much more serious it was too late. Michael died a few hours after being admitted to hospital.’ Her eyes darkened with pain as she remembered the horror of that day.
‘When I met James, he was so energetic and full of life—just as Michael had been—and I felt that nothing bad could happen while I was with him.’ She bit her lip. ‘It never crossed my mind that he could be married. He even took me back to his flat a few times, and it was a typical bachelor pad—there was no sign that Melina lived there.’
‘She didn’t,’ Thanos said heavily. ‘I bought her and James an apartment in Athens for a wedding present, and she remained in Greece while he went to England for two months to star in that play. When his contract was extended Melina flew to London to join him. She was immediately suspicious that he was being unfaithful, but instead of confiding in me she read the text messages he’d sent you on his mobile phone, discovered that James had arranged to spend the weekend with you at a hotel, and decided to confront you.’
In her mind Tahlia saw Thanos’s sister, standing in the doorway of the hotel suite, the look of shock on her face mirrored in James Hamilton’s eyes. But where Melina’s expression had been one of utter devastation, James had simply looked annoyed that he had been caught out.
‘Poor Melina,’ she whispered. ‘She must have been distraught. I understand why you blamed me. I would have become James’s lover that night,’ she told Thanos, forcing herself to meet his gaze. ‘He’d told me that he loved me, and I thought I loved him. Mum’s illness had cast a shadow over everything, and James was the one person who could make me smile. I needed him, and I overlooked things like the fact that he always wanted to borrow money from me.’ She swallowed. ‘I was a fool, and because of my naïveté Melina almost lost her life. No wonder you hate me,’ she said thickly. ‘I will always feel guilty that I didn’t go after her.’
No one could fake the level of emotion evident in Tahlia’s voice, Thanos brooded. The pain she felt at James’s treachery was as genuine as her sympathy for Melina. Shame burned like acid in his gut at the way he had treated her. He should not have brought her to Mykonos and forced her to share his bed, and now that he knew what a terrible mistake he had made he should send her back to England immediately. But hard on the heels of that thought came the unsettling realisation that he did not want to let her go.
Guilt filled him with a sudden restlessness, and he stood up and strode over to the window, staring out at the black sky and the silver moonlight dancing on the sea.
‘You have nothing to feel guilty about,’ he said gruffly. ‘James duped you and Melina, and clearly he broke your heart as well as hers.’
Tahlia’s heartbeat quickened. ‘You believe me?’ she asked shakily, shocked by how much his answer mattered.
He swung round from the window, the glow from the bedside lamp casting shadows over his hard-boned face, making his expression unfathomable.
‘Yes, I believe you,’ he said heavily. ‘I’m sorry I misjudged you so badly. But when I first saw Melina in the hospital and learned the extent of her injuries I wanted to kill the two people I believed were responsible for her accident. Now I know you were not to blame, and I bitterly regret forcing you into this damnable deal.’
He walked back over to the bed, his mouth twisting when he saw Tahlia stiffen. Theos, he must have terrified her, he thought bleakly, remo
rse tearing at his insides when he recalled the demands he had made on her untutored body. Her hesitancy should have warned him of her innocence, but she had responded to him with such intense passion that he had believed she was as sexually experienced as the newspaper stories about her had suggested.
As Thanos came closer Tahlia was startled by the almost haggard expression in his eyes, and she felt a pang of compassion for him. How awful it must have been for him to come so close to losing his sister, who was his only living relative. He had cared for Melina since she was a small child, and she could understand how angry he must have felt that she had been hurt. It was understandable that his anger had turned into a quest for revenge.
‘You didn’t force me into anything,’ she said softly. ‘You simply offered me the opportunity to ensure my parents can keep their home and I took it. I knew what I was getting into.’
Thanos gave her a level look. ‘Patently you did not,’ he murmured, and a feeling he could not define stirred deep inside him when her cheeks flooded with colour. ‘I deeply regret that I did not know I was your first lover. My impatience to take you to bed made me brutal, and I probably scared the life out of you.’ He paused, and then said in a low tone, ‘But, in all honesty, I cannot say I am sorry for making love to you. The sexual alchemy between us was obvious from the moment we met at the art gallery, and despite knowing who you were, the role I thought you had played in my sister’s accident, I desired you more than I have ever wanted any woman.
‘I still do,’ he said harshly. ‘The deal we made still stands. I am prepared to buy out Reynolds Gems and save your father from financial ruin in return for your agreement to remain here on Mykonos as my mistress until the end of the month.’
He wanted her to stay with him. Tahlia was shocked by the heady relief that swept through her, but it was quickly followed by a hollow feeling of despair. Making love with Thanos had been an incredible experience that she would never forget; not simply because it had been her first time, but because the feel of his satiny skin beneath her fingertips and the exquisite brush of his mouth caressing every inch of her body were imprinted on her brain for all time. One night was all it had taken for her to be utterly captivated by him. What would she be like after a month as his mistress—when he dismissed her from his life?
Surely it would be better for her to leave him now? To walk away with her pride restored and forget the deal that had turned her into the wanton creature she had become in his arms? But her father’s financial problems still remained, and until the buy-out of Reynolds Gems was completed Carlton House was still at risk of repossession. Nothing had changed—except that Thanos was no longer looking at her with contempt in his eyes.
He sat back down on the bed and trailed his finger lightly over her cheek, the sudden warmth in his eyes making Tahlia’s heart lurch. ‘The passion we shared tonight was beyond anything I have ever known with any other woman. I was blinded by my anger, and determined to take revenge for the heartbreak I believed you had caused Melina, but I was wrong about you. Can we start over?’ he asked quietly. ‘Whatever this is between us, it is nowhere close to burning out—not for either of us, is it?’
She wanted to deny it—wished she could coolly thank him for initiating her into the pleasures of sex before she caught the first flight home. But the words would not come, and her breath snagged in her throat as he slowly lowered his head until his mouth was a whisper away from hers.
‘Stay with me, Tahlia? Please?’
She must have taken leave of her senses, but she could not resist him. That had been her trouble right from the start, she acknowledged as she sagged against him and parted her lips beneath the gentle pressure of his. The slow, sweet kiss was like nothing she had ever experienced before, and the element of gentleness tugged at her heart. When he curved his arms around her she slid her hands up to his nape, and the familiar melting warmth started low in her pelvis as he deepened the kiss to another level and desire swiftly built to a crescendo of need.
She was sure he would ease her down onto the pillows, and she slid her fingers into his hair to guide him down on top of her. But to her disbelief he lifted his head, his eyes darkening a fraction as he saw the confusion in hers.
‘Wait here.’ He dropped a light kiss on her still parted lips and strode into the en suite bathroom.
Had he been playing with her? she wondered sickly, clutching the sheet to her. Did he want to demonstrate that he would call the shots in any relationship they might have? She must have been out of her mind to have agreed to stay with him, she thought wildly.
But while she was debating whether to get up and pack her suitcase before she informed him that she wanted to leave after all, he re-entered the bedroom.
‘What are you doing?’ she gasped when he flicked the sheet out of her grasp and leaned over to scoop her into his arms.
‘I’ve run you a bath. I have a feeling you ache in places you didn’t know existed,’ he murmured, chuckling when she blushed scarlet.
‘I can take care of myself,’ she muttered, when he shouldered open the door to the bathroom and carried her over to the huge marble bath filled to the brim with fragrant bubbles.
‘Humour me, hmm…?’ There was a hint of steel beneath his soft tone, and before she had time to argue the point he lowered her into the water.
It felt blissful, Tahlia acknowledged as she leaned her head back against the padded neck support and closed her eyes. Thanos had been right; she had discovered muscles that were previously unused. But the memory of how he had driven into her over and over again until she had reached the pinnacle of pleasure caused molten heat to unfurl deep in her pelvis. Shocked by the erotic imagery, she let her eyes fly open to discover that he had shrugged out of his robe and was standing naked and unashamedly aroused by the side of the bath. The flickering light from the dozens of candles around the room gave his body a satin sheen, and her gaze moved down, following the path of crisp dark hairs that covered his chest and arrowed over his flat stomach. He was a work of art, she thought shakily, as she dropped her eyes lower still and absorbed the awesome power of his masculinity.
‘Look at me like that for much longer and I won’t be responsible for my actions,’ he warned softly, his slow smile stealing her breath.
How could she ever have thought that his eyes were cold? she wondered, her heartbeat quickening when he stepped into the bath and sat opposite her, drawing her towards him so that she was aware of the muscular strength of his thighs holding her prisoner. Not that she wanted to escape, she acknowledged ruefully, giving a little gasp when he skimmed his hands over her ribs and cupped her breasts in his hands, the delicate brush of his thumb pads across her nipples sending exquisite shafts of sensation spiralling through her.
‘How can I wash when you’re doing that?’ she mumbled, her eyes locked on the sensual curve of his mouth as he slowly lowered his head and claimed her lips in a long, drugging kiss that stoked the fire inside her to an inferno.
‘Allow me to help you.’ He picked up a bar of soap and smoothed it over her shoulders, breasts, stomach and thighs, with such dedication to detail that she made a muffled sound in her throat.
‘I’m sure I’m clean. You can stop now,’ she said huskily, her eyes widening in shock when he discarded the soap and slipped his hand between her legs, parting her with gentle skill and sliding a finger deep inside her. Moist heat flooded through her as he stretched her wider and slipped another digit into her, his fingers moving in an erotic dance that drove her higher and higher towards an orgasm.
‘Do you want me to stop, agape?’ he queried gently as he brushed his thumb pad delicately over the tight nub of her clitoris. Sensation speared her and she arched her hips, nothing in her mind now but desperation for him to give her the release she craved.
‘No. Don’t stop…please…’ She groaned when he withdrew his fingers, and clutched his shoulders when he stood and swung her into his arms before climbing out of the bath. Water streamed fr
om their bodies and dripped onto the carpet as he strode into the bedroom, but he seemed unconcerned that her wet hair soaked through the bedspread as he placed her on the bed and stretched out next to her, his mouth capturing hers in a kiss of pure possession.
‘This time we’ll take it slowly,’ he promised, pausing to swiftly don protection before he nudged her legs apart and moved over her.
Tahlia appreciated the care and consideration he showed as he eased the solid length of his erection into her, but as he filled her, inch by tantalising inch, she discovered that she did not want him to be gentle. Her desire for him was as fierce as a forest fire blazing out of control, and she wanted him to make love to her with the same savage passion that had overwhelmed them both the first time he had possessed her.
She was too shy to voice her need for him, but instead she moved with him, arching her hips to meet each powerful thrust and digging her fingers into his shoulders to urge him to take her faster, harder…
‘Theos, Tahlia, I don’t want to hurt you,’ he growled, fighting to retain his self-control.
‘You won’t. I want you.’ Words could not express the depths of her passion, the throbbing ache of her need for him to take her to the heights, but when his lips claimed hers she kissed him hungrily, sliding her tongue into his mouth so that he groaned and tensed before increasing the power of each thrust into her eager body.
Thalia clung to his damp shoulders and tossed her head from side to side, feeling the first spasms building inside her growing, growing until they were an unstoppable force, and she gave a thin, animal cry as her body arched with the explosive force of her climax.
Thanos felt the delicious tightening of her muscles around his shaft and gritted his teeth, determined that this time he would remain in control. He slid his hands beneath her buttocks and tilted her hips, driving into her with deep, steady strokes, taking her higher again, until she sobbed his name and raked her fingers on the silk bedspread. Only when she had climaxed for the third time did his restraint slip, and he paused, savouring the anticipation of the pleasure to come, before he gave one last powerful thrust and experienced the shattering ecstasy of release.
Proud Greek, Ruthless Revenge Page 10