Proud Greek, Ruthless Revenge

by Chantelle Shaw

  He shrugged. ‘She was at school during the day, and then she would sit in the site office and do her homework. On Poros we actually lived in a Portakabin on the site while the Athena was being built, and as she grew older she often cooked for the workers. It wasn’t an ideal childhood,’ he said heavily. ‘In the early days all the money I earned went into the business, and I often felt guilty that she missed out on the things her friends took for granted, like new clothes and school trips. But she never complained,’ he said, his face softening. ‘Although she did go through a stage of pestering me to get married. I think her reasoning was that if I had a wife she would no longer have to do the cooking.’

  ‘Did you never consider it?’ Tahlia murmured.

  He was silent for so long that she thought he was not going to answer, but then he shrugged laconically. ‘I was engaged briefly. Yalena came from my village and we grew up together. I suppose I was about fifteen when I first fell in love with her. When my parents’ marriage ended, and then they both died, Yalena was the one person I could confide in. I worshipped her,’ he admitted, his face hardening, ‘and I believed that she loved me. I was overjoyed when she agreed to marry me. She seemed fond of Melina, and I thought we would live together as a family. But a month before our wedding Yalena admitted that she had secretly been seeing one of my closest friends.

  ‘Takis came from one of the wealthiest families on Agistri. His father owned a fishing fleet and Takis had a secure future—whereas I had a scrubby patch of land, a crazy idea, huge debts and an orphaned kid sister.’ He gave a harsh laugh. ‘Hell, if I’d been in Yalena’s shoes, I’d have picked the richer guy too.’

  Tahlia caught the note of bitterness in his voice and her heart turned over as she imagined Thanos as a young man, struggling to make a living and care for a young child. ‘What did you do when she told you?’ she asked curiously.

  He gave another shrug. ‘What could I do? Takis was the better choice, and I loved Yalena enough that I wanted what was best for her. I released her from our engagement, gave them my blessing, and drowned my sorrows in ouzo on their wedding day,’ he finished, with a self-derisive laugh that did not quite disguise the pain he had felt. At twenty he had worn his heart on his sleeve; now he was determined that no other woman would have the power to touch his emotions.

  ‘I’m not surprised you got drunk,’ Tahlia said softly. ‘You had been deceived by the girl you loved, and your best friend. You must have been hurt.’

  Thanos frowned. He had never spoken about his relationship with Yalena to anyone, and he did not understand why he had shared such a personal confidence with Tahlia. Maybe it was because she actually listened—unlike the self-centred women he usually dated, who only wanted to talk about themselves.

  ‘To be honest, I had put Yalena on a pedestal,’ he said grimly. ‘But six months ago I discovered her true nature. She contacted me out of the blue and suggested we meet up to talk about old times. I assumed Takis would be with her, but she came to my hotel alone and made it clear that, since I was now far wealthier than her husband, she regretted dumping me all those years ago. She offered to divorce Takis, and seemed to think I would jump at the chance to marry her. She was rather put out when I turned her down,’ he added sardonically. ‘But I was glad I had met her again. It made me realise what a lucky escape I’d had all those years ago, and confirmed my belief that love is an illusion and marriage is an outdated institution.’

  ‘I don’t believe that,’ Tahlia said quietly. ‘My parents have been happily married for thirty years.’

  ‘I guess there are always a few exceptions,’ Thanos conceded. ‘But my parents’ marriage was destroyed by my father’s infidelity, and Melina was devastated when she discovered that James was having an affair.’

  Tahlia bit her lip. Thanos had told her he accepted that she had been deceived by James Hamilton, but she still felt guilty for the part she had played in ending Melina’s marriage. She did not know what to say, and after a few moments she stood up and walked across the deck, leaning against the boat rail as she absorbed the beauty of the crystal-clear Aegean shimmering in the sunshine.

  The Leandros was heading towards a land mass which rose steeply out of the sea, and as they drew nearer Tahlia saw that the reddish-brown cliffs were topped with hundreds of white houses, which from a distance looked like icing on top of a cake.

  ‘Santorini is on the site of a volcano,’ Thanos explained as he came to stand next to her. ‘The cliff-sides are volcanic rock and the island forms a bay around the caldera.’

  ‘The cliffs are so high,’ Tahlia murmured, staring up at the rugged rocks towering above them.

  ‘I believe the capital, Fira, is over two hundred metres above sea level. The views from the cable-car that you can see running up the side of the mountain are spectacular, but today we are sailing further up the coast. The Astraea is close to the village of Oia, which is reputed to have the most fantastic sunsets in the world.’

  ‘You like your sunsets, don’t you?’ Tahlia teased him, remembering how he had said that watching the sun setting on Agistri had given him the idea to build a hotel there.

  Thanos’s mood seemed to have lightened, and he laughed. ‘Sunsets and spectacular views attract tourists. We can travel up to the Astraea by car, or climb the three hundred or so steps up the cliff-side,’ he told her, when the Leandros had sailed into the tiny port and dropped anchor.

  Tahlia lifted her face to the sun and breathed in the salt tang of the sea. ‘I’m game for the steps,’ she assured him, her pulse racing when he caught hold of her hand. The breeze ruffled his dark hair, and his sudden grin made her heart contract.

  ‘Okay—but don’t say I didn’t warn you.’

  She was panting by the time they reached the top of the cliff, but her lack of breath was not only because of the steep climb, she acknowledged ruefully. Thanos kept hold of her hand as they strolled through the narrow streets of Oia, and waited patiently while she paused to admire the stunning architecture of the blue-domed church and the jumble of sugar-cube white houses with their window boxes full of scarlet pelargoniums.

  The Astraea was perched on the edge of the cliff, and as Thanos had promised, offered wonderful views over the bay and nearby islands.

  ‘There are one or two problems that need my attention, but I should be finished in an hour,’ he told her, after he had given her a guided tour of the hotel. ‘Ask one of the reception staff to give you directions to the beach, and I’ll meet you there later.’

  She had found paradise, Tahlia decided some while later, when she had scrambled down a steep path from the hotel and arrived at a tiny picturesque cove. The Leandros was moored out in the bay, and she guessed that one of the deck hands had brought the parasol and picnic rug, which were now arranged on the beach, from the boat. The cove was deserted, hidden from view by the rugged cliffs, and she stripped down to her bikini and stretched out on the rug, wriggling her shoulders in pleasure as the sun warmed her skin. Her eyelids felt heavy. She hadn’t had much sleep the previous night, she thought wryly, recalling how Thanos had made love to her with all his considerable skill, so that she had climaxed three times before he had finally lost control and experienced his own shattering release…

  ‘I hope you applied plenty of sunscreen.’

  Thanos’s deep voice roused her from a shockingly erotic dream in which he was stroking his hands over her naked body. She glanced at her watch and saw that she had been asleep for almost an hour, and then let out a yelp as she felt something cold on her back.

  ‘You don’t want to burn,’ he murmured, as he began to smooth lotion over her shoulders.

  Tahlia’s eyes flew open to see him lying on the rug beside her, propped up on one elbow, while he continued to smooth the cream onto her skin. He had stripped off his jeans and tee shirt and looked devastatingly sexy in a pair of navy swim-shorts, his skin gleaming like polished bronze in the sunshine. The rhythmic stroking of his hands on her back was wickedly sen
suous, but she resisted the urge to turn over and pull him down on top of her.

  ‘That should do,’ she said in a strained voice, blushing furiously when she sat up and saw that her nipples had hardened and were straining beneath her Lycra bikini top. She felt his eyes slide down her body, and when she glanced at his face she was startled by the feral hunger blazing in his eyes.

  ‘We’ll spend an hour or so on the beach, and then return to the Leandros for a late lunch,’ he said idly, brushing her hair over her shoulder and trailing his mouth up her neck.

  ‘Good plan…’ Tahlia drew a sharp breath when his teeth nipped her earlobe, sending a quiver of delicious sensation through her. ‘How did your meeting go? Did you resolve the problems?’

  ‘Concerning the Astraea, yes. But a new set of problems has arisen in the Caribbean. My hotel on St Lucia was damaged in a tropical storm that hit the island at the weekend. I’m flying out there immediately after the Artemis party.’

  That meant that this time next week he would be on the other side of the world—and she would be back in England. Sudden tears blurred her vision, and she turned her head, pretending to stare at the sea while she fought to control her emotions. She had always known that their relationship was a temporary affair. The deal they had struck had been for her to spend one month with him as his mistress and soon their contract would be finished, leaving him free to continue with his own life.

  Did he have a lover on St Lucia? Probably, she acknowledged bleakly. Ana, the Greek girl who had been helping her with the party arrangements, had said that Thanos had various mistresses around the world. A week from now he would most likely have forgotten her.

  He moved his hands to her shoulders and gently tugged her towards him, but she stiffened, unable to bear the thought of making love with him while she was breaking up inside.

  ‘I’ve been sunbathing for too long. I’m going to have a swim,’ she choked. Tears were falling unchecked down her face, and with a muffled sob she jumped up and raced down the beach.

  CHAPTER NINE

  THE sea was shockingly cold on Tahlia’s sun-warmed skin, but she tore through the shallows and dived beneath a wave so that her tears mingled with the spray. She struck out away from the shore, wanting to put as much distance as possible between her and Thanos, who was watching her broodingly from the beach. She swam until she was out of breath, and then flipped onto her back and allowed the waves to carry her. He was no longer sitting on the sand. She squinted against the sun, trying to spot him, and then gasped when strong arms suddenly closed around her.

  ‘You frightened the life out of me,’ she snapped, and she pushed against his chest, trying to force him to release her. But he merely tightened his grip and dragged her closer, so that she was trapped against his hard thighs. ‘Let me go,’ she cried frantically, hating her treacherous body as molten heat coursed through her veins, undermining her determination to resist him.

  ‘I can’t,’ he growled savagely, tangling his fingers in her hair and lowering his head.

  He captured her lips in a kiss of pure possession, thrusting his tongue deep into her mouth and exploring her with such erotic skill that she instantly melted. She was out of her depth in more ways than one, she acknowledged, as she tried to stand and realised that the ocean floor was far beneath her. She had no choice but to cling to Thanos for support. And as she curled her arms around his neck she knew she had lost the battle. She wanted him, needed him to make love to her. And when she kissed him back with feverish passion and heard the low groan torn from his throat nothing mattered except her desperation for him to possess her.

  He waded back to the shallows and lowered her onto the damp sand, not lifting his mouth from hers as he came down on top of her. She was a drug in his veins, and like an addict he could not resist her lure. His hunger for her consumed him utterly, Thanos acknowledged as he stared into her eyes, as blue and crystal-clear as the Aegean.

  What was it about this woman that made him wish for something more than simply sexual satisfaction? He had been a fool once before, he reminded himself savagely. Yalena had ripped his heart out, and he had sworn never to open himself up to such pain ever again. He had thought that if he made Tahlia his mistress his obsession with her would eventually fade, leaving him free to continue with a life dominated by work and occasionally enlivened by meaningless affairs with women who meant nothing to him. But as he stared down at her and saw the shimmer of tears in her eyes it struck him that he was tired of his old life.

  He kissed her throat, the fragile line of her collarbone, the creamy swell of her breast. Her nipples were jutting provocatively through the wet Lycra of her bikini top, and with a muffled oath he unfastened the strings around her neck and peeled the tiny triangles down, his body tautening as he revealed her breasts in all their naked beauty.

  ‘You are exquisite,’ he said hoarsely, and he lowered his head and took first one dusky tip and then its twin into his mouth, smiling against her skin when she cried out and arched her hips in unmistakable invitation. ‘I want you.’ The admission was torn from him. His hands were clumsy as he dragged her bikini pants down her legs, and he struggled out of his shorts with an equal lack of finesse, his powerful erection nudging impatiently between her thighs. ‘You want me too, don’t you, Tahlia? We are both prisoners of the desire that thunders through our veins, and this is the only truth between us.’

  He entered her with one savage thrust—then instantly stilled and cursed beneath his breath. ‘Did I hurt you?’ he demanded, his voice rasping with self-disgust at his brutality. But Tahlia’s body was aroused and eagerly receptive, and she wrapped her legs around his back to prevent him from withdrawing.

  ‘You couldn’t hurt me,’ she assured him softly, knowing that physically at least it was the truth. Her body had been designed for him, and she gloried in his wildfire passion that matched her own. She kissed him, telling him with her lips what she could not say out loud: that she was his for all time, and he was the keeper of her heart.

  She felt him relax momentarily, but almost immediately his body was gripped with a different kind of tension as he moved, slowly at first, and then with increasing pace and strength, claiming her with a primitive hunger as he drove her higher and higher towards the climax her body craved. The sea lapped gently around them, and overhead the sun blazed in the dense blue sky. The haunting cry of a gull broke the still air, but Tahlia only was aware of Thanos’s powerful body, driving into her with deep, steady strokes. She could feel his heart thudding in unison with her own, and she dug her heels into the sand, her body arching as the first spasms of exquisite pleasure ripped through her. Still he thrust, faster and faster, his breathing coming in ragged groans as he took her to the edge, kept her poised there for timeless seconds and then with one final hard stroke sent them both into freefall.

  I love you. She moved her lips over his sweat-slicked chest and breathed the words she could not utter. Soon he would dismiss her from his life, and somehow she would have to live without him. It would be a colourless existence, she thought, her heart contracting painfully. The lonely days and nights ahead would seem unbearable. But he was with her now, and she clung to him as if she could somehow imprint the feel of his body on hers for all time.

  ‘Are you all right?’ he asked roughly, lifting his head from her neck and smoothing her hair back from her face with a hand that shook slightly. ‘As you may have noticed, you have a disastrous effect on my self-control.’ His jaw tightened, and he added in a raw tone laced with self-disgust, ‘I regret that with you I become a barbarian.’

  Tenderness overflowed Tahlia’s heart, and she stroked her hand down his cheek. ‘I don’t regret your passion. I love the way you make love to me,’ she whispered shyly.

  He stared down at her, the expression in his dark eyes unfathomable, and she was afraid she had revealed too much. When he rolled away from her and stood up she tensed, waiting for him to make some scornful remark, but he reached his hand out to help her
to her feet and drew her into his arms.

  ‘Come to St Lucia with me?’

  She must have misheard him. A gull mewed in the sky above her, and her heart hammered in her chest as she stared at him wordlessly, searching for signs that he had been joking. But the expression in his eyes was deadly serious, and her heart beat faster. Why? She wanted to ask him. For how long? A week, a month? Did it matter when her whole being was crying out to agree? she thought shakily. Nothing in life came with guarantees—losing Michael had taught her that. Why not live for the here and now, and enjoy an affair with him for however long it lasted? Was she brave enough?

  ‘I can’t,’ she whispered. ‘I need to go home, start looking for another job…’

  ‘There would be no need for you to work while you are with me.’

  Colour flared in her cheeks. ‘I would never allow you to keep me. I pay my own way. It was only for my parents’ sake that I…’ She stumbled to a halt, shame sweeping over her at the memory of how she had sold herself to him.

  ‘The reasons why I brought you to Mykonos are in the past,’ Thanos told her fiercely. ‘I want us to have a future—to enjoy our relationship for as long as either of us wants it to last.’ He could not envisage a time when he would not desire her. She had captivated him like no other woman ever had. But the clichéd happy-ever-after? He’d seen too many relationships fail to contemplate commitment.

  What would he say if she revealed that she wanted to be with him for ever? She stared up at his hard-boned face and acknowledged that he was as untameable as she had first thought, when she had looked across the art gallery in London and seen him. His early years had been tough, and had made him into a resolute, independent man who relied on no one, who forged his own destiny, and she doubted he would allow any woman to breach his defences.

  ‘After St Lucia I was planning to take a break for a couple of weeks at my villa in Antigua. It’s beautiful there, and we could spend some time away from everyday pressures—chill out and enjoy each other’s company,’ he murmured persuasively.