by Susanna Carr
She stamped her foot as the fury ripped through her. “What have I done to deserve this?” she called out to him. “Why do you hate me so much?”
Stergios slowly turned around. His eyes were cold and his mouth was curved in a stern frown. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking or feeling. He was back in control. “Hate you?” he asked. “Jodie, I don’t give a damn about you.”
“You’re lying,” she yelled. “You wish you could forget me. You hate how I make you feel.”
The corner of his mouth hitched. “Dream on.”
“I could tell that night in the wine cellar,” she blurted out. “That’s why you ran away. You were ashamed that I had that much power over you.” Ashamed that, of all women, it had been me.
Stergios’s harsh features tightened as he hunched his shoulders. She could tell she struck a nerve. He was trying to hold himself back before he retaliated.
Jodie pressed her fingertips against her lips. She had to curb her tongue. She was already vulnerable to this man. She didn’t need Stergios to figure out how he made her feel. She was the one who lost control when they were together. He was the one who had power over her.
“I’m going to make you regret this,” Jodie said in a hiss as she turned around and went back up the steps. “And you will have no one to blame but yourself.”
* * *
Stergios paced along the windows that overlooked the beach. He had discarded his jacket hours ago and had rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt. It was turning dark and the rain was still coming down hard. Jodie had not made an attempt to find shelter.
He paused and looked for a flash of the bright orange designer dress. He had seen the pop of color every once in a while as she searched the island for an escape. Stergios now spotted her sitting on the wet sand near the house. Her blond hair was plastered against her head and her soaked dress clung to her body as the ocean waves lapped against her bare feet. With her slumped shoulders and outstretched legs, she appeared weary. Defeated.
Kidnapped.
Stergios hissed and rubbed his hands over his face. Jodie always knew what to say to pierce his armor. She would do anything to get a reaction. But it wasn’t going to work. This was not a kidnapping.
He knew what a kidnapping felt like. It was a constant state of fear and of not knowing. It was howling pain punctuated with numbness. At times he hadn’t felt human. He had been a pawn, a package. His childhood, his innocence, had been stripped from him in an instant. Worst of all, he had discovered what he was capable of and how far he would go to find freedom.
He understood what it felt like to be taken. And still... Stergios stared at Jodie. He replayed his actions in his mind and it had been strangely familiar. The truth suddenly cracked his resistance wide open. It was as if jagged shards dug deep in his chest and he couldn’t breathe.
He had made the same decision his father had made years ago.
Stergios took a shallow breath as the pain scored through him. This hadn’t been a delay or a detour. He had kidnapped someone. He had followed his instincts and had snatched Jodie in broad daylight.
He rested his forehead against the windowpane and struggled to remain standing as a cold sweat prickled his skin. The idea to abduct Jodie had come naturally and he hadn’t questioned it.
Stergios closed his eyes as the nausea swept through him. After all these years of fighting the possibility, blood will out. He thought he had been protecting his family by keeping Jodie away. Instead, he had uncovered one of his deepest fears. He had always pushed himself to be a better man than his father. To distance himself from everything the man had represented.
But every time he looked in the mirror, he was reminded of his father. Despite his achievements and milestones, nothing could cover up the fact that he was Elias Pagonis’s son.
Stergios stepped away from the window. He thrust his hands in his hair, but he didn’t feel the sting of his fingers dragging along his scalp. He had to fix this. Redeem himself. Find a way to erase his actions.
He glanced up at the sky and noticed how the trees swayed against the wind. There was no way they could leave the island tonight in this weather. And could he allow Jodie to attend the wedding? Was he willing to take that risk?
Stergios would consider the consequences later. Right now she was his obligation. He couldn’t let anything happen to her while she was here.
He strode out of the house, the door banging against the wall, and marched through the sand. Jodie’s eyes widened as she caught a glimpse of him. She scooped up her shoes as she struggled to stand up.
“You are so stubborn,” he called out over the roar of the storm.
She scurried back, poised to run. “Don’t talk to me! I’m furious with you.”
“Are you going to stay out here all night?” The wind whipped his hair as the cold sheet of rain stung his bare skin.
“Yes,” she spat out. “I’d rather catch pneumonia than be your prisoner.”
“You always pick the wrong choice,” he said in a growl as he rubbed the water from his eyes. “Instead of showing common sense, you have to make some dramatic statement.”
“This from a man who thought kidnapping was the only option.”
He had had enough. Stergios lunged forward and grabbed Jodie. She screamed as he gathered her in his arms. She fought for her release, kicking and slapping, demanding that he set her down.
“Keep that up and I’ll drop you,” he warned as he walked across the beach.
“Try it and I’ll take you down with me.”
He entered the house and walked through the living area, past the welcoming heat of the fire he had built in the fireplace. “There are two bedrooms,” he told her as he approached the door. “Mine is on the other side of the house. This one is yours. You can stay here for as long as you like.”
“I bet you’d like that,” Jodie said as she kicked wildly in the air. “You want me to hide in here. Stay out of the way so you can forget what you’ve done.”
He was finished with dramatic, impertinent women who brought nothing but disruption into his life. All he wanted was peace. A sense of security. Anything that blunted the tension inside him.
Stergios carefully set Jodie onto the floor. “Your bathroom is through there,” he said, nodding in the direction of one of the doors. “Your suitcase is in the closet.”
“That’s it?” She stood before him barefoot and in a sodden dress, but she didn’t appear small or vulnerable. “That’s all you have to say to me?”
He wiped the dripping water from his forehead with the back of his hand. “You do not want to know what is going through my mind right now.”
“Bringing me here was a mistake,” she said with a snarl. “You assumed I was a threat to the Antoniou-Volakis marriage and you thought you were so clever to keep me away. But the truth is I’m a threat to you. I’m the only person who’s cracked you. I see you—the real you.”
“You’re not so special,” he said as he stepped over the threshold. “You’re the only one who has yet to realize that you should be afraid of the real me.” He quietly closed the door behind him and strode away.
* * *
An hour later, Jodie wrenched open her bedroom door and entered the main room of the house. She could have stayed in the hot shower all night but the last thing she would do was hide in her room. As much as she wanted to avoid Stergios, she wasn’t going make herself invisible.
She tightened the belt around her robe, wishing she had something heavier than the ivory silk one that didn’t reach her knees. With any luck, Stergios would be in his room.
Jodie took a moment to look around. It wasn’t a surprise that Stergios’s island getaway was light, airy and luxurious. He had always surrounded himself with exquisite beauty.
There were large windows that offered
a panoramic view of the ocean. The cathedral ceiling’s exposed rafters and the stone floors seemed to reflect the island environment. The modern fireplace in the center of the main room was a showpiece. She was tempted to curl up on one of the white couches and get warmed by the dying fire.
Jodie pressed her hand against her growling stomach and decided she needed to get something to eat first. She went in search for the kitchen and found that the large room was casual and inviting. Jodie skidded to a stop when she saw Stergios sitting at the kitchen table.
Her heart banged hard against her chest when she saw him sprawled on a heavy wood chair. Stergios had discarded his business suit for a long-sleeve blue T-shirt and faded jeans. His large feet were bare and his damp hair was slicked back.
There was a clear liquor bottle and a shot glass resting by his hand. She caught a scent of the strong alcohol and suspected it was Tsipouro. Only Stergios would take a drink made for social gatherings and treat it as a solitary event.
Stergios didn’t glance up. “Go away, Jodie.”
She jerked, unaware that he had seen her. Jodie grabbed the collar of her robe closer as she fought for courage. “I wish I could, but my movements are extremely limited.”
He lifted his head and silently glared at her.
“Anyway, I’m hungry,” she announced as she padded barefoot to the large refrigerator. “Do you have anything for the prisoner? Maybe some bread and water?”
“Go back to your room,” he said as he returned his attention to his shot glass. “I am not in the mood for company.”
Jodie closed the refrigerator door and studied him. She hadn’t seen him in this kind of mood. It was stormy and unpredictable. “Then just ignore me. You’re a pro at it.”
He gave a huff of a laugh and slumped against his chair. “You refuse to be ignored. You know how to get attention. You can’t help it.”
“I don’t like being invisible,” she admitted.
“I could never accuse you of that.” He poured another shot and held it out for her.
She crossed her arms and leaned against the kitchen counter. “No, thanks. I don’t drink.”
“Liar,” he said huskily. “It was one of the top three reasons you got kicked out of school. Boys, alcohol and cheating. And didn’t you say you snuck into the wine cellar with Dimos to find alcohol?”
“Reason enough to give it up, don’t you think?”
He gave her a mocking salute with the shot glass. Downing it one gulp, he set the glass down with a thud.
“I’ve never seen you like this, Stergios,” she murmured. He often moved with fluid grace. Tonight he seemed uncoordinated. “Are you drunk?”
“I’m working on it.” He pushed the shot glass away as he grimaced. There was a beat of tense silence before he spoke again. “You were right about me. I am my father’s son.”
“I didn’t say that,” Jodie insisted. She didn’t know much about Elias Pagonis but she knew his actions had been reprehensible.
“You didn’t have to. I...kidnapped you,” he said with an odd hitch in his voice. “I can’t remove all traces of my actions but I will make it right. A helicopter will be here first thing in the morning and it’ll take you to the wedding. I will remain here.”
She stared at him. There had to be a catch. Why was he allowing her to attend the wedding? Stergios Antoniou never admitted defeat.
He dragged his gaze to meet hers. His dark eyes were troubled and filled with remorse. “I’m sorry that I frightened you.”
Jodie drew her head back at the surprising apology. “You don’t make me scared. You make me angry,” she clarified.
He gave a harsh bark of laughter. “Typical. You don’t even know when to be worried. I should warn you that I’m in a very dangerous mood.”
“Stergios...” she said as she approached him.
“You know what I’m capable of when I’m sober.” Stergios rubbed his hand against the dark stubble on his jaw. “You should go hide in your room.”
Jodie ignored the trepidation curling deep in her belly. “No, you can’t just send me away and act like I don’t exist.”
“You don’t understand.” His voice was strained. “I am feeling volatile.”
“You usually do when I’m around.”
He went still and gave her a sidelong look. “Careful, pethi mou.”
“And you carry around this guilt about what happened between us in the wine cellar. Why? I take equal responsibility for that.”
“You feel guilty, too,” he decided. “Guilty for going too far. For surrendering to me.”
She felt her skin heat as she remembered the glorious moment she had yielded to him. “I don’t feel guilty.”
“Then why did you lie?” He sat up straight in his chair. “That’s what I can’t figure out. Why did you tell everyone that we didn’t have sex that night?”
“No one would have believed me.” It wasn’t the full truth but it was a reason Stergios could accept. “Your family acts like you are a god who can do no wrong. They treated me like I was a plague that kept returning.”
He shook his head. “You lied because you were ashamed.”
“No, I wasn’t. I’m not.” She had been fascinated with Stergios. She had been infatuated him with the wild abandon of someone who had never felt that way before. The only thing she was ashamed about was how much he meant to her when she meant nothing to him.
“You could have saved yourself that night,” Stergios said. “If you had told them that I had taken advantage of you then—”
“Taken advantage? I was with you every step of the way.” Her voice rose. “Why would I make that kind of accusation? I don’t want anyone to think that about you. That’s why I stuck by my story. I lied to protect you.”
He leaned forward, resting his arms against his legs. “Protect me?” His voice flicked like the tip of a whip.
“I could tell that you were ashamed of what happened that night. You hated yourself because of it. Why would I advertise that?”
“I don’t need your protection,” he said in a withering tone as he stood. “You are the one who needs protection from me.”
“No, I don’t.”
“I had lost control that night, but so did you,” Stergios said in a low, gravelly voice as he approached her. “I had unleashed something wild. I felt it when I was deep inside you.”
She tried to appear unaffected by his statement but she couldn’t hide her reaction. The way her pulse fluttered at the base of her throat. The kick of lust that made her gasp. The delicious heaviness that settled in her pelvis.
“And I can do it again.” His voice was thick as his hooded eyes focused on her mouth. “One touch and you will come apart.”
Jodie’s lips stung with awareness. “You killed anything I felt for you when you walked away that night.”
“Which just makes it worse, doesn’t it?” He rested his big hands on the kitchen counter, trapping her. “You don’t want to desire me,” he said in a mesmerizing tone as he leaned in. “I’m the one who can tear down your masquerade and I’m the one who drives you wild. You’re ashamed that you respond to me.”
She swallowed hard as she fought the urge to draw him closer. “That’s not true,” she whispered.
“It’s okay, Jodie.” Stergios dipped his head and his mouth brushed her ear. Her breath hitched in her throat as she inhaled his scent, his heat. She was surrounded by him. “That’s how I feel when I’m with you. And I still can’t stop myself. I don’t want to.”
He slid his hands in her hair, his fingers gripping the back of her head. She flattened her hands against his chest, determined to push him away when he claimed her mouth with his. She gasped as the raw pleasure tore through her.
Stergios tilted her head and drove his tongue into her mouth. His
rough jaw scratched her skin and her lips stung under his forceful kiss. Jodie clawed at his shirt as she drew him in deeper. She shivered when she heard Stergios’s groan of pleasure.
He bunched her hair in his hands as he devoured her with a ferocious hunger. Hot excitement crawled up her chest as she went wild under his touch. Jodie clung to his shoulders, bucking her hip against him.
Stergios suddenly wrenched away from her. He looked stunned as he gulped for air. Shell-shocked. Just like the last time, Jodie thought miserably as the throbbing lust tormented her.
She didn’t want him to stop and yet she didn’t have the courage to reach out for him. Her legs trembled and she stared at his face that tightened with anger and primal need. Stergios Antoniou was bad for her. He didn’t care about her. He felt no respect. He was ashamed of this attraction. But right now she didn’t care. She knew she would later.
Stergios turned away. “Go back to your room,” he said hoarsely as he walked back to the kitchen table, his movements stiff and reluctant. “And lock the door.”
CHAPTER FIVE
THE NEXT MORNING Stergios stood by the windows as he gripped the satellite phone in his hand. He watched the storm with a sense of resignation as he considered his options. There were none. He had been caught in his own net. He was being punished for what he had done.
Pain throbbed in his head and his eyes felt gritty. It had been so long since he had a hangover and it had been reckless to dull his senses around Jodie. Instead of drinking himself into a stupor, he had wasted no time in kissing her.
Stergios tensed when he heard the wheels of Jodie’s suitcase drag along the stone floor. He was ready to deal with her. Last night he had pulled himself from the brink of disaster. If he hadn’t pulled back, he would have taken Jodie to bed.
“I’m ready to leave,” she announced as she stood next to the door.
He turned and saw Jodie in high heels and an aquamarine sheath dress. She was the epitome of cool elegance. Her beauty captured his imagination and yet it was too careful. Too perfect. He yearned to see the spark in her blue eyes. It had often given him a kick of anticipation because he’d known she was about to do something daring.