The Greek Bridegroom

by Helen Bianchin

  ‘No—what?’

  ‘I number several women among my friends, but none to whom I owe my fidelity.’

  ‘You read minds?’

  ‘Yours isn’t difficult to interpret.’ With a slow smile Jace slid to his feet and strolled naked into the en suite.

  Rebekah took pleasure in the look of him, the breadth of shoulder, the splendid musculature of his back, the tapered waist and lean, tight butt.

  Just thinking about the intimacy they’d shared brought a renewed surge of heat, and a repeated longing to experience once again the incandescent sensation he was able to arouse.

  Soon she’d go take a shower, dress, make breakfast, then head into the shop. And Jace? Would he take a flight back to Cairns or Brisbane and complete his reorganised business meetings?

  Then what would happen? She’d return to her day-to-day life while he tied up his Australian connection, after which he’d return to New York.

  Rebekah was unprepared for the devastation that hit at the thought of him leaving. Even more unconscionable was the possibility of not seeing him again.

  Maybe she could have survived with her emotions intact if it hadn’t been for last night. Now she didn’t have a hope in hell.

  Fool, she castigated in silence. She should never have allowed him to stay, and should have banished him from her bedroom the moment he entered it.

  Except she hadn’t. Now she had to live with it.

  Jace re-entered the room and his gaze narrowed as he interpreted her expressive features. Doubts and reflective thought he could deal with. Regret was something else.

  He watched her eyes widen as he closed the distance between them, and he resisted the temptation to join her in bed. Instead he tugged the sheet free and scooped her into his arms and returned to the en suite.

  ‘What are you doing?’

  Another woman would have offered a feline purr, wound her arms round his neck and pressed her mouth to his.

  Rebekah sounded apprehensive, and totally devoid of any musing coquetry.

  A muscle clenched at the edge of his jaw in recognition of what she’d become beneath her ex-husband’s hand.

  ‘Sharing the hot tub with you.’ His drawl held an element of humour, and he successfully prevented any protest by the simple expediency of closing her mouth with his own.

  It was sheer magic. The pulsing water, the touch of his hands as he gently massaged scented bath oil into her skin. She wanted to close her eyes and have him administer to her forever.

  How long did she have? Three, four days…a week at the most.

  Rebekah knew she should stop it now. Climb out of the hot tub, catch up a towel, advise him to do the same, then say…what? Thanks, that was great. Maybe we can do it again some time?

  There could be no doubt this was just a brief interlude. To think it could be anything else was ridiculous.

  Besides, her life was all mapped out. Blooms and Bouquets was her focal priority. She had a flourishing business, a nice apartment, a late-model car. What else could she want?

  A man she could trust. Someone to be there for her, as she would be for him. To share the love and the laughter, the few tears and sorrow fate might provide in their lifetime. Children. The whole package.

  Was it too much to hope for?

  Not just any man. This man.

  The revelation poleaxed her. For a shock-filled second she thought she might actually have blacked out.

  ‘Rebekah?’

  Oh, God. Get a grip on reality. ‘It must be getting late. I need to get to the flower market, organise the day’s orders.’ She was babbling, her hands already reaching for the marbled surround as she rose to her feet.

  A startled yelp emerged from her throat as Jace’s hands closed over her waist, and she struggled as he pulled her down in front of him, then caged her within his arms.

  ‘I have to go.’

  ‘No,’ he refuted. ‘You don’t.’

  ‘Jace…’ She broke off with a groan of despair as his mouth savoured the sensitive curve of her neck.

  ‘An hour, hmm? Just an hour.’

  It was closer to two before she slid behind the wheel, fired the engine and sent the MG up onto street level.

  Jace occupied the passenger seat, and minutes later she eased the car to a smooth halt outside his hotel entrance.

  ‘Have a good day.’ It was an automatic phrase, and when he leaned forward she offered her cheek, only to have him take her face in his hands and bestow an evocatively deep open-mouthed kiss.

  When he released her there was delicate pink colouring her cheeks, a soft, tremulous smile parted her lips, and her eyes held slumberous warmth.

  It was a look he’d deliberately sought, and one he could easily become accustomed to without any trouble at all.

  CHAPTER NINE

  THE rising sun coloured the landscape, promising warmth as the day progressed, and Rebekah covered the relatively short distance to the shop in record time.

  The Blooms and Bouquets van was already parked out back, which meant Ana had completed an early run to the flower markets. Something she’d intended to take care of, except something…someone, she corrected, had caused a delay.

  The scent of flowers filled her nostrils as soon as she opened the shop door, and she breathed it in, loving the delicate fragrances.

  ‘You shouldn’t be here,’ Ana protested. ‘At least not this early.’ Her gaze sharpened, then narrowed fractionally. ‘There’s something different about you.’

  Rebekah crossed to the work table and stowed her bag. ‘I’m fine.’

  ‘Very much fine. You’re almost glowing.’

  Her sister was a kindred soul and far too perceptive for Rebekah’s peace of mind. ‘A good night’s sleep works wonders.’

  ‘Or not much sleep and a long night’s loving,’ Ana teased. ‘Ah, you’re blushing.’ Her smile held a witching mischievousness. ‘It has to be Jace.’ The man was incredibly resourceful if he’d managed to infiltrate the emotional barriers Rebekah had erected. If he toyed with her and broke her heart, she’d kill him.

  ‘Are you going to tell me?’

  Rebekah shot her sister a steady look. ‘Yes, it’s Jace. And no, I’m not going to tell you.’

  ‘Spoilsport.’ Her expression sobered. ‘How are the bruises?’

  ‘It’ll take a few days.’

  ‘More like a week or two,’ Ana corrected. ‘Luc has employed private security to keep a watchful eye on the premises.’

  It was understandable Luc wouldn’t risk anything happening to his wife or unborn child.

  ‘Shall we get to work?’ Rebekah suggested.

  The day proved to be busier than usual, and the phone calls many. Mostly business-oriented, but Rebekah took a call from the police relating to a required clarification in her statement, and her lawyer.

  Jace rang mid-morning, and again mid-afternoon.

  Just the sound of his voice was enough to send her pulse racing to a faster beat.

  All day she’d been caught up with the memory of what they’d shared through the night and early this morning. After almost three years of celibacy she was conscious of highly sensitised tissues and nerve-endings as a result of his possession. Each shattering climax had been more intense than the last, and even now just the thought brought heat pooling deep inside.

  There was no contact from Brad, but then she hadn’t expected there to be. His mother, his lawyer, the police…each would have warned him of the consequences involved if he dared risk another personal confrontation.

  Looking back, she damned herself for not realising Brad had an obsessive-possessive personality. He’d been a consummate actor, fooling everyone. Except his mother and the medical and legal advisors hired to protect him.

  Jace walked into the shop just as she was about to close up for the evening, and she felt the familiar jolt of her heart at his presence as he stood waiting while she shut down the computer, checked the locks, then set the alarm prior to vacating the pre
mises.

  He brushed his lips to her temple. ‘Busy day?’

  ‘Yes.’ Her stomach turned a somersault or two, then settled down. ‘We filled more than the usual orders.’

  Jace pressed a finger to the generous curve of her mouth. ‘How are you?’

  So intensely aware of you, I feel as if every nerve-end is fizzing with active life. ‘Fine.’

  His slow smile held a degree of sensual warmth. ‘Feel like driving to Watson’s Bay and eating seafood while the sun goes down over the ocean?’

  ‘You don’t need to do this,’ Rebekah said quietly as they walked to her car.

  ‘Take you out to dinner?’ he queried as he slid into the passenger seat beside her.

  ‘Act the part of bodyguard,’ she qualified, and sensed a sudden stillness apparent.

  ‘You want to run that by me again?’

  There was silk in that accented drawl, and it raised all her fine body hairs in self-protective defence.

  ‘I don’t want you to feel obligated in any way just because—’

  ‘We had sex?’

  It hadn’t been just sex. She’d had sex with Brad for the few brief months she’d lived with him as his wife. Last night she’d been made love to for the first time in her life. There was, she had to admit, a world of difference between sex and lovemaking.

  ‘Want to start over?’ Jace offered with dangerous softness.

  She waited a beat as she released her breath. ‘I think so.’

  Jace caught the slight quiver at the edge of her mouth, and wasn’t sure at that precise moment whether he wanted to shake her or kiss her senseless.

  ‘Good.’ He indicated the key she held poised in her hand ready to insert into the ignition. ‘Suppose you drive, and we’ll discuss this further over dinner.’

  The restaurant Jace suggested was a converted bath-house erected in the days long gone by to service the day trippers who visited the bay to swim and picnic.

  Now it was a fashionably trendy place to eat, with an excellent menu and superb food.

  It was a pretty beach, and the ocean waters were dappled with reflected sunlight. Soon the natural light would fade, and the moon would rise to provide a silver pathway from the horizon.

  Jace managed to secure a table by the window, and he ordered wine while Rebekah checked out the menu.

  A prawn risotto and side salad appealed, and Jace selected something more substantial containing a variety of seafood.

  ‘Let’s dispense with the obligation issue,’ he began as soon as the waiter retreated in the direction of the kitchen. He leaned back in his chair and subjected her to a thoughtful appraisal. ‘My interest in you is entirely personal. Not a misguided sense of responsibility or duty due to an extended family loyalty. Or merely a means of protecting you from your ex-husband,’ he revealed with dispassionate imperturbability, then added with deadly softness,

  ‘What we shared last night. What was that? Just great sex, no emotional involvement?’

  There was knowledge apparent in his dark gaze she couldn’t deny. ‘No.’

  The waiter brought their starters and presented them with practised flair, while the drinks steward topped their glasses.

  ‘I want to be with you. My hotel suite,’ Jace elaborated. ‘Your apartment. It hardly matters which, as long as we’re together.’

  She swallowed the lump that had suddenly risen in her throat. ‘You’re taking a lot for granted.’

  His gaze seared hers. ‘You think I’m playing a game? Using you for sex? Amusing myself with you?’

  Oh, my, he didn’t hesitate to spell it out. In a board-room he’d be a ruthless aggressor, a feared adversary.

  ‘Which one, Rebekah?’ he pursued relentlessly. ‘Or do you imagine it’s all three?’

  Dear heaven. ‘I don’t know.’ She could be equally fearless. ‘Only that whatever it is, it has a very limited time-span.’

  ‘Does it?’

  She was breaking up inside. ‘Your life is in New York. Mine is here.’

  His gaze narrowed, and when he spoke his voice was a silk drawl. ‘With no possibility of a compromise?’

  She met his gaze and held it. ‘Your definition of compromise is what? You fly into Sydney when you can spare the time between cementing corporate deals? I take a week’s break here and there throughout the year and visit New York?’ She was on a roll, and couldn’t stop. ‘We meet halfway? Enjoy full-on sex for as long as it takes, then bid each other a fond farewell at the airport, smile and say that was great, we’ll consult our schedules and work out another date, then take separate flights to different destinations on opposite sides of the world?’

  He was silent for so long she became increasingly nervous. ‘Are you done?’ he queried with deceptive mildness.

  ‘Yes.’

  Rebekah picked up her cutlery and began eating, although her tastebuds appeared to have gone on strike, and she had to consciously control her hands to prevent them from shaking.

  She had only to look at Jace to vividly recall his kiss, the touch of his hands, his mouth on her body. It was almost indecent to feel the heat sing through her veins, tripping her pulse and causing her heart to thud in her chest.

  The degree of intimacy they’d shared brought a tinge of soft pink to her cheeks.

  After last night her life would never be the same. And that was an admission she had no intention of verbalising.

  Rebekah finished her starter, picked at her main, declined dessert, and ordered coffee.

  ‘I didn’t thank you,’ she ventured quietly as she spooned sugar into the dark brew.

  ‘For what, specifically?’

  Coming to my rescue? Dropping everything and flying to Sydney? Putting me first above important business meetings? ‘Ensuring my safety.’ It didn’t seem adequate. ‘It was kind of you.’

  He considered the word, reflected on it a little. ‘I think we’ve gone way past kind.’

  ‘I hope it hasn’t interrupted your business meetings.’

  ‘So polite,’ Jace gently mocked. ‘I have an early-morning flight to Brisbane, followed by an afternoon meeting on the Gold Coast. I’ll be back early evening.’

  She needed to ask. ‘When do you return to New York?’

  ‘Sunday.’

  That left only a few days. She felt as if her whole world had suddenly shifted on its axis. Soon he’d be gone, and the thought of him not being a constant in her life affected her more than she was prepared to admit.

  How could she be so contrary? Fighting against allowing him into her life for days, and now she didn’t want him to leave. It hardly made any sense.

  A hollow feeling settled in her stomach, and she pushed her coffee to one side, unable to swallow another mouthful.

  Jace watched the fleeting emotions chase each other across her expressive features. She was a piece of work, so incredibly beautiful with a sweetness that went right to the depths of her soul. Was she aware how easily he could read her? It was the one thing that had kept him sane during the past ten days.

  ‘Finished?’ He didn’t wait for her answer as he signalled the maître d’ for the bill, paid it on presentation, then he caught hold of her hand and led her out to the car.

  ‘I’ll drop you at the hotel,’ Rebekah indicated as they entered the outskirts of Double Bay.

  ‘A token resistance?’

  Her stomach executed a backwards flip at his drawled query. ‘I have to be at the flower markets before five in the morning, and I need some sleep.’

  ‘So, we sleep,’ Jace said imperturbably.

  ‘I really think—’

  ‘We’ve done this already.’

  ‘You might have. The jury’s still out with me.’

  She was aware he shifted slightly in his seat. ‘All you have to say is you don’t want to share the same bed with me.’

  Rebekah opened her mouth to say the words, then bit them off before the first one could escape her lips. She couldn’t do it, for to deny him was to deny her
self.

  Millie greeted them as soon as they entered the apartment, miaowing in protest because she hadn’t been fed. Something Rebekah attended to at once, and was rewarded with a brief purr and a swishing tail as the cat tucked into her food.

  The message-light on the answering machine was blinking, and showed three recorded messages. The first was her father in New York, then Ana with a reminder for the morning. Brad followed with sibilant invective damning Luc and Jace Dimitriades, and promising Rebekah would pay, big-time.

  ‘Don’t erase it,’ Jace commanded quietly. ‘Let it run in case he rings again.’

  ‘He will.’ She was certain of it.

  ‘Each call will become another strike against him in court.’

  Not too much of a strike, she accorded silently. His mother and her lawyers were a formidable team.

  ‘I’m going to hit the shower.’ Rebekah turned and moved down the hall to her bedroom.

  Minutes later she stood beneath the warm spray of water, soap in hand as she lathered her skin. The subtle rose-scent misted with the steam, and she gave a startled yelp as the door slid open and Jace stepped behind her.

  She didn’t have a chance to say a word as he turned her round to face him, then his mouth captured hers in a gentle, evocative kiss that tugged at her heart-strings.

  ‘You shouldn’t be here,’ Rebekah managed the instant he lifted his head a little, and she glimpsed his musing smile as he shaped her face with his hands.

  ‘Uh-huh.’

  He angled his mouth over hers, and this time he went deep, sweeping her emotions to unbelievable heights where there was no sense of time or place, just the heat of intense eroticism.

  How long had they remained like this? she wondered with bemused bewilderment when he slowly broke the kiss. Long seconds, or several minutes?

  He had the most beautiful face, she decided, taking her fill of him. Dark eyes merging from the deepest grey to black, a facial bone structure to die for, and a mouth that was heaven on earth.

  She possessed the strongest inclination to lean in against him, press her head to the curve of his shoulder, and just rest there. To have him close his arms around her, and know nothing, no one, could touch her.