by Maya Blake
At the Parthenon, I wanted to linger, the beauty surrounding me demanding appreciation. But Neo’s fingers tightened.
‘You can have a private tour later, if you wish. But not now.’
I discovered why minutes later, felt something sacred break away and hand itself over to Neo without my approval or permission. Because there was no event. No client. Just an elaborately laid candle-lit table set for two in the middle of the Temple of Athena Nike.
Emotion, far too delicate and precious for this man who could be in equal parts hard and bitter and magnetic, swelled inside me. ‘Neo, why are we here?’
He stepped forward, drew back my chair. ‘You helped land a very big deal for Xenakis today. An achievement worth celebrating,’ he said.
And as that warm bubble of worthiness expanded inside me, he added, ‘Plus, it’s your birthday.’
My throat clogged, dangerously happy emotions brimming.
‘I spoke to your mother’s counsellor at the rehab centre. She didn’t think it would be wise to grant dispensation for your birthday. Syngnómi. I’m sorry.’
‘It’s fine. I’m just glad she’s getting the help she needs.’
Deep down, while I’d have loved to share this moment with her, I was selfishly glad I had this all to myself. That I had Neo all to myself, as unwise as the thought was.
It took a few minutes for the shock to wear off, to grasp the fact that he’d had the tours shut down, had his executive chef prepare a sublime meal and transported it to this incredible place. All in a handful of hours.
The impact of his actions threatened to drown me in dangerous emotion. The kind that prompted yearnings that would never be fulfilled. The kind that led to restless, need-filled nights.
In a bid to put some distance between myself and those feelings, I glanced at pillars that whispered with history. ‘Was Athena Nike not a fertility goddess?’
Neo inclined his head, his gaze brooding. ‘Which makes this location apt, does it not?’
A blush crept into my cheeks, and when his gaze lingered boldly, heat spread fast and hard over my body.
Easy conversation flowed between us as we ate. And when the pièce de résistance was wheeled out—an enormous cupcake-shaped birthday cake, with a single candle set into the pink frosting—I fought back tears as Neo took my hand and led me to it.
‘You made a wish?’ His tone suggested the idea was alien to him.
‘I did. Something wrong with that?’ I asked when an involuntary muscle clenched in his jaw.
‘Wishes are useless. Reality is what matters.’
Bruising hurt launched itself into my chest. ‘It’s my birthday. I’m one hundred percent sure you’re not allowed to rain on my birthday parade.’
He stared at me for a long spell. Then nodded abruptly. ‘Ne, I’m not. What I can do is give you your birthday gift.’
From his pocket, he pulled a sleek, oblong box. Before he could open it, I laid my hand over his.
‘I don’t need a present, Neo. This...’ I waved my hand at the setting ‘...is more than enough.’
He blithely ignored me and flicked the box open.
Inside nestled a gorgeous necklace. Fiery ruby stones battled with sparkling diamonds for radiance. I couldn’t help my gasp.
‘You might not want a gift, but it’s yours nevertheless,’ he stated, in that absolute manner I’d come to accept was simply his nature.
‘And you want me to take it because it will please you?’ I semi-mocked, using his words from before.
He shook his head. ‘Because it will look beautiful on you. Because the rubies match your sensational hair and it would be a shame to keep this thing in a box.’
The compliments burrowed deep inside me, disarming me long enough for him to fasten the necklace, step back and boldly admire it.
‘You have a thing for my hair, don’t you?’ I said.
Expecting a mocking comeback, my heart flipped over when raw need tightened his face.
Before I could draw a breath he was capturing my shoulders, dragging me against his body. ‘I have a thing for you, Sadie. For all of you,’ he breathed, right before his head swooped down.
Helpless to deny the hunger which had been building inside me for weeks, I surged onto my toes and met his fiery kiss. Sensation went from one to one hundred in the space of a heartbeat. In a tangle of limbs we grappled to get closer, to kiss deeper, to sate an insatiable need.
When an abstract sense of propriety finally drove us apart, we were both breathing harshly, and Neo’s face was a taut mask of arousal. His hands continued to roam over my body, stoking need, until I feared my heart would bang clean out of my ribcage.
Lips parted in stunned surprise, I watched him sink to his knees, frame my hips between his hands, before leaning forward to kiss the swell of my belly. When he rose again, his eyes churned with thunder and lightning, his hands trailing fire when he cupped my nape and angled my face to his.
‘I want you, Sadie. Naked. In my bed, beneath me. Think of the sublime pleasure I can give you and give in to me,’ he coaxed, his fingers caressing my throat.
My knees sagged, the heady words finding their target and weakening my resolve. I scrambled hard for it. Because when it came right down to it, what Neo was offering was great sex. But still only sex.
I wanted more. Much more than I’d even allowed myself to dream of.
It was that very monumental need that made me shake my head. ‘I can’t. Not for a quick tumble that will simply complicate things. Besides, this isn’t part of our agreement.’
And it’s not enough for me.
His face slowly hardened. ‘Be careful, Sadie, that you don’t box yourself into a corner you’ll regret.’
Those cryptic words stayed with me long after we’d returned to the villa. Long after he’d bade me a curt goodnight and left me at the door of my suite.
Undressing, I caught sight of myself in the mirror and gasped, the effect of the spectacular necklace freezing me in place. I couldn’t help but appreciate its beauty. Appreciate the compliments Neo had paid me. Dwell on the look in his eyes before he’d kissed me.
I have a thing for you...all of you...
Had I dismissed his words too quickly? Had he been paving the way for...more?
A glance at my bedside clock showed it was only just past ten. My birthday wouldn’t be over for another two hours.
Perhaps it wasn’t too late to make another wish come true.
CHAPTER NINE
I TOSSED THE covers aside and slid out of bed before I lost my nerve.
My knock on his door elicited a sharp, gruff response. My clammy hand turned the handle and, ignoring my screaming senses telling me to turn back, I nudged it open.
He was reclined in the middle of his emperor-sized bed, his top half bare and his lower half covered by a dark green satin sheet. For several heartbeats he stared at me, a tight expression on his face.
‘Come to drive a few more points home?’ he asked eventually, his voice taut.
Unable to clear the lump of nerves lodged in my throat, I shook my head.
Slowly, torturously, his gaze roved over my body, lingering at my throat, where the necklace still rested, then my breasts, hips, down my legs, before rising to stop where the hem of my silk night slip ended high on my thighs.
He swallowed hard before his gaze clashed with mine, a turbulence percolating there that triggered a similar chain reaction in me.
‘Then what do you want, Sadie?’ His accent had thickened, throbbing with deep, dark desire.
‘What you said, back on Neostros, about me giving you liberty you didn’t want to take. What did you mean by that?’
That mask twisted with flint-hard warning. ‘Whether you end up in my bed or not, I don’t plan to stray. Earlier tonight I thought we could, in time, get to a place where the possibi
lity of renegotiating wasn’t unthinkable.’
In time...
Once he was certain the baby I carried was his?
I forced myself to focus as he continued.
‘But you shut that down, so I’m not sure why you’re here. One thing you should know, though. I abhor infidelity of any sort. If that’s what you’re here to propose—’
‘No!’ My heart twisted with dark, rabid jealousy. ‘That wasn’t... That’s not why I’m here.’
‘Spit it out, my sweet. There’s only so much torture I’ll take from my wife. Even on her birthday. Especially when she’s standing there looking like my every fantasy come to life.’
His gaze dropped again, this time to the fingers I was unconsciously twisting in front of me. Something eased in his eyes and he reared up from his recline.
At the sight of his sculpted chest, my mouth dried. Then almost immediately flooded with a hunger that weakened me from head to toe.
‘Come here, Sadie,’ he commanded gruffly.
I shook my head. ‘You’re going to have to come and get me.’
Expecting an arrogant comeback, I was surprised when his jaw clenched and his fingers bunched on the sheets. For an age, he contemplated me, his gaze weighing mine.
If I hadn’t known better I’d have imagined Neo was...nervous.
Before the thought could deepen, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and rose.
And for the first time I saw Neo naked. Saw him in his full magnificent glory.
Saw the deep, stomach-hollowing scars that dissected his left hip, then zigzagged their way over his pelvis to end dangerously close to his manhood.
My hand shot up to my mouth, a horrid little gasp escaping me before I could stop it.
Dear God, so that was why he believed he couldn’t have children?
Neo’s head jerked back, his eyes darkening at my reaction. Yet he didn’t flinch or cower. Hell, he seemed resolute, even a little proud to show off his scars. He prowled forward, naked and unashamed, his impressive manhood at full mast.
‘What’s the matter, Sadie?’ he rasped when he was a handful of feet away. ‘Is this too much for you? Are you going to run from me? Again?’
My gaze flew to his. ‘No! What would make you think that?’
His eyes shadowed and he paused for several beats. ‘The sight of me doesn’t horrify you?’ he asked, a peculiar note in his voice.
‘Of course I’m not horrified. I’m heartsick that you had to endure that. Who wouldn’t be?’
His lips twisted bitterly. ‘I’ve discovered from past...encounters...that there are three reactions to my scars. Horror, pity or stoicism.’
‘Well, I don’t belong in any of those groups, thank you very much.’
Again his gaze probed mine. ‘Do you not?’
‘No. And if you keep looking at me like that I’ll leave right now.’
‘Your words salve me a little...but perhaps I require more? A demonstration of why you’re in this room in the first place?’ he said huskily. ‘If you’re not here to torture me, pethi mou, then why are you here?’
His voice grew more ragged, his chest rising and falling along with the impressive arousal that was somehow growing even prouder by the second.
I dragged my gaze from his intoxicating body. ‘I came to tell you that I’ve changed my mind. That I... I want...’
God, what a time to be struck senseless. But, really, who could blame me? When he looked this magnificent? When it seemed—powerfully and thrillingly—that I had this effect on him?
‘I want the fantasy,’ I whispered.
‘What fantasy? Tell me what you want, Sadie. Explicitly.’
Nerves ate harder, knotting my tongue.
‘Perhaps it would be better to show me, hmm?’ he encouraged, his voice a barely audible rasp.
Had he said this with even a stitch of clothing on I would have balked. But with the miles of gleaming olive skin on show, his virility just begging to be explored and every atom in my body screaming for contact, the urge was impossible to deny.
My twitching hands flexed, rose. Brushed over one long, thin, jagged scar.
A sharp breath hissed out.
I snatched my hand away. ‘I’m s-sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.’
He gave a sharp shake of his head. ‘It doesn’t pain me, Sadie. Quite the opposite,’ he grated.
My gaze darted to his face. While his expression was tight with barely leashed control, his eyes blazed with an emotion I couldn’t quite name.
‘I’ve never permitted anyone to explore me this way,’ he added.
‘Really?’ Why did that please me so much?
‘Ne. Continue. Please,’ he urged.
Encouraged, I trailed my fingers over the raised skin, tracing the map of his trauma, a little in awe that he’d survived what had to have been a horrific experience.
When I neared his groin the sculpted muscles in his abs tensed, but he didn’t stop me. Growing bolder, I stepped into his force field, felt the searing heat of his skin blanket me.
‘Will you tell me what happened?’ I asked.
He regarded me for several heartbeats, then nodded. ‘Later. Much later.’ Then, grasping my hand, he growled, ‘Don’t stop.’
The invitation was too heady to resist.
I explored him from chest to thigh, but avoided the powerful thrust of his erection until, with a growl, he swung me into his arms and strode for the bed.
Laying me down, he divested me of the slip and panties but left the necklace on. Then he stayed by the side of the bed, staring down at me with blazing eyes.
‘Our first time was rushed. Understandably chaotic. This time I intend to take my time, learn everything you like. Show you what I desire. Are you willing, pethi mou?’
I nodded jerkily, aware that my pulse was racing at my throat.
‘Good.’
Boldly, he reached forward and cupped one breast, while the other hand covered the damp heat gathering between my legs. His eyes devoured my every expression as I arched into his touch.
‘I want to watch you drown in pleasure. I want to see your beautiful green eyes when you come for me.’
He toyed with one peaked nipple, drawing from me a breathless gasp, then swooped down, twirled his tongue around the tight nub, drew it into his mouth for several hot seconds before he raised his head.
‘I want to hear your breath hitch like that when you lose your mind for me.’
His thumb found the needy pearl of my core and rubbed with an expertise that arched my back, made desperate moans erupt from my throat.
‘Ah, just like that, moro mou.’
‘Neo, you’re making me... I’m...’
‘Give yourself over to me, Sadie,’ he grated thickly, urgently. ‘Give me what I want and I’ll reward you.’
‘With...what?’ I gasped.
An arrogant smile curved his sensual lips. ‘With as much of me as you can take. Would you like that?’
‘Yes!’
‘Then come for me. Now, Sadie,’ he demanded throatily, his clever fingers demanding that ultimate response as his due.
With mindless abandon I handed it over, sensation piling high as he flipped the switch that triggered my release. My screams scraped my throat raw, my body twisting in a frenzied bliss I never wanted to end.
All the while Neo rained kisses and praise on my body, his lips and hands prolonging my pleasure until I was spent. Until all I could do was try to catch my breath as he finally climbed onto the bed, parted my thighs and situated himself above me, arms planted on either side of my shoulders.
Even as my heart raced from one climax, need built again, and the sight of Neo, this powerful mountain of a man whose scars only served to make him even more unique, more potent and desirable, and yet so danger
ous to my emotional well-being, rendered me speechless.
Eyes frenzied with need scoured me from head to toe. ‘Touch me, Sadie,’ he rasped.
Too far gone to resist, I cupped his jaw, gloried in the sharp stubble that pricked my skin, delighted when he turned his face deeper into my touch. I explored him with the same thoroughness with which he’d explored me, until his breaths turned ragged and his stomach muscles clenched with the tightness of his control.
Throwing my legs wider, I let my gaze find his. Our visceral connection thickening the desire arching between us, he surged sure and deep, filling me in places that went beyond the physical. Because as Neo began to move, a kind of joy filled my heart. One that prickled my eyes and made me cling tighter, cry out a little louder.
Because while it was wondrous it was also terrifying, this feeling. Because in those moments when sweat slicked from his body to mine, when he fused his lips to mine with a heavy, passionate groan and stepped off the edge with me, as I touched his scar and felt his pain echo in my heart, I knew this would never, ever be about just sex for me.
When it was over, when I was exhausted but sated, my hand traced the whorls of raised scar tissue, my heart squeezing as I thought of what he’d suffered.
‘So was it a helicopter crash or a ski accident? The papers couldn’t seem to decide on one or the other,’ I said.
He stiffened, then gave a bitter chuckle. ‘When have they ever bothered about what’s the truth and what isn’t?’ Silence reigned for a handful of seconds before he added tightly, ‘It was on a black run in Gstaad. A run I’d skied many times before. But familiarity and expertise don’t mean a thing if there’s a lack of concentration.’
I frowned. Neo wasn’t the type to court danger by being reckless. The ruthless efficiency with which he’d steered events from the moment he’d learned of his child was testament to the fact that he didn’t drop the ball. Ever.
Unless... ‘Something happened?’
Grim-faced, he unconsciously tightened his hand on my hip. Not enough to hurt, but enough to signal that whatever memory I’d roused wasn’t pleasant.
‘The company had just started a major international push when Anneka and I got together. She was part of the ski season crowd who worshipped the slopes. I didn’t mind so much when she chose to party with her friends without me. But when she told me she was pregnant—’