no one else, ever, capable of taking his place in her heart.
It was a knowledge imprinted in her soul. Inviolate.
Nicos lifted a hand and trailed light fingers across her cheek, watched her eyes dilate as he traced the outline of her generous mouth.
Her lips parted, soft and slightly swollen beneath his touch.
‘Thank you.’
One eyebrow lifted slightly. ‘For what, precisely?’
Her eyes were the darkest green, and incredibly eloquent. ‘You,’ she said simply. His tenacity, everything that made him the man he was. To consider, even for a moment, that he might have let her walk away filled her with pain.
‘You’re mine,’ Nicos said gently. ‘No other woman comes close to you.’
It hurt unbearably that she had doubted him. Yet the purported facts had been damning, at the time his denial beyond proof. And Georgia had been very convincing. Such incredible lengths Nicos’s former mistress had gone to destroy a marriage.
A faint shiver slithered down her spine. That Georgia had almost succeeded—
‘Don’t go there.’
He read her so well. Too well, she attested silently.
Nicos caught her close and savoured the sweet curve of her shoulder. His hands soothed, brushing lightly over water-slicked skin, pausing to render supplication to vulnerable pleasure pulses before drifting low in an evocative trail that stirred her senses anew.
A soft sigh left her lips as his fingers caressed the sensitised nub, taking her high with a skilled ease that left her breathless.
‘Nicos.’ His name was both plea and protest.
‘Hmm?’ His voice was a teasing murmur at her temple.
‘If you plan taking this further, I should tell you I skipped lunch.’
His husky laughter was almost her undoing. ‘I thought I had your undivided attention.’
Katrina placed her lips against his in a brief teasing kiss. ‘You do.’ Believe me, you do, she added silently.
He rose to his feet in one fluid movement, lifted her effortlessly onto the tiled floor, then wrapped a towel round her slim form before fixing another at his hips.
‘Let’s go check out room service.’
It was later, after a leisurely meal and what remained of the champagne, that Katrina caught hold of his hand and pulled him towards her.
‘Do you have plans for this evening?’
He gave a faint smile. ‘We could go home.’
The word had a nice sound to it. ‘Hmm,’ she teased, pretending to consider their choices. ‘Or we could get dressed.’ She fingered his complimentary towelling robe, one of which she also wore. ‘And take in a nightclub.’
So she wanted to play. He was willing to join in the game. ‘Or a movie.’
Katrina traced a finger down the deep V of his robe. ‘It would be a shame to waste the suite.’
He stood still, content to let her have control, for now. ‘A shame.’
She teased the dark hairs arrowing down to his waist. ‘Do we have any wine?’
‘Red, or white?’
Her faint smile held a wicked tinge. ‘It doesn’t matter.’
‘Want me to check?’
Her fingers were busy, and far too close to a vulnerable part of his anatomy.
‘Uh-huh.’
Nicos moved a few paces, retrieved a small bottle of wine, popped the cork, part-filled two goblets and handed her one.
Katrina dipped a forefinger into the light-coloured liquid, traced a pattern along the edge of his collar bone, then she leaned forward and slowly followed the same path with her tongue.
With one hand she undid the tie fastening his robe and pushed it off one shoulder, then the other, letting it fall to the floor in a heap.
His eyes were dark, and she saw the pulse leap at his throat as she circled one male nipple.
Minutes later his breath hissed through his teeth, and firm fingers closed over her wrist, stilling the evocative trail. ‘Dear God,’ he ground out. ‘Are you done?’
She tilted her head, and her lips curved into a provocative smile. ‘Had enough?’
A muscle clenched at the edge of his jaw. ‘Be warned, I intend to reciprocate.’
A light laugh escaped her throat. ‘I’m counting on it.’
Later, much later, it was she who groaned out loud. She who pleaded, then begged as he took her on a mercilessly provocative journey that explored the senses until she shattered, fragmenting into a thousand, exquisite pieces.
Katrina lay supine, seriously doubting her ability to move. Even lifting a hand seemed to require too much effort. She was barely aware when Nicos pulled up the bed covers, and drew her in close against him.
She slept, waking to the light brush of Nicos’s fingers as he traced a line along the edge of her waist to her hip, then her thigh. His lips teased the soft hollow at the base of her throat, and she moved close to nuzzle his chest.
It was a wonderful way to begin the day. Slow, lazy seduction, and equally slow sex.
Lovemaking, she qualified, glorying in the feel and the taste of him.
Afterwards they hit the shower together, then dressed, they ordered in breakfast and ate it out on the terrace, watching the city come alive as ferries crossed the harbour and road traffic began to build.
A new day, Katrina mused as she sipped the aromatic coffee. The sky was a clear blue, with hardly a cloud in sight, and the sun lent the promise of warmth.
There was a sense of timelessness, and a need to encapsulate the moment and store it somewhere safe.
Nicos studied her profile, the fine bone structure. She possessed a beauty of soul and spirit, an intrinsic quality that was uncontrived.
He felt his body harden remembering the degree of intimacy they’d shared. Two minds so finely attuned, he knew her thoughts, her innermost secrets.
Katrina’s skin prickled, and she turned slightly, met his gaze, and felt her insides begin to melt at what she saw in those dark depths.
‘Time to go,’ she said gently as she rose to her feet and offered him her hand.
Together they took the lift down to reception and collected the car. Ten minutes later Nicos double-parked outside the towering steel and glass structure which housed the corporate offices of Macbride.
Katrina kissed her fingers and touched them briefly to his lips. ‘Until tonight.’
He watched her disappear through the revolving glass doors, then he eased the car into the flow of traffic.
There was a place in the Greek Islands where the sun kissed the translucent waters, vines grew on the gentle slopes, and white-washed villas dotted the hillside. He had an urge to take her there, to relax and enjoy the simple pleasures of life for a while. He’d have his secretary make the arrangements.
Within minutes of reaching his office he picked up the phone, issued specific instructions, and got on with the day.
Across town Katrina viewed the rectangular-shaped package the courier had just delivered, and removed the protective wrapping to reveal the painting she had admired at the art gallery.
She picked up the phone, dialled Nicos’s number, and responded as soon as he answered.
‘Thank you. It’s beautiful.’
‘My