The Greek's Surprise Christmas Bride. LYNNE GRAHAM

his inner eye and that lingering image vexed him. He didn’t fantasise, he didn’t imagine women naked. That was a teenage boy trait or the mark of an unsuccessful lover and even as a boy Leo had been skilled at getting what he wanted from the opposite sex. He didn’t have to fantasise; he generally only had to show interest in a woman to know that satisfaction would be easily obtained. Yet one glance at Juliet in any garb and he was speared by sheer lust, wanting to touch, wanting to taste, wanting to ride to satisfaction between those slender thighs.

      And yet she was the one woman whom he should be determined not to take. But maybe that was the secret of her appeal, he reasoned in frustration—the knowledge that she was out of bounds and forbidden. Maybe sex had become too easy, too available to fully engage his libido. Maybe what he really needed was some sort of diversion to direct his energy elsewhere. Clearly his current mistress was past her sell-by date and no longer able to attract him. That was what was wrong with him, he decided in a stark burst of relief; he had simply got bored with the current woman in his bed.

      Letty barely breathed in the lift because the edgy atmosphere unsettled her. She focused on the dark shadow of stubble outlining Leo’s strong jaw, the clenching of the muscles there, the sheer tension he emanated. Her breasts expanded as she snatched in a shuddering breath and stepped out into the foyer. The lace of her bra chafed her nipples and, as Leo clamped a guiding hand to her spine to urge her out of the building, she was engulfed in a wave of his scent, an achingly appealing medley of designer cologne and raw masculinity. Instantly, she stiffened, aware of the spurt of heat low in her pelvis and the uncomfortably damp sensation that followed. Annoyed that her body was betraying her with reactions she didn’t want, she gritted her teeth. She couldn’t afford to be attracted to Leo. It would be like walking through a minefield without any form of protection and she would be setting herself up for emotional damage.

      After all, nobody knew better than Letty what it was like for a woman to love an unfaithful man. She had watched her mother with her stepfather, standing on the sidelines while Gillian suppressed her suspicions and accepted her husband’s lies when he was late home or when phone calls came he couldn’t explain or which he wouldn’t answer around his family. The lies and evasions had been endless, and her mother had wanted to believe the lies because she loved Robbie and she hadn’t wanted to credit the ugly truth that he had other women in his life.

      But it wouldn’t be like that with Leo, a cool inner voice reminded her soothingly. Leo wasn’t prepared to lie. Leo preferred to be open and honest about his sexual preferences. He thought sex caused a lot of grief in marriage and that unusual outlook made Letty wonder how he had grown up and what his parents’ relationship had been like. What experiences had taught Leo to think that way? Certainly, he didn’t associate sex with the warmer emotions. It might even be true that he preferred sex without emotion getting involved at all, she reasoned. The more she thought about what motivated Leo, the more annoyed she became with herself for wondering and questioning everything about him as though he were some source of fascination. Of interest certainly, not fascination, she assured herself circumspectly. She wasn’t that much of an idiot, was she?

      ‘You’re a very good liar,’ she remarked in a brittle voice as the limousine drove off.

      ‘We have to roll out an acceptable back story for your family’s sake,’ Leo fielded without skipping a beat. ‘Unless, of course, you plan to tell them the truth—that you’re only prepared to marry me for my money?’

      In receipt of that stinging challenge, Letty shot him an outraged glance, green eyes sparking fire. ‘Of course I’m not going to tell them that! It would break my mother’s heart if she knew how I’m thinking and feeling right at this moment!’

      ‘So, we’re fortunate that I’m a good dissembler then,’ Leo responded with satisfaction. ‘But you need to work on being more convincing. At this point, a few lovelorn glances in my direction would be a good idea.’

      ‘I don’t do lovelorn!’ Letty snapped, wanting to slap him hard enough for that teasing smile to die on his lips. ‘I mean, why would I?’

      ‘Because we don’t have time to waste on a long engagement. I want the wedding to take place as soon as possible.’

      ‘But I haven’t agreed.’

      ‘You’re on the brink. You don’t have any other options and you know that our marriage makes sense,’ Leo countered with infuriating conviction.

      Letty didn’t appreciate the reminder that she had no other options. She felt as though she had tried to spread her wings, only for him to drag her cruelly back to solid earth again. Unfortunately, he was right: she was going to marry a man she didn’t know on terms that appalled her because, from what she knew, the good that that marriage would bring far outweighed the bad. She could help her family and, in so doing, pay back some of the loving support and encouragement she had received from them over the years. And hadn’t she long understood that most major gains in life entailed major sacrifices as well?

      ‘I’m still thinking it over,’ Letty fielded, her cheeks pink with annoyance, her eyes bright as she encountered dark golden eyes fringed with spiky black lashes that remained resolutely unimpressed by her stubborn response.

      Mercifully the car was already pulling in to park. She gazed out at the frontage of the most magnificent mansion she had ever seen outside a movie. Her eyes wide, it felt entirely normal to stare at the rows of gleaming windows and the porticoed entrance which once would have sheltered guests climbing out of carriages drawn by horses. ‘This