within her. This was dangerous, crazy—and also incredibly exciting. Common sense told her she should bolt, and yet she stayed put. She couldn’t bear the thought of the evening ending, the doors slamming shut on her future. And she wanted Alekos to kiss her again.
Alekos took a bottle of champagne from the little fridge and held it out to her. ‘Seems appropriate, don’t you think?’
‘I suppose.’ She’d only tasted champagne a few times in her life.
Alekos popped the cork, the sound a mini explosion in the stillness of the room, and then poured them each a flute. He handed one to Iolanthe and she took it with numb fingers. ‘Gia sou.’
‘Gia sou,’ she whispered, and drank. The bubbles fizzed up her nose, making her cough. Alekos arched an eyebrow and Iolanthe tried for a laugh. ‘Sorry. I never seem to get the hang of champagne.’
‘Innocent in this as in everything else.’
Something about his tone made her prickle defensively. ‘I can’t help being innocent.’
‘Well I know it.’
She cocked her head, noting the way his eyes had narrowed and his mouth had firmed. Did he not want her here? Did he regret asking her up? She couldn’t bear the thought. ‘What is it?’ she asked unsteadily. ‘Why are you looking at me like that?’
‘Because you shouldn’t be here,’ Alekos said, the words harsh and unrelenting, confirming her fears. ‘I shouldn’t have asked you up here. You don’t know what you’re getting into, Iolanthe.’
A thrill ran through her, and to her surprise Iolanthe recognised it as excitement rather than fear. ‘What if I do know?’ she dared to ask.
Alekos took a step closer to her. ‘Do you?’ he returned, his voice low; Iolanthe couldn’t tell if his words were a threat or an invitation. Maybe both.
And the truth was, she didn’t know. At least she recognised that much. She knew what happened between men and women, she understood the basics of sex, but this...desire was utterly new to her. And completely intoxicating. She couldn’t leave. Not now, not when Alekos was offering such a tantalising glimpse of a new world, a world she’d only dreamed of and read about in books. She’d wanted a kiss, but even she in her innocence recognised the look of blatant intent in Alekos’s eyes, and knew he was thinking of far more than a kiss.
And what of it? The rest of her life would be one shackled to duty. Why not allow herself one night of pleasure—and maybe it could become more? Maybe, she thought with sudden, dizzying hope, Alekos could be a suitable husband for her. Why not?
Why shouldn’t this be the beginning of everything?
She met his hot gaze, if not fearlessly, then at least with determination. With desire. And she shuddered when he reached his hand out and stroked her cheek.
‘So soft,’ he murmured. He looked as dazed as she felt. He wanted this as much as she did. The realisation was both thrilling and terrifying, and Iolanthe met it full on. Here was her future. Her hope.
‘Kiss me,’ she whispered.
Alekos hesitated, and through the fog of her desire Iolanthe saw the conflict on his face, felt it in the way his fingers stilled on her cheek.
‘It doesn’t matter if I’m innocent,’ she said fiercely. ‘I don’t want to be innocent or naïve. I want to feel and taste and know. I want to be desired.’
‘You are,’ Alekos assured her raggedly, and then he drew her towards him, their bodies colliding in sweet harmony as his mouth came down on hers.
Iolanthe revelled in the touch of his lips against hers, everything in her jolting alive as his tongue swept into her mouth and his hands roved her body, leaving fire and longing in their wake. His palm cupped her breast and it felt as if he’d hotwired her soul. She’d never known you could feel like this. Want like this...
She clutched his shoulders, and then dared to smooth her hands down his shirt, her palms caressing the sculpted muscles beneath the crisp cotton. Alekos let out a groan as he tore his mouth from hers.
‘Iolanthe, you should leave now,’ he urged on a ragged gasp.
Leave now, when her senses were swimming and her body ached for his touch? When she felt as if everything was finally beginning? That was the last thing she wanted. She knew she was plunging down a road where there was no way back, but she didn’t want a way back. She wanted to dare to go ahead...with Alekos.
‘Let me stay,’ she whispered, and pressed her palms against his chest so she could feel the hard thud of his heart. ‘Please.’
His eyes glittered gold as he gazed down at her, his breathing coming in ragged bursts. ‘Do you realise what you’re asking?’ he demanded in a low voice.
A smile curved her mouth even as her heart lurched. ‘I’m not that innocent.’ Not quite. If Alekos took her innocence, she’d be ruined for another man. She knew that, at least in her head, but her heart was hammering with an insistence that this was right. This was her chance, and she had to take it.
‘We can’t...’ Alekos began, but Iolanthe thought he was waiting to be convinced. And so she would convince him.
‘We can.’ Standing on her tiptoes, she brushed her mouth against his, a butterfly kiss that had Alekos shuddering in response—and then kissing her back, his hands sliding to her hips to anchor her against his arousal as his tongue delved deep.
Iolanthe rocked against his hips, thrilling to his touch, to the knowledge that he desired her so powerfully. Her mind was a haze of need and sensation, and she quieted the distant voice that was telling her to stop, to see sense, to realise this could only be a mistake. She and Alekos had a connection, something precious and rare. Never mind that they’d only known each other a few hours. She felt it, and she knew he felt it as well.
‘If you’re sure,’ Alekos muttered, and in reply Iolanthe pressed herself closer still.
* * *
Alekos couldn’t think beyond the feel of Iolanthe’s slender body against his own. He felt as if she’d slipped into his senses; he couldn’t remember ever wanting a woman this way. So much so that all rational thought and self-control fled and his hands shook as he tugged at the zip on the back of her dress.
The sparkly satin, as white as a wedding dress, fell away to reveal her pale and perfect body underneath. Alekos released the breath he’d been holding in a low, slow exhalation as his gaze roved over her.
‘You are exquisite.’
Pink stained her cheeks but she did not try to hide herself. Her small, high breasts were encased in delicately scalloped lace, and the scrap of silk that passed for a pair of pants was transparent enough for him to see the soft darkness beneath. Everything in him longed to touch her.
Alekos took her hand and Iolanthe stepped out of the dress, the satin whispering about her slender legs. Her hands went to his chest, fingers fumbling on the studs of his shirt, her lovely brow puckered in concentration. With an impatient hiss of breath Alekos pulled them out himself and then shrugged out of the shirt, tossing his cummerbund aside.
Iolanthe’s mouth curved and her eyes glowed as she stroked his bare chest, her fingers teasing the crisp hair. ‘You’re exquisite,’ she said, and he laughed, the sound hoarse.
‘No one has ever called me that before.’
‘They should.’ With soft hands she stroked his chest and torso, down to the waistband of his trousers where she stopped shyly. ‘You’re beautiful, Alekos.’
‘Come to bed.’ Even through the fog of his desire Alekos saw the flicker of uncertainty in her eyes but then she came willingly, proudly even, her chin held high as she walked towards him, her hips swaying.
He should stop this. He knew he should stop this, before Iolanthe got hurt, before he was the one who hurt her. Then