to please me.’ Nikos spoke softly, leaning closer to her as he looked out of the window like a tourist too, seemingly happy to put aside all that had unfolded that evening. ‘We should go there one day.’
Serena shrank back in her seat; his words bringing it all back and making her presence on the mainland of Greece sound permanent. It was. She didn’t have any other choice.
She pushed those thoughts from her mind, too tired to deal with them any more tonight, but she was still curious as to why Nikos was here when he’d grown up on the island of Santorini. Was that fabrication too?
‘How long have you lived in Athens?’
‘I came here as a teenager, after I finished school and found myself a job with Xanthippe Shipping. The rest I’m sure you know.’ Bitterness edged his words and he too sat back, the beauty of Athens now spoilt for him as much as her. ‘My apartment is not far now.’
‘I should stay in a hotel,’ she volunteered quickly. She’d been too tired to give any thought to where she was going to stay once she was in Athens, but she’d already questioned the sanity of staying with Nikos.
Now she did so again—because of what had been said this evening and the way her body had reacted to him, the way she still wanted and loved him. Staying with him would be a temptation to believe things would work out, when the way he’d reacted earlier told her that was never going to happen.
‘No,’ he said quickly, then started speaking in Greek to the taxi driver. Within moments they had stopped. He got out and walked around to open her door, his gaze locking with hers.
She stepped out and looked up at the smart modern apartment building blending tastefully with the older buildings around. The street lamps glowed like gold, giving it a magical appearance as well as an affluent one. It was so different from the small whitewashed house nestled on a hillside of Santorini overlooking the sea, which Nikos had pointed out during those blissful two weeks. He’d told her it was his home, igniting all sorts of romantic notions in her head, but after tonight’s revelations nothing he said could be trusted.
‘You are tired and you will stay with me.’
A hint of compassion lingered in the heavily accented words, and if she closed her eyes, pretended the previous hours hadn’t existed, she might almost believe he cared.
‘I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.’
She scrabbled to think of a reason, but couldn’t come up with one. They’d already slept together, seen each other naked, so even those excuses didn’t fit. The reality was that she did want to be with him. That was why she’d made the journey to Greece instead of calling him. She’d hoped those two weeks together had meant something.
‘I’m not going to argue with you any more, Serena. You will stay with me tonight, and after my meeting tomorrow morning we can talk further.’
Inwardly she sighed as the taxi driver pulled away. She was tired—of travelling and of talking. Sleep was what she needed now and the thought of insisting on going to a hotel, then checking in, filled her with dread. She’d stay—tonight, at least—but not in his bed. In the morning she’d be able to think more clearly.
Shouts in Greek caught her attention as a car pulled up alongside them. She turned to look just as Nikos put a protective arm around her, responding in the same language. Just seconds before a camera flash penetrated the night Serena realised they were journalists. Uncomfortable doubt crept over her. Was Nikos such a high-profile figure that they followed him around?
‘What do they want?’ She glanced quickly at them as they still lingered close by, watching them with suspicion.
She couldn’t keep the sceptical edge from her voice as he held the main door to the apartment building open for her and she walked into a bright lobby, the white walls a stark contrast to the darkness outside.
‘They wanted to know who you are.’ He took his keys from his pocket then pressed the button to call the lift.
‘Why am I of any importance?’ She frowned as she watched the numbers above the lift counting down the floors, trying to appear unfazed by the event.
He sighed and she felt his gaze on her face.
‘It has been an obsession with them for the past year or so. The more successful my business becomes, and the more unattached I remain, the more determined they are to dig something up.’
‘So what did you tell them?’
Her heart began to thump harder as he looked into her eyes. The depths of his were darkening to a sultry blue, which made her stomach flutter wildly. She cursed her body—and her emotions—for falling under the spell of his charm.
‘The truth.’
The lift doors swished open. He walked inside and then stood looking at her, the spark of mischief in his eyes and the quirk of a smile on his lips almost her undoing.
Determined not to let him see just how easily he could crash through her defences, she marched in after him.
‘What is the truth?’
‘That we are engaged.’
Serena wasn’t sure if it was the movement of the lift or the words he’d just spoken that made her stomach lurch and her head spin. She clutched at the handrail inside the lift and closed her eyes against a wave of nausea.
* * *
Nikos moved quickly as Serena’s face paled. Her knuckles whitened as she gripped the handrail and he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close against him. He could feel her sliding down, so scooped her up into his arms just as the lift doors opened.
Furious that she’d allowed herself to become so exhausted by travelling all the way to Greece alone, risking his child, he marched towards his door. With each step he took he could feel her body against his, and an unknown emotion of protectiveness swept over him, but he pushed aside the unfamiliar sensation, not wanting to know why or how.
Swiftly, and with ease, he unlocked the front door and angled himself so he could negotiate the doorway without letting her go. Full of concern, he looked down at her just as her eyelashes fluttered open. Relief filled him as green eyes, full of questions and shock, met his.
‘You are supposed to do this after we are married...’ Her voice was weak, more like a throaty whisper, and her pale face looked anxious.
‘I always do things my way, Serena.’
The words came out harder than he’d intended, and he felt her sharp intake of breath as he held her.
She wriggled in his arms as he made his way into the open-plan apartment. The view of the city lights twinkling beneath the floodlit Acropolis didn’t move him this evening. Concern for Serena and his baby took precedence, as did his guilt at flying her back here tonight.
He could have made the flight alone, attended his meeting, then gone back for her—but instinct had warned him against that. Everything she’d said had made him sure she wouldn’t meekly be waiting for him to return. He knew she was only here because of the deal he’d offered and nothing more.
Satisfied that the child she carried was his, he was not going to let her go easily. He was prepared to do anything to create a family for his child. The kind of family he’d craved as a boy and thought he’d never have. It didn’t matter what excuses or what reasons she gave him, he was going to give his child what he’d never had.
‘You can put me down now.’
She pushed her hands against his chest and he heard the strength in her voice returning. As did the spark in her eyes, making them resemble the bright green leaves of spring.
‘It was the lift that made me dizzy. It’s been a long day.’
‘I will order in something to eat, then you can rest.’
He let her slide from him, feeling every