you can’t expect your secretary—”
“My secretary has the entire responsibility of the trade fair on her shoulders, Ananke,” he cut in. “She needs tonight to go over the details with me. If I should suddenly lose consciousness, she’s perfectly capable of letting you know. Isn’t that true, Ms. Hamilton?”
The tension in the room was unbearable. There were strange undercurrents Alex couldn’t begin to understand. His nephew looked confused and hurt. Along with an angry look at Alex, his sister-in-law reflected her son’s feelings. Unfortunately Dimitrios was waiting for an answer.
“Yes, of course.”
ALEX felt tremendous guilt to hear the bedroom door close behind Leon and Ananke.
“Don’t worry, they’re going to be fine,” Dimitrios murmured. “There are things I know that you don’t. Tonight I’m not up to anything but a little peace and quiet. With you here to be my own guardian angel, I’ll be assured of the rest I crave.”
One glance at the lines of strain around his nose and mouth and she could tell his energy was spent. No doubt at this point he was starting to feel other aches and pains.
She slid out of the chair and turned off all the lights, hoping it would help. The sigh that escaped his throat told her she’d done the right thing. Taking advantage of the dark, she removed her glasses and put them on the table.
“This is almost as cozy as the plane. I don’t suppose you’d come over here and hold my head again.”
Alex was surprised by his banter, but she knew how awful it was to be dizzy. Combined with unrelieved pain, he had to be in a terrible state. She wished she could do what her mother did when her father suffered from a severe migraine.
If Alex had the temerity, she would sit next to him and use the tips of her fingers to tickle his face until he fell asleep. First his forehead, then across his brows and eyelids, down his straight nose to his mouth.
Though it was dark, it wasn’t pitch black by any means. Alex was able to use her eyes for fingers. She imagined tracing a line over every masculine feature and plane of a face that was so beautiful to her.
An hour must have passed before she saw the drawn look around his mouth relax. He was finally asleep. She found a light blanket and put it over him.
For the rest of the night she kept a constant vigil. Every so often she checked his pulse and felt to see if he was running a temperature.
Fearful he might go into too deep a sleep, she listened carefully for any change of sound in his breathing. At one point the urge to touch him was so strong, she smoothed the black curls off his forehead before sitting in the chair she’d pulled next to him. The joy of taking care of him was inexplicable.
At five to ten, the sun spread spokes of light across the bed through the shutters. As she leaned over once more to check his pulse, his eyelids opened.
He caught her hand with surprising strength before she could remove it. Though she hadn’t escaped in time for him to realize what she’d been doing, it proved he’d passed through the period of crisis without problem.
His black eyes glanced at the chair, then seemed to look straight into her soul. “You sat next to me all night?”
“Yes.” Fearful he’d get the wrong idea she said, “I told you before you went to sleep, you’re the most important person in Thessalonica. If anything had gone wrong during the night, I wanted to be prepared to handle it in case your doctor needed to be phoned. We couldn’t afford for the media to know anything.”
As an afterthought she blurted, “Fortunately this morning your pupils don’t look dilated, so I’m assuming you’re feeling better.”
“I’m still a little dizzy, but I only see one pair of green eyes this morning instead of three.”
Alex trembled that he’d even noticed her eyes, but she didn’t dare take it personally.
“That’s a very good sign you’re on your way to a full recovery.” Hard as it was to separate herself from him, she moved the chair to the table. “Your family’s going to be delighted with the news.”
“Unfortunately I’m not delighted to see how exhausted you are,” came the less than flattering remark, underlining her belief that his comment about her eyes held no significance whatsoever.
“I catnapped here and there. Do you feel ready for something to eat or drink?”
“Like you, I’m ravenous, and could swallow a gallon of that sage tea with honey.” He sounded like he meant it.
“Let me find your housekee—”
“You’re going to bed!” he interrupted her. “I’ll ring the kitchen and ask them to send us trays. They’ll deliver one to your room. Then I want you to sleep for as long as you need to. We’ll talk business later in the day when you’re up and feeling refreshed.”
She was his secretary and had been banished to the guest bedroom. It was the surest sign that he was once more in command.
Without further words passing between them, she left his room and shut the door. At the click, she felt a death knell in her heart because those precious moments of intimacy while he’d been at his most vulnerable would never come her way again.
A few minutes later she stood beneath a hot shower, attempting to shut out her mother’s warning. But it was too late.
I’m afraid for you to go to Greece. It can only put you on a more intimate footing with him without getting anything back in return.
Dimitrios moved slowly to reach for the phone. His housekeeper sounded relieved he was well enough to eat. He told her to send one breakfast tray to the guest room and another to his bedroom.
After he hung up, he realized Ms. Hamilton must have covered him with a blanket during the night.
She’d done more than that. He’d felt her fingers like little angel wings brushing his forehead. Though it was hours since the experience, he could still feel her touch. So soft…yet it had electrified him. He’d actually wanted to pull her down on the bed next to him and…
Lord. The accident on the plane must have done something more serious to him than he’d thought. Never in all these years had he been tempted to break his vow and take a woman to bed.
Frustrated and shocked by feelings of desire for his secretary, of all women, he made another vow that he wouldn’t allow her to disturb him again.
Carefully pushing the blanket aside, he got off the bed. The action reminded him he’d hurt his shoulder. He winced while he clung to the nightstand, waiting for his equilibrium to return.
Every muscle in his body ached, but at least he was standing on his own. It didn’t surprise him to hear a knock on the door. Everyone else would have been up for several hours.
“Uncle? Serilda said you called for breakfast. Can I come in?”
“Of course.”
His nephew rushed over the threshold. He looked worried to see Dimitrios standing by the bed. “Should you be up yet?”
“I’m all right.”
“That’s a great relief. Let me help you into the shower.”
“Tell you what. Stay close by while I try to make it on my own.”
It was a struggle, but he managed without having to rely on his nephew for support.
“Be careful, Uncle. The doctor said not to get your head wet for another day.”
“Thank you for the reminder.”
The hot spray felt