―Demetrius spotted my sister by the pool one day and
offered marriage not two hours later. So you‘ll have to excuse
him, he is usually a force to be reckoned with when he deals with
business. He wanted to complete this deal with you himself but
he had gotten a lead on where Sophie was. Over the months
there had been many but obviously this one was the real thing.‖
It was unusual that the press didn‘t get wind of this over
the past nine months because they were a high profile couple,
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The Billionaire‘s Secret Desire
―Was it another man?‖ Most men would take this as an insult
but Nikos just grinned and shook his head.
―With other woman maybe, but not Sophie, she loved him
very much. That‘s why none of this made sense. I‘m anxious to
find out why she left.‖ He pursed his lips, ―Unlike Helene,
Sophie was virtuous. She had a softness about her that was
addictive. When Demetrius first laid eyes on her it was a full five
minutes before he spoke. I have never seen my friend speechless
before.‖ He shot Max a look, ―Much like you are with your Lily.‖
Max lifted his cup and sipped his own coffee while his
pale eyes remained on Nikos, ―It‘s that obvious is it?‖
―As the sun shines.‖ He grinned spreading his hands
under the bright light of the Grecian sun, ―Why do you think I
backed off? If it was any less than the look Demetrius gave
Sophie, I would be in hot pursuit.‖
―So you think.‖ He said seriously causing Nikos to laugh.
―Ah, speaking of Lily.‖ Nikos stood up followed by Max as
Lily came out onto the back patio.
If the Grecian sun was bright, Lily entering the picture
just made it seem dim. She was beautiful. Max couldn‘t take his
eyes off her. She wore a dress with a simple style but it was
perfect showing her luscious curves to the point of make a man
want to discover more.
Immediately Max left the table, went to her, and without
warning gave her a long genuine kiss. Lily knew he was acting
because of what he told her about Nikos but she still responded
to him. It was easy to play a part when she was taking it
seriously. Finally he lifted his head.
She looked tired. He already knew that she lay awake like
he did last night although he was better at feigning sleep than she
was. It didn‘t help to know that he‘d seen the thin satin
nightgown she‘d brought with her and knew she was wearing it.
Images of her scantily clad body kept him awake until four in the
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Lietha Wards
morning. She had fallen asleep a few hours before. It would
have been easy to remove his pyjama bottoms and undershirt
then move his body next to hers. Just thinking about it started
the aching in his groin that kept him up most of the night. As it
was he reached over and caressed the smooth skin of her face
and fingered a lock of her hair. She didn‘t wake up with that, but
she released a soft moan that turned him hard as a rock.
When she came out in the light of the bright Grecian sun,
he couldn‘t help himself and had to kiss her. He craved the feel
of her mouth and her taste. He was keeping up the pretence of
the engagement just so she would play along. The more she
played along, the more he had an excuse to touch her. ―How did
you sleep?‖
She glanced shyly up at him, ―Well enough.‖
His thumb caressed a darkened area under one of her
eyes, ―Liar.‖ He murmured.
―Nikos is watching us.‖ She said feeling her rising blush.
―So?‖ he smiled slowly, ―I told you I was going to be all
over you.‖ What he didn‘t tell her and he wouldn‘t tell her is that
Nikos had resigned his pursuit of Lily. Any moment to touch her
and kiss her would be taken advantage of. Unfortunately now
that he started, he doubted he could stop touching her even when
they returned to Chicago.
Her heart jumped at his deeply voice statement, ―I heard
you last night.‖
―Did you honey?‖ He said pulling up one corner of his
mouth.
―I did.‖ She said tersely embarrassed at her reaction to
him and equally embarrassed that she was jealous of Helene.
―Once you told me that you dealt with your stalker.‖
He chuckled, ―Was that what she was?‖ He took her
hands and squeezed them while studying her flushed cheeks,
―You sure play the part well. You acted like a jealous lover.‖
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The Billionaire‘s Secret Desire
I wasn’t playing, she thought, I wanted to scratch her
eyes out. She was actually going to tell him that when Nikos
interrupted.
―If you can unhand your fiancé for a minute or two,‖ he
said with amusement, ―She should eat something before we leave
for Aquinas.‖
Max agreed and took her hand to lead her back toward
the table. After he pulled out a chair for her and sat next to her,