What The Greek Wants Most(30)

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The nightmare started the way it always did. A glow of light signalled   the men's arrival. Followed by the rope ladder and the heavy descent of   thick boots, tree trunk thighs and towering thugs.

Each time he'd fought back. A few times he'd landed blows of his own.   But each time they'd eventually overpowered him. The tallest, toughest   one, the one who favoured those smelly cigars, always laughed. It was   the laughter not the pain that triggered his screams. It was a   never-ending grating sound that churned through his gut and tripped his   heart rate into overdrive.

He felt the scream build in his throat and readied himself for the roar.

Gentle but firm hands shook him awake.

'Theo … querido!'

He kept his eyes shut and reached for her, holding on tight as the   images receded. The irony of it wasn't lost on him, the thought of how   much he now needed the daughter of the man who was responsible for   reducing him to a helpless wreck night after night for the last twelve   years.

As he held on to her the thought that had plagued him for several days   now took hold. He no longer wanted to pursue this vendetta. Yesterday,   he'd found himself requesting that the board vote a different way to   what he'd originally planned. They'd been stunned. He'd been twice as   stunned.

He'd mentally shrugged and told himself there was no reason to turn his   back on a healthy profit but he'd known he'd changed his mind for a   different reason.

Benedicto was all but finished.

But ending it now would mean Inez would be free to walk away from him.   And the very thought of that made him break out in a cold sweat.

He'd managed to buy himself a little more time by persuading her to come with him to Ari's wedding.

After that …

His insides churned as he lay in the darkness and felt her soft hands soothe him.

He pushed away thoughts he wasn't brave enough yet to truly examine.

'Querido, are you awake?' she breathed softly.

His heart flipped and his arms tightened convulsively around her soft, warm body. 'I'm awake, anjo.'                       
       
           



       

'I'm not an angel, Theo.'

'You are.'

'If I were an angel, I'd have the power to banish your nightmares,' she replied in a voice fraught with pain.

It took several seconds to realise she ached for him.

Pulling back, he stared into her face.

'You didn't do this to me, Inez.'

Her eyes clouded. 'I know. But that doesn't mean I don't wish you healed.'

His smile felt skewed. 'There's no cure for me, sweetheart,' he said,   although he was beginning to doubt that. Just as he was beginning to   think that the answer lay right there in his arms. If only there was a   way …

'Are you sure? There's therapy-'

'Tried it. Didn't work,' he replied. When he heard the curtness in his voice he soothed an apologetic hand down her back.

She relaxed against him and he buried his face in her hair and breathed her in.

'What happened?'

'What, with the therapy?'

She nodded.

He slowly opened his eyes and stared into the middle distance. 'They   spoke about triggers, breathing techniques and anxiety-detectors. There   was mention of electro-shock therapy or good old-fashioned pills. I   never went back for a second session.'

Her head snapped up. 'You mean all that was at your first session?'

He smiled and kissed her gaping mouth. 'I believed what was wrong with me couldn't be fixed by therapy.'

'Believed?'

He realised what he'd said and his breath caught. Was he grasping at straws where there were none?

'I'm beginning to think things aren't as hopeless for me, anjo.'

She paled a little but continued to hold his gaze. Slowly, she nodded.   Her luxuriant hair spilled over her shoulder onto his chest as she   stared into his eyes. 'I really hope you find closure one day, Theo.'

Simple, frank words, said from the heart. But they froze his insides as surely and as swiftly as an arctic wind froze water.

Because he was seriously doubting that he would ever find peace without this woman in his arms.





CHAPTER TWELVE

THEY BOARDED THEO'S private jet late the next Friday. The moment they stepped on board, Inez sensed something was wrong.

Theo paced up and down, his agitation growing the closer they got to take-off.

When the pilot came through, Theo sent a piercing glance at him and the man hurried into the cockpit.

'Theo, sit down. You're making your pilot nervous.'

He barked out a short laugh and threw himself into the long sofa   opposite her chair. His fingers drummed repeatedly on the armrest.   'Don't worry; he's used to it.'

'Used to what?'

'My aversion to enclosed spaces,' he answered tersely.

'Your claustrophobia.' Her heart squeezed as she watched his fingers grip the armrest and the skin around his mouth pale.

Unbuckling her seat belt, she crossed to the sofa and sat down next to   him. A sheen of sweat coated his forehead and when his eyes sought hers   she read the anxiety in them. Reaching around him, she secured his seat   belt then took care of her own as the plane taxied onto the runway.

Taking the arm closest to hers, she pulled it over her shoulder and   settled herself against him. He tugged her close immediately, his   breathing harsh and uneven.

She hugged him harder, and when he tilted her face up to his she went willingly.

He kissed her with a desperation that tore through her soul. For long,   anxiety-filled minutes, he took what she offered, until the need for air   drove them apart.

'You get that we cannot kiss all the way to Bermuda, don't you?' she said, laughing.

'Is that a challenge? Because I bet I can,' he threw back with a heart-stopping smile.

Inez noticed that his breathing was no longer agitated and breathed a sigh of relief.

'No, it's not a challenge.' She rested her head on his shoulder and   caressed his hard jaw. 'How do you normally get through flying?'

His jaw tightened for a second before he relaxed. 'Mild sleeping pills before take-off normally does the trick.'

'Why not today?'

'You're here,' he said simply. After a minute, he asked, 'Why are you helping me?'                       
       
           



       

'I cannot forget that my father did this to you. And no, I'm not   offering myself as a sacrificial lamb. But I don't want to see you   suffer either. I want to help any way I can.'

The reminder that her father loomed large between them grated more than   he wanted to admit. 'For how long?' Theo demanded more harshly than  he'd  intended.

She stiffened. 'Sorry?'

'Are you counting the days until I set you free?' he pressed.

Her eyelids swooped down, concealing her expression. 'I … we have an agreement-'

'Damn the agreement. If you had a choice now, today, would you stay or would you leave?'

'Theo-'

'Answer the question, Inez.'

'I'd choose to stay … '

The bubble of joy that started to grow inside him burst when he registered her flat tone. 'But?'

'But …  this could never go anywhere.'

A sense of helplessness blanketed him. 'Why not? Because I blackmailed you?'

She shook her head. 'No. Because a relationship between us would be impossible.

Theo's vision blurred at her words. He'd pushed her too far. Hung onto   his vendetta for too long. His mouth soured with ashen hopelessness. 'I   guess we both know where we stand.'

When she moved away, he fought not to pull her back. She stayed   close-out of pity? His mouth curled. He told himself he didn't care but   the voice in his head mocked him.

He cared, much more than he'd bargained for when he'd forced her to make   that stupid choice. The idea of her walking away from him made his   insides knot with a pain far greater than he'd ever known.

The plane hit a pocket of turbulence, throwing her against him. When she   stayed close, he let her. Forcefully, he reminded himself of one  thing.

He'd never meant to keep her for ever.

* * *

The Pantelides Bermuda resort was a breathtaking jewel set amid swaying   palm trees and sugar-white sand. The sun beat down on them as Theo  drove  the open-top Jeep towards their villa.

Stunning buildings connected by dark wooden bridges under which the most   spectacular water features had been constructed made for a visual   masterpiece. All round them bold colour burst free in a heady mix of   blues, greens and yellows that begged to be touched.

Their sprawling whitewashed villa featured high ceilings, cool tiled   floors and a four-poster bed that dominated the master bedroom.

A tense Theo who hadn't said more than a dozen words to her since they   landed, instructed the porter to place their cases in the master bedroom   and tipped the man before walking outside onto the large wooden deck.

'There's a barbecue later this afternoon. Perla thought we might want to   rest before then. You can go ahead and rest if you want to. I'll go  and  catch up with Sakis and Ari.'