Eventually, she managed to place a thin veil over her emotions, enough to function for the rest of the day.
The news that Lowell had been arrested and was refusing to cooperate threw the rest of the night into disarray. At one a.m., Sakis stopped pacing long enough to pull her up from the seat on the other side of the sofa where she was busy putting together the itinerary for the next day.
‘Go to bed, agapita.’
Unable to stop herself, she swayed towards his hard warmth. ‘Alone?’
His lips trailed over her cheek to the corner of her mouth. ‘I’ll join you as soon as I have the latest update from the lawyers.’
By the time he joined her an hour later, Brianna was almost delirious with need. As he took her on another sheet-burning journey of bliss, she knew without a doubt that, no matter where she went, her heart would always belong to Sakis Pantelides.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
SAKIS’S PRIVATE GREEK home was a sun-baked slice of bliss that rose from stunning turquoise waters west of the Ionian Islands. Traditionally built and whitewashed in true Greek style, the large villa nevertheless boasted extensive modern designs: the swimming pool had been designed around the villa and traversed under the indoor-to-outdoor living room, reflecting Sakis’s love of water.
On her first night here two days ago, Brianna had walked out of her bedroom to find herself faced with an immense mobile hot-tub on her terrace, in which had resided a smug, gloriously naked Sakis with two crystal glasses and vintage champagne chilling on ice next to his elbow. But, if there was one thing she loved about Sakis’s island retreat, it was the peace and tranquillity.
Although on this particular Sunday, with teeming bodies enjoying the unfettered generosity of their host, the island paradise was more island rave.
Brianna stood away from the crowd, absently keeping an eye on a couple of employees who were bent on getting hammered as quickly as possible.
Her phone buzzed in her hand and her heart contracted.
Need update, pronto. G.
Greg’s texts had got increasingly frequent and terse in the last day. Although she’d managed to fob him off with non-answers, she was fast running out of time. From experience, she knew his patience would only hold out for so long.
She fired back an inadequate ‘Soon’, a cold shiver coursing through her veins despite the fierce summer sun.
She’d greedily grasped the chance to spend some more time with Sakis. But, like sand through an hourglass, it had inevitably run out.
Looking over to where the man who’d taken over one-hundred per cent of her waking thoughts stood with his two brothers, her insides twisted.
The three brothers were gorgeous in their own rights. But, to her, Sakis stood head and shoulders above Ari and Theo.
It had nothing to do with the way his lips curved when he smiled, or the way a lock of hair fell over his forehead when he nodded to something Theo was saying to him...
No, there was a presence about him, an aura of strength and self-containment, that struck a deep place inside her. And the fierce protectiveness he’d displayed towards those loyal to him made her heart ache.
How would it have felt to be loved and cherished by a man such as him? Tears prickled her eyes at the thought that she’d never find out; never know how it would feel to be loved just once by somebody worth giving her own love to.