Xenakis's Convenient Bride(12)

"You're really offering a marriage on paper so you can-"

"Oh, Calli," he cut in. "Don't be naive. We'll share a bed. That's why I'm choosing you."

A burst of excitement exploded in her, making her turn her face to try  to hide her reaction. He must have guessed, or seen her blush. Knowing  laughter scraped from his throat.

"You're assuming I would want that," she said in a thin voice.

"I'm quite certain you do."

"Your arrogance is a turn-off."

"So is your denial of the truth."

She swung a glare toward him, instantly anxious that she had caused his interest to wane. He was such a dangerous man.

He set down his glass and held up his hands, motioning her to come to him. "Let's seal the deal."

"I need time to think." She scowled at the carpet, blind to the pattern  and only seeing a blur of blues and greens. "This is happening too  fast."

"It will happen fast." He came toward her, clasping her upper arms  before she could properly catch her breath. "It has to. But you'll be  paid out by Christmas and free to do as you please. So will I."

Christmas. With her son...

She barely dared allow such a sweet dream to form.

"You want me to sleep with you for personal gain." She choked on the words as she said them.

"We're going to sleep together either way."

"Do you have a subscription for that level of confidence? Because I'd love to know where it comes from."

"Right here, glykia mou. In the way you respond to me." Stavros pulled  her up against him and wiped her brain clean with the first touch of his  mouth, sending a shock of pained excitement through her, like she'd  slammed into a wall of lightning.

With a moan of angst, she tried to hold back her response, not wanting  to be so easy for him. To prove to herself she could resist him. This.  But her body betrayed her. Her arms couldn't resist climbing to twine  around his neck so she could hang on as the rest of her wilted and  softened.

He felt so good, his strong arms supporting her, his hands stroking her  lower back in a way that made her scalp tingle. She found herself  opening her mouth beneath his, hungrily returning his kiss and welcoming  the intrusion of his tongue. Losing herself in the waves of pleasure  that rolled with increasing intensity through her.

In a brutal move of forced deprivation, he set her back on her flat  feet, wet mouth curled into a cruel smile of satisfaction. "Need more  proof?"

He wasn't even breathing hard. Not like she was.

It was humiliating, but it was the education she needed. She hated him  enough in that moment to feel no twinge of conscience over using him.  Not if he was going to use her libido to manipulate her.

Her level of desire scared her, though. Hormones had led her into heaven  and hell once before. The joy of a son, the grief of losing him, all  because she'd wanted someone to kiss her and treat her like she was  special.

"You don't love me," she said through lips that felt scorched and puffy.  It was a needle of truth that she plunged into herself, before he could  do it, as a vaccine. She was trying to undercut the way she reacted to  him, form antibodies so he wouldn't leave her devastated in six months.

"No," he agreed blankly. "I don't."

The needle bent and she gave it a twist, snapping it off.

"Don't say it. You lied once. Don't do it again. Don't make promises you  won't keep. Don't..." She looked at her hands where she tangled her  fingers in agitation.

She wanted to say, Don't hurt me. Not because she was afraid for her  physical self, but as much as she had learned to protect her heart, it  was still a very thin-shelled, fragile thing.

A firm hand cupped her jaw and forced her to look into his eyes. "Don't?"

She pulled free of his touch before she melted and betrayed herself  again. "This is a business agreement. Don't try to get inside my head."

He held her gaze and she tremored inside, wondering how anyone worked  with a man this intense and powerful without incinerating under his  laser regard.         

     



 

"And I'm not sleeping with you until we're married."

A muscle in his cheek ticked. "Let's make it happen quickly, then."



Stavros had no best man. Alejandro was away on his challenge and Sebastien was witnessing Antonio's nuptials in Rome.

Antonio took the opportunity to provide sober second thoughts anyway,  cautioning Stavros against taking a wife to appease his grandfather.  "The first time I married, it was purely to serve family expectations.  It was a disaster. Think twice, amico."

Stavros wasn't about to be swayed. "You're marrying for love this time, are you?" he challenged.

"I have a son." It was a face call and Stavros saw Antonio's jaw harden. His friend said nothing about the mother, Sadie.

Stavros had to wonder how a marriage like that could succeed, given the  woman had kept such an explosive secret for so long, but he only said,  "I want custody of my company. Same thing. And we've agreed it's only  for six months."

"She said yes to that?" Antonio's brows lifted in surprise, then he shrugged as if to say, "Do what you like, then."

Stavros always did.

He ended the call, but soon heard from Alejandro. He thought he was  about to get another warning, but aside from surprise, Alejandro passed  no opinion on Stavros's marriage. He was more concerned with getting a  DNA test for a horse.

What the hell was his friend facing in Kentucky?

Stavros had to wonder if Sebastien would think this challenge was worth  the loss of half his fortune. It had turned out more mentally taxing  than Stavros had expected, but it had only increased his desire to take  control of his own fortune, not to seek a higher purpose with his life.

His desire to claim Dýnami was the only reason, he told himself the next  day, that his heart fishtailed in his chest when Takis arrived at the  dimarchio alone.

The mayor had gone into his chamber moments ago and was waiting for them.

"Where's Calli?" he asked Takis.

"Ladies' room. She's not usually concerned about fussing with hair and  makeup, but..." He glanced at his watch, then his gaze came up, level  and unflinching. "You realize that if you hurt her, I'll kill you."

Possessiveness seared through Stavros's veins like a hit of heroin. His  knee-jerk reaction was to come down like a hammer on the man, but in the  few dealings he'd had with Takis, he'd found him to be direct and  genuinely interested in Calli's welfare. Stavros had to respect him for  that.

So he only said, "My prospects are considerably better than a pool boy's. She'll be well taken care of."

"She was already well taken care of."

"If that was all she wanted, she would have married you when she had the  chance." It was a bit of a low blow, but Stavros was fishing. He knew  Calli was getting something more from their marriage than a trip to New  York and a generous settlement. He wanted to know what it was. The  answer might lie in her reason for refusing Takis. What had her employer  failed to provide for her?

Takis had the grace to darken beneath his swarthy complexion.

"I knew she was too young for me." His voice sharpened to defensive.  "But I was running out of time to provide Ophelia with a brother or  sister, and I knew what people were saying about Calli's presence in my  house. They both deserved better."

His mouth grew so tight, a white line appeared around his lips.

"Regardless how she reacted to my proposal, I have to respect her  decision to accept yours. Even if I have my reservations." His baleful  glance was another warning. "She knows she has a home with us if it  doesn't work out. Don't send her back to me in pieces."

Again Stavros told himself this catch of aggression was only because  Calli leaving their marriage early could threaten his plan to take  control of Dýnami, but there was more. There was something about the  connection between her and this man that kicked him in the gut.

The sound of two pairs of high-heeled shoes approached and he lifted his  gaze, then caught his breath as the image of his bride slammed into  him.

The dress was simple, but Greek goddess – like in style. The front came  down in a sharp V, hugging her breasts in gathered cups right above a  wide band that emphasized her waist. Below it, the white silk draped  gracefully to just past her knees. A handful of tiny white flowers had  been woven into her hair and she held a bouquet of pink roses.

Her hand went to her middle as she saw him. "It's overkill, isn't it? I told you," she said to Takis, wincing self-consciously.

"No," Stavros insisted, shrugging on the suit jacket he had removed  outside because of the heat. "You look beautiful." He held out his arm.         

     



 

"I told you it was perfect." Ophelia wore pastel pink. She was coltish  and pretty, not unlike Calli in her quintessential Greek looks, and  glowed with importance as she took her father's arm and followed them  into the mayor's office.