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,
several servants were at her side with platters of food.
She wasn‘t used to such attention and started to get
uncomfortable. It didn‘t help that Max had moved his arm to the
back of her chair and his hand absently rubbed her shoulder
while he spoke to Nikos. The constant caressing was unnerving
her. Not that she didn‘t want it, she wanted more. She wanted to
feel his body on hers again and to have him kiss her that way.
She lay awake last night for awhile after he‘d fallen asleep hoping
that he‘d do just that. However he didn‘t and she was
devastatingly disappointed. She was wondering if it was because
he didn‘t desire her like she did him. In all her inexperience she
didn‘t know if he was serious about all of this or maybe he was
just playing the part and getting her into the role of it. What he
didn‘t know is that she fell really hard for him and he was very
convincing. Yet something deep down told her that Max wasn‘t
that cruel, but he did tell her that this engagement was a cloak.
The problem was, she stopped playing the moment he kissed her.
Then if things couldn‘t get any worse, out came Helene
wearing a low cut blouse and a tight short skirt walking with an
exaggerated sway of her hips as she approached the table. She
immediately put herself next to Max despite his arm around her
and proceeded to flirt outrageously with him. She didn‘t doubt
for a moment that Max had spoken to her like he said, but
obviously Helen wasn‘t one to be put off. Did the woman have no
79
Lietha Wards
scruples? Twice she reached across the table for something and
brushed her breasts against Max‘s other arm and the second time
Lily stiffened, tossed her napkin on her plate, and started to get
out of her chair.
She‘d had had it and she was going to say something to
the woman or do what she wanted to in the first place, and
scratch her eyes out! Max suddenly grabbed her and crushed his
hard mouth down on hers. Somewhere in the back of her mind
she heard and indignant gasp and the scraping of chairs. Then it
was gone and the only awareness was his mouth on hers and the
way his tongue---oh dear!
What neither one of them saw was Nikos take Helene‘s
arm and remove her from the table to a distance away while he
chastised her for her behaviour.
―Do not embarrass your family.‖ Nikos ground out
angrily. ―He is engaged to that woman and your are throwing
yourself at him shamelessly.‖
She placed her hands on her hips, ―She is a timid little
thing.‖ She tossed her long black hair over her shoulder, ―He is
all man and needs a decent woman.‖
―Do not make yourself out to be something you‘re not
Helene.‖ He added harshly, ―She is one of a kind and Max knows
that.‖
She darted a look over her shoulder at the couple who
were in a heated embrace, made a rough sound under her breath,
and stomped out of there.
Nikos made sure his sister was out of sight before he
turned back to the couple. Max had stopped kissing her but he
had her face tilted up to his while his thumb ran across her
bottom lip as he spoke softly to her while she seemed to hang on
every word. Then he bent his head and placed a light kiss on his
forehead in an adoring fashion. He definitely was in love with
this woman.
80
The Billionaire‘s Secret Desire
The helicopter ride was exhilarating. Lily had never been
on a helicopter before. Even the presence of Nikos‘ sister
couldn‘t deter her from her excitement. Although she was still
insisting on trying to draw attention from Max at least she didn‘t
touch him again. Then her eyes widened as she saw the size of
the yacht that was docked off the island and her mouth fell open,
―My goodness. Mr. Vassiliadas doesn‘t do anything small!‖
Nikos leaned over and started pointing out areas on the
island that became visible as the helicopter circled it. Lily was
amazed. There was a thriving village, sandy beaches and a large
estate that bordered a private beach that Nikos explained was his
brother in law‘s place. Tourism was very active on the Island
because of the beautiful beaches and brought a lot of income for
the locals.
Max only kept his eyes on her and smiled. He loved to
see her so excited. After they married he made a note to keep his
promise and take her to their villa in Spain. At that moment she
turned and their eyes met. Nothing was said between them, but
he didn‘t take his eyes off of hers. She glanced away for a
moment then slowly returned her gaze almost as if she was
gathering courage to stare back at him. She mouthed the word