the Billionaire’s Secret Desire(38)

―No, the wine just eliminated my resistance to tell you.‖

She confessed feeling like she just stepped off a cliff while eyeing

him uncertainly. She expected him to be uncomfortable or turn

her confession into a thing of humour to make her feel better, but

there was none of that in his eyes. He looked completely

absorbed in what she had just said.

Just as it looked as if Max was going to answer her, Nikos

stood on a chair and tapped his glass with a spoon announcing

that he wanted to make a toast to his father.

Lily couldn‘t think of a worse time to torture her. She had

just told Max how she felt and now her confidence was slipping

tremendously by every passing minute that Nikos stood up there

and told stories of his father, She felt Max squeeze her hand and

she brought her head up to look at him and what was in his eyes

wasn‘t laughter or disappointment. It was the same look he gave

her when he kissed her in the bedroom the day before. Somehow

he knew how insecure she was feeling and let her know that he

desired her too. He always seemed to know what she was

thinking. Then he gave a subtle indication with his head toward

the exit as he tightened his hand around her waist and slowly

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The Billionaire‘s Secret Desire



moved out of the crowd as Nikos finished his speech followed by

loud applause and cheers.

Max had barely gotten the door of their stateroom closed

when he pushed her up against the wall and crushed his mouth

against hers. He already knew he was going to have to replace

the dress as he tore it off her shoulders. A small price to pay for

what lay underneath.





CHAPTER FIVE


The next morning he woke with Lily‘s face buried in his

neck and her soft body up against his with her arm strewn across

his chest. His actions came flooding back like a typhoon, ―Oh

hell.‖ He groaned sliding out from under her and sitting on the

side of the bed with his head in his hands. Luke is going to kill

him! He turned and looked at the thoroughly sated woman

sleeping in the bed and felt another wave of anguish. He couldn‘t

possibly fix this.

He stood up and went to the shower. He couldn‘t think

straight with her naked next to him.

Turning on the taps he stepped in and allowed the water

to pour over his body as he ducked his head and allowed it to

stream down his back. Why didn‘t he stop it before he went too

far? He knew the answer to that already. He couldn‘t stop.

Maybe it was the romantic ambiance of the evening and the two

glasses of scotch he had before she showed up. It didn‘t help that

she‘d been drinking either, but it wasn‘t a very good excuse.

Regardless it seemed to strip away his common sense when he

saw her in that dress. From that point on, nothing else existed

but Lily.

He tipped his face up to the pouring water. He had to tell

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Lietha Wards

Luke. He betrayed his best friend and regardless of the pleasure

he had last night, the guilt washed it away. After they got back to

Chicago, he would have to cool things with her for awhile. Luke

wanted her to finish school and Max agreed with him. She was

too young to marry him now. There was a twelve year difference

in their ages and he‘d promise Luke he‘d wait another four years.

If it was up to him, he would have married her when she turned

eighteen. To him, the age difference was nothing compared to

what he felt about her, but she needed to be mature enough to

make some choices on her own.

Getting out of the shower he reached for a towel and

swore to himself. Lily didn‘t deserve this, but it had to be done.

He‘d take the ring back and thank her for the best weekend of his

life and tell her to carry on with hers. It was going to rip his

heart out, but he had to do it.

Lily awoke alone and felt her cheeks heat up with the

images flooding back in her mind from the night before. She

never realized that a man and a woman could share such

pleasure. Turning her head, she wished he was still with her as

she surveyed the empty area beside her. Why did he feel the

need to leave before she woke each morning?

Climbing out of bed she headed for the shower. Most

likely he was up on deck taking in the glorious Grecian sun and

breakfast with Nikos. According to her view from the porthole

they must‘ve docked sometime in the night, and that would mean

they‘d be heading home in a few hours. Something she didn‘t

look forward to. For some reason she knew that the fairytale

would end.

She finished showering and chose a pink blouse, white

cotton shorts and sandals. Then she spent some extra time on

her hair and makeup.

About an hour later she found Nikos and Max on the deck

of the bow talking and they both stood as she approached. She