HELEN BIANCHIN – Australia: Gorgeous Grooms: The Andreou Marriage Arrangement / His Prisoner in Paradise / Wedding Night with a Stranger (страница 25)

She thanked Cristos when he deposited her outside the front door of Loukas’ home, greeted Hera on entering the foyer, then she ran lightly upstairs to their suite, toed off her shoes, undressed and ran a bath where she luxuriated in a leisurely scented soaking before emerging to dry off and don a towelling robe.

Loukas entered the room as she caught the length of her hair and twisted it into a loose knot, which she fixed in place with a large clip.

‘Hi, you’re home,’ she offered as he crossed the room to her side. The mere sight of him, his presence, invaded her senses, and her insides felt in serious danger of melting into an ignominious puddle as he framed her face and took her mouth with his own in a lingering kiss.

‘You shared an enjoyable day?’

Alesha rolled her eyes. ‘Do you have any idea how the female members of your family shop?’

‘That bad, huh?’

‘Don’t you dare laugh,’ she threatened.

‘I wouldn’t dream of it.’ He rested light hands on her shoulders. ‘Which ache the most … feet or shoulders?’

‘Both,’ she said succinctly, and almost groaned as his fingers sought out the kinks and knots and began to ease them with an expertise for which she could only thank him.

Heaven … he could have been a masseur in another life.

‘Should I ask how many purchases have been made?’

‘Shoes,’ she offered. ‘Even though I have a perfectly suitable pair of my own.’ She lifted a hand, then let it fall to her side. ‘Your mother has offered me her lace wedding veil.’

‘I believe it’s exquisite.’

‘I thought this would be simple.’

‘Shopping to my mother, Daria and Lexi is an art form,’ Loukas assured her solemnly. ‘And accorded due reverence.’

‘Tomorrow we take up where we left off.’ She turned slightly to look at him. ‘There’s no chance I can take a rain check and spend the day with you in the city office?’

‘It would be more than my life is worth.’

‘You’re kidding me? The powerful omnipotent Loukas Andreou bows down to the three women in his life?’

‘Four,’ he corrected with an amused smile. ‘You neglected to include yourself. And shopping, in this instance, is of the utmost importance.’

‘I shall think of ways to make you pay,’ she threatened with dire emphasis, and heard his husky laugh.

‘Sounds interesting.’

‘Is this second wedding, for want of a better word, scheduled to happen soon?’

‘Early next week, I believe.’

‘You mean, you don’t know for sure?’

‘Tuesday has been mentioned.’

She could do this. The trick was to be more assertive and not allow the Andreou women to make all the decisions.

‘Is there any social engagement I should be aware of?’

‘A fundraiser on Saturday evening for a worthy charity Andreou has sponsored for a number of years.’

Consequently attendance would be expected together with the gift of a sizable donation. Which meant an Andreou bride would garner considerable interest.

But then, hadn’t Loukas also drawn attention as her husband at a similar charitable event Karsouli supported in Sydney?

Wealthy tycoons were known to donate generously to worthy charitable causes. Most chose to give something back, with time and money for those genuinely in need. Committees organized events, provided entertainment and a three-course meal including alcoholic beverages … and charged accordingly.

It gave the social elite an opportunity to select designer gowns, wear their jewellery, be seen and the chosen few to appear in the media social pages.

‘How was your day?’ She hadn’t thought to ask, and he removed his hands as she turned to face him.

‘Busy. Constantine is considering semi-retirement. It means reshuffling a few executive staff, selecting suitable replacements and aligning a technical infrastructure I can oversee from Sydney.’

‘And you’re okay with his decision?’ It would mean a heavier workload, possibly a reasonably regular commute between Sydney and Athens.

Would she accompany him? Somehow the thought of remaining in Sydney alone didn’t hold much appeal. She’d miss his presence … sharing her bed, the pleasure of his touch through the night. Dammit … she’d feel as if a part of her were lost.

For a moment she couldn’t think. Where had that come from? It meant she cared … when she’d silently sworn not to become emotionally involved.

A hollow laugh rose and died in her throat.

Sure, like that isn’t the joke of the year!

‘It’s inevitable, given he’s reached his early sixties.’

For a moment she looked at him blankly, for she’d lost the thread of their conversation.

She glimpsed the faint gleam in his dark eyes as he lifted a hand and traced light fingers down the vee of her robe, loosened the ties at her waist, then he shaped the slight weight of her breasts.

‘Beautiful,’ he complimented gently. He lowered his head and brushed his lips to each in turn, then he sought the faint scar beneath one sensitive peak, caressed it … and sensation speared through her body.

‘You’re wearing a new perfume.’

‘It’s soap,’ she managed in a slightly strangled voice, and felt his mouth curve into a smile. ‘Gardenia,’ she added and gasped as he lifted his head and took possession of her mouth.

Magic, sheer magic, she registered dimly as she threaded her fingers through his hair and leant into the kiss, gifting as well as taking, absorbing everything he chose to give … and more.

It wasn’t enough. She needed him, all of him, naked, skin on skin, his body fused with hers in a primitive mating, uniquely and exclusively theirs in a way there could never be another for either of them.

Was that love?

Lust, certainly. But surely love was a different entity, involving trust and fidelity.

And she couldn’t love him … could she? Hadn’t she sworn never to let another man get beneath her skin and steal her heart?

Yet Loukas was there, a constant in her thoughts, her mind. He managed to make her feel different, almost special. Was it merely a practised act in order to lull her into a false sense of security?

Sadly, she didn’t know … and there was a part of her that didn’t want to know. For to discover it was all a charade would hurt her more than she imagined possible.

And that, she recognized, was an admission in itself.

With effort, she eased back from him a little, aware he didn’t attempt to dissuade her.

‘You should go shower and change,’ Alesha managed quietly. ‘Or we’ll be late for dinner.’

He touched a finger to her slightly swollen mouth. ‘And that would never do, hmm?’

‘I’m sure Hera has gone to considerable effort.’

Without a further word she crossed into her dressing-room, shed the robe, selected fresh underwear, and chose tailored trousers and a fashionable blouse … reappearing into the bedroom to find it empty and the sound of the shower running in Loukas’ en suite.

Dinner was a pleasant meal, during which conversation didn’t lag … although afterwards Alesha retained little memory of what they’d actually discussed.

Loukas excused himself on the pretext of work, while she used her laptop to catch up with emails and respond to one of Lacey’s that had landed in her inbox that morning.

It was late when she retired to bed, and even later when Loukas joined her. For a moment she lay perfectly still, unsure whether he’d reach for her or not … and when he curved her close in against him she wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or peeved when his breathing slowed and acquired the steadiness denoting sleep.

The following few days were filled with shopping, and it came as a relief when the Andreou women conceded contented satisfaction in having achieved their objective.

Alesha had to admit they showed excellent taste in fashion, and she couldn’t fault their suggested choices.

‘Now you can relax,’ Lexi confided as Cristos delivered them to Voula late Friday afternoon.

You think? Alesha posed silently.