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His austere features relaxed in a genuine smile that took years off his age and, though his comment puzzled Saffron for a brief second, she saw the man behind the ruthless mask. She sucked in her breath, her green eyes wide with wonder; he looked almost beautiful. But as he glanced briefly at her the tenderness vanished, to be replaced by a glittering predatory glow that turned his deep brown eyes almost golden.
‘I’m looking forward to showing you Mykonos. I want to see your reaction to the place.’
A frisson of some nameless emotion slid down her spine. Fear! No. Anticipation of a day out, Saffron told herself sternly, nothing more! She refused to acknowledge her inexplicable violent attraction to Alex. ‘I’m sure it will be delightful,’ she offered with a cool smile, but had to turn her head away to stare at the sea. In her mind’s eye the sight of him standing so tall and broad, scantily clad in shorts and shirt, was doing something very peculiar to her breathing.
Saffron stood leaning on the ship’s rail, Anna beside her, as they watched the crew lower the gangway and the boat that in a few minutes would take Alex and herself ashore. The island of Mykonos looked everything Anna had told her as they had lounged around the boat all morning, relaxing and chatting.
The yacht had dropped anchor in the bay of Mykonos Town, and the view was spectacular—sparkling white houses, the blue-topped domes of the small churches the place was famous for dotted among them, along with the impressive row of windmills, six marching in a line along the horizon. Tearing her gaze away from the beauty before her, Saffron tried once more to persuade Anna to accompany them.
‘I’ll help you down into the boat, Anna. You will be all right, I promise. It seems a terrible shame for you to miss going ashore.’
‘Rubbish! I can see all I want from here. Don’t forget, Saffy, I have been here countless times.’
‘Well, if you’re sure.’
‘Positive. I want you and Alex to forget about me and don’t come back until you have seen the sunset from Little Venice.’
Before Saffron could reply Alex was at her side. She glanced up at him and her heart jumped. He had changed from the morning into a pair of navy shorts and a navy and white patterned silk shirt, and he looked devastatingly attractive.
‘Ready, Saffron?’ He drawled her name like a caress, sending tingles down her spine. ‘Got your bathing suit?’ he demanded, his dark eyes gleaming knowingly down into hers. He knew exactly how he affected her and obviously found it amusing.
‘Yes,’ she said frostily, swinging her beach bag, and would have preceded him down the gangway but a hand on her arms stopped her.
‘Gentlemen first in this instance, then if you fall I am in front of you to prevent a hasty descent into the sea,’ he explained, before releasing her arm and stepping on to the ladder.
The small boat reached the shore in minutes. A hire car was waiting for them and moments later they were speeding out of the town and into the countryside.
‘I thought we were going to see the town,’ Saffron prompted, a bit miffed that Alex appeared to have a different idea.
‘We will later; first we will drive around the island, go for a swim maybe. There are some magnificent beaches. One or two nude ones if you prefer.’ He shot her a wicked sidelong glance.
‘No way,’ she snapped back.
‘Why not? It will be nothing we haven’t seen before after this morning.’
A telling tide of red suffused her face as for a second she saw in her mind’s eye Alex as he had been that morning in her room—almost naked.
Alex laughed out loud at her obvious discomfiture. ‘OK, you win; bathing suits it is.’
It was like a day out of time for Saffron. After that one bit of teasing in the car Alex set out to be charming company, and Saffron found her antagonism vanishing in a puff of smoke.
They lunched on succulent fish on a bed of rice and fresh vegetables, at a small cafe alongside an almost deserted beach. Afterwards they lingered over their wine, and eventually strolled along the beach.
She found Alex an informative and amusing conversationalist as he told her something of the island’s history. Apparently not that long ago it had been just another tiny Greek island inhabited by shepherds and fishermen. But the stylised form of building all white with the distinctive blue touches had been seen as so picturesque that a crafty local had decided they should cash in on the tourist trade. Now it was extremely popular with all the cruise liners, but was never overrun, simply because the bigger ships could not dock. The only way ashore was by tender.
By mid-afternoon the sun was much stronger in the sky and Alex suggested that they rest for a while. From the small duffel bag he was carrying he withdrew a towel and spread it on the golden sand, and Saffron followed suit, cautiously laying her own towel a foot away from his.
‘Spoilsport,’ he murmured as casually he slipped out of his clothes and stood before her clad only in tiny black swimming-trunks that left little to the imagination.
Saffron gulped and dragged her gaze away from such a blatant display of sheer masculine perfection. He might be nearly forty, she thought, but not a spare inch of flesh marred his tall, muscular frame; he had the body of a man in his prime, and she was beginning to wonder at the wisdom of being alone with him.
‘Race you to the water,’ Alex challenged, and she had to look up at him.
‘You go—I’ll catch you up.’ She needed a couple of minutes alone to still her erratically beating heart. She watched as with a casual nod he turned and began to run down to where the turquoise water met the silvery sand. He was as enticing from the rear as from the front, his broad tanned back tapering down to gorgeous lean hips and long, muscular legs. God! What was she thinking of? In a rush she slipped off her plain denim skirt and the neat short-sleeved shirt she had worn over her swimsuit.
She glanced down at herself, and wondered if the suit had been such a good idea. She had bought it for the cruise, thinking it was more conservative than a bikini, but now she had grave doubts. In jade-green, it was a simple figure-hugging Lycra suit with high cut-away legs almost to her waist, strapless and slashed straight across her breasts. Suddenly she saw just how provocative it was. How come she had never noticed before? she groaned silently, but it was too late to do anything about it now, and, taking a deep breath, she ran down and into the water. She could see Alex’s head bobbing in the distance; he was a magnificent swimmer, but she had a sneaky suspicion that he was the kind of man who would do everything magnificently.
Saffron did not bother to try and compete; she could swim but was no great shakes, so she stayed near the shallows and floated for a while, enjoying the soothing stroke of the water against her sun-warmed flesh. Occasionally she glanced at Alex, who appeared to be heading determinedly towards an outcrop of rock that to Saffron looked miles away. He swam with a rhythmic determination that she could only marvel at. Slowly, with a sigh—it wasn’t disappointment at Alex ignoring her, she told herself firmly—she made her way back to shore.
Collapsing flat on her back on the towel, allowing the sun to dry her, she closed her eyes. The hustle of the past two days, the food and wine at lunch, and the warmth of the sun all combined to make her fall asleep.
‘Saffron!’ She woke up with a start, for a moment completely disorientated and wondering where she was. Alex was leaning over her, his body damp, drops of water glistening on the dark hair of his chest and taut, flat belly. He frowned down at her. ‘Don’t you know it is the height of stupidity to fall asleep in the sun?’ His hand reached out and with one finger he traced the soft curve of her breasts revealed by the straight bodice of her swimsuit. ‘This flesh is far too fair and tender—you will burn,’ he opined huskily.
‘Alex,’ she murmured dazedly; his touch was doing unreal things to her pulse-rate. She wanted to ask him if he’d enjoyed his marathon swim, but he was quite openly studying the soft swell of her breasts, his finger tugging lightly on the taut fabric, lowering it slightly. She shivered as his finger dipped down almost to the crest of one breast. She knew she should object, but had not the will to stop him, hypnotised by the sensual gleam in his eyes and his throatily voiced comment.
‘So silky and voluptuous. A perfect combination.’
He smelt of sun and sea and sky and a lingering masculine scent that was all his own. He moved, and she felt the length of his leg move over her thigh, entrapping her slender limbs, as his dark head lowered, blocking out the sun.
‘Saffron…’ he rasped. ‘You drive me mad.’ And deep down inside her Saffron felt something spring to life— a matching madness. Perhaps…
She knew she should move, get away, but instead her tongue licked nervously over her suddenly dry lips as she anticipated his kiss. The hot brush of his lips over hers made her gasp; his hand cupped the round fullness of her breast and gently squeezed as his mouth moved more determinedly against hers, his tongue thrusting inside, arousing a response in her that she had never experienced with any man before. She felt his instant reaction, his length hard against her lower body, and he broke the kiss with a groan of frustration.
There was no ‘perhaps’ about it, she thought helplessly as, wide-eyed and trembling, she stared up at him. He looked dark and threatening, his eyes narrowing as they scanned the pale oval of her face.
‘God, Mama has surpassed herself this time!’ he exclaimed almost angrily. ‘How old are you, Saffron— nineteen? Twenty?’ His fingers deftly readjusted the top of her bathing suit, and his leg slid off her body so that he was lying on his side. Propped on one elbow, he stared down at her with an expression of disgust twisting his harsh features. ‘I must be crazy,’ he muttered.
Finally finding her voice, Saffron responded in what she hoped was a steady tone. ‘Flattered though I am, I happen to be twenty-five, almost twenty-six.’ And why he should mention his mother she had no idea…
‘Thank God for that. I don’t seduce young girls.’
‘And you’re not seducing me.’ Saffron sat up abruptly, shoving at Alex’s chest so that he fell on to his back. ‘I think it’s time we left here; I’ve had enough sun for one day,’ she babbled as it sank into her bemused mind just where his question about her age was leading.
A strong hand curved around her shoulder as she tried to stand up. ‘Wait, Saffron. I know we started off on the wrong foot yesterday, though you have to admit that was not solely my fault. But we are two consenting adults; surely we can be sensible about this?’
Saffron turned her head to gaze down at Alex. His deep brown eyes were fixed on her face, the residue of passion still lingering in their depths. ‘Sensible?’ she queried.
‘Yes. I want you, more than I have wanted a woman in years.’ He cast a rueful glance down his long body, and Saffron’s eyes followed his and then quickly looked away. The man had no shame, she thought furiously; he was quite blatantly aroused. ‘It’s been a long time since a woman has got me this way so easily, and I think we should explore the possibilities. I know you want me—you tremble every time I touch you. So how about it?’
It was the very matter-of-fact way in which he stated his case that infuriated Saffron. Springing to her feet, she looked down at where Alex lay. He looked like some basking killer shark, about ready to devour its prey. And she was it…Snatching up her towel, she shook it over his supine form, covering him in sand. ‘In your dreams, buster!’ she scoffed and, grabbing her clothes, she stormed off down the beach, his deep laughter ringing in her ears.
Of course five minutes later she had to walk back, but at least she was fully clothed, she told herself. Just let him try anything else and she would flatten him, she vowed.
‘Perhaps I didn’t put that in quite the most flattering of terms,’ Alex began as he pulled on his shorts and slipped his shirt over his broad shoulders.
‘I am not interested in any of your terms, Mr Statis,’ Saffron responded stonily. ‘Now, can we leave? I did want to see the town of Mykonos—that’s what we came ashore for. Not your sleazy suggestions.’
Alex shot her a quizzical glance. ‘“The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” You wanted sex as much as I did, only you’re not prepared to admit it,’ he told her casually as he caught her hand. She tried to pull free, but Alex, with one glance and a dry, ‘Don’t be childish,’ quelled her revolt and side by side they walked back to the car.
Saffron was determined not to speak to him again, and on the drive back she kept a stony silence. Eventually, when they arrived in the town, Alex turned to face her and said quietly, ‘OK, I apologise. Truce, pax, friends…’ and held out his hand. ‘I promise, no more teasing.’
Saffron felt the colour scorch her cheeks. What a fool she had been; twice in one day she had melted in his arms, while to him it had been a huge joke. Calmly she put her hand in his and agreed, and she told herself she was not disappointed. Of course Alex could not seriously want a girl like her. His own mother had told her he had women galore.
Soon the charm of the town, and an apparently reformed friendly Alex, swept the earlier episode on the beach to the back of her mind. No one could fail to be delighted with the tiny streets, and the windmills that even Alex didn’t know the reason for. Finally, as the sun began to sink lower in the sky, he led her to Little Venice. The buildings were right on the edge of the sea and the upper storeys hung out over the water in marvellous timber balconies. They walked up a tiny winding flight of stairs to a delightful bar which Alex insisted was the best on the island, with a perfect view of the sunset and classical music in the background. Sitting by the window at a tiny table for two, Saffron had never experienced anything so romantic.
‘What would you like to drink, Saffron?’ Alex asked quietly; it was as if even the great Alex Statis was affected by the atmosphere.
Saffron turned glowing green eyes on his rugged face. ‘Anything—you choose. This is just perfect.’ She could not contain her delight and, stretching out her hand, she touched his arm fleetingly. ‘Thank you for bringing me here.’
‘The pleasure is all mine.’ Alex smiled back, and for an instant Saffron could only stare; his dark brown eyes gleamed with a rare tender warmth, and the effect on her senses was electric.
The waiter arrived with a whisky and soda for Alex and some fabulous red concoction for Saffron, with an umbrella and a sparkler burning in the glass.
‘Cheers,’ she toasted Alex as she removed the sparkler and took a sip. ‘I said “anything” but I didn’t expect to get a flaming potion.’
They laughed together, and then in unspoken accord turned their attention to the view from the balcony, as the sun turned to brilliant scarlet and slowly sank towards the horizon.
The music changed and Saffron recognised it immediately; the opera was a secret passion of hers. ‘Rossini—my favourite composer!’ she exclaimed. ‘The overture to The Thieving Magpie, I think.’
‘You like his overtures?’ Alex’s dark eyes lingered over her fine features, taking note of the mass of hair that rivalled the sunset in its colour.
‘Yes, I adore them,’ she said, slightly uneasy at his unwavering scrutiny. ‘I have quite a collection.’
‘Yes, I can see why. You’re a romantic and as impetuous, pulsing and sometimes as abandoned as Rossini’s music. It’s all there in your cat’s eyes and your magnificent hair—your passionate nature.’
Saffron was about to deny his reading of her character angrily, then realised that what Alex had said about the music was true. Did her love of Rossini disguise an impulsive passionate nature? The thought worried her… She was here on a Greek island with a man she hardly knew…And, lost in her own thoughts, she barely heard his cynically murmured comment.
‘Let’s hope the title does not accurately reflect you as well.’
She glanced warily across at Alex; his dark eyes caught and held hers. For a long moment the sunset, the surroundings disappeared; they were the only two people in the universe, and something deep and compelling seemed to flow between them.
‘You agree with me,’ Alex husked softly, and she did not think he was talking only about the music. She forced herself to look away and, picking up her glass, drained it, making no response. She couldn’t…she was terrified. After one day with Alex, a few kisses and now a glance and a simple observation on her choice of music, the man had made her recognise her own sexuality in a way she had never considered before. She had always thought of herself as a passionless sort of girl, if not frigid. Sex and romance played no part in her life. With a sense of shock she realised that the be-all and end-all of her life for years had been her burning ambition to succeed on her own. She had no close friends, except perhaps Eve, who was now dead…
She turned and gazed at the sea; the Statis yacht, aptly named Lion Lore, rode at anchor and as she watched the coloured lights from prow to stern flashed on, as the sun sank below the horizon in majestic glory, turning the sea blood-red.
‘You must visit the outdoor opera in Verona; it is an experience not to be missed.’ His hand covered hers on the table. ‘Will you let me take you, Saffron?’ he asked in that throaty, sexy voice of his, his thumb teasingly stroking her palm.
In that second she realised she wanted to say yes! But she knew he was asking for a lot more than an evening at the opera and, snatching her hand from his, she jumped to her feet. ‘It’s time we left. Anna will need me.’
‘She’s not the only one,’ Alex taunted softly as he led her out into the balmy night air. Stopping at the edge of the water, he turned her to face him, linking his hands loosely around her waist.
Saffron tensed. Why did his words sound like a threat, she wondered, when his every look and touch promised her delights she could only guess at, and secretly longed for…?
‘Funny. For a girl with a passion for overtures…’ he bent and brushed the top of her head with the lightest of kisses ‘…you are very slow on picking up on them.’ His dark eyes smiled teasingly down at her.
Saffron grinned, her tension vanishing. ‘God, that was a terrible pun, Alex!’
‘It worked—it made you smile.’ And, holding hands, they made their way back to the yacht.
CHAPTER THREE (#ulink_cd40d045-9c1c-5237-9538-99db2a392a3a)
DINNER was again an informal affair; Anna had arranged for a hot and cold buffet to be served, unsure at what time Alex and Saffron would return.
Once more in the company of the older woman, Saffron sighed with relief, and the tension of the afternoon and her complete capitulation to Alex’s sexual charm faded to the back of her mind as the three of them partook of a leisurely meal on the rear deck beneath the star-studded canopy of the night sky.
Saffron sipped her wine and cast a speculative glance beneath her thick lashes at Alex. He and his mother were discussing some people they knew and Saffron was quite happy to let the conversation wash over her as she secretly studied him. He wasn’t really handsome—his features were too hard-cut and there was a certain ruthless hauteur about him that said, Watcher beware!—and yet he fascinated her as no other man she had ever met had.
Why was that? Why did she find herself wondering what it would be like to lose her virginity to a potent, sensual man like Alex Statis? Under her dress she felt her breasts go suddenly heavy; she trembled and folded her arms defensively across her chest, sitting straighter in the chair and fighting down the colour rising in her throat.
Why did he affect her so intimately? And, more important, why did she think she knew him? she asked herself for the hundredth time. He was way outside her sphere of experience, and yet there was something…! He was dressed as casually as usual in cream trousers and a blue knit polo shirt, his bare feet slipped into a pair of navy loafers, and yet the feeling of leashed power just below the surface was blatantly apparent. She’d bet he was a dynamic businessman, and she wondered just what kind of business he was in. Anna had told her the cruise line was now only a tiny part of Alex’s business interests. He kept it going in deference to his late father, but he had expanded into a host of other projects.
‘Sorry, ladies, but I have work to do.’ Saffron was jolted back to awareness by the sound of Alex’s voice. Startled, she looked up as he rose to his full height— well over six feet—and for a moment his dark gaze settled on her upturned face.
‘Don’t keep Mama up too late, will you, Saffron? We have guests arriving tomorrow.’
‘Hmmph!’ Anna’s inelegant snort prevented Saffron from answering. ‘It’s time you got yourself a decent wife and presented me with a few grandchildren, instead of fooling around.’
‘I might surprise you and do just that, Mother.’ He held Saffron’s gaze even as he responded to Anna. ‘What do you think, Saffron? Would I make a good husband?’ he asked with mocking amusement.
‘I wouldn’t know; I don’t know you,’ she said coolly and, turning her head, she caught the oddest look on Anna’s face.
‘Then I’ll have to make sure you do,’ Alex murmured, before moving to drop a brief kiss on the top of Anna’s head and adding, ‘You promised to behave yourself, Mama, so make sure you do.’
Saffron’s puzzled glance slid between the two of them. ‘What was that about?’ she asked when Alex had gone. ‘You always behave yourself.’
‘Yes…well…you haven’t seen the guests yet,’ Anna replied with dry irony, and Saffron could get no more out of the woman, though she did try as she saw her safely to bed.
By seven o’clock the following evening Saffron was beginning to see what Anna had meant. The boat had docked earlier in the day at an exclusive marina on the Athenian riviera some half an hour’s drive from the centre of Athens. She hadn’t seen Alex since breakfast that morning, when to her astonishment, on leaving the table, he had kissed his mother as usual and then bestowed a brief kiss on her—Saffron’s—softly parted lips as well, with the muttered comment, ‘As set-ups go, you’re the best yet.’
Blushing fiery red, Saffron had glanced at Anna to see her smiling like a Cheshire cat. ‘What was that about?’ she’d asked suspiciously.
‘Forget it, Saffy; Alex is a law unto himself.’
Forgetting had not been so easy, but they had seen nothing more of him until a couple of hours ago, when three long black limousines had drawn up and he’d appeared with his guests.
‘Give me your arm, dear, and let’s get the greetings over with,’ Anna had commanded as the party had trooped up the gangway.
‘You don’t sound very enthusiastic.’ Saffron cast a worried glance at her employer as she took the older woman’s arm and walked along to the foredeck and main reception area.
‘I’m not,’ Anna whispered in an aside before turning to the woman approaching her with a social smile. The woman was obviously Greek, and about the same age as Anna, but still very attractive.
‘Katherina, how lovely to see you.’ Kisses on both cheeks were exchanged and then Anna turned to a younger woman. ‘And Maria—how nice. And who is your friend—or is it your friend, Alex?’ She eyed her son, who brought up the rear of the group with another, older man.
‘Allow me to introduce Sylvia, who for the past three years has been the very efficient director of our health and leisure chain.’
Saffron’s head jerked round in surprise. So Alex owned a string of health clubs. Now why should that bother her? But it did. There was something niggling at the back of her mind, and if she could just remember… But she did not have the chance as she was swept into a flurry of introductions.
Sylvia, the only English member of the party, was about thirty and stunningly attractive, with black hair, dark eyes, a perfect figure and face, and a smile that would have floored Casanova himself. She dismissed Saffron with a contemptuous glance once she realised she was only a companion. As did Katherina and her daughter Maria. The older man, Spiros, was apparently Katherina’s husband.
