скачать книгу бесплатно
‘Antonio is a nice man.’
‘I know him. He came on a few diving expeditions with Dimitri and I, and I liked him … But I am not such a nice man …’
‘Oh, I wouldn’t say that. Antonio is a friend—nothing more. You were my lover.’
‘I don’t like the past tense.’
Should she take a chance and tell Rion the truth? Well, she had nothing to lose. ‘Remember when you suggested extending our cruise, I wanted to say yes.’
Rion tensed, his long fingers digging into her waist as his other hand moved to cup her chin. ‘You did? Then why …?’ There was confusion in the dark eyes that held hers, and something else that made her heart leap in her breast.
Selina took a deep breath. ‘Remember the night I left your bed and told you the next day it was because I had almost fallen out? Well, it wasn’t true. That was the night I realised I had fallen in love with you again. I also realised with our shared past it was hopeless. I saw no point in prolonging the trip for a few more days because that was all it could ever be. Plus I was frightened I’d let slip what Bratchet was really like, and I didn’t trust you not to tell him. Stupid, really. I ended up telling you anyway.’
‘You said you loved me?’ Rion stared fixedly at her and she was struck dumb at the emotion she saw in his eyes. ‘You humble me,’ he rasped. ‘I know I can’t expect you to still love me after the way I have behaved, and I can’t blame you for not trusting me—I have done precious little to earn your trust. But I swear if you will give me another chance and marry me I will spend every day for the rest of my life trying to win your love and trust.’ He kissed her lightly, almost reverently, on the lips, taking a step back to set her free.
Selina stood in the middle of the bedroom, emotion at his words blocking her throat. She swallowed hard and searched his face for the truth. The rigidity of his features was betrayed by a muscle pulsing under the tanned skin. Her golden eyes met his and she saw his heart in his eyes, the mask of arrogance stripped away to reveal the vulnerable man beneath. She believed him, and yet she was still nervous.
‘Are you really sure about this … us …?’
‘I was never more certain of anything in my life. And if you still don’t believe me—tough.’ The vulnerable penitent gone, he reached for her and swung her up in his arms and onto the bed, pinned her beneath him. ‘I will have to convince you—in my defence, I love you.’
‘Wait …’ But he bent his dark head and took her mouth with a hard, hungry kiss that sent liquid fire flowing through her veins, and Selina wrapped her arms around him and gave in to the inevitable magic of his touch.
‘I worship you, Selina,’ he groaned staring down into her wide, gleaming gold eyes. ‘Everything that you are—funny, caring, compassionate, with a heart like a lion, beautiful inside and out. My life is meaningless without you,’ he told her throatily, his mouth grazing hers again.
Between kisses and caresses he stripped off their clothes, and with his great body half covering her they kissed—a slow, deep kiss full of promises of love and passion that made Selina’s heart tremble. Lost in the wonder of his love, with eager hands she caressed his powerful body, her eyes closing in ecstasy as Rion worshipped every inch of her with hands and mouth and husky words of love, until finally they were one in every way—heart, body and soul.
Selina stirred happily in the protective curve of Rion’s arm and glanced around. Pulling herself up on one elbow, she looked down at him.
‘Do you really own this hotel or did you just say that to shut me up?’ she asked with a grin, stroking her hand across his broad chest.
Rion groaned and caught her hand in his. ‘Yes, I’d never lie to you. I own quite a few properties in the centres of major cities—they are a good investment.’
She hid a smile. The tycoon was talking. Then she remembered. ‘You told me that before. I should thank you for keeping quiet,’ she said seriously. ‘Bratchet did go back to Cambodia, and he was arrested, but he couldn’t bribe his way out of it this time and his trial is in a few months’ time in America.’
‘That’s great.’ Rion’s eyes hardened for an instant. He already knew. By contacting the right, if not the most law-abiding, people he had made sure of it. Where bribery was concerned there was always a higher bidder. It was not something he ever did, but with Bratchet he had made an exception. But with Selina, the woman he loved, sprawled naked over his chest he wasn’t about to tell her and spoil the moment. ‘I dropped out of the deal when you dropped out of my life.’
And, wrapping a hand around the back of her head, he kissed her and showed her all over again how much he loved her.
A long time later she opened her eyes to see Rion staring down at her, a wary expression on his handsome face. ‘What?’ she asked languorously.
‘You have not said yes, you will marry me.’
Selina burst out laughing. ‘I don’t think you ever asked. You simply told me.’
‘So will you marry me—again?’
‘Yes.’
He kissed her brow, a decidedly smug smile on his face, and smoothed back the tangled mass of hair from her face.
‘But I am thinking I don’t want to get married—’
‘What?’ Rion exclaimed.
‘Let me finish.’ She grinned. ‘I was going to say in Greece—because I had no luck last time. I would like it to be just the two of us at a registry office in England.’
‘Fine.’ Rion heaved a deep breath, his moment of panic over. ‘I will arrange it as soon as we get back—and this time will be different, I promise. No more working sixteen-hour days.’
Suddenly Selina wasn’t so sure she was doing the right thing. It had all happened so fast. And Rion had swept her off her feet once before.
‘I’ll believe that when I see it—and what about the other women?’ she blurted, memories of the past coming back to haunt her.
Rion’s mouth tightened. He was not accustomed to explaining his behaviour to anyone, but he realised if he had talked or listened to Selina in the beginning he would never have lost her, and if he wanted to win Selina’s trust again he had to be one-hundred-percent honest with her.
‘From the moment I set eyes on you I never looked at another woman until long after the divorce.’
‘I find that hard to believe. The night we met, you didn’t have a conference call—you had a date with a woman called Chloe. Iris showed me the picture. Though I’m surprised Chloe only gave you four out of ten for performance,’ she couldn’t help teasing.
‘Iris showed you too damn much,’ he snorted. ‘I did have a date with Chloe and I intended taking her to bed. Is that what you want to hear? But after I met you I took her to a club, took her home and left her at the door. She was angry because I didn’t take her to bed—a woman scorned … As for the others—I didn’t even know them. And the reason I worked so much when we were married was because your grandfather was a crafty old villain. The deal was my father’s, but after it went through my father took off on his cruise and asked me to sort it out. Stakis Shipping was in a much worse state than had been presented to him and it took me three months to save the damn thing from going bust.’
‘Oh no! Though, knowing my grandfather, I can believe that,’ she said. And with a questioning look she added, ‘But you did know about the deal, because you married me.’
‘Why are we talking about this now? Yes, my father asked me, and I gave him an emphatic no. But to humour him I went to the dinner, and you know the rest.’
‘Yes, you thought you’d got me pregnant.’
‘I took one look at you and wanted you, and after we made love I thought you might be pregnant. It only took one look six years later for me to want you just as badly—more so. In fact I think I loved you all along. But finding a man in your bed so enraged me I blocked you from my mind. It was the only way I could deal with the fury I felt. And I have carried on working sixteen-hour days ever since, so that should tell you something.’ He tightened his arm around Selina. He wasn’t going to lose her now.
‘What about Lydia? Iris said you were still in love with her?’
Rion chuckled. ‘You’re jealous—that is what this is all about—and trust me you have no need to be. You remember the woman Lydia was with when I introduced you? That is her lover—has been for years.’ He told Selina the whole story.
‘But she is married,’ Selina said, round-eyed with amazement.
‘You are still so naive in some ways.’ He chuckled. ‘Lydia would have married any man. There had been the odd rumour about her sexual preferences, and her parents are the strict high-society types. She could never come out as a lesbian. That is why she married Bastias. He is old enough and flattered enough to have got her and Lydia can get away with anything. She is a nice woman. I have known her since I was about twelve and we’ve stayed friends. The reason I was arguing with the paparazzi guy was that he was asking Lydia awkward questions about her girlfriend, who was actually standing behind us at the time.’
Selina laughed, feeling mightily relieved. ‘My, what a colourful life you lead, Rion.’
‘Well, you have heard about mine, but I won’t ask you about yours. It is enough to know you are mine now,’ Rion declared huskily.
‘You know all there is to tell. I have only had one lover—you.’
Rion stared at her. ‘But you were taking the Pill.’
‘Yes, a low-dose one for cramps.’
Rion reached for her head and threaded his fingers through her hair, held her face firmly in his hands. ‘I think I am dreaming.’ The pupils of his eyes darkened, dilating with passion. ‘You are everything in the world to me, Selina, and I will treasure you to my dying day and beyond.’ And with a groan he covered her mouth with his, kissing her with a depth of passion and pure love.
Selina held her baby son in her arms unable to take her eyes off him. He was so gorgeous, with black hair just like his father.
‘Smile for the camera, Selina,’ Rion ordered, and she did tear her gaze away from her child—for her husband.
‘How many is that?’ She laughed.
Rion grinned. ‘A lot.’ He moved to the bedside and kissed her. ‘Have I told you today I love you?’ He kissed her again. ‘And I thank you with all my heart for our beautiful son.’ His dark eyes suspiciously moist, he gazed at the baby in her arms. ‘I never imagined in my wildest dreams such happiness existed, and it is all down to you, my love.’
‘My turn, Daddy. I want to see my brother,’ a little voice piped up.
Rion chuckled and picked up a little girl with red-gold hair and amber eyes—the image of her mother. ‘And so you shall, my heart.’ He kissed the child and sat down on the side of the bed, holding two-year-old Phoebe. ‘There—now you can kiss his cheek and say hello to Theodore.’
Phoebe pursed her lips and gave the baby a big kiss. ‘Hello, Theodore.’ She sat on her daddy’s knee, silently watching the baby for a while, then with a big sigh said, ‘He doesn’t talk, and he is too tiny to play with me.’ She looked at Selina and said, ‘Can we go home now, Mummy?’ Their live-wire daughter was already bored.
Rion looked at Selina and they both burst out laughing.
‘You and Daddy can, as it is nearly your bedtime, but your brother and I have to stay the night. We will be home in the morning,’ Selina replied to her beloved daughter, and after a few hugs and kisses—one passionate one for Selina from Rion—she watched them depart.
Alone with her son, she let a smile of pure happiness curve her full lips. Her free hand went as it so often did to the pendant around her neck. Rion had given it to her on their second wedding night and told her he had bought it for her nineteenth birthday. Their initials were entwined in diamonds on a platinum chain. He’d also told her he had planned a honeymoon to the Seychelles for the following week, when Iris would have been back at school. But as they’d never made it he was taking no chances and they were going to the Caribbean this time. She loved him more than ever, and was beginning to believe he might have loved her from the start.
Surprisingly Beth was convinced of it. Had been ever since Selina had arrived in Cambodia from her stay on Rion’s yacht. A large donation had arrived on the same day as Selina, and Beth had winkled the truth out of her. Beth had become a champion of Rion and now they were all great friends. So much so that Trevor and Beth were Phoebe’s godparents.
Contrary to what he had once said, Rion was a very jealous and possessive man. He had bought her another Mercedes a week after they’d got back together. She had tried to object, and laughed when he’d told her he didn’t like the idea that a friend had bought her a car any more than he’d liked a drunk being in her bed. He’d said if it was him even blind drunk he would still be aware she was in his bed …
She had told him she had bought the car herself, and the ‘friend’ with her had been the elderly gentleman who lived next door. Though he would never admit it, Rion had looked relieved.
The past four years had seen all her dreams come true, she thought happily. Their main home was a beautiful house in the hills high above Athens that Rion had had an architect design and build to his specifications. He had given his stepmother, Helen, the old home. They also had a house in London, and a holiday home in the Caribbean, and of course the villa on Letos, greatly renovated now, which Anna still looked after.
Rion rarely worked long hours, and had cut his trips abroad to the minimum. If it was possible Selina and Phoebe went with him. Rion adored Phoebe and was a very hands-on father, playing with her, bathing her. But then again he was a very hands-on husband, she thought. Rarely a day passed when he didn’t make love to her, and she knew with absolute certainty that he loved her.
A nurse walked in and took her son to put him in the crib by her bed, telling her to get some sleep.
With a smile on her face Selina curled up on her side and watched her sleeping baby until her eyes closed and she fell asleep.
A slight noise woke her up, and immediately she glanced at the baby. But it wasn’t the baby, it was Rion. He sat down on the bed.
‘What are you doing here?’ she whispered. ‘What time is it?’
‘After ten. Don’t worry. Phoebe is asleep and Aunt Peggy is watching over her.’ Leaning forward, he put a hand either side of Selina on the bed. ‘It is her father that needs you,’ he said huskily. He brushed her lips lightly, then kissed her deeply. ‘I couldn’t go to bed without saying goodnight.’ He nuzzled her throat and the baby whimpered.
The nurse walked in, smiled, but told Rion to leave. With another kiss for Selina, for once Rion did as he was told and left.
‘You are a lucky woman. That man worships the ground you walk on,’ said the nurse.
‘I know.’ Selina smiled and, totally secure in his love, she did know.
Return of the Moralis Wife (#ulink_06a24f0c-a315-58d6-8587-fc6bb5f44ac1)
To James and Peter—without whose love and support I probably would never have written a book
CHAPTER ONE (#ulink_e28cc4b3-2c84-5e94-bdf2-ecc187cbfc81)
LISA raised her hands above her head, stretched, and yawned. With only a fine cotton sheet covering her body she felt decadent and deliciously languorous, due entirely to the expert administrations of her very new husband last night.
The door to the ensuite bathroom opened and Lisa’s gaze automatically turned to the man walking into the bedroom. Six feet plus of pure masculine perfection, he was naked except for navy silk boxer shorts hugging his lean hips. He was also strikingly handsome, his strong dark features cast in the classic mould of the Greek male of legend, and he was hers, Lisa thought on a swift, involuntary breath. His thick black hair was still damp from the shower, a stray droplet of water easing its way down his strong throat and lower, to be captured by the curling black body hair that dusted his broad chest.
A lazy smile curved her full lips. ‘Alex,’ she said softly. Just saying his name was a pleasure. Sometimes she felt like pinching herself to make sure the last few weeks had not been a dream.
In the process of pulling on a crisp white shirt, he turned his dark head and his eyes clashed with hers. ‘I know that tone of voice, wench, but forget it. I have to be in London by eight-thirty.’ He grinned and continued dressing, stepping into grey tailored trousers.
‘Spoilsport.’ She pouted, and moved across the bed, allowing the sheet to slip to her waist. ‘Do you have to leave so early?’ she queried huskily, and was rewarded by Alex’s renewed attention. He walked over to the bed and, bending down, brushed his mouth over hers; her lips parted, hoping to prolong the kiss, but abruptly he straightened up.
‘Not this morning, Lisa, I have no time.’ And, turning, he crossed the room, picked up his jacket and eased himself into it. ‘I told you that yesterday, when we drove up here. Today I have meetings lined up in London, morning, afternoon and late into the evening,’ he flung over his shoulder, as he picked up his wallet and keys from the dressing table. ‘And from what your stepfather said last night, you have a busy day ahead of you.’
Lisa sighed; Alex was right. They had arrived back in England last night and travelled straight to her home in Stratford-upon-Avon. On the death of her mother nine months ago, Lisa had inherited the major share in the family company, Lawson Designer Glass and her mother’s job as managing director. Her stepfather, Harold Watson, was the marketing director.
‘You’re right; I know,’ Lisa grudgingly conceded, and, sitting up, she swung her long legs over the side of the bed. She grasped the sheet and wrapped it around under her arms, sarong-style and stood up, flicking a glance at Alex as she did so.
‘Amazing! You hide yourself in a sheet.’ A dark brow rose quizzically. ‘I have seen everything many times, no?’ he drawled, and, turning his back on her, he picked up a silk tie, and slipped it under his shirt collar.
Lisa hesitated and, realising how ridiculous it was to cover herself in front of him, she let the sheet fall to the floor. A month ago she would have died if any man had seen her naked, but Alex had cured her of almost all her inhibitions. Her gaze lingered on his broad back; the exquisitely tailored jacket hung perfectly off his wide shoulders, the few tendrils of black hair curling over the collar an endearing dent in a picture of sartorial elegance, she thought with a grin. At that moment Alex turned back round and caught her staring.
His deep brown eyes flared for an instant, as his glance swept her from head to toe. Lisa was a tall girl, five feet nine inches, but perfectly proportioned, with high, firm breasts, a narrow waist, slim hips and legs that went on for ever. The three weeks of their honeymoon, which they had spent sailing around the Mediterranean on Alex’s yacht had given her skin a golden glow, the sun adding natural streaks of platinum to her long blonde hair.
‘I guess the honeymoon is over and work beckons for both of us,’ she said huskily, hiding a smile. She could tell he was rethinking the need for an early departure. From the moment she had met Alex he had awakened a sensuality in her twenty-three-year-old soul that she had not known she possessed. She had taken one look at him in the lounge bar of a local hotel and had fallen in love on the spot. It had been the same for Alex; they’d spent the next day together and by the evening he had proposed marriage. She would have slept with him there and then, so overwhelming was the passion she felt for him. But Alex, with iron self-control, had insisted they wait until they were married. Four weeks later they had been. Her wedding night had been a revelation: Alex was the perfect lover—he had fulfilled all her wildest dreams, and then some!
‘I have a feeling our honeymoon will never be over,’ Alex declared throatily, and, stepping towards her, he lifted his hand to stroke the soft curve of her cheek. The simple touch was enough to make her pulse race and her stomach clench with excitement. His dark eyes holding hers, his hand trailed tantalisingly down to her shoulder and traced over her breast and waist before hauling her hard against his long length, his head sweeping down to capture her mouth with his own. The kiss was deep and devouring, and when it ended Lisa stared up at him, totally enslaved, her heart bursting with love for him.
‘But for today it is,’ he added, letting her go. ‘We don’t have time to discuss it now, but you are going to have to sort something out about Lawson’s. I want you with me, Lisa, not tied to a desk.’ He paused. ‘Well, not unless it is my desk,’ he qualified, his dark eyes dancing with wicked amusement.
‘Naughty man!’
‘It is not me who is stark naked!’ he drawled mockingly and, with a swift pat on her derriere, he added, ‘Go shower, and I’ll go make the coffee.’
Ten minutes later, having showered and wearing a long blue towelling robe, Lisa strolled into the kitchen of the elegant ten-roomed house that had been her home for as long as she could remember. Alex was leaning casually against the worktop, a coffee cup in one hand, a mobile phone in the other, talking in rapid-fire Greek. He glanced across at her as she walked in and indicated the coffeepot with a wave of his cup, but didn’t stop talking.
Lisa poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the breakfast table, her blue eyes lingering on his rugged profile. His black hair was swept back from his broad forehead; thick black eyebrows arched over deep-set brown eyes; his nose was a straight classic line and his mouth a sensual invitation—perfectly sculptured lips, the bottom one slightly fuller than the top. But at the moment, they were tight with anger.
The honeymoon was certainly over. Alex Solomos the entrepreneur was back. Lisa knew he was the owner of a large company, Solomos International, which his father had started as a small construction firm in Athens. But since Alex had assumed control the company had expanded into a variety of different interests worldwide, all successfully.
Taking a sip of her coffee, it struck Lisa quite forcibly that although he was her husband she did not really know a lot about the man she had married. He was Greek, an only child. Alex had told her that his parents had divorced when he was seven and his father had married again and again, almost wrecking his business in the process. Until Alex had stepped in and taken control after the third divorce, insisting his father must make a prenuptial agreement in any future marriage. Two more marriages had ensued, which was why, Alex had explained, they must have a prenuptial agreement. He could not have insisted on his father doing so and then refuse to do so himself. Lisa had agreed, and had quite happily signed on the dotted line.
Lisa had met his mother on her honeymoon, when Alex had berthed the yacht in the harbour at Kos and they had spent the night in a luxurious villa overlooking the sea with the elegant silver-haired woman. In her halting English she had told Lisa Alex was named after Alexander the Great. The old lady had explained her family was partly of Macedonian descent, the same as his namesake, a man who had conquered the whole of the known world centuries ago, including the island of Kos.
A vivid mental image of Alex, his naked body entwined with hers on the large bed in the villa, flooded her mind. She had teased him about Alexander the Great. ‘I hope you don’t take after the man in every respect, because, according to most historians, although the man was married he was gay.’
Alex had responded with, ‘Then I must prove otherwise, wife,’ and had proceeded to make love to her until they were both satiated by passion. Afterwards she’d quite happily conceded he was great, in at least one department…
Thinking about it now brought a dreamy smile to her lovely face. She lifted the coffee cup to her mouth and drained it, her glance straying once again to Alex’s long body. She could easily see the connection. He was a stunningly attractive man, and with the same type of ruthless energy and drive that conquered worlds. Which, when she thought about it, made it all the more amazing that he had fallen in love with her and married her… In the last three weeks Alex had introduced her to the world of the senses, as well as to the sophisticated lifestyle of some of his wealthy friends.
