Greek Billionaire's Forbidden Lover (The Rosso Family Series Book 2) (8 page)

“Dareios, is everything okay?” Alexandra asked.

They’d had dinner and the table had been cleared. Dareios had been more like her brother again—polite, distant, and cold.
What happened to the fling? Was that it?
She cursed her own lack of experience. She didn’t know.

After she’d touched him on the deck, he’d turned away. The crew would be back soon, and she’d gone to her cabin. She didn’t know what else to do. She didn’t want to swim, couldn’t really sunbathe not with the marks he had left on her. She showered and changed into a loose, white sundress, and she left off her bra and panties. She brushed out her hair and tried to be interested in a book. But she kept thinking about Dareios.

Was this what a fling was? Brief sexual encounters and then you went off, back to your own life. She was starting to think this was not what she wanted from Dareios. All this had done was to leave her hungry for more.

And now dinner had been cleared. They’d had
kakkavi
, a lovely fish chowder and fresh fish in a wine sauce with rice and a plate of
tiropita and
honey walnut cake for dessert. The crew seemed in a good mood, but Alexandra still felt restless and unsettled.

Dareios told the crew they would not be needed for the rest of the night. He turned to face her, toying with his wine glass with one hand. “What is it you want, Alexandra? Tell me so there’s no misunderstanding here.”

“I want you.” She met his stare and swallowed. “For as long as you’ll have me.” Was that true? She wasn’t sure any more.

He lifted one eyebrow. “You sound as if you can’t foresee a point in time where you would not want me. That would make this a very long fling.”

She shook her head.  “I’m not going to pretend to understand how things are going to work out for us. But I do know that if you don’t finish what you started with me, I’m going to become very hard to deal with.”

He smiled. “You sound like you used to when you were little. I remember when Antonio didn’t give in to your demands, you became a pest. Didn’t you once hold it over him that you would tell your father that Antonio had dug up the rose bushes in your garden, hoping to find treasures and antiquities? He replanted them, but they looked terrible. I seem to remember your gardener having a fit.”

She put her hands flat on the table. “I’m sexually frustrated and really not in the mood to play nice.”

Dareios stood. He held out his hand. She took it and followed him down to his cabin. But she couldn’t wait. In the narrow corridor, she pulled him back to her. She kissed him the way he had kissed her—taking possession of his mouth. He put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back. His eyes seemed huge and dark. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her with him to his cabin.

Moonlight came in through the windows of the main stateroom. She could just make out that the room was decorated in warm, earth colors. Bronze and tans and golds. A huge bed dominated the room. Dareios pulled her down on the bed with him.

She swung a leg over him and sat with her knees on either side of him. She knew she was wet—she could feel herself rubbing against his hardness. He grasped her hips. “You’re naked under this.”

Reaching up, she pulled off the sundress. “Now I’m just naked.” She ripped open his shirt. Buttons popped and flew. He already had his belt undone and his pants unzipped. She pulled the loose trousers off his hips and he kicked out of them.

Grabbing her hips, he lifting her up and positioned himself at her entrance. Slowly, he lowered her until he was completely inside her. “God, you’re so tight, Alexandra,” he told her, holding her hips still with his hands.

Alexandra closed her eyes as the feelings swamped her.
Finally! I knew it would be like this between us.
When he relaxed his hold on her hips, she began to move, rocking back and forth. Dareios gave a low growl. Taking her hips, he urged her to move faster. He pushed up into her, his hips bucking.

She threw her head back. Sensations rushed through her body—waves of pleasure and heat. She felt herself tightening around him, and heard his groan. She trembled, on the brink of coming apart. She felt joined with him—utterly. She gave a wiggle of her hips and the world exploded.

Dareios kept thrusting up into her and the world went white again. He gave a harsh cry and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. She could feel his heart beating and his ragged breath brushed over her check. She tightened around him and he gave another groan.

Turning her, he nestled her close to him. He brushed his lips over her temple. “You are amazing.”

Alexandra watching the moonlight sift over the cabin. It was a very masculine room—Spartan almost, with no pictures on the wall, no decoration. Just a bed. She traced a finger over his chest. He had very little hair on his chest or arms. She hoped he wasn’t regretting being with her. “Dareios, what are you thinking about?”

He squeezed her and then kissed the top of her head. “I was trying to remember why we haven’t done this before now. But you have to promise me one thing.”

“I thought this was no ties—no promises?”

“Oh, this is the only one. You have to promise me that when we arrive in Athens…if your brother ever learns what we’ve done, you’ll protect me from Antonio.”

The next ten days passed in a blur for Alexandra. Dareios took his time sailing back to the mainland of Greece, and back to Athens. They stopped at every small island he could think of, they’d anchor and swim, and dine and make love.

At one of the smaller islands—empty except for goats and olive trees—Dareios took her in the launch to the shore. They swam naked in the water, and he pulled her to him, wrapping her legs around him. He slipped into her and he allowed the swell of the surf to push them together and move them apart. The sun warmed her shoulders and the warm water lapped at them.

She came in soft waves that matched the water, and then watched Dareios’ face go limp with his bliss. Afterward they ate a lunch of gyros—lamb and
tzatziki
wrapped in pita bread—on the beach. Alexandra started to dread the day they would have to go back, but eventually the shore came into sight, and she knew her time with Dareios was ending.

He would end this.

She had asked for a fling—for time with him. She hadn’t realized how tangled her heart would become in this. She had thought their passion would burn out—it hadn’t.

Every morning, she woke hungry for his body and reaching for him. Every night she fell asleep in his arms, utterly satisfied. He did everything possible, she thought, to try and frighten her off.

He made love to her roughly, he had her kneel on the bed as he took her from behind, every thrust hard and violent, he even spanked her ass one night after they’d toured one of the islands and she’d flirted with a local.

She’d loved it all—even the spanking, which had left her ass red and burning. She’d admired the hand prints he’d left on her the next morning and had wondered if she could provoke him to do more.

She’d never known that she could be a bad girl—but she was. At least with him. She loved it when he held her down. She almost came just from him sucking hard on her nipples and biting them. She had to give up wearing her bikini he left so many love bites on her, but she usually swam naked with him, so that didn’t matter. But she was out of time now.

After the
Kairos
anchored, Dareios came to her on the deck. She turned to him. The wind pulled at her hair. “Are you coming with me?” she asked.

“Back to the Rosso estate?” He shook his head. “My father is waiting for me in the city. Business.”

“Oh,” she pushed her hair from her face. She wanted to touch him—to kiss him. He stood with his hands in his pockets. During the trip, he’d worn shorts and loose shirts. Now he looked buttoned up—literally. He just needed a suit jacket to head into the city.

She brushed a strand of hair from his face and then turned to stare at the water. “I don’t know why I still live on the estate. I should get an apartment in town again.”

“You hated living alone.”

She nodded. She’d hoped he would take the hint, would say that was a great idea and that he would visit her there. But now she knew this was over.

She didn’t want that.

But she wasn’t sure now how to convince Dareios that this fling didn’t have to end. He didn’t want to marry—didn’t think he could settle. She knew he was wrong about that. But how could she change his mind?

With a smile, she glanced at him. “Guess I’ll see you around.” She headed for the launch. She didn’t look back, but she could feel Dareios’ stare on her.

The trip into Athens and then out to the Rosso estate, with its gates and gardens on the outskirts of the city, seemed to take forever. Alexandra chewed on her thumbnail and tried to figure out what came next. This hadn’t gone how she’d thought it would. She’d figured they’d have an affair, and then they’d settle back into being friends. But she could see now that she wanted more.

She’d given Dareios not just her body—she’d handed over her heart. How could she convince Dareios that he should keep both close?

As the limo pulled up before the mansion, Claire—Antonio’s new wife—came out to meet her. Alexandra caught Claire in a hug. She’d come to love this New York girl with her long, honey-blonde hair and her straight forward manners. Claire was the only person that Antonio listened to—and Alexandra thought he was even a little intimidated by his petite wife. He’d also build her a killer sound studio here at the house, just to keep Claire happy.

Wrapping an arm around Alexandra’s waist, Claire let the way into the house. “Antonio’s home early. We’re having lunch on the patio. How was Milan? Did you buy shoes? And did you have fun sailing? Tonio keeps promising me a trip around the islands, but I’ve got back-to-back jobs for the next three months.” She wrinkled her nose.

Alexandra gave a laugh. “Oh, like you hate your work. What are you doing?”

Claire started to explain her new jobs. She did voiceover work, and recently she’d started doing documentary narration. But the new work was for a series of commercials. They headed out to the patio through the kitchen, and found Gaia singing off-key while she pounded a pile of dough in front of her. Letting go of Claire, Alexandra called out, “
Kalimera
, Gaia.”

“Miss Alexandra, you’re home!” Gaia wiped her hands on her apron and gave Alexandra a hug and a kiss upon each cheek. She looked her up and down and then clucked her tongue. “You are not eating enough!”

Alexandra laughed. “You think every Greek woman should be pleasantly plump, rather than fit. And I’ve had plenty to eat. Ask Dareios. He hired an excellent chef for his yacht.”

Gaia shook her head. Technically, she was the housekeeper, but she’d become much more after Alexandra’s mother had died. Gaia narrowed her eyes. She didn’t say anything, but she had her lips pressed tight and there was a warning in her gaze.

Face warm, Alexandra looked away. “We’re going to wait for Antonio on the patio. Is there any lemonade?”

Gaia nodded and waved them from her kitchen. “Go. Make yourselves comfortable and I’ll bring it out.”

Outside, Claire leaned close and said, “Gaia knows something is up. And so do I. Just what happened on that yacht with Dareios?”

Alexandra glanced around to make sure they were alone. “You have to promise not to tell Antonio.”

Claire shook her head and frowned. “I’m not sure I’ve been married long enough to have secrets. Are you and Dareios like…a thing?”

“More like nothing. Or we will be if Dareios has his way. I thought…well, I thought a fling would be great. And then it’d be back to normal.”

“And it’s not.” Claire sat down in the cabana that shaded the chairs around the pool. The day was warm, but a light breeze ruffled her hair and tugged at her yellow, silk blouse. “It never is—some of us just aren’t built to have flings.”

Flopping into a chair, Alexandra sighed. “So I’ve found out. Now I just have to convince Dareios that we’re right together.”

“And then you have to convince Antonio that Dareios will make a great brother-in-law and not just a friend.” Leaning forward, Claire patted Alexandra’s hand. “Leave that part to me. I think I can help out. But what are you going to do about Dareios?”

Alexandra smiled. “I think I have a plan.”

Holding up a hand, Claire shook her head. “Don’t tell me. The less I know the less I have to hide.”

“Hide from whom?” Antonio asked. He gave Claire a kiss on the cheek and sat down.

Alexandra offered up a bright smile. “Hide from you. I’m going to take Claire shopping and the bills will be terrible!” Antonio laughed, and Claire mouthed a silent ‘thank you.’ Gaia brought out the lemonade and Alexandra began to tell them about the trip—leaving out all the parts that would make a brother blush.

The least she could do was distract Antonio right now. But in the back of her mind she began to plan. Milan had given her a few ideas. And she had a few more from Dareios himself.

***

Three weeks, Alexandra thought, a little disgusted. Out every night, dancing until dawn, and she’d had more photos of herself in the papers over the last week than she’d had in ten years. She’d been dubbed the ‘good-time Greek heiress’ but it was more work to live up to that name than she’d thought it would be.

She had a dozen men now calling her—and what she wanted was to spend the night at home with a good movie and popcorn. But Dareios still hadn’t seemed to notice. She’d give him another week—and then she was giving up.

She stared at her reflection in the mirror. She’d put on a red mini-dress that hugged every curve—out every night had meant new dresses for every night, and she’d made good on her promise to drag Claire out shopping with her.

She’d bought shoes and dresses—and handbags. She’d also bought jewelry—diamond earrings, gold bracelets and necklaces. But tonight she would just wear the dress. It was startling all on its own. She tugged down the hem slightly—it barely covered her ass. If Antonio saw it she’d get another frown from him.

Heading downstairs, she slipped out and into the waiting limo. A new dance club had opened. And she planned to be the star attraction. At the club, she got out of the limo with flashes going off, just about blinding her.

But she smiled and posed for the paparazzi. Then she headed inside. She didn’t see Dareios. Pushing through the crowd to the bar, she ordered a vodka with ice and a splash of cranberry juice. And then she started to mingle.

By eleven, she was beat—and ready to call it a night. Dareios hadn’t shown up—yet again. She knew he was still in Athens. But why wasn’t he coming out? He was supposed to be the party boy—not her. How was she ever going to make him jealous—and make him realize that he wanted to claim her as his forever—if he wouldn’t even show up!

Tomorrow night she’d do something even bigger. She’d call up a couple of old school friends and show up with two beautiful boys hanging on her arms. That should get Dareios’ attention.