His Forbidden Bride (6 page)

'Why, yes,
thespinis
. You could always ask me.' His face was solemn, but

his voice quivered with amusement, leaving her with the uneasy feeling that

he knew exactly what she was doing.

She lifted her chin. 'I hardly think I should approach him through his

gardener,' she said sharply.

'But I am not merely the gardener,' he said, softly. 'I take care of a great

many things for him. But if you wish to speak to him directly, he will soon be

here on Thania. Within a week, I believe.'

'And staying here?'

'No,' he said, after a pause, 'He never stays here. He has a vil a of his own

quite near.'

'That's such a shame,' Zoe said, and meant it. 'It's a wonderful house, but

it's bound to deteriorate if it isn't lived in—and loved.'

'You are wrong,
thespinis
,' he said 'One thing this house has never lacked is love. It was built into every wal —every beam—every stone. Love is the

reason it exists.'

She was shaken by the sudden passion in his voice—and by the odd raw

note of anger, too.

She said, with a touch of uncertainty, 'I'l wait, then— and speak to him.

When he arrives.' She paused. 'And now I'd better go.'

'And where wil you go?' That strange, harsh moment had passed and he

was smiling again, the dark eyes speculative as they studied her. 'Down to

the cove as you intended?'

Zoe bit her lip. 'No—that was a bad idea, and I'm sorry.'

'Why?' he said. 'The sea is warm, and the sand inviting. And you will not be

disturbed.'

She was already disturbed, she thought. Stirred in every fibre of her being,

and it was not a sensation she relished, or even wished to admit.

Turned on by a good-looking Greek, she derided herself. How

shameful—and how pathetic.

She shrugged, attempted a smile of her own. 'Al the same…'

'You like his house,' he said. 'I am sure my employer would wish you also to

enjoy his beach. There is a way down from the terrace. I wil show you.'

'I real y don't think…'

'Is that why you came to Thania—to think?' He straightened in a leisurely

manner, moving back a little. Offering her, she realised, free passage past

him. 'Then stop thinking,
thespinis
. Learn to relax. Begin—to feel.'

'Perhaps, then,' she said. Adding primly, 'But I don't want to take you away

from your work.'

'You will not,' he said. 'But my work, alas, wil take me away from you. So,

you see,' he added gently, 'there is nothing to fear.'

Zoe stiffened. 'I'm not in the least afraid,' she told him curtly. 'I can't believe your employer lists harassing tourists among your duties.'

'Ah.' He sent her a glance that glinted with amusement. 'But I am not always

on duty.' There was a tingling pause, then he turned, and walked to the main

door. 'Make your decision,
thespinis
,' he added briskly. 'I am waiting to lock up.'

Biting her lip, she fol owed him out of the house, and round the terrace to

the gate she'd noticed earlier, which he courteously unlatched for her.

'I suggest you come back this way,' he said. 'The track that Stavros' wife

uses is rather too steep.'

'Thank you,' Zoe said coldly.

'
Parakalo
.' He grinned at her. 'It has been my pleasure.'

As she descended the steps she was conscious of his gaze fol owing her.

Knew the exact moment he turned away, as if a wire joining them had

suddenly snapped.

A few minutes later, she heard the sound of a Jeep starting up, and driving

away.

Alone at last, she thought. And was shocked to discover her relief tinged by

something very like regret.

I'm making altogether too much of this, Zoe told herself determinedly. He's

gone. And it's time I pul ed myself together, and forgot about him.

She'd had a wonderful swim, and now, having applied sun lotion to every

exposed portion of her skin, she was stretched out on her towel with her

book. But she could not concentrate on the printed words. They seemed to

dance away out of reach, leaving her to focus almost helplessly on a dark

face, with eyes that smiled, looking up at her from the foot of a marble

staircase.

In a way it was understandable that he should be imprinted so firmly on her

mind. After al , he'd caught her in the act of having a humiliating snoop on

private property. He could have handed her over to the police, or even

exacted a very different form of retribution, she thought, swal owing.

But she had to put al that behind her now, and plan her next move instead.

I'm here for a purpose, she told herself strongly. And I'm certainly not a

lonely heart tourist looking for a holiday romance with some Greek version

of Casanova.

Or even a mild flirtation, she made the hasty addendum. Although, to

someone like him, it would probably be as natural as breathing. See a

woman. Chat her up. Tel her that she's beautiful and desirable. Make her

day.

Wel , it hasn't made my day, she thought, broodingly.

She sat up, rummaging in her bag for her bottle of water. There wasn't a

great deal left, she realised with a frown. She would have to ration herself.

She tossed her book aside, and turned onto her front, undoing the clasp of

her bikini top. A little serious sunbathing, she decided, and then she would

go back to the hotel, and sit in the shade with a cold drink.

She pil owed her head on her folded arms, and closed her eyes. The

murmur of the sea seemed to fil her head, soothing away the doubts and

alarms of the day.

It's just so perfect here, she thought drowsily as everything slid away. It

seemed that she was standing in front of Gina's picture, stepping into it like

Alice, and entering its world. Retracing her steps in slow motion through

every room. Taking a dream-like possession.

She did not fal deeply asleep. She was aware of sand under her fingers, the

texture of the towel beneath her bare breasts, and the strength of the sun on

her back, like the caress of warm hands. She sighed a little, wriggling her

shoulders slowly and pleasurably, then let herself drift again.

Until she found herself once more at the top of the stairs—looking down.

Meeting his gaze. And, this time, watching him walk up the steps towards

her…

She came back to reality with a sudden jolt, heart thudding. She propped

herself up on an elbow, staring around her in sudden, inexplicable alarm,

but the rest of the beach was deserted.

She sank back onto the towel with a little groan of relief, then paused, her

brows snapping together. Because the bottle of sun lotion that she'd

replaced in her bag after use was there in front of her on the sand, propped

against an insulated cool-box, which had appeared from nowhere.

Both of them tel ing her quite clearly that, although she might be alone now,

she'd had company quite recently. While she'd been asleep, in fact, and

vulnerable.

Her throat tightened as she smelt the distinctive scent of freshly applied

lotion on her skin, and remembered the vivid sensation of stroking hands on

her bare back. And her drowsy, sensuous reaction…

Oh, God, she thought, he'd been here—touching her.

Seeing her next door to naked. And making no secret of it either. Feverishly,

she snatched up her bikini top, and fastened it round her with shaking

hands. Locking the stable door, she realised, after the horse was long gone.

He'd said he was leaving, she thought numbly. She'd heard him drive off.

And now he'd come sneaking back. Al Adele's warnings returned in

Technicolor to haunt her. To tel her to get out while the going was good.

She grabbed her bag, and pushed her book and the sun lotion into it. He'd

mentioned another way off the beach that Sherry used, and she didn't care

how steep or stony it was. It would certainly be safer than going up to the

vil a, and encountering him again.

Then as she reached for her dress she saw him coming down the steps, a

sun umbrel a under one arm, and a bottle of water in his other hand. And a

towel, she noted, draped round his shoulders.

Too late to run now, she thought, cursing under her breath. She got to her

feet, and watched him approach, hands on her hips.

She said glacially, 'I thought you had other duties elsewhere.'

'I also have a lunch break.' He indicated the cool-box, apparently oblivious to

the hostility in her tone. 'I thought you might like to share some food with

me.'

'Then you thought wrong.' She gave him the full glare that worked so wel

with stroppy teenagers, both eyes like lasers.

'As you wish.' His own tone was equable. 'But at least drink some of this

water I have brought for you. It is dangerous to become dehydrated, and

your own supply has nearly gone.'

He pushed the tip of the umbrel a he was carrying deep into the sand, and

adjusted it, so the shade fel across her towel.

'You dared to go through my things…'

He shrugged. 'I was looking for the lotion to put on your back. You were in

danger of burning. I saw then how little water you had.'

Oh, God, he made it al sound so bloody
reasonable
, she raged inwardly. As if his motives were of the purest.

She said stiffly, 'I'm sure you meant to be kind…'

'Is that what I intended?' He grinned at her. 'Wel , maybe, A little. Or,

perhaps, I was thinking how angry my employer would be if he found you

were in the clinic with first-degree burns or heatstroke, and unable to talk

business with him.' He held the bottle of water out to her. 'Now drink some

of this.'

'That won't be necessary,' she denied swiftly. 'I'm going back to the hotel. I

can get a drink there.'

'I see.' He was quiet for a meditative moment. 'Have you been to Greece

many times before?'

'No,' she said. 'This is actual y my first visit, but…'

'But it is wiser to rest in the heat of the day,' he supplied decisively. 'And not go walking when there is no necessity.' He put the bottle down on her towel,

and paused. 'Don't you like the beach?'

'It's perfect,' Zoe said shortly.

'Until I came to spoil it for you,' he added drily. 'You have a very eloquent

face,
thespinis
.'

'Yet you seem determined to stay, all the same.' She observed him

spreading his towel on the sand with misgiving.

'I come every day at this time,' he said. 'Whereas you,
thespinis
, are here only at my invitation.' He al owed that to sink in. 'And the beach is surely big