The Greek Billionaire's Innocent Princess (17 page)

‘I dare, Kitty
mou
,’ he drawled, his voice no longer sharp with annoyance but thick with sexual desire that caused an answering shiver of awareness to run down her spine, ‘because you are my

wife.’ With deft fingers he tugged the pins from her hair so that it fell down her back in a river of silk. ‘You now have two minutes to exchange dresses, or risk me removing what is left of this

one,’ he warned her silkily. ‘And if I strip you completely I think it’s a safe bet that we won’t be going anywhere but my bed tonight.’

The determined gleam in his eyes told Kitty that he meant it too. A dignified retreat seemed her

only option, and, head held high, she swung round and marched into her room, venting her

temper by slamming the connecting door, and grinding her teeth when she heard his mocking

laughter through the thin walls.

She hated him, she told her reflection, tears of mortification stinging her eyes as she stepped out

of her ruined dress and squeezed herself into the red ball-gown. He was the most arrogant,

overbearing man she had ever met—and it was a bitter irony that he was the only man who had

ever made her ache with desire.

Because she wanted him, she acknowledged with reluctant honesty. She had wanted him that

night in the cave, and she wanted him now. It was not fear of the physical act of making love

with him that had made her sleep in another room, but the fear of giving herself to him, body and

soul, and receiving nothing in return.

She could very easily fall in love with him, she thought bleakly as she ran a brush through her

hair so that it fell around her shoulders like a curtain of silk. But she would be a fool to lose her heart to him, because his was carved from ice, and he had made it clear that it would never melt.

The connecting door swung open, and for a second her eyes clashed with Nikos’s unfathomable

gaze reflected in the mirror. Quickly she lowered her lashes, praying he had not guessed her

thoughts, but her heart was hammering when he came to stand behind her.

‘I knew the dress would suit you. You look stunning.’

Kitty had spent her whole adult life longing to be told she looked attractive, but Nikos’s coolly

delivered compliment left her feeling strangely deflated. He was just being polite, she decided.

He was probably thinking that her bottom looked huge, and regretting on insisting that she

should wear the dress.

‘It’s really not my style,’ she muttered, her cheeks burning when his eyes slid over her and

lingered on her voluptuous breasts that were thrusting provocatively above the tight-fitting

bodice. ‘I want to wear something else, Nikos— another of the dresses we bought today.’

Preferably one that was less eye-catching.

‘Don’t be ridiculous.’ He could not hide the impatience in his voice. ‘And don’t keep looking

down at the floor.’ He swung her round and caught her chin between his fingers, tilting her face

to his. ‘A dress like this needs to be worn with confidence.’ From his jacket he extracted a

narrow velvet box, which he opened to reveal an exquisite ruby and diamond pendant suspended

on a gold chain. He smiled when Kitty gave an audible gasp. ‘This matches the dress perfectly,’

he murmured as he fastened it around her neck.

His hands were warm against her skin, but Kitty shivered as he swung her back round to face the

mirror. Once again her eyes locked with his and she felt the familiar, prickling tension between

them. The pulse at the base of her throat was plainly visible, beating erratically beneath her skin, and she caught her breath when he lowered his head and brushed his mouth along her collarbone.

‘Time to go, Kitty
mou
.’ His voice was deep and husky, and sent another shiver of acute

awareness down her spine. ‘Have pity on me tonight,’ he murmured, his mouth curving into a

self-derisive smile as he stepped away from her. ‘Every time I look at you I will be imagining

you wearing nothing but the necklace.’

She swallowed hard at the feral hunger in his eyes. ‘You shouldn’t say things like that.’

He shrugged. ‘Why not, when it’s the truth? And before much longer the image in my head will

be reality. My patience is wearing thin,
agape
,’ he warned her silkily, and turned and walked out of the room, leaving Kitty staring after him, her heart thumping.

THEcharity gala was being held at an exclusive five-star hotel in the heart of Athens. As the car

drew up outside the front steps and Kitty glanced out of the window at the blinding flashbulbs

from the paparazzi’s cameras she felt the familiar sick dread in the pit of her stomach. Some of

her tension must have shown on her face because Nikos frowned as he leaned towards her.

‘Relax,
agape
. You look as though you are about to be thrown to the lions rather than attend a party where you are the star guest.’

‘I’d rather be thrown into a lions’ den,’ Kitty muttered.

‘You’re not still worried about your dress, are you?’ Now there was an edge of impatience in

Nikos’s voice. ‘I told you, you look stunning, and all eyes will be on you.’

‘I don’t
want
everyone to notice me. I’ve always been hopeless at socialising,’ Kitty admitted miserably.

‘But you must have regularly attended parties and functions at the palace.’

‘Yes, but I never enjoyed it. Liss was always the party girl, and she has the looks and confidence

to walk into a room full of strangers. I just get tongue-tied and never know what to say to people.

I’m afraid you’re going to find me a big disappointment, Nikos,’ she finished gloomily.

‘I did not realise you found socialising such an ordeal,’ he murmured, taken aback by her

revelation. ‘But I assure you I will not find you a disappointment, Kitty. And I will be by your

side constantly to introduce you to people. Have you ever thought that they might be nervous

about meeting you?’ he queried.

‘Why would anyone feel nervous about meeting me?’ Kitty demanded, startled.

‘Because you are a princess. I think a lot of people could feel overawed by your royal status, not

to mention the fact that you are intelligent and highly educated. Think about it,’ Nikos murmured

as Stavros opened the car door and he stepped out, turning back to assist Kitty in alighting from

the car.

She was so shocked by the idea that people might be unnerved by meeting her that she barely

noticed the press pack jostling around them, and she gave a shocked gasp when Nikos put his

arm around her waist and dipped his head to kiss her full on the mouth. His lips were warm and

firm and she responded to him without conscious thought, her eyes wide with confusion when he

broke the kiss after a disappointingly short time.

‘Why did you do that?’ she mumbled as he drew her hand through his arm and escorted her up

the steps and into the hotel.

‘We are newly-weds, Kitty
mou
,’ he reminded her, his eyes gleaming with amusement and

something else that made her stomach dip. ‘I thought it was about time we gave the paparazzi

something to photograph.’

The moment they walked into the ballroom, they were the centre of attention—Athens’s most

famous billionaire shipping magnate and his princess bride. Glancing around at the female guests

in their couture gowns and spectacular jewellery, Kitty reluctantly had to admit that she would

have stuck out like a sore thumb in her drab black dress. But there was no chance of her slinking

into a quiet corner in the daring red gown, and Nikos stayed true to his word and did not leave

her side. Instead he moved seamlessly from one group of guests to the next, introducing Kitty,

and initiating conversation on topics he knew she was interested in so that she had something to

say.

To her utter amazement she realised that Nikos had been right and that many of the people she

met were not actually stiff and unfriendly as she had thought, but that they felt awkward in the

presence of royalty and did not know quite how to treat her. Anxious to put them at their ease,

she forgot her shyness and chatted to them, and to her surprise she discovered halfway through

the evening that she was enjoying herself.

This really wasn’t so bad, she mused later as she strolled over to the bar and asked the waiter for

a fruit juice. Seeing that her confidence had soared, Nikos had left her for a few minutes to go

and talk to one of his business associates, but Kitty was not alone for long.

‘Princess Katarina? My name is Darius Christakis. I’m a lecturer at the university of Athens.’

She had noticed the man looking at her several times during the evening, and now, as he held

out his hand to her, Kitty smiled and returned his greeting.

‘Mr Christakis.’

He was very good-looking, she mused, and he was attracting interested glances from several

women around the room. But he appeared to only have eyes for her, and she was startled when

faint colour flared in his face.

‘Darius, please.’

‘And I’m Kitty,’ she murmured, wanting to put him at his ease. ‘The whole royal title thing is a

bit of a mouthful, don’t you think?’

‘Actually, I think you are amazing.’ The young man’s flush deepened. ‘I studied your paper on

The Crusades during the twelfth century and the impact on Greece and the surrounding

Mediterranean islands, and to be honest it was one of the most fascinating pieces I’ve ever read.’

Darius grinned sheepishly. ‘I must admit I imagined you to look like a learned scholar with

glasses and a tweed skirt, but instead I find that you are gorgeous—if you don’t mind my saying

so,’ he added, raking a hand distractedly through his hair.

‘I don’t mind,’ Kitty said with a laugh, her self-confidence boosted by his description of her. If

only he knew that a few weeks ago she
had
been a frumpy scholar, more interested in her books than her looks, but as she saw the undisguised admiration in Darius’s eyes she felt a spurt of

gratitude to Nikos who had transformed her from drab to, apparently, gorgeous.

‘I was wondering if you would consider being a guest speaker at the university?’ Darius

continued. ‘Your work at the museum on Aristo is well known and my students would really

enjoy meeting you.’

Kitty’s heart lurched at the idea of public speaking. But it would be on her specialist subject, and she would enjoy visiting Athens’s university. On a sudden rush of confidence she nodded to

Darius. ‘I’d love to.’

‘Great.’ He beamed at her. ‘Maybe we could get together soon to discuss your visit?’

‘I’m afraid my wife will need to consult her diary before she makes any commitments.’ Nikos

materialised at Kitty’s side, his dark brows drawn into a frown as he slid his arm possessively

around her waist and clamped her so hard against him that she could barely breathe.

‘Nikos, this is Darius Christakis…’ Kitty began, breaking off at the look of open hostility in

Nikos’ eyes as he glared at the younger man.

‘I see that your companions are waiting for you, Mr Christakis,’ he said in a dangerously soft

tone. ‘You’d better go back to them.’

‘Right.’ The younger man backed away, gave Kitty a brief, nervous smile and shot off across the

room.

‘That was incredibly rude of you.’ She rounded on Nikos the moment the other man was out of

earshot. ‘He only wanted to talk about a paper I’d written.’

‘He wanted to dive into the front of your dress,
agape
,’ Nikos drawled sardonically, his eyes glinting as he stared at Kitty’s angry face. ‘I’ve noticed the way he’s been looking at you all

night.’

‘Nonsense…’ She paused, blushing when she recalled how Darius had called her gorgeous.

‘Anyway, it was you who insisted I should wear this dress.’

‘A decision I am now regretting,’ Nikos murmured as he led her onto the dance floor and drew

her into his arms. ‘You are attracting too much male attention, and I have discovered that I am

very possessive. In future you can wear something beige and baggy to hide your delectable body

from everyone but me.’

He was teasing her, surely, Kitty thought, her eyes widening when she realised that the

expression in his dark gaze was deadly serious. ‘Are you…
jealous
, Nikos?’ She blushed scarlet as the words left her lips, certain that he would deny it. Instead his eyes narrowed and he

tightened his arms around her so that her pelvis came into direct contact with the shockingly hard

ridge of his arousal.

‘It is not an emotion I am familiar with, Kitty
mou
,’ he murmured dulcetly, ‘but if you so much as look at another man for the hour or so remaining until we can leave, I will demonstrate in

front of everyone here just how possessive I am of my wife—and how very impatient I am to

make love to her.’

‘Nikos!’ Kitty could not hold back her shocked cry, or restrain the quiver of white-hot sexual

awareness that ripped through her. This had been building for the past few days, she

acknowledged numbly as she stared at him and saw the sensual gleam beneath his heavy lids.

The drumbeat of desire that she had tried so hard to ignore was now thudding deep inside her,

sending her blood coursing through her veins. They were moving in time with the music, their

bodies locked together so that she could feel every muscle and sinew of his hard thighs pressed

against her softer flesh.

‘You take my breath away tonight—my lady in red,’ he murmured, his voice so low and husky

in her ear that it seemed to reverberate right through her. She could feel the faint abrasion of his cheek against her face and knew that if she turned her head a fraction their mouths would meet.