AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘I don’t understand.’ She frowned. ‘It’s just a medical test, isn’t it? A blood test or something?’
‘That’s right,’ he said. ‘A blood test, and if that’s compatible the doctor will take a bone-marrow sample.’
‘Wait!’ She planted her feet wide on the ground so this time he was forced to stop and face her. ‘What’s this about a flight?’ she demanded. ‘Surely the tests can be done in Sydney?’
His dark brows arrowed down in a V. ‘They can be done anywhere. But this way you’ll be on hand if the doctors say we can go ahead with the transplant.’
Again Sophie felt that stab of unease at his presumption this would work. That she would be Eleni’s donor. But what if the news wasn’t good?
‘You’re taking a lot for granted. It would be easier if I come to Greece once we know if this will work.’ That would be time enough for her to face her mother’s relatives. The very idea of that made her stomach churn.
His hand curled tighter round her elbow and he drew her up against his body. She stared into his face, so implacable, so determined that for a single, startled moment Sophie’s breath stopped.
Out of nowhere surfaced the mind-numbing idea that he wasn’t going to release her. Ever.
Costas stared down into her dark-honey eyes and told himself to slow down, to be patient. And, above all, to ignore the searing realisation of just how good it felt to touch her. To feel her body against his.
She was grieving.
She was off-limits for all sorts of reasons.
But she felt so right, tucked here against him. Her fresh scent had teased him from the moment he’d pulled her close, awakening long-dormant senses. Old needs.
He wanted.
Carefully Costas released his hold and stepped away, putting some space between them. Her chest rose and fell with her choppy breathing and he could see the reflection of his own puzzled response in her face.
No. This wasn’t about what he wanted from her. That could never be. This was about what Eleni needed from her. Nothing else could be allowed to cloud the issue. Nothing.
He stepped back another fraction and let his hands drop to his sides.
‘It will be simpler and faster this way,’ he said. He refused to voice the superstitious fear that if he let Sophie out of his sight, left Australia without her, this opportunity to save Eleni might slip through his fingers. That something would prevent Sophie from coming to Greece. He clenched his hands together behind his back.
‘I could go to a clinic here in Sydney—’
‘We can be in Athens in a day,’ he interrupted. ‘And when I ring ahead the doctors will be waiting for you. You can have the first blood test the next day.’ He held her gaze with his, willing her to agree. Then he forced himself to spell out what he’d left unsaid before. ‘This is my daughter’s last chance.’
The words echoed between them, appalling, unbearable.
His body was tense with the effort of control, aching with the stress of it. He broke eye contact and stared into the distance, not seeing the unfamiliar Australian scene, or the slim woman before him. Remembering instead his little Eleni, so brave and uncomplaining. So innocent. What had she done to deserve this?
Couldn’t Sophie understand his need to get this done now? As soon as humanly possible?
He flinched when she touched him, so unexpected was it. And so shockingly familiar to his hungry senses.
He looked into her upturned face. The sympathy he saw there would have broken a lesser man. Her eyes were huge in her pale face and she stared at him as if she understood just how desperate he was.
In all these nightmare months there’d been no one to share the anger and the fear, the horror of fighting the temptation of despair. He hadn’t realised till this moment just what a difference that would have made.
And now here was this girl offering him sympathy and understanding. And all the while her body spoke to his, tempting with its heady promise of ultimate physical release.
For an instant he teetered on the brink of reaching out and grasping what she offered. But he didn’t need anyone. He’d learned to stand alone long ago.
‘I understand,’ she said, the knowledge of his pain there in her husky tone. ‘And I promise if I’m compatible then I’ll be on the first plane to Athens.’
‘No!’
That wasn’t good enough. He’d exhausted every other avenue. He couldn’t afford to let her stay behind. A thousand things could happen, even in a few weeks, to prevent her trip to Greece.
