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Lucy felt as if he’d slapped her. Her body went cold. Boss/assistant. Back to work. Back in her place. The intense vulnerability made her feel slightly sick.
‘Of course,’ she said through numb lips, when she felt like saying something like, I never asked for this, you know, and I certainly never expected to be brought here to this idyllic little hideaway where you couldn’t contain your emotions.
When Lucy stood under the shower a short time later her belly clenched painfully. She could see exactly why he’d brought her here now: no possibility of paparazzi catching them out, no one who knew him apart from the locals he’d known as a child…no chance for her to be getting any ideas.
There was a knock on the door that made her jump, and Lucy heard a curt, ‘The helicopter is on stand-by. As soon as you’re ready we’re leaving.’
‘Fine,’ Lucy called casually, belying the unsteady beating of her heart and the sick feeling gripping her gut. His words and cool manner were an all too mocking confirmation of her fears and her own stupidity. He was hustling them out of here as if there had just been some kind of dire weather warning, making it patently obvious how much he regretted bringing her there in the first place.
As she switched off the shower and stepped out, she knew that she would have to start distancing herself. She couldn’t go on like this. She was being served a timely reminder of what she could expect out of this relationship—which was nothing but a very bruised heart.
That evening, when they returned to the hotel from Ari’s Athens office and Lucy felt Ari take her arm as they stepped out of the lift, she drew on all her strength to pull away from his touch.
They approached her hotel room door and she prayed silently that he wouldn’t try to come in. She sent him a quick glance, while swiping her door open at the same time, thanking God that her hands were steady.
‘I’m tired. I’m going to go to bed…’
Her door opened and she heard a drawling, ‘Not a bad idea.’
Lucy turned in the door and looked up. ‘Alone. As you said yourself earlier, we have a heavy week. And I—I am tired.’
Ari looked down at Lucy and felt the knot of frustration which had started the minute he’d left their bed earlier this morning intensify. Every moment he spent not touching this woman meant dealing with a level of frustration he hadn’t experienced before. He looked at her properly for the first time. He’d tried to avoid looking directly at her all day—if he was honest since last night, when she’d—His belly flipped over and he ruthlessly quashed the memory of such weakness. He still couldn’t believe it had happened…
But now she did look tired, with faint circles of violet under her eyes. She also looked a little strained, and a dart of guilt struck him when he remembered the urgency he’d felt to get off Paros and back here, bringing them straight to the office and working them both like dogs.
Lust was a force within him, crying out for satisfaction…but he would not admit to that. She wanted to go to bed alone? Well, he was damned if he was going to let her see that the notion of that went against every clamouring instinct to throw her over his shoulder and carry her to his own bed.
So he backed away, and did not like the visible look of relief that crossed her face. He almost stopped and gave in to his primal urges—had to clench his fists not to.
‘We leave for Parnassus’ villa at nine a.m. I’ll see you in the lobby.’
She nodded and then disappeared into her room, shutting the door between them with a firm click that seemed to resonate all the way through Ari’s body right to his feet.
On Thursday evening Lucy thought back to the gentle exhaustion she’d felt the previous Sunday and could have laughed. Since then it had been like the first week—a frenetic blur of work, whizzing from Parnassus’ villa, back to Ari’s office, and back to the hotel. Ari had been out late nearly every evening, having private meetings with Parnassus and their legal teams, and much to Lucy’s relief hadn’t thought it necessary for her to be there too.
She’d carefully locked the interconnecting door on her side each night, even though all she’d fantasised about was slipping naked between Ari’s sheets and awaiting his return.
Instead, as she’d thumped her pillow, she’d told herself that this was the best way. Nip it in the bud now, and when they got back to the UK she’d calmly inform him that this brief moment of madness was over. Her mind froze at the thought of calling women for him, arranging dates, seeing him come in in the morning with that satisfied look on his face, slight shadows under those amazing eyes from not sleeping—
‘Lucy, what are you doing hiding over here? Has Ari told you to stay out of sight in case people realise he’s sleeping with his PA?’
It took a moment for Lucy’s focus to return to the room and realise that Anatolios was standing in front of her, with a smarmy look on his face. She could almost feel sorry for him now that she knew he’d been rejected in the end, despite his mother’s vast efforts to secure him number one place in his father’s affections.
‘I’m not hiding.’ She felt defensive. She had been guilty of hiding, hoping to get a glimpse of Ari and compose herself before going over to him. ‘I’ve just arrived and I was looking for Ari.’
They’d come separately to this, another charity ball which was being held in their hotel in honour of Parnassus’ contribution to helping the homeless in Athens. It was going to be the precursor of the announcement of the merger, which would be made the following morning, with the papers being signed at a press conference.
Lucy felt a prickle of unease skate up her spine when she saw how Anatolios’s eyes were all but devouring her breasts, and she realised she was hemmed in between him and a wall. She moved to try and edge past him, but he moved too, surprising her with his agility.
He came and stood close, effectively blocking her from the room, and Lucy was very aware of how intimate it might look. She was plastered against the wall behind her now, could feel Anatolios’s breath, smell the alcohol. Her belly spasmed.
‘Anatolios, I have to go and find Ari. Would you excuse me, please?’
He laughed, and it was nasty. He didn’t move. ‘You English, you’re always so polite—please and thank you. You’re not going anywhere until you tell me what Ari is cooking up with Parnassus.’
Lucy flushed, and her eyes were immediately caught by Anatolios’s. He couldn’t hide his l
ook of triumph.
