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He looked down into her beautiful but troubled dark eyes and shook his head. No, it was not too much to ask. She had been through so much in a short period of time, and she was feeling very out of control. In essence, she was simply trying to take some of that control back.
And, like every time but one when she had come to him for help, he could do nothing but assure she was given what she needed.
The truth was, if he’d helped that one time as well, none of the subsequent public scandal would have been caused. Dimitri’s girlfriend would not have gone missing and his grandfather would have had his surgery under less life-or-death circumstances.
He wasn’t going to screw up that way again.
“Come here, Phoebe.”
Phoebe couldn’t believe he was going to make love to her. But she could see from the serious expression in his golden brown eyes that was exactly what he had planned. Coming here tonight had not been a mistake.
Spiros understood, even if he did not agree. And he’d told her he wanted to marry her irrespective of the money deal between their families. Even if it was only because he’d realized how important their friendship was to him, that was still good to know.
His eyes burned over her with the same flame of desire she’d seen that night in her apartment. They were going to make love. She was so keyed-up by the prospect she could barely breathe.
Her body drawn by a relentless invisible cord, she moved toward him.
He reached out when she was close enough and pulled her the rest of the way, his mouth coming down toward hers even as their bodies came together.
“Never doubt that I want you.” He spoke against her lips in a low but firm voice.
“Show me,” she challenged.
“Oh, I will.”
Then he kissed her. The caress against her lips did not last long, but it touched her to the very marrow of her being.
“Your mouth is perfect, so kissable,” he murmured against the very lips he was praising.
“I couldn’t imagine doing this with Dimitri.”
“You are not to try to imagine doing anything with him ever again.”
She almost laughed at the possessive growl, but had a feeling he would not share her amusement. “You were the one who told me I had to marry him. That you wanted me to.”
“I believed it was the only way.”
“And now you think the only way for your family’s pride to be salvaged is to marry me yourself?” There was no bitterness in her voice, only awe at his unswerving sense of right.
She had known her whole life she could count on Spiros, and he only bolstered that fact with his actions. What she had not realized before was that her ability to trust his integrity implicitly superseded her ability to trust him emotionally. Perhaps one day that would change.
After all, she had not believed he could ever want her. But that had changed.
“It is not something I regret.”
“Are you sure?”
He didn’t bother to answer, simply renewed the kiss, his lips staking a claim that she knew he would be intent on keeping this time. His honor demanded it.
His hands traveled down her body, as if memorizing the dips and valleys that made up her figure. Then he was swinging her high against his chest and carrying her down the hall toward his bedroom.
Only he did not stop at his bedroom door, but carried on to the oversized balcony at the back of his apartment. He had removed all of the wall except the support beams that separated the back bedroom from the balcony, and created an extra-large outdoor living space right in downtown Athens. He’d even installed a small spa in one corner.
He didn’t take her to the spa, though. He took her to the double lounger that she’d shared with him many times—only in a very different capacity. It was designed to lift at opposite sides, so they could face each other in a lounging position, which they’d done many times in the past while sharing a rousing game of cards.
But right now it was completely flat, making it the size of an oval-shaped double bed. He laid her onto the cushions. They were covered in a polished cotton upholstery of such a fine weave that it felt like silk against her heated skin.
“You look so perfect there.” He stepped back and began to undress. “I cannot believe you doubt the chemistry between us. I have wanted you for a long time, pethi mou.”
