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She shook as he came back and stretched out next to her. Naked, gloriously aroused, his eyes intent on hers.
‘Do you really think we can move on from the past?’ he grated out, his voice little more than a whisper.
An egg-sized lump wedged in her throat. ‘We can work at it, give it everything we have. Brianna told me she didn’t have a smooth childhood either.’
‘She didn’t.’
‘And I don’t think Sakis escaped your family’s devastation but they seem incredibly happy now.’
He continued to stare at her, his eyes glinting with a sheen that made her heart twist for him.
She didn’t utter a word when he reached for her, slid down the zip of the light grey dress she’d bought from the resort shop that morning, and pushed the straps off her shoulders. Her panties and bra came next. Then he untied her hair from its loose knot and spread it over his pillow.
He kissed her mouth, her neck, her breasts, all the way to the heart of her, each touch, each kiss making her tremble and moan, and fight back scalding tears.
With just his mouth he brought her to a shuddering climax, then kissed his way back up her body.
Then he tilted her head up to meet his gaze.
‘What you said...about dying...take it back. Take it back now, Perla,’ he commanded, his eyes dark with torment, his voice gruff with pain.
Her hand settled on his chest, felt his heart thunder unevenly beneath her touch. ‘I take it back. I never should’ve said that.’
He entered her with a guttural groan that filled the room. With each thrust her heart filled with emotions she dare not let out, emotions she’d always dreamed of voicing to that one special person. The knowledge that they wouldn’t be well-received made her bite her lip.
He hooked his arms under her knees and surged deeper inside.
Ecstasy mushroomed through her. ‘Arion!’
The sound of his name on her lips seemed to shatter him. Caught in the vicious web of passion, he climaxed with a tormented groan, brutally ripped from his soul.
It took several minutes for their heartbeats to slow, for total silence to return to the cabin. But just when she thought he’d drifted off to sleep, he turned towards her.
‘We may not love each other but I promise to take care of you, and to care for you. And I will guarantee you this. Every night. Every day. For the rest of our lives.’
Her heart lurched. Would that be enough?
It didn’t matter. It was too late. Because she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was in love with Arion Pantelides.
CHAPTER TWELVE
SANTORINI WAS JUST as magical as she remembered, even viewing it from onboard Ari’s immense yacht moored half a mile away from the capital, Fira.
Far from thinking she would be spending the day before her wedding in Ari’s villa, he’d brought her straight to his yacht once they’d landed.
Granted, the luxury that seemed an extension of the Pantelides name was everywhere her eyes touched.
But the feeling that she wasn’t good enough to spend time in his family home refused to leave her. It didn’t help that Brianna had been roped into keeping her company and was determined to cheer her up. It also didn’t help that another stylist had turned up that morning with three full rails of brightly coloured designer clothes.
In a fit of anger and misery, Perla had sent the stylist away. She was perfectly well-equipped to choose her own clothes. Except now she refused to wear black or the grey dress she’d bought before they left Bermuda.
Leaving the suite that seemed to close in on her, she went along the wide galley and knocked on the door.
Brianna answered with a smile. ‘I was just coming to find you. Oh, I thought you were getting dressed?’ she said as she took in Perla’s silk dressing gown.
‘I was, but everything I have in my wardrobe is black. I was wondering whether I could borrow something from you?’
Brianna’s smile widened, and she stepped back. ‘Of course. Help yourself.’ She waved her towards the walk-in closet. ‘And shoes too, if you want. I think we’re the same size.’
Perla gaped at the sheer number of clothes, her eyes widening as she spotted some seriously expensive labels.
‘Yeah, it’s something you’re going to have to get used to. I sent my stylist away a few times in the beginning too. Then I realised I was just delaying the inevitable. Our lives are too busy to accommodate spur of the moment shopping trips, and things will only get worse time-wise once the babies are born, especially if you want to continue working.’
