The Greek Tycoon's Achilles Heel

brought enough food to manage on and crept about. You see, I’m a really dishonest character.’

He groaned. ‘And if something had happened to you? If you’d had a fall and been knocked out? You could have died without anyone knowing and lain here for days, weeks. Are you crazy, woman?’

She twisted around and sat up to face him.

‘Yes, I think I am,’ she agreed. ‘I don’t understand anything any more.’

He ground his teeth. ‘Do I need to explain to you why the thought of your being in danger wrenches me apart? Are you insensitive as well as crazy and stupid?’

‘My danger didn’t bother you when I was on that boat that overturned.’ A thought struck her. ‘Unless you didn’t know about it.’

‘Of course I knew about it. I went to the harbour in case you needed me. I saw you arrive. After that, I knew you were all right.’

‘You-?’ she echoed slowly.

‘The accident was on the news. Of course I went to see how you were. I saw you get off the boat, straight into Nikator’s arms. I didn’t want to disturb a touching reunion, so I went home.’

‘You were there all the time?’ she whispered.

‘Where the hell would you expect me to be when you were in danger?’ he raged. ‘What do you think I am? Made of ice?’

Now she was glad of the understanding that was gradually coming to her, and which saved her from misjudging him. Without it she would have seen only his anger, entirely missing the fear and pain which tortured him more because he had no idea how to express them.

‘No,’ she said helplessly, holding out her arms to him. ‘I’d never think that. Oh, I’ve been so stupid. I shouldn’t have let you fool me.’

‘What does that mean?’ he asked, going into her arms.

‘You hide from people. But I won’t let you hide from me.’

He looked down at her naked breasts, just visible in the shadowy light. Slowly, he drew his fingertips down one until they reached the nipple, which was already proud and expectant.

‘No more hiding,’ he murmured.

‘There’s nowhere to hide from each other,’ she said. ‘There never was.’

‘No, there never was.’

She began to work on his buttons but he forestalled her, undressing quickly, first his jacket, then his shirt. She leaned towards him so that her breasts touched his bare skin, and felt the tremors that possessed his body, guessed that he would have controlled them if he could, for he was still not yet ready to abandon himself. But that control was beyond him, she was delighted to see.

They removed the rest of their clothes, watching each other with brooding possessiveness, taking their time, for this mattered too much to be rushed. He was still fearful lest he hurt her, caressing her gently, almost tentatively, until the deep motion of her chest told him of her mounting impatience.

For too long she’d dreamed of this moment, and nothing was going to deprive her of it now. She kept her hands against his skin, moving them softly to tease him and make sure he continued with what he was doing.

His touch had made her nipples hard and peaked, so that when she leaned against him he drew a long, shaking breath at the impact.

‘This is dangerous,’ he whispered.

‘Who for?’ she challenged. ‘Not me.’

‘Does nothing scare you?’

‘Nothing,’ she assured him against his lips, ‘nothing.’

She released him briefly to finish removing her clothes, and when he had done the same they returned to each other with new fervour. Now she had what she wanted-the sight of him naked and eager for her-and her blood raced at the thought of meeting his eagerness with her own.

His fingers on her skin made it flame with life.

‘Yes-’ she whispered. ‘Yes-yes-I’m here-come here-’

He pressed her gently back against the pillows and began to caress her everywhere-her neck, her waist, her hips. He was taking his time, arousing her slowly, giving her every chance to think if this was really what she wanted. But thinking was the last thing she could do now. Everything in her was focused on one craving-to enjoy the physical release he could give her and discover if it fulfilled all the wild hopes she’d been building up. It would. It must.

She caressed him in return, wherever she could reach, frustrated by her limits. She wanted all of him, and even now that he was loving her in the way she most craved, it mysteriously wasn’t enough.

Many times she’d wondered about him as a lover. She knew he could be cool, ironic, distant, but with flashes of intensity through which another, wholly different man could be glimpsed. She’d been intrigued by both men, wondering which of them would finally be tempted to her bed, but none of the pictures that came into her head satisfied her. They were incomplete. As a lover he would have yet another identity and she was eager to meet him.

When he finally moved over her she lay back with a sigh, waiting for him. And he was there, inside her, claiming her, completing and fulfilling her. She clasped her legs around him at once, wanting everything, and heard him give a soft growl, as though, by her gesture, she’d told him something he needed to know.

She gasped, rejoicing at the power in his hips as they released the desire that had overcome him, driving her own desire to new heights and making her thrust back at him, digging her fingers cruelly into his flesh.

‘Yes-’ she whispered. ‘Yes!’

To her delight he was smiling, as though her pleasure gladdened his heart. She’d known he would be a strong lover but her imagination had fallen short of the reality. He took her with power, never seeming to tire, bringing her to the brink several times before taking her over the edge so that his cry joined with hers as they fell together into a bottomless chasm.

For a long time she lay with her eyes closed, enfolded in the world where only pleasure and satisfaction existed. When she opened them again she found that he was lying with his head on her chest, breathing hard. He lifted it slowly and looked at her.

‘Are you all right?’ he whispered.

‘Everything is fine,’ she assured him.

Further words failed her. She knew that what had just happened had transformed her life, not merely because he was the most skilled lover she had ever known, but because her heart reached out to him in a way it had never done for any other man. He could possess her and give to her, but what he claimed in return was something she rejoiced to give. By taking from her, he completed her, and that was beyond all words.

He rose and looked at her. Surveying him in return, she smiled. He still wanted her.

Hooking her arm around his neck, she eased herself up, but then winced.

‘Did I hurt you?’ he demanded, aghast. ‘I forgot-’

‘So did I,’ she promised him. ‘I think I’ll get in the shower and see what the rest of me looks like.’

He helped her off the bed, which she needed for her exertions seemed to have weakened her. Clinging to him, she went slowly into the bathroom, switching on the lights so that he could see her clearly for the first time, and turning her to look at her back. She heard him draw a sharp breath.

‘Nasty,’ he said. ‘You must have landed on something sharp. I’m so sorry.’

‘I can’t feel anything,’ she said shakily. ‘I guess I have too many other things to feel.’

He started the shower and helped her to get under it, soaping her gently, then laving her with water and dabbing her dry. Then he carried her tenderly back to bed and went to fetch her things from the room where she had been camping.

‘You wear cotton pyjamas?’ he asked as her nightwear came into view.

‘What were you expecting? Slinky lingerie? Not when I’m alone. These are practical.’

‘I’ll see what I can find us to eat,’ he said. ‘I may have to go out.’

‘There’s some food in the kitchen. I brought it with me.’

He made them coffee and sandwiches, tending her like a nanny.

‘We ought to have talked before anything happened,’ he said. ‘I didn’t want to hurt you.’

She smiled. ‘That’s easy to say, but I don’t think we could have talked before. We had to get past a certain