The Greek's Hidden Vows

The shock of hearing Adrian’s name made her push against him. She attempted to cover it up by laughing as she stepped back, distancing herself from her turbulent feelings and her body’s desire to cling to him. The world hadn’t quite righted itself after that kiss, so she sat down on the lounger, snatching up her glass just for something to occupy her hands with. ‘Now it’s my turn to ask if you’re jealous.’

He didn’t bat the question away with the same flippancy she’d attempted. Instead, he claimed his own seat, picked up his glass and stared into its contents. ‘Your time with me has repeatedly demonstrated that you’re an exemplary judge of character. Which makes me wonder what happened with him.’

She went icy cold. ‘And you think I was so blinded by lust that my common sense went out the window?’

His face grew tauter, his nostrils flaring with displeasure. ‘Were you?’

‘Christos—’

‘Did you believe yourself in love with him?’ he pressed, his voice a thin blade.

That niggling shame for losing her head over such a consummate smooth-talker threatened to resurface. But she reminded herself she hadn’t done anything wrong. So she raised her chin and met Christos’s gaze. ‘I thought we had a...connection. That I could trust him. I discovered I was wrong.’

‘He betrayed you,’ he stated with a conviction that stunned her.

‘Yes.’

‘How?’ he pushed, those eyes holding her in place.

‘I don’t see how that’s important.’

Christos’s eyes stayed fixed on her face for an age, causing her senses to tingle. Making her wonder if he could see her shame. Whether he was judging her for it. ‘It’s important because I don’t want his influence to be the yardstick you judge me by. Tell me, Alexis.’

Perhaps it was knowing she’d done exactly that that made her confess. ‘He was a junior associate when we met. He needed an assistant who knew what they were doing, who was prepared to go above and beyond. He wanted to be on the fast track to making partner.’

‘He spotted your talent and exploited it to his own ends.’

Her skin tightened in remembered humiliation. ‘Something like that. I set aside my studies to be a paralegal to help him reach his goals. I gave him everything he asked for, told myself it didn’t matter that he wanted to keep our relationship a secret from his friends and colleagues. Then in the week he made partner, I found out he had a long-term fiancée. I confronted him. And...’

‘And?’

‘He tried to gaslight me. Told me it’d all been in my head. He no-hard-feelingsed his way through it. Said it’d just been a bit of fun. Nothing special.’

She chanced a furtive glance at him, her breath catching at his livid expression.

‘You didn’t believe him, of course,’ he said.

She glanced away, the indelible reminder of her rejection at birth latching on despite his imperious declaration. ‘Not all of it, no.’

He caught her chin in his hand, redirected her gaze to his. ‘Believe none of it, Alexis. And trust me when I say users like that never amount to much. But I’m pleased that his loss was my gain.’

Far too perturbed by how his words made her feel, how very easily they went towards salving the hurt inside her, she tried to move away. His fingers encircled her wrist, holding her still.

‘I must insist though that his influence on you ends here. I won’t have our intimacies blemished with him.’

She huffed at his audacity. ‘You’re the one who brought him up. And how exactly are you going to achieve...whatever it is you’re implying?’

He gave a shrewd smile and released her. ‘You’ll find out in due course.’

Alexis forced herself to rise and walk calmly to the edge of the swimming pool. To not give in to the dizzying sensation coursing through her stomach that warned her to flee from the dark promise in Christos’s voice.

Because rather than be outraged, as she executed a perfect dive into the deliciously cool waters of the pool, all she could feel was...an electric thrill.

CHAPTER SEVEN

FAR FROM DISSIPATING with time, that sensation expanded as the afternoon drifted into evening. Fresh from blow-drying and curling her hair and on her way to the vast dressing room, Alexis stopped in her tracks at the French doors leading to the private terrace, dazzled by the play of brilliant orange and gold light over the turquoise waters.

She stepped outside, breathing in air redolent with salt, citrus and sunshine, half hoping it would calm some of the chaos raging inside her. She wasn’t surprised when it didn’t, but she still basked in the beauty of her surroundings for another minute before heading back inside.