He looked almost...startled by her bold question. ‘Do you want me to tell you you’re special, Alexis? Is that it?’
Yes. ‘Would that be so bad? I am your wife, after all,’ she said, then felt something profound move deep within her.
Something echoed in his eyes too, making them widen momentarily before he reasserted his control. But she’d seen it. And, however fleeting, it had planted a seedling inside her, one she couldn’t shake free.
‘Not in every sense of the term. Not yet...’ he drawled. They both knew he’d evaded the question, but the potential magnitude of a proper answer suddenly had her shying away from it.
But even while they returned to simpler, more benign subjects, heavy emotional undercurrents swirled until he rose and held out his hand in silent demand.
They were still there when she kicked off her stylish mules and reclined on the wide divan set before the screen. Perhaps it was the wine that had mellowed her tongue. She couldn’t resist looking up into the stars, contentment stealing over her at the sound of the waves hitting the shore.
‘I can’t tell you how long I’ve dreamed of doing this on some distant beach in the Maldives or Tahiti.’
‘It would please me if you’d accept the much simpler venue of a Greek beach,’ he replied, a trace of amusement in his tone.
She gave a delicate snort. ‘Are you kidding me? Nowhere on my wish list was there a cave of wonders on a private island tossed in for good measure. This far surpasses everything the travel brochures promised.’
The pop of a cork refocused her attention on him. In the dancing candlelight, he was truly drop-dead gorgeous, the kind of fallen-angel masculine beauty that had the ability to stop hearts and overcome even the strongest apprehension.
Not that she had much of that left. Only the merest wisp of residue still urged her towards self-preservation. But even that was silenced when he smiled and handed her a crystal flute of vintage champagne.
When she accepted it, he aimed the remote at the projector that stood twenty feet away. Then passed her a silver bowl that made her gasp. Again.
‘Caramel popcorn? Now you’re scaring me a little with how much you know about me.’
That ferocious gaze raked her body, then rested blatantly on her mouth. ‘I told you, I am serious about the things that are important to me.’
He meant his possession of Drakonisos. She knew that. Yet that traitorous melting sensation continued unabated. Until her every sense strained towards him, eager to please. Eager to take whatever he had to give.
She chose the movie and smiled as it flicked to life. It was a classic she’d seen a dozen times. But here, now, in this special place, she was swept away anew.
Until she felt him wrap a strand of hair around his fingers. Until that scent of leather, bergamot and man twined insidiously around her senses, making each breath she took a tiny exercise in torture. Until her heart drummed loudly in her ears, deafening her to everything but the sound of her own need, po
unding relentlessly through her.
Despite the open beach and endless sky, he invaded the space, his vitality a living force field. Vibrant and inescapable.
‘Something wrong, Alexis?’ he drawled, when she fidgeted one more time.
She took a gulp of her champagne just for something to do. His fingers drifted over her nape. She shivered, tried to contain herself.
‘Christos.’ His name was a breathless, urgent whisper in the night air.
‘Ne? Tell me what you want and you shall have it,’ he urged thickly. The designer stubble he’d cultivated over the last few days added a swagger to his already deadly good looks and when he brushed his cheek against her jaw, it drove her insane.
On the screen, the actors were caught in a melodramatic clinch; the very same one she yearned for. ‘I can’t wait. Please,’ she whispered.
The flash of triumph in his eyes should’ve irritated her. But she was beyond that. So she let him tug her glass from her hand and set it aside. Let him cup her jaw, stare deep into her eyes, then slowly lean in to brush his lips over hers.
The moment she started to cling, he drew away. With leonine grace he rose to his feet and swept her up into his arms. His strides from the beach into the cave held an urgency that echoed within her.
Alexis forgot to breathe as he set her down next to the bed, those ferociously brooding eyes watching her as he reached for the simple band that held up her hair. He gave a grunt of satisfaction as her hair tumbled free, lazily threading his fingers through the heavy mass.
‘Tonight, I get to watch your glorious hair cascade over my pillow,’ he said thickly. ‘I get to claim you in the way I’ve craved instead of watching you from my side of the bed.’
The unabashed possessiveness in his voice sent excitement dancing over her flesh. He caught her shiver and gave a smile tinged with predatory pleasure. ‘No more hugging pillows for you, matia mou.’
With that decree, he tugged the thin straps of her dress down her arms. The flimsy material pooled at her waist. Christos kept his gaze on her face as he reached behind her and slowly unhooked her lacy bra, flinging it away before his gaze dropped to her breasts.