‘As of yesterday, yes. Although the authorities think there may be someone else besides my security people after him.’ His face settled into grimmer lines.
It couldn’t be Greg...could it? Nervously, she licked her lips. ‘What do you need me to do?’ she asked.
&n
bsp; ‘Nothing for the moment. I’m waiting for the lawyers to apprise me of the full situation, then I’ll take it from there.’
‘What about the party you wanted me to organise for the crew? Do you want me to cancel it?’ She’d been liaising with event organisers all day for the company party Sakis intended to host in Greece.
‘No. The party goes ahead. The crew and the volunteers deserve it for the hard work they’ve put in. I’m not prepared to let one man derail the well-being of my other employees.’
‘What about Lowell’s wife? Are you going to tell her you’ve found him?’
A look of distress crossed his face and she knew he was remembering his own mother’s situation when the press and gossip-mongers had torn her life apart. ‘I don’t like keeping her in the dark, but I don’t want to cause her pain by revealing half-facts. I’ll contact her when we know the full details.’
She nodded and started to return to her desk. ‘I’ll carry on with arrangements to fly the crew to Greece, then.’
‘Wait,’ he commanded. He strode to where she stood and kissed her, quick and hard. ‘When this is all over, I’m taking you to my Swiss chalet. We’ll lock the door behind us and gorge on each other for a week. If one week proves unsatisfactory, we’ll take another, and another, until we’re too sated to move. Then and only then will we let the world back in. Agreed?’
Her heart skipped several beats. By the time this was over, she’d be gone. But she nodded anyway and hurried back to her desk.
Sinking into her chair, she clenched her shaking hands into fists and fought to stop the unrelenting waves of pain and despair that threatened to drown her.
Eventually, she managed to place a thin veil over her emotions, enough to function for the rest of the day.
The news that Lowell had been arrested and was refusing to cooperate threw the rest of the night into disarray. At one a.m., Sakis stopped pacing long enough to pull her up from the seat on the other side of the sofa where she was busy putting together the itinerary for the next day.
‘Go to bed, agapita.’
Unable to stop herself, she swayed towards his hard warmth. ‘Alone?’
His lips trailed over her cheek to the corner of her mouth. ‘I’ll join you as soon as I have the latest update from the lawyers.’
By the time he joined her an hour later, Brianna was almost delirious with need. As he took her on another sheet-burning journey of bliss, she knew without a doubt that, no matter where she went, her heart would always belong to Sakis Pantelides.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
SAKIS’S PRIVATE GREEK home was a sun-baked slice of bliss that rose from stunning turquoise waters west of the Ionian Islands. Traditionally built and whitewashed in true Greek style, the large villa nevertheless boasted extensive modern designs: the swimming pool had been designed around the villa and traversed under the indoor-to-outdoor living room, reflecting Sakis’s love of water.
On her first night here two days ago, Brianna had walked out of her bedroom to find herself faced with an immense mobile hot-tub on her terrace, in which had resided a smug, gloriously naked Sakis with two crystal glasses and vintage champagne chilling on ice next to his elbow. But, if there was one thing she loved about Sakis’s island retreat, it was the peace and tranquillity.
Although on this particular Sunday, with teeming bodies enjoying the unfettered generosity of their host, the island paradise was more island rave.
Brianna stood away from the crowd, absently keeping an eye on a couple of employees who were bent on getting hammered as quickly as possible.
Her phone buzzed in her hand and her heart contracted.
Need update, pronto. G.
Greg’s texts had got increasingly frequent and terse in the last day. Although she’d managed to fob him off with non-answers, she was fast running out of time. From experience, she knew his patience would only hold out for so long.
She fired back an inadequate ‘Soon’, a cold shiver coursing through her veins despite the fierce summer sun.
She’d greedily grasped the chance to spend some more time with Sakis. But, like sand through an hourglass, it had inevitably run out.
Looking over to where the man who’d taken over one-hundred per cent of her waking thoughts stood with his two brothers, her insides twisted.
The three brothers were gorgeous in their own rights. But, to her, Sakis stood head and shoulders above Ari and Theo.