The Marakaios Marriage (The Marakaios Brides 1)

‘I thought I’d see how you are,’ she said with a little smile. ‘And where you work. I hope you don’t mind.’

‘I don’t.’ Emotion bottled in his chest, making his voice sound abrupt. Lindsay frowned.

‘Is everything all right, Antonios?’

‘Fine. Everything’s fine, now that you’re here.’ Her frown deepened at this but Antonios didn’t care. He just needed to touch her. He came round from his desk and pulled her into his arms, fitting her against him, needing her there.

She pressed her hands to either side of his face, twisting to look up at him. ‘You seem angry.’

‘Just a little stressed. Nothing to worry about.’ And to silence any further questions he kissed her, revelling in the honeyed sweetness of her mouth, the instant melting of her response.

He slid his hands down her body to cup her bottom and fit her even more snugly against his growing arousal. She let out a choked laugh.

‘Antonios...’

‘You know something I’ve never done in my office?’

‘I think I can probably guess.’

He slid his hands under her sundress, fingers finding sweet, warm flesh. He rejoiced at the way she shuddered under his touch, her head falling onto his shoulder.

‘Your PA is right outside...’ she murmured, but offered no other resistance.

‘The door is closed and incredibly soundproof.’

‘How do you know?’

He didn’t, but at this point he didn’t care. ‘Trust me,’ he said, and hoisted her onto his desk. Lindsay’s lovely eyes widened as he spread her legs and got rid of her underwear with one swift tug. They widened further when he stepped between her legs, stroking her softly as she moaned her response.

‘This is crazy,’ she murmured, and Antonios slid inside her.

‘Crazy,’ he agreed, ‘and incredible.’

And Lindsay obviously agreed as her body arched under his and she wrapped her legs around his waist to pull him even more deeply inside her.

Afterwards he still didn’t let her go, savouring the feel of her, already wanting her again. ‘What do you think about going into Amfissa for lunch?’ he asked.

Suddenly the thought of escaping the office, the entire estate, seemed like a wonderful and even necessary idea.

‘Now?’ She peered up at him again. ‘But the party’s tonight...’

‘Right. Of course.’ The hope that had seized him for a moment trickled away. He needed to stop by the villa, make sure the preparations were going well, check on his mother. His sisters would expect it. His family needed it.

Lindsay searched his face for a moment, a slight frown puckering her forehead. ‘I suppose we could,’ she said after a moment. ‘For a few hours. I was just in the villa, trying to help your sisters. I think I’m more help to them by just staying out of the way.’

‘They can be a bit officious when it comes to party planning,’ Antonios conceded with a smile, and Lindsay gave a rueful nod.

‘Why don’t we go?’ she suggested softly. ‘Have a date? They can do without us for an hour or two, surely.’

An hour or two snatched from a packed schedule. They’d had even less the last time they’d been together in Greece, Antonios acknowledged. Work had consumed him and he’d expected, wrongly, for Lindsay to simply slot herself into all that was going on around her.

He wouldn’t make that mistake again.

‘Let’s go,’ he said and, taking her by the hand, he led her out of the office.

* * *

Lindsay followed Antonios from the office, blinking in the bright sunlight. Ten minutes later they were in his SUV, speeding down the mountain towards Amfissa, the town no more than a cluster of red-roofed, whitewashed buildings huddled against the mountainside.

‘I haven’t even been in Amfissa before,’ Lindsay said a bit ruefully, and Antonios shot her just as regretful a glance.

‘I know. I was realizing again how little we actually did together before. That undoubtedly made things even harder for you.’

‘Yes. You were busy, though, with work. I understood that.’ At least, she’d tried to. But she knew her anxiety had been made worse by Antonios’s absence, his total focus on work as soon as they’d returned to Greece.

Antonios flexed his hands on the steering wheel. ‘I should have made time. We should have had a honeymoon.’

‘Our meeting was our honeymoon,’ Lindsay joked and Antonios shook his head.

‘We’ll have a proper honeymoon after my mother’s party. When I can get away.’

‘And when will that be, do you think?’ Lindsay spoke lightly even as realization was slipping through her in an unwelcome rush. No matter what Antonios had said about things being different now, they surely couldn’t be that different. He was still CEO of a company that demanded much of his time and energy. When she’d come into the office this morning he’d looked so grimly focused, so unhappy.

It had surprised and unsettled her, and it made her wonder if Antonios really could work less. If their marriage could work.

Plenty of women had workaholic husbands, she reminded herself. It didn’t have to be a deal-breaker.

‘Don’t,’ Antonios said softly, and reached over to link her hand with his.

She turned to him. ‘Don’t what?’

‘Don’t start worrying already. We’ll make this work, Lindsay, I swear it. We both want it to work, don’t we?’

‘Yes—’

‘Then it will.’

He sounded so confident, so sure, as sure as he had when he’d asked her out, when he’d asked her to marry him. She’d believed in him then, and she chose to believe in him now. At least for an afternoon when they could simply revel in each other’s company, an afternoon out of time, out of reality.

And when you return to Villa Marakaios? When life catches up with you, with all of its expectations and demands?

She’d think about that later, Lindsay told herself, and pushed the questions to the furthest reaches of her mind. Today she just wanted to enjoy herself—and enjoy being with Antonios.

Once in Amfissa they strolled down the town’s wide main boulevard, taking in the many different shops. Antonios was recognized by many of the townspeople and he stopped and spoke to them all, introducing Lindsay. She could handle small groups of people and everyone seemed so friendly, so interested, that the initial anxiety she felt melted away and she chatted with the different people easily, or as easily as she could considering they spoke different languages.

‘Is it all right, meeting all these people?’ Antonios asked as they walked away from a local joiner and his wife who had been shopping in the market, and had welcomed Lindsay with kisses on both of her cheeks.

‘It’s fine,’ she answered, and meant it. ‘I’m not anxious.’ It was different, she realized, having Antonios by her side, concerned and supportive. Different when she didn’t have the weight of expectation and potential disappointment on her. Not a magical cure by any means, and she knew she would still be dealing with her anxiety for years to come. But it was better. She felt stronger.

‘Let’s have some lunch,’ Antonios said, and led her down a side street to a small taverna tucked away from prying eyes.

The inside of the restaurant was dim and quiet, with only a few patrons who barely looked up from their meals as they entered. Antonios spoke rapidly in Greek to the owner of the place, and within minutes he was ushering them to a private table at the back of the restaurant. The owner brought them menus, a bottle of spring water and two glasses before quietly disappearing.

‘A little privacy never goes amiss,’ Antonios said.

‘I was fine,’ Lindsay protested.

‘I know you were. I was proud of you, Lindsay. But I want you to myself now.’ He gave her a teasingly lascivious smile and she laughed and shook her head.

‘You’re insatiable.’

‘Only when it comes to you.’

Which felt like some kind of miracle. She’d spent so much of her life feeling deficient and unworthy. Yet Antonios looked at her and saw someone strong, someone beautiful. Someone he loved.

‘You know,’ she said slowly, ‘I think part of the reason I didn’t tell you about my anxiety is because I didn’t want you to look at me differently.’ Antonios waited, eyebrows raised, clearly sensing she had more to say. ‘When we met in New York you made me feel so special and beautiful and strong. And I was afraid you’d stop looking at me that way if you knew.’

‘I wouldn’t—’

‘I know that now, Antonios, because you didn’t. Because you know the truth and you still love me. You still make me feel special.’ She blinked back tears of emotion as she reached for his hand. ‘Even more special because you know me completely. I’m not hiding anything from you.’

He squeezed her hand. ‘And I pray you never do or feel you have to.’

‘I won’t.’

They ordered then, and spent the next hour tasting each other’s dishes and chatting companionably. Afterwards they strolled through the town, hand in hand as the cares fell away from them both.

Lindsay noticed how much more relaxed Antonios seemed, away from Villa Marakaios—or was it their renewed relationship that had smoothed away the lines of strain from his nose to his mouth and brought the sparkle back to his whisky-coloured eyes?