She scrabbled to think of a reason, but couldn’t come up with one. They’d already slept together, seen each other naked, so even those excuses didn’t fit. The reality was that she did want to be with him. That was why she’d made the journey to Greece instead of calling him. She’d hoped those two weeks together had meant something.
‘I’m not going to argue with you any more, Serena. You will stay with me tonight, and after my meeting tomorrow morning we can talk further.’
Inwardly she sighed as the taxi driver pulled away. She was tired—of travelling and of talking. Sleep was what she needed now and the thought of insisting on going to a hotel, then checking in, filled her with dread. She’d stay—tonight, at least—but not in his bed. In the morning she’d be able to think more clearly.
Shouts in Greek caught her attention as a car pulled up alongside them. She turned to look just as Nikos put a protective arm around her, responding in the same language. Just seconds before a camera flash penetrated the night Serena realised they were journalists. Uncomfortable doubt crept over her. Was Nikos such a high-profile figure that they followed him around?
‘What do they want?’ She glanced quickly at them as they still lingered close by, watching them with suspicion.
She couldn’t keep the sceptical edge from her voice as he held the main door to the apartment building open for her and she walked into a bright lobby, the white walls a stark contrast to the darkness outside.
‘They wanted to know who you are.’ He took his keys from his pocket then pressed the button to call the lift.
‘Why am I of any importance?’ She frowned as she watched the numbers above the lift counting down the floors, trying to appear unfazed by the event.
He sighed and she felt his gaze on her face.
‘It has been an obsession with them for the past year or so. The more successful my business becomes, and the more unattached I remain, the more determined they are to dig something up.’
‘So what did you tell them?’
Her heart began to thump harder as he looked into her eyes. The depths of his were darkening to a sultry blue, which made her stomach flutter wildly. She cursed her body—and her emotions—for falling under the spell of his charm.
‘The truth.’
The lift doors swished open. He walked inside and then stood looking at her, the spark of mischief in his eyes and the quirk of a smile on his lips almost her undoing.
Determined not to let him see just how easily he could crash through her defences, she marched in after him.
‘What is the truth?’
‘That we are engaged.’
Serena wasn’t sure if it was the movement of the lift or the words he’d just spoken that made her stomach lurch and her head spin. She clutched at the handrail inside the lift and closed her eyes against a wave of nausea.
* * *
Nikos moved quickly as Serena’s face paled. Her knuckles whitened as she gripped the handrail and he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close against him. He could feel her sliding down, so scooped her up into his arms just as the lift doors opened.
Furious that she’d allowed herself to become so exhausted by travelling all the way to Greece alone, risking his child, he marched towards his door. With each step he took he could feel her body against his, and an unknown emotion of protectiveness swept over him, but he pushed aside the unfamiliar sensation, not wanting to know why or how.
Swiftly, and with ease, he unlocked the front door and angled himself so he could negotiate the doorway without letting her go. Full of concern, he looked down at her just as her eyelashes fluttered open. Relief filled him as green eyes, full of questions and shock, met his.
‘You are supposed to do this after we are married...’ Her voice was weak, more like a throaty whisper, and her pale face looked anxious.
‘I always do things my way, Serena.’
The words came out harder than he’d intended, and he felt her sharp intake of breath as he held her.
She wriggled in his arms as he made his way into the open-plan apartment. The view of the city lights twinkling beneath the floodlit Acropolis didn’t move him this evening. Concern for Serena and his baby took precedence, as did his guilt at flying her back here tonight.
He could have made the flight alone, attended his meeting, then gone back for her—but instinct had warned him against that. Everything she’d said had made him sure she wouldn’t meekly be waiting for him to return. He knew she was only here because of the deal he’d offered and nothing more.