Staring out of huge windows across the garden to the turquoise sea, she felt something stir inside her. It was like living a life in black and white and suddenly seeing it in colour. ‘Antaxos isn’t anything like this. No soft sand, just nasty rocks—’ She just stopped herself mentioning the rumour that a woman who’d been madly in love with her father had once fallen from those rocks and drowned. ‘My father’s house—our house—is built of stone with small windows.’ She managed to say it without shuddering. ‘The design supposedly keeps the heat out.’ And it kept everything and everyone else out, too. The bleak, dark atmosphere inside the place had somehow permeated the stone so that even the building felt unfriendly. ‘It’s stuffy in the summer and dark and cheerless in the winter. I like the light here. You have a very happy home.’
‘Happy?’ He glanced up at the villa, a faint frown between his eyes. ‘You think a building has moods?’
‘Definitely. Don’t you?’
‘I think a building is a building.’
‘Oh, no, that isn’t true. A building can make a person feel different. Here, the sunshine makes you want to smile. And all this space—it feels like being free.’ She spread her arms. ‘I’ve always wanted to be a bird so I can fly.’ Fly away from the island that had held her trapped for so long.
But she’d finally escaped. She’d done it.
This was the start of her new life.
Excited, she did a twirl. Stefan shot out a hand and steadied her before she lost her balance. ‘Probably best if you don’t fly here. I’ve seen pictures of your home on Antaxos. You live in a building the size of a castle.’
Selene was conscious of the strength of his fingers on her arm. ‘It isn’t anything like this. My father doesn’t like spending money on material things.’
‘Is there anything that your father does like?’
Hurting people.
She stood, searching for an appropriate response to his question, her heart a ball of pain in her chest. ‘Winning,’ she said finally. ‘He likes winning.’
‘Yes.’ His hand dropped abruptly from her arm. ‘Yes, he does.’
And he’d know, of course, because he was her father’s biggest business rival. She sensed the anger in him and she also sensed something more. Something dark lurked behind those sexy eyes. ‘You really hate my father, don’t you?’
‘It’s true to say he’s not my favourite person in the world.’ The deceptively light banter and that attractive slanti
ng smile didn’t fool her.
This man was every bit as tough as her father.
She felt a twinge of unease, but already he was strolling ahead of her. She tried to ignore the little voice in her head telling her this might not have been such a good idea after all.
It was her first party. Her first ‘date’ with a man. It was natural to be a little apprehensive.
She followed him through a beautiful living space with white walls and uninterrupted views of the sea into the most beautiful bedroom she’d ever seen.
Forgetting her unease, Selene stared around her in delight. ‘It’s gorgeous. There’s a pool outside the doors and you can see the sea from the bed. It’s stunning. Is this my room?’
He turned to her with a slow, deliberate smile. ‘It’s my room,’ he said, his tone soft and intimate as he lifted his hand and gently pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes, ‘but you’re sharing it, koukla mou.’
She didn’t know whether it was the endearment that made her heart bump harder, the seductive brush of his fingers against her cheek or the anticipation of what was to come. ‘The bed looks comfortable.’
‘It is. Unfortunately proving that will have to wait until later.’
‘I didn’t mean that.’
‘I know. I’m finding your tendency to speak before you think surprisingly endearing.’
The crazy thing was she wasn’t normally like that. At home she had to guard every word. She wondered why she’d suddenly lost that built-in inhibition and decided it was just because her father wasn’t present. It was liberating not to have to watch what she said. ‘I’m going to zip my mouth.’
That dark gaze dropped to her mouth. ‘Don’t. I like it.’
Heart thudding, she looked at his lips. Noticed that they were firm and slightly curved.
‘No,’ he said gently.