‘Why do I need to pack a bag? I don’t want to leave here.’ She knew she sounded desperate, but she couldn’t help it.
She’d been so incredibly happy. Happier than she’d ever been in her life before.
And she didn’t want it to end.
She still couldn’t believe that two weeks had passed already.
‘We’re not leaving.’ Reaching for his watch, he cast her an amused glance. ‘I’m glad you like it here.’
‘I love it.’ She loved him. It didn’t matter how many times she reminded herself that this relationship wasn’t going anywhere, she still couldn’t control her feelings.
She loved him, she loved his father, and she loved the island. They were protected from the outside world and at times it felt as though real life would never intrude again.
He raked strands of damp hair out of his eyes. ‘Then you will be pleased to hear that we’re not leaving yet. But we have to go to Athens for two days.’
‘Athens?’ Dragging her eyes from the tantalising line of hair that disappeared below the towel, Chantal sat up, the sheet clutched to her chest. ‘Why?’
‘Unfortunately my lengthy absence from work has created a few problems which require my personal attention.’ Without elaborating, he vanished into the dressing room and emerged with a crisp white shirt in his hand.
‘You go,’ she said quickly. ‘I’ll stay here.’
‘No way. I’ve already learned that I can’t concentrate on my work unless you are around. Where I go, you go. That’s the deal.’ He released the towel and she had a brief glimpse of his magnificent torso before he slipped his arms into the shirt. Her stomach plummeted and she wished for the millionth time that she wasn’t so receptive to him. It was as if her body had been created to respond to his.
‘I don’t want to go to Athens.’ Swamped by a feeling of foreboding, she wrapped her arms around her knees and searched for plausible excuses. ‘We can’t leave your father on his own.’
‘He has a doctor, two nurses and a dietician.’ Angelos finished dressing swiftly. ‘Not to mention Maria. And it is just for one night. I’ll spend this afternoon in the office, then we will attend the function, stay the night in my house in Athens, and then return.’
‘Function?’
He reached for a tie. ‘Another fundraising occasion. Unfortunately my presence is mandatory.’
Wondering if she would ever become indifferent to his body, Chantal watched as he fastened the button at his bronzed throat. ‘If you’re spending the evening at a function, then I might as well wait for you here. It’s not as if I’ll get to spend time with you.’
‘I’m not leaving you here.’
‘I don’t want to go.’ Defensive as a child, she watched him warily. ‘I’ll be totally out of place at something like that. You know I will.’
‘Why would you be out of place?’
‘Because I’m not like the people in your world.’
‘This is my world,’ he said smoothly, prowling over to the bed and bending down to kiss her once again, ‘and you are in it.’
But she was only in it because he was enjoying the sex. There was nothing more to it than that. Not even at her most deluded had she ever pretended she was part of his world. ‘Being here is different from going out to that sort of event. I don’t fit.’
He stroked her hair away from her face. ‘You went to the ball in Paris.’
‘And that was a mistake.’
‘A mistake, agape mou?’ He gave a slow, sexy smile. ‘I don’t think so.’
‘All right—meeting you wasn’t a mistake. But the ball itself was a mistake. I felt totally out of place. And this time I won’t have your father to save me.’
‘Save you?’ His dark brows met in a sudden frown. ‘Who will you need saving from?’
She looked away from him, feeling the darkness closing in. He had no idea what her life had been like. ‘It just isn’t me, Angelos. Forget it.’
‘Don’t look away from me.’ He slid a hand over her cheek and turned her head towards him. ‘And don’t try and hide what you’re thinking. I want to know everything about you.’