Reunited by the Greek's Vows

But it had left him wanting more—much more. And he wanted it now.

Their suite was dark and quiet when they entered, the maid having closed the shutters against the sun. Neither of them made any move to open them.

Nikos stood in front of Kate, still not touching her, just waiting. His eyes travelled to the front of her pretty chiffon blouse. The top three buttons were undone, he noticed, revealing the very edge of a pink lacy bra. He swallowed.

Their eyes met again, but still neither of them moved.

‘Nikos...’

Never had his name on a woman’s lips sounded quite so sinfully seductive. The blood in his veins slowed to a sluggish crawl, as if preparing itself for a very particular exertion, while the crotch of his jeans tightened painfully.

He waited, the air in the room pressing down on him. And when she said nothing he prompted her. ‘Kate?’

‘Nikos, I... I...’

‘Yes?’ The agony and the ecstasy of the wait was all but killing him. But wait he would. For Kate to come to him.

He closed his eyes for a moment, as if to make it easier for her. There was a faint rustle, the sense of a vacuum being filled, and then the sweet, soft whisper of her breath on his neck. Nikos opened his eyes. Kate was right in front of him, gazing up at him, her pupils so dilated that her dark green eyes were almost black. Her mouth was slightly open—a soft, sensual pout, waiting to be claimed.

When she raised herself on to her tiptoes, bringing her upturned face within inches of his, Nikos finally let go—finally gave himself permission to do what he had been wanting to do so badly for the last hour, the last week...ever since he had set eyes on Kate again in that revolting club.

His mouth came down on hers in a bruising kiss, his hands spanning her waist to pull her closer to him, then moving down to feel that leather-clad bottom again. And, God, did it feel good.

Pressing her against him, he let his lips glory in the feel of her soft mouth, the way it opened for him, passionately kissing him back. A thousand memories crashed through him—the taste of her, the feel of her, the way she fitted her body so perfectly to his. Everything she did to him. The way she always had. Right from that very first time.

The urge to make love to Kate when they had first met had been overpowering, all-consuming. Even though he’d guessed she was far less sexually experienced than him she had left it until the very last minute—literally the point of no return—to tell him she was actually a virgin.

Grappling with a desire so strong it had blurred his vision, Nikos had tried to hold back, tried to make sure it was what she really wanted. That even though they had only just met she was certain she wanted to give herself to him. And Kate had laughed softly, cupping his cheeks in her hands, smothering his face with wet kisses, urging him to take her there and then. No doubts, no second thoughts.

And take her he had.

Nothing had prepared him for the power of their union  . It had completely blown him away. Sex with Kate had been so much more than three little letters. So much more than it had ever been with anyone else. Totally absorbed by her and the strength of their passion, it had felt like the smallest step for Nikos to decide he had to make her his for ever. To ask her to be his wife.

Three years later and Kate was finally bound to him. But the circumstances couldn’t be more different. Gone was the starry-eyed joy, the bluebirds tweeting overhead, the silhouetted image of them set against a rosy sunset. What a fool he had been to have thought that was possible—with Kate or anyone else. Hadn’t his parents’ disastrous relationship taught him anything?

According to his father, theirs had been a crazy, mad love affair, full of fire and passion. And look how that had ended. Spectacularly imploding when his mother hadn’t been able to take the responsibility of raising a child—raising him.

And Nikos had stupidly done exactly the same thing—fallen for the wrong woman, rushed blindly into a doomed relationship, all the lessons of his past forgotten. Only he and Kate hadn’t even made it as far as having a child. The look on Kate’s face of immense relief on discovering she wasn’t pregnant with his baby still had the power to knife him in the guts.

But this wasn’t about confronting those demons. He had no intention of wasting a second of this precious window of time in trying to unknot their twisted past. He was going to live this moment as if it were his last.