Jax stared down at her. ‘Have you been crying?’ he asked, noticing the very faint hint of pink round her eyelids, which he was certain hadn’t been visible earlier.
‘No, for goodness’ sake,’ Lucy parried with an uneasy laugh. ‘Why would I have been crying?’
Jax had no idea but he could see that Lucy’s naturally sunny aura had dimmed. Perhaps Bella was playing up, he reasoned. Weddings were stressful and a strange place and a strange nanny could well have upset his daughter. He dropped a hand to Lucy’s spine and guided her back into the function room and towards the top table.
The meal was served. It melted in Lucy’s mouth but she might as well have been eating sawdust for all the pleasure it gave her. Her fatherin-law asked her some very awkward questions about her past life and she answered as best she could, struggling to breeze lightly past her years in care and becoming much more animated when he asked about Bella.
A professional singer entertained them and then the dancing began. Jax had to almost drag Lucy onto the floor because she couldn’t dance very well and was covered in blushes at the thought of having to perform in front of people.
‘I just wish this day was over,’ she confided, pushing her face against his chest, realising that he was so tall that, from one angle at least, she could literally hide herself.
‘You and me both,’ Jax admitted, wondering if his father had said something cutting to make her appear so subdued and feeling surprisingly angry at that suspicion.
Of course, the wedding he had been blackmailed into agreeing to could hardly be a source of pleasure for him, Lucy reckoned wretchedly. And what must he think of her father now? He probably knew Kreon had already spent a couple of years of his youth in a cell and now he would believe that Kreon belonged in prison and would think less of her because of it. People did judge you on your background and relatives. Not that he had ever thought that much of her to begin with, Lucy reminded herself unhappily, recalling how she had been cast off like an old shoe in Spain.
‘In another few hours we’ll be on our way,’ Jax remarked, long brown fingers sliding down her back to gather her closer.
Heat curled between her thighs as she felt the evidence of his arousal. Her mouth ran dry. Evidently blackmail didn’t douse Jax’s libido. He still wanted her. Was that something to celebrate? Or something more to beat herself up about? Was she supposed to settle gratefully for being his sexual outlet? Was that all she was worth? All she deserved? She didn’t know any longer. Her brain in turmoil, she forced herself to relax into the hard, muscular warmth of his hold and allowed him to slow-dance her round the floor. Other people were dancing now as well and she no longer felt like the centre of attention.
‘Where will we be on our way to?’ she asked belatedly.
‘That’s a surprise,’ Jax admitted, still taken aback by what his father had done.
The little island of Tifnos was the Antonakos home but Jax had yet to even spend a night there. As a boy he had been ferried out there but only on day trips to attend several big family social occasions and as an adult he had flown to the island regularly to consult with Heracles about business. But it had never been his home because when he had been young he had been lucky if his father even acknowledged his presence among so many other guests. In truth he had always felt like an intruder and an outsider in his father’s house and the startling concept of making Tifnos his base raised all sorts of conflicting feelings.
‘Oh…’ Lucy framed, drinking in the scent of him with flared nostrils. There was definitely something scientific in the effect of pheromones on attraction, she conceded ruefully. She loved Jax’s smell; that indefinable combination of designer cologne and husky male had called to her from his first kiss.
Her eyes prickled again and she wrinkled her nose to hold the stupid tears back. Her husband, blackmailed into marrying her. Knowing that, she found it a challenge to believe that she could be a true bride and wife. In fact, Kreon’s intervention and use of pressure made a nonsense of the entire day. She felt utterly humiliated. She wondered when she would work up the nerve to discuss what Kreon had done with Jax and how he would react when she did. He could well be furious that she had found out. His ferocious pride would rebel against her knowing that he could be forced into doing anything.
She was heading for the bridal suite to get changed for their departure when she saw Kat Valtinos walking towards her and suppressed a sigh because she wasn’t in the mood to be patronised or bitched at over the head of Jax.
‘Lucy…’ Kat murmured with a bright artificial smile. ‘Your big day’s almost over.’
‘Yes. We’re leaving soon.’ Lucy busied herself fishing out the card to open the door. Kreon and Iola had already taken Bella home for the night and her daughter would be staying with them for the first week Jax and Lucy were away.
‘Well, enjoy it while you can,’ Kat advised with saccharine sweetness. ‘It’s not as if your marriage will last long.’
As Lucy thrust the door open she simply ignored the brunette, refusing to be drawn into an exchange with her. Kat had hated her two years ago in Spain for attracting Jax and, from what she had seen of Jax and Kat in the newspapers, Kat must still have cherished hopes of something more coming from their long friendship.
‘Jax will take the kid and dump you again,’ Kat murmured lethally. ‘Don’t say you weren’t warned.’
Lucy closed the door firmly behind her. Pale and shaky after that nasty little threat of what could be, she concentrated on removing her gown and freshening up. She pulled on a light dress and thrust her sore feet into sandals, touching up her make-up with a light hand. Kat was such a shrew, she reflected ruefully. Jax would never try to take Bella from her. Why would he do such a cruel thing? Or even think about separating a mother from her child? It wasn’t as though she was an unfit mother. All right, she wasn’t perfect. She had been known to snarl a little when Bella tried to get her out of bed at dawn but she loved her daughter. Nothing pleased Lucy more than the ability to give Bella all the little things she had never had herself, the small stuff like bedtime stories, favourite foods and lots of hugs.
Her luggage packed and then collected, Lucy went to meet Jax. A limo ferried them to the airport, where they boarded a helicopter.
‘Are we going on the yacht?’ she asked before the noise of the engine made any conversation impossible.
‘No. Tifnos,’ Jax told her simply.
And Lucy nodded, secretly intimidated by the prospect. She had read about the fabled private island Heracles had bought as a base in the eighties. Her fatherin-law was reputed to live in feudal splendour there in a house that had never been photographed or shown in any publication. But it was supposed to have gardens that could rival the Garden of Eden, a private zoo and literally hundreds of staff.
Lucy felt inadequate. She was far too ordinary for such a backdrop. She had always been ordinary and had once thought that that was w
hat attracted Jax to her. She didn’t put on airs, she didn’t say things she didn’t believe to impress and when she didn’t know something she admitted it. Unexpectedly, Jax closed a large hand over hers and then slowly laced his fingers with her own. His thumb massaged her inner wrist soothingly. It was as if she had hoisted a flag telegraphing panic and he had picked up on it. Or as if he was a little apprehensive too…
An idea she swiftly dismissed, for Tifnos was the Antonakos home and he had to be well accustomed to it.
It was fully dark by the time helicopter landed and Jax scooped her out onto the helipad. Momentarily she was thrilled by the dark heavens filled with thousands of the stars that were never visible in the city. Their luggage was piled into a beach buggy and Zenas took the wheel to drive them up a steep hill road hedged in by a forest of pine trees.
And then at the top the Antonakos house stretched like a giant illuminated cruise ship.
‘It’s big,’ she said abruptly.
‘Yep, for a man who doesn’t like to entertain, Heracles built a very large house,’ Jax conceded wryly.
They stepped into a foyer glossy and glittering with pristine marble and chandeliers. It looked exactly like a plush hotel reception without the desk. A double staircase swanned up to the next floor, each tread wide enough to march an army.
‘Think movie set,’ Jax urged. ‘My mother redesigned the entrance, so there are some very theatrical touches.’
A small middle-aged Greek man approached them with a tray of welcoming drinks. Jax passed her a champagne flute but demurred on his account. ‘I don’t like champagne,’ he admitted.
Lucy drank down hers to be polite while she peered into rooms furnished with the kind of opulence that just screamed old money to her. There were statues and collections and cabinets and elaborate artwork everywhere she looked. Suddenly she understood why there were supposedly hundreds of staff. It would take a fair number to look after so many possessions.
Jax set down her glass for her and closed his hand over hers and told the hovering manservant whom he addressed as Theo that they were going to bed.