The Cozakis Bride

Why so much pain? And why was she missing Nik so dreadfully? She ought to have been glad to see him go, grate­ful that he stayed away. But she wasn't. She was hurting too, shaken that Nik was as bitter if not more bitter than she had peen. Her own emotions were all over the place. Either she had never got over Nik or she was falling for him again. And that suspicion made her very angry with herself. Nik had married her to gain the Manoulis empire and Nik would di­vorce her as soon as she gave him a son and heir. It was a straight business deal that had no room for emotion.

When Nik had been gone for five days, Olympia decided it was time to abandon ship. Given the opportunity to travel, she ought to be taking full advantage of it, not sitting around on board Aurora with nothing to do but sunbathe and think about a husband who had dumped her for more exciting things within a day of their wedding.

Nik's captain spoke excellent English, and when Olympia told him that she would like to visit the port of Malaga on the Spanish coast he was happy to be furnished with a des­tination and even mentioned the necessity of taking on fresh supplies. Evidently Nik had not been in touch since his de­parture, a state of affairs which was the perfect vehicle for her own intentions.

When the yacht docked at Malaga, as an act of exorcism and a statement of her new independence, Olympia asked her maid to cut twelve inches off her hair; she liked the results. However, the Captain looked dismayed when Olympia ap­peared, to disembark with a travelling bag in her hand. She told him that she would return in exactly a week and then she hastened towards the gangway like an escaping prisoner. It rather spoiled the moment when the older man intercepted her to point out that there were certain formalities to be ob­served before she set foot in a country of which she was not a resident.

However, within half an hour Olympia had satisfied those requirements and she was on her way. Having read Washington Irving's Tales of the Alhambra the previous year, and renewed her acquaintance with the book during Nik's ab­sence, Olympia had her itinerary all worked out. She was heading for Granada, to see the wonderful gardens and the palace-fortress of the legendary Moorish sultans. She caught the train from Malaga, but when she arrived it was late af­ternoon. Wanting more than a couple of hours to explore the Alhambra complex, she found a small city pensione in which to spend the night.

The next morning, coolly clad in a lilac dress in a light floaty fabric, she was walking past the car parks at the en­trance to the historic site when a long silver limousine pulled up beside her. His broad face expressionless, Damianos climbed out and flipped open the rear passenger door for her. 'Kyria Cozakis...'

Having stilled in astonishment at first glimpse of Nik's bodyguard, Olympia was frozen to the pavement. How on earth had she been found at such speed?

'Olympia...' A dark, deep familiar drawl murmured from the interior. 'I'll give you a count of five to join me inside the limo without argument.'

A furious flush lit Olympia's cheeks. Outraged at being addressed as if she were a spoilt child likely to throw a tan­trum, she took a hasty couple of steps closer. 'Someone fol­lowed me off the yacht...right?'

'One,' Nik sounded, infuriating her even more.

'Someone's been spying on me. Well, I think that was really low and contemptible—'

'Two.'

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Damianos retreat back round the limo and fold into the front seat. 'Further­more, I have plans of my own—'

'Three.'

'I just want to see the Alhambra...OK?'

'Four.'

'There's no way you are going to tell me to get in that car when I don't want to, Nik Cozakis!' Olympia slung fierily, with her hands planted on her hips. 'Five...'

Snatching in a ragged breath, Olympia crossed her arms and thrust up her chin. Nik emerged in one fluid but forceful movement. Sheathed in a tailored suit the colour of pale honey, he looked spectacular, and, even mad as she was with him, her heartbeat quickened and her mouth ran dry. Taking note of the curious tourists nearby, Nik assumed a studious air of solicitude.

Lifting her into his arms with exaggerated care, he drawled with fake anxiety, 'You never could take the heat, dar­ling... you need to lie down for a while. Preferably under me.' he completed for her ears alone.

Stowed inside the limo because she honestly didn't have me nerve to fight him in a public place, but incensed at the growling arrogance of that conclusion, Olympia gasped, 'I'm getting straight back out again—'

Slamming the door, Nik swung back to her, brilliant eyes hard and angry. 'You took your life in your hands when you left the security of the yacht yesterday!'

Olympia bridled. 'What on earth are you talking about?'

His lean, strong face set in grim lines, Nik continued to study her with unconcealed censure. 'Whether you like it or not, you are the wife of a very rich man and the granddaugh­ter of another, and that makes you an extremely vulnerable target.'

'For what?'

'For kidnappers, thieves and aggressive paparazzi!' Nik spelt out with wrathful bite. 'The instant I learnt you had left Aurora alone, I was seriously worried about your personal safety! The crew member who followed you for your own protection was unable to report your whereabouts until late last night.'

Involuntarily, Olympia had paled. 'No thief would find anything worth stealing on me.'

'And how would you like to find yourself at the mercy of a gang of thieves who couldn't even get a Rolex watch for their trouble?' Nik demanded rawly.

Olympia's tummy curdled and she dropped her head. His genuine concern made her feel ashamed, for if she was truth­ful her primary objective in getting off the yacht had been to infuriate Nik with a taste of the same treatment he had given her. 'I wouldn't...I'm sorry, I honestly didn't think.'

Nik expelled a slow, fracturing hiss. 'At least you are all right...apart from your hair.'

'My hair?' The sudden change of subject disconcerted her.

Nik skimmed lean brown fingers down the foreshortened length of the glossy mahogany strands now hanging just be­low her shoulder blades. 'You butchered your beautiful hair. How could you do that?'

Hot pink flooded Olympia's cheeks. She hadn't been pre­pared for Nik to be that blunt, nor for the strength of his unconcealed regret.

'You knew how much I loved your hair.' Nik withdrew his hand with a heavy sigh. 'I suppose I'm lucky I didn't hold your throat in the same regard. No doubt you would have cut it and bled to death.'

It was ridiculous, but, feeling like a woman who had sac­rificed her sole attraction, she found her eyes smarting with tears. 'It'll grow...' she heard herself say in a wobbly voice, even though she preferred her hair shorter and found it far easier to handle.

'So now we go and see the Alhambra,' Nik murmured flatly.

'No, never mind...you're not even dressed for—'

'I insist, pethi mou. Today we take up where we left off a week ago and start learning to be married.'

Olympia flicked a startled glance at him.

Dark, deep-set eyes met hers levelly. 'I had some stuff to work out but I should not have stayed away for so long.'

With Damianos and another bodyguard trailing them at a discreet distance, Nik and Olympia went off to explore the Alhambra. It was a gorgeous day. The sun shone down on wooded walks with the green freshness of spring. Olympia was enchanted by all that she saw: the haunting inner courts with their tranquil fountains and the sand-coloured towers mirrored on the surface of still, silent pools.

They wandered through the lush gardens of the Generalife. In a cool rose-shaded arbour, sunlight sparkling through the drops of a water spout, Olympia glanced up and found Nik's intent gaze welded to her.

'What?' she muttered self-consciously. 'You are quite unaware of your own power,' Nik asserted with an amused shake of his dark head. 'In many ways, still so innocent. That day in my office I would have recognised that if I hadn't been so angry with you.'

Olympia tautened. She recognised the change in his out­look with