Husband By Request

It was there she’d begun a vigorous program of physical exercise to get strong. She’d built up until she could run organized marathons in Bosnia and Greece.

When she’d heard about the annual 15k marathon on Zakynthos Island, in the Ionian Sea, she had decided to enter it. But it had been against her parents’ wishes. She was five feet five and then only ninety-five pounds. The doctor had told her she needed to put on weight so she wouldn’t endanger her ability to have children one day.

Her parents had worried about her so much, she’d promised that after the race was over she’d cut down on her running and concentrate on gaining weight.

She’d flown to Zakynthos with a couple of her runner friends and they’d begun the race. Halfway through, the route had run past a walled private area of the island. As Dominique had rounded a bend in the road, a truck had come out of nowhere and side-swiped her, knocking her unconscious.

Andreas had witnessed the accident. He was the one who’d carried her into his villa and had called for the doctor. In order to stop more bleeding, his hands had removed the torn and bloodied T-shirt and sports bra with its prosthesis.

When she’d come to, her eyes had beheld the most handsome Greek man she’d ever seen in her life. His black gaze had been so incredibly tender as he’d smiled down into her eyes and assured her she was safe. It hadn’t dawned on her he’d seen the scar of her mastectomy. Not until after the doctor’s examination had she learned from Andreas that he was the one who’d rescued her.

She couldn’t understand how he’d been able to look at her as if she brought him pleasure when she’d lost the headscarf which covered her pathetic two-inch growth of hair. Since her last chemo treatment it had taken a long time for it to start coming back in.

He was a big, powerful man, at least two hundred pounds of rock-hard muscle. She was a slip of girl, half his weight. And she’d been bloody and scruffy and she’d wanted to disappear because she was so embarrassed by his relentless attention to her every need.

Before she knew how it had happened, he’d invited her parents to be his guests for the next few days, until she’d recovered from her concussion and was well enough to go back to Sarajevo. Even then he’d insisted they fly on his private jet to Athens before transferring to his helicopter.

No sooner had she returned to her parents’ house, than Andreas had flown to Sarajevo—that evening. Her mom had invited him to stay over. What should have been one night turned into a week. Her parents had been enchanted by him.

Dominique had worshipped him in her heart. He was bigger than li

fe. His business interests had made his name famous all over Greece. Ten years older than she was, experienced, sophisticated—he’d been as out of reach to her as the nearest planet.

Despite her protestations that her cancer could come back at any time, he’d told her it didn’t matter. A few months later they were married, in his family’s church in Athens. At the altar he’d whispered that they would live all the years God gave them, and rejoice.

Though his parents had come to the wedding, Dominique had received a cool reception from them. Andreas had explained they were still grieving for their daughter Maris, who’d been killed in a tragic car accident two years earlier. The shock had almost been too much for them.

He’d told Dominique not to be concerned. When they’d passed through the worst of their mourning period they would embrace her into the family. She had accepted his explanation, but inside she couldn’t help blaming herself. Dominique thought it was she they didn’t like. She’d been hurt by their lack of enthusiasm over the wedding festivities.

Immediately after, Dominique and Andreas had spent the months of May and June on the Cygnus enjoying a lengthy honeymoon. Nights of lovemaking she could never have imagined.

Andreas was a tender lover who could be a great tease. After a night of rapture he would tempt her with calorie-laden foods. He wanted a baby, so it was necessary to fatten her up.

Sometimes he invited Olympia and Theo Panos, recently married, to join them. Andreas’s friendship with Olympia went back a long way because she’d been best friends with Maris from childhood, and Andreas felt a loyalty to his late sister’s best friend.

Since Andreas seemed to find pleasure being around Olympia, because of her connection to his only sister, Dominique had encouraged him to invite the couple for the occasional weekend. Theo, a contemporary of Andreas, ran a successful textile company and was always a very entertaining guest. Dominique liked him a lot.

Olympia was friendly enough to Dominique in front of their husbands, but she never exuded the kind of warmth that would have turned them into friends on their own.

In private, she’d told Dominique before the wedding that Theo thought it very courageous of Andreas to marry her. According to him, not all men could have handled Dominique’s problem.

At the time Dominique had refused to let Olympia’s comment sting because she was so gloriously happy. In fact she’d felt ashamed that she’d ever fallen into that terrible state of feeling sorry for herself because she’d been diagnosed with cancer.

If it hadn’t been for the disease she would never have started running marathons, would never have been rescued by the man she loved to the last atom of her being.

The honeymoon had continued when they returned to Zakynthos. Then had come August, when Andreas had to get back to work. They’d left for Athens and there her happiness had slowly been crushed, until there had been nothing left of their marriage.

One evening Andreas had called her from work and told her he wouldn’t be home until the next day. To her surprise he hadn’t confided the reason why.

For the next two weeks when he joined her in bed, after she’d gone to sleep waiting for him, his lovemaking had become more primitive. Yet he wouldn’t tell her what was going on in his life to change him so drastically. All he’d asked her to do was trust him.

One night she hadn’t been able to stand the suspense any longer and had demanded to know what was wrong.

He’d levered himself from the bed and stared down at her. “I’ve wanted to protect you, but you have a right to know that Theo has brought a lawsuit against me.”

What? With her heart skidding to a stop, she got to her knees and looked up at him. “Why on earth would he do that when you’re such good friends?”

Andreas’s mouth tightened. “No. We’ve never been good friends. He’s always been jealous of my relationship with Olympia. Now he’s charging the two of us with adultery.”