The Greek's Forbidden Innocent

Instead she stood motionless, watching as if he were under the microscope. It was a curious feeling. Alexei was used to people inclining their heads in agreement or deference. Except women, who tended to stare.

Carissa’s bold regard was something altogether different. It sent heat skittering down his spine, drawing every sense to hyperalert.

Finally, after she’d looked her fill, she turned to Henri. Alexei caught a flash of white teeth as she smiled but it was the coltish grace of her movements that held his attention. There was a fluidity to her supple body that reminded him of a Russian ballet dancer with whom he’d once shared a fiery affair. Alexei recalled not only the dancer’s grace but her athleticism and body awareness that had taken sexual pleasure to a new level.

He watched Carissa Carter saunter towards his house. Shoulders back, head up, yet she didn’t march. Instead that loose-limbed stroll was a symphony of sensual femininity.

For his benefit?

Of course.

His guest might play at being the bohemian artist, but if she was her father’s daughter, she’d have her eye on the main game, getting Alexei’s money.

For the first time since he’d learned of Carter’s betrayal, Alexei smiled.

He didn’t want the woman here, except as bait to draw her father. The fact she’d accepted his summons told him she’d sell herself into marriage with a man she didn’t even know. Though she knew the size of his bank balance. That regularly featured in rich lists around the world.

It could be amusing watching her try to seduce him.

CHAPTER TWO (#u7bc6ec93-0453-5048-acd3-10880e5beafa)

MINA KNEW ABOUT WEALTH. She’d been born royal. But her family riches and privilege were tied to duty, responsibility and service. The palace where she’d grown up had been the nerve centre for her country’s administration.

This was pure sybaritic indulgence.

As if it wasn’t enough to own a tropical island rimmed with beaches so white they looked like sugar frosting, Alexei Katsaros’s home was the last word in luxury. The pool wrapped around the house so every room looked out on water. There was a bar actually in the pool too, so he and his guests wouldn’t have to stir from the water to get a drink.

Four-poster daybeds were scattered around the pool, their gauzy hangings romantic and alluring. Her artist’s eye appreciated the cushions in turquoise, teal and jade that reflected the vibrant shades of the tropical garden and the sea beyond. Then there were the sculptures in pale stone, which she glimpsed through the greenery. She itched to detour and investigate.

Forcibly she yanked her attention back to the house. The huge entry door stood open. Beside her, Henri waited for her to precede him.

Strange, this momentary hesitation.

All the way from Paris she’d been buoyed by indignation on Carissa’s behalf. Now though, Mina knew an uncharacteristic moment of doubt. A wariness at odds with her practice of facing problems head-on.

Her impulsiveness, her father would have said.

Why? Mina wasn’t overawed by Katsaros’s wealth, or cowed by any threat he could make.

Yet for a moment, as her gaze locked on the big man watching her from inside, something unfamiliar quivered through her. Something starkly unsettling.

An inner voice urged her to flee while she had the chance.

Of course she lifted her chin and stared right back instead.

The bright bowl of azure sky above her seemed to drop lower, the air thickening as she drew a slow, steadying breath. Still, he held her gaze.

Her bloodstream fizzed, making her fingers and the soles of her feet tingle. For a second she wondered if she’d been hit by a bolt of lightning out of the clear sky, till reason told her that was impossible.

Deliberately she turned away, feigning interest in her surroundings. Yet the image imprinted on her retinas wasn’t the white mansion with its picture windows, but the powerfully built man whose eyes locked on her. Everything about him, from his wide-set stance to that deep, muscled chest revealed by his open shirt, screamed strength.

Well, Mina was strong too. No bossy tycoon would intimidate her.

Nodding to Henri, she headed for the door.

She was greeted by Henri’s wife, Marie, whose smiling eyes and lilting accent made Mina relax in spite of herself.

‘Alexei is eager to meet you but perhaps you’d like to freshen up first?’

Mina smiled and shook her head. The flight by private jet had been far from onerous. ‘Thank you, but no. I’m eager to meet my host.’

‘How...charming.’ The deep voice came from beyond Marie. Its cadence drew Mina’s skin tight, as if someone dragged a length of rich velvet across it. A shimmer of heat flared low in her body and she had to work to keep her expression bland.

Slowly, so slowly she seemed to feel each muscle and joint move, she turned her head towards the shadows.

Never had Mina been more grateful for her royal upbringing. She’d spent seventeen years learning to look composed and calm, even if she’d never quite mastered regal. At twelve she’d sat on podiums listening to interminable speeches. At fifteen she’d held her own at royal dinners. Her polite interest expression could fool everyone but her sister.

Which meant the man watching her through narrowed eyes had no idea she felt as if someone had sliced the tendons at the backs of her legs.

Mina’s knees shook for the merest instant before she stiffened them, but her cool smile remained steady. As for the sizzle in her blood, no one else knew about that.

She waited for him to frown and say she wasn’t Carissa Carter. Yet he simply stared down at her from his superior height. Could it really be that he didn’t know what Carissa looked like? That flaw in her plan had kept her awake on the flight from Europe. Yet, against the odds, it appeared he didn’t. So sure of himself. Arrogant enough to expect everyone to obey his every whim. So unquestioning.

Mina let her mouth curve slightly. ‘Mr Katsaros. How lovely to meet you at last.’

‘At last, Ms Carter? You’ve been waiting to meet me? Surely your trip was admirably quick?’ His hint of indolent surprise and the tilt of one slashing eyebrow gave him an air of smug superiority.

‘Oh, it was.’ Mina looked down and flicked lint from her sleeve. ‘Admirably so. Why, I didn’t even have time to check my diary for commitments that might clash before I was whisked away. Or to arrange for someone to keep an eye on my apartment.’

She let her brow pucker in a frown. ‘I hope the fruit I bought doesn’t spoil while I’m away. And the milk.’ She let her smile widen. ‘But I understand. I’m sure you’re used to wanting something and having it happen immediately. No time to waste on boring niceties like invitations or queries about whether the dates suited me.’

Below his rumpled black hair grooves corrugated that wide brow. Mina raised her hand. ‘Not that it matters. I know how terribly valuable your time is. After all, what could I possibly have scheduled that could be nearly as important?’

From behind her Mina heard a snuffle from Henri that sounded suspiciously like a stifled laugh. Then he excused himself, murmuring something about putting her luggage away and prudently followed his wife down a corridor.

Which left Mina alone with Alexei Katsaros.

He didn’t even seem to notice Marie and Henri leave. All his attention was on Mina.

If she were in the mood to feel fear it would have swamped her now, for the man watched her with the hyperawareness of a hunter. Then there was the sheer size of him, not only tall but well-built, all muscled strength beneath those straight shoulders. She’d caught a glimpse of a well-developed chest and taut abdominals that confirmed this man did far more than sit behind a desk, making money. His thighs beneath the faded jeans were those of a skier or a horseman, honed hard and strong.

Without taking his eyes off her, he slowly finished buttoning his white shirt. Then he tucked it into his faded jeans with a casual insouciance utterly at odds with the speculative gleam in his dark eyes.

Mina’s manufactured smile solidified as he took his time shoving the material down, his hand disappearing behind the denim. For reasons she couldn’t fathom the sight of him dressing made her pulse quicken. Her palm prickled as if her own hand slid down that flat abdomen.

‘I’m sorry, did my arrival wake you?’ The snap in her words betrayed her discomfort but Mina compensated for it by slowly taking stock of his tousled black hair and the dark shadow of beard growth across that solid jaw.

His hands fell to his sides and he stepped out of the shadows. The light hit sharply defined cheekbones, a well-shaped mouth and a stern blade of nose, down which he surveyed her. Mina was reminded of precious icons she’d seen. But whereas those old saints had looked flat and unreal, this man exuded raw energy and the glint in his dark eyes was anything but unworldly. Alexei Katsaros was too...physical for sainthood. With his imposing size and posture he could model for a cavalry officer from a previous century, supercilious and deadly in a bright uniform, with a sabre at his side.