Kostas's Convenient Bride: Kostas's Convenient Bride / Desert Prince's Stolen Bride

“ME SELLING THE COMPANY?” Andreas asked.

“All of it.” Kayla bit her lip, her body taut, her arms wrapped around herself, like she was protecting herself. “I feel like I’m losing you and the company all at once.”

“You are not losing me.”

She shook her head, her expression saying he just didn’t get it.

“Kayla, you persist in seeing family in a way that neither you nor I have ever experienced.” He frowned down at her, stepping closer to her to make his point. “In a way I do not intend to live. My wife will not supplant your place in my life.”

“My place in your life. As your friend.” She said the word like it left a bad taste in her mouth. Was his friendship something she preferred to leave behind?

That was not acceptable.

She belonged to him. Kayla was part of Andreas’s life and she was not leaving it.

“Yes.”

The distaste that flitted across her face was barely there, but he’d seen it.

“Damn it, Kayla, we’ve been friends since college, suddenly that relationship disgusts you?” he demanded.

“I didn’t say that.” She turned. “I’ll get ready to go.”

“We’re not done talking.”

“We are if we’re going to make the harbor cruise.” Her bottom shook in ways that gave him ideas he had no business thinking as she walked toward her en suite.

Memories assailed him and suddenly he wanted her like he hadn’t allowed himself to in years. His dick pressed against his trousers, the urge to follow Kayla both so strong and so shocking, he almost gave in to it.

Damn it. It had been a while since he’d noticed Kayla the way he was noticing her now. What the hell was going on with him?

Whatever it was, he had better get it under control. Kayla had a place in his life and that place was not his bed.

Damn it. He needed Kayla to stop acting crazy so he could get his libido back under control once and for all.

* * *

Kayla wasn’t sure why she’d agreed to go on the harbor cruise with Andreas, except she’d overheard him telling Genevieve to lose Kayla’s number.

Just like she’d asked. And she’d realized just how important their relationship was to him. He’d left work, he’d left his big plans to find his perfect little wife. He’d left everything to chase Kayla down and when he found her, he’d stayed.

Was staying until she returned. She really didn’t understand why.

It was as if Andreas was afraid that if he left without her, she wouldn’t come back, and for some reason that mattered to him. A lot.

He’d had breakfast delivered when she came out, dressed in her teal skinny trousers, tan-and-white-striped tank and carrying a white knit jacket, which she would put on when they left. The only things in her signature color were her coral brushed leather flats and chunky necklace, but the slacks did great things for her thighs and bottom. It didn’t hurt that the tank molded to her breasts just right without looking like she was trying too hard either.

The outfit would be wasted on Andreas.

“Do we have time for breakfast?” she asked as she walked into the sitting room.

Andreas looked up from reading the paper on his tablet. His green gaze flared with something that looked like lust, but that couldn’t be right. “That is what you are wearing?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t you think it’s a little...casual?” he finally asked after a significant pause.

“To play tourist on a harbor cruise?” she asked right back. “No.”

Andreas frowned. “Are you trying to get picked up? Again?”

“What are you talking about?” Seriously. What was the man’s problem?

“Your outfit. It’s sexy. Last night, you were dressed like a woman ready to seduce. Is something going on here that I do not know about, Kayla?” Andreas did not look happy at the prospect.

“The only thing going on is that you are being an idiot, Andreas. This outfit is not sexy.” Just attractive. Darn it. “So, it looks good on me. It’s not a walking invitation for sex.”

“From where I’m standing, it is.”

“You’re sitting and you’re still being ridiculous.”

“Don’t be pedantic.” He stood and pointed down to his obvious erection. “As I said.”

“I’m not responsible for your...for you...for that.”

“The point is, in fact, you are.”

She didn’t know how she felt about the hard-on in Andreas’s pants. Clearly he wasn’t happy she’d given him one. A few days ago, she might have been hopeful in this situation, but knowing what she now knew about his plans for the future, she realized any attraction he felt for her meant absolutely nothing. Less than nothing.

“That is your problem, Andreas. I’ve worn more revealing clothing than this in front of you. If you’re that hard up, maybe you should spend the morning doing something other than sightseeing with me. I can call Jacob and see if he’s still interested in spending time with me after how rudely I left him last night.”

“You are not replacing me with Jacob.” Andreas was suddenly looming over her, his body practically vibrating with the ferocity of his feeling.

Wow. Reaction, much? “Well, I’m not changing my clothes either.” She glared up at him defiantly.

His hands fisted at his sides, his big body one large, muscled mass of tension. “Let’s eat breakfast.”

“So, we have time?”

“Yes,” he gritted out.

“Good. I’m not always rational when I’m ‘hangry.’”

He almost smiled at that. “I know.”

They sat down to eat, the tension between them stretched taut. She couldn’t help wondering if his not-so-little problem of an erection continued to persist and what it meant. Had he gone without sex that long? Was it a requirement of the matchmaker’s?

From their past relationship, Kayla knew that Andreas was highly sexed. It had been a rare day they hadn’t made love more than once, much less let a day go by without having sex. If Genevieve had Andreas on a no-sex diet while he auditioned wife candidates, then that would explain how he was desperate enough to get excited by Kayla.