Greek Affairs: Claiming His Child: The Greek's Million-Dollar Baby Bargain / The Greek Millionaire's Secret Child / The Greek's Long-Lost Son

She felt her stomach hollow out, and not just with dismay …

Deliberately she flicked her gaze to Ari, keeping it fixed on him. Against her will, she had to concede that Nikos Theakis, unspeakable though he was, was a great companion for a four-year-old child. Over and over again he hefted Ari up and tossed him into the sea. Ari yelled with glee. He played chasing games and piggybacking, and aeroplaned him around above the water. Without her realising it, a smile came to her lips as she watched them.

Then they were wading out of the water. Ari was rushing up and giving her a wet hug, describing all the things that Uncle Nikki and he had done, asking if she’d seen them, and she was taking off his armbands and wrapping his sturdy little body in a towel. At his uncle she did not look at all. Not at all.

But back at the camp she had to, like it or not.

Energy levels quite undimmed by his marine exertions, Ari hopped about from one foot to the other while Ann creamed sun lotion into him. The sun was getting higher now, and even his darker skin tone needed protection.

‘Have you cream on your face, Ann?’ The question made her look up, and immediately she wished she hadn’t.

Nikos was standing, legs apart, his back to the sun, ruffling his hair dry with a towel. He looked—magnificent.

Ann tightened her mouth. ‘Yes, I put it on before we set off.’

‘You should top up,’ Nikos told her. ‘Even with your tan you can still burn, and that would ruin that flawless complexion of yours.’

Tight-lipped, Ann applied more sun lotion to herself, knowing the truth of what Nikos had said, despite the way he’d said it. Her complexion was none of his damn business …

Ari tugged at her sleeve. ‘It’s time to build a sandcastle,’ he announced. ‘A big one.’

Ann was only too willing. Anything to keep her busy and away from Nikos. She watched as Ari seized his spade and set off to select a good site, just beyond the sand holes, settling down to work. Ann reached for the sun lotion cap and started to screw it on, her eyes focussed on her task—focussed on whatever took her gaze away from where Nikos was lowering himself down with muscular grace on to the rug, leaning back against a large rock, legs stretching out in front of him. Perilously close to her.

But she refused to pull away, calmly returning the sun cream to her beach bag. As she did, Nikos spoke.

‘So,’ he drawled, ‘do you intend to remain covered up neck to ankle the whole day?’

‘I’ve told Ari I’ll swim after lunch,’ she said. Involuntarily her eyes flickered across to him as she got to her feet.

He lounged back, his drying hair feathering on his forehead, a pair of sunglasses over his nose, swimming trunks hugging his lean hips. The ultimate male. For a helpless moment she could only stare. Could only let him see her stare. Knowing that although she could not see his eyes, his could see her—see her reaction to him.

His mouth curved.

‘Look all you want, Ann,’ he said generously. ‘I’m not going anywhere.’ He gave a soft laugh and picked up his magazine again. ‘Off you go now,’ he said. ‘Ari needs a labourer.’

Stiffly, Ann strode off, hating herself.

But not as much as she hated Nikos Theakis.

CHAPTER FOUR

SHE WENT ON hating him for the rest of the day, but she would not spoil it for Ari. Having built his huge and complex castle—a task which Ann had discovered she enjoyed hugely, despite the knowledge that Nikos was only a few metres away, and that Ari regularly invited him to comment approvingly on progress so far—Ari suddenly put down his spade and announced that he was hungry.

It was a general signal for lunch.

They wandered onto the stone terrace of a tiny beach hut which Ann had not even noticed on their arrival. It was set back on the shady side of the beach, above the pebbles, and was pleasantly cool now that the sun was high. Given the Theakis wealth, Ann half expected servants to jump out of nowhere and lay on a four-course luncheon for their lord and master, but their meal in fact came out of a cold bag Nikos had brought with him. It was very simple. A round, flattish loaf of fresh-baked Greek bread, sweet sun-ripe tomatoes, salty, oil-drenched feta cheese, some dry cured ham and a bottle of chilled white wine, with fruit to follow. Ari had a can of cola.

‘It’s a treat,’ he announced smugly to Ann. ‘Tina says it rots my teeth so I only have it for treats. Will you be looking after me when Tina marries Dr Sam, Auntie Annie?’

The question slipped out so suddenly that Ann had no time to think up a good answer. Ari’s uncle supplied one instead.

‘Your aunt isn’t used to children, Ari,’ he said. ‘She wouldn’t know how to look after you.’

For a second Ann’s expression flickered. She was aware that Nikos was looking at her, a cynical glint in his eye. She ignored it.

‘Your uncle is right, Ari,’ she said gently. ‘I’m sure Ya-ya will find another lovely nanny to look after you. And you’ll see Tina still, won’t you? She’ll only be living on Maxos, and you can visit her in the motor boat.’

‘It won’t be the same.’ His little lip quivered.

‘Everything changes, Ari,’ said his uncle. ‘Some are sad changes, some are happy ones.’ There was a strained note in his voice just for a moment.

The boy looked across at Ann. ‘You’re a happy change, coming to see me,’ he said. ‘Isn’t she, Uncle Nikki?’

Get out of that one, thought Ann silently.

‘It has its compensations,’ he replied, and his glance flickered over her deliberately. Abruptly, Ann reached for another tomato and bit into it. Her bite was too vicious, and tomato juice and seeds spurted all over her T-shirt.

‘Shame,’ murmured Nikos Theakis insincerely. ‘Now you’ll have to take it off after all.’

In the end, she did. The afternoon simply got too hot, and before long Ari was clamouring to go into the sea again. Ann peeled off to her swimming suit, taking advantage of the fact that Nikos was now laying out his fabulous gold-hued body face down on a brilliant white towel for the sun to worship it.

‘If you go in the water,’ he advised lazily, not bothering to lift his head from the folded towel beneath it, ‘don’t go out of your depth. No further than that crooked rock to the left. Ari knows which one.’

‘Or the sharks will get you,’ contributed his nephew knowledgeably, if inaccurately, clearly having been told this to keep him close to shore. ‘They lie in wait in deep water.’

Hurriedly she raced Ari down to the sea, welcoming the chill embrace of the water. Playing with Ari took her mind off Nikos, and she entered into his games with enthusiasm, whilst taking care to stay, as instructed, in her depth. Eventually Ari tired, and as they waded out of the sea Ann immediately became aware that she was under professional surveillance.

Nikos Theakis must have seen a multitude of female bodies, but he obviously liked to study each one as a connoisseur. Now he was studying hers, his arms folded behind his neck, using the casual strength of his own perfectly toned, sun-kissed abdominal muscles to hold his head sufficiently off the ground to survey her properly.

Ann attempted to adopt an air of indifference to his scrutiny, and failed. But she did manage to avoid looking at Nikos, instead taking Ari’s armbands off and mopping him dry, letting him chatter away in Greek to his uncle before heading back to his sandcastle. Patting herself dry with Ari’s towel, Ann knelt down, rummaging in her bag for a comb. Finding it, she straightened, squeezed out the worst of the moisture, and started to comb out her dripping wet hair.

Nikos sat up with an effortless jack-knife of his stomach muscles, hooking his hands loosely around wide splayed knees and looking at her with narrowed eyes, while she tried to look completely indifferent to his regard—and to him. But it was impossible. He’s even got beautiful feet, Ann thought absently, trying not to look. Narrow, with sculpted arches. She looked away, but he had seen her. He limbered up, and crossed to where she was kneeling. Before she knew what he was doing he’d hunkered down, removed the large-toothed comb from her hand and taken over her task.

‘Hold still,’ he commanded, as she instinctively tried to get away. A large hand closed over her upper arm. She flinched.

With a frown, he scooped away the wet tangle of hair covering it, revealing the ugly bruise that had formed.

‘What the hell?’

‘Blame the driver,’ she said briefly. ‘I got a walloping against the door frame of the Jeep.’

He muttered something in Greek that was probably impolite. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said tersely. ‘I didn’t realise.’

She shrugged. ‘I’ll live,’ she answered. ‘Give me my comb back.’

He ignored her. Instead, his fingers gently skimmed the smooth skin of her shoulder.

‘Your skin is like silk.’ His voice was low, intimate. His touch made her shiver. But she didn’t feel cold. Heat started to coil in every tensing muscle in her body. For a long moment their eyes met and held—night-dark speculative brown to startled, questioning blue-grey—then, as if in slow motion, Nikos lowered his mouth.