Illicit Night With The Greek

“JODIE, WOULD YOU care for some more coffee?” Mairi Antoniou asked.

“No, thank you,” she replied as she studied her father and stepmother from across the breakfast table. What should have been an intimate meal was more of a grueling interview. She had been prepared for that. Jodie wished she could spend some time with her father in private but getting him alone was proving difficult.

She was, however, making progress. Jodie couldn’t believe she was back in the Antoniou family home. She’d never considered it a possibility. Yet, two days after she had been invited to Dimos’s housewarming party, she was eating a late breakfast with her father and stepmother while a maid was unpacking her suitcases.

She should be celebrating. Relieved that the reunion with her father was going this smoothly, this quickly. Her instincts told her not to trust it and Jodie tried to ignore the negative voice in her head.

Looking around the breakfast room, Jodie noticed it was still fussy and formal. She always found the ivory chairs uncomfortable and the large white floral arrangements overwhelming. She studied one of the many portraits of Mairi’s ancestors that covered the sea-foam-green walls. Once again, she decided that Stergios did not get his stunning masculine beauty from his mother’s side.

Jodie’s gaze rested on a portrait of her stepmother. She wondered what it would be like to be surrounded by family and tradition. Some of the younger Antoniou generation found the family customs constricting but she would have found comfort and privilege in continuing traditions.

Jodie looked down at her gold-rimmed china plate that had been passed down from generation to generation. Only a guest unfamiliar with the Antoniou household would think the breakfast had been planned as a feast to celebrate the return of the prodigal stepdaughter. But the family always had pastries, olives, cheese and tiganites in the morning. The small pancakes had been her favorite and she would often drown them with grape molasses, much to her stepmother’s horror. Today she avoided the tiganites and had been the epitome of good behavior.

“I hope you will find your room satisfactory,” Mairi said.

“Thank you.” It was the same room she had stayed in years ago. In the corner on a separate floor from the rest of the family. But that didn’t matter. She was going to accept what was offered and pass every test they gave. She would win the approval and love of her only living relative.

“What are your plans for today?” her father asked as he set down his paper and rose from his chair.

“I need to find a wedding present for Dimos and Zoi.” It had to be appropriate but impersonal. She didn’t want her gift to cause any speculation or a lecture from Stergios. Jodie winced. She wasn’t going to allow her stepbrother to influence her in any way.

“And perhaps some clothes for the wedding?” Mairi suggested as she gave a pointed glance to Jodie’s bright green dress. “It will be very...conservative.”

Jodie nodded. Mairi had shown remarkable restraint not commenting on her short hem or towering heels. What was considered understated in New York City was different than her stepmother’s opinions. She had to make some adjustments. “I understand.”

“I’m sorry we have to leave just when you’ve arrived,” Mairi said as Gregory helped her out of her chair, “but your father and I have some business to attend to in the city.”

“Please don’t feel like you need to entertain me.” She didn’t want to be the center of attention. She wanted to show her father that she could seamlessly be part of his life without any trouble or work.

“Make yourself at home,” her father said as he gave an awkward pat on her shoulder before he trailed after Mairi.

Home. She grimaced as she felt a pang in her chest. This stately mansion had never been her home. She had arrived here the first time when she was fifteen after she had been kicked out of another boarding school. Jodie had felt as if she’d been on probation the moment she had first entered the vestibule. But it hadn’t mattered if she had behaved or caused trouble. She was always going to be sent away to another school, another country.

Now her actions would make a difference. For better or for worse. One mistake and her father would disown her for good.

Jodie rose from her seat and strolled into the entrance hall. She barely glanced at the marble grand staircase or the carved limestone walls. It was the silence that grabbed her attention. She forgot how quiet it was in this place even though Mairi liked having her extended family live under one roof.

She linked her hands behind her back and walked outside onto the shadowy portico. Her eyes widened with pleasure as she surveyed the bold colors of the grounds, the scent of the exotic flowers and the sounds of a gurgling fountain in the distance. She sighed as the tension ebbed from her shoulders. It felt as if she had paradise all to herself.

Jodie remembered spending many hours following the web of gravel paths to escape the house. She had frequently skinny-dipped in the large lake until her stepmother found out and put a stop to it. She also climbed the trees in the wooded area, daring to go as high as she could, often ignoring Stergios’s exasperation and words of warning.

Jodie descended the terrace and noticed the garden had thrived in her absence. It took her several moments to recognize the changes in the landscaping. She suspected they were made in favor of the high-tech security features. Mairi could have hidden the cameras and emergency call buttons but the Antonious always needed to see what protective measures were being taken around them.

She left the terrace and wondered if there was a new piece of sculpture or work of art. Walking past the formal flower garden, she remembered how exploring the grounds had been one of her many solitary diversions.

When she had first moved here, she’d thought having many relatives would be a blessing. For an only child who had lived in boarding schools since she was six years old, the idea of a big family was as tantalizing as it was foreign. It had ultimately been a disappointment. It wasn’t easy being an outsider in a close-knit family.

It was only after Jodie had been banished that she’d realized the Antoniou home was more than a showpiece. She paused and brushed her fingertips against the velvety petals of a flower. The house and the grounds were part of the family’s fortress. Mairi only felt safe when she was at home and surrounded by loved ones.

The Antonious didn’t trust any outsider with the exception of Gregory. Jodie understood why. They had placed their trust in one of their own and paid the cost. They may never recover from being blindsided decades ago when Stergios was kidnapped as a child.

Jodie closed her eyes as the wave of sympathy washed over her. She had only collected bits and pieces of the story since everyone seemed to follow a pact of not discussing it. She knew Mairi and her ex-husband had been in an ugly custody dispute and that Stergios’s father had hired a team to kidnap his son. Stergios had only been seven years old.

Jodie blinked away the sting of unshed tears as she imagined a young and vulnerable Stergios. Mairi was a tigress when it came to her only child but she didn’t find him until he was nine. Stergios had lived on the run and in horrible conditions. He had emerged scarred, malnourished and tormented from the experience.

From the day Stergios had been taken, the house and grounds became impenetrable. So had the Antoniou family. Jodie accepted the fact and she knew their wariness wasn’t entirely personal.

Jodie sighed and slowly retraced her steps, returning to the portico. She saw a flash of movement in the corner of her eye and turned to see Stergios. He emerged from the wooded area, the gravel crunching under his running shoes as he jogged toward the house with a punishing pace. The fight-or-flight response swirled in her chest. She cast a quick glance in the direction of the formal garden, her heart skipping a beat as her hands bunched into fists.

It was too late to disappear, Jodie decided as she watched Stergios get closer. She tried not to notice that he only wore a dark pair of running shorts, or the way his golden skin glistened. Her gaze darted to his broad shoulders and then to his muscular arms. Jodie felt a spurt of heat low in her belly and she wasn’t sure where to look. She focused on his chest and followed the path of his dark hair. Her attention rested on his V-cut abs.

He didn’t break his rhythm as he jogged onto the terrace and then stepped onto the portico. He passed her as if he wasn’t going to acknowledge her presence.

“I didn’t know you were still living here,” she blurted out.

Stergios stopped without turning around. “I don’t.” Sweat ran down his spine but he didn’t sound out of breath. He placed his hands on his lean hips and stretched. She was mesmerized by the play of muscles and the faint crisscross of scars that ran down his back. “I have a home of my own but I stay here when I’m in Athens.”

Jodie stepped in front of him, blocking his way. It was irritating that he wouldn’t deign to look at her. She inhaled his scent and went still. It was hot, sweaty and male. A blush crept up her neck and into her face. She didn’t know why it left her flustered.

“How long are you planning to stay?” Jodie asked. His nearness was almost her undoing. Her breasts felt heavy and tight and she crossed her arms against her chest.

“For as long as you are, pethi mou,” he said. “I’m only here to keep an eye on you.”

“What?” Jodie’s lips parted as a thought occurred to her. “Is that why I was invited to the family home? To make surveillance more convenient for you?”

His eyes glittered with amusement. “It was thoughtful of you to accept.”

Jodie abruptly looked away and stared at the door that led to the house. She should have known it hadn’t been her father’s idea. Her intuition had been correct. She shouldn’t trust this act of hospitality.

She wasn’t going to let this get her down. Jodie clenched her teeth as she encouraged the flicker of determination to catch fire. It didn’t matter why she was invited. She was here and she was going to make the most of it.

“Going to go pack?” he asked in a drawl.

Her arms tightened around her as if she was holding herself together. “Why would I?” she asked as she slowly met his gaze. “I’m getting what I want.”

“Are you sure? Dimos doesn’t live here.”

“Wonderful,” she declared. “Now you don’t have follow him like a guard dog and save him from predatory women. That must free up so much time for you.”

There was a heavy beat of silence. “That wasn’t the only reason I stopped Dimos.”

“Of course it was. If Dimos had sex with me, a woman supposedly under the protection of the Antoniou family, he would have been stuck marrying me instead of the heiress of your choice.” She paused, not sure if she should say anything more. “Do you even know why we were down in the wine cellar that night? We were going to break into the good stuff while everyone was out of the house.”

“It didn’t look that way when I tore you two apart.”

Jodie glared at him. When Stergios had intervened, Dimos had her in a tight hold and had been sticking his tongue down her throat. She hadn’t been trying to get closer to Dimos—she had been pushing him away! “I was never interested in him. There was no way we were going to have sex!”

Stergios lifted an eyebrow. “Then how do you explain what happened between us?”