Dea heard the helicopter descend on the island and her smile widened while her heart started beating fast. ‘Finally! My Theo is home!’ One last look in the mirror then Dea swung the door open and ran lightly on the path. She couldn’t wait to tell him how much the baby had kicked during the day. Maybe tonight Theo would get a chance to feel the baby move.“My love…” she whispered while gazing at him, so proud, so gorgeous. After their first night together as an engaged couple, Dea knew without a shadow of a doubt, she could never love another man as much as she loved Theo. And she also knew he had feelings for her. Even if he called her ‘agapi mou’, even if he held her in his arms the whole night through, Theo wasn’t in love, but he felt for her. Her heart felt as though it was going to burst in her chest as she saw him walk down the steps. He was a commanding force in his pinstripe suit and red tie. She met him with a kiss and drew b
Theo sat alone in the ornate living room in Dea’s Upper East Side apartment as he waited for her return. He hadn’t seen her in ten days and he had been in quiet agony. His life had been in disorder and Theo wanted his woman back. He wasn’t certain of his welcome. On his flight over, Theo had imagined that she was at home, pining for him, crying for him day and night. But the surprise was on him. Dea had plunged back into her full social life as if she had to make up for lost time. Theo heard the front door open and he sat up straight in his chair. Anticipation beat wildly inside him when he heard Dea’s familiar voice as she spoke on her cell phone.“Yes!” Her laugh made his heart take a tumble.“We definitely should meet up, Jack. It’s been a long time…” ‘Jack’? Who the hell was this Jack? Hot, bitter jealousy rolled through him and Theo clenched the armrest with his fingers. ‘Who was Jack?’ The security t
They were having dinner and, as always, Dea was keeping the conversation light. Theo had been in her house for a week now and to her surprise, he was being nice and polite. At this point, Dea said to herself she could do this, allow him to stay in her house without succumbing to his lethal charm. This could definitely work, she thought. While finishing his glass of wine, Theo tilted his head and looked at Dea, his gaze assessing her.“What is it?” he asked.“Nothing… Just thinking…”“I see… About my proposal?” Theo asked and a mischievous light appeared in his eyes. When Dea lifted an eyebrow, he put the empty glass on the table and leaned forward.“As much as I love your apartment, I must say that the bed in the guest room is killing me… Have mercy on me, will you?”“Mercy?”“Let me sleep with you… In your bed…” he added. The silence stretched between them.“I promise I won’t touch you… unless you beg me to…”“What do you have to offer
But they didn’t talk… Not about the massage or their sexual encounter. He was acting like it didn’t even happen. Like it had been just a dream… Maybe he was waiting for her to bring the subject up? And he wasn’t talking about marriage, which was also strange. Theo was a charming companion at the breakfast table and a supportive father-to-be at the doctor’s office. And without insisting too much, he became the perfect escort to social events. Like that evening. In the last two weeks, Theo respected her boundaries and her space. But he was there when she needed him. The man was determined to prove her wrong. He wasn’t leaving, Dea realized. He really was there to stay. Dea tensed as his hands caressed her bare arms while he removed her coat. She flicked her gaze at him, noting how sophisticated and sexy he appeared in his dark suit and tie. At first, she thought it was simply a battle of wills but now that she had put all the p
“My sweet Dea, what a fool I was,” Theo whispered as his lips moved down her neck, kissing, touching, loving her as she whimpered with the lust she couldn’t, wouldn’t even attempt to deny anymore.“Why, my love?” Her neck arched as flares of sensation began to travel from each point that his lips touched, his tongue licked, and his strong teeth raked. With the tips of his fingers, Theo caressed the curve of her breast, refusing to touch her straining nipple as he continued that slow, oh-so-slow, downward course.“Because I’ve wasted so much time… denying what you give me with your love.” His head lifted. Dea looked into his dark eyes. They were an endless sea of emotion as Dea felt her heart swelling, accepting, and giving in return.“It wasn’t the right time… You weren’t ready, my darling,” she whispered, her hand touching his chest, his heart. She could feel it racing beneath her palm, feel the adrenaline and the hunger that raged in the fiery stiff wid
‘Is this a joke?! What the hell is she doing here?’ Tension gripped Theo Kralidis as he stood alone on the balcony that jutted out from his cousin’s luxurious mansion. He completely ignored the iconic view of the Parthenon against the blue September sky as he scowled at the dark-haired woman at the garden party below. ‘Aundrea Etheridge… The American beauty everybody called Dea…’ His worst nightmare… His darkest, most painful secret… His stepsister… Burning hot fury ate away at him as he watched Dea glide through the crowd of Athens’s high society, talking to people like nothing ever happened… Like she was as innocent as an angel and sweet as a baby. But she wasn’t… She was a conniving little bitch and her place was somewhere else, far away from this place and from this gathering. She was like a timebomb ready to explode and wipe away the most important business deal for the Kralidis Family. Theo gave her a look fro
‘God… Some things never change,’ Dea told herself. She flashed a friendly smile at one of the older Kralidis women. But, as expected, the old crow dressed in unrelieved black didn’t reciprocate as she drew the lovely heiress she just talked to earlier, away from the crowd, to the other side of the garden. Well… once a black sheep, always a black sheep. It was as if the Kralidis family believed she could corrupt the young woman with just her mere presence. So narrow-minded, so unbelievably quick to judge. Dea strolled along the garden, sipping from her water glass as if she didn’t feel all eyes on her. As if she didn’t feel the skin on her back burning. She was being paranoid, she knew that. Many of the relatives had been indifferent to her when she had lived in Athens. Yet no one seemed content that she had returned. And, somehow, she knew the reason of their reaction… She sensed a strange undercurrent that hung in the late summer breez
Dea swallowed the gasp of outrage and fought the compelling need to fling the contents of her glass into his face. Damn it! Her new and improved image was already slipping. She was never in control when she was around her stepbrother. She had to get away from Theo or risk making a scene. Making a scene wouldn’t help her gain forgiveness from her father.“Don’t confuse me with the women you associate with, Theo.” Dea turned on her heel.“Running away already, Aundrea?” She whipped around, wobbling to a standstill as she glared at him. Theo had sounded disinterested and bored while she was a jittery mass of nerves. It wasn’t fair.“I don’t run away. I never had and never will. That’s your signature move, stepbrother dear, not mine.” The muscle bunching in his cheek was the only indication that her words had hit the target.“You know how to create a disaster and leave without a trace while everyone else deals with the aftermath. Th