For Love or Money Bundle (Harlequin Presents) Page 9

  She bit her lip. ‘That’s ridiculous.’

  ‘You should have thought of that before you sold yourself.’

  She gave him an incredulous look. ‘You want me wander round your house in my underwear?’

  ‘If I tell you to.’ His gaze was mocking. ‘I pay enough for you. I might as well see what I’m buying.’

  She turned her head so he wouldn’t see the tears that stung her eyes. He made her feel so cheap. ‘Fine.’ Pulling herself together, she threw him a tight smile. ‘I’ll wear my jeans when you’re not here, which is most of the time, fortunately. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to eat my lunch.’

  Before she could guess his intention, he curved a lean brown hand around the strip of flesh exposed by her top and hauled her against him.

  Trapped by the expression in his eyes, her heart began to hammer against her chest and her head swam alarmingly.

  He lifted lean bronzed hands and cupped her face, forcing her to look at him. ‘Are you pregnant?’

  The question threw her and she gazed up at him in total shock. ‘No.’

  ‘Good.’ He gave a devilish smile and scooped her into his arms. ‘And you know what they say—if at first you don’t succeed—’

  ‘What are you doing?’ She started to wriggle out of his arms but then his mouth fastened on hers in the most erotic kiss imaginable and, like a starving man finally facing the prospect of a meal, she sobbed with relief and fell into that kiss.

  His tongue delved into her mouth in an explicit gesture of masculine intent that sent her pulse racing and her head spinning. Her arms slid round his strong neck, her fingers tangled with his silky dark hair and she wriggled in his arms just desperate for more.

  Mouths locked, they ravaged each other, biting, licking, exchanging gasps and groans, stoking the heat between them to almost intolerable levels.

  His mouth still fastened to hers, he lowered her back to the ground and thrust her back against the wall, every inch of his powerful body hard against hers.

  Alesia sucked in some much-needed air, her stomach tumbling frantically as she felt the heavy throb of his arousal against her.

  A sound in the corridor outside made them both freeze.

  ‘Theos mou, what are we doing?’ He glanced around him in naked disbelief. ‘This is my kitchen, a room I have only visited a few times in my whole life.’

  She closed her eyes in embarrassment. ‘Someone could have walked in—’

  ‘No chance. If they had I would have fired them,’ Sebastien announced raggedly, closing long fingers around her wrist and virtually dragging her out of the room. ‘I value my privacy above everything else and my staff are fully aware of that fact.’

  Hoping the staff in question were nowhere nearby to witness her surrender to caveman tactics, Alesia struggled to keep up with his long stride. ‘Where are we going?’

  ‘Somewhere I will not have to stare at pots and pans when I have finished with you,’ he said silkily, striding towards the stairs so rapidly that she virtually had to run to keep up with him.

  ‘Sebastien—’

  Once in the bedroom he kicked the door shut behind them, lifted her up and deposited her in the middle of his bed.

  She’d promised herself that if he ever came near her again she’d slap his arrogant face and walk in the opposite direction. So why was it that she couldn’t move?

  She watched in hypnotized fascination as he lifted a lean brown hand and removed his tie with a few skilled flicks of those clever fingers. His eyes never leaving hers, he undid the buttons on his shirt and yanked it off, revealing a bronzed muscular chest covered in curling dark hairs.

  ‘Time to lose the jeans,’ he suggested helpfully, his shimmering dark gaze fastened on her flushed face as he dispensed with the rest of his clothes with single-minded purpose. ‘Do it yourself, or I’ll do it for you.’

  Alesia lay frozen, helpless to look away from his fabulous body. No wonder he was totally unselfconscious about parading around naked, she thought numbly. He was as near perfect as a man could get and just looking at him made her mouth dry.

  Without the outward trappings of sophistication he was revealed in all his masculine glory.

  Desire heated and coiled low in her pelvis and her breathing quickened in anticipation.

  Lithe and athletic, he came down on the bed next to her, one arm sliding under her and stripping off her clothes in a series of deft, decisive moves.

  ‘That’s how I prefer you, pethi mou,’ he growled, his heated gaze sliding down her naked, trembling length in blatant sexual appraisal.

  Alesia squirmed with anticipation and forgot her resolve not to let him touch her again. Every part of her burned for him and the worst thing was that he knew it. He gave a low, satisfied laugh and teased the tip of one breast with slow flicks of his tongue.

  She gasped and arched towards him and he answered her unspoken plea for more by sliding his hand downwards, his strong fingers finding her slick warmth.

  He gave a groan of acknowledgement. ‘Waiting two weeks clearly has its benefits,’ he said hoarsely. ‘It’s amazingly gratifying to have a wife who is so willing.’

  The barely veiled insult went straight over her head and, with a shocking degree of masculine purpose, Sebastien raised her hips and thrust into her hard.

  ‘Is this what you want?’ He shifted her position and drove deeper still and Alesia let out a thickened moan, swamped by an almost intolerable sexual excitement.

  Her body exploded into orgasm and Sebastien brought his mouth down on hers and kissed her hard, smothering her sobs with the pressure of his mouth and stealing her breath with the intimate lick of his tongue.

  He thrust into her with rhythmic force, his powerful body shuddering over hers as he reached his own completion. Finally he dragged his mouth from hers and inhaled unsteadily.

  Stormy black eyes clashed with hers and then he rolled on to his side and gathered her against him, curving her slim, trembling body against his powerful frame.

  ‘That was simply amazing,’ he said huskily, sliding a leisurely hand down her back and between her legs, ‘if a little quick. So now we’ll do it again. Slowly.’

  Still trembling from the force of her own climax, she gave a gasp of shock which turned to a moan of disbelief and longing as his skilled fingers slid into her already hotly excited body. He stroked and teased her in the most intimate way possible and then rolled her on to her stomach with the supreme confidence of a man with a single purpose in mind.

  Battling with the realization that he intended to do it again and that she had no intention of stopping him, Alesia buried her burning face in the pillow and gave a moan of denial as he lifted her on to her knees and positioned himself behind her.

  She opened her mouth on a shocked gasp, intending to protest that he couldn’t—they couldn’t—and then felt the silken pressure of his masculine arousal against her most intimate place. Unconsciously she moved her hips in feminine invitation and heard him mutter something in Greek before his strong hands grasped her writhing hips and anchored her for his powerful thrust.

  Alesia went up in flames. Never in her whole life had she ever imagined a sensation so indescribably, unbelievably, wickedly good. Still sensitized from her first climax, her body started to contract immediately and she heard him utter a shocked exclamation as she exploded into orgasm within seconds of his penetration.

  No longer in control of any part of herself, Alesia cried out and sobbed, begged and moaned, so totally uninhibited and driven by passion that her whole body was a quivering mass of sensation.

  She felt the unrestrained power of driving masculine thrusts, heard his hoarse exclamation of disbelief and then lost touch with reality as his own pulsing release sent her over the edge into ecstasy yet again.

  For a moment they were both held suspended in a place of such exquisite excitement that reality no longer existed for either of them. And then finally the wildness subsided, leaving them both shuddering
in the aftermath of an unbelievable experience.

  Eventually Sebastien moved, but only to roll both of them back on to the bed with a very male groan of undiluted sexual satisfaction.

  Alesia lay with her eyes closed, shell-shocked and totally exhausted. She couldn’t believe that she could have behaved in such a way. Couldn’t believe she was capable of being so shameless and abandoned. And she couldn’t believe that it had been even better than last time. This time she’d known what he was capable of doing to her, what she was capable of feeling, and that knowledge had heightened her excitement to intolerable levels.

  ‘Well, that was definitely an improvement on an afternoon of meetings,’ he drawled, his eyes still closed as he lay on his back, one bronzed arm resting across his face, the other holding her firmly against him. ‘Had I known how hot you were when I signed those papers I wouldn’t have hesitated. You are worth every penny of the money you charge.’

  Plunged back into the stark reality of her life by his harsh words, Alesia kept her eyes tightly shut, wishing that he’d stayed in the meetings. At least then she wouldn’t have had to cope with the knowledge that she’d once more abandoned herself totally to a man who clearly despised her.

  ‘I don’t know how you can make love to me when you so clearly hate me,’ she murmured, careful to keep the shake out of her voice as she struggled to forget all the things she’d begged him to do to her while she’d been under the influence of his superior seduction technique.

  ‘Because we don’t make love,’ he drawled flatly, his eyes hard as they locked with hers. ‘We have sex, Alesia. And, fortunately for you, having sex does not require emotional attachment. If it did then men would never use the services of prostitutes.’

  She gave a gasp of pain and curled her fingers into the sheets. ‘Are you comparing me to a prostitute?’

  ‘Not at all.’ He gave her a cool smile and sprang out of bed, lithe and energetic, as if he hadn’t just spent an entire afternoon engaged in extremely physical activity. ‘You’re much more expensive.’

  ‘I really, really hate you, do you know that?’ Wounded and humiliated, she curled up in the bed and pulled the sheet over her for protection, consumed by a self-loathing so powerful that the pain of it was almost physical. How could she respond to a man who clearly had absolutely no respect for her? ‘I don’t want you to come near me again.’

  It was said for her benefit as much as his but he merely smiled.

  ‘Yes, you do.’ He strolled back to the bed and leaned over, planting both arms on the mattress so that his face was only inches from hers. ‘Do you think I don’t know how much you ache for me? You may want to hate me but, fortunately for both of us, your hot little body is totally lacking in scruples and the moment I flick the switch you’re mine.’

  She lifted a hand to slap his face but he caught it with a warning glance.

  ‘Not nice, my little wife,’ he purred softly. ‘You made your bed and now you’re lying in it. Or rather, you’re lying in mine. On your front, on your back, whichever way I choose to position you. And that’s where you’re going to stay.’

  Her eyes clouded with pain. ‘I want you to leave me alone—’

  ‘Not a chance.’ With a final lingering glance at her lush mouth, Sebastien straightened and picked up the phone by the bed, his eyes fixed on hers as he spoke in rapid Greek. Minutes later there was a discreet tap on the door and he answered it and came back to bed carrying a tray. ‘Sit up. You need to eat or you’ll collapse on me later.’

  She stayed stubbornly under the sheet. ‘I’m not hungry.’

  ‘We’ve just had sex without stopping for six hours,’ he said in a conversational tone. ‘You didn’t eat that lunch and you’re going to miss dinner. I don’t want you fainting on me in the nightclub.’

  Six hours? She stared at him in mute astonishment and then glanced at the darkened windows. The knowledge that she’d been so sexually transported that she’d lost all track of time made her want to sink deeper in the bed. It took her a moment to register the rest of his statement.

  ‘Nightclub?’ Her voice shook. ‘What nightclub—?’

  ‘The one I’m taking you to this evening,’ he said smoothly. ‘It is a new business venture of a very good friend of mine. Athens society will be deciding whether it is the “in” place to be seen.’

  And doubtless if Sebastien Fiorukis were there then it would be considered the ‘in’ place to be seen, she thought helplessly. He was a man who set trends, a man who others followed.

  She clutched the sheet. ‘I don’t feel like going out.’

  ‘Your feelings on the matter are completely irrelevant,’ he informed her in a bored tone. ‘I wish to make an appearance with my new wife.’

  ‘I’m not getting dressed.’

  He didn’t hesitate. ‘Then I take you naked,’ he promised softly, his dark eyes glittering dangerously as he surveyed her. ‘It’s your decision, pethi mou. You’re my wife and part of your role is to entertain.’

  ‘I thought I just did,’ she said tartly and he gave an appreciative smile.

  ‘That sort of entertainment is for me alone, agape mou,’ he drawled lazily. ‘What I had in mind was something more formal. I am meeting some very important guests. I need you to charm them.’

  Her jaw lifted stubbornly and she tried a different tack. ‘I don’t have a single thing to wear—’

  He gave the sigh of a male vastly experienced in the challenges presented by female attire. ‘On the day of our wedding two weeks ago I furnished you with an indecent sum of money to add to your already indecent fortune,’ he reminded her in a silky tone. ‘Doubtless you have spent the last two entire weeks shopping. Pick something suitable and wear it.’

  She swallowed painfully. What was she supposed to say? That she hadn’t been near a shop in the two weeks since their wedding?

  ‘I—I haven’t bought anything—’

  His eyes narrowed and his mouth tightened. ‘Every single penny of the money I gave you has gone from your account,’ he said softly. ‘You withdrew the whole lot, my hot, sexy wife, so don’t tell me that you haven’t been spending because I won’t believe you.’

  Panic slithered over her bones as she realized that he was obviously tracking her spending. How could she have been so naïve as to think he wouldn’t know? Did he know where the money had gone? No, or he would have said something.

  ‘I—I bought different things,’ she hedged, sitting upright and grabbing at the sheet before it slid to her waist.

  With a disbelieving glance in her direction, he prowled into the enormous dressing room that adjoined their bedroom.

  Alesia closed her eyes and waited in a state of unbelievable tension for the inevitable explosion.

  There was a long, pulsing silence and then he strolled back to the bedroom and picked up the phone again, barking out a set of commands in rapid Greek.

  Resolving to learn Greek as soon as possible, Alesia discovered that she was still holding her breath and released it suddenly.

  He must have seen that her wardrobes were totally empty and yet he hadn’t said a word.

  What was going on?

  ‘Use the shower,’ he ordered, lifting a bottle of champagne out of an ice bucket and handing it to her. ‘By the time you’ve finished, the clothes will have arrived.’

  ‘What clothes?’

  ‘The clothes I have just ordered for you,’ he said with all the casual assurance of someone with a bottomless bank account. She looked at him nervously. Suddenly he seemed very intimidating.

  What was she going to say to him when he finally demanded answers on how she’d spent the money?

  Her mind in overdrive, searching for plausible excuses, she stumbled into the luxurious bathroom and stood under the revitalizing spray of the shower. Suddenly she had a new awareness of her body and, after five minutes of searing-hot water and several applications of various luxurious shower foams, she realized that nothing was going to wash away the memory o
f Sebastien’s own heady brand of lovemaking.

  Filled with a self-loathing that all the water in the world couldn’t quench, Alesia turned off the shower, dried herself quickly and wrapped herself in a large fluffy towel that virtually covered her from neck to toe.

  Suitably concealed, she lifted her chin and strolled back into the bedroom with as much aloof dignity as she could muster.

  Immediately her eyes were drawn to a rail packed with clothes and she stared at the rail and then back at him in amazement. ‘Where did these come from? You didn’t have time to go to a shop—’

  ‘If you’re rich then the shop comes to you,’ he informed her smoothly, ‘but, as the pampered granddaughter of Dimitrios Philipos, I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that.’

  She swallowed, her eyes still on the rail.

  Stores brought the clothes to him?

  Noticing a selection of expensive cosmetics laid out on a nearby table, she blinked in amazement. It seemed that nothing had been left to chance.

  She strolled over to the rail, trying to look as though this sort of thing happened to her every day. She’d never had the opportunity to even look at clothes of this quality and style before, let alone wear them. In awe she fingered a silk skirt so short that it was almost indecent.

  ‘Good choice,’ he said cynically from immediately behind her. ‘That skirt has “slut” written all over it, and seeing as that’s what you are you might as well advertise the fact.’

  She turned on him, eyes flashing with hurt, her blonde hair tumbling over her shoulders. ‘And if I’m a slut, what does that make you?’

  ‘Sexually satisfied,’ he mocked, removing her towel with a single, purposeful jerk of his bronzed hand.

  She gave a gasp of shock and grabbed at the towel but he held it out of reach, his eyes slightly narrowed as they swept over her naked body.

  ‘You really do have the most amazing body,’ he murmured, skimming a hand over one full breast. Immediately Alesia’s nipples peaked and he gave a low laugh. ‘And you really, really want me, don’t you? If we weren’t pushed for time I’d take you straight back to bed and try yet another position.’