His father’s smile widened. ‘You should congratulate yourself, Chantal,’ he said cheerfully, reaching for another piece of fruit. ‘You’ve achieved what other women have only dreamed of achieving. You’ve distracted my son from the share price. This is the first meal I’ve shared with him when he hasn’t bored me to death on the subject of the money markets. In fact, he hasn’t noticed me since he sat down at the table. Clearly he has something far more absorbing on his mind.’
Wishing he’d encouraged his father to leave them alone, Angelos ignored the growing sexual hunger inside him and instead applied cold, hard logic to the situation. What would he normally be doing after a night of incredible sex?
The answer was that he would be working, having left the woman in his life to occupy herself in whatever way she found most amusing. In his experience, that usually involved shops.
And that, of course, was exactly what he should do in this case. Send her shopping. It would remove the distraction caused by having her around, enable him to get some work done, and it would please her. And he wanted to please her.
Satisfied with that solution, Angelos lounged in his chair, a faint smile touching his sensuous mouth as he anticipated being on the receiving end of her gratitude that coming night.
‘Contrary to my father’s expectations, I do have to work today,’ he said smoothly. ‘You’re welcome to occupy yourself around the villa, or Jannis can take you by boat to the mainland. We keep a car there, so if you fancy a trip of some sort. Shopping, perhaps?’ He waited for her face to brighten with the appropriate display of enthusiasm, but she merely stared at him.
‘Shopping for what? I don’t need anything.’
‘Then feel free to buy something you don’t need,’ Angelos drawled, extremely amused by her naïve response. He decided that he liked her more and more. She was original, and entirely different from the women he usually dated. ‘The female desire to shop usually stems more from want than need.’
‘There’s nothing I want, either.’
Never before having found himself in the position of having to encourage a female to spend money, Angelos was momentarily at a loss as to how to respond. Then it occurred to him that she might be assuming that he was expecting her to pay for herself. ‘I’m offering you my credit card, agape mou.’
Her narrow shoulders tensed. ‘I don’t want your credit card. I don’t want anything from you.’
His father laughed with delight. ‘A woman who doesn’t want anything from you, Angelos. Take my advice and hold onto her.’
Angelos frowned. Was she playing a game? Was this all to do with his remark about gold-diggers? Was she trying to impress him? ‘If you change you mind just speak to Jannis,’ he said smoothly. ‘He can take you anywhere you want to go.’ But he was starting to wonder whether that should be the bedroom. If it weren’t for the numerous business calls that were demanding his attention, he would drag her there right now, without even giving her time for breakfast.
Early night, he promised himself, his body tightening as he remembered how responsive she’d been the night before. ‘Coffee?’
‘Please.’ She reached forward and lifted the pot, not waiting for Maria to serve her. Then she smiled at his father. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘Like a spring lamb. After breakfast I am starting some exercises with the physiotherapist.’ He glanced at Angelos. ‘You chose her. Is she better-looking than the nurses?’
‘She’s a grandmother,’ Angelos said dryly as he lifted an orange from the bowl. ‘And the purpose of her visit is to assist in your recovery, not liven up your love life.’
‘I have no problems with a mature woman, but is she thin?’
Intercepting Chantal’s surprised look, Angelos smiled. ‘My father is very wary of thin women.’ Deftly he peeled the orange and placed the segments on her plate. ‘Try this. It’s straight from the tree and absolutely delicious.’
His father waved a finger. ‘It isn’t natural for a woman to be thin. A thin woman—’
‘—has her priorities all wrong,’ Angelos finished, watching transfixed as Chantal licked her fingers of the last of the juice. Her lips were soft and pink, and as they closed round her fingers he felt the immediate and predictable response of his body. ‘My father thinks a woman should enjoy her food.’
‘When it tastes as good as this, it would be hard not to.’ She reached for another segment of orange and then met his gaze. Her hand stilled.
Aware of the effect he’d had on her, Angelos smiled.
The anticipation was burning him up inside and clearly she felt the same way.
Driven by the demands of his libido, he was tempted once again to ignore the mounting pressures of his business—but then he reminded himself that the wait would be good for both of them. It would make the conclusion all the more satisfying.
By the time the sun set, both of them would be so desperate that the night ahead would prove to be doubly satisfying.
It was the perfect solution.
Why hadn’t she thought of it immediately he’d suggested that she might like to go shopping?
As the boat sped across the bay, Chantal kept a close eye on the coastline.
When they arrived at the harbour, she leaned forward and spoke to Jannis. ‘This is perfect. Can we stop here?’
He moored the boat. ‘There are no expensive shops here. I will drive you to Athens.’
‘I don’t want expensive shops.’ She stepped out of the boat and scanned the restaurants that were strung along the beach. ‘This will do fine.’
‘You wish to spend half an hour here?’
‘No, I want to spend the day here.’ Grabbing her bag, she smiled at him. ‘Thank you so much for the lift. Is there a water taxi or anything that would take me back to the island?’
Jannis looked startled. ‘No taxi—’ He cleared his throat. ‘If you give me a time, I would be honoured to collect you.’
Chantal wrinkled her nose and thought for a moment. She didn’t really want him to collect her, but what alternative did she have? ‘All right. If you’re sure. Shall we say five o’clock?’
That should give her plenty of time to do what needed to be done.
Never had Angelos found so little in his working day to interest him.
After just one phone call he found himself staring at the door of his office, wondering what Chantal was doing.
Was she lying in the sun? Swimming?
The memory of her body outlined by a tight swimming costume sent the heat surging through his body and he ran a hand over the back of his neck, struggling against the impulse to go outside and check that she had everything she needed.
Concentration eluded him, and by the time Maria came to tell him that lunch was served on the terrace he’d already decided to take the rest of the day off and take Chantal back to bed. So it came as a shock to discover that she wasn’t there.
‘Jannis took her in the boat to the mainland,’ Maria told him as she placed several dishes on the table. ‘He’s picking her up at five o’clock.’
She was planning to be out all day?
Angelos’s expression didn’t alter. So much for her protests about not wanting or needing anything.
Obviously that had all been for his benefit, he thought cynically as he picked an olive out of a bowl and silently examined its dark, glossy skin. As soon as he was out of the way she’d vanished on a shopping trip.
Which