* * *
They flew to Greece the next day, and in the evening attended a party held at reputedly Athens’ most chic rooftop bar where the cosmopolitan clientele included several international celebrities. The paparazzi swarmed in the street outside the venue and there was a flurry of flashlights as Giannis Gekas and his English fiancée posed for the cameras.
From the rooftop bar the views of the sunset over the city were amazing. But Giannis only had eyes for Ava. She looked stunning in a scarlet cocktail dress that showed off her gorgeous curves, and he was impatient for the party to finish so that he could take her back to his penthouse apartment and reacquaint himself with her delectable body. Their sexual chemistry was hotter than anything he’d experienced with his previous mistresses.
He smiled to himself as he imagined Ava’s reaction if he was ever foolish enough to refer to her as his mistress. No doubt she would reply with a scathing comment designed to put him in his place. He enjoyed her fiery nature, and never more so than when they had sex and she became a wildcat with sharp claws. He bore the marks from where she had raked her fingernails down his back when they’d reached a climax together last night. Afterwards, she had reminded him of a contented kitten, warm and soft as she snuggled up to him and flicked her tongue over her lips like a satisfied cat after drinking a bowl of cream.
Giannis had intended to ease his arm from beneath her and move her across to the other side of the bed. But he’d felt reluctant to disturb her and he must have fallen asleep because when he’d next opened his eyes his head had been pillowed on Ava’s breasts, and he’d been so aroused that he ached. He had kissed her awake and ignored her protests that had quickly become moans of pleasure when he’d nudged her legs apart with his shoulders and pressed his mouth against her feminine core to feast on her sweetness.
With an effort Giannis dragged his mind from his erotic memories when he realised that he had not been listening to the conversation going on around him. The group of guests he was standing with were looking at him, clearly waiting for him to say something. He glanced at Ava for help.
‘I was just explaining that we haven’t set a date for our wedding yet,’ she said drily. ‘We are not in a rush.’
‘On the contrary, agápi mou, I am impatient to make you my wife as soon as possible.’ He slipped his arm around her waist and smiled with his customary effortless charm at the other guests. ‘I hope you will forgive me for selfishly wanting to have my beautiful bride-to-be to myself,’ he murmured before he led Ava away.
‘Why did you say that we will get married soon?’ she demanded while he escorted her out of the crowded bar. Once they were outside and walking to where he had parked the car, she pulled away from him. ‘There was no need to overdo the devoted fiancé act. All that staring into my eyes as if I was the only woman in the world was unnecessary.’
He grinned at her uptight expression. ‘I need to convince Stefanos Markou that our engagement is genuine and I am serious about settling down. The woman in the blue dress who we were talking to is a journalist with a popular gossip magazine. No doubt the next edition will include several pages devoted to discussing our imminent wedding.’
Ava bit her lip. ‘More deception,’ she muttered. ‘One lie always leads to another. I realise it’s just a game to you, but when our fake engagement ends I will face public humiliation as the woman who nearly married Giannis Gekas.’
‘It will cost my company in the region of one hundred million pounds to buy Markou’s fleet of ships. An investment of that size is hardly a game,’ Giannis told her curtly. ‘Once I’ve secured the deal with Stefanos I will give a press statement explaining that you broke off our engagement because you fell out of love with me.’
It wouldn’t be the first time it had happened, he brooded. His jaw clenched as he thought of Caroline. At least he’d discovered before he’d made an utter fool of himself that Caroline had been more in love with his money than with him.
Giannis sensed that Ava sent him a few curious glances during the journey back to his apartment block. He parked in the underground car park and when they rode the lift up to the top floor he could not take his eyes off her. She was a temptress in her scarlet dress and vertiginous heels and he had been in a state of semi-arousal all evening as he’d imagined her slender legs wrapped around his back.
His desire for her showed no sign of lessening—yet. But he had no doubt that it would fade and he’d grow bored of her. His mistresses never held his interest for long. Perhaps if he sought some sort of counselling, a psychologist would suggest that his guilt over his father’s death was the reason he avoided close relationships. But Giannis had no intention of allowing anyone access to his soul.
After ushering Ava into the penthouse, he crossed the huge open-plan living room and opened the doors leading to his private roof garden. ‘Would you like a drink?’ he asked her.
‘Just fruit juice, please.’
He headed for the kitchen, and returned to find her out on the terrace, standing by the pool. The water appeared black beneath the night sky and reflected the silver stars. ‘Is that how you keep in such great physical shape?’ she murmured, indicating the pool.
His heart lurched at her compliment. Theos, she made him feel like a teenager with all the uncertainty and confusion brought on by surging hormones, he acknowledged with savage self-derision. ‘I complete fifty lengths every morning. But I prefer to swim in the sea when I am at my house on Spetses.’
Ava sipped her fruit juice and glanced at the bottle of beer in his hand. ‘You don’t need to keep a clear head tonight?’ She obviously remembered the reason he had given her for why he hadn’t drunk champagne at the fashion show in Paris.
‘It’s non-alcoholic beer,’ he admitted.
‘Why are you afraid of not being in control?’
Rattled by her perception, his eyes narrowed. ‘I’ll ask you the same question.’
‘Touché.’ She smiled ruefully. ‘I don’t like surprises.’
‘Not even nice ones?’
‘I’ve never had a nice surprise.’ She looked at the city skyline. ‘The Acropolis looks wonderful lit up at night. Have you always lived in Athens?’
Giannis could not understand why he felt frustrated by her determination to turn the conversation away from herself. In his experience women were only too happy to talk about themselves, but Ava, he was beginning to realise, was not like any other woman.
He shrugged. ‘I grew up just along the coast at Faliron and I am proud to call myself an Athenian.’
‘Perhaps I could do some sightseeing while you are at work? I know you have arranged for us to attend various social functions in the evenings so that we are seen together, but you have a business to run during the day.’
‘I’ll show you around the city. One of the perks of owning my own company is that I can delegate.’ As Giannis spoke he wondered what the hell had got into him. He’d never delegated in his life and his work schedule was by his own admittance brutal. Driven by his need to succeed, he regularly worked fourteen-hour days and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d spent more than a couple of hours away from his computer or phone.
The more time he spent with Ava, the quicker his inexplicable fascination with her would lead to familiarity and, by definition, boredom, he assured himself. He put down his drink and walked towards her, noting with satisfaction how her eyes widened and her tongue flicked over her lips, issuing an unconscious invitation that he had every intention of accepting.
‘There is an even better view of the Acropolis from the bedroom,’ he said softly.
She hesitated for a few seconds and when she put her hand in his and let him lead her through the apartment to the master suite he was aware