What the Greek's Money Can't Buy

CHAPTER TEN


IT’S NOTHING. YOU’RE blowing things out of proportion.

Sakis repeated the words over and over as he pulled the handles of the rowing machine in his gym just after six o’clock. Right this moment he’d have loved to be doing the real thing but this wasn’t the time to jump in his car and drive to his rowing club, no matter how powerful the temptation.

He smothered the voice that suggested he was running away from the truth.

What truth?

He didn’t know what the text on Brianna’s phone meant. Sure, the easiest thing would’ve been to wake her up and demand an answer. Instead, he’d got up, returned the phone to her jacket pocket and high-tailed it to the gym.

He yanked on the row bars and welcomed the burn of pain between his shoulders and the sweat that poured off his skin. He tried to ignore the question hammering through his brain but the truth of his actions was as clear as the scowl he could see in his reflection in the gym’s mirrors.

Are you invested in this? When he’d blurted those words out last night, he’d been stunned by the need to hear her answer in the affirmative. Because in that moment he’d realised just how truly invested he was in having Brianna in his life and not just as his personal assistant. Even now, with suspicion warring with his new-found intentions to trust more and judge less, the thought of not having her around made a red haze cloud his senses.

You have three days to get me what I need...

Was it a professional request? Who would be making such a demand of her professionally?

If it was a personal one...

He emitted the deep growl that had been growing in his chest as jealousy spiked through his gut.

At that moment, Brianna walked into the gym and froze. In the mirror, their eyes meshed. The look on his face was fierce and unwelcoming—he knew that. He wasn’t surprised when her eyes widened and she hesitated.

‘I can come back later if I’m disturbing you.’

With one last, vicious yank on the row bar, he let it go, watched it clatter against the spinning wheel and stood and advanced towards her.

The sight of her in skin-clinging, midriff-baring Lycra made adrenaline and arousal spike higher. The thought of making another of his myriad sexual fantasies come true pounded through his blood and groin with a ferocity that made him grit his teeth. He barely managed to catch himself from lunging for her, and veered towards the row of treadmills.

‘Disturb me. I was in danger of letting my imagination get the better of me.’ He gave a smile he knew fell far short of the mark and busied himself with programming the treadmill next to his. When he was done, he waved her over.

‘Thirty minutes okay?’ he asked.

He caught the look of wariness on her face as she nodded and approached the machine.

About to set his own programme, he glanced over and was pretty sure he burst a blood vessel when she bent over to stretch.

‘Theos!’ His hiss brought her head up and she slowly straightened.

Her gaze travelled down his chest and dropped to the loose shorts that did nothing to hide the power of her effect of him. When her mouth dropped open, he let out a strained laugh. ‘Now you see the power you have over me.’

She stepped onto the treadmill and pressed start. ‘You don’t sound too happy about it.’

‘I like being in control, agapita. And you’re detonating mine with that tight body of yours.’

He watched the blush creep up from her neck to stain her cheeks. ‘It’s not exactly a walk in the park for me either, if that helps you?’

Sakis fought to reconcile the blushing, sexually innocent woman in front of him with one who could be capable of duplicity.

Don’t judge before you know the facts...

Brianna’s words flashed through his churning mind. With a deep breath, he started his own machine and began jogging alongside her.

One minute, one full minute, was how long he lasted before he gave in to the urge to glance over at her. The sight of her breasts bouncing beneath her clinging tank top made him groan. Only his ingrained discipline from his professional rowing days stopped him from losing his footing.

But he didn’t glance away. He stared his fill. And then he stared some more as his body moved to the spinning treadmill entirely independent of his frenzied thoughts.

She tried to ignore him. But after stumbling a fourth time, she used the handlebars to raise herself and planted her feet on the stationary part of the machine.

‘Sakis, please stop doing that. I can’t concentrate.’

He blew out a breath and slammed his hand on the stop button. ‘Then let’s both end this before one of us does themselves an injury.’ He reached over and did the same to her machine. ‘If you want a workout, I can think of a much better one.’

‘Sakis!’

‘I can’t think why I let you call me Mr Pantelides for the last eighteen months, when the sound of my name on your lips makes me harder than I’ve ever been in my life.’

The gurgling sound she made was somewhere between outrage and reproach as he swung her into his arms, but her arms curved around his neck all the same.

‘Should I even ask where you’re taking me?’

‘I’d love nothing better than to bend you over the handlebars of that treadmill, but I don’t have a condom down here, and I can’t risk one of my executives walking in on us. My steam room will have to suffice this time.’

He made short work of getting her into his shower to sluice off their sweat before he pushed her into the smoky interior of his private steam room.

He ruthlessly ignored the mocking voice that suggested he was hiding behind sex instead of confronting her about the text.

But, as he pulled her astride him and plunged deep inside her, Sakis knew he would have to confront her sooner rather than later. He refused to allow suspicion to eat away at him. He’d found a precious peace of mind in her arms this past couple of days and he refused to let distrust and shadows of the past erode it.

Her arms tightened round him as her climax gathered.

‘Oh God, Sakis. It feels so good,’ she sobbed against his neck.

His own control cracked wider. ‘Yes, agapita. It would be a shame if something came along and ruined it.’ His hand slid into her hair and brought her head up so he could look into her eyes. ‘Wouldn’t it?’ He pushed higher insider her, possessing her completely.

Her lips parted in a pre-climactic gasp as her muscles gripped him tight. ‘Yes.’

‘Good. Then let’s keep that from happening, yes?’

The touch of confusion that clouded her eyes was washed away a second later with the onset of ecstatic wonder that transformed her face from stunning to exquisitely beautiful.


He groaned deep as her convulsions triggered his own release, making him loosen his possessive hold on her. Her head fell back onto his shoulder and it was all he could do to hang on as he was plunged into the longest climax of his life.

He walked them back into the shower as spasms continued to seize her frame.

In silence, he washed her, then himself, all the while aware of the puzzled glances she sent his way.

They made it as far as his bedroom before she rounded on him.

‘Is this tense silent treatment part of your morning-after ritual or is there something going on here I should know about?’

He damned his suspicious nature and his inability to shake his gut’s warning. His gaze swung past the temptation of her wet, towel-clad body to the bedside table and he tensed further when he saw her phone.

She’d seen the message.

‘Sakis?’

He met her troubled blue gaze. ‘I start negotiations on the China oil deal this morning and they’re not the best customers to deal with at the best of times. In light of what’s happened, I want nothing to impede this deal.’

Her brow cleared. ‘Oh. Well, I don’t see anything that will hinder your negotiations.’

His chest lightened at the reassurance then immediately tightened at the thought that the message had been personal, from a man who viewed himself in a position to make demands from the woman Sakis had claimed as his lover. It struck home again just how little he really knew Brianna Moneypenny. Or was it Anna?

Sucking in a deep breath, he went to his drawer and pulled out a pair of boxers. ‘Are you sure? The last thing we need are skeletons popping out of closets right now. I think my company’s had enough of those to last a millennium.’

Her pause lasted a few seconds, but it felt like years to him. ‘I’m sure.’

He turned. ‘Good.’

When he saw her catch her lower lip between her teeth, his pulse spiked. Theos, how could he crave her again after the many times he’d taken her last night and the intense orgasm he’d experienced with her barely fifteen minutes ago? He mentally shook his head, turned away and carried on dressing. If he gave in to his need, they’d never leave this room.

He heard the towel slide from her body and his fingers clenched around his socks.

‘So...this is about the Chinese deal and has nothing to do with...with what’s happened between us?’

He shoved his leg into his trousers with more force than was necessary. ‘I made my feeling clear on that score, agapita. You haven’t forgotten already, have you?’

‘No, I haven’t.’

Was that a tremble in her voice? Every instinct screamed at him to ask her about the text.

Private or not, if Brianna was hiding something should he not confront her about it now rather than later?

Heartbeat accelerating wildly, he shrugged on his shirt and faced her.

‘Great. Then do you mind telling me what that text on your phone is all about?’

* * *

He knows!

It took every single ounce of control Brianna could summon not to let out the cry of anguish that ripped through her chest.

‘The text?’ She hated the breathless prevarication but she needed to buy herself more time.

‘Your phone rang in the middle of the night. Someone asked for Anna then hung up. Then the text came. Care to explain?’

No, no, no, she wasn’t ready. She’d woken up this morning and had lain in the bed knowing without a shadow of a doubt that she’d fallen for Sakis. And also that she needed to come clean and throw herself at his mercy. But she hadn’t planned to do it now. Not when Sakis had so much on his plate. She’d planned to type up her resignation then hand it to him with a confession about her past in the hope that he would choose forgiveness over condemnation for her lie about who she really was.

‘Brianna?’ Sakis’s voice was as cold as his expression.

Despair washed over her. ‘It’s a friend... He wants a favour from me.’

He frowned. ‘A favour. And he calls you at three in the morning? What sort of favour?’

‘Help with his...his work.’

His frown intensified. ‘So it wasn’t a personal call?’

That she could answer without flinching at the half-truth. ‘No.’

Her breath caught as he stalked to where she stood. The sight of him, standing so close with his shirt loose and his ridged chest within touchable distance, made heat spike through her.

‘He’s not from a competitor, is he? He’s not trying to poach you?’

‘He’s not trying to poach me, no.’

His hand tugged her chin up until her face was exposed to his scrutiny. Whatever he saw there must have satisfied him because after a minute he nodded. Tugging her to him, he grabbed the towel she barely held together and whisked it from her body. He sealed her mouth with his and then proceeded to explore her exposed body with demanding hands. Just when she thought she would expire from need, he set her free.

‘That’s good to know because otherwise I’d have hunted this man down and torn him limb to limb, as I promised. Now, go and get dressed. And wear one of those no-nonsense suits. It’ll kill me to imagine what’s underneath it but at least outwardly it’ll keep me from jumping you every time you walk into my office.’

A ragged gasp left her at the reprieve she’d been granted and the cowardly way she’d grasped it. In a way, it was a testament to just how pressured Sakis was that he hadn’t probed deeper.

Or it could be that he’s beginning to trust you?

Anguish made her feet slow as she collected her clothes from last night and went into her suite. She’d been granted a reprieve, yes, but had she rendered her eventual confession worthless by not admitting the truth now? Because surely, once she told Sakis just who’d texted her, he’d damn her for ever?

She loved him. Everything about Sakis made her heart beat faster and her soul ache with regret that they hadn’t met in another time...a time before she’d been forced to hide her past and unknowingly compromise her future.

Her phone buzzed as she stepped into the grey-and-black platform heels that matched her grey Versace suit.

She knew who it was before she pressed ‘answer’.

‘I need more time,’ she blurted before he’d finished speaking.

Silence. ‘You haven’t been found out, have you?’ Greg demanded.

Brianna sank down onto the hard seat of the dressing stool in her suite’s walk-in closet. ‘No, but you calling and texting me at three a.m. doesn’t help.’

‘If you haven’t been found out then what’s the problem?’ he fired back.

‘I just... There’s a lot of attention on me right now. I need to make sure I do things properly or this will end badly...for both of us.’ Her skin burned with each lie. And any minute she suspected the heavens to crack open and lightning to strike her down.

He gave an irritated sigh. ‘I have to go out of town unexpectedly. I could be a few days, maybe a week. You have until I get back to get me the information I need. If you don’t have it on my return, it’s game over.’ His tone vibrated with dark menace. ‘Word of warning—don’t test me, Anna.’

The name scoured across her senses, making her flinch. She was no longer Anna Simpson. Deciding to change her name had been a step in reinventing herself but it wasn’t until she’d seen herself through Sakis’s eyes that she’d felt truly reborn.

He’d called her amazing yesterday. And throughout the night he’d shown her a powerful ecstasy beyond the physical, made more wonderful because of her feelings for him.

The thought of living without him, of walking away, sent a poker-hot lance of pain through her heart. She was still silently mourning losing Sakis when she walked into the dining room.

The sight of the assorted platters of pancakes, waffles, chocolate and strawberry syrup and endless more condiments made tears prickle her eyes.

Sakis sauntered towards her, one eyebrow raised. ‘We made love long and hard last night, and not once did you cry. I’m trying very hard not to let my ego be dented by the fact that it’s the sight of pancakes for breakfast that makes you cry and not our lovemaking.’

‘I... It’s not... No one’s ever done anything like this for me,’ she finally blurted.

His expression morphed from teasing to compassionate in a heartbeat. ‘It’s the least of what you deserve, glikia mou.’ Cupping her face, he sealed his mouth over hers.

Tell him. Tell him now.

But how could she tell him about Greg without it all coming out wrong? And how could she confess her love without it sounding like a tool with which to beg his forgiveness?

She’d been gifted extra time with him. And she selfishly, desperately, wanted that time. Maybe she could use it to show him how much he meant to her.

Action, not words.

Clutching his nape, she deepened the kiss until he groaned and reluctantly pulled away.

‘For kisses like that, you can have pancakes every day. And, before you mention calories, I assure you the workout you’ll get in my bed will ensure calories are never an issue.’

He laughed at the flames creeping into her face, helped her into her seat and forked blueberry pancakes onto her plate.

Sunlight slanted through the windows on a bright London morning, throwing his stunning looks into sharp relief.


His grin as he watched her eat made her heart lift and tighten at the same time. When the look turned smouldering, her belly clenched hard with need.

His buzzing phone ripped through the sensual atmosphere. Sighing, he answered and let the world intrude. Taking the lift down—after a strategic pause, when he kissed her senseless and threatened to take her where she stood if she didn’t stop casting him glances from under her lashes—their day swung into full flow.

When at six o’clock he bellowed her name, she entered his office, tablet fired up and ready. His tense expression made her freeze.

‘We’ve tracked him down to Thailand.’

‘Captain Lowell?’

He nodded.

‘So he’s alive?’

‘As of yesterday, yes. Although the authorities think there may be someone else besides my security people after him.’ His face settled into grimmer lines.

It couldn’t be Greg...could it? Nervously, she licked her lips. ‘What do you need me to do?’ she asked.

‘Nothing for the moment. I’m waiting for the lawyers to apprise me of the full situation, then I’ll take it from there.’

‘What about the party you wanted me to organise for the crew? Do you want me to cancel it?’ She’d been liaising with event organisers all day for the company party Sakis intended to host in Greece.

‘No. The party goes ahead. The crew and the volunteers deserve it for the hard work they’ve put in. I’m not prepared to let one man derail the well-being of my other employees.’

‘What about Lowell’s wife? Are you going to tell her you’ve found him?’

A look of distress crossed his face and she knew he was remembering his own mother’s situation when the press and gossip-mongers had torn her life apart. ‘I don’t like keeping her in the dark, but I don’t want to cause her pain by revealing half-facts. I’ll contact her when we know the full details.’

She nodded and started to return to her desk. ‘I’ll carry on with arrangements to fly the crew to Greece, then.’

‘Wait,’ he commanded. He strode to where she stood and kissed her, quick and hard. ‘When this is all over, I’m taking you to my Swiss chalet. We’ll lock the door behind us and gorge on each other for a week. If one week proves unsatisfactory, we’ll take another, and another, until we’re too sated to move. Then and only then will we let the world back in. Agreed?’

Her heart skipped several beats. By the time this was over, she’d be gone. But she nodded anyway and hurried back to her desk.

Sinking into her chair, she clenched her shaking hands into fists and fought to stop the unrelenting waves of pain and despair that threatened to drown her.

Eventually, she managed to place a thin veil over her emotions, enough to function for the rest of the day.

The news that Lowell had been arrested and was refusing to cooperate threw the rest of the night into disarray. At one a.m., Sakis stopped pacing long enough to pull her up from the seat on the other side of the sofa where she was busy putting together the itinerary for the next day.

‘Go to bed, agapita.’

Unable to stop herself, she swayed towards his hard warmth. ‘Alone?’

His lips trailed over her cheek to the corner of her mouth. ‘I’ll join you as soon as I have the latest update from the lawyers.’

By the time he joined her an hour later, Brianna was almost delirious with need. As he took her on another sheet-burning journey of bliss, she knew without a doubt that, no matter where she went, her heart would always belong to Sakis Pantelides.