The Greek Tycoon's Wife (7 page)

The blank incredulity of his expression gradually metamorphosed into one of smouldering fury. ‘Have you
quite
finished?' he enquired with clipped hauteur.

‘Actually, no, I haven't,' Katie heard herself grit back belligerently, even though she'd run out of emotional steam.

As the expectant silence lengthened Nikos lifted a satirical eyebrow.

‘I didn't risk my life. You said I did,' she reminded him. ‘But I didn't,' she ended lamely. Though actually, now that she came to think about it, her actions looked a little different. This no doubt had something to do with the fact she was viewing it without the stimulation provided by gallons of adrenalin pumping through her veins.

‘I might have known you wouldn't like animals,' she heard herself grouch pettishly.
Why can't I keep my mouth shut while I'm still ahead?
she wondered in exasperation. What was it about this man that made her say stupid things? When he was around she seemed to be possessed by a need to prove she was even more selfish and superficial than he thought her.

‘I like animals—in fact I frequently prefer them to people, especially the crazy, stupid, female type of person.'

Katie, who was normally capable of giving as good as she got, was deeply embarrassed to feel her eyes suddenly fill with tears at this fairly mild—by his standards—insult.

She wasn't the only one to feel uncomfortable. It seemed that quite by accident she'd discovered another of Nikos's weak spots…he looked even more dismayed by her tears than she was.

He cleared his throat. ‘I didn't mean…' As he spoke he seemed to notice for the first time the hand he had extended towards her. For a split second he stared at it as if it didn't belong to him, an expression of shock on his dark, lean
features. Then his expression became as unrevealing as ever as he lowered it to his side. His chest lifted as he took a deep breath.

‘Take Katerina outside and wait for the fire brigade,' he instructed tersely as he turned to Sadie, who silently handed him a torch from her pocket. ‘Thank you.'

‘I don't need taking anywhere…' Katie's voice rose to a querulous squeak as her comments fell on deaf ears. ‘And you can't go back in there.'

‘Look on the bright side—if I don't come out you'll be able to marry Tom.'

Katie gave a cry of alarm as he turned and stepped back into her smoke-filled flat. If it hadn't been for Sadie's restraining grip on her arm she would have followed him.

‘Don't worry, he's not daft,' Sadie soothed. ‘He was only trying to wind you up.' Curiously she searched her friend's face. ‘He won't take any silly risks.'

This confidence from someone who had only just met the man seemed wildly misplaced to Katie. ‘I am not worried, well, no more than I would be about anyone else. Absolutely not at all,' she said half to herself. ‘I just can't believe he had the cheek to accuse me of risking my life. What's he trying to prove?'

‘Do you mind if we discuss this outside?' Sadie wondered nervously.

‘What? Yes, of course.' With one last look at the door of her flat, which Nikos had closed behind himself, Katie followed her friend down the stairs.

 

‘What did he mean when he said—?'

‘I thought you said you heard the fire brigade…' Katie interrupted, craning her head to look up the road for any sign of flashing lights.

‘I thought I did,' Sadie replied apologetically.

‘When that guy—?'

‘Nikos,' Katie supplied distractedly.

‘When Nikos said. Good grief…
Nikos
…?' You could almost hear the sound of Sadie's chin hitting her chest as the name clicked. ‘You mean he's the one you…'

‘I married, yes. I don't know how you can think about that when your house is on fire and it's all my fault. You should be screaming abuse at me.'

‘I will if it will make you feel better, but first tell me about that
incredible
man.'

‘There's nothing to tell.' Nikos was the one subject Katie wanted to avoid. Although the way things were going it didn't seem likely she would have much choice. Her choices were narrowing in other areas too. Her hopes of concealing the marriage from Tom now seemed hopelessly optimistic. She found that she was no longer thinking in terms of
if
, but
when
her sordid secret would be revealed.

‘He turned up tonight—apparently he and Tom went to university together.'

‘I don't believe it!' Sadie gasped, clearly startled by Katie's taut explanation. ‘What were the odds on that? That must have been a bit awkward for you.'

‘Ever so slightly,' Katie agreed drily.

‘Has he spilled the dirt to Tom?'

‘Not yet, but it's only a matter of time.' For the hundredth time in the past two minutes she glanced tensely over her shoulder towards the house. ‘Shouldn't he be out by now?'

‘It's only been a couple of minutes, Katie,' Sadie soothed. ‘You know, I don't know how much you paid for him, but if it had been common knowledge he was available on the open market I'm betting the price would have been higher,' she joked with a lascivious grin.

‘I did not buy him!' Katie denied hotly. ‘Well, not like that, it was a business arrangement, nothing more.'

Sadie shrugged pacifically. ‘If you say so. Are you sure you two haven't met since the wedding?'

‘I don't think I'd have forgotten.' No, an encounter with
Nikos Lakis was something that stayed in a person's memory for ever like…like…eating bad shellfish, she thought sourly.

‘Fair enough. It's just that you two don't talk or act like people who have as good as just met…'

Katie never had to respond to this thought-provoking observation because at that exact moment they both heard the unmistakable and very welcome shriek of a siren.

Hands folded against her chest, Katie began to jump up and down. ‘They're here!' she yelled, silent tears slipping silently down her face.

Both women watched with relief as the engine drew up outside the house, disgorging several capable-looking uniformed figures. The noise of their arrival had attracted the attention of several neighbours in the tree-lined avenue, who came outdoors to investigate the activity in the normally sedate neighbourhood.

‘Have I ever told you about my fireman fantasy?' Sadie caught the tail-end of Katie's incredulous expression and looked sheepish. ‘Well, you have Nikos—you can hardly begrudge me a fireman.'

‘He's not
my
Nikos,' Katie retorted.

‘If you say so, but be a sport, Katie, I'm trying to distract myself and that one—' she pointed ‘—is absolutely gorgeous…'

Katie was no longer listening; she was busy running towards the fireman who had inspired Sadie's lustful fantasy.

She caught his arm and tried to speak; considering the urgency of the occasion, this seemed a bad time to lose her voice. The fire-fighter, who was probably used to dealing with people gibbering with fear, exuded a calm aura that helped Katie finally get her words out.

‘Th-there's a man still in there,' she told him beckoning towards the window on the top floor.

‘Has he been in there long?'

Katie swallowed and pulled distractedly at her long hair.
The sooty smell that came from it made her nose wrinkle—no doubt the rest of her smelt just as terrible and as for how she looked…
Aah, how shallow am I, thinking about my lipstick when all this is going on?
‘I don't know…it seems like a long time.' Her lips trembled and she scrubbed at her dirty face. ‘It's my fault,' she confessed. ‘I think I left my iron on…I knew I'd forgotten something, and now I've killed N…Nikos and Alexander.'

‘There's more than one person?' he queried sharply.

‘Alexander is a cat,' Sadie explained for the second time. ‘Katie, he'll be fine. He didn't look like an easy man to kill to me.' Sadie smiled at the fire-fighter. ‘I'm the owner, officer.'

‘Hello. Is there any means of access other than the stairs?'

‘There is a fire escape around the side of the house.'

Katie, not placated, shrugged off the comforting arm that slid around her shoulders. ‘I'm a selfish cow, I sent him back in there for a…' Her lips began to tremble as she fearfully contemplated the consequences of her actions.

Before she could reveal to the fireman what Nikos had gone back in for there was an almighty deafening explosion as her bedroom window exploded. The fireman, his arms outstretched, shielded the two women as glass from above showered on the garden below.

‘It would be better, ladies, if you waited a little farther back until the ambulance arrives.'

Katie saw his mouth move, she heard the words, but she felt as though she were in a black hole; she felt numb.

Sadie nodded, getting a firmer grip on the box containing family photos and treasures that she had automatically snatched up before they'd left the house. She urged Katie backwards while the burly fire-fighter, shouting instructions to his crew, strode off purposefully.

Katie resisted and Sadie looked with concern as the slim figure who was standing gazing with horror-filled eyes at
the wicked tongues of orange flames shooting out of the window pushed her away.

‘Come on, Katie, we should get out of their way,' Sadie suggested gently. ‘Mrs James next door has put the kettle on.'

Katie, her arms wrapped tightly about herself, continued to rock back and forth. Under the layer of grime her skin was paper-white. ‘He's dead, isn't he? I mean, if he was in there he has to be, doesn't he? Nobody could survive that.'

Sadie shrugged helplessly. ‘I really don't know.' The muffled keening sound that suddenly emerged from Katie's bloodless lips before she choked it back made the hairs on the back of Sadie's neck stand on end.

The next sequence of events occurred with such bewildering speed that Sadie didn't have a chance to do anything but yell a warning to the fire-fighters as her friend, running as if all the fiends of hell were at her heels, suddenly began to pelt towards the door of the house.

Katie was never going to make it there, the two fire-fighters aiming to cut her off were closing fast, but before they had an opportunity to do so she tripped and fell. Though she landed on her knees it was the sharp pain that shot through her ankle as it turned awkwardly that made her cry out.

Just what I need—a sprained ankle, or, the way this day is going, it will probably be broken!

Impatiently brushing the tears of self-pity and impatience from her face, Katie squared her shoulders and, catching her soft lower lip between her teeth, concentrated her efforts on getting to her feet.

So far, so good, she thought as she tentatively took a cautious step; to her relief her ankle hurt but it took her weight. Wincing, she hobbled over to a convenient Japanese flowering cherry tree that was shedding its sweet-smelling blossoms onto the damp grass below and leaned against the trunk.

She gazed towards the house. The fire crew, seeing she was not seriously hurt and no longer capable of dashing headlong into a burning building, had turned their attention elsewhere.

Katie was pondering the compulsion that had been responsible for her stunt—
as if I could do something the fire-fighters couldn't
—when she finally recognised what the fire crew had turned their attention to. A tall figure was emerging from the smoke.

‘Thank God!'

She watched through a teary haze of relief as a couple of paramedics headed purposefully towards Nikos. The incredible noise of a fire scene seemed to recede to a low background buzz and the hurrying figures appeared to slow; only her heart continued to beat fast, so fast she could feel the vibration of each inhalation in her throat. She lifted a hand to her spinning head; each breath she took was an effort.

If I faint now he'll probably accuse me of faking it to steal his moment of triumph.
Only she didn't faint, the nervous tension found a more prosaic release.

‘I think I'm going to be sick,' she gulped to nobody in particular, before she quietly did just that—not that anyone noticed; they were all crowding around Nikos.

Trust him to turn out to be a hero…it was a part he was born to play, she thought, a wry but relieved smile on her face as she leaned back against the tree trunk.

T
HE
hero was clearly not comfortable with his moment of fame.

‘I am fine.' The cough that followed this impatient pronouncement did not add weight to his claim. Ignoring a recommendation to breathe deeply, Nikos pushed aside the oxygen mask that someone was trying to slip over his head. ‘I don't need that!'

‘You've inhaled a lot of smoke,' the paramedic explained patiently.

Nikos smiled thinly and resisted the impulse to point out to this well-meaning individual that as the one who'd done the inhaling he didn't need any reminders. After a few moments of fruitless arguing they reached a compromise, of sorts.

‘Though it is an unnecessary precaution I will come with you if you give me a few moments to speak to my wife.' Nikos gestured towards the solitary figure on the lawn and immediately regretted it because by no stretch of the imagination did she look in need of comfort. In fact she looked extraordinarily composed. ‘I think she's in shock,' he improvised.

Hopefully this would adequately explain away the fact that his
wife
had been able to contain her joy at his miraculous escape. His lips curled in a cynical smile, then he shrugged; at least she wasn't a hypocrite.

‘Well, just a few minutes…'

Everyone, Nikos reflected, was a sucker for a couple in love.

Did the professionals think it strange his wife had not been part of his reception committee? That she hadn't
dashed to throw her arms about his neck, tears of joy running down her cheeks? Nikos did not ponder the question for long; he rarely worried about how his actions were viewed by strangers. Though the potent image did remain in his mind, not because he was thinking about the impact on others—no, it was the impact on himself that occupied his thoughts.

Smooth arms wrapped around his neck, a soft, pliant body pressed to his, a silky head close to his heart. As he closed the distance between them anyone noticing would have wrongly assumed that the dark bands of colour highlighting the slashing curve of his high cheekbones were a product of the inferno he had just escaped—they'd have been wrong.

This scenario in his head was not a displeasing one, so the primitive response of his body was not, Nikos reasoned, to be wondered at. It was an explanation he was content with, but his reluctance to release this image was less easily rationalised.

Katie levered her back from the tree trunk and pushed a large hank of heavy hair from her face. ‘You found me, then…'

Nikos nodded. Her question made him realise that even though she had made no push to attract his attention, some inner radar had located her the moment he'd emerged from the building.

If you ignored the dark film of grime covering his skin and clothes he looked quite remarkably unscathed by his recent brush with death. In fact, he radiated an almost indecent amount of edgy vitality. It occurred to Katie that this was probably the most natural and relaxed she'd seen him. Near-death experiences obviously did for him what a box of chocolates, a soppy romance and a glass of wine did for her.

One corner of his mouth lifted as their eyes touched. Katie felt a flare of indignation—it clearly hadn't even oc
curred to him that she had been through hell and back during the last few minutes because of his ridiculous macho stunt.

She didn't know if she wanted to hit him or kiss him. Not
literally
kiss him, of course, because that would involve…her stomach took a sharp dive and the flow of her thoughts skidded to an abrupt halt. Her wide eyes were drawn by an invisible but irresistible force to the sensual curve of Nikos's mouth.

She swallowed convulsively, unable to prevent the image forming in her head of that sexy mouth claiming her own, parting her lips, his tongue invading her mouth, tasting…touching.

She shook her head and took a deep, tremulous breath. But it was too late, the chain reaction had already started.

Her eyelids fluttered as a rush of fluid warmth worked its way up swiftly from her shaking knees until her entire body was bathed in the golden glow. She held her breath and willed the flames consuming her to subside.

Katie couldn't deny she had wanted to experience that kiss for real; for several moments she had been consumed by the wanting. Even now her bones ached with the raw desire that had swept through her with the ruthless force of a forest fire.

She was guiltily aware that she had never felt that way anticipating Tom's kiss. She struggled to understand what had happened and more importantly why it was happening. It had to be her hormones; this was some sort of revenge attack because she'd neglected them.

Or maybe this wasn't just hormones—it was conceivable that she was actually suffering from some post-traumatic thing? Her flashbacks just happened to be of something that hadn't happened yet—
yet
! A grammatical error, nothing more, and she for one hated people who banged on about Freudian slips.

The more she considered it, the more she became con
vinced that the extraordinary things she
was
feeling were a result of the near-death thing. That sort of ‘we could have died but didn't, let's go to bed' thing—it apparently happened in war situations all of the time. Her eyes widened in alarm as she realized she'd jumped from kissing to bed!

That was an alarming leap by anyone's standards.

She realised that Nikos was waiting for her to say something.

‘You're not dead,' she heard herself blurt out stupidly. Stupid it might be, but it was a far safer option than begging him to kiss her.

‘Sorry. I'm a bit singed if that's any help.'

Katie took a deep offended breath. ‘Don't be facetious!'

Nikos inclined his head in meek acknowledgement of her censure. ‘It's true, look at my eyelashes.'

‘I don't want to look at them,' she snapped, turning her head away. In fact looking at any part of him was a bad idea, though unless she wanted to appear extremely odd she had no option. ‘This might be a joke to you,' she remonstrated severely, ‘but how do you think I'd have felt if I'd had your death on my conscience? Huh, I don't suppose you even thought of that, did you?' The hot, impassioned words tumbled out of her. ‘No, of course not, you were too busy being Action Man. Talk about grandstanding!' She gave a disgusted snort.

It was one of life's injustices, she reflected bitterly, that men got to do all the glamorous action things and were then patted on the back and told what marvellous chaps they were. While women, because they were delicate and frail creatures, got to wait at home, look after the babies and go prematurely grey.

If Tom ever wanted to do something rash and life-threatening she was going to go with him. It didn't seem likely her resolve would be put to the test; if anything like that came up Tom would most probably delegate someone else to take care of it—which was the sensible thing to do.
You wouldn't catch Tom rushing into burning buildings for a cat; he would have, quite correctly, left it to a properly qualified person.

Actually, when you thought about it, have-a-go heroes were a bit of a liability.

Katie was disturbed to discover Nikos was looking at her rather too intently. ‘You were scared for me?' he said, in the shocked manner of someone who had just made an extraordinary discovery.

She strove to calm her laboured breathing. ‘I was…concerned, as I would have been about anyone in the circumstances. Though it seems my fears were groundless. You seem to lead a charmed life,' she observed heavily.

Her resentful gaze had examined most aspects of his person and she could see no obvious signs of injury other than a bloody gash on his temple. Even if he had emerged unscathed she considered his composure after such an incident abnormal. What did it take to shake this man? Demanding to be kissed would most likely do it. It was almost worth putting the theory to the test…
almost
!

‘That has been said of me,' Nikos conceded with one of his charming, high-voltage grins. ‘I'm touched by your concern, but it is unnecessary, I was in no serious danger.'

Katie had a sudden flashback to that awful moment the window had blown out. The metallic taste of fear was once more strong in her mouth as she again experienced that creeping paralysis of dread.

‘Are you all right?'

‘What could be wrong?' She was beginning to think that maybe he was one of those peculiar men who indulged in extreme sports, the sort that got a kick from risking life and limb.

‘I managed to locate the fire escape,' he went on to explain, ‘thanks to Alexander who was sitting at the top of it crying. That is, I'm assuming this is Alexander.' He opened his shirt, revealing a good deal of bare chest in the process,
and presented her with a large, dirty cat who, at the prospect of being clutched to his loving owner's bosom, stopped purring like a steam engine and spat furiously before leaping into space and disappearing into some bushes.

Katie began to laugh a little hysterically. ‘Oh, that's Alexander, all right, he's one of a kind. I'm surprised he let you carry him.'

‘He was not too keen on the idea at first,' Nikos conceded drily. ‘But he came around to it in the end.' He rubbed his face and revealed in the process a long, nasty-looking scratch.

‘That's a first, Alexander is not a very…
pliable
animal. The vet did say he might be a little less aggressive if I had him done, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.' Nikos's penetrating eyes held an expression that made her wonder if he didn't have a hormone issue of his own? The introduction of this possibility made her lose the plot for a second. It was hard to concentrate when illicit thrills were fizzing through your body.

‘Done?'
Nikos echoed, looking puzzled.

Katie slowed her breathing and told herself that a man who had just escaped from the jaws of death was not likely to have sex on his mind. She mimed a snipping action with her fingers—an action guaranteed to pour cold water on the flame of the most persistent male lust—and Nikos gave a very predictable male gulp in response.

‘I don't want to be responsible for an explosion in the local cat population so I keep him in at night,' she told him matter-of-factly.

From Nikos's glazed expression she had the feeling this was more information than he wanted. Not that he looked
bored
, precisely,
more
… A little shudder snaked its way down her spine. Perhaps she was way off beam, maybe the thoughts of a sizzling kiss were still on her mind. But while they were standing here talking about cats she felt as though there was a silent conversation going on that had
nothing to do with words and everything to do with the way his dark eyes were eating her up.

‘Don't you think you should do up your shirt? You might catch cold,' she suggested huskily as her eyes returned for the umpteenth time to the expanse of hard-muscled torso. The olive-toned flesh looked silkily smooth and hard and was dusted across the widest part of his broad chest with a fine sprinkling of dark hair that thinned the nearer his waist it got. Her stomach gave a lazy somersault as she followed the directional arrows.

He laid a hand against his firmly muscled midriff. ‘Actually I feel quite warm.' For one awful moment Katie though he was going to invite her to feel for herself—an invitation she would
obviously
have rejected? ‘How about you?'

Katie dabbed her tongue to the tiny beads of sweat along her upper lip and drew a shaky sigh. This time there was no longer any doubt about the undertones in this innocent enquiry. If she'd felt more herself and less like a lustful stranger Katie would have confronted him about his inappropriate flirting…
flirting
, with its light, frivolous overtones, was actually far too light a term for the erotic verbal games he played.

‘I'm fine,' she returned, throwing him a look that dared him to contradict her. ‘I'm really sorry about your face.'
Really sorry that it's so damned beautiful,
she thought weakly.

‘I'll survive.' He suddenly reached across and pulled a piece of blossom from her hair.

Like a hunted deer being stalked by a wolf, Katie backed up into the tree. Her heart was beating like a war drum as he placed a hand on the smooth trunk above her head. If he leaned any closer their bodies would be touching…the crushing pressure reached the point where her shallow, painful breaths were clearly audible.

‘You weren't hurt or anything?' It didn't really matter
what she said, she just had to speak, not only to demonstrate that he hadn't disturbed or rattled her, but to banish the erotic images from her head.

It did neither; her weak, wispy voice sounded as though it came from a great distance away. As for being undisturbed, she was clearly insane! It was taking literally all of her will-power to prevent herself turning her cheek into the palm that remained close to her face.

‘Mr Lakis, I really must insist that you come with us now. You need to be checked over. Your wife too.' The paramedic turned to Katie, who tried to gather her wits. ‘I understand from your friend that you too were inside the building earlier.'

It took Katie several seconds to register what he was saying and who he was saying it to. ‘Oh, yes, but I'm fine.'
Wife
, he had definitely said
wife
. Her alarmed blue eyes flew accusingly to Nikos's face; he returned an insouciant smile. ‘I'm perfectly fine,' she gritted.

The sexual tension might have dissipated, but she sensed it was still there, waiting beneath the surface to bubble up given the right conditions… Katie resolved never to permit that to happen.

Dark eyes gleaming with mockery, Nikos continued to smile down into her wrathful features. ‘Let's allow the doctors to decide that, shall we,
yineka mou
?'