The Greek's Stolen Bride (4 page)

"Of a kind."

She shook her head slowly. "That can't be the whole reason."

He smiled. "Suffice it to say, then, it would amuse me to annoy your father."

"Amuse you? You marry to amuse?"

"No, to annoy."

"Why do you want to annoy my father?"

"I don't like this little game he's playing. Some of the young men he's ruined would have had promising careers."

She raised her eyebrows. "Why don't you employ them, then?"

"I have. Two. The others are weak and lazy."

She felt a ripple of surprised admiration. Theo was a man of decisive action. Yet marriage?

"You're still not telling me the real reason."

His eyes gleamed in admiration. "You really are formidable," he murmured. "That alone would be sufficient incentive for me to marry you."

"Your standards are considerably lower than mine," she snapped, and he just chuckled.

"How is it you have so much spirit, having been imprisoned on this island for so long?"

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Such conditions would try anyone."

"Perhaps I am stronger than you think."

"Indeed you are."

His lazy drawl of a voice slid around her senses, seductive as silk, but she would not be distracted. "What do you really have against my father?"

Theo lifted one powerful shoulder in a half-shrug, the movement enough for Ariana's gaze to be drawn inexorably downwards, to the golden ripple of muscle over bone, broad shoulders tapering to slim hips. "He's a competitor."

"That hardly seems reason enough. We're talking about marriage."

"What is marriage these days, but a slip of paper and a promise? Both easily dealt with."

Stung and strangely hurt, Ariana could not keep herself from replying, "it means more than that to me."

"Oh?" Theo arched an eyebrow. "It would have meant more than that, to be married to that pompous oaf, Paranoussis?"

"You know him?"

"I've seen enough of him to know I don't wish to further the acquaintance."

She swallowed. "I don't want to marry him but I would have honored my vows."

"And now you don't have to. You can honor your vows to me."

"And be done with them when it suits?" The thought of such a sham marriage made her feel almost as sick as the unhappy union she would have had with Dion. She wanted more for her life. "How long would we stay married?"

Theo's considering gaze swept over her, leaving a blush of awareness in its wake. "Six months."

Ariana shook her head. She still didn't understand
why
. It seemed so ridiculous, so much. So dangerous. "I just want my freedom," she whispered, hating that it came out as a plea.

"And so you shall have it."

"Isn't the answer to the Minotaur enough for you?"

His eyes flashed humor. "No."

"You don't ask for much, do you? Only my body and soul."

"Not your body," Theo reminded her softly. "But if you wish to change my terms..." He took a step closer to her and instinctively Ariana pressed against the wall. She was suddenly, achingly conscious of the dark room all around them, moonlight spilling in from the windows that overlooked the beach, their shutters open to the sea air. And Theo. She was incredibly aware of him, the heat coming off his lean, muscular body now so very close to hers. She breathed in the almond scent of his aftershave and felt almost dizzy with a sudden, fearful longing.

He stepped closer still, and touched the pad of his thumb to her mouth. Her lips parted instinctively, shamefully. "So innocent," he breathed. "Have you ever been kissed?" She didn't answer, which of course was answer enough. "And you were to be wasted on a man like Paranoussis."

Gently he ran his thumb along the outline of her lips and Ariana trembled. "Don't--"

"You cannot deny you're attracted to me."

"It doesn't matter."

His thumb dropped to her chin and he tilted it to meet his inquiring gaze. "Why not?"

"Because I will trust no man with my life." Taking a deep breath, she jerked her head from his gentle grasp and stepped towards the door. "You're right, Atrikes, I've never been kissed, not even by my fiancé. But I'm not innocent. Not by a long mark. I've seen far too much of the corruption and greed of men, and I will not be used again."

"In the business arrangement I am suggesting no one will be used. It's to our mutual benefit, Ariana."

He caressed the syllables of her name, not lewdly but knowingly. Lovingly. No, she was being ridiculous. Love had absolutely nothing to do with this discussion. She barely knew this man.

"Even so," she said, because her thoughts had become too scattered to manage more.

"You agree, then?"

"You have not even said how it's to be done. How you'll
allow
me to escape." She allowed her skepticism to drip from every word but it didn't faze Theo in the least. He simply laughed.

"No need to hide in the boat like some desperate stowaway. Simply be waiting by the front door."

She stared at him in disbelief. "Waiting by the door?"

"Yes."

"In full view--my father will suspect--"

"That does not concern me."

She shook her head slowly. "He will ruin you."

"Let him try."

She felt a shiver of unease, like a cold finger, creep along her spine. For a moment, his eyes narrowed, his lips compressed, Theo Atrikes looked like a most forbidding and formidable man. Gone was any lazy suggestion of humor, of lightness. In that moment, as the moonlight bathed him in silver, she knew him to be ruthless.

"How am I to trust that you will be capable?" she asked. "With no sort of plan?"

"I have a plan," Theo assured her. "And I promise you, I am most capable."

"But if it fails--"

"I never fail." He took a step towards her, his green eyes gleaming jade as he smiled down at her. "And I always keep my promises, Ariana. So know this. I will free from you this place." Before she could form a thought much less an answer, his hands curled around her shoulders and he drew her firmly to him, pressing his lips against hers for a mere moment.

As brief and chaste as it was, every sense she had blazed suddenly and painfully to life. He might as well have electrocuted her. Too late she jerked back.

"What was that--"

"A kiss, to seal a promise." He smiled, opened the door to his room to usher her out. "And at least now you have been kissed. Go quietly now. It would be most inconvenient if you were discovered."

She was halfway out the door before she realized, and whirled around. "I haven't told you how to disarm the Minotaur!"

"That doesn't matter," Theo said, and shut the door in her face.

CHAPTER FIVE

"Good morning, Mr. Atrikes."

Miles Leotokos waited at the bottom of the stairs when Theo came down with his bag in hand.

"Good morning," he said easily, although in truth he was both exhausted and hyped up with adrenalin. He hadn't more than an hour or two of sleep; after Ariana had left he'd spent the rest of the night considering the best way to get her out of this godforsaken place.

And also why he'd asked her to marry him. It had been a decision of a moment, a whim. No, not a whim, for that suggested a lightness of purpose that Theo had never felt when it came to the Leotokos family. No, marriage to Ariana Leotokos would be the dessert to a dish best eaten cold. Twenty years' cold.

Miles Leotokos had taken his father from him; it was only fair he steal his daughter in return. And as for the woman in question... Marriage would offer her instant security--and freedom in time. As he had promised, it would be an arrangement to their mutual benefit.

And it would be even more beneficial if she decided she wanted to consummate the marriage. Theo still remembered the warm press of her body against his, the softness of her parted lips against his own eager mouth. She desired him and she'd possessed enough strength of character to admit the fact. Perhaps it would not be such an onerous task to convince her to make the marriage a true one, if temporary.

A divorce was as easy to obtain as an annulment.

"You slept well?" Leotokos asked. He rubbed his hands together, clearly anticipating another victory this morning. Seven victims instead of six. The man, Theo thought, was as deadly and dangerous as the legendary Minotaur his virus was named after.

"Well enough," he replied, and followed Leotokos into the dining room. Ariana was already seated at the breakfast table, her dark hair plaited into a braid. She wore a modest sundress, and, Theo saw, sensible court shoes. Appropriate clothing for an escape without drawing unnecessary attention to herself. She glanced searchingly at him for one taut second before she return her gaze to her plate.

Smiling Theo helped himself from the dishes on the sideboard: eggs, cold meats, yogurt, and several different varieties of fresh fruit. A servant poured himself a cup of thick Greek coffee as he took a seat opposite Ariana.

"How did you sleep, Miss Leotokos?" he asked formally, and she lifted her gaze to stare at him, annoyance flashing in their silvery depths. She was so afraid of being suspected, Theo thought with a pang of bemusement. Didn't she realize
not
speaking would draw more attention? Or did Leotokos really expect his women to be completely silent?

"Fine, thank you."

"Will you marry on the island?" Theo asked as he dug into his eggs. "Or in Athens?"

She pressed her lips together, and her father hissed in annoyance. "Answer the man, Ariana."

"On the island."

"A beautiful place to wed," Theo remarked and her eyes flashed again, gunmetal gray.

"Indeed."

"And have you planned a honeymoon?"

"Ariana doesn't need a honeymoon," Leotokos intervened. "Dion cannot afford the time away from work, in any case."

"Shame." Theo smiled for her alone, letting his gaze linger on her deliberately. "Perhaps you will have another opportunity."

"Perhaps," Ariana agreed, and looked away.

They ate the rest of the meal in silence, and when Theo had taken his time over his coffee--he would operate on no one's timetable but his own--he pushed away from the table and stood up.

"And now I shall face the Minotaur."

Leotokos's eyes gleamed with feral malice as he rose as well. "You know the terms?"

"I have one hour."

"If you succeed, you will win a million euros and employment with Leotokos Enterprises."

"And if I fail?" Theo asked, daring the man to admit his nefarious scheme.

"Failure is its own punishment, is it not?" Leotokos replied with a shrug. "Everyone will know you have failed, and that brings its own consequences."

Was that how he explained the career implosions of the last six? Theo shook his head before he caught himself and smiled easily at the man he hated.

"Indeed. Then I hope I shall not fail."

"We shall see," Leotokos answered, and from the way his chest swelled Theo knew the man did not expect him to succeed. He really was impossibly arrogant, which was good news for him. It had made his own intentions all the easier to carry out.

"Lead the way," Theo replied, and followed Leotokos out of the dining room. He paused in the doorway to turn back to Ariana.

"Will we meet again do you think, Miss Leotokos?"

"Only to say goodbye," Ariana replied evenly, and Theo gave her a wink. He watched with satisfaction as her cheeks stained pink and then followed Leotokos to the study.

One hour. She had one hour to wait, for she did not think Theo would disarm the Minotaur without the knowledge she could have--
should
have--given him. Why had he not listened? Why had she not insisted?

The man was insufferably arrogant. Did he actually think he could best her father and his entire staff, and get her out of this place? Or had he been toying with her last night, and had no intention of allowing her to escape?

As for marriage...

She had put her very life in the hands of a man she neither trusted nor liked.

Liar
. No, it wasn't a lie; her physical attraction to Theo Atrikes was completely separate from her regard--or lack of it--for him as a human being. As a man.

Ariana finished her breakfast, discreetly wiping her damp palms on her napkin before rising from the table. "I think I shall go for a walk in the garden," she told one of the servants clearing the breakfast things, and as sedately as she could she headed outside.

She wound her way along the gravel paths of the villa's extensive gardens, the scent of hibiscus and bougainvillea heavy on the still air. Although it was only nine o'clock in the morning, the air was drowsy with heat.

Her heart pounded. Her palms dampened once more. She still had thirty minutes to wait before Theo's hour was up. Before he left--and would he take her with him?
How
?