Powerful Greek, Unworldly Wife

Millie watched him—this man she loved—wondering what was going through his mind. As if reading her thoughts, he turned. The ever-present chemistry flickered across the room, resurrecting a connection that had never died.

‘I don’t want a divorce. I want a wife. I want you. Come back to me,’ he said hoarsely, his eyes glittering dark in his handsome face. ‘Come back to me, and this time we’ll get it right.’

Millie felt her stomach drop.

‘You can’t be serious—’ Her barely audible whisper increased the tension in his powerful frame.

‘It’s still there,’ he growled. ‘What we shared. You can feel it. I can feel it. It hasn’t gone away. I doubt it’s ever going to go away.’

‘Leandro—’

Sarah Morgan trained as a nurse, and has since worked in a variety of health-related jobs. Married to a gorgeous businessman, who still makes her knees knock, she spends most of her time trying to keep up with their two little boys, but manages to sneak off occasionally to indulge her passion for writing romance. Sarah loves outdoor life and is an enthusiastic skier and walker. Whatever she is doing, her head is always full of new characters and she is addicted to happy endings.

Sarah also writes for Medical™ Romance

CHAPTER ONE

LEANDRO DEMETRIOS, billionaire banker and the subject of a million hopeful female fantasies, dragged the ‘A’ list Hollywood actress through the doorway of his exclusive London townhouse and slammed the door shut on the rain and the bank of waiting photographers.

The woman was laughing, her eyes wide with feminine appreciation. ‘Did you see their faces? You scared them half to death! I feel safer with you than I do with my bodyguards. And you have bigger muscles.’ She slid her hand up his arm, her manicured fingernails lingering on the solid curve of his biceps. ‘Why didn’t we just use the back entrance?’

‘Because I refuse to creep around my own house. And because you like to be seen.’

‘Well, we’ve certainly been seen.’ The fact evidently pleased her. ‘You’ll be all over the papers tomorrow for terrorising the paparazzi.’

Leandro frowned. ‘I only read the financial pages.’

‘And that’s the bit I don’t read,’ she sighed. ‘The only thing I know about money is how to spend it. You, on the other hand, know how to make it by the bucketload, and that makes you my type of guy. Now, stop looking all moody and dangerous and smile! I’m only in town for twenty-four hours and we need to make the most of the time.’ Her lashes lowered provocatively. ‘So, Leandro Demetrios, my very own sexy Greek billionaire. Finally we’re alone. What are we going to do with our evening?’

Leandro removed his jacket and threw it carelessly over the back of a chair. ‘If that’s a serious question, you can leave right now.’ His remark drew a gurgle of delighted laughter from the woman clinging to his arm.

‘No one else dares to speak to me the way you do. It’s one of the things I love most about you. You’re not starstruck and that’s so refreshing for someone like me.’ The tip of her tongue traced the curve of her glossy lips. ‘If I told you I was going to kiss you goodnight and go back to my hotel, what would you do?’

‘Dump you.’ Leandro’s bow-tie landed on top of the jacket. ‘But we both know that isn’t going to happen. You want what I want, so stop playing games and get up those stairs. My bedroom is on the first floor. Last door on the left.’

‘So-o macho.’ Laughing, she smouldered in his direction. ‘According to a poll just last week, you’re now officially the world’s sexiest man.’

Bored by the conversation, Leandro’s only response was to close his fingers around her tiny wrist and pull her towards the staircase.

She gave a gasp of shocked delight. ‘You honestly don’t care what anyone thinks about you, do you? Indifference is such a turn-on. And when it comes to indifference, you wrote the manual.’ She walked with a slow, swaying motion that she’d perfected for the cameras. ‘There’s a special chemistry between us. I can feel it.’

‘It’s called lust,’ Leandro drawled, and she shot him a challenging look.

‘Haven’t you ever had a serious relationship with a woman? I heard you were married for a short time.’

Leandro stilled. A very short time. ‘These days I prefer variety.’

‘Honey, I can give you variety.’ She used the soft, smoky voice that earned her millions of dollars per movie. ‘And I’m just dying to know whether everything they say about you is true. I know you’re super-bright and that you drive your fancy cars way too fast, but what I want to know is just how much of a bad boy you really are when it comes to women.’

‘As bad as they come,’ Leandro said smoothly, his hand locked around her slender wrist as he led her up the stairs. ‘Which makes this your lucky night.’

‘Then lead on, handsome.’ She kept pace with him, a smile on her full, glossy mouth. ‘You have a lot of art on your walls. Great investment. Are they original? I hate anything fake.’

‘Of course you do.’ Leandro focused on her surgically enhanced breasts with wry amusement. At a rough estimate he guessed that ninety per cent of her was fake. The short time he’d spent with her had been enough to prove to him that she was so used to playing other people, she’d forgotten how to be herself.

And that was fine by him.

As far as he was concerned, the shallower the better. At least you knew what you were dealing with and you adjusted your expectations accordingly.

‘Oh, my! Only you would have a picture of a naked woman at the head of your staircase.’ Stopping dead, she gazed up at the huge canvas and wrinkled her nose with disapproval. ‘Strange choice for a man who surrounds himself with beauty. Isn’t she rather fat for your tastes?’

Leandro’s gaze lingered on the celebrated Renaissance masterpiece that had only recently returned from being on loan to a major gallery. ‘When she was alive, it was fashionable to be curvy.’

The girl stared blankly at the exquisite brush strokes. ‘I guess they didn’t know about low carbs.’

‘Curves were a sign of wealth,’ Leandro murmured. ‘It meant you had enough to eat.’

Throwing him a look of blank incomprehension, the actress stepped closer to the painting and Leandro’s fingers tightened like a vice around her wrist.

‘Touch it and we’ll have half the Metropolitan police force keeping us company tonight.’

‘It’s that valuable?’ Her knowing gaze turned to his and she licked her lips. ‘You are one rich, powerful guy. Now, why is that such a turn-on, I wonder? It isn’t as if I care about your money.’

‘Of course you don’t,’ Leandro said, his tone dry because he knew full well that her lovers were expected to pay handsomely for the privilege of escorting her. ‘We both know you’re interested in me because I’m kind to old ladies and animals.’

‘You like animals?’

Looking down into those famous blue eyes, Leandro’s own eyes gleamed. ‘I’ve always had a soft spot for dumb creatures.’

‘That’s so attractive. I love a tough man with a gentle side.’ She slid her arms round his neck like bindweed around a plant. ‘Do you realise we’ve had dinner three times and you haven’t told me a single thing about yourself?’

‘Do you realise that we’ve had dinner three times and you haven’t eaten a single thing?’ Skilfully steering the conversation away from the personal, Leandro smoothly released the zip on her dress and she sucked in a breath.

‘You don’t mess around, do you?’

‘Let’s just say I’ve had enough of verbal foreplay,’ Leandro purred, sliding the dress over her shoulders in a practised movement. He frowned slightly as his fingers brushed hard bones rather than soft flesh.

‘People pay good money to see this body of mine up on the screen.’ She scraped her nails gently down his arm. ‘And you, Leandro Demetrios, are getting it for free.’

Hardly, he thought, looking at the earrings she was wearing. Earrings he’d given her at the beginning of the evening. ‘Shame you’re not sold by the kilogram,’ he said idly, ‘because then you wouldn’t cost me anything.’

‘Thank you.’ Assuming his remark was a compliment, she smiled. ‘You, on the other hand, would cost a woman a fortune because muscle is heavier than fat and you have to be the most impressively built man I’ve ever met. And you’re so damned confident. Is that because you’re Greek?’

‘No. It’s because I’m me. I take what I want.’ He took her chin in his fingers, his eyes steely. ‘And when I’ve finished with it, I drop it.’

She shuddered deliciously. ‘With no apology to anyone. Cold, ruthless, single-minded…’

‘Are we talking about me or you?’ Leandro removed the diamond clip securing her hair. ‘I’m confused.’

‘I’m willing to bet you’ve never been confused about a single thing in your life, you wicked boy.’ Smiling, she dragged her finger over his lower lip. ‘Tell me something personal about yourself. Just one thing. This latest story about you being the father of that baby—is it true? The papers are full of it.’

Not by the flicker of an eyelid did Leandro reveal his sudden tension. ‘Are those the same papers that accused you of being a lesbian?’

‘The difference is that my people issued a stern denial—you’ve said nothing.’

‘I’ve never felt the need to explain my life to anyone.’

‘So does that mean it isn’t your child?’ She lowered her lashes. ‘Or are you such a stud you don’t even know? You’re not giving anything away, are you? Tell me something about you.’

‘You want to know something about me?’ Leandro eased her dress down her painfully thin body and lowered his mouth to the base of her throat. ‘If you give me your heart, I’ll break it. Remember that, agape mou. And I won’t do it gently.’ The warmth of his tongue brought a soft gasp to her lips and she tipped her head back with a shiver.

‘If you’re trying to scare me, you’re not succeeding.’ Her eyes were dark with arousal. ‘I love a man who knows how to be a man. Especially when that man has a sensitive side.’

‘I don’t have a sensitive side.’ Leandro’s voice was hard as he lowered his forehead to hers. For a moment he stared into her wild, excited eyes, his breath mingling with hers. ‘I don’t care about anyone or anything. Lie down in my bed and I’ll guarantee you fantastic sex, but nothing else. So if you’re looking for happy ever after, you’ve taken a wrong turning.’

‘Happy ever after is for movies. It’s my day job. At night, I prefer to live for the moment.’ Squirming against him, she lifted her hand and stroked his rough jaw. ‘I should make you shave before you touch me, but I like the way it makes you look. You are so damn handsome, Leandro, it shouldn’t be allowed,’ she breathed, lifting her mouth to his. ‘My last leading man needed satellite navigation to find his way round a woman’s body. I have a feeling you won’t suffer from the same problem.’

‘I’ve always had a very good sense of direction.’ Leandro backed her against the door and the actress gasped her approval.

‘Oh, yes…’ Panting, she wrenched at his shirt, sending buttons flying. With a low moan of desire she pushed the shirt off his shoulders and let it fall to the floor. ‘Your body is incredible. I’m definitely going to get you a part in my next movie. I want you now.’

Having reached the part of the evening that interested him, Leandro scooped her up, strode purposefully towards the bed and then froze because his bed was already occupied.

The woman sat glaring at him, her eyes a fierce blue in a face as pale as his dress shirt. She’d obviously been caught in the rain because her thin cardigan clung to her body and her long hair curled damply past her shoulders like tongues of red fire.

Given the state she was in, she should have looked pathetic, but she didn’t. She looked angry—the blaze of her eyes and the angle of her chin warning him that this wasn’t going to be a gentle reunion.

It was as if a small, unexploded firework had landed in his bedroom and Leandro felt a dart of surprise because he’d never seen her angry before—hadn’t known she was capable of anger.

He’d been on the receiving end of her injured dignity, her silent reproach and her agonised pain. He’d witnessed her disappointment and contempt. But a good healthy dose of oldfashioned anger had been missing from their relationship.

She hadn’t thought that what they had was worth fighting for.

His own anger bubbled up from nowhere, threatening his usual control, and the emotion caught him by surprise because he’d thought he had himself well in hand.

Unfinished business, he thought grimly, and was about to speak when the actress gave a shocked squeak and tightened her grip on his neck.

‘Who’s she? You bastard! When you said you were going to hurt me, I didn’t expect it to be that quick,’ she snarled. ‘How dare you see someone else while you’re with me? I expect my relationships to be exclusive.’

Surprised to realise that he’d forgotten he had the actress in his arms, Leandro lowered her unceremoniously to the floor. ‘I don’t do relationships.’ Not any more.

‘What about her?’ Balancing on her vertiginous heels, the actress shot him a poisonous look. ‘Does she know that?’

‘Oh, yes.’ Leandro was watching the girl on the bed and his humourless smile was entirely at his own expense. ‘She wouldn’t trust me as far as she could throw me, isn’t that right, Millie?’

Her eyes were two hot pools of blame and he ground his teeth. Fight me, he urged silently. If that’s really what you think of me, stand up and scratch my eyes out. Don’t just sit there. And don’t walk out like you did the first time.

But she didn’t move. She sat in frozen silence, her eyes telling him that nothing had changed.

The actress made an outraged noise. ‘So you do know her! Surprising. She doesn’t look your type,’ she said spitefully. ‘She needs to fire her stylist. That natural look is so yesterday. This season is all about grooming.’ She snatched her dress from the floor and held it against her. ‘How did she get in here, anyway? Your security is really tight. I suppose no one noticed her.’

Nothing killed sexual arousal faster than female bitchiness, Leandro thought idly, regretting the impulse that had driven him to invite the actress home. The woman’s tongue was as sharp as the bones poking out through her almost transparent flesh.

‘Well? Are you going to throw her out?’ The actress’s voice turned from sultry to shrill and Leandro studied the girl sitting on his bed, noting the flush on her cheeks and the accusation in her eyes.

He met that gaze full on, with accusation of his own.

Silent communication raged between them and the atmosphere was so thick with tension that both of them forgot about the third person in the room until she stamped her foot.

‘Leandro?’

‘No,’ he said harshly. ‘I’m not going to throw her out.’ The timing wasn’t what he would have chosen but now she was here, he had no intention of letting her go. Not until they’d had the conversation she’d walked away from a year earlier.

The actress gave a gasp of disbelief. ‘You’re choosing that plain, bedraggled, badly dressed nobody over me?’

Leandro sent his date a cold, assessing glance that would have triggered shivers of trepidation through any one of the people who worked for him or knew him well. ‘Yes. At least that way I’m guaranteed a soft landing when we tumble onto that mattress. No bones. No claws.’

The actress gasped. ‘I won’t be treated like this!’ Delivering a performance worthy of an Oscar, she wriggled back into her dress and tossed her head in anger. ‘You told me you weren’t involved with anyone and I believed you! I’m obviously more of a fool than I look.’

Deciding that it was wisest not to respond to that particular statement, Leandro stayed silent, his gaze returned to the girl sitting on his bed. In that single, hotly charged moment he felt the blaze of raw sexual chemistry erupt between them. It was elemental, basic and primitive—the connection so powerful that it was beyond control or understanding. Recognising that fact, she gave a murmur of denial, her expression one of sick contempt as she dragged her gaze from his.

Vibrating with desperation, the actress sent a look of longing towards Leandro’s bare, bronzed torso. ‘I know you didn’t expect to see her here. I know women throw themselves at you. Just get rid of her and we can start again. I forgive you.’

Propelled by a need to ensure that forgiveness would never be forthcoming, Leandro urged her towards the door. ‘You need to learn to play nicely with the other girls. I don’t mind knives in my boardroom but I do find them shockingly uncomfortable in my bedroom.’

Her face scarlet, the actress snatched her phone out of her tiny jewelled handbag. ‘All the rumours about you are true, Leandro Demetrios. You are cold and heartless and just missed your chance to have the one thing every man in the world wants.’

‘And that would be?’ Leandro raised an eyebrow, deliberately provocative. ‘Peace and quiet?’

The actress simmered like milk coming to the boil. ‘Me! And next time you’re in LA, don’t bother calling. And you.’ She glared at the girl on the bed. ‘If you think he’ll ever be faithful to you, you’re crazy.’ Checking that the diamond earrings were still in place, she stormed from the room and several moments later Leandro heard a distant thud as the front door slammed closed.

Silence closed in on them.

‘If you’re going to cry, you can leave now,’ Leandro drawled softly. ‘If you choose to wait in my bedroom, you deserve to get hurt.’

‘I’m not going to cry over you. And I’m not hurt,’ she said stiffly. ‘I’m past being hurt.’

Then she’d done better than him, Leandro reflected grimly. ‘Why are you here?’

‘You know why I’m here. I—I’ve come to take the baby.’

Of course, the baby. He’d been a fool to think anything else, and yet for a moment…

Leandro curled one hand into a fist, surprised to discover that his thick protective layer of cynicism could still be breached.

‘I was asking what you’re doing in my bedroom at midnight.’ Strolling across to the bedroom door, he pushed it shut. He trusted his staff, but he was also sharp enough to know that this story was the juiciest morsel the media had savoured for a long time. They were slavering outside his house, waiting for something to feast on.

And everyone had their price.

He’d learned that unpalatable truth in the harshest way possible, and at an age when most children were still playing with toys.

‘I’m intrigued as to how you got past my security.’

‘I’m still your wife, Leandro. Even if you’ve forgotten that fact.’

‘I haven’t forgotten.’ Keeping his gaze neutral, he looked at her. ‘You really pick your moments. Thanks to you, my night of hot sex just walked through that door.’

Her slender shoulders stiffened, her back rigid. ‘I’m sure you’ll find a replacement fast enough. You always do.’ Her chest rose and fell as she breathed rapidly and then her eyes flew to his, bright with accusation and pain. ‘You are a complete and utter bastard, she’s right about that.’

‘I’ve never heard you use bad language before. It doesn’t suit you.’ Leandro strolled across the bedroom and lifted a bottle of whisky from a small table. Funny, he thought, that his hand was so steady. ‘And I don’t understand why you’re angry. You walked out on our marriage, not me. I was in it for the long haul.’

‘Only you could make it sound like an endurance test. It’s nice to know you had such a positive view of our relationship. No wonder it didn’t last five minutes. You’re even more unfeeling than I thought you were—’ She broke off, as if she was trying to control herself. ‘You’re horribly, horribly insensitive.’

‘I’m living my life. What’s insensitive about that?’ Leandro’s hand remained steady as he poured. ‘There was a vacancy in my bed and I filled it. In the circumstances, you can hardly blame me for that. Drink?’

‘No, thank you.’

‘Such perfect English manners.’ Leandro gave a humourless laugh as he lifted the glass. ‘Don’t tell me—alcohol is fattening and you’re watching your weight.’

‘No. I’m watching my tongue. If I drink, I’ll tell you exactly what I think of you and right now that might not be a good idea because what I think of you isn’t very flattering.’

His hand stilled on the glass. ‘Don’t hold back on my account. It’s interesting to know you’re capable of expressing what you’re feeling providing you’re sufficiently provoked. Just for the record, I actually prefer confrontation to retreat.’

She closed her eyes, misery visible in every angle of her pretty face. ‘I hate confrontation. I didn’t come here to argue with you.’

‘I’m sure you didn’t.’ Leandro examined the golden liquid in his glass. ‘You don’t talk about problems, do you, Millie? And you were certainly never interested in fixing the problems in our relationship. It’s so much easier to just walk away when things become awkward.’

‘How dare you say that to me when you’re the one who—?’ She broke off as if she couldn’t even bear to say it, and his mouth tightened.

‘I’m the one who what?’ His silky soft voice was in direct contrast to the passion in hers. ‘Spell it out, Millie. Come on—let’s hear what I’m guilty of.’

‘You know what! And I didn’t come here to talk about that. ‘You’re a—a…’ She appeared to struggle with her breath and he gave her a long look.

‘You really must learn to finish your sentences, agape mou.’ His tone bored, he offered no sympathy. As far as he was concerned, she deserved none. He’d given her a chance. He’d given her something he’d never offered a woman before. And she’d thrown it back in his face. ‘I’m cold and heartless, isn’t that right, Millie? Wasn’t that what you were going to say?’

‘I wish I’d never met you.’

‘Now, that’s just childish.’ Leandro suppressed a yawn and she looked away.

‘Our relationship was a disaster.’

‘I wouldn’t say that. For a short time you were a revelation in bed, and I was reasonably entertained by your gift for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.’

‘It’s called telling the truth.’ She glared at him through lashes spiked with rain. ‘Where I come from, that’s what people do. They tell it like it is and that way there’s no confusion. When someone says, “Lovely to see you,” they mean it. In your world when someone says, “Lovely to see you,” they certainly don’t mean it. They kiss you even though they hate you.’

Leandro added ice to his glass. ‘It’s a standard social greeting.’

‘It’s superficial—everything about your world is!’ She sprang off the bed and walked towards him, her eyes flashing fire. ‘And that included our relationship.’

‘I’m not the one who called time on our marriage.’

‘Yes, you did!’ Angry and hurt, she faced him. ‘You blame me for walking out, but what did you think I’d do, Leandro? Did you think I’d say, “Don’t worry, that’s fine by me”?’ Her voice rose, trembling and thickened by pain. ‘Did you think I’d turn a blind eye? Maybe that’s what women do in your world, but that isn’t the sort of marriage I want. You slept with another woman and not just any woman.’ Her breathing was jagged. ‘My sister. My own sister.’ Her distress was so obvious that Leandro gave a frown.