Greek Billionaire's Blackmailed Bride (The Rosso Family Series, #1) (6 page)

Their romance before had been a whirlwind. She had fallen into his arms at the airport, and he had fallen in love the way only a young man could—without thought or care for the future. Now he had to think of his sisters, and the businesses, and of Claire. She had her own life that she had built. But oh how he wanted to take her to Villa Livia and stay with her there for as long as he could hold her.

Touching a blooming white rose, Claire stopped and asked, “Why would your father do this to you? I mean, I get that he’s looking to control you still—but he seemed to really hate me. So why leave me anything? Why set this up to push you and me together?”

Antonio shrugged. “I’ve thought about that. In his will, Matthias said something about making up for a wrong done. I’m thinking maybe he was trying to undo what he had done.”

“So he decided I was okay after all?”

Antonio turned and looked at her, shaking his head. “I don’t know. It could be that he knew I...I haven’t been serious about any other women, Claire. Matthias wanted grandchildren, and he thought my sisters too young to marry and found I was too stubborn.”

“He must have hated having to give in and settle for me. Will everyone know this is just a pretend marriage?”

“My sisters and my lawyer are the only ones besides who will know we plan to marry and divorce. I don’t want—I will take the blame when the marriage ends. That won’t be hard. But while we are married, it must be real.”

“Well, of course in public—”

“Not just then, Claire. The staff, Gaia, even Dareios—they all need to see we are truly married.”

Claire gave a nervous laugh. “How are we supposed to pull that off?”

“We are going to be married. That means you have to stop jumping every time you think I’m about to touch you.”

She shook her head and stepped back. “Meaning I have to sleep with you?”

He touched her arm, ran his finger over her skin. “Is that really so terrible a thing?” He stepped closer to her, placing his hands on her hips. “There is still something between us, Claire. Maybe we need to let that fire burn hot and bright.”

Lowering his head, he placed kisses along her temple. He nudged her head back with his lips and moved his mouth to skim kisses over her cheeks and along her neck. He placed little sucking kisses along her jaw line, stopping to nibble on her earlobe. She gave a sigh. He licked the spot behind her ear that he knew was sensitive.

Claire grabbed for his shoulders. “Antonio...?” She sounded breathless.

He tightened his hold on her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I need you to kiss me—really kiss me.” With one hand wrapped into his hair, she pulled his mouth back to hers.

Antonio kissed her—deeply. He gripped her hips hard enough that he was certain he must be leaving imprints of his fingers. He stole the breath from her lungs. He licked her lips and dove back in for more. Heart pounding, he wanted to drag her to the grass, but he tried to remember where they were—and he was not a boy to rush into anything without thought.

Pulling away, he stared down at her. Her lips looked bruised and pink. The breeze lifted and tangled her hair. He smoothed it. Her breath seemed as rough and uneven as his, and her face looked pinked.

The first time they had fell for each other, they’d had allowed their explosive chemistry to dictate the path their relationship would take and it had ended in disaster. He had been too impulsive, too much the hot head, and too unwilling to listen to anything except his father’s words. This time around he wanted to make certain they would, at the very least, remain friends. That meant he needed to control this and not let it rule their lives.

He stepped back, but he kept hold of her hand.

Claire fell into step with him as he headed back to the house. “I still think everyone is going to believe I married you for your money—and then dumped you. How are you going to end up taking the blame?”

Antonio gave her a small smile. “Everyone in Athens knew Matthias Rosso—and everyone in the world knew of his reputation as a hard man. A cold man. It will be easy to make everyone think I am just like him. A few stories—a few business deals—and everyone will be congratulating you on your escape.”

She shivered and leaned closer to him. “I hate to think of you getting the blame.”

He shrugged. “It’s my plan. And I don’t care. We’ll have a small private ceremony here next week.”

“Next week. That’s moving rather quickly.”

“Yes, it is. And we will need to tell everyone it was fate that we met a second time. I’ll have my driver take you into the city after lunch. You can shop for your wedding dress—and anything else you wish.”

Claire stop on the flagstone terrace. “I don’t need new clothes.”

He smiled. “You want to marry in your jeans? And did you bring clothes that will hold up under the media’s scrutiny after we marry?”

“Well...” Claire dropped his hand and twisted her fingers together. “Not exactly.”

“The driver knows all the best shops—Eve and Alexandra have made certain of that.” Antonio watched her. He saw her jaw set and her eyes darken. Ah, he could not allow her to go stubborn on him. “You know what? Never mind. I will go with you. We’ll have lunch in the city.”

She took a step back. “Tonio, you don’t have to take me shopping.”

He smiled and pinched her chin. “It has been a long time since you’ve called me that. And the last time...we were in bed together.”

Pulling away, she lifted her eyebrows. “Yes, well, Dareios calls you that, too, and I hope you haven’t taken him to bed.”

Antonio stepped toward her, encroaching on her personal space. This time she held her ground. He smiled. Lowering his voice, he told her, “We are going shopping. I can help you pick out clothing that is appropriate for my future wife. Then you and my sisters can make whatever arrangements you wish for flowers and cake and anything else for the wedding.”

Claire lifted her chin. “Can Gaia make the cake? She...I think she’d be heartbroken not to be involved in your wedding.”

He smiled and nodded. “Our wedding. By the time we return from our honeymoon—”

“Hold on...Honeymoon? I thought this was supposed to be a month-long marriage?”

“You would rather stay here with the press following us everywhere? And then following even more once the divorce is announced.”

Claire sucked in a breath. “You’re right. Getting away is probably a great idea.”

Antonio nodded. Placing a hand on her lower back, he escorted her back inside the house. Dareios looked up from the dining table, which was now laden with food. Grinning, he held up a plate. “One day I will steal Gaia away from you.”

Antonio shook his head. “If you ate like that every day you’d be fat.”  He turned to Claire. “What else do you need in your recording studio? Nick Stavos will meet with you in a few days, but do you wish to bring here the sound engineers you’ve worked with.”

“Could I?”

Antonio shrugged. “Why not. Aegis Studios always needs to know about good talent.”

“George Dean—he’s from Texas, and he’s one of the best mixers I know. He’s always saying he never gets out of the studio. And Steve usually works with him, and me. I don’t know anyone who can work a sound board like him.”

“Done. Dareios, we’ll meet later. I’m taking Claire into the city for lunch and shopping. Come, Claire.”

“Wait a second, if you need to meet with Dareios—”

Antonio waved off her protests. He reached for her hand. “That can wait.”

Claire crossed her arms, effectively leaving Antonio with his hand out to her. “We need to have a little talk about just how pushy you are sometimes.”

Heat washed through Antonio. But Dareios stood and slapped his shoulder. “Easy there. She’s not wrong, Tonio. You can be more than pushy.” Turning to address Claire, he offered a smile. “
Koukla,
it is our nature to protect those we care for—and sometimes that means we push too much.”

Antonio bit off the words to tell Dareios to butt out. He knew Dareios was trying to help, but he also wanted Claire to...to what? To bow to all his wishes? A smile warmed him. Claire’s stubbornness had always been something he had admired—up until the time his father had made it seem that she really was a scheming bitch. He began to think he was more like his father than he had ever known.

Crossing his own arms, he asked, “Claire, I’m sorry. Next time I start to act like such a jerk, you have my permission to punch me.”

“I’m holding you to that,” Claire said and lightly punched his arm. “And I’ll be ready to go in a few minutes.”

She hurried upstairs and threw a light shirt on over her T-shirt. She also grabbed her purse and slipped on some sandals. Heading downstairs, she found the guys waiting for her in the foyer. Dareios seemed surprised it really had only taken her a few minutes, but Antonio seemed ready to escort her into the city. She stepped outside to find a limo and driver already waiting for them, the engine humming. She shook her head. “A little lavish isn’t it? I thought you liked driving yourself—that you liked the control.”

Antonio opened the door for her. “Yes. But today we need the advantage of not having to hunt for parking—and having room for you packages.”

She climbed into the back of the limo. Antonio slid in next to her. Despite the room, he pressed close against her, his leg touching hers. Her face warmed, but she refused to move away—that was too much like giving up ground. Leaning forward, Antonio spoke to the driver in rapid Greek. He leaned back and smiled at Claire. “I’ve asked him to take us to Alexandra’s favorite shops. Eva is still too...too...”

“Experimental? Young? Goth?” Claire asked.

Antonio nodded. “All of that at times. Should I open some champagne?”

Claire shook her head. “Maybe just some water.”

He opened a compartment to reveal a full bar and pulled out a water. “Remember when we dined near the Acropolis? And you wanted to run barefoot over the ruins?”

She grinned. “And I scraped up my feet so badly you had to carry me. I was way too impulsive.”

“I liked that about you.”

“Your father didn’t.” She tipped her head and studied him. He had far finer features than his father—but she saw the same stubborn mouth and chin. “Why didn’t you defend me when he...when he accused me of being all those things? A...a whore for hire.”

Antonio pressed his mouth tight and looked out the window. The countryside began to fall away and the buildings of the city rose around them. He looked back at Claire. “I didn’t think you needed anyone to defend you. I thought...I thought you would defend yourself.”

“So you took my silence as what...agreement I really was all those things? A girl who only wanted your money.”

Antonio shook his head. He touched a finger to the back of her hand. “No...no, I never thought that. Not really. But I...I knew if you could not stand up to my father, he would...he was a tough man in many ways. Ruthless about getting what he wanted. I learned early that I had to stand up to him or be knocked flat. I stood between him and my sisters many times, but...but I knew if I married a woman who could not deal with him—”

“You thought I’d become a doormat?”

“No. More that he would drive you to a point where you must break. I’d seen him do the same with those who worked for him—they became strong, or they left, or they broke. There were no other ways to deal with Matthias.”

She stared at the bottled water in her hands and rubbed at the label.

“Was I wrong?” Antonio asked.

Claire looked up. She thought about how horrible Matthias had been—would she have been able to live with such a man as her father-in-law? Would she have broken? “We were both so young weren’t we? And...and you might have been right. I’m not sure...he might have driven even a deeper wedge between us. Maybe...maybe I should have told him to go to hell.”

“Instead, you walked out—and I, well, I did blame you for not being strong enough. But I have learned there are many kinds of strength. It took much for you not to break down in front of him. I know that now. It...it hurt when you left, Claire. I wanted then to think the worst of you—just as my father did. To believe his words were true. Because the alternative was to think you did not care enough to fight for me—for us.”

She looked up at him. “I cared. But I...I didn’t grow up in a family where you had to fight. And when you just stood there...well, I did think that meant your silence was agreement with what your father had said. I thought...I was sure you thought I really was all those things. And worse. I didn’t cry because I didn’t want you to see it.”

Antonio’s hand tightened around hers. “Can we start again? Perhaps?”

She shook her head. Turning her hand so that she held his, she smiled. But her heart tightened. “I...it would be nice, but we’re really two different people from two very different worlds. You have your life here in Greece—you have companies to run. I have my career, my friends in New York. I...I just don’t see any middle ground where we could meet.” She let her smile twist and pulled her hand away. “Besides, you’d probably be bored with a home-body like me. And your life—all this public stuff you have to do—that would drive me nuts. Maybe your dad did us a favor, one we couldn’t see back then.”

“I do not think so, Claire. But perhaps he is doing one for us now. Only it is too pretty a day to talk more of such things. Here is the first shop—and please, do not look at the price tags.”

The limo pulled up in front of a discreet boutique. Antonio got out and held out his hand to help her from the car. His touch, as always, quickened her pulse, but she let go as soon as she could and fussed with her purse strap. The dresses in the shop windows looked beautiful—elegant and sleek. And expensive. She glanced at Antonio. “I really can’t let you—”

He put a finger to her lips. “Yes, you can. Buy whatever you like. My only condition is that I must see it on you first.”

Taking her hand, he pulled her with him into the shop. She dragged at his arm, reluctant, her lips pressed tight. She was not going to let him shower clothes onto her—just like she was some...well, some kind of high-priced hooker he was buying.