His Forbidden Bride (27 page)

was doubtful whether she could have made it in time. And did she have any

right to be there anyway, under the circumstances? For one thing, she was

probably the last person Christina Mandrassis would want to see.

Besides, journalists would have wanted to know who she was, and what

connection she had with the deceased, so she couldn't blame Andreas for

keeping her at a distance. In his shoes, she would probably have done the

same.

And her instincts had been right al along, it seemed. She had liked Steve

Dragos—could probably have grown to love him, but she'd always been

convinced, in her heart, that she was not his child.

She folded the newspaper carefully, and slipped it into the big leather book

for safe-keeping. As she opened it she realised that it wasn't a book, but an

old-fashioned photograph album.

There were snaps from childhood and school-days, and there were lots of

Gina, riding a bicycle, bathing in the sea, perched high in the branches of a

tree, her face always glowing with happiness.

The look of a girl, thought Zoe, who trusts life. Who believes it won't let her

down. A girl who would never think that the older sister who'd recorded all

these happy moments could ever be the cause of her betrayal and

heartbreak.

She went on slowly turning the pages, until at last she reached the holiday in

Thania. Her aunt had taken great trouble with these photographs, every one

of them carefully named and also dated, she noted with irony.

If I'd only known the date of the holiday, she thought, it would have been

clear proof that I couldn't possibly be Steve Dragos' daughter. I was born at

least eighteen months later.

And Andreas and I would have been free to love one another.

As it is, I'm alone—and he's about to embark on a marriage of economic

convenience. And neither of us are going to be happy.

Sighing, she put the album away, and left the room to find a piece of

cardboard to cover the hole in the conservatory door. Then she telephoned

for another taxi and went home.

Some time in the distant past, she'd been planning an evening meal, she

thought as she climbed the stairs to her flat. As she reached her landing she

fumbled for the light switch, and the bulb came on, revealing a tal figure

leaning against her door.

She clapped a hand over her mouth, stifling her scream, as Andreas

detached himself and came towards her. He looked grey with fatigue, but

the ghost of his old smile curved his mouth as he held out his arms to her.

'Matia mou.'

She said something incoherent that might have been his name, and flung

herself forward.

He received her hungrily, and his mouth came down on hers. There was no

gentleness in his kiss. No restraint either. The lips that parted hers were

deeply and passionately sensual, and they demanded an equal response.

His hands parted the damp cling of the raincoat to find her breasts, stroking

her nipples to exquisite arousal through the thin wool en shirt she was

wearing, and she moaned her pleasure into his mouth, her entire body

melting with her need.

When at last he raised his head, they were both breathless.

He said hoarsely, 'Your key,
agapi mou
, or I shal take you here.'

Somehow they unlocked the door, and stumbled inside, already shedding

their clothes as they went.

When she was naked, Andreas lifted her onto the sofa, and knelt beside

her, kissing her body, his mouth hot and urgent. His tongue lapped at her

breasts, turning the engorged peaks to flame.

At the same time, his hand was caressing her bel y, moving down over her

quivering thighs, and parting them. Her body arched under the exquisite

intimacy of his touch, demanding more.

He was murmuring to her in his own language, his voice low and

languorous, as his fingers continued their intense erotic play. She could feel

the last vestiges of her control slipping away, and then suddenly her body

imploded, consuming her totally with wave after wave of pure pleasure, so

that she was gasping and laughing and crying out, al at the same time.

Andreas said her name huskily. She felt him strip off his remaining covering,

then he lifted himself over her, and entered her, and she enfolded him

rapturously, her whole body alight with the warmth and strength of him

inside her, her hands clinging to his shoulders, her slender legs locked

round his waist in total surrender.

It was a lovemaking born from a stark and compel ing need, and Zoe

answered every powerful thrust with passionate completeness, her body as

wild and driven as his own.

Nothing in her limited experience had prepared her for this fierce glory. For

the frantic necessity to take as wel as give. For his mouth on hers, and the

hot, sexual invasion of his tongue.

Deep within her, she sensed the inexorable build of delight beginning again,

and felt her body quiver and shatter once more into a renewal of rapture.

And at the height of her pleasure, as she was overwhelmed by sensation,

she heard him cry out in his own release.

Afterwards they found a wonderful peace together. Zoe took him to her bed,

and held him in her arms while he slept. Later, she dozed, too, and he woke

her with kisses, and made love to her again, slowly and very gently, his body

worshipping hers.

And finally, they talked, because there were things to be said, and questions

to be answered. And the revelations of the evening to be discussed.

Eventually. 'So,' she said 'When did you realise that we weren't brother and

sister after all?'

'Not until you began the sale of the Vil a Danaë,' he said. 'And the lawyers

showed me the copy of your birth certificate. I knew when your mother had

lived on Thania, and the dates did not match.'

'And yet you said nothing?' Zoe reared up indignantly. 'You let me go on

thinking that we were lost to each other?'

Andreas pulled her back into his embrace. 'I did it for my father's sake,' he

said gently. 'He wanted to believe it so much,
matia mou
. You were this

wonderful gift that he'd waited for throughout the long years. That's why he

wouldn't consider the medical tests that the lawyers recommended because

he refused to admit there was even a remote possibility that he could be

mistaken. You were his beloved Gina's daughter, therefore you must be his,

too. I—I could not take that away from him.'

He paused. 'The doctors had already told me that he could have another

attack at any time, which would almost certainly be fatal. I wanted whatever

time he had left to be happy. And he was, my honey girl. He thought of

you— spoke of you often. Blame me for it, if you wil .'

'No,' she said. 'I understand, and I'm glad. I remember the way he said

goodbye to me. I think he knew he didn't have much time left.' She paused.

'I'm sorry I wasn't at his funeral.'

'It would not have been a good experience for you. Our funerals are very

noisy, emotional affairs. I had to steel myself to endure al the aunts and

cousins screaming and crying. Far better,
agapi mou
, to remember him as

he was.' He paused. 'Your mother's letter was buried with him.'

'Thank you for that.' She kissed his shoulder. 'I think it was that letter that

made him so sure I was his child—and Aunt Megan's lies, of course.'

Andreas' arms tightened round her protectively. 'That evil bitch.' His voice

was almost murderous. 'She might have harmed you. You should not have

had to face her on your own,
pedhi mou
.'

'I wanted to hate her,' Zoe said soberly. 'But in the end, I couldn't. She was

just sad, and—hopeless. It made me see how dangerous love can be when

it gets—twisted like that.'

There was a smile in his voice, 'And now you also know how good it can be.'

'Oh, yes.' She stretched herself against him, her smile widening as she felt

his body's instant response.

'Zoe
mou
,' he said. 'Have a little mercy, or I may not survive until our

wedding.'

She said, faltering a little, 'You're going to marry me? But how?'

'The usual way,' he said. 'With a church and a priest. And as quickly as

possible,' he added, stroking her stomach, 'I wanted you too badly even to

think of protection, so there could be consequences.'

'Don't you want us to have babies?'

'Yes,' he said. 'But I am selfish enough to want my wife al to myself for a

while, too.'

'Andreas,' she said, after a pause. 'You—you don't have to marry me.'

She felt him tense. 'What nonsense is this?'

'You're engaged to Tina Mandrassis. The merger depends on you marrying

her. I—I know that. So, I thought of the Vil a Danaë. My mother never lived

there, but I could—if you wanted. And belong to you for as long as you

wanted.'

'But you are sel ing the Vil a Danaë,
matia mou
, and the new owner would

not al ow such immorality under his roof.'

She lifted her chin and looked at him with suspicion. 'You seem to know a

lot about him.'

He grinned at her. 'An entire lifetime,' he agreed lazily.

She gasped. 'You—
you
bought the Vil a Danaë. But why?'

'So that we could live there together. It needs people— children—love to

bring it to life. I think we can do that. And I suggest we sel my father's

house. It has few happy associations for me.'

'But what about the merger?' she demanded.

His hand began to caress her breasts. 'I am more interested in a different

kind of merger,' he whispered.

'Darling,' she said. 'Be serious.'

'You think I'm not?' He captured her hand, and carried it to his body. 'But you

obviously will not let the Mandrassis merger drop, so let me tel you what I

told my father—that I intend to marry only for love. And I did not, and never

could love Tina Mandrassis. And the only time I gave the idea of an

arranged marriage any real thought was when I thought you were forbidden

to me, and I was at my lowest ebb. I tried to tel myself that without you

nothing mattered, but even that could not persuade me to marry for

convenience. So, I decided I would remain single.'

'And celibate?' Zoe inquired dulcetly.

He grinned. 'I would have tried. But I don't think it is a condition that would

suit either of us, my angel.'

'As for the merger,' he went on. 'Mandrassis needs it more than I do, and I

suspect he wil proceed even without me as a son-in-law. And don't worry

too much about the beautiful Tina. She inherited a lot of money from her

mother, so she won't lack for offers.'

'And I'm bringing you nothing,' Zoe said wistful y.

His smile was wicked. 'You think not,
matia mou
.' His hand strayed with

delicate precision. 'I shal have to jog your memory.'

'I have total recall, thank you,' Zoe said severely, trying not to wriggle and

failing miserably. She sighed. 'I didn't think it was possible to be so happy.'

Andreas bent his head and kissed her slowly and tenderly.

'And this is only the beginning,' he whispered. 'My love—and my wife.'