The Renegade Billionaire (11 page)

“If you'd bring my laptop from the den.”

“Coming right up.” She hurried to the kitchen, darted to his den and returned. “Here you go.” As she handed the computer to him, he pulled her down on the side of the bed where the tray had been. “Stavros—” Her heart pounded outrageously.

“What's the matter? I only want to thank you properly. Come here, Andrea.”

He'd put one arm around her neck, forcing her down until their mouths fused. The unexpectedness of his action had caught her off guard. She half lay against his chest, unable to fight those seductive forces taking over her body. Her hands had a will of their own and slid into his hair. She loved its vibrancy.

“I could eat you alive,” he cried softly, treating her to every kind of kiss imaginable until she was losing awareness of the surroundings. Her longing for him had reached a dangerous level of intensity. She had to fight not to go under.

“Your leg—we have to stop.” She found the strength to tear her lips from his and pulled away so she could stand up. Weaving on her feet, she drank in gulps of air. “This isn't the kind of bed rest Dr. Goulas had in mind.”

“Not even if it's the best medicine for me?”

She let out a laugh bordering on hysteria. “Only you would say that. You're impossible,
Kyrie
Konstantinos, so I have an idea. While you do some work, I'll drive down to the marina in the Jeep and bring the hamper back. I might as well fill the gas tank and buy a newspaper for you at the same time. You can phone if you need me. I promise to be quick.”

“As long as you're going, buy me a pasteli.”

“I'll get one for me too.” She reached for the car keys on the nightstand. “Those sesame seed candy bars are yummy.”

“So are you, Andrea. Hurry back.”

Two hours later she returned, having done all her errands. She emptied the hamper, then did the few dishes and cleaned up the kitchen. With that accomplished, she hurried through the house to Stavros's bedroom with goodies. He'd propped himself on his side to work on the computer.

She put the newspaper and candy bars down next to him. His piercing gaze found hers. “You were gone so long, I was starting to worry.”

Andrea laughed. “Sure you were.” She sat down on the chair next to him. “What have you been working on?”

“Our trip. Did you hear from your boss yet?”

“Yes. He's rough around the edges, but has a kind heart. When he heard about your encounter with the stingray, he told me to take care of you and not worry about things at the office. Dorcas is going to fill in for me.”

“I haven't heard that name before.”

“She's a friend of mine who works in Accounts. Already I can tell Sakis is thinking ahead.”

One side of his mouth turned up at the corner. “You have him wrapped around your little finger. Even though you haven't left him yet, inside I wager he's been mourning his loss.”

She let out a sigh. “You always manage to say the right thing.”

“Do I?”

“Yes. For being so nice, I've brought you another present.” She pulled a packet of playing cards out of her jeans pocket. “How about a game of diloti?”

“You know how to play that?”

“Casino is the game of choice in every country where I've lived. Diloti is the Greek version of virtually the same thing. Are you up for a few rounds?”

“Watch me,” he said with a satisfied gleam in his eyes.

“But we won't play for money.”

“I'm way ahead of you.”

Her adrenaline surged. “I bet you are, but since I intend to win, I'm not going to worry about it. We'll play until one o'clock.”

“What happens then?”

“Lunch. I bought some fresh spanakopitas.” She loved cheese pies more than about anything.

“I'll set my watch alarm so we have to quit at the same time.”

“That's fair.”

“So be it.” She glimpsed fire in his eyes. “You're on!”

The race was all about winning the most points. She got lucky and made a sweep early. Then luck was on his side and he made one. As the pressure began to build, Andrea started to eat her candy. Stavros had already devoured his.

Cards had always been serious business for her. Naturally he was good. What Greek man worth his salt wasn't! So good, in fact, she feared she might lose. Andrea kept looking at her watch. Time was almost up. “I can hear your awesome brain doing calculations, Stavros. You're making me nervous.”

That deep chuckle of his permeated her bones just as the alarm sounded. He checked her last play. “You can't build upon a four-join with an ace on the board and a five in your hand. I win!”

“You don't have to sound so gleeful about it.” She gathered up the cards and put them back in the pack. “It's time for your pills.” She handed him the water.

His smile taunted her before he swallowed his medicine. “What's the matter? You have nothing to fear from me. I'm pretty much incapacitated.”

Stavros wasn't the problem.
She
was. “Come on. I'll help you to the bathroom on the condition that you behave.”

A glimmer of a smile hovered on his lips. “I don't know how to do that.”

Her temper flared. “Do you want help or not?”

“I do, but then I want to eat on the patio. The lounger out there is as good as this bed.”

She knew he was going stir-crazy. “You're right.”

Andrea offered her support and in a few minutes they reached the patio. She fixed the lounger so it lay flat. That way he could stretch out on his side. “Don't get any ideas about pulling me down with you or we'll both end up with a broken back.”

His chuckle followed her as she left for the kitchen. Before long, she brought out the pies and iced tea he'd liked before. After she put his drink on the stone flooring and handed him a couple of pies, she pulled one of the chairs over and sat by him to eat.

“Uh-oh. You're facing the wrong way and can't see the coast.”

“I'll be looking at it for the rest of my life, but you won't be here after a few more days, so I'd rather look at you.” Stavros knew how to press on a sore wound.

“If the heat gets too much for you, tell me and I'll help you back in the house.”

“Why is it you always change the subject when I mention your leaving?”

Because I'm in pain and don't want to be separated from you.
“I didn't realize I did that.”

He eyed her over his glass. “Where will you be living in Brazil?”

“The Serra do Ouro gold mine is near a town called Itapetim in the northeastern area. Dad says it's mostly agrarian.”

“What kind of work do you think you'll do there?”

She took a long drink first. “I'll find something. We won't be there very long.”

A stillness seemed to come over Stavros. “Why not?”

“Dad's tired of traveling the world. He wants to go back to his roots in Denver and work in the home office.”

At this point, Stavros sat up, propping himself with his arm. “You mean for good?”

“Yes. When we left Denver, he had everything put in storage. Furniture, photographs, albums, so many things I've never seen. Things I've forgotten that are mine. He plans to buy a house for us.”

Stavros lay back on the lounger. “I wonder if a man can return home after so many years away and find the happiness he's looking for.”

Andrea jumped out of the chair. Thoughts of that future without Stavros sounded so bleak, she could hardly stand it. “I've been haunted by the same question. Now you know why I don't like talking about it.”

“I'm sorry, Andrea. It was insensitive of me.”

“Not at all. I'm going to run inside and bring you the laptop. I plan itineraries for tours and am interested to see what you have mapped out for us.”

When she came back to the patio, she found Stavros on the phone. She heard the name Theo and knew he was talking about business. How much he would divulge to his colleagues about his father's ploy, she didn't know. He hid his heartache well, but deep down she knew he had to be devastated.

After handing him the computer, she slipped inside the house for her novel, imagining he'd be on the phone for quite a while. She couldn't conceive of her father doing something so cruel. And even though Stavros's father might not carry through with his scheme, it didn't take away the hurt of betrayal.

When she came back out on the patio, she found he'd finished his conversation. His eyes were closed. There were shadows and lines on his arresting face that hadn't been there before his brother had shown up last night. Alarmed, she cried, “Is your pain worse again?”

He turned his head toward her and opened his eyes. Through the black lashes they looked like a dark cloud before a storm. “It's not my leg.”

“Then it's this threat your father poses.”

“Afraid so. Theo and Zander will be arriving at the house within the hour so we can talk strategy.”

“I'll make more iced tea and fix some sandwiches.”

“Andrea Linford, do you know you're the best thing that ever happened to me?”

Stavros, Stavros. Don't say things like that. Don't you know I'm dying inside at the thought of leaving you?

CHAPTER SEVEN

M
ONDAY
MORNING
, S
TAVROS
was able to walk out to the car on his own. Yesterday's rest had made all the difference. He stretched out in the backseat with his laptop and waited for Andrea to come. She was so practical she packed everything they'd both need in her duffel bag for their overnight trip. He loved it. His and her things all thrown together. A precursor of a future with her. He refused to think any other way.

Stavros watched her walk toward him dressed in a wraparound khaki skirt and a cream-colored knit top. Her shapely figure did wonders for anything she wore. The guys had done triple takes when he'd introduced them to Andrea yesterday. Theo was married, but Zander was still a bachelor and had had a hard time keeping his eyes to himself.

She'd brought them a never-ending supply of food and drinks. Stavros could tell how impressed they were that she knew so much about their line of work and had been inside the plant.

He'd asked her to stay with him while they discussed the threat facing them. His partners hadn't left until much later that evening because Andrea had entertained them with a few hair-raising stories of her adventures in the Gran Chaco of Paraguay. Close calls with a poison dart and a feeding frenzy of piranha fish in an area inhabited by natives who spoke Guarani had had them glued to every word. She'd fit in like a guy, but retained a beguiling femininity.

He heard her close the trunk, and then she came around and slid behind the wheel. She looked over her shoulder. “Have we remembered everything? Did you talk to Raisa?”

“I told her we wouldn't be back until Tuesday night.”

“Then we're good to go.” She started the engine and backed the car around. “I used to think it might be kind of fun being a driver for some top-brass military general. But driving the legendary Kyrie
Konstantinos around is much better.”

He never knew what was going to come out of her luscious mouth next. Their eyes met through the rearview mirror. Hers were a vibrant blue this morning.

“Why's that?”

“Because you're in a different kind of war—one I believe in—and I want you to win.”

Sometimes the things Andrea said and the way she said them...

“Maybe my father won't fire the first shot after all.”

“Maybe not. One lives in hope.”

Yes, one does.

“Stavros? Why do you think he's the way he is? You know what I mean.”

“Leon and I have asked each other that question dozens of times. Our grandfather, his own father, didn't understand him either. He always has to be right. I don't know where that comes from.”

“Do your parents go to church?”

Her question made him want to laugh and cry at the same time, because she was trying to understand the complex relationship he had with his parents, which not even he could fix.

“On the important holidays. How about your father?”

“The same.”

Stavros was curious. “Does he expect you to go?”

“Not anymore.”

“What does that mean?”

“When we were living in Venezuela, I went to a Catholic school and a couple of nuns befriended me. For a while I thought I might like to be one when I grew older. When I told my dad, he had a fit.”

“I'll bet.”

“That was one of the few times I'd ever seen him really upset. He said he loved me so much he never wanted me to go away from him. At the time I believed him and gave up on the idea. But as I matured, I realized he really wanted me to grow up with the opportunity to be married and have children. He said children are a parent's greatest blessing.”

“I know
you
are,” Stavros said moodily.

“I've tried to be.”

The trend in their conversation had become painful for him. Her father wanted his daughter to be married, but only on
his
terms? Father, daughter and son-in-law all under the same roof in Denver, Colorado?

“We've arrived at the first quarry on the list.” She got out and came around to open his door. “I'll go inside and see if the manager will come out to talk to you. Wish me luck.”

“There isn't enough money to pay what I owe you, Andrea.”

“Don't be silly.” She headed for the quarry office. He experienced pure pleasure just watching the womanly way she moved. Her hair shimmered in the sun.

He'd wanted to get a head start finding new sources of marble material, but feared this wouldn't work if he didn't make the initial introduction. The doctor had told him not to walk around on his bad leg until tomorrow. His wound was feeling better, so he'd be a fool not to follow his advice.

Soon, he saw Andrea accompanied by an older man. Stavros lowered his legs to the floor and got out so at least he was standing. They both joined him. She'd given the manager one of his business cards.

“When your beautiful assistant said Kyrie Stavros Konstantinos himself was outside waiting with a proposition for us, I couldn't believe it. You were stung by a stingray?”

“That's right. I still have trouble walking.”

“You're lucky to still be alive. I could tell you stories.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Andrea smiling.

“Thankfully my story has a happy ending, otherwise I wouldn't be standing here, but it's all I can manage.”

The quarry manager scratched his head. “This is a very unusual way to do business. You were very smart to send her first.” His mouth widened into a grin. “So you are now in business for yourself. No more papa?”

Stavros had to smother a groan. “I still have a papa, but no more ties to the Konstantinos Corporation. My partners and I are in business producing a new product called Marma-Kon.” He took advantage of the moment to explain why he wanted to buy their marble waste.

“I'll email you the contract today so you can read it over. It should answer all your questions. If you are in agreement to do business, contact Theo Troikas, whose name is on the card. He's the contracts manager.”

“I tell you what. I have to talk to the owner. He owns two quarries. I think he will say yes, but I'll get back to you. Thank you, and get well.” He shook Stavros's hand.

After he'd walked away, Stavros climbed in the backseat once more and Andrea closed the door for him. Then she got back in the driver's seat and turned around. “What do you think?”

Stavros stretched out to rest his leg. “Do you even have to ask? With you as my ambassador, it was like taking candy from a baby. The hitch will come when he talks to the owner.”

“Why wouldn't he agree? They'll be making money off you.”

“You never know. Prejudice maybe, because I'm the son who's no longer working for his father. The owner's a proud Greek, remember? We're a pretty patriarchal bunch.”

She nodded. “With the god Zeus serving as the role model, you are. His autocratic handling of his son Arcas was a great example of fatherly love. That poor boy was so upset he said, ‘If you think you're so clever, Father, make me whole and unharmed.' That relationship got nowhere in a hurry.”

That was a little-known part of the myth. The fact that she could pull such information out of her head at a moment's notice astounded him.

“Stavros—” Her eyes clouded over. “I'm trying to get you to ease up on yourself. You're not actually buying into your own pathetic fiction about not living up to your father's expectations? As far as I'm concerned, you've exceeded any dreams a father might have for his son. The respect everyone has for you should warm your heart.”

“Does it warm yours?” He couldn't see her face.

“I told you the other night that I've chosen to believe in you.”

Stavros put his head back. “If only I'd heard that kind of faith come from my father, even one time...”

“Please don't torture yourself.” She had tears in her voice. “You need to stop! Your brother, Leon, is your champion or he wouldn't have come to the house the other night to warn you. Even if you didn't notice it, I saw the manager's eyes gleam while you told him about your product. He stood there wishing he'd thought of it first and probably wished he had a son like you.

“You're really onto something big, Stavros. As long as you're searching for new sources, why not buy some quarries no longer being used? You know the old saying about one man's trash being another man's treasure.”

“They cost money, but I hear what you're saying, Andrea.” Every single brilliant word.

“Good. Then let's drive on to the next target.”

* * *

Andrea marveled at the scenery after they reached the place where they were spending the night. Outside the door of her hotel room, which adjoined Stavros's, she looked south and east to the pine trees and sweet chestnut forests. They surrounded the village sitting at the foot of Mount Ypsarion. Its charm lay in the old houses with their stone walls and wooden roofs.

While he got ready for bed, she went to a local
taverna
for oven-baked pizza that was chewy like focaccia bread and topped with gyro meat in a sauce tasting strongly of basil. After she returned, they drank fruit juice in lieu of wine with their meal. Knowing Stavros had a sweet tooth, she'd picked up some baklava.

Before she got ready for bed, she went back to his room to make sure he'd taken his pills and was settled. She knew he was tired, but he seemed in better spirits than when they'd stopped at the first quarry.

She felt his eyes on her the second she entered his room. “How do you feel after meeting with managers from three different quarries?”

“I'll know better when contracts come in, but I'm satisfied we've made a dent.”

“Do you think you're up to more visits tomorrow?”

“Are you?” he questioned right back. “You must be exhausted after all you've done today.”

“I'm not the one with the wound. If you don't mind, I'd like to check it before you go to sleep, just to be on the safe side.” She pulled a clean dressing from the box.

He threw the covers aside. For his convenience, obviously, he'd put on a pair of shorts for bed. Nothing else. The dusting of black hair on his well-defined chest reminded her of those hours on the beach when they'd gotten tangled in each other's arms. As if reading her mind, he turned over. She sucked in her breath and leaned down to make an inspection.

Relief swept through her. “It's healing, Stavros. There's almost no drainage.”

“That means I can do my own walking tomorrow.”

“Within reason,” she reminded him. After discarding the old dressing, she washed her hands and came out of the bathroom to affix a new one. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“Stay with me tonight, Andrea,” he asked in a compelling voice. “Lie by me.”

“Stavros—”

“I swear I won't do anything you don't want me to do. We don't have a lot of time left before you're gone for good.”

She knew that a lot better than he did. She'd had nightmares about never seeing him again. But what he was asking would be a mistake for both of them, a voice inside warned. Stavros had no idea how much she'd come to love him. To spend more time with him was only going to make it harder to leave. After losing Ferrante, she was terrified of loving another man again.

“Can't we at least have this night together like we had out in the woods when we were looking for Darren? I don't know about you, but I remember every moment of it lying next to you. I remember your fragrance. You always smell divine, did you know that?”

Andrea could hardly breathe. “Let me think about it.” She darted toward the door that separated their two rooms. Once inside hers, she reached in the duffel bag for her nightgown and robe. During her shower, her brain screamed at her to remain in her room until morning. But by the time she'd brushed her teeth and was ready for bed, her heart had won out. Stavros was right. This would be their last night together before she had to fly back to Thessaloniki.

On legs that trembled, she turned off the light and went into his bedroom. His light was off too. She drifted through the semidarkness to the bed. Without removing her robe, she got in on the other side. No sooner had she rested her head on the pillow than she felt his arm snake around her waist and roll her into his strong body.

“Finally,” he said in an unsteady voice and buried his face in her hair. “I've been willing you to come to me. I love you,
agape mou
.” His hand roved over her arm and back possessively. “I fell in love with you that day on the mountain. I'm a different man because of it. Don't tell me it's too soon to say those words to you.”

Tears trickled out of her eyes. “I won't. I love you too. But you already know that, in the same way you know everything else,” she murmured against his lips. “I adore you.” She kissed him over and over again. “I knew it when you got out of your car to castigate me for losing one of my students.”

“Forgive me, darling.”

“There's nothing to forgive. I didn't think a man like you existed, yet there you were, bigger than life and so handsome I didn't think my heart could take it. When I thought I might never see you again, I asked if I could look for Darren with you. It was so bold of me I should be ashamed, but I couldn't help myself.”

“Do you think a lesser woman could ever hold me?” Stavros kissed her long and hard before he lifted his head. She moaned in protest. “We need to talk, my love. About us.”

“Let's not ruin tonight with talk,” she begged.

“There are other ways of communicating.” He covered her face with kisses. “It's all I can do to keep myself from making love to you, but I made you a promise.”

She loved him more fiercely for honoring it. Once again, she was the one spinning out of control. This wasn't fair to him.