Melanie Milburne
The Greek’s Convenient Wife

MILLS & BOON

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To Bruce and Nadine

You are such fun to be around, and have

brought immeasurable joy to our lives.

This one is for both of you, and when you

read it you’ll know exactly why!

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

COMING NEXT MONTH

CHAPTER ONE

MADDISON stared at her younger brother in abject horror.

‘What do you mean you sank his yacht?’

A petulant scowl took up residence on Kyle Jones’s nineteen-year-old face.

‘He deserved it.’

‘Oh, my God.’ She put her head in her hands as she struggled to gain control of her sky-rocketing emotions.

‘I thought you’d be happy,’ Kyle said with a hint of pique. ‘After all, he’s the one who ruined Dad. I thought you’d be pleased I made a stand at long last.’

‘Kyle.’ She lifted her tortured gaze to his. ‘Do you have any idea of what you’ve done?’

He set his shoulders defiantly. ‘I don’t care. He had it coming to him.’

Maddison shut her eyes. ‘I can’t believe I’m hearing this.’

‘It’s all right,’ he reassured her. ‘He has no idea who did it.’

She opened her eyes to face him. ‘How can you possibly know that for sure? People like Demetrius Papasakis always know who their enemies are.’ She got to her feet in agitation and paced the room. ‘You do realise what this means, don’t you?’ She turned to face him once more, her expression pale with worry.

Her brother gave a dismissive shrug. ‘What are you so worried about? He’s never going to know it was me.’

‘Of course he’ll know it was you! You’ve already got a police record! It’s not going to take him long to put two and two together and come up with your name, and once he does you can be certain of one thing—he’ll make sure you end up in prison.’

‘I’m not going to prison,’ he said emphatically.

‘No, you’re not. At least not if I can help it.’ She gnawed her bottom lip as she hunted her brain for a solution.

‘I’m glad I did it, no matter what you think.’ An element of proud defiance had entered Kyle’s voice. ‘Anyway, it’s not as if he can’t afford another yacht; he’s positively loaded.’

‘That’s the whole trouble, don’t you see?’ Desperation was creeping into her tone but there was nothing she could do to stop it. ‘Unlike us, he can afford the very best legal advice. You won’t have a leg to stand on, especially after that last car you stole.’

‘I didn’t steal it,’ he protested. ‘I borrowed it.’

‘Don’t split hairs, Kyle. You know you stole it and you were incredibly lucky to get out on bail, which I might remind you at this point I have yet to pay back to the bank.’

‘I’ll pay you back when I get a job,’ he promised.

Maddison sighed with frustration. ‘And when is that going to be? You’ve already had three jobs, none of them lasting more than a week. I can’t keep covering up for you; at some point you’re going to have to take responsibility for your own life. You’re nineteen years old, more than old enough to drive and vote. It’s about time you stopped blaming everyone else for what’s gone wrong in your life and make something good happen instead.’

‘Demetrius Papasakis wrecked our lives,’ Kyle said bitterly. ‘How can you simply sit back and let him get away with it?’

‘There are better ways than sinking million dollar boats,’ she pointed out wryly. ‘We could have gone to him and stated our case, perhaps fought for compensation.’

‘Oh yeah, right.’ His voice was scathing. ‘He’d laugh in our face; he couldn’t give a fig for what happened to Dad when he lost his job. And besides, look at the way he treats the latest women in his life; that man doesn’t have a conscience.’

Maddison couldn’t agree more, but didn’t want to encourage her brother’s fiery temper. Hardly a day went past without one of the Sydney papers revealing the latest antics of the billionaire playboy, a six-foot-three Greek god of a man with too much money and not enough scruples.

Their father had worked for Demetrius Papasakis as an assistant accountant in the Papasakis hotel chain for years, only to be dismissed without a fair hearing when a question had been raised about the supposed misappropriation of funds. The mud thrown had stuck, and within weeks their father had collapsed with a fatal heart attack, which Maddison knew had been due to the intolerable strain he had faced at the time.

‘People like Demetrius Papasakis usually get their comeuppance in the end,’ she said instead. ‘The trick is to hang around long enough to witness it.’

‘Maybe you’re right.’ The edge of her brother’s mouth lifted in a small smile. ‘According to yesterday’s paper, Papasakis is currently in the middle of yet another relationship scandal, a rich divorcee this time, the ex-wife of one of his business rivals.’

‘At the moment I’m not too concerned about the trouble Demetrius Papasakis may or may not be in,’ she said. ‘The thing I’m concerned with right here and now is how we’re going to get you out of the firing line until the dust settles over this boat episode.’

‘I’m not afraid of Papasakis,’ he said with a lift of his chin.

‘I know, more’s the pity,’ she answered wryly. ‘But I am. He’ll stop at nothing to pay back a misdemeanour such as this and I don’t want to make it too easy for him to do so.’

‘What do you think I should do?’

Maddison took a deep breath of resignation before answering. ‘You’ll have to go into hiding.’

‘Run away, you mean?’ The look he sent her was brim-full of male affront.

‘Not in so many words,’ she reassured him. ‘I have a friend who is working as a nanny on a cattle property in the Northern Territory. In her last letter she told me of the trouble Gillaroo is having recruiting reliable station hands. I can just about afford to pay for your airfare to get you there. After that the rest is up to you.’

‘A station hand?’ Kyle wrinkled his nose.

‘Listen, Kyle.’ She eyeballed him determinedly. ‘I’m running out of both money and patience. This is your last chance. If you don’t take it I’m going to have to wash my hands and leave you to face the music, but let me warn you the sort of music Papasakis will want to play won’t be to your taste.’

‘All right,’ he said. ‘I’ll do it, but only because you want me to, not because I’m scared.’

‘Believe me, you don’t have to be scared,’ she said with feeling. ‘I’m scared enough for both of us.’

Maddison had not long returned from the airport after her younger brother’s departure when the doorbell of her small apartment rang. A flicker of fear brushed the floor of her stomach as she went to answer it, her instincts warning her off opening the door.

The tall, intimidating figure of Demetrius Papasakis stood framed in the doorway, his brown, almost black, eyes glittering as they insolently raked her from head to foot.

Shock rendered her momentarily speechless. How had he known where she lived? And, more to the point, what did he know about her brother’s activities the night before?

‘Miss Jones, I presume?’

‘Th…that’s correct.’ It annoyed her immensely that her voice had sounded distinctly husky. ‘How can I help you?’

‘I’d like to speak with your brother.’

Her eyes flickered briefly away from the dark intensity of his.

‘He’s not here right now.’

‘Where is he?’ The three words were as sharp as daggers, accusing almost.

‘I don’t actually know.’ She reassured herself that it was the truth; she had no idea what part of the continent Kyle was currently flying over.

‘Don’t play games with me, Miss Jones,’ he warned her silkily. ‘I have an issue to discuss with your brother and it would be in his best interests to hear me out.’

‘I’m sorry I can’t help you.’

She began to close the door in his face but before she could get any weight behind it, he reached out a lean hand and the door slammed back against the wall with a resounding thwack.

She shrank back, her hand going shakily to her throat.

He stepped through the doorway and closed the door behind him with exaggerated care.

‘I wouldn’t like your neighbours to overhear what I have to say,’ he said.

‘I’d like you to leave.’ She stepped back another step. ‘Right now.’

‘Before or after I call the police?’ He unhooked his mobile phone from the waistband of his trousers.

She swallowed the constriction in her throat as his lean brown fingers began typing in some numbers.

‘What’s it to be, Miss Jones?’ His forefinger paused over the last digit.

Maddison bit her lip.

‘I have your brother’s probation officer’s telephone number right here,’ he said. ‘Perhaps you’d like to speak to him about your brother’s whereabouts last night?’

‘He was here, with me,’ she said in a thin voice.

He lifted a sceptical brow. ‘You expect me to believe that?’

‘Believe what you like.’

‘You’re playing a dangerous game, Miss Jones. Perhaps I’m not making myself clear.’ He stepped closer to where she was backed up against the wall. ‘I’m not leaving here without information about your brother’s whereabouts.’

‘I hope you’ve brought a toothbrush then.’ Her sapphire-blue eyes flashed with fire. ‘I don’t have a spare.’

His eyes glinted with reluctant amusement at her show of spirit.

‘Are you offering me your bed?’

‘Not a chance,’ she returned primly. ‘You’re not my type.’

He leant one hand on one side of her head and surveyed her up-tilted face in a leisurely manner.

Maddison sucked in a sharp little breath when his fingers captured a strand of her ash-blonde hair, coiling it repeatedly until she was forced to take a tiny step towards him. She could feel the heat of his body this close, his dark eyes so mesmerising she felt as if he was seeing through to her very soul, laying all her innermost secrets bare. She could pick up a faint trace of his citrus-scented aftershave in the air surrounding them, and her bare leg beneath her skirt felt the unmistakable brush of a hard muscled, very male thigh.

‘Now, let’s try it one more time.’ His voice was a silky caress across the sensitised skin of her lips. ‘Where is your brother, Miss Jones?’

She sent her tongue out to the tombstone-dryness of her lips. She saw his dark eyes follow the movement and the breath in her chest tightened another notch.

‘He’s…away,’ she croaked.

His brows snapped together in a frown. ‘Away?’

She nodded.

‘Where?’

‘Interstate.’

‘Which state?’

‘I can’t tell you.’

‘You will tell me, Miss Jones.’ His voice was velvet-covered steel. ‘Even if I have to force it out of you.’

‘I’m not afraid of you.’

‘Are you not?’ Amusement gleamed in his eyes. ‘Then you should be.’

‘Do your worst, Mr Papasakis.’ She lifted her chin. ‘I’m not easily intimidated.’

‘Then I shall have to be very creative and think of an effective tool to bring about your capitulation.’ His smile was deliberately sensuous. ‘Now won’t that be fun?’

She didn’t trust herself to reply. Hatred seethed in her belly until she was sure she’d explode with the effort of keeping it under some semblance of control. She knew enough about him to know he wouldn’t rest until he exacted some sort of revenge, but as long as she had breath she wasn’t going to let him get within a gnat’s eyelash of her brother.

‘Nothing to say, Miss Jones?’ he asked after a tight little silence.

She set her mouth in an intractable line. ‘Get out of my apartment.’

‘Say please.’

‘Go to hell.’

‘Now, now, Miss Jones, that’s not very hospitable of you, is it?’

‘If you don’t leave I’ll scream.’

‘I just love it when a woman screams,’ he drawled suggestively.

Maddison’s face suffused with outraged colour. ‘You’re disgusting.’

‘And you are aiding and abetting a criminal.’

‘My brother is not a criminal,’ she ground out through clenched teeth.

‘You’re living in a fool’s paradise, Miss Jones,’ he warned her. ‘He’s already got a record. One more strike and he’s out—or should I say inside?’

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ she hedged, her cheeks instantly heating.

‘Perhaps you will when I tell you I have proof of your brother’s lawbreaking tendencies.’

She gave him a nervous glance, uncertain whether he was calling her bluff or not.

‘What sort of proof?’

‘The sort of proof which will convict him.’

‘I don’t believe you.’

‘He was seen on my boat last night,’ he said.

‘So?’

He gave her a hard look. ‘My boat is now at the bottom of Parsley Bay.’

‘I hardly see that someone stepping on to a boat immediately makes them responsible for sinking it,’ she said. ‘Or at least not someone with the small body mass index of my brother.’

‘Very funny.’ His eyes challenged hers.

‘What about fingerprints?’ she asked. ‘Got any of those?’

He held her look for far longer than she would have liked.

‘I’m sure you know fingerprints are a little difficult to find when a boat has been submerged for several hours.’

‘What a shame,’ she said without sincerity.

‘But—’ he deliberately paused for effect ‘—your brother did oblige me by leaving a calling card.’ He took something out of the breast pocket of his shirt and held it up for her to see.

Maddison swallowed.

‘Recognise this?’ he asked.

For endless seconds she stared at the sterling silver surf chain she’d given Kyle for his eighteenth birthday.

‘No,’ she lied.

‘You’re predictable if nothing else.’ He pocketed the chain once more.

‘That chain could belong to anybody,’ she pointed out.

‘Anybody, that is, with the initials KBJ,’ he put in neatly. ‘What does the B stand for, by the way?’

‘None of your business.’

‘While we’re on the subject of names, what is yours?’

‘That’s also none of your business.’

‘I’m making it my business.’

She didn’t care for the implacable threat in his tone but she knew there was little she could do to stop him finding out everything he needed to know and more. He quite clearly knew too much as it was and it made her increasingly uneasy.

She lowered her gaze after a lengthy silence and muttered, ‘My name is Maddison.’

‘Maddison.’ His tongue caressed her name and she gave a little involuntary shiver of reaction. ‘It suits you.’

He stepped away from her and she let out her breath in relief. She watched him as he wandered about her small sitting room, stopping to pick up a book from the coffee table as if he owned the place. She had to admit he had an incredible air of authority about him. She imagined it came from his considerable wealth; no doubt he was used to calling all the shots. His height, too, only added to that authority, as did his immaculate mode of dress. Designer suits, she decided, could have no better hanger than the leanly muscled frame which spoke of a man who obviously enjoyed and played a lot of sport. A broad chest, lean waist tapering to even leaner hips and long hard thighs beneath. His thick, closely cropped curly hair was as black as the ace of spades and his eyes were intelligent and astute, his mouth firm but full enough to hint at a brooding sensuality. His jaw was shadowed as if shaving once a day was not quite enough, which only added to the aura of unmistakable masculinity that oozed from each and every pore of his body. He caught her eyes on him as he turned to look at her.

‘Maddison Jones, I have a bargain to drive with you.’

‘What sort of bargain?’ Her tone was suspicious.

He put the book he was holding down before answering.

‘As you can imagine the loss of my yacht has incurred considerable expense.’

‘What sort of expense?’ she asked cautiously.

His dark eyes held hers.

‘One point five million dollars, to be exact.’

She couldn’t disguise her indrawn breath in time. ‘Oh, my God!’

‘Yes, I said as much at the time,’ he admitted wryly, ‘Or at least words to that effect.’

She could just imagine the sort of words he might have used.

‘I don’t see what this has to do with me.’

‘It has everything to do with you, especially since you’re so determined to protect your brother.’

‘What do you mean?’

He gave her a leisurely look.

‘Since you’re so obviously lying to cover Kyle’s tracks, I guess that leaves me with no choice but to deal directly with you.’

‘I can’t pay back that amount of money.’

‘Not many people can,’ he agreed. ‘But that’s not to say you couldn’t in your own inimitable way redress the balance.’

‘I can’t imagine what you’re getting at.’

‘I’m offering you a position, Miss Jones.’ He smiled seductively and then added smokily, ‘Maddison.’

She gritted her teeth against the sound of her name on his lips.

‘What sort of position?’

‘The sort of position most women would clutch at with both hands.’

‘I’m afraid I’m not quite up to date on what most women would do for the simple reason I am not most women.’

‘You surprise me, Maddison. I had you picked as an opportunist, not unlike your father and brother.’

‘My father did nothing wrong.’

He inclined his head.

‘I respect your very obvious loyalty but your father proved his guilt by bowing under the pressure of accusation.’

‘An accusation that was uncalled for and totally false!’ she retorted hotly.

‘It’s understandable you would cling to that view but I have reason to believe otherwise.’

‘You wouldn’t recognise the truth if it jumped out of your over-stuffed wallet.’

‘I beg to differ, Miss Jones. I have a great understanding of the truth. What remains to be seen is whether you do as well.’

‘You can’t make a criminal out of my brother.’

‘I can and I will if I have to,’ he assured her. ‘But for the time being I’m prepared to suspend my judgement on your brother as long as you do what I suggest.’

‘I can’t imagine what scheme you have in mind,’ she said scathingly.

‘Can’t you?’

She gave him an icy look. ‘No doubt it has your unscrupulous desires at its centre.’

‘Desire is a very good choice of word.’ He smiled. ‘I like the sound of that.’

Maddison didn’t like the tone of his voice; it seemed to suggest a growing intimacy between them she didn’t want to acknowledge in any shape or form.

‘What do you want from me?’ she asked. ‘I have no money worth speaking of and I think I’ve made it more than clear I have no intention of revealing the whereabouts of my brother. What else is there?’

He took his time answering. She was intently conscious of his lazy surveillance, the fine hairs on the back of her neck rising in reaction to his studied gaze.

‘I think you might prove to be very useful to me,’ he said. ‘Very useful indeed.’

‘I can’t imagine what you mean.’ She sent him another nervous glance.

‘I have a proposition to make.’

‘What sort of proposition?’

‘The sort of proposition that will clear your brother of all charges, wipe his slate clean, if you like.’

A flicker of hope burned and died in her breast within seconds. She didn’t trust him; he had all the aces in his hand and he would throw them on the table at any moment, she was sure.

‘Just how far are you prepared to go to protect your brother?’ he asked after another tight little pause.

‘As far as it takes.’ She lifted her chin a fraction.

His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. ‘As far as having a relationship with me?’

She held his direct look without speaking, her heart skipping a beat in her chest.

‘I need the smokescreen of a new alliance. You could prove to be very useful in my current circumstances.’

‘I can’t imagine how.’ She finally found her voice.

‘I need a cover,’ he said. ‘I have a situation, so to speak; I need an alibi, the ironclad sort.’

‘I don’t think I can help you.’

‘On the contrary, I think you can. I want you to pretend to be my current mistress. How would you feel about that?’

‘Do you want the truth or politeness?’

‘Both.’

‘Well—’ she tilted her head at him ‘—for a start I would never allow myself to be your mistress.’

‘What about as my wife?’

‘That’s even more unlikely.’

‘What about if you had no choice?’

She gave him an arctic look. ‘I would always have a choice.’

‘Not if your brother’s freedom depended on it.’

Maddison felt cornered and she was sure he was aware of it.

‘What do you mean?’ she asked, trying to buy time.

‘It’s easy.’ He gave her an unreadable look. ‘I can call Kyle’s probation officer right now to tell him he’s flown the coop, or you can agree to do a favour for me, simple as that.’

‘You want me to pretend to be your wife?’

‘No.’ He shook his head. ‘I’ve changed my mind. I have much more specific plans for you.’

She gave him a blank stare. ‘I don’t think I’m following you.’

‘I don’t want you to pretend anything,’ he said smoothly. ‘I want you to actually be my wife.’

Her mouth dropped open in shock. ‘You can’t possibly mean that!’

‘In time, Maddison Jones, you will come to learn that I mean everything I say.’

She could well believe it, but didn’t want to add to his already monumental ego by expressing it verbally.

‘You surely can’t expect me to agree to this outrageous proposal,’ she said instead.

‘I think I’ve made it clear what will happen if you don’t,’ he answered. ‘Kyle will find himself in a four-by-four cell, playing cards with who knows what unsavoury inmates.’

She closed her eyes against the image his words conjured. Her brother was wilful and wayward, but he didn’t deserve imprisonment, and she would do everything in her power to stop it happening.

‘I…I need some time to think about this.’ She avoided his eyes.

‘I’ll give you a week, no more.’

‘A week?’

He gave a single nod. ‘But, let me warn you, I’ll be following your every move, so if you have any plans to escape, forget them.’

He reached into his back pocket and handed her a business card. She took it with nerveless fingers and stared at it sightlessly for a long moment.

‘You can reach me on that number when you’ve made your decision,’ he informed her. ‘I’ll tell my secretary to expect your call by five p.m. on Monday.’

She wished she had the courage to tear the card into a thousand pieces, and if it hadn’t been for Kyle she would have, but instead she closed her palm around it, feeling its sharp edges digging into her flesh like an instrument of torture. She lifted her gaze back to his unwavering one, the cold fingertips of fear edging their way up her spine at the self-satisfied gleam reflected in his black-hooded eyes.

‘I’m assuming from all this that your boat wasn’t adequately insured,’ she said.

‘It was very adequately insured,’ he informed her. ‘But this is my way of ensuring I get the best possible return.’

The predatory look he gave her caused her stomach to turn over unexpectedly.

‘You’re taking a very big risk; you don’t know where I might have been or who I’ve been with.’ She was deliberately provocative, even though she had never been so close to a man until he’d stepped into her personal space a few minutes ago.

‘I have no real interest in your sexual proclivities,’ he said dismissively. ‘This will not be a real lasting marriage.’

‘It’s to be temporary?’ She clutched at the life-line hopefully.

‘Of course.’ His eyes glinted darkly. ‘Isn’t every marriage?’

She didn’t have it in her to argue the point, even if she’d wanted to. She’d read the latest figures on marital success and they weren’t all that promising.

‘Aren’t you worried I might take you to the cleaners at the end of our…arrangement?’ she asked.

‘Not at all. By the time our marriage is annulled you’ll be very much aware of what sort of outcome such an action would produce.’

She lifted her chin at the thinly veiled threat behind his words.

‘Do I have your word the marriage would stay in name only?’

‘I can assure you, Maddison, my physical needs are being very satisfactorily catered for elsewhere. I have absolutely no interest in chasing you around the bedroom. You will be able to sleep in peace.’

She knew it was highly inconsistent of her to be annoyed by his callous dismissal of her attractiveness to the opposite sex; she knew she was hardly model material but surely she wasn’t ready for the shelf yet?

‘So, if I agree to this arrangement it is safe to assume I’m to turn a blind eye to your activities for appearance’s sake?’

‘You will not only turn a blind eye, you will do everything in your power to maintain the illusion of a happy union whenever we are in public, which means, of course, the same freedom I enjoy will not be available to you.’

‘Meaning?’

‘Meaning any dalliances you might be tempted to conduct will have to be temporarily shelved until such time as our marriage is over.’

‘So you can have your cake and eat it too, but I must not?’

‘That’s correct.’

‘That’s archaic!’

‘That’s the deal, take it or leave it.’

She longed to tell him what to do with his preposterous proposal but a vision of her brother in handcuffs flitted unbidden into her mind and she snapped her mouth shut.

‘Don’t forget, Maddison, I’m doing you a very big favour here. One point five million dollars is a huge debt for someone in your position to pay. This way the debt can be cleared within a short space of time. Your brother can stop looking over his shoulder and you can walk away with a clear conscience knowing you saved him from a fate thought to be worse than death.’

‘What sort of time-frame are you thinking of?’ she asked, her insides twisting painfully.

He pursed his lips for a moment in a gesture of deep thought.

‘At a guess I’d give it six months. Any longer and you might be tempted to get a little too attached to the role.’

‘You must be joking.’ She gave him a scathing glance.

‘One can never be too sure,’ he said with another one of his secret smiles. ‘Women have rather an annoying habit of becoming clingy at times.’

‘It must be your money,’ she shot back. ‘It can’t possibly have anything whatsoever to do with your personality.’

His sudden laughter surprised her; it had a deep masculine sound to it that sent an arrow of sensation up her back as if he’d reached out and touched her with his long fingers. It made her feel as if she’d inadvertently uncovered an even more dangerous facet to him, the ability to slip under her defences and catch her off guard.

‘Maddison Jones—’ his eyes twinkled with lingering amusement as he surveyed her mutinous features ‘—I’m looking forward to hearing your decision next week. I think our little arrangement could prove to be very entertaining, very entertaining indeed.’

Before she could think of a suitably stinging reply the door opened under his hand and he was gone, leaving her standing there with his business card tightly clenched in her hand.

She opened her palm and winced when she saw the tiny pinprick of blood one of the sharp edges had drawn from her soft flesh. She couldn’t help wondering if it were some sort of omen, or perhaps a warning specifically aimed at her; if she were to allow herself to get too close to someone like Demetrius Papasakis she would be, in the end, the only one to get hurt.

CHAPTER TWO

MADDISON had never known a week to go so quickly. As each day unfolded her panic grew steadily inside her until she began to feel as if she were on death row, waiting for the next cock’s crow to herald her imminent demise.

She hadn’t wasted the time available to her but had tried everything in her power to extricate herself from the clutches of Demetrius Papasakis—to no avail. As if to deliberately intensify her desperate circumstances, she had received a flood of bills in the space of days, one of which was a hefty speeding fine of her brother’s which she knew he wouldn’t be able to pay.

She spent a miserable weekend trying to think of a way out of her difficulties but in the end had to admit she was well and truly trapped. Her modest income from the second hand bookstore where she worked would hardly cover Kyle’s speeding ticket let alone a million-and-a-half dollar boat.

However, when she arrived at the bookstore on the Monday morning she received an even bigger shock. Her boss, Hugo McGill, looked at her over the top of his reading glasses, his white whiskers moving up and down restively.

‘Maddison, I have some unfortunate news.’

Cold dread trickled into her stomach at his ominous tone.

‘What’s wrong?’ she asked, not sure she really wanted to know.

‘I’m afraid I’m selling up.’

She blinked at him for a second or two. ‘This is rather sudden, isn’t it?’

‘Yes and no,’ he answered. ‘I’ve wanted a change for ages but I felt I should wait until I got a good price for the place. I had an offer at the weekend and, to put it rather bluntly, it was too good to refuse.’

She sat back in her chair as the realisation of her circumstances dawned. ‘I suppose the new owner has no plans to keep the business running?’

‘No,’ he said. ‘The building is going to be demolished to make way for a hotel.’

‘A hotel?’ She gaped at him.

‘A luxury one,’ Hugo said proudly as if somehow that made it better. ‘The fruit shop and the bakery have been sold as well to make room for it.’

Maddison had never felt so angry in all her twenty-four years. She knew without asking who was behind this sudden redevelopment plan but a perverse desire to hear her boss articulate the name urged her on.

‘Do you happen to know who’s behind this purchase?’

‘Yes, the Greek billionaire, Demetrius Papasakis. He was in the papers at the weekend over the loss of his boat. Did you happen to see it?’

‘No.’ She shifted her gaze uncomfortably. ‘I didn’t have time to look at the papers.’

‘It seems his luxury yacht was sabotaged one night last week.’

‘Did he say who he suspected of doing it?’ she asked, carefully avoiding his eye.

‘Not in so many words, but he did say he had the matter in hand. I feel sorry for whoever did it, to tell you the truth. Demetrius Papasakis is not the sort of enemy I would go out of my way to attract.’

‘I’m sure there are lots of people who would agree with you,’ she answered wryly.

‘He’s got an edge of cold ruthlessness about him,’ Hugo continued. ‘But I suppose when he’s got that amount of money who’s going to challenge him?’

‘Who indeed?’

‘Anyway, I’m sorry about your job. You’ve been a good girl, Maddison. I’ll write you a decent reference and if I hear of anything you might be interested in I’ll call you. I know it’s terribly short notice but business is business as they say.’

She gave him a wan smile as she pushed in the chair she’d been sitting on. ‘Yes, it certainly is.’

Maddison had six hours to get through before she announced her decision. She glanced at her watch repeatedly, her heart hammering with every passing minute as she thought about the phone call she had to make by five p.m.

She left the bookshop at four-thirty, surprising herself at her detached attitude as she walked away from it without a backward glance. She searched for a public telephone at four-forty-five, but each one she came to was out of order. She stood on yet another street corner and nibbled at the rough edge of a fingernail as she thought about what to do. In the end she decided a phone call was the cowardly thing to do, that the best way to approach the situation was head on. She wasn’t going to relay her message to Demetrius Papasakis via his secretary; she was going to have it out with him face-to-face.

She rummaged in her bag for the business card he’d given her and quickly memorised the address of his office tower, relieved to find she had just enough time to get there on foot if she hurried. She arrived somewhat breathlessly outside the imposing building in the north of the city, her hair sticking to the back of her neck and her white blouse clinging to her back where beads of nervous perspiration had collected. She brushed an errant strand out of her face and stabbed her finger at the call button of the lifts, trying to ignore the distinct flutter of unease in her belly.

The lift swept her up to the administration floor where she encountered a middle-aged woman guarding the reception desk.

‘Can I help you?’ the woman asked in a haughty tone.

Maddison brushed another wayward strand out of her face.

‘I’m here to see Mr Papasakis.’

‘Do you have an appointment?’

‘No, not really. I was supposed to call him, but at the last minute I decided to come in person. My name is Maddison Jones.’

The woman’s eyes swept over her. ‘You’re Miss Jones?’

‘That’s correct.’ Maddison lifted her chin in a token gesture of pride.

She didn’t care for the look the secretary was giving her, as if she was the last person anyone would expect Demetrius Papasakis to be associated with. She suffered no illusions about her out-of-date clothes and scuffed shoes, but she knew her figure was nothing to be ashamed of, even if her hair needed brushing and her lips a touch of gloss.

‘I’ll let him know you’re here.’ The woman reached for the intercom on her desk.

‘Thank you,’ Maddison responded politely.

She heard the deep burr of Demetrius’s voice on the machine as she stood waiting, and glancing at the clock on the wall saw the second hand tick down the remaining seconds—ten, nine, eight, seven…

‘He’ll see you now,’ the woman said, interrupting her quiet panic.

She followed the woman’s directions to his office and gave the solid door one small sharp knock.

‘Come.’

She opened the door and her eyes immediately went to his seated figure behind the huge expanse of his desk.

He got to his feet with languid grace and greeted her. ‘Maddison, and right on time too.’

She didn’t answer but stood in front of his desk with a fiery look in her clear blue gaze.

Demetrius couldn’t help feeling faintly amused. She was so touchingly defiant, pretending she wasn’t intimidated when she very clearly was. It intrigued him in a way. Most of the women he’d been involved with would have jumped at the chance to wear his ring and yet here she was looking as if he’d asked her to walk the plank above an ocean full of sharks.

He indicated the chair for her to sit on with a sweep of his hand.

‘Please, take a seat.’

‘I’d rather stand,’ she said through stiff lips.

‘As you wish.’ He sat back down and picked up a pen off his desk and gave it a click. ‘Have you come to a decision regarding my proposal?’

‘I’m surprised you still have the gall to call it a proposal,’ she said. ‘I would prefer the term blackmail.’

‘Blackmail is a strong word.’ He gave his pen another audible click. ‘I’d like to remind you now that you can walk out of that door at any point and accept the consequences.’

She tightened her spine at his chilling warning.

‘But you’ve made it impossible for me to do so, haven’t you?’ She eyeballed him directly.

‘I take it you’re referring to my real estate dealings over the weekend?’ He leant back in his chair and propped his feet on his desk in an indolent pose that made the blood simmer in her veins.

‘You did it deliberately, didn’t you? To flush me out like a rat down a drainpipe.’

‘Not quite the metaphor I would have chosen, but it will suffice, I suppose.’

‘You’re totally sick!’

‘I’ll take that as a ‘‘no’’ then?’ His dark gaze glinted with lazy amusement.

She clenched and unclenched her fists in an effort to keep control.

‘I’m going to make you a promise, Mr Papasakis, one that I hope you won’t forget.’

‘You intrigue me.’ The corner of his mouth lifted sardonically. ‘Pray tell me what delightful pledge you have in store.’

Her eyes flashed with fire. ‘I will marry you, but you will live to regret it; I’m going to make absolutely certain of that.’

He lifted his feet off the desk in one easy movement and stood up, straightening to his full height as he came around the desk to her side. She stood her ground determinedly, but on the inside she was shaking and was sure he was aware of it.

‘You and whose army?’ He reached out and touched her flaming cheek with one idle finger.

She jerked her head out of his reach and glared up at him.

‘Mock me all you like but I’ll be the one laughing in the end,’ she promised.

‘How absolutely terrifying you are when aroused.’

‘I’m not aroused!’ She stamped her foot at him. ‘I’m angry, blindingly so!’

‘Come now, Maddison.’ He caught her upper arms with his hands and held her gently but firmly. ‘Why not give in with good grace? You’ll be the envy of single women everywhere. A rich husband, all the clothes and trinkets you want in exchange for a few months of your time. What more could you ask?’

‘I could ask for a lot more in a husband,’ she threw at him coldly. ‘Being tied to an unprincipled playboy is not my idea of nuptial bliss, nor is the prospect of being a laughing stock when you carry on with your perfidious behaviour behind my back.’

‘It won’t be behind your back,’ he said. ‘I’ve already informed you of the terms of our agreement.’

‘Your double standards make me sick!’

‘No doubt they are a little distasteful, but that’s the deal. I can’t have people wondering why my wife is having a bit on the side; it’s not good for my reputation.’

‘I can’t believe your arrogance,’ she spat.

His hands on her arms tightened momentarily.

‘I also can’t have my wife calling me names, is that understood?’

She met his implacable look with defiance. ‘I won’t be your wife for long.’

‘No, but while you are you’ll do as you’re told.’

She gritted her teeth against the string of invectives on her tongue.

‘You’d much rather be my temporary wife than see your brother go to prison, wouldn’t you?’ he added when she didn’t speak.

‘I’d much rather like to see you rot in prison,’ she ground out.

‘Answer me, Maddison.’ He tilted her chin to meet his eyes. ‘Tell me how much you’d rather be married to me than see your brother’s future go up in smoke.’

She hadn’t thought it was possible to hate another person so much as she did him at that moment. Her blood thrummed with it, thundering in her ears as she felt every last remnant of her pride being stripped away by his ruthlessness.

‘I…I don’t want to see Kyle go to prison,’ she bit out.

‘And the rest?’

‘And…and I’d rather be your temporary…wife.’

He smiled one of his hateful smiles and her palm itched to wipe it from his face. He lowered his mouth towards hers in a slow motion movement which should have been enough warning for her to get out of the way but somehow wasn’t. She closed her eyes as his lips connected with hers, surprised at how warm and dry they felt as they brushed along hers. Her lips clung to his, her mouth opening to the heated probe of his tongue as he traced the line of her bottom lip in spine-weakening intimacy. She felt the slight graze of his teeth as he took her bottom lip between them, holding her for a heart-stopping moment until releasing her, only to dive between the soft folds of her lips to taste her completely. She felt the unmistakable thrust of his hard thighs between her quivering ones, felt too the evidence of his essential maleness as he leaned into her softness.

He lifted his head a fraction and her eyes sprang open to see him watching her steadily, his own dark gaze inscrutable.

‘I’ll be in contact with you over the arrangements.’ He stepped away from her.

She watched him silently as he returned to the chair behind his desk, irritated beyond measure at his calm indifference to what had passed between them in that one brief kiss.

‘Under the circumstances I thought it would be best if we have a small ceremony,’ he added. ‘Is there anyone you’d particularly like to invite?’

‘Apart from a sniper, do you mean?’

His eyes held hers for a lengthy pause.

‘Careful, Maddison, you’re supposed to be in love with me, remember? Not planning my demise behind my back.’

‘I could never be in love with you. You’re everything I most detest in a man.’

‘All I’m asking you to do is pretend.’

‘It’s going to take every bit of acting ability I possess to do so.’

‘I don’t care what it takes as long as you do it. Otherwise you know the score.’

‘I suppose you’re going to hang that threat over my head for as long as our marriage continues?’

‘Think of it as my insurance policy,’ he said. ‘I’ll let your brother off the hook if and when I feel you’ve done what is required.’

‘Am I to be allowed to contact him?’

‘I can hardly stop you,’ he said. ‘Besides, you’ll have to tell him of our impending marriage for no doubt he’ll read about it in the papers.’

‘How am I going to explain our sudden marriage to him?’

‘You’re a woman. Think of a suitable lie to put him off the scent.’

‘Your view of my gender positively reeks of misogyny.’

‘No doubt it does, but then in my thirty-four years I have yet to meet a woman who doesn’t run true to form.’

A small frown settled between her brows at his words. She wondered if somewhere along the line he’d been hurt by a woman, perhaps one who had got the upper hand with him and rubbed his nose in it.

‘I’ll arrange for some legal papers to be sent to you for your perusal,’ he said, cutting across her thoughts. ‘As for wedding finery, I’ll organise a credit card for you; it should be available in three or four days.’

‘I’m to be a real bride?’ She stared at him in alarm.

‘What’s wrong? Do you have a thing about wearing white?’

‘No.’ If only he knew the irony of his words, she thought. ‘I just didn’t expect you to want to go to so much trouble over a temporary arrangement.’

‘It’s only temporary to us,’ he pointed out. ‘To everyone else this must be presented as a match made in heaven. If we have some hole-and-corner ceremony it won’t look good enough to believe. Besides, everyone knows how Greek men pride themselves on scoring a virginal bride.’

Hot colour suffused her cheeks.

‘I hope being a virgin isn’t part of your stipulations?’

‘I’m not so stupid as to imagine you’ve got to the age you are without experiencing sex first hand. I take it I’m right?’

‘Of course,’ she lied.

‘That’s all for now.’ He got to his feet, effectively dismissing her. ‘I’ll be in touch.’

‘Is that all?’

‘Was there something else?’ He glanced at his watch before meeting her incensed gaze across the desk.

‘No.’ She snapped her mouth over the single word and snatched up her bag from the floor.

She was at the door with her hand on the knob when his voice halted her.

‘I wouldn’t advise any last minute countermoves. Remember I’m watching you.’

‘How could I forget?’ she tossed back at him before closing the door behind her.

She was halfway down the corridor when a heady cloying perfume began to assault her nostrils. She looked up to see an exotic-looking dark-haired woman sashaying past her towards Demetrius’s office, her clinging black dress outlining her very generous curves.

‘Is Demetrius free now?’ the woman asked in a kittenish tone which sickened Maddison to her stomach.

Some spark of residual defiance made Maddison adopt an equally provocative pose as she faced his latest conquest.

‘I hope I haven’t worn him out too much for you,’ she purred suggestively. ‘He’s quite something when he’s all fired up.’

The woman’s dark brows snapped together irritably. ‘That low-down bastard’s been having it off with you?’ she shrieked.

Maddison smoothed down her skirt before straightening her crumpled blouse.

‘He’s insatiable, but then I expect you already know that.’ She batted her eyelashes and then, leaning towards the spitting other woman, murmured conspiratorially, ‘I’ve heard a rumour he’s getting married. I’d be careful if I were you—jealous wives are the pits, aren’t they?’

The woman’s eyes narrowed in anger and she spun away to click-clack down the hall towards Demetrius’s office on heels that Maddison was sure were going to end up in his back at some point if the woman’s expression was anything to go by.

She smiled a little cat’s smile and continued on her way towards the exit. It felt good to have the upper hand just for once, and she was going to enjoy every single delicious minute.

On Wednesday morning a courier arrived at her apartment with a sheaf of papers and an envelope containing a credit card with her name on it.

She sat on her old sofa and went over the papers in detail. They were fairly straightforward, citing the date and time of their intended marriage and the conditions were laid out in simple terms. By signing, she was immediately relinquishing any financial rights normally afforded a marital partner on the dissolution of their marriage. She signed it with considerable relish; she didn’t want his stinking money anyway.

She wasn’t sure what to do about the credit card however. She had no savings left after Kyle’s airfare and traffic infringement, and although Hugo had given her severance pay she still had to finalise the electricity and phone bills before the end of the week, but even so she felt distinctly uncomfortable spending Demetrius’s money. In the end she decided to mail it back to him, not even bothering to write a covering note to accompany it.

As much as it galled her to have to do so she knew she couldn’t leave it too many more days without contacting him. She had one or two questions to ask regarding their living arrangements once they were married; somehow she didn’t think he’d agree to move into her tiny apartment with the peeling paint and constantly flickering light bulbs.

He wasn’t available to speak to her when she called his office, which instantly annoyed her. She didn’t want to wait around holding her breath for him to return her calls, but neither did she want to be left in a state of indecision and uncertainty over whatever arrangements he’d made.

Her hand hovered over the telephone later that evening as she fought with herself over whether to call his private number or not. Before her finger had pressed the first digit, however, the doorbell of her apartment pealed and she put the handset down with a clatter as she got to her feet to answer it.

Demetrius was standing there with a small smile lurking about the corners of his mouth. ‘Hello, Maddison.’ His dark eyes swept over her fluffy tracksuit before returning to her face. ‘Pleased to see me?’

She stepped aside for him to come in.

‘So nice of you to return my calls in person,’ she said. ‘I’m surprised you can afford the time. Haven’t you got a hot date tonight?’

‘I wonder you can ask that,’ he said with a tiny glimmer of amusement in his eyes. ‘Especially when you deliberately sabotaged my relationship with Elena Tsoulis.’

‘If she was so easily put off by me you’re definitely underselling yourself,’ she returned.

‘Perhaps you’re right.’ He shrugged himself out of his suit jacket and hung it over the back of the sofa. ‘She was close to her use by date anyway.’

She inwardly seethed at his callous attitude.

He turned to face her, his hand going to his tie to loosen it. ‘What did you want to see me about?’

‘I want to know what to do about my apartment.’

He swept the room with an ironic glance. ‘You call this an apartment?’

‘No,’ she said, stung by his disdain. ‘I call it home.’

‘Well then, to borrow your own words, you’re definitely underselling yourself.’

‘It’s all I can afford.’

‘No doubt because you’ve been so busy bailing your brother out of trouble all the time. You should be a little more selective in how you rescue him. He’ll never learn to take responsibility with you stepping into the breach all the time.’

‘It’s none of your business what I do for my brother.’

‘I beg to differ. I now have a vested interest in how you help your brother. One could argue, in fact, that it will be my money that will be used to support him if the need should arise.’

‘I’m going to get another job as soon as I can.’

‘There’s no need for you to do so immediately,’ he said. ‘I quite fancy the idea of a kept woman.’

‘I’d rather die.’

‘Such strong words,’ he chided. ‘No, I definitely like the idea of you at my beck and call every hour of the day.’

‘You will soon tire of it.’

He grinned at her disarmingly. ‘I wonder.’

She turned away from the contemplative look in his eye.

‘I wanted to talk to you about living arrangements,’ she said.

‘Ah, yes—’ he sat on the sofa and stretched out his long legs in front of him ‘—the living arrangements. I was wondering when we’d come to that.’

‘I’m assuming you want me to live with you?’

‘Of course.’

‘But what about my apartment?’

‘Get rid of it.’

She took a turn about the room in agitation.

‘What’s the problem, Maddison?’ he asked her. ‘Surely you’re not balking at the idea of sharing my penthouse?’

She turned back to face him. ‘Where do you live?’

‘In the Papasakis Park View Tower Hotel.’

‘You live in a hotel?’ She looked at him incredulously.

‘Why not?’ He crossed his ankles. ‘The beds are comfortable, the food edible, and the showers hot. Why wouldn’t I live there?’

‘I would’ve thought a man of your means would have a castle of his own,’ she said. ‘It must be very impersonal living in a hotel all the time.’

‘I’m used to it. Anyway, I’m in and out of the country such a lot I haven’t got time to manage a private residence.’

‘How much travelling do you do?’

He gave her a knowing look. ‘I can see where your mind is headed. If you think you can get away with anything while my back is turned you can think again. I might be out of the country rather regularly but I keep a steady eye on what’s happening when I’m away.’

‘I wasn’t thinking anything of the sort,’ she lied. ‘I was just wondering what I should do when you’re away, that’s all.’

He propped his hands behind his head and surveyed her casually. ‘You’ll be too busy pretending to be the devoted wife in my absence and if you behave yourself I might even allow you to come with me occasionally.’

‘I can’t wait.’

He laughed at the insincerity of her tone. ‘Come on, Maddison, you do your sex a disservice to insist your motives are all above board. What young woman wouldn’t want an all expenses paid trip overseas?’

‘I would prefer to have more choice over my travelling partner.’

‘Be that as it may, I still think you should be grateful I’ve been so obliging in all this. Another man might have asked you to pay back every cent.’

‘I would rather work an eighteen hour day for the rest of my life than spend an hour with you.’

His expression closed over and she wondered if she’d pressed one too many of his buttons.

‘You have a lamentable lack of grace in your choice of words,’ he said. ‘One would hope that tendency will abate as time goes on.’

‘You expect me to be grateful to you for blackmailing me into this arrangement?’

‘No.’ He got to his feet with languid ease. ‘I don’t expect you to be grateful; I expect you to be realistic. Your brother is a prison statistic waiting to happen. I’m giving you a chance to redeem his future prospects.’

‘What do you want from me?’

‘I thought I’d made that clear. I want you to pretend to be a wife in love for a short period of time.’

‘I’m not sure I’m up to the task.’

‘Then you’d better brush up on your skills,’ he said. ‘If you don’t, the weight of the law will fall about your brother’s shoulders.’

‘That threat is going to wear out if you brandish it about too much.’

‘It’s not a threat, Maddison, it’s a promise, and if you don’t fulfil your side of the bargain, neither will I.’

‘I don’t know why you’ve targeted me as your victim in all this,’ she said. ‘I have absolutely nothing to offer you.’

‘You have everything to offer me,’ he countered. ‘You love your brother and are prepared to do anything to save him. That sort of loyalty is not to be disregarded.’

‘You’re exploiting it for your own ends.’

‘Maybe, but at the end of the day you’re the one who wins in all this.’

‘How so?’

‘Your brother will be released from all retribution from me, and you’ll be adequately compensated for your time and efforts in portraying yourself as a devoted wife. I can’t do any more than that.’

‘I still think there’s a loophole in all of this.’

‘It’s understandable you’d see it that way, but let me reassure you I have no such motive. I wish only for a quick solution to my own problems, and as it turns out you are a very convenient alibi.’

‘It’s been all too convenient for you, though, hasn’t it?’ she asked. ‘My brother has played right into your hands.’

‘Your brother was foolish enough to leave a footprint. If he hadn’t done so I would still be scouring the streets for the culprit.’

‘I only wish my brother had thought to torch your car and your hotel as well,’ she said bitterly.

His mouth thinned as he took in her enraged features. ‘That would have been most inadvisable. If he had done so you would not be marrying me next week, and your useless brother would be facing me in court.’

Maddison didn’t have an answer at the ready.

‘I would advise you, Maddison, to see things as they are. You stand in front of your brother’s freedom; don’t throw it away on a whim of petulance directed at me.’

‘I hate you.’

‘I’m very glad you do,’ he said. ‘I wouldn’t like to think you harboured any other emotion considering the terms I’ve laid down.’

‘How can you sleep at night?’ she asked.

‘I can sleep with ease,’ he said. ‘Knowing that I did all I could to secure my own interests.’

‘At the expense of someone else’s?’

‘Yes,’ he said without apology. ‘At the expense of someone else’s.’

She turned away from his arrogant features and sucked in a steadying breath. ‘How soon do you wish to activate this fake marriage?’

‘Next week.’

She swung back to face him, her expression full of alarm. ‘Next week?’ She had forgotten it would be so soon.

He gave a casual lift of one shoulder as if they were merely discussing the date of a picnic, not a legally binding agreement such as marriage.

‘I thought it best to get the deed over with as quickly as possible. A whirlwind affair will attract exactly the sort of press attention I need to divert attention away from my other activities.’

‘How can anyone possibly organise a wedding in a week?’

He gave her an imperious smile as he tapped his inside pocket. ‘That over-stuffed wallet you referred to before comes in rather handy when I want something done in a hurry.’

‘I just bet it does.’ She gave him a caustic glance.

‘I also thought we should spend some time together this week,’ he added. ‘It will give credibility to our relationship if we’re seen in public a few times.’

‘I’m busy this week.’

‘Cancel.’

‘I don’t want to.’

‘You might think it amusing to defy me at every turn, but let me assure you, Maddison, I will always maintain the upper hand. You will accompany me on several dates this week and demonstrate your ecstatic enjoyment in being in my company. Is that clear?’

Mutiny flared in her eyes as she faced him. ‘I’ll loathe every minute.’

‘So will your brother if he ends up in jail.’

Blue eyes clashed with black until Maddison had no choice but to look away.

She heard him shrug himself into his jacket and the jangle of his keys as he searched for them in his trouser pocket but she didn’t turn around.

‘I’ll call for you tomorrow. Be ready at seven.’

‘What will I wear?’ she asked stiffly.

She heard him open the door but still refused to face him.

‘Surprise me,’ he said and closed the door behind him.

Maddison couldn’t help smiling a mischievous little smile as she listened to his footsteps fade away as he strode down the stairs to his car. Demetrius Papasakis was in for a surprise all right; she would have the last word and the last mocking laugh as well.

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