When Lily awoke the next morning she was alone. Absently she stretched her arm across the bed and felt for him then shot up on her arms staring at the empty side of the bed. What would make her do such a thing? This whole weekend would be an eye opener on her weaknesses toward that man. She groaned and got out of bed, disgusted at her actions to fall so easily under his spell. After a shower she picked out a pretty pale yellow dress with a flared skirt and white heels. She took time to do her makeup and left her hair down because he mentioned that he liked it that way. White on rice. The words sent a shiver through her. Max was sitting on the back patio sharing conversation and coffee with Nikos. He couldn't help but like him. As far as he could see he was honest and seemed to really care about his family. Also, he hadn't made any movement toward Lily after Max had spoken to him. It must have been as hard as pulling teeth because Max was having tremendous difficulty refraining from touching her like he wanted to. Just then another tall man that Max recognized immediately came out on to the back patio with a long purposeful stride. Nikos stood to and held out his hand to greet him along with a smile of pleasant surprise. Max also stood to shake his hand as Nikos introduced him. The tabloids went wild when Demetrius Vassiliadas married Nikos youngest sister Sophia, Sofie? However, contrary to how the tabloids usually portrayed the rich and famous, they gave him praise of a fairy tale wedding to his young bride. Maybe it was because he and Sophie where heavily involved in charity work and the public adored them. When they wed last year, it was called the wedding of the decade by the press. He hoped they were that gentle with Lily when they caught a hold of their engagement. Yet, the man who stood before him now, didn't look happy. Even as handsome as Demetrius was, he looked worn, tired and hardened.
-Won't you sit? Nikos offered.
-No, my plane leaves in an hour for the U.S. He cast a glance at Max,
-I'll be back the day after with my wife. This made Nikos still,
-Sophie?
-yes. He nodded to Max,
-A pleasure to finally meet you. It is too bad I cannot sit and speak with you, but that is why Nikos is here. He is like a brother to me and I trust him. He gave Nikos a look of pride. Demetrius spoke very good English, but with an accent that was heavier than Nikos.
-Maybe next time. Max noted the look they shared as his wife's name was mentioned. Maybe his fatigue had something to do with his young bride because, as far as he knew, his wealth had increased tremendously this year, so it wasn't that. However, Max wasn't one to pry in other people's personal lives, because he didn't like his invaded. He smiled,
-Of course. I'll make time in the next few months to fly to Chicago and we'll finalize things in person.
-Bring your wife Demetrius, from what I hear about her, Lily would love her.
-Lily?
-My fiancé. Demetrius managed a rare smile,
-Let me offer my congratulations. I would like very much to take you up on your offer. I'll have Nikos work out the details for the future. Max shook his hand again and watched him leave before he and Nikos sat down again. Nikos was oddly silent as he stirred his coffee. When he spoke it wasn't what Max expected. Nikos was a good businessman, there was no doubt. He also suspected that the man didn't speak about family problems often so when he started to explain, it was surprising.
-My youngest sister has been missing for nine months. He said quietly and took a sip of his coffee not meeting Max's curious eyes.
-Demetrius has been distraught. Nikos continued finally bringing his eyes to his,
-None of us know why she ran, not even Demetrius. Max never said anything but it certainly explained the tycoon's condition. He was a nice looking man and could rival Max in height, but he looked oddly defeated. Another thing that was obvious was Nikos' pain at the mention of his sister. Max could understand to a point. If Lily ever took off like that, he'd be devastated.
-Demetrius spotted my sister by the pool one day and offered marriage not two hours later. So you'll have to excuse him, he is usually a force to be reckoned with when he deals with business. He wanted to complete this deal with you himself but he had gotten a lead on where Sophie was. Over the months there had been many but obviously this one was the real thing. It was unusual that the press didn't get wind of this over the past nine months because they were a high profile couple,
-Was it another man? Most men would take this as an insult but Nikos just grinned and shook his head.
-With other woman maybe, but not Sophie, she loved him very much. That's why none of this made sense. I'm anxious to find out why she left. He pursed his lips,
-Unlike Helene, Sophie was virtuous. She had a softness about her that was addictive. When Demetrius first laid eyes on her it was a full five minutes before he spoke. I have never seen my friend speechless before.‖ He shot Max a look,
-Much like you are with your Lily. Max lifted his cup and sipped his own coffee while his pale eyes remained on Nikos,
-It's that obvious is it?
-As the sun shines. He grinned spreading his hands under the bright light of the Grecian sun,
-Why do you think I backed off? If it was any less than the look Demetrius gave Sophie, I would be in hot pursuit.
-So you think.‖ He said seriously causing Nikos to laugh.
-Ah, speaking of Lily. Nikos stood up followed by Max as Lily came out onto the back patio. If the Grecian sun was bright, Lily entering the picture just made it seem dim.
She was beautiful. Max couldn't take his eyes off her. She wore a dress with a simple style but it was perfect showing her luscious curves to the point of make a man want to discover more. Immediately Max left the table, went to her, and without warning gave her a long genuine kiss. Lily knew he was acting because of what he told her about Nikos but she still responded to him. It was easy to play a part when she was taking it seriously. Finally he lifted his head. She looked tired. He already knew that she lay awake like he did last night although he was better at feigning sleep than she was. It didn't help to know that he'd seen the thin satin nightgown she'd brought with her and knew she was wearing it. Images of her scantily clad body kept him awake until four in the morning. She had fallen asleep a few hours before. It would have been easy to remove his pyjama bottoms and undershirt then move his body next to hers. Just thinking about it started the aching in his groin that kept him up most of the night. As it was he reached over and caressed the smooth skin of her face and fingered a lock of her hair. She didn't wake up with that, but she released a soft moan that turned him hard as a rock. When she came out in the light of the bright Grecian sun, he couldn't help himself and had to kiss her. He craved the feel of her mouth and her taste. He was keeping up the pretense of the engagement just so she would play along. The more she played along, the more he had an excuse to touch her.
-How did you sleep? She glanced shyly up at him,
-Well enough. His thumb caressed a darkened area under one of her eyes,
-Liar. He murmured.
-Nikos is watching us. She said feeling her rising blush.
-So? he smiled slowly,
-I told you I was going to be all over you. What he didn't tell her and he wouldn't tell her is that Nikos had resigned his pursuit of Lily. Any moment to touch her and kiss her would be taken advantage of. Unfortunately now that he started, he doubted he could stop touching her even when they returned to Chicago. Her heart jumped at his deeply voice statement,
-I heard you last night.
-Did you honey? He said pulling up one corner of his mouth.
-I did. She said tersely embarrassed at her reaction to him and equally embarrassed that she was jealous of Helene.
-Once you told me that you dealt with your stalker. He chuckled,
-Was that what she was? He took her hands and squeezed them while studying her flushed cheeks,
-You sure play the part well. You acted like a jealous lover.
I wasn't playing, she thought, I wanted to scratch her eyes out. She was actually going to tell him that when Nikos interrupted.
-If you can unhand your fiancé for a minute or two, he said with amusement,
-She should eat something before we leave for Aquinas. Max agreed and took her hand to lead her back toward the table. After he pulled out a chair for her and sat next to her, several servants were at her side with platters of food. She wasn't used to such attention and started to get uncomfortable. It didn't help that Max had moved his arm to the back of her chair and his hand absently rubbed her shoulder while he spoke to Nikos. The constant caressing was unnerving her. Not that she didn't want it, she wanted more. She wanted to feel his body on hers again and to have him kiss her that way. She lay awake last night for a while after he'd fallen asleep hoping that he'd do just that. However he didn't and she was devastatingly disappointed. She was wondering if it was because he didn't desire her like she did him. In all her inexperience she didn't know if he was serious about all of this or maybe he was just playing the part and getting her into the role of it. What he didn't know is that she fell really hard for him and he was very convincing. Yet something deep down told her that Max wasn't that cruel, but he did tell her that this engagement was a cloak. The problem was, she stopped playing the moment he kissed her. Then if things couldn't get any worse, out came Helene wearing a low cut blouse and a tight short skirt walking with an exaggerated sway of her hips as she approached the table. She immediately put herself next to Max despite his arm around her and proceeded to flirt outrageously with him. She didn't doubt for a moment that Max had spoken to her like he said, but obviously Helen wasn't one to be put off. Did the woman have no scruples? Twice she reached across the table for something and brushed her breasts against Max's other arm and the second time Lily stiffened, tossed her napkin on her plate, and started to get out of her chair. She'd had had it and she was going to say something to the woman or do what she wanted to in the first place, and scratch her eyes out! Max suddenly grabbed her and crushed his hard mouth down on hers. Somewhere in the back of her mind she heard and indignant gasp and the scraping of chairs. Then it was gone and the only awareness was his mouth on hers and the way his tongue oh dear! What neither one of them saw was Nikos take Helene's arm and remove her from the table to a distance away while he chastised her for her behavior.
-Do not embarrass your family. Nikos ground out angrily.
-He is engaged to that woman and you are throwing yourself at him shamelessly. She placed her hands on her hips,
-She is a timid little thing. She tossed her long black hair over her shoulder,
-He is all man and needs a decent woman.
-Do not make yourself out to be something you're not Helene. He added harshly,
-She is one of a kind and Max knows that.
She darted a look over her shoulder at the couple who were in a heated embrace, made a rough sound under her breath, and stomped out of there. Nikos made sure his sister was out of sight before he turned back to the couple. Max had stopped kissing her but he had her face tilted up to his while his thumb ran across her bottom lip as he spoke softly to her while she seemed to hang on every word. Then he bent his head and placed a light kiss on his forehead in an adoring fashion. He definitely was in love with this woman.