Modern Romance October 2019 Books 5-8. Annie West

leaned forward, catching her hands, peeling them off the bedhead, lacing his fingers through hers and, as on the beach, he pinned them above her head, so his hair-roughened torso was hard against hers and every single cell in her body reacted to this tactile contact, to his nearness.

      Her orgasm splintered her apart and it was Leonidas who put her back together, each gentle murmur, his voice speaking in Greek, his kiss gentle now, soft, reassuring as she flew straight into the abyss.

      ‘You don’t think this is overkill?’ Hannah murmured, surveying the island from the vantage point he’d driven her to. From here, she could see so much more than the house, including a full golf course, a helipad as well as the airstrip, and in the distance what looked to be a whole little village. There was a jetty, too, and another yacht was tied to it—not as large as the one in Capri, but still what Hannah had to imagine would be classed as a ‘superyacht’, beautiful and shimmering white.

      ‘What is?’

      ‘This island.’ She couldn’t help the smile that teased her lips. She’d woken that morning, in his bed, and something had felt easier between them. She knew there were demons driving him, controlling him, but they weren’t the sum total of Leonidas Stathakis.

      He shrugged nonchalantly. ‘You don’t like it?’

      ‘Oh, I like it very much,’ she contradicted, rolling her eyes a little. ‘But who wouldn’t? I just don’t think I’ll ever get used to living like this.’

      ‘It’s just a bigger home than you’re used to.’

      Hannah laughed at that, lifting the takeaway coffee cup she’d brought with her, sipping on it, wondering if she’d ever con herself into enjoying decaf. ‘By about three thousand times. And then there’s the expansive private beach.’

      He looked at her, a smile pulling at his lips, and her heart turned over because he was really, exceptionally handsome, and when he smiled, it was as if someone had turned the music up full volume.

      Her eyes dropped to his lips and her pulse gushed through her body, stirring heat in her veins and anticipation low down in her abdomen.

      ‘I haven’t thought about it in a long time,’ he said simply. ‘It’s just the island, to me.’

      ‘Naturally.’ She was still smiling as she turned her eyes back to the view. ‘Did you grow up here?’

      ‘No.’

      ‘Where, then?’

      ‘Athens, mainly—Kifissia. My father’s offices were in the city.’ The words were flat, carefully blanked of any emotion.

      But Hannah felt it. She felt it rolling off him in waves, crashing against her, just like the ocean to the shore. She swallowed, butterflies in her tummy making her hesitate a little.

      ‘What happened with him?’

      ‘You don’t know?’

      She shrugged, awkwardly. ‘I had to look you up on the Internet, to work out how to contact you.’

      His eyes roamed hers, probing thoughtfully.

      ‘I mean, I saw a headline, but I didn’t click into it.’

      ‘Why not?’ His expression showed genuine surprise.

      ‘Because it kind of gives me the creeps. Doesn’t it you?’

      He arched a brow, clearly not comprehending.

      ‘Well, it’s not really any of my business. It seemed private to you and your family.’ She wrinkled her nose, lost in thought. ‘I guess there’s a lot about you out there, and your brother, and your dad. But what kind of stalker would I be to read it?’

      ‘Your stalkerishness is someone else’s due diligence,’ he said with a quirk of his lips. ‘What if I’m some kind of pathological cheat?’

      ‘Are you?’ She turned her face to his, her eyes scanning his features.

      ‘No.’ The word was sombre.

      Silence arced between them, electric and sharp. He seemed to be peeling her away, looking deep inside her, even though the question had been Hannah’s.

      ‘And see? I believe you.’ Her own voice was a little husky.

      ‘Why?’

      Hannah replaced her coffee cup in the golf cart they’d been touring the island in, then spun around to face him, so their bodies were almost touching. ‘Because you’ve never lied to me, Leonidas.’

      His expression tightened imperceptibly, his jaw square.

      ‘You told me on New Year’s Eve that we’d only ever be one night. You didn’t make big promises to get me into bed. You were honest. You were honest with me this morning. I don’t think you know how to lie.’

      Leonidas looked beyond her, to the horizon. ‘Honesty is generally the best policy, is it not?’

      ‘Yes.’ Her smile was uneven.

      ‘I would have thought, having learned of your fiancé’s infidelity, you would be slow to trust anyone.’

      ‘So would I.’ Her voice was a little shaky. ‘But you’re nothing like Angus. You’re nothing like anyone I’ve ever met.’

      At this, Leonidas’s expression tightened, and she understood that he was closing himself off, that she’d moved them into territory he couldn’t yet traverse.

      ‘What did he do, anyway?’

      ‘Who?’

      ‘Your father.’

      ‘Ah.’ He expelled a slow breath, as though fortifying himself for what would come next.

      ‘I gather he’s in prison?’

      ‘Serving a twenty-year sentence.’

      ‘I’m so sorry.’

      ‘What for? Prison is where criminals should be.’

      ‘Yes, but he’s your dad…’

      ‘Not any more.’

      Hannah frowned. ‘You hate him?’

      ‘Yes.’

      She nodded thoughtfully. ‘Why?’

      ‘My father turned his back on the Stathakis Corporation. He almost destroyed what my grandfather, great-grandfather, and his father had spent their lifetimes building. Ancient, proud shipping lines that funded investments in foreign hotels and then hedge funds—our operations were crippled because of him.’

      ‘How? Surely your company’s too big for any one man to destroy?’

      ‘He began to fund the mob, Hannah.’ His eyes were haunted now, furious too, zipping with tightly coiled emotions. ‘My father—who was richer than Croesus—didn’t just want money and the lifestyle it afforded. He wanted power. No, not power; he wanted people to be afraid of him. He wanted notoriety and reach.’

      ‘I can’t even imagine what drives a man to think like that,’ she said with a gentle shake of her head. ‘How could he have even met that element?’

      ‘It’s everywhere. Casinos, bars, commercial investments.’ Leonidas expelled a harsh breath. ‘He was always enamoured of that lifestyle. I’m only surprised it took so long for him to be arrested.’

      ‘That must have been so hard for you.’

      ‘I think of myself as a strong person but I have no idea how I would have coped without Thanos.’ The confession surprised her, and softened her, all at once. ‘Investigators from every country in which we do business went over our records with a fine-tooth comb. We lost