A Perfect Love: International Billionaires VI: The Greeks (4 page)

“Within the next hour, a doctor will be here to test the boys.” The deep voice with its distinctive masculine edge and slight, sexy accent, cut through her thoughts.

No.
No
.

A shot of fear ran along her spine, causing her to stiffen in immediate rejection. She wasn’t ready for a DNA test. She wasn’t ready to confront what she already knew to be true. Couldn’t this man give her a minute to catch her breath and figure out what her next step was?

He turned his head to gaze at her, his black eyes filled with determination.

No.
No
.

He couldn’t. He wouldn’t.

“I hate doctors.” Aarōn was lying. He’d long ago become entranced with everything biological and had set his sights on going into the medical field.

“Whaddya mean, test? I hate tests.” Another lie. This one from Isaák. A boy who thrived at school and couldn’t decide if he enjoyed mathematics or geography more.

But she didn’t care to enlighten this man about anything regarding the boys. Let him see how impossible it was going to be to take them over. Maybe he’d get discouraged after a few days of exposure. She loved them, but they were absolutely a handful. Perhaps her anxiety and growing fear were for nothing and Raphael Vounó would eventually wash his hands of the situation in complete disgust.

She glanced over. Much to her regret, he didn’t appear discouraged or disgusted. He stared at Aarōn as if he wanted to know the kid, wanted to understand him.

“That’s too bad.” His gruff words filled the lift, his accent slipping inside her and wrapping around her memories. “Your grandfather was a doctor.”

Both boys straightened and their dark eyes, so like their uncle’s, brightened with curiosity.

Tamsin’s heart sank at their interest.

The tall man leaned against the silvered steel of the wall with negligent grace. His focus stayed on the twins, the edge of his mouth lifting in a tiny smile of satisfaction. “Your grandfather’s name was Loukas Vounó.”

Aarōn’s eyebrows rose, a flash of surprise crossing his face. “What?”

“You have heard of him?” Raphael’s dark gaze lit with a fierce light at Aarōn’s reaction.

The boy snorted. Yet his eyes were just as bright. “Of course.”

Before his death, Loukas Vounó had been known as one of the best cancer doctors and researchers in Greece and all of Europe. In the medical community, he’d been regarded as a master healer and inventor. He’d held patents for many therapeutic drugs and devices.

Which is why he’d come to Haimon’s attention.

“Of course.” The male voice softened into a slight smugness.

“Who’s this Loukas guy?” Isaák’s tone was dismissive as he threw a look of distrust at the man lounging in the corner of the lift.

“Only the most important cancer researcher of the last fifty years, idiot.” Aarōn managed to appear both superior and disgusted with his brother at the same time.

“And your grandfather.”

Raphael’s words were not mere words. They were a claim, an inclusion of the twins into a long tradition of family honor and prestige. She felt the words impact on her own fear and saw the impact on the twins’ faces.

They were no longer heirs to the sullied reputation of Haimon Drakos.

They were heirs to a Greek legend.

Heirs to this man standing before them, so clearly powerful and rich and important.

Her fear bubbled inside before bursting into a cold stream of wretched realization. How could she deny her boys this amazing transformation of their future? How could she hide them from what they were being offered? How could she hold them back from getting away from Haimon’s ugly influence?

The lift doors whooshed open as the last of the questions echoed in her head.

Tamsin bolted out of the enclosed space, running not so much from the questions as from what she knew in her heart would be the final answer to those questions.

The long hallway was covered with golden carpeting; the walls done in cream, highlighting the brightly colored artwork hung between the dozens of doorways. The whole scene screamed wealth beyond her experience. Wealth Haimon in his glory days had certainly never achieved. Not even Loukas Vounó, with his influence and reputation, had ever climbed this high in the money stakes.

The thought stopped her cold.

“Trying to walk away from me once more?” Raphael’s voice came from behind her, mock and malice mixed in the taunt. “Are you sure of where you are going?”

She’d been sure long ago. Sure of walking away.

Sure of what her sacrifice would give him.

You have a choice, Tamsin. Walk away from him and I will make sure there is enough money left for his medical schooling.

Haimon’s ugly words slithered from the past.

A doctor, no matter how successful, would not drive in a limo. A doctor, no matter how many new inventions he created, would not stride into the lobby of this kind of hotel and receive the fawning attention Rafe had gotten moments ago. Plus, no doctor she’d ever met held such an air of confidence, arrogance, and complete command as Raphael Vounó had shown from the moment he’d walked back into her life.

She turned with a jerk.

He was close, too close, and the heat of his body scorched her skin. But the cold harshness of his face told her the heat came from anger, not passion.

“Did you go to medical school?” Her hushed tone carried through the hallway and the twins stilled behind them, for once stopping their ever-present ribbing and punching of each other.

His eyes went blank. “No, of course not.”

“Of course not?” The cry came from her soul, the soul who’d done everything, given everything for this to happen. “Why not?”

“You?” His jaw clenched. “You of all people have to ask?”

“What?” Memories banged in her brain. Through these endless years, through the times she’d cried herself to sleep, she’d held onto the knowledge that Raphael would at least have this, this one thing she’d given him. His future. The glorious future he’d dreamed about his entire life.

His eyes were no longer blank. They were alive with hate. “You don’t remember, Tamsin? You don’t remember our last conversation?”

“Yes, I remember, but—”

“Then, please. Spare me these oh-so-innocent questions.” He strode past her down the hallway.

Bewildered, heartsick, she stood and watched him walk away from her. Exactly as he had so long ago. Yet at that time, she’d had the solace of knowing she’d done the right thing.

Now?

Now she was lost. Her home lost, her plans for the future lost. And God help her, even her view of the past, of having done the right thing, even this was lost, too.

“Tammy?” The old nickname yanked her back from the edge of despair and defeat. Isaák’s worried face peered into her own. “We can go away from here. He upsets you.”

The boys.

Whatever had happened to Raphael in these previous years didn’t matter anymore. What mattered to her more than her life were the twins and their future happiness. Raphael Vounó obviously had money, though she sincerely doubted he had a heart.

Somehow, someway she needed to rescue her brothers from this man’s influence.

“No, I’m fine.” Grief pooled in her throat. She pushed it away. “Come on.”

The three of them, a family unit no one could pull apart, followed the man who was intent on trying. His spine was stiff with tension. Still, she couldn’t help but notice how broad it was, how the bulge of his shoulders filled the silk of his jacket and how those long legs of his were lined with muscles.

He strode to the last doorway. “This is our room.”

She stumbled to a stop, immediate outrage coursing through her veins. “We’re not staying in the same room as you.”

“No?” The edge of his mouth curled in sudden, surprising amusement.

Ignoring her sputter, he slid the silver card into the slot and the cream and gold door opened. Tamsin gasped. The boys crowded around her.

“Brilliant,” Isaák whooped.

Aarōn humphed, yet she knew him well enough to know he was just as impressed.

This was not a hotel room. This was not a couple of beds with a dresser lining one wall. The lobby had been grand so she’d figured the rooms would be a bit on the nicer side, but she hadn’t come close to imagining this.

The big room sported ceiling-to-floor windows looking out on a terrace filled with pots of flowers and shrubs. An ultra-modern couch covered in red-tinted leather was surrounded by several plush chairs of velveteen blue. A flat-screened TV hung right next to a series of black and white charcoal drawings which looked suspiciously like originals.

“There are three bedrooms in this particular suite.” His amusement weaved through each word. “I hope the boys won’t mind sharing a room.”

“Oh, man.” Isaák could not contain himself any longer. With another whoop, he hopped into the suite and across to the huge TV. “I wonder how many movies we can get.”

Aarōn slouched on the doorframe. “I haven’t shared a room with the idiot since we were seven.”

“Well,” the man beside her drawled. “I guess your sister and I could share a room.”

She sucked in a deep breath. Memories washed over her in a tidal wave of regret and longing. Being held by this man, once a boy. Virginal dreams of what it would be like to be together. Soft, sucking kisses shared with him; the first and last kisses she’d ever experienced.

“Not a chance.” Aarōn’s harsh voice cut through her thoughts.

Rafe gave him a wry smile. “Then you’ll have to share—”

“I have a better idea.” The boy didn’t back down. “Why don’t you get your own room?”

“I’m afraid that’s not on offer.” The black eyes heated with a sudden flash of anger. “While I give you credit for your protective instincts towards your sister, I can assure you they aren’t needed.”

That was pretty clear, wasn’t it? Raphael Vounó didn’t want her at all. Not that she wanted him, either.

“We don’t want you here.” Aarōn’s dark gaze was sharp with distrust.

The man beside her stiffened. Again, Tam felt him. Felt the hurt this rejection brought him. Even though he was the enemy, even though he threatened everything she held dear, she couldn’t help her protest, her protection. “Aarōn—”

“Tough.” Rafe cut past her attempted intervention. “I’m here to stay.”

“I don’t—”

“I’m in your life and your brother’s forever.”

Aarōn’s mouth, so like his uncle’s, twisted. “Tamsin’s the only one in our life we need.”

Her heart swelled, although exhaustion ate at her composure. Whatever happened going forward, the tie between the boys and her could not be denied.

Not by Raphael Vounó. Not by his family. Not by any court.

“Hey!” Isaák bopped into the conversation, cutting through the tense air with his thrilled excitement. “Come on, A. Help me figure out how to turn on the TV.”

“You’re such an idiot.” His twin turned to throw him a scowl of disgust. “Can’t you see—”

“Go on, Aarōn.” She appreciated the boy’s defense, but he was still only a kid. He doggedly stood by her side, yet she could tell by the tightness around his eyes he was tired. Plus, she saw the one yearning peek he’d given to the TV. “Go help Isaák while I unpack our clothes.”

“You’re sure?” Her fierce teenage protector cast a narrowed gaze at the man standing beside her.

“I’m sure.” Even though she was not. Not at all. Still, she couldn’t let the boys become her warriors. She needed to win this battle on her own.

Aarōn slunk away to join his twin.

“Very smart.” Long, masculine fingers nudged the door partially shut, leaving them alone in the hallway. “It would be mistake to put the twins in the middle of this.”

“This?” She wanted to flee from him. She wanted to run down the hall to the elevator and escape. She wanted to forget what an awful man her first love had become. Aarōn and Isaák tied her down, though. Leaving the boys to this man wasn’t an option and right now, she didn’t have the weapons to drive Raphael away. Not yet.

“This disagreement between us on what is best for them.”

Tamsin forced herself to look at him. Faint white lines of strain bracketed his mouth and his deep-set eyes were hooded, as if he had a hard time keeping them open. Long dark eyelashes brushed down and then up, bringing her attention to the smudges of weariness on his skin.

Her too-soft heart turned over.

“We’re all tired.” She offered an olive branch. Fighting him was inevitable, yet at this moment she didn’t want the inevitable. At this moment, she wanted him to lie down and rest. “Let’s table this until tomorrow.”

“The doctor’s going to be here soon.” His mouth turned grim as he stared at his watch.

She already knew what the test was going to tell her, but she needed time. Time to evaluate her options, her weapons. “No. I’m not going to allow the boys to be tested just because you say so.”

His head jerked up, his expression going fierce. “We can do this the easy way. Or the hard way. Either way, I will win.”

She hadn’t ever once let herself slip into trawling for information about Raphael Vounó. Never once had she allowed herself to Google him on the web or search for him on Facebook—it would have been too painful. She’d assumed he’d used the gift she’d sacrificed for and was somewhere in Greece being a pediatric doctor, fulfilling his life-long dream. There’d been many moments when she’d derived some comfort from the thought of him fulfilling his destiny.

Did you go to medical school
?

No, of course not.

So this particular dream, like every one of her others, was dead. The reality was she knew nothing about him or the weapons he might hold to get his way. Yet look at where they were staying. Look at the sleek limo that had driven them here. Look at the silver Rolex watch on his wrist. More than anything, though, the deadly intent in his words told her what Raphael Vounó had become.

A man who wouldn’t be a good influence on her brothers. A man who threatened all the hard work she’d done through the years to raise her boys in the right way. She just needed a few hours to take stock and strategize how she was going to save them from this man.