Kidnapped the Wrong Sister (14 page)

He
remembered how she had seemed so nervous six months ago when she had been at the airport telling him that she could not fly on small planes, and yet she managed to use his plane to come back to Greece. Had they not been at the airport that day, then Daryle and Alexis would have been broken up, and he frowned, knowing that despite this he did not care.  He could handle Diona Brown and he could handle anything that happened in the future with Daryle Brown, knowing that he would be there for his brother.

Looking down on the sleeping woman in his arms he could
not help a small fluttering deep within himself, seeing how vulnerable she looked in sleep, as his eyes closed and he fell asleep beside her.

The next morning
, Diona stretched against him like a cat, feeling as he moved behind her, his hands stroking her softly.  “I wondered when you would wake up”, he whispered pulling her in tightly against him from behind, so that his arms went around her stomach and shoulders, his mouth against her ear.

“I’m afraid that we have to fend for ourselves this morning... you hungry?”  Diona laughed gently.  “Are you going to cook?”, she asked with humour in her voice as he chuckled deeply behind her.  “Hell no, why do you think I was waiting for you to wake up”, he laughed against her, as she chuckled back, smacking him gently.  “I still remember what you did to me the last time I made breakfast for you”, she said in a matronly voice, as he laughed again.  “I like to think of that as improving staff morale”, he said softly against her, as she grinned.  “Mmm - you might have something there”

He
flipped her around to lie on her back so that he could look down at her, his whole face softly smiling at her.  “I’m glad you’re staying Diona”, his voice becoming more serious, seeing how she looked back at him with a small smile playing on her lips.  “Well my flight doesn’t leave for a week, so...” Nikias frowned.  “A week? I meant for you to stay for longer”, he frowned, as she looked at him with surprise.  “I can’t stay here indefinitely Nikias”, she said gently, “Like I told you before, I am not prepared to be your mistress; I need to go and find a job eventually”

He
looked down at her, his expression contemplative.  “I can give you…”, he started, stopped himself from telling her that he could provide for her, seeing the look which jumped into her eyes, and remembering the way she reacted in the garden.  “Why not just agree to stay for as long as we enjoy each other’s company?”, he said, as she laughed.  “That is being a mistress”, she repeated.  “Anyway Nikias, you have to return to your meeting next week, I’ll stay for as long as you are here”, she offered as he sighed.  “OK Diona, but how about we just agree to see how things go, play it by ear?”  She laughed at his persistence, nodding her head in submission as he grinned down at her.  “Now feed me, wench”, ducking as she threw a pillow at him.

For five days
, they enjoyed spending all their time together.  They swam at the many beaches and hidden outcrops, rode along the beach and walked together, never boring of the other’s company.  Still feeling the effects of her illness, Diona kept up her afternoon naps, enabling Nikias to spend some time catching up on work, and he enjoyed the time with her like no other that he could remember.  At night the two played more chess games, each pushing the other further, enjoying the challenge of trying to outmanoeuvre the other, only fuelling the chemistry which was always present between them, especially when they would move into each other’s arms. 

Diona
felt the love she held for him growing each day, feeling less and less able to leave him, but knowing that it was inevitable and wondering how she would ever be able to tear herself away from this man who had captured her very soul.  On the sixth day of their time together he received a phone call, frowning as he returned to her.  “Bad news Diona”, he said so softly, his eyes watching her warily, “The talks are back on.  A delegation is flying over here from the States tomorrow to continue the discussions”

Diona
smiled softly at his use of the phrase “Bad news”, knowing it referred to her determination to return to the UK when he left.  Looking back at him she gave a weak smile, holding back the tears which prickled at the back of her eyes.  “Well we knew this would come”, she sighed softly. “Hey, I can still use my ticket”, she gently laughed, her eyes looking away, so that he would not see the upset in them.

Nikias
moved over to her, pulling her gently into his arms.  “Please Diona, this is crazy.  There is no reason for you to leave.  Neither of us is ready to end this, there is no reason to.  Give me one good reason why we should”, he asked softly, his eyes looking at hers with such sadness in them.

“I don’t want you to go; in fact I want you to come with me… We are going to have four nights onboard one of my ships, to let them see the high quality of service given onboard to guests before the main talks start. Then we fly to the States for the actual talks”

Diona
looked back at him, her eyes so full of indecision, as he pulled her closer to him, his lips so gently breathing against her ear. “Please come with me… stay with me”, he whispered sensually against her ear as she moaned gently.  “I shouldn’t”, she said softly, as he licked her neck, causing her to groan with a familiar need.  “I want you with me Diona, I need you with me”  With this she sighed with such desire before nodding her head against him.  “OK, Nikias”, she said softly, as his mouth came around to kiss hers, his whole body filled with such an unexpected sense of relief.

Lifting his mouth from hers, he
smiled warmly, his eyes flashing with a strange glow within the darkness.  “Thank you”, he whispered, kissing her again, before he lifted his head to look down on her with a twinkle in his eyes.  “Fancy going shopping then?”, he asked smiling.  Diona frowned. “Shopping?”  “Didn’t I mention it was back to back cocktail and dinner parties?”, he grimaced, seeing the harder look come into her eyes.  “No, you forgot to mention that”, she growled between gritted teeth.  “Nikias, you know I hate these things”, she groaned, as he pulled her tight in against him.  “Me too
Cara
, but it has to be done… And besides everybody will love you”, he purred so softly, as she groaned.

That afternoon the boat
took them to the mainland, where Nikias had set up an appointment for her to get fitted with new outfits suitable for the trip.  He informed her that he would meet her later that night, where he promised to take her for a special meal to celebrate her staying.  Diona smiled at the way his eyes shone with such happiness when he added the last bit, knowing that she had never really wanted to go anyway.

Surprisingly
, she enjoyed the fittings and trying on the wonderful clothes which were presented to her.  She soon found herself with four cocktail dresses and plenty of outfits to wear during the day along with new underwear and nightwear.  Looking at the pile of new clothes, shoes and accessories she bit her lip, wondering what this would be costing him, knowing that she could never afford such magnificent outfits on her salary at home.  The boutique finally selected a shorter, less formal cocktail dress for her to wear for her meal that night, one which clung to her lovely figure as it swished around her so elegantly and yet sexily at the same time.  She gasped seeing the effect, smiling at the sales girls who were helping her.

When she
left the boutique a car had been waiting for her, which took her to a restaurant in the centre of town.  Diona knew that the place was expensive, just by looking at the entrance and felt uneasy in such surroundings.  Giving her name to the maître d’ she received a wide smile and was asked to follow the man, who guided her to a table in which Nikias was already seated, looking as gorgeous as ever in a dark suit.  As he saw her approaching, he stood to take her hand, kissing her fingers softly, his eyes lighting up at the way she looked.

“As I said before Miss Brown”, he drawled softly, “You scrub up well”  Diona tried to hide the smile of pleasure his words brought to her before looking at him, worry entering her eyes.  “Nikias, that shopping trip must have cost you a fortune”, she said softly, biting her lip gently, seeing how he waved it away as though it was of no real concern.  “Diona, you are doing me the favour… This is a really important deal, we have to look the part and as much as I love you in your shorts and t-shirts, it really isn’t going to go down well in a cocktail party”.  She looked at him warily, knowing that he was right. 

“Well maybe you should tell me a bit about this deal then”, she said softly. “I really don’t want to go and say the wrong thing…look like a blonde bimbo”, she finished, seeing how he grinned. “I don’t think anybody would ever call you a bimbo”, he laughed, seeing how her lips twitched.

For the rest of the meal, he
filled her in on the deal.  She discovered that he was buying a chain of hotels, which he planned to use to offer two centre holidays to his guests.  She gasped when he informed her that his plan was to put Alexis in charge of the hotel side, while he would continue to deal with the cruise ships.  “You making him a partner means a great deal to him Nikias”, she said softly, looking over at him, seeing a strange look enter his eyes.  “It means a lot to me too”, he stated, holding her look with his own. “I always wanted this, and now... well it all seems to be coming together nicely”, he finished, flashing her one of his dazzling smiles.

“There was something I wanted to give you”, he grinned softly, as he pulled a long velvet box from his jacket pocket.  Opening it, Diona gasped in wonder, seeing the diamond bracelet which sat sparkling on the black velvet padding.  “I...I can’t accept this”, she whispered, her eyes looking at his in shock.  “You shouldn’t have got me this Nikias”, she groaned, as he lifted it from the box.  “We have been together now for a week”, he said so gently, seeing the way she looked at him.  “I wanted to get you something to show how much I have enjoyed our week together”, he added with a small grin, before winding it around her wrist and securing it, before once more kissing her fingers.

As she
looked at the magnificent piece of jewellery which sparkled so vividly on her wrist, Diona felt a small pang within her.  On the island they had been so good together, but now with the new wardrobe and jewellery, she felt sad, knowing that somehow she had become the one thing she had been so adamant that she would never be – his mistress.

That night they
stayed in one of the top hotels in the centre of town in preparation for their cruise the next day.  As they made love, their need for each other was as strong as ever, and when they laid exhausted in each other’s arms he kissed her so tenderly, his eyes looking into hers with such passion. “We are good together Diona”, he whispered softly to her, “I am so glad you stayed”  Finally they slept, wrapped within each other’s arms. 

The next day
, Diona boarded one of his ships, gasping at the size and opulence of it.  Her eyes were as wide as saucers as he led her to his own private stateroom, with bedroom, living room and large walkout balcony.  She smiled at him.  “Do you ever rough it?”, she asked, seeing the grin on his face. “Not anymore”, he replied with a smile, “Did enough of that when I was a kid”  Diona raised her eyebrow in surprise as she looked over at him.  “You don’t talk much about growing up”, she said softly, seeing how he looked away. “The article kind of skipped through that”

He
looked at her thoughtfully.  “Possibly because I wasn’t prepared to talk about it”, he murmured, watching her as she looked at him silently.  With a soft sigh he sat on the edge of the bed, his legs apart as he leant forward resting on his forearms, his hands clenched together as the memories came back to him.

“I never knew who my father was...or Alexis’s”, he said, seeing how she moved over to sit on the bed beside him as he talked, his voice low, as his eyes looked unseeingly into the distance.  “By the time I was ten and Alexis was six, my mother had had enough.  She couldn’t handle two kids, so one day she dropped us off at a local orphanage and disappeared… I never saw her again” He hesitated for a moment before continuing.  “I found out when I finally made my first million that she died in an accident three years after leaving us - she never really had much of a chance”, he said sadly.

“It was tough growing up in that place… a real dog-eat-dog environment, and I had to look after my brother as well. I started to sneak out and offer tourists guided tours, saving up the money to buy a small boat...more of a dingy really,  which I used to move stuff between some of the smaller islands.  Before long I had a small business going and moved into taking tourists on trips.”  With a sigh he looked over at her.  “Eventually I sold the business and bought into cruise liners and the rest as they say is history”

“So you were mother and father to Alexis growing up?”, she asked softly, fully understanding why he had been so protective of his brother when they first met.  “And what about you?”, he asked pulling her down so that he could look into her blue eyes.  “Did you have the happy childhood that I missed out on?”, he grimaced, seeing the small shadow cross her eyes as she shook her head.

“I did to start”, she said softly, remembering how wonderful her mother had been, a soft smile playing on her lips. “Right up until my mother died”, she mused, as she told him of the death of her mother when she was 12 and the effect it had on her father.  He saw the sadness in her eyes as she described how he had passed away three years ago, seeing the hurt that this brought to her.

Nikias
leant down to kiss her gently.  “Guess we both bombed out on the happy childhood thing”, he said, seeing how she nodded softly against him, her eyes holding his for several seconds.  Looking at his watch, Nikias cursed softly before he jumped up.  “Better get ready Diona, we have a meet and greet in one hour”, and with that he helped pull her up, their trips down their unhappy memory lanes over.  As he watched her getting ready he frowned slightly, wondering why he had told her so much about himself.  Why when he knew what she really was, he still told her things about himself that he had never told another living person, frowning slightly at the way he had opened up to her.

At the meet and greet
, both she and Nikias looked wonderful.  He in his tuxedo and she in one of the stylish cocktail dresses she had purchased the previous day.  In a deep blue, which matched her eyes, the dress was elegant, while the cut showed off her wonderful figure to its best.  She saw how Nikias looked at her, a small groan escaping him as he told her how beautiful she looked.  Wearing the bracelet he had given her, she smiled warmly at the delegates as she was introduced to them.