Pollyanna and the Greek Billionaire (Innocent and Betrayed) (5 page)

“Am I being seduced?”

Kyr managed to swallow back a laugh at the unexpected question.
Theo.
This girl was like no one he had ever met. Instead of giving her a straight answer, he decided to shock her again. Bending close, he gently nipped the curve of her ear, and as she shuddered violently, he asked in a soft, mocking voice, “What do you think?”

Oh. Dear. Lord.

What had she gotten herself into?

Behind her, the billionaire released her ear but did not step back. Instead, his voice continued to caress her as he said, “I’ll ask you again, Pollyanna.
Do you want me to be a playboy…around you
?”

She gulped.
 

Did she? Or did she not?

Closing her eyes, she gave herself a moment, allowing her wildest fantasies to come to life and beguile her into taking a risk.
Let him be a playboy. Let him try to seduce her. Because that would be fun, wouldn’t it? The kind of fun only a gorgeous, sexy billionaire like Kyrillos Gazis could provide.

But then the moment ended, and Pollyanna knew that the dream would have to do.

So she said shakily, “No.”

Chapter Three

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Kyrillos Gazis muttered a week later.
 

Pollyanna privately thought the same, but since admitting it out loud could backfire, she answered with rare diplomacy, saying placidly, “It could be my kindness rubbing off on you.”

The Greek billionaire shot her a dirty look, and Pollyanna hastily smothered the smile trying to form on her lips. It was barely seven on a beautiful Saturday morning, and everyone in the island would probably be shocked to speechlessness to find out that Teleios’ high and mighty owner had spent the last sixty minutes in her company, cutting stems and thorns from the latest crop of roses she was tasked to gather.

As Kyr bent down and resumed working, Pollyanna was given another chance to stare at him, and stare she did, with a combination of wistful longing and misery. She had never thought it was possible to feel deliriously happy and devastatingly sad at the same time, but one week’s worth of being in the company of the island’s owner had proved it to be true.

For some reason, the Greek billionaire seemed to enjoy her company, and it was in fact why he had
deigned
– his exact choice of word – to help her with this morning’s chores.

With Ezio down with a migraine, Pollyanna had told Kyr regretfully that she would have to cancel on today’s activity. Aside from gathering flowers, she also had to prepare them for deliveries and perform the other tasks that Ezio wouldn’t be able to take care of.

Kyr had simply hung up after her forlorn speech, and she had still been struggling to sniff back her tears when he showed up at the fields, dressed for field duties.

It had been an incredibly touching sight, and if she hadn’t been convinced that she was in love with him, well, that had totally underscored the nature of her feelings.

Kyr suddenly turned towards her, catching Pollyanna staring at him. His lips curved in a knowing smirk, and she felt her cheeks heating in response.

“Like what you’re looking at?” His tone was all sexy arrogance.

Her flush deepened, and she asked in a mixture of exasperation and genuine amazement, “How can you be so
immodest
?”

But this only made the billionaire throw his head back in laughter, the sound as irresistible as the rest of him.

When they were done, it was almost nine in the morning and she invited unthinkingly, “Would you like to come back to the house and have a drink first?”

The billionaire’s gaze became hooded. “Thank you for the offer,
psaraki,
but I’m good at waiting here.”

Oh.
She had forgotten again. Forcing a smile, she said, “Then I’ll just be as quick as I can.” Taking the two huge baskets of roses with her, she hurried away, fighting back tears all the while.

Kyr looked after her broodingly, knowing that he had hurt her again. But there was nothing he could do. He would never set foot back in the Floros’ household, not even for someone as genuinely, naively nice as Pollyanna.

While waiting for Polly’s return, Kyr absently cast his mind back on the past seven days. Ever since their accidental meeting by the beach, he had found himself spending all of his free time with the eighteen-year-old girl…
platonically.

After her shocking the hell out of him by choosing to be with his “non-playboy” side, Kyr had shocked himself even more by
still
wanting to get to know her. That first day, he had taken her to the best spot for snorkeling and, afterwards, had invited her to dinner.
 

Which she had refused,
Kyr thought, the memory still stinging a little.
 

Her eyes sorrowful, she had told him regretfully that she had promised to have dinner with her godparents, so could they take a rain check on it instead?

Yes, of course,
he had agreed. What else was there to say that wouldn’t make him sound like a selfish bastard? But he had also thought to ask who her godparents were, and that was when he found out she was living with Ana’s parents.

Of all the fucking people in the world, she had to be with the two persons on the island he didn’t want to have anything to do with.

And that should have been his cue to get the fuck out of her life,
Kyr knew. The moment he found out about her connection to the Floros, he should have ended it then and there.

But he hadn’t.

Instead, he had let it go on. The second day, they had gone horseback riding, their pace relaxed as Kyr gave her a tour of his island while peppering her with questions.
 

Where was she from?
Arkansas.
   

Was she an only child?
Yes.

Was she spoiled?
No.
 

What did she plan after the summer?
Attend college.

She had never hesitated to answer any of his questions until they came to her age. This, she had answered hesitantly, as if afraid that her age would offend him.
 

It didn’t, but it had made Kyr feel momentarily uneasy.

She had just turned eighteen this year.
 

Eighteen, and he was twenty-eight, a good decade older than she was.

And that had been the second sign.

She’s too young for you, Kyrillos Gazis,
his conscience had warned him. It urged him to leave her, but again he had refused to listen.
 

The third day, he had taken her to the island’s main museum, which exhibited photos of Teleios’ most famous guests. It was a near accurate display, and the only thing it lacked was a photo of
her,
one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actresses today.

The fourth day, he had gotten Pollyanna to ride the island’s submarine, an activity patterned after an attraction he had experienced in Hawaii. And this was the time he had found out she was claustrophobic.
 

Why didn’t you tell me,
Kyr had burst out furiously when he realized what was wrong. He had been about to drag her back to the surface when she held his arm, and her touch – the very first time she had initiated contact between them – had immobilized him.

I really want to enjoy this, please,
she had pleaded.

How are you going to enjoy this when you look like you’re about to faint any second,
he had demanded incredulously.

To which she had answered with a ghost of smile,
Easy. Let me ask the questions this time.

What was his favorite color?
Blue.

What was his favorite drink?
Water.

What was his favorite movie?
The Langoliers.

What was his favorite book?
The Call of the Cthulu.

Those questions had been the third sign.
 

Any other girl would have asked him about his fame and wealth.
What was his net worth? How many countries had he visited? Did he have his own jet? What were the names of his most famous friends?
 

But of course, his little blowfish hadn’t asked any of those. Instead, she had asked him the most ludicrously personal things –
 

Things that SHE hadn’t even asked,
Kyr couldn’t help thinking, not once in the nine years they had been together.

Why?

Did that mean she had never loved him at all?

Just thinking about her put Kyr in a bad mood, so much so that he sought distraction the easiest way possible, with his best form of entertainment right in front of him.

When she had asked him what his favorite hobby was, he answered silkily,
Fantasizing about being a playboy with you.

And she had given him what he wanted.

Eyes wide as saucers, mouth forming a large ‘O’—

It was his favorite blowfish look, and Kyr had thrown back his head and laughed, the sound still rusty because he hadn’t found anything funny in the past few years.
 

The fifth day, he had taken her to the island’s only mall, which had its own cinema and indoor theme park. It was the first time he had gone out with her in public, and even though he and Pollyanna hadn’t been affectionate with each other in any way, the sight of them still had everyone talking.

He had known what was going on in their minds, of course.

The master was with the Floros’ goddaughter. Why? Was he planning revenge? Was it to make his ex jealous?

Yes, he had known, but he hadn’t given a damn, knowing as well that at the end of the day, their loyalty was to him.

They would not tell Pollyanna anything, not even if she asked.

But she hadn’t.

A combination of innocence and inexperience had prevented her from realizing that the locals’ interest in them ran a little deeper than the usual fascination people had for rich-boy-poor-girl romances.

For Pollyanna, everyone was staring because they had a hard time believing that he was spending time with an ordinary person like her. These were her exact words, and not for one moment had he considered correcting her.

Instead, he had said smoothly, ‘
You only have to say the word, you know.’

Say the word about what?

If you want me to do more than just spend time with you.

Again the blowfish look, combined with a fierce blush that seemed to spread to the rest of her body. It had been a marvelously arousing sight, one that had remained with him even when he was back at the resort.
 

That was the first and only night he had masturbated to the memory of her. Closing his eyes, he had imagined how beautiful her curvy body would look if it were rosy all over and that was it for him, Kyr coming hard – harder than he had with the last woman he had fucked.

And that, too, had been a sign.

You want her too much,
his conscience had warned him.
Leave her before you take her virginity and break her heart after.

But this, he ignored as well.
 

He had no choice.

It was already too late.

She had gotten under his skin.

Yesterday, he had taken her to the extreme sports park of the island. The first activity they had tried was the rope course, which required them to cross a flimsy rope bridge several hundred feet off the ground. He had stepped forward first, Pollyanna following behind him.

I’m nervous and afraid all at the same time.
Pollyanna had made her confession as they moved further into the bridge.
 

When he had glanced back at her, she had looked back at him with cheeks rosy with excitement and a sheepish smile playing on her lips.

And to his shock, this childish look of hers had done things to his libido that not even other women, even when they were fully naked, had been able to achieve.