The Greek Tycoon Box Set: The Complete Serial: Books 1-10 (2 page)

 
But Atreus refused to get dragged into the game of cat-and-mouse that every young man seemed to be playing with her. No. He had more important things to do, a mission to carry out. He would not be swayed, no matter how overwhelming his desire for her became.

*****

Chapter 3

It felt good to be home. But that first night back in Athens, when Atreus would have preferred staying at home with his family, Nikolas dragged him out to see a band in some hot new bar. Before even arriving, he knew it would be packed to the rafters, full of young people knocking back spirits and blowing clouds of smoke into the thick air while proclaiming their undying love for each other. Atreus had always hated that kind of scene.

The bar was on the top floor of an old, three-story building and as soon as Atreus emerged at the top of the stairs, his eyes stinging with the thick cloud of smoke he had predicted, he pushed his way onto the veranda. It was just as packed out there, but he spotted a stairway, blocked by a massive potted palm, that led down to a small ledge overlooking the city. He brushed the palm fronds out of the way, one of them scratching his arm as he made his escape, and settled down on the ledge.
 

The cobbled street below was a long way down and Atreus was surprised that the only thing separating it from the crowd of drunken twenty-somethings was a potted plant. Certainly not a risk he’d take if he were in charge. And it was that attention to detail that had carried him as far as he’d gotten.

As he took in the lights of nighttime Athens, he listened moodily to the happy reveling of the partygoers. He knew Nikolas would be right among them, falling over himself to be the one to drink the most, to talk to the most girls, to get the musicians to play what he wanted. He was always the life of the party.

Nikolas was great at business – they’d always gelled in that way – but when it came to socializing, he and Atreus were polar opposites. Atreus would have preferred to stay at home with good, intelligent company, good wine, good food and maybe, if he was lucky, good sex. None of this incessant partying spoke to his need for connection.

“Can a party-sick girl join you?” a voice, sweet as honey, said from behind him.

He turned to see Serene. His heart did its telltale flutter.

“Sure. If you like,” he said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. There was no way he was getting his hopes up.

She smelled wonderful, like musk and vanilla and the frankincense at church.

“Party-sick, huh?” he asked.

“I hate these things. I don’t even know why I come.”

“Really?”

He was genuinely surprised. For some reason he’d always assumed she’d be more like Nikolas. And, therefore, would go for guys like Nikolas.

She let out a little laugh that was like music to his ears.

“You don’t look all that happy here either, Atreus,” she said. “Don’t you feel like joining in with Nikolas and the rest?”

“No,” he said. “I prefer to just sit here…”
 

He almost said alone at the end of the sentence but stopped himself in time. The last thing he wanted now was for her to leave.
 

She sighed as she looked out over the city.

“I can see why. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Stunning.”

He heard a jangling sound and looked to see that she was shaking her gold bangles back into place after they’d bunched at her wrist. As he gazed at her beauty, admiring the curves of her body in the moonlight, he was struck by her femininity. He felt as if he’d been entranced.

Serene glanced down at him and smiled.

“You’re different, aren’t you?”

Atreus looked away, unsure whether she had just complimented or insulted him.

“I am who I am,” he said resolutely.

“Yes, you are,” she agreed as she lowered herself onto the ledge next to him.

Taken aback by her nerve, he quickly but gently helped her settle herself.

“Please be careful,” Atreus warned. “It’s a long way down.”

She placed a fingertip at the end of the fresh scratch on his forearm. The electricity from her touch was almost unbearable as it surged through him in waves. All of his thoughts disappeared into the blackness of the night.

“Different indeed,” she said, even more convinced after his act of chivalry.

Her voice was forceful, but still sweet. She was strong and soft at once, and he loved it despite himself.

“I know what I see,” she went on. “You’re not happy with the shallow things these other men do.”

Atreus remained silent as she spoke. All the while her finger continued tracing the path of the scratch. It took everything in his power not to turn and kiss her.

“You’re going to be a powerful man, Atreus Kostas. I can see it.”

It wasn’t that far of a stretch to assume that Atreus was going to be successful. To some extent, he already was. But there was something about the way she said it, almost as if she knew it would be so. He suddenly felt uncomfortable, like he was being put under
 
a spell.

“I think I should go see what Nikolas is doing,” he said, starting to get up.

“No!” she pleaded. He’d never heard her speak in such a tone. She was always so confident, so in charge. Finally she wanted something, instead of everyone wanting her. “Please stay.”

So he did, despite feeling like he was being torn in two. Half of him wanted to get up and run and the rest wanted to gather her up in a passionate embrace. Instead he sat, numb, staring into the emptiness of the sky as he wondered what he was getting into.

And then it happened.

She leant over and grazed her lips against his cheek. His whole body felt like it was on fire, blazing with a desire that could never be let loose.
 

He couldn't fight it. Didn’t want to fight it. It was everything he ever wanted and everything he knew he should be avoiding, all wrapped into one.

He turned and kissed her with every bit of his heart and soul.

*****

Chapter 4

Nikolas felt betrayed. And Atreus, well aware that his friend had been interested in Serene, could not deny him those feelings. But, before Atreus even realized it had occurred, he and Serene were together and any feeling of brotherhood between him and his old friend was gone.
 
A rift had formed in their bond and their alliance was destined for eventual collapse from the moment Nikolas saw the new couple walking arm-in-arm through the club on the night of that first kiss. And while Atreus tried to convince himself otherwise, somewhere in the back of his mind or in the depths of his heart, he knew that was the case.
 

It didn’t happen right away, however, and their business continue to grow and thrive. But rather than reveling in their success the way they did after that first trip to Dubai, they would shake hands and go their separate ways. Nikolas’ raucous laughter, once a permanent fixture in their office, drained away, leaving only half-hearted chuckles and smirks.
 

“He’ll get over it,” Atreus’ sister, Onella, had counseled when he went to her for advice. “As soon as he falls in love with someone new, everything will be right back to normal with you two.”

And she hadn’t been entirely wrong. A couple of years later, after a series of unsuccessful trysts, Nikolas had taken a trip to the UK to bridge a shipping route with the Caribbean while Atreus jetted off to Florida to do the same. While there, Nikolas had met a Spanish beauty, Jaime, and had rushed so headlong into marriage that everyone had advised him against it. Everyone, that was, except Atreus.

“I think you should do what feels right for you,” Atreus had said, knowing exactly how Nikolas felt.

Atreus would never forget that moment, right there in their office, when he had reached out for his partner’s hand and Nikolas had reciprocated, looking into Atreus’ eyes for the first time in forever before pulling him in for a long, strong hug that left Atreus confident that his best friend was back.
 
No ugly walls of jealousy or bitterness stood between them anymore. Atreus realized how powerful that was; how a partnership like that could supercharge their business, their lives, and he was so thankful for it.
 

But in reality, Nikolas would never truly be able to forgive Atreus.
 
It wasn’t a conscious decision; when he met his future bride, Nikolas genuinely felt as if he was ready to move on; ready to leave the resentment and fury behind. But when his marriage dissolved before the honeymoon had even concluded, Nikolas knew the truth. He was in this alone.

*****

Chapter 5

They’d been standing on a grassy riverbank, watching the full moon ripple on the water below, when the subject had come up for the first time. Serene had turned to look at him, her dark eyes reflecting the moonlight just like the clear, black river that now flowed behind her.

“Oh, Atreus, will you ever marry me?” she said, pressing her body up against his and running her fingers through his thick hair.

He’d thought about it many times. His mother hadn’t let him forget the idea. Yet something, some tiny niggle in the back of his mind, prevented him from surrendering to it. He didn’t know why but, for some reason, it just didn’t feel right.

“Excuses, excuses,” his mother had said when he’d tried to explain. “It’s just your fear getting to you. Everyone has a fear of commitment but someday you have to grow up and push through it.”

Between his mother’s insistence and his father’s guidance, he’d been warming to the idea over time. And now, with his father’s health deteriorating, he felt even more pressure. Yet still, some equal and opposite force pulled him in the other direction.

He turned to look into Serene’s eyes, trying to work out what it was that stopped him from being head-over-heels in love with the thought of marrying this beautiful creature.
 

“I… I would like to marry you.”

She clicked her tongue in annoyance and dropped her arms from his neck, turning back toward the water and pushing her lips out in a pout.

“But?”

Atreus shoved his hands in his pockets. What could he say? I can’t marry you because I’ve got this tiny feeling in the back of my head that I shouldn’t? That you’re the wrong girl? She’d never settle for a reason like that. Not Serene, who would argue anything to the death with logic and ferocity.
 

Atreus’ heart thumped an urgent melody against his ribcage. All he could think of was his father. Onella was already married to William, an up-and-coming lawyer. He doubted that anything would make his father happier than seeing his only son married before he passed over to heaven.
 

An image of his father’s funeral began to flash in his mind. In it, his entire family was in the Greek Orthodox church they’d attended for generations, his mother and sister draped in white veils as they wept over the coffin. Incense burned as the tinkle of bells drifted through the aromatic air. And Atreus stood there, alone, with no one by his side.

When his father went, Atreus wanted him to be proud of all that his son had accomplished. That included starting a family of his own.

“All right,” Atreus said impulsively. “Let’s get married.”

The End (of The Prelude)

Continue on to read Book 1…

THE GREEK TYCOON

Book 1:
 
Left Holding His Baby

By Kay Brody

Chapter 1

“I’m sorry, Atreus,” Serene said, her eyes shining with tears. “Please understand, I never meant for this to happen. But I just cannot go on living this life. I’m not prepared to raise a child – and
definitely
not on my own.”

Atreus looked at his wife in disbelief and then at their son, Dios, who was sleeping soundly in his crib. If only that sweet little boy knew what his mother was saying.
 

Yet at a deep level, Atreus did not recoil as he had expected himself to. Perhaps Serene was just speaking aloud the slow burning truth, the embers of their dying relationship. He had to admit that the thought of their separation did not strike fear into his heart, as it would have many years before.

Even so, he did not want her to leave. Every child needed a mother.
 

“You’re just going to walk out on him?”
 

Serene closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, steeling herself against her emotions.
 

“If I leave now,” she said carefully, “he will never know me. And, believe me, that will be best.”
 

“Serene, no!”
 

She had seemed so much calmer during the pregnancy, so much happier, so much so he’d thought things might be looking up. How could she abandon the child she’d carried inside for nine months? Just walk away like he did not matter? It made an anger rise up in him.
 

“You cannot leave this house. You have duties. As a mother, as a wife—”

“Oh, don’t, just don’t.” She paced the nursery with a frustration he didn’t understand. He looked at the striped sailor curtains they had picked out; the teddy she had latched onto at the department store. “We both know I have not been your wife for a long time. Maybe in name, but not in spirit.” She pursed her lips together and struggled to catch a breath. “And I don’t need to wait any longer to know that I won’t be a fit mother.” Dissolving into a wail of frustration, Serene spun on her heels and slammed the door of the nursery as she left.