‘Today is Wednesday and I’m going home on Friday. Let’s not make any more of this than we should… please, no more grand gestures, Tino.’
‘No more flying to Athens to buy you jewellery, you mean?’
As he gazed at her she saw a glint of humour had returned to his eyes. She pulled away. ‘You must be exhausted, after your journey.’
‘Not too tired to want you in my bed.’ He dragged her back into his arms. ‘And I will have my own way on this—with or without emerald earrings, you and I have an agreement to fulfil.’
He carried her upstairs, and, shouldering open the door to his suite, took her straight to the bed.
Lisa watched as he tugged off his shirt. ‘Tino, please, this doesn’t feel right.’
‘Why should we waste time when time is running out? We should make the most of it, don’t you think?’
‘I just can’t do this.’ Lisa tensed, expecting him to react to having his male pride badly dented, but instead he surprised her, coming to kneel at the side of the bed.
Taking her hand in his, he raised it to his forehead and closed his eyes. ‘Lisa, I’m so sorry… You’re right—we’re both hopeless cases. Can you forgive me?’ He looked up.
‘You’ll take the earrings back to the jeweller’s?’
‘If you really don’t want them,’ he agreed, searching her face. ‘I’ll do anything for you.’
Yes, but only for the duration of their agreement, Lisa thought sadly. And then Tino smiled at her, and the delicious curve of his mouth, and the laughter in his eyes, won her over.
She would have been frightened of a man like this at one time, Lisa realised, a man who could make her do anything he wanted with his strength alone, but it was the need she saw in him, the need that so perfectly matched her own that made her weaken…
He saw the change in her at once, and eased up from his knees. ‘You can’t resist me?’ he proposed wickedly.
‘Was there ever a more arrogant man on the face of this earth?’
‘Not here, surely?’ He looked at her wryly, and then gazed around. ‘I’m standing in the middle of my own bedroom.’
‘Then come to me,’ Lisa suggested seductively.
Was lovemaking supposed to start with shrieks of laughter, and end like this? Lisa wondered, lying snug in Tino’s arms. He had just dropped off to sleep, as well he might after the exertions of the day—and she didn’t just have flying in mind, she reflected mischievously, brushing a stray lock of inky-black hair from his eyes. He moaned softly with contentment, and shifted position slightly at her side, drawing her a little closer.
‘I think I love you, Tino Zagorakis.’ She was safe in the knowledge that he couldn’t hear her—but she did love him, Lisa realised with a jolt of happiness. He was everything to her. Tino was everything she had ever dreamed of and far more than she could ever have imagined. He made her laugh… he made sex fun and safe—and he’d found a use for the emerald earrings, though not the use the high-class jeweller would have had in mind when he’d secured the sale… If the jeweller discovered where those earrings had been clipped Tino would never be able to return them!
Burrowing her face into Tino’s chest, Lisa kissed him tenderly, but she had disturbed him, and he stirred restlessly, pushing her away in his sleep.
‘No… I don’t want to.’ He thrashed his head on the pillow.
‘What don’t you want to do, my love?’ she said softly, tracing the line of his mouth very gently with her fingertip.
‘Don’t hurt me.’ The words jerked out of him, muddled and indistinct.
Resting up on one elbow, Lisa stared down feeling increasingly alarmed. ‘Tino? Are you asleep?’ He was fast asleep, she realised, and he was held fast in the grip of some awful dream. ‘Tino, please, wake up.’
Lisa’s heart was thundering in her chest as Tino shook her off.
‘No!’ he exclaimed louder than before, jerking away from her.
‘Tino!’ Shaking his arm, she raised her voice, hoping to get through to him.
‘Leave me… Go away… Get out of here!’