Ruthless Milllionaire, Indecent Proposal

Despite her past experience with Ari Zavros, or maybe because of it, one mind-bending thought kept pounding away at her, undermining her resistance to the course he was pressing her to take.

Give it a chance.

Give it a chance.

Give it a chance.

CHAPTER NINE

THE bridal waltz.

Tina took a deep breath and rose to her feet as Ari held back her chair. He’d been the perfect gentleman all evening. The speech he’d made preceding his toast to the bride and groom had contained all the right touches, charming the guests into smiling and feeling really good about this marriage. An excellent Best Man.

Maybe he was the best man for her, given that she’d not felt attracted to anyone else in the past six years. If she never connected with some other man … did she want to live the rest of her life totally barren of the sexual pleasure she had known with Ari?

Give it a chance …

As he steered her towards the dance floor, the warmth of his hand on the pit of her back spread a flow of heat to her lower body. The band played ‘Moon River,’ a slow jazz waltz that Cass and George obviously revelled in, executing it with great panache; gliding, twirling, dipping, making it look both romantic and very, very sexy.

Little quivers started running down Tina’s legs as she and Ari waited for their cue to join in. It had been so long since he had held her close. Would she feel the same wild surge of excitement when she connected to his strong masculinity? It was impossible to quell the electric buzz of anticipation when their cue came and he swept her onto the dance floor, yet she stiffened when he drew her against him, instinctively fighting his power to affect her so physically.

‘Relax, Christina,’ he murmured. ‘Let your body respond to the rhythm of the music. I know it can.’

Of course, he knew. There was very little he didn’t know about her body and how it responded. And she had to find out what it might be like with him now, didn’t she? If she was to give it a chance.

She forced herself to relax and go with the flow of the dance. He held her very close; her breasts pressed to his chest, her stomach in fluttering contact with his groin area, her thighs brushing his with every move he made. Her heart was pounding much faster than the beat of the music. Her female hormones were stirred into a lustful frenzy. She was in the arms of a Greek God who was hers for the taking and the temptation to take whatever she could of him was roaring through her.

Ari made the most of Christina’s surrender to the dance, hoping the sexual chemistry sizzling through him was being transmitted through every sensual contact point. She felt good in his arms. She was the right height for him, tall enough for their bodies to fit in a very satisfying way as he moved her around the dance floor. The sway of her hips, the fullness of her breasts impacting with their lush femininity, the scent of her skin and hair … everything about her was firing up his desire to have her surrender to him.

The waltz ended. She didn’t exactly push out of his embrace but eased herself back enough to put a little distance between them. Her cheeks were flushed and she kept her eyes lowered, their thick black lashes hiding any vulnerable feelings. He was sure she had been physically affected by the intimacy of the dance but whether that was enough to sway her his way he didn’t know.

The Master of Ceremonies invited all the guests to dance to the next song which had been especially requested by the bride. Ari instantly understood its significance when the band started playing the tune. He and Christina had heard Stevie Wonder’s version of it on the car radio on one of their trips together.

‘You are the sunshine of my life,’ he said, recalling how he had applied the words to her. ‘It’s your father’s favourite song.’

‘Yes,’ she said huskily. ‘Cass misses him, too. He would have been very proud of her today.’ Her lashes lifted and she gave him a wry little smile. ‘I’m surprised you remembered.’

‘Special songs can be very evocative. You were the sunshine of my life while we were together, Christina.’

The smile twisted into a grimace. ‘There’s been a long night since then, Ari. Though I’m sure you found plenty of sunshine elsewhere.’

‘Not of the same quality.’

Her gaze slid away from his. ‘We have to dance,’ she muttered.

She allowed him to hold her close again without any initial resistance. It was some progress, he thought, though he savagely wished she wouldn’t keep harping on the other women who’d been in his life. The past was the past—impossible to change it. If she’d just set her sights on the future, that was the progress he needed.

He bent his head closer to hers and murmured, ‘What you and I can have now is what matters, Christina.’

She didn’t answer.

Hopefully she was thinking about it.

Tina fiercely wished she could forget everything else but now, pretend she was meeting Ari for the first time, feeling all that he made her feel, her whole body brilliantly alive to exciting sensations. She wouldn’t care about the other women if this was her first experience with him. She’d be blissfully thinking that he was the man who could make her life complete.

Maybe he would if she set the pain he’d given her aside. He’d said he wanted to give her back the dreams he’d destroyed. Yet it was a terribly risky step, trusting his word. If he didn’t keep it, she would hate herself for being a fool, hate him for his deceit, and end up a totally embittered woman.

But she could make him pay for it.

He would lose Theo and any other children they might have if he broke his promise of fidelity. She wouldn’t have to worry over the custody issue. All rights would be hers. In which case, it was worth taking the chance, wasn’t it?

Her father’s favourite song came to an end. She saw Cass go over to her mother who had danced with Uncle Dimitri and give her a hug and a kiss. It caused a painful drag on Tina’s heart. She knew her father would have wanted her to marry Ari. It might have made him proud of her if she did.

She looked up at the man who was her son’s father, and the seductive amber eyes instantly locked onto hers, simmering with the promise of all the pleasure they’d once had together. Her heart quivered over the decision she had made but it was made and she wasn’t going to fret over it any longer.

‘Let’s go where we can talk privately,’ she said firmly.

He nodded, quickly obliging her by steering her off the dance floor, then taking her arm and walking her out to the large open patio where they’d been before the reception dinner.

‘Would you like to sit down?’ he asked, waving to the wooden tables under the pergola.

‘Yes.’ Her legs were feeling wobbly. Besides, sitting across from him at a table would be more comfortable for laying out the deal she would accept.

They sat. Ari spread his hands in an open gesture, inviting her confidence. ‘What do you want to say, Christina?’

Her hands were tightly clenched in her lap. This was it—the moment when her life would begin to take a totally different direction. A wave of trepidation mangled her vocal chords. She looked hard at him, forcing her imagination to see him as a caring and committed father and husband. If she could believe it, maybe the marriage would work out right. She desperately wanted it to.

The first step was to say the words.

Say them.

Just do it and have done with the whole nerve-wracking dilemma.

‘I … I …’

‘Yes?’ Ari encouraged, leaning forward, giving her his concentrated attention.

A surge of panic had made her hesitate. Her mind was screaming wait! Don’t commit yet! But what would she be waiting for? The situation wasn’t going to change. This man was Theo’s father and she had loved him with all her heart once. If he was serious about forging a good relationship with her, shouldn’t she give it a chance?

‘I’ll marry you,’ she blurted out, sealing the decision.

His face broke into a happy grin. His eyes sparkled with pleasure. Or was it triumph, having won what he wanted? ‘That’s great, Christina!’ he enthused. ‘I’m glad you’ve decided it’s the best course because it is.’

He was so positive it instantly raised doubts in Tina’s mind. Was she a fool for giving in? She had to put a high value on the marriage so he would treat her as he should.

‘Give me your hand,’ he pressed, reaching across the table to take it.

She shook her head, keeping both hands tightly in her lap. ‘I haven’t finished what I want to say.’

He frowned at her reluctance to meet his offered hand. He spread his fingers in open appeal. ‘Tell me what you need from me.’

‘I need you to sign the prenuptial agreement you offered me,’ she threw back at him, determined that those terms be kept. It was her safeguard against being used to give Ari a stronger paternal position than he had now.

He drew back, his mouth twisting into an ironic grimace. A sharp wariness wiped the sparkle from his eyes. Tina’s stomach cramped with tension. If he retracted the offer, she could not go ahead with the marriage, regardless of any pressure from any source. It was risking too much. He might walk away from her again and take Theo with him.

She waited for his reply.

Waited … and waited … her nerves stretching tighter with every second that passed.

Ari’s mind was swiftly sifting through Christina’s possible motivations. She didn’t trust his word. He understood where she was coming from on that score. What concerned him most was if she had a vengeful nature.

The prenuptial agreement he’d offered gave her everything if he didn’t remain a faithful husband. What if she planned to be such a cold, shrewish wife, he would be driven to find some pleasure in other company? If she was secretly determined not to be responsive to him, he’d be condemning himself to a hellish marriage. He needed more than her public compliance to a couple of dances to feel secure about winning her over in bed. Out here alone together, she wouldn’t even give him her hand.

What was in her mind?

What was in her heart?

A totally selfish revenge on him … or hope that they could make a happy future together?

He was risking a lot.

He decided she had to meet him halfway before he tied a knot which could not be undone.

‘I am prepared to sign it, Christina,’ he said, his eyes burning a very direct challenge at her as he added, ‘If you’re prepared to spend one night with me before I do.’

She stared at him, startled by the provision he was laying down. ‘Why? You’ll have all the nights you want with me after we’re married.’

‘I want to be sure that I will want them. I won’t sign away my right to my son to a woman who’ll turn her back on me. I need you to show me that won’t happen, Christina. Right now your attitude towards me is hardly encouraging. You won’t even give me your hand.’

Heat surged up her neck and scorched her cheeks. Her eyes glittered a challenge right back at him. ‘I think it’s a good idea for us to spend a night together before either of us commit ourselves to anything. Maybe you’re not as good a lover as you used to be, Ari.’

Relief swept through him at her ready acceptance of a sex-test. He smiled. ‘And maybe you’ll warm to me once I prove that I am.’

Again her lashes swept down, veiling her feelings. She heaved a sigh, probably relieving tension. ‘We’re scheduled to leave Santorini the day after tomorrow,’ she muttered.

‘That can easily be changed.’

She shook her head. ‘I’ll spend tomorrow night with you.’ Her lashes lifted and there was resolute fire in her eyes. ‘That can be the decider for both of us.’

She would bolt if he didn’t satisfy her. Ari was confident that he could if she was willing to let it happen.

‘Agreed,’ he said. ‘However, our other deal ends tonight, Christina. Tomorrow you tell your mother and Theo that I am his father. Whatever happens between us, this has to be openly acknowledged.’

She nodded. ‘I’ll do it in the morning.’

‘Make sure your mother understands the circumstances, that I was not told you had my child until we met in Dubai. I would have come back to you had I known, Christina.’

She made a wry grimace. ‘Since I’ve decided I might marry you, naturally I’ll put you in as good a light as possible to my mother.’

‘It’s the truth,’ he rammed home as hard as he could, wanting her to believe at least that much of him.

‘And my truth is you left me and I didn’t want you back,’ she shot out, her eyes glittering with angry pride. ‘Don’t you start harassing me, Ari. I’ll do what I have to do to smooth the path to a workable future.’

His father’s words about Christina were instantly replayed in his mind … beautiful, intelligent, and with a fighting spirit I admire. If she shared his own strong desire for everything to turn out well, there was no need to concern himself about her presentation of the past to her mother.

‘I’d like to be there when you tell Theo I’m his father,’ he said softly, needing to remove the anger he’d unwittingly triggered. ‘I’ve missed so much—not being there when he was born, his first words, his first step, learning to swim, his first day at kindergarten. I want to see the expression in his eyes when he realises I am the Papa he wished for. Will you give me that, Christina?’

Her eyes went blank, probably focussing inward on the memories she hadn’t shared with him. He willed her to be more generous now. Yet when she did speak, her whole expression was one of deep anxiety.

‘I hope you really mean to be a good father to him, Ari. Please don’t lead him on and then drop him, pursuing other interests.’

He knew she felt he had done that to her.

It had been wrong of him, letting temptation overrule good sense. She had been too young, too impressionable. Theo was much more so and she was frightened for him. Her fear evoked a powerful surge of emotion in him. He wanted to say he’d look after them both for the rest of his life. He hated seeing the fretful doubts in her eyes. But laying them to rest would take time.

‘Give me your hand, Christina,’ he gently commanded, his eyes pleading for her acquiescence.

Very slowly she lifted it from her lap and held it out to him.

He enclosed it with his. ‘I promise you I’ll do everything I can to win Theo’s love and keep it,’ he said fervently. ‘He’s my son.’

Tears welled into her eyes. She nodded, unable to speak. He stroked her palm with his thumb, wanting to give comfort and reassurance, wishing he could sweep her into his embrace but cautious about rushing her where she might not be ready to go.

‘If it’s okay with you, I’ll come to the El Greco resort tomorrow afternoon. We can spend some time with Theo before having our night together,’ he quietly suggested.

She nodded again, sucked in a deep breath and blurted out, ‘I’m sorry. It was mean of me … leaving you out of Theo’s life.’

‘You had your reasons,’ he murmured sympathetically. ‘It’s how we take it from here that will count most to Theo.’

‘Yes,’ she agreed huskily, taking another deep breath before adding, ‘He usually takes a nap after lunch. If you come at four o’clock, we’ll tell him then.’

‘Thank you.’

She gave him a wobbly smile. ‘If that’s everything settled, we should go back to the wedding reception. We’ll be missed. It is Cass’s night and I want to be there for her.’

‘And I for George.’

Their first deal was still in place. He had to wait until tomorrow before taking what he wanted with Christina, yet her hand was still in his and as he rose from the table, the temptation to draw her up from her seat and straight into his embrace was irresistible. She didn’t try to break free but her free hand fluttered in agitation against his chest and there was a heart-piercing vulnerability in the eyes that met his.

He hated her fear. It made him feel even more wrong about what he’d taken from her in the past. He pressed a soft kiss on her forehead and murmured, ‘I’ll make it right, Christina. For you and for Theo.’

He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile as he released her, only retaining her hand, keeping that physical link for the walk back to the wedding reception, wanting her to feel secure with him.

Tonight belonged to Cassandra and George.

Tomorrow was his.

He could wait.

CHAPTER TEN

TINA waited until after their Greek relatives departed for the mainland so she could have a private chat to her mother about her connection to Ari. Everyone had still been revelling in Cass’s wedding—such a wonderful family celebration. Amongst the happy comments were a few arch remarks about Ari’s interest in her.

‘He didn’t have eyes for anyone else.’

‘Never left your side all evening.’

‘Such a charming man!’

‘And so handsome!’

Tina had shrugged off the curiosity, discouraging it by refocussing the conversation on her sister’s life. However, she saw the same curiosity in her mother’s eyes, and when they were finally alone together, relaxing on the lounges by the swimming pool, watching Theo practice diving into it, she didn’t have to think about how to lead into revealing the truth. Her mother did it for her.

‘Are you seeing Ari again today, Tina?’

‘Yes. And there’s something I have to tell you, Mama.’ She took a deep breath to calm her jumpy nerves and started at the beginning. ‘Ari Zavros and I were not meeting for the first time in Athens. Six years ago he was in Australia on a three-month tour of the wineries in our country. I met him on a modelling assignment and fell in love with him.’

Her mother instantly leapt to the truth, understanding of Ari’s behaviour towards them flashing straight into her eyes. ‘He’s Theo’s father.’

‘Yes. I didn’t expect to ever see him again. It was a shock when he was presented to us as George’s best man. I asked him to wait until after the wedding before revealing that my son was also his because it would have been a major distraction from Cass and that wasn’t fair, but today we have to deal with it, Mama.’

‘Oh, my dear!’ Her mother swung her legs off the lounge to face her directly with a look of anxious concern. ‘These past few days must have been very difficult for you.’

Tina had to fight back tears. She hadn’t expected such a rush of sympathy from her mother. Shock and perhaps criticism for her silence, worry over the situation, fretting over the choices to be made … she’d geared herself to cope with all this but not the caring for her feelings and the quick understanding of the distress she had been hiding.

‘I thought … he was gone from my life, Mama,’ she choked out. ‘But he’s not and he never will be again. He’s made that very clear.’

‘Yes … very clear,’ her mother repeated, nodding as she recollected how Ari had inserted himself and his family into their time on Santorini. ‘I don’t think that’s going to change, Tina. He’s definitely intent on making a claim on his son.’

‘And he has the wealth and power to back it up. There’s no point in trying to resist his claim, Mama. I have to give way.’

‘Has he said how he wants to deal with the situation?’

Tina’s mouth instantly twisted into an ironic grimace. ‘He wants me to marry him.’

‘Ah!’

There was no real shock in that Ah!—more a realisation of the bigger claim being made—one that would completely change her daughter’s life, as well as her grandson’s.

After a few moments’ thought, her mother asked, ‘His family knows all this?’

‘He told them after our meeting in Athens. He had no doubt that Theo was his child. His age … his eyes …’

‘Yes … now I see.’ Her mother nodded a few times. ‘They have been extending a welcome to join their family because of Theo.’

‘He is the main attraction,’ Tina said dryly.

‘But they have been very gracious to us, as well, Tina. Which shows they are prepared to accept you as Ari’s wife. How do you feel about it?’

She shook her head. ‘I don’t know. He said he would have come back to me had I told him he’d left me pregnant. I didn’t tell him because he didn’t love me. I was only a … a charming episode … that he could walk away from.’

‘But you loved him.’

‘Yes. Totally.’

‘And now?’

‘I doubt there will ever be anyone else for me, Mama, but it’s Theo he wants. I can’t fool myself that I’m suddenly the woman he loves above all others.’

‘Perhaps you are more special to him now because you are the mother of his child. It’s a very Greek way of thinking, Tina. And sometimes love grows from sharing the most precious things to both of you.’

Tina choked up, remembering Ari listing how much he had missed of Theo because she had denied him knowledge of his son.

Her mother heaved a sigh. ‘It’s not for me to say what you should do, my darling. What do you think is best for you?’

‘Oh, probably to marry him,’ Tina said in a rush, relieved in a way to finally have it out in the open. ‘I think he will be a good father. He’s asked me to wait until he comes here this afternoon for us to tell Theo together that he does have a Papa. And after that—well, Ari and I need some time alone to … to see how we feel about each other, Mama. He wants to take me somewhere. Will you look after Theo, have him in your room tonight?’

‘Oh, dear!’ Her mother shook her head in dismay at realising what the all-night arrangement most probably meant. ‘There’s so much to take in. I wish your father was here.’

‘Don’t worry, Mama. I have to make a decision and I think this is the best way to do it.’

‘Well, of course I will look after Theo, but … do be careful, Tina,’ she said anxiously. ‘If you decide not to marry Ari … I remember how you were when you were pregnant with Theo.’

‘That won’t happen again, Mama,’ Tina assured her. It didn’t matter this time if Ari used a contraceptive or not. She knew she was in a safe period of her cycle. She reached across and took her mother’s hand. ‘Thank you taking all this so well. I hate being a problem to you.’

‘Not a problem, dear. Just … I do so want you to have a happy life and I wish with all my heart that everything turns out well with Ari.’

The fairy-tale happy ending.

Maybe if she could believe in it enough, it might happen. She’d have a better idea of how the future would run after tonight. Right now she couldn’t trust Ari’s word that he would remain a faithful husband. Even if they did find sexual pleasure with each other, that was no guarantee he would always be satisfied with her. She might begin to believe they really could forge a good marriage together after he signed the prenuptial agreement.

If he did.

Ari spent an extremely vexatious morning with his lawyer who was dead against signing away paternal rights under any circumstances. A financial settlement was fine in the case of divorce but giving up one’s children was utter madness, especially since Ari was marrying to have his son.

‘I’m not here for your advice,’ Ari had finally said. ‘Just draw up the agreement I’ve spelled out to you. It’s an issue of showing good faith and I will show it.’

‘Show it by all means,’ his lawyer shot back at it him, ‘but don’t sign it.’

He hadn’t … yet.

He’d done many deals in his life but none as risky as the one he’d proposed to Christina. The money didn’t worry him. He would never begrudge financial support for her and their children. But if the response he needed from her was not forthcoming tonight, marrying her might be too much of a gamble.

His head told him this.

Yet his heart was already set on having Christina Savalas as his wife.

She touched him in ways no other woman had. He had been her first lover, almost certainly her only one, which made her his in a very primal sense. Plus the fact she had carried his child made her uniquely special. Besides, his wealth was not a big attraction to her or she would have gone after a slice of it to support their son rather than taking complete responsibility for him. She was only concerned about the kind of person he was. Looks, money … none of that counted. If he didn’t measure up as a man she wanted in her life, he’d be out of it.