by Maya Banks
“I’ve made arrangements for the Anetakis jet to fly you from Greece to New York a week from now. Will your mother be traveling with you?”
It was a senseless question, meant to be more polite than inquisitive since he knew well that Alannis’s family would never allow her to travel to see an unmarried man unchaperoned.
“I’ll look forward to your arrival then,” he continued. “I’ve arranged for a night at the opera shortly after you arrive.” If all went well, he’d request a moment alone to propose and then the two families could go ahead with the wedding plans.
Of course now he needed to apprise his brothers of his intentions.
He hung up the phone and stared at it for a long moment. He had no doubt Chrysander would, in his newfound loving bliss, be reluctant to encourage Theron to enter into a loveless marriage. Piers on the other hand would shrug and say it was Theron’s life and if he wanted to mess it up, that was his prerogative.
In time he could grow to like Alannis very well. He liked her already and respected her, which was more than he could say for a lot of the women of his acquaintance. He knew better than to expect a woman to love him as deeply as Marley loved his brother. But he’d like to think he could be friends with his future wife and enjoy her companionship in and out of bed.
He frowned when he thought of Alannis naked and in his bed, beneath his body. He glanced down at his groin as if expecting a response. If he was, he was disappointed.
Alannis…she came across as cold and extremely stiff. He supposed he couldn’t blame her for that. She was most assuredly a virgin, and it would be up to him to coax the passion from her. It was his duty as her husband.
With a sigh, he checked his watch, and to his irritation noticed that Isabella was late. He drummed his fingers impatiently on his desk. Madeline had provided three possible apartments, all in good areas and in close proximity to the Imperial Park Hotel. She hadn’t as of yet provided a list of eligible men.
No matter. The first order of business was to see her settled. The sooner, the better. Then he’d worry about marrying her off.
When he heard his door open, he looked up, startled. Then he frowned when he saw Isabella stride inside. On cue, his intercom buzzed, and Madeline’s voice announced somewhat dryly that Isabella was on her way in.
“Good morning,” Isabella sang out as she stopped in front of his desk.
He swallowed and then his gaze narrowed as he took in her attire. It wasn’t exactly immodest, and as such he couldn’t offer a complaint. It covered her. Sort of.
His mouth went dry when she put her hands on his desk and leaned forward. Her breasts spilled precariously close to the neckline of her T-shirt, and he could see the lacy cups of her bra as they pushed the soft mounds upward.
He cursed under his breath and directed his gaze upward. “Good morning, Isabella.”
“Bella, please, unless you have an aversion to the name?”
He didn’t, though it somehow seemed more intimate, particularly when he took the meaning of the Italian form of her name. Beautiful. That she was. Stunningly so. Different from the usual sophisticated type of women he gravitated toward, but beautiful nonetheless. There was something wild and unrestrained about her.
He ground his teeth together and shifted his position. Where his groin had remained stoic when thinking of Alannis, it had flared to life, painfully so, as soon as Isabella had walked into his office.
He was her guardian, someone to look after her welfare, and here he sat fantasizing about her. Disgust filled him. Not only was it disrespectful to Isabella but it was disrespectful to Alannis. No woman should have to put up with her soon-to-be fiancé lusting after another woman.
“Bella,” he echoed, taking her invitation to use her nickname. It suited her. Light and beautiful.
He rose from his seat and walked around the front of his desk. She eyed him curiously, and he found himself asking her why.
She laughed. “You’re dressed so casually today. I’m so used to seeing you in nothing but suits and ties.”
“When have you seen me?” he asked in surprise. He thought back to the times when she would have seen him, and while he probably was wearing a suit, it was hardly a basis for her supposition.
She flushed, and he watched in fascination as color stained her cheeks. She ducked away, her hair sliding over her shoulder.
“Pictures,” she mumbled. “There are always pictures of you in the papers.”
“And you get these papers all the way out in California?” he asked.
“Yes. I like to keep up with the people looking after my financial well-being,” she said evenly.
“As you should,” he said approvingly. “Are you ready to go? I have a list of potential apartments. I took the liberty of scaling down the possibilities to a few more suitable to a young woman living alone.”
And then he realized he’d made a huge assumption. There was certainly no reason to believe that a woman as beautiful and vibrant as Isabella would be living alone. He refused to retract the statement or ask her if she was currently involved with anyone. But he’d need to know because if she was involved, seriously, then he could forego the whole process of introducing her to prospective husbands.
“I’m ready if you are,” she said as she smiled warmly at him.
As they walked from the building that housed the Anetakis headquarters, Theron put his hand to the small of Isabella’s back. She felt the touch through her shirt. It seared her skin, and she was sure that if she could look, there would be a visible print from his fingers, burned into her flesh.
After loving him from afar for so many years, she’d been prepared for disappointment, that maybe the man he’d become wouldn’t live up to the dream. She’d been so far removed from the truth that reality overwhelmed her. He was more, so much more than she could have imagined. Her feelings hadn’t gone away when she’d seen him again. They’d cemented.
She sat next to him in the back of the limousine. In addition to the driver, Henry, there was one additional member of his security detail that rode up front. When they pulled up in front of the first apartment building, she noticed that another smaller car pulled in behind them, and two men got out and cautiously scanned the area.
“I don’t remember the security being this tight the last time I visited,” she murmured as they walked toward the entrance.
Theron stiffened. “It’s a necessary evil.”
She waited for him to say more but he didn’t volunteer further information.
Three hours later, they’d toured the apartments on his list with him vetoing the first two before she could even offer an opinion. He was tight-lipped about the third but offered her the choice between it and the last on their list.
She stifled her laughter and solemnly informed him that she liked the fourth. He nodded his approval and set about securing it for her.
“Will you have your things shipped to the apartment?” he asked as they walked back to the limousine.
She shook her head. “I plan to shop for everything I need here and have it delivered. It will be quite fun!”
He growled something under his breath but when she turned to him in question, he pressed his lips together.
“I’ll arrange for someone to take you shopping,” he said grudgingly.
She raised an eyebrow. “I assure you, I have no need of a babysitter, Theron. Chrysander saddled me with one four years ago, and I had no more need of it then than I do now.”
“You will not roam all over the city by yourself,” he said resolutely.
She shrugged and offered a faint smile. “You could always go with me.”
He gave her a startled look.
“No? You seem the logical choice given I don’t know anyone else here.” She purposely kept silent about Sadie. There was no reason for Theron to know about her, and he wouldn’t approve if he knew she worked in a strip club. And find out he would, because the instant she let him know of someone she was spending time w
ith, he’d perform an extensive background check and then forbid her to associate with Sadie any longer.
Not that she’d listen, but she intended for their relationship to get off to the best possible start. Lust was fine for now, but she wanted to make him fall in love with her. She wanted him to need her.
“You’re right, of course,” he said with a grimace. “I forget you’ve lived in California and have only been here to visit.”
She slid into the limousine and smiled over at him as he got in on the other side. “Does that mean you’ll go shopping with me?”
He grunted, and she couldn’t hold the laughter in any longer. His eyes widened, and he stared openly at her as though he found the sound of her laughter enchanting.
All the breath left her as she saw for just one moment a look of wanting in his eyes. Just as soon as it flashed, he blinked and recovered.
“I’ll see if my schedule permits such a trip,” he said tightly.
“Where are you taking me for lunch?” she asked, more to remind him of their date than any real curiosity over their destination. She didn’t care where or what they ate. She just wanted the time with him.
“We have an excellent restaurant at the hotel,” he said. “My table is always available to me. I thought we could eat there and then you could retire to your suite to rest.”
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. He was smooth. Plotting the easiest way to get rid of her. She couldn’t blame him. She was an unexpected burden, and he was a busy man. She chewed her bottom lip and looked out the window at the passing traffic as she contemplated how to get him to see beyond the inconvenience to the woman who loved him and wanted him so badly.
“Is something the matter, Bella?”
She turned to see him staring at her in concern. She smiled and shook her head. “Just a little tired. And excited.”
He frowned. “Maybe you should allow me to see to the furnishing of your apartment. If you would mark down your preferences, I could have a designer work with you so that you didn’t have to go out shopping for all the things you need.”
“Oh, no, that wouldn’t be near as much fun. I can’t wait to pick out everything for the apartment. It’s such a gorgeous place.”
“What are your plans, Bella?” he asked.
She blinked in surprise. “Plans?”
“Yes. Plans. Now that you’ve graduated, what are your career plans?”
“Oh. Well, I planned to take the summer off,” she hedged. “I’ll focus on the future this fall.”
He didn’t say anything, but she could tell such an approach bothered him. She smiled to herself. It probably gave him hives. He and his brothers all were intensely driven with a take no prisoners approach when it came to business. They weren’t the world’s wealthiest hotel family for nothing.
When they arrived at the hotel, Theron ushered her inside as his security team flanked them on all sides. It was odd and a bit surreal, almost like they were royalty.
A few minutes later, they were escorted to Theron’s table at the restaurant. It was situated in a quiet corner, almost completely cutoff from the rest of the diners.
He settled her into her chair and then circled around to sit across from her. He dropped his long, lean body into his seat and stared lazily at her.
“What would you like to eat, pethi mou?”
Isabella cringed at the endearment. He’d called her the same thing when she was thirteen. Little one. It set her teeth on edge. Hardly something that evoked images of the two of them in bed, limbs entwined.
“What do you suggest?” she asked.
She studied his lips, the hard, sensual curve to his mouth and the dark shadow already forming on his jaw. She was tempted, so very tempted to reach across and run the tip of her finger along the roughness and then to the softness of his lips.
What would it be like to kiss him? She’d kissed several boys in college. She said boys because next to Theron, that’s all they were. Some were very good, others awkward and “pleasant.”
But Theron. Kissing him would be like chasing a storm. Hot, exciting and breathless. Her pulse jumped wildly as she imagined the warm brush of his tongue.
“Bella?”
She blinked and shook her head as she realized Theron had been calling her name for a few seconds.
“Sorry,” she murmured. “Lost in my thoughts.”
“I was suggesting you try the salmon,” he said dryly.
She nodded jerkily and tilted her head toward the waiter who was standing beside the table waiting for their order.
“I’ll have what he suggests,” she said huskily.
Theron placed their order in succinct tones, and the waiter hurried away shortly afterward.
“Now, Bella,” Theron said, as he sat back in his chair. He looked comfortable, at ease as he raked his gaze over her features, setting fire to every nerve receptor. “Perhaps we should talk about your future.”
A nervous scuttle began in her stomach. “My future?” She laughed lightly to allay the pounding of her heart. If she had any say, her future would be inexorably linked to his.
“Indeed. Your future. Surely you’ve given it some thought?”
He sounded slightly scornful, impatient with someone who didn’t have an airtight plan. If he only knew. She’d done nothing else for the past years but plan for her future. With him.
“I’ve given it a lot of thought,” she said evenly.
“You mentioned marriage. Are you truly considering being married before you turn twenty-five.”
“I count on it.”
He nodded as if he approved. She almost laughed. Would he be so approving if he knew he was her intended groom? A sigh escaped her. She felt so evil, like she was plotting an assassination rather than a seduction.
“This is good,” he said almost to himself. “I’ve taken the liberty of forming a list of possible candidates.”
Her brow crinkled as she stared at him in puzzlement. “Candidates? For what?”
“Marriage, Bella. I intend to help you find a husband.”
Chapter Four
Isabella eyed Theron suspiciously, wondering if he’d suddenly developed a sense of humor.
“You intend to do what?” she asked.
“You want a husband. After my initial misgivings, I’ve decided it’s a sound idea. A woman in your position can’t be too careful,” he continued, obviously warming to his subject. “So I’ve taken the liberty of drawing up a list of suitable candidates.”
She burst out laughing. She couldn’t help herself. As absurdities went, this might well take the cake.
He blinked in surprise then frowned as she continued to chuckle. “What do you find so amusing?”
She shook her head, the smile not dropping from her lips. “I’m in the city all of two days, and already you’re planning to marry me off. And tell me, what do you mean by a woman in my position can’t be too careful?”
“You’re wealthy, young and beautiful,” he said bluntly. “You’ll have every man between the ages of twenty and eighty plotting to wed and bed you, not necessarily in that order.”
She sat back in mock surprise. “Wow. And not a word about my intelligence, wit or charm. I’m glad to know I don’t plan to wed for superficial reasons.”
Theron sobered then reached over and took her hand. Warmth spread up her arm as his fingers stroked her palm. “This is precisely why I felt I should be involved in your search for a husband. Men will try to take advantage of you by pretending they’re something they’re not. Fortune hunters will pretend they know nothing of your wealth. They’ll be swept away by your kindness and generosity. It’s important that any man we allow close to you be carefully vetted by myself.”
Her lips twitched, but she dare not laugh. He was utterly serious, and she had to admit that his concern was endearing. It would be quite sweet if he weren’t so intent on marrying her off to another man.
“Don’t be disheartened, pethi mou,” he soothed. “T
here are many men who would give you the world. It’s a matter of finding the right one.”
It was all she could do not to cringe. If that wasn’t a painful lecture, she’d never heard one.
“You’re right, of course,” she murmured.
Because what else was she going to say? What she really wanted to do was lean over and ask him if he could be that man. But she already knew the answer to that. He couldn’t be that man. At least not yet. Not until he had time to get used to the idea.
Theron smiled his approval and slipped his fingers from hers as he leaned back in his chair. She glanced down at her open hand, regretting the loss of his touch.
“So tell me, what are your requirements in a husband?” he asked indulgently.
She gazed thoughtfully at him, her mind assembling all the things she loved most about him. Then she started ticking items off on her fingers.
“Let’s see. I’d like him to be tall, dark and handsome.”
Theron rolled his eyes. “You’ve described the wishes of half the female population.”
“I also want him to be kind and have a sense of responsibility. As I’d prefer not to have children right away, his agreement on that matter would also be important.”
“You don’t want children?” he asked. He seemed surprised, but then he likely thought all women aspired to pop out a veritable brood as soon as they got a ring on their finger.
“I didn’t say I didn’t want them,” she replied calmly. “Let me guess, you’d want them immediately?”
He arched one brow. “We aren’t discussing me, but yes, I see no reason to wait.”
“That’s because you aren’t the one having them,” she said dryly.
For a moment it looked as though he would laugh, but then he waved his hand and urged her to continue with her wish list.
She pretended to consider for a moment. “I want him to be wealthier than I am so that my money is a nonissue.”
Theron nodded his agreement.
Then she let her voice drop, and she leaned forward. “I want him to burn for me, to not be able to go a day without touching me, holding me, caressing me. He’ll be an excellent lover. I want a man who knows how to please me,” she finished in a husky, longing-filled voice.