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‘Perhaps you won’t be in such a hurry to leave if I tell you that I have a deal in mind that I’d like to talk to you about? A deal that would benefit your father as well as yourself,’ Ludo asserted calmly.
Riveted, Natalie immediately pulled her hand away from the brass doorknob and turned to face him.
‘What kind of a deal?’
Pacing a little to help arrange his thoughts, Ludo took his time in answering. He stopped pacing to settle his gaze on the beautiful inquisitive face in front of him.
‘I will increase what I paid for your father’s business by half the amount again if you agree to come with me to Greece and play the role of my fiancée.’
Natalie turned as still as a statue, her stunned expression suggesting she wasn’t entirely sure she’d heard him right. She moved across the room to a burgundy-coloured wing-backed armchair and slowly sank down into it.
When she glanced up again to meet his eyes Ludo experienced a private moment of undeniable triumph, because he suddenly knew she was going to give in to his offer.
About the Author
The day MAGGIE COX saw the film version of Wuthering Heights, with a beautiful Merle Oberon and a very handsome Laurence Olivier, was the day she became hooked on romance. From that day onwards she spent a lot of time dreaming up her own romances, secretly hoping that one day she might become published and get paid for doing what she loved most! Now that her dream is being realised, she wakes up every morning and counts her blessings. She is married to a gorgeous man, and is the mother of two wonderful sons. Her two other great passions in life—besides her family and reading/writing—are music and films.
Recent titles by the same author:
WHAT HIS MONEY CAN’T HIDE
DISTRACTED BY HER VIRTUE
A DEVILISHLY DARK DEAL
THE LOST WIFE
Did you know these are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk
In Petrakis’s Power
Maggie Cox
MILLS & BOON
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CHAPTER ONE
‘TICKETS, PLEASE.’
Having just dropped down into her seat after a mad dash to catch the train, flustered and hot, Natalie Carr delved into her voluminous red leather bag and unzipped an inside compartment to retrieve her ticket. The discovery that it was nowhere to be seen was akin to the jolting shock of tumbling down an entire flight of stairs. With her heartbeat hammering in her chest, she raised her head to proffer an apologetic smile to the guard.
‘Sorry … I know it’s here somewhere …’
But it wasn’t. Desperately trying to recall her lastminute trip to the ladies’ before running onto the platform to catch the train, she had a horrible feeling that after checking her seat number she’d left the ticket, in its official first-class sleeve, on the glass shelf beneath the mirror, when she’d paused to retouch her lipstick.
Feeling slightly queasy as a further search through her bag failed to yield it, she exhaled a frustrated sigh. ‘I’m afraid it looks like I’ve lost my ticket. I stopped off at the ladies’ just before boarding the train and I think I might have accidentally left it in there. If the train weren’t already moving I’d go back and look for it.’
‘I’m sorry, miss, but I’m afraid that unless you pay for another ticket you’ll have to get off at the next stop. You’ll also have to pay for the fare there.’
The officious tone used by the florid and grey-haired train guard conveyed unequivocally that he wouldn’t be open to any pleas for understanding. Natalie wished that she’d had the presence of mind to bring some extra cash with her, but she hadn’t. Her father had sent her the ticket out of the blue, along with an unsettling note that had practically begged her not to ‘desert him’ in his ‘hour of need’, and it had sent her into a spin. Consequently, she’d absent-mindedly grabbed a purse that contained only some loose change instead of the wallet that housed her credit card.
‘But I can’t get off at the next stop. It’s very important that I get to London today. Could you take my name and address and let me send you the money for the ticket when I get back home?’
‘I’m afraid it’s company policy that—’
‘I’ll pay for the lady’s ticket. Was it a return?’
For the first time she noticed the only other passenger in the compartment. He was sitting in a seat at a table on the opposite side of the aisle. Even though she’d flown into a panic at losing her ticket, she couldn’t believe she hadn’t noticed him straight away. If the arresting scent of his expensive cologne didn’t immediately distinguish him as a man of substantial means and impeccable good taste, the flawless dark grey pinstriped suit that looked as if it came straight out of an Armani showroom certainly did.
Even without those compelling assets, his appearance was striking. Along with blond hair that had a fetching kink in it, skin that was sun-kissed and golden, and light sapphire eyes that could surely corner the market in sizzling intensity, a dimple in his chin set a provocative seal on the man’s undoubted sex appeal. Staring back into that sculpted visage was like having a private viewing of the most sublime portrait by one of the great masters.
A wave of heat that felt shockingly and disturbingly intimate made Natalie clench every muscle in her body. If she hadn’t already been on her guard, she certainly was now. She didn’t know this man from Adam, or his motive for offering to pay for her ticket, and she quickly reminded herself that the newspapers were full of stomach-churning stories about gullible women being duped by supposedly ‘respectable’ men.
‘That’s a very kind offer but I couldn’t possibly accept it … I don’t even know you.’
In a cultured voice, with a trace of an accent she couldn’t quite place, the stranger replied, ‘Let me get the matter of a replacement ticket out of the way. Then I will introduce myself.’
‘But I can’t let you pay for my ticket … I really can’t.’
‘You have already stated that it is very important you get to London today. Is it wise to refuse help when it is offered?’
There was no doubt she was in a fix and the handsome stranger knew it. But Natalie still resisted. ‘Yes, I do need to get to London. But you don’t know me and I don’t know you.’
‘You are wary of trusting me, perhaps?’
His somewhat amused smile made her feel even more gauche than she felt already.
‘Do you want a ticket or not, madam?’ The guard was understandably exasperated with her procrastination.
‘I don’t think I—’
‘The lady would most definitely like a ticket. Thank you,’ the stranger immediately interjected.
Her protest had clearly landed on deaf ears. Not only did he have the chiselled good looks of a modern-day Adonis, the timbre of the man’s voice was like burnished oak—smoky, compelling, and undeniably sexy. Natalie found her previous resolve to be careful dangerously weakening.
‘Okay … if you’re sure?’
Her need to get to London was paramount, and it overrode her reservations. Besides, her instinct told her the man was being utterly genuine and didn’t pose any kind of threat. She prayed it was a good instinct. Meanwhile the train guard was staring at them in obvious bewilderment, as though wondering why this handsome, well-heeled male passenger would insist on paying for a complete stranger’s ticket. After all, with her bohemian clothing, casually dried long brown hair with now fading blonde highlights, and not much make-up to speak of, she knew she wasn’t the kind of ‘high-maintenance’ woman who would attract a man as well-groomed and wealthy as the golden-haired male sitting opposite her. But if the smoky-coloured pencil she’d used to underline her big grey eyes with helped create the illusion that she was more attractive than she was, then at that moment Natalie was grateful for the ruse. For she knew she had no choice but to accept the man’s kindness. It was vital that she met up with her dad.
She could hardly shake the memory of his distressed tone when she’d rung him to confirm that she’d received the train ticket and once again he’d reiterated his urgent need to see her. It was so unlike him to admit to a human need, and it suggested he was just as fallible and fragile as anyone else—she had guessed all along that he was. Once, long ago, she had heard her mother angrily accuse him of being incapable of loving or needing anyone. His business and the drive to expand his bank account was the real love of his life, she’d cried, and Natalie didn’t doubt his obsessive single-mindedness had been a huge factor in their break-up.
When, after their divorce, her mother made the decision to return to Hampshire, where she had spent much of her youth, Natalie, then sixteen, had elected to go with her. As much as she’d loved her dad, and known him to be charming and affable, Natalie had also known he was far too unreliable and unpredictable to share a home with. But in recent years, after visiting him as often as she could manage, she’d become convinced that in his heart he knew money was no substitute for not having someone he loved close by.
From time to time she’d seen loneliness and regret in his eyes at being separated from his family. His tendency to try to compensate for the pain it caused him by regularly entertaining the company of young attractive women was clearly not helping to make him any happier. Several of her visits over the past two years had confirmed that. He seemed disgruntled with everything … even the phenomenally successful chain of small bijou hotels that had made him his fortune.
‘I just need a single,’ she told the arresting stranger, who didn’t seem remotely perturbed that she’d taken so long to make up her mind about whether to accept his offer or not. ‘And it doesn’t have to be in first class. My dad sent me the ticket, but I’m quite happy to travel as I usually do in second.’
She couldn’t disguise her awkwardness and embarrassment as she watched the man hand his credit card over to the guard. She felt even more awkward when he deliberately ignored her assertion and went ahead and requested a first-class ticket. Natalie hoped to God he believed her explanation about her dad sending her the ticket. After all, she was sure she didn’t resemble a typical first-class passenger.
Trust her dad to unwittingly add to her discomfort by making such a needlessly overblown gesture. He always travelled first class himself, which was why he’d automatically paid for his daughter to do the same. Now she really wished he hadn’t.
When the satisfied train guard had sorted out the necessary ticket, then wished them both an enjoyable journey, the impeccably dressed stranger handed it over to her and smiled. Natalie was very glad that the compartment was occupied by just the two of them right then, because if anyone else had witnessed the man’s astonishing act of chivalry she would have wanted the floor to open up and swallow her.
Accepting the ticket as her face flooded with heat, she prayed her see-sawing emotions would very soon calm down. ‘This is so kind of you … thank you … thank you so much.’
‘It is my pleasure.’
‘Will you write down your name and address for me so that I can send you what I owe you?’ She was already rummaging in her voluminous red leather tote for a pen and notepad.
‘We will have plenty of time for that. Why don’t we sort it out when we get to London?’
Lost for words, and somewhat exhausted by her growing tension, Natalie lowered her bag onto the seat next to her by the window and exhaled a heavy sigh.
With a disarming smile, her companion suggested, ‘Why don’t we help ease any awkwardness between us by introducing ourselves?’
‘All right, then. My name is Natalie.’
It was a mystery to her why she didn’t give him her full name. The thought that it was because she was momentarily dazzled by his good looks hardly pleased her. What did she think she was playing at? How often had she groaned at a friend who seemed to lose every ounce of common sense whenever a fit, handsome man engaged her in conversation and became convinced he must think her the most beautiful girl in the world? Such embarrassing silliness was not for her. She’d rather stay single for the rest of her natural life than delude herself that she was something that she wasn’t …
‘And I am Ludovic … but my family and friends call me Ludo.’
She frowned, ‘Ludovic? How unusual.’
‘It’s a family name.’ Beneath his immaculate tailoring the fair-haired Adonis’s broad shoulders lifted and fell as if the matter was of little concern. ‘And Natalie? Is that a name you inherited?’
‘No. Actually, it was the name of my mum’s best friend at school. She sadly died when she was a teenager and my mum called me Natalie as a tribute to her.’
‘That was a nice gesture. If you don’t mind my saying, there’s something about you that suggests you are not wholly English … am I right?’
‘I’m half-Greek. My mother was born and raised in Crete, although when she was seventeen she came to the UK to work.’
‘What about your father?’
‘He’s English … from London.’
The enigmatic Ludo raised an amused sandy-coloured eyebrow. ‘So you have the heat of the Mediterranean in your blood, along with the icy temperatures of the Thames? How intriguing.’
‘That’s certainly a novel way of putting it.’ Struggling hard not to display her pique at the comment, and wondering at the same time how she could convey without offending him that she really craved some quiet time to herself before reaching London, Natalie frowned.
‘I see I have offended you,’ her enigmatic fellow passenger murmured, low-voiced. ‘Forgive me. That was definitely not my intention.’
‘Not at all. I just—I just have a lot of thinking to do before my meeting.’
‘This meeting in London is work-related?’
Her lips briefly curved in a smile. ‘I told you that my dad sent me the train ticket? Well, I’m going to meet him. I haven’t seen him for about three months, and when we last spoke I sensed he was extremely worried about something … I just hope it’s not his health. He’s already suffered one heart attack as it is.’ She shivered at the memory.
‘I’m sorry. Does he live in the city?’
‘Yes … he does.’
‘But you live in Hampshire?’
‘Yes … in a small village called Stillwater with my mum. Do you know it?’
‘Indeed I do. I have a house that’s about five miles from there in a place called Winter Lake.’
‘Oh!’ Winter Lake was known to be one of the most exclusive little enclaves in Hampshire. The locals referred to it as ‘Billionaire’s Row’. Natalie’s initial assessment that Ludovic was a man of means had been spot-on, and she didn’t know why but it made her feel strangely uneasy.
Leaning forward a little, he rested his hand on the arm of his seat and she briefly noticed the thick gold ring with an onyx setting he wore on his little finger. It might be some kind of family heirloom. But she was quickly distracted from the observation by his stunning sapphire gaze.
‘I presume your parents must be divorced if you live with your mother?’ he deduced.
‘Yes, they are. In any case, tonight I’ll be staying at my dad’s place … we have a lot of catching up to do.’
‘You are close … you and your father?’
The unexpected question took her aback. Staring into the fathomless, long-lashed blue eyes, for a long moment Natalie didn’t know how to answer him. Or how much she might safely tell him.
‘We definitely were when I was younger. After my parents divorced it was … well, it was very difficult for a while. It’s got much better in the last couple of years, though. Anyway, he’s the only dad I have, and I do care about him—which is why I’m anxious to get to London and find out what’s been troubling him.’
‘I can tell that you are a devoted and kind daughter. Your father is a very fortunate man indeed to have you worry about him.’
‘I endeavour to be kind and devoted. Though, to be frank, there are times when it isn’t easy. He can be rather unpredictable and not always easy to understand.’ She couldn’t help reddening at the confession. What on earth was she doing, admitting such a personal thing to a total stranger? To divert her anxiety she asked, ‘Are you a father? I mean, do you have children?’
When she saw the wry quirk of his beautifully sculpted mouth she immediately regretted it, surmising that she’d transgressed some unspoken boundary.
‘No. It is my view that children need a steady and stable environment, and right now my life is far too demanding and busy to provide that.’
‘Presumably you’d have to be in a steady relationship too?’
Ludo’s magnetically blue eyes flashed a little, as though he was amused, but Natalie guessed he was in no hurry to enlighten her as to his romantic status. Why should he be? After all, she was just some nondescript girl he had spontaneously assisted because she’d stupidly left her train ticket in the ladies’ room before boarding the train.
‘Indeed.’
His short reply was intriguingly enigmatic. Feeling suddenly awkward at the thought of engaging in further conversation, Natalie stifled a helpless yawn and immediately seized on it as the escape route she was subconsciously searching for.
‘I think I’ll close my eyes for a while, if you don’t mind. I went out to dinner last night with a friend, to help celebrate her birthday, and didn’t get in until late. The lack of sleep has suddenly caught up with me.’
‘Go ahead. Try and get some rest. In any case I have some work to catch up on.’ Ludo gestured towards the slim silver laptop that was open on the table in front of him. ‘We will talk later.’
It sounded strangely like a promise.
With the memory of his smoky, arresting voice drifting tantalisingly through her mind like the most delicious warm breeze, Natalie leaned back in her luxurious seat, shut her eyes and promptly fell asleep …
In the generous landscaped garden of her childhood London home she squealed with excitement as her dad laughingly spun her round and round.
‘Stop, Daddy, stop! You’re making me dizzy!’ she cried.
As she spun, she glimpsed tantalising snatches of blue summer sky, and the sun on her face filled her with such a sense of well-being that she could have hugged herself. In the background the air was suffused with the lilting chorus of enchanting birdsong. The idyll was briefly interrupted by her mother calling out to them that tea was ready.
The poignant dream ended as abruptly as it had begun. Natalie felt distraught at not being able to summon it back immediately. When she was little, she’d truly believed that life was wonderful. She’d felt safe and secure and her parents had always seemed so happy together.
A short while after the memory of her dream started to fade, the muted sound of the doors opening stirred her awake just in time to see a uniformed member of staff enter the compartment with a refreshment trolley. She was a young, slim woman, with neatly tied back auburn hair and a cheery smile.
‘Would you like something to eat or drink, sir?’ She addressed Ludo.
With a gently amused lift of his eyebrows, he turned his head towards Natalie.
‘I see that you have returned to the land of the living. Are you ready for some coffee and a sandwich?’ he asked. ‘It’s almost lunchtime.’
‘Is it, really?’ Feeling a little groggy, she straightened in her seat and automatically checked her watch. She was stunned to realise that she’d been asleep for almost an hour. ‘A cup of coffee would be great,’ she said, digging into her purse for some change.
‘Put your money away,’ her companion ordered, frowning. ‘I will get this. How do you take your coffee? Black or white?’
‘White with one sugar, please.’
‘What about a sandwich?’ He turned to the uniformed assistant, ‘May I see a menu?’ he asked.
When the girl handed a copy of said menu over to him, he passed it straight to Natalie. About to tell him that she wasn’t hungry, she felt her stomach betray her with an audible growl. Feeling her face flame red, she glanced down at the list displayed in slim gold lettering on the leaflet in front of her.
‘I’ll have a ham and Dijon mustard sandwich on wholemeal bread, please. Thank you.’
‘Make that two of those, and a black coffee along with the white one.’ He gave the assistant their order, then waited until she’d arranged their drinks and sandwiches on the table and departed before speaking again. ‘You sounded a little disturbed when you were dozing,’ he commented.
Natalie froze. Remembering her dream, and thinking that she must have inadvertently cried out at the very real sensation of her dad spinning her round and round, she answered, ‘Do you mean I was talking in my sleep?’
‘No. You were, however, gently snoring,’ he teased.
Now she really did wish the floor would open up and swallow her. As the train powered through the lush green countryside she hardly registered the sublime views because she was so incensed.
‘I don’t snore. I’ve never snored in my life,’ she retorted defensively. Seeing that Ludo was still smiling, she added uncertainly, ‘At least … not that I know of.’
‘Your boyfriend is probably too polite to tell you.’ He grinned, taking a careful sip of his steaming black coffee.
Her heart thudded hard at the implication. Not remotely amused, she stared fixedly back at the perfectly sculpted profile on the other side of the aisle. ‘I don’t have a boyfriend. And even if I had you shouldn’t assume that we would—’ Her impassioned little speech tailed off beneath the disturbing beam of Ludo’s electric blue eyes.
‘Sleep together?’ he drawled softly.
Anxious not to come across as hopelessly inexperienced and naive to someone who was clearly an accomplished and polished man of the world and about as far out of her reach socially as the earth was from the planet Jupiter, Natalie bit into her sandwich and quickly stirred some sugar into her coffee.
‘This is good,’ she murmured. ‘I didn’t realise how hungry I was. But then I suppose it’s because I didn’t have any breakfast this morning.’
‘You should always endeavour to eat breakfast.’
‘That’s what my mum says.’
‘You told me earlier that she was from Crete?’
The less tricky question alleviated her previous embarrassment a little. Even though she had only visited the country a couple of times, she’d grown up on her mother’s enchanting tales of her childhood homeland, and she would happily talk about Greece until the cows came home. ‘That’s right. Have you been there?’
‘I have. It is a very beautiful island.’
‘I’ve only been there a couple of times but I’d love to go again.’ Her grey eyes shone. ‘But somehow or other, time passes and work and other commitments inevitably get in the way.’
‘You must have a demanding career?’
Natalie smiled. ‘It’s hardly a career, but I’m extremely glad that I chose it. My mum and I run a small but busy bed and breakfast together.’
‘And what do you enjoy most about the enterprise? The day-to-day practicalities, such as greeting guests, making beds and cooking meals? Or do you perhaps like running the business side of things?’
Privately she confessed to being inspired to do what she did because her dad had run an extremely successful hotel business. As she’d grown older she’d picked up some useful tips from him along the way, in spite of the eventual dissolution of her parents’ marriage.
‘A bit of both, really,’ she replied. ‘But it’s my mum that does most of the meeting and greeting. She’s the most sublime hostess and cook, and the guests just adore her. Taking care of the business side of things and making sure that everything runs smoothly is my responsibility. I suppose it comes more naturally to me than to her.’
Ludo’s compelling sapphire-coloured eyes crinkled at the corners. ‘So … you like being in charge?’
The comment instigated an unsettling sensation of vague embarrassment. Did he perhaps think that she was boasting? ‘Does that make me sound bossy and controlling?’ she quizzed him.
Her handsome companion shook his head, ‘Not at all. Why be defensive about an ability to take charge when a situation calls for it … especially in business? A going concern could hardly be successful if someone didn’t take the reins. In my view it is a very admirable and desirable asset.’
‘Thanks.’ Even as she shyly acknowledged the unexpected compliment it suddenly dawned on Natalie that Ludo had revealed very little about himself. Yet he had somehow got her to divulge quite a lot about her own life.
Was he a psychologist, perhaps? Judging by his extremely confident manner and expensive clothing, whatever profession he was in it must earn him a fortune. She realised that she really wanted to know a bit more about him. What sentient woman wouldn’t be interested in such a rivetingly attractive man? Maybe it was time she turned the tables and asked him some questions.
‘Do you mind if I ask you what you do for a living?’ she ventured.
Ludo blinked. Then he stared straight ahead of him for seemingly interminable seconds, before finally turning his head and gifting her with one of his magnetically compelling smiles. Her heart jumped as she found her glance irretrievably captured and taken hostage.
‘My business is diverse. I have interests in many different things, Natalie.’
‘So you run a business?’
He shrugged disconcertingly. Why was he being so cagey? Did he think she was hitting on him because he was wealthy? The very idea made her squirm—especially when he had displayed such rare kindness in paying for her train ticket. Not one in a thousand people would have been so generous towards a complete stranger, she was sure.
‘I would rather not spoil this unexpectedly enjoyable train journey with you by discussing what I do,’ he explained. ‘Besides … I would much rather talk about you.’
‘I’ve already told you what I do.’
‘But what you do, Natalie, is not who you are. I would like to know a little bit more about your life … the things that interest you and why.’
She flushed. Such a bold and unexpected declaration briefly struck her dumb, and coupled with the admission that he was enjoying travelling with her, it made her feel strangely weak with pleasure. The last time she could recall feeling a similar pleasure was when she’d had her first kiss from a boy at school she’d had a massive crush on. Her interest in him hadn’t lasted for more than a few months, but she’d never forgotten the tingle of fierce excitement the kiss had given her. It had been tender and innocently explorative, and she remembered it fondly.
Threading her fingers through her long, gently mussed hair, she lowered her gaze and immediately felt strangely bereft of Ludo’s crystalline blue glance. What would a kiss from his lips feel like? It certainly wouldn’t be like an inexperienced schoolboy’s.
Disturbed by the thought, she drew in a steadying breath. ‘If you mean my favourite pastimes or hobbies, I’m sure if I told you what they were you’d think them quite ordinary and boring.’
‘Try me,’ he invited with a smile.
Natalie almost said out loud, When you look at me like that I can’t think of a single thing I like except the dimples in your carved cheekbones when you smile.
Shocked by the intensity of heat that washed through her at the private admission, she briefly glanced away to compose herself. ‘I enjoy simple pleasures, like reading and going to the cinema. I just love watching a good film that takes me away from the worries and concerns of my own life and transports me into the story of someone else’s … especially if it’s uplifting. I also love listening to music and taking long walks in the countryside or on the beach.’
‘I find none of those interests either boring or ordinary,’ Ludo replied, the edges of his finely sculpted lips nudging the wryest of smiles. ‘Besides, sometimes the most ordinary things in life—the things we may take for granted—can be the best. Don’t you agree? I only wish I had more time to enjoy some of the pleasures that you mention myself.’
‘Why can’t you free up some time so that you can? Do you have to be so busy all of the time?’
Frowning deeply, he seemed to consider the question for an unsettlingly long time. His perusal of Natalie while he was mulling over her question bordered on intense. Flustered, she averted her gaze to check the time on her watch.
‘We’ll soon be arriving in London,’ she announced, reaching over to the window seat for her bag and delving into it for a pen and something to write on. ‘Do you think you could give me your full name and address now, so I can send you the money for my ticket?’
‘We might as well wait until we disembark.’
He bit into his sandwich, as if certain she wouldn’t give him an argument. She wanted to insist, but in the end decided not to. What difference could it possibly make to take his address now or later, as long as she got it? ‘Never a borrower or a lender be,’ her mother had always told her. ‘And always pay your debts.’
Instead of adding any further comment, Natalie fell into a reflective silence. Observing that she wasn’t eating her lunch, Ludo frowned, and the gesture brought two deep furrows to his otherwise silkily smooth brow.
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