Claiming My Hidden Son (The Notorious Greek Billionaires Book 1) Page 14

  ‘I want you, Calypso. And unless I’m wildly off-base you want me too.’

  ‘That’s it? Surely you have better negotiating skills than that, Axios?’ she taunted.

  The breathless sound of my name on her lips escalated the heat pounding through my bloodstream. I wanted to kiss her. To prove with deeds instead of words how combustible this thing between us was.

  ‘You’re not the same woman I left on Agistros last year. I see that now.’

  More than that, she had the power to walk away again if she chose.

  The strange sensation of being on slippery ground forced me into further speech, even as I questioned the wisdom of the route I was taking.

  ‘Come to my bed—not because of our agreement or because of your ultimatum. Do it because you want to. Because we can make each other feel things we’ve never experienced before.’

  Her lips parted in a soft gasp. ‘You... I do that to you?’

  I couldn’t help the hoarse laughter that was ejected from my throat. I dropped her wrist and removed myself several mind-clearing paces away.

  ‘Barely two hours ago, I was close to saying to hell with propriety and taking you on that balcony. What do you think?’

  Despite the heat flaming up her face her shoulders went back, accepting her power over me. It was all I could do to remain standing where I was and not stride across the room to demonstrate just how much the hunger inside me lashed through her too.

  But this was too important.

  I wasn’t an animal, and she needed to grant me clear acknowledgement of her desire before it would work. But it was going to work. There were no viable alternatives to allay this...this insane craving inside me save for the highly unsatisfactory avenue of self-pleasure, which I wasn’t willing to consider any more.

  ‘I’m a man with healthy appetites, Calypso. And I haven’t had sex since our wedding night. Do you know that?’

  She gave another gasp, this time a heated one that went straight to my groin. She backed against the door, as if putting distance between herself and the live wire of desire lashing us would work.

  Eyes wide, she lifted her chin in further challenge. ‘How do I know that’s true?’

  Frustration threatened to erupt. I tamped it down. ‘I don’t make a habit of lying, yineka mou. Regardless of how we came together, I took a vow I intend to honour until I’m no longer bound by it. But if you don’t believe me I can give you the number of a top investigator and you can discover the truth for yourself.’

  ‘Even if I believe you, maybe you didn’t seek another woman’s bed because you didn’t want to jeopardise your precious deal.’

  She was really good at pushing my buttons. And the curious thing was that I preferred this version of Calypso to the one who’d glided down the aisle a little over a year ago.

  I shrugged off my tuxedo, watched her gaze cling to my torso before another blush pinkened her smooth skin. ‘Whatever my reason for staying celibate, I wish it to end now.’

  ‘Because you decree it?’

  ‘Because you’re woman enough to admit you want me too. Because when you come to my bed it’ll be because your needs are as strong as mine and you’re not ashamed to give in to them.’

  Tossing the jacket aside, I gave in to the urge and returned to her, my senses jumping at the promise of decadent friction when she swallowed but stayed her ground. And then, because I wasn’t above playing dirty to get my way, I unbuttoned one shirt stud. Then another.

  Brazenly, I revelled in the tremor that went through her lush frame as her eyes followed my undressing with abashed appreciation. A layer of femininity which might have been there all along or I might have missed called to the beast in me.

  ‘I want to lay you on my bed...make you cry out my name in climax.’

  Her eyelashes fluttered before sweeping down. That tell-tale sign that she was hiding something nearly derailed me. It certainly froze me in place, congealing my insides with the knowledge that, far from being a forward-thinking man, some things were sacred to me.

  ‘Tell me what you’re thinking.’

  She remained silent for far too long. In real time it was probably a handful of seconds. But it was enough to unnerve me. Enough that when she deigned to lift those hypnotising eyes to mine all that remained in me was a frenzied roar.

  I watched her lips move but didn’t hear the words she uttered. Her eyes grew wider, possibly at my expression. She started to step back.

  I closed the gap between us and tugged her to me. With her heavy magnificent breasts pressed against my chest all I wanted was to lose myself in her. To slay this terrible need.

  Her nostrils quivered as she inhaled rapidly. Against my chest her hands fluttered, and a trembling I wanted to believe had nothing to do with sex seized her.

  ‘Axios...’

  ‘I said I want to be different, Calypso. Take this leap with me?’

  But even as her eyes widened at my words she hesitated, her lower lip caught between her teeth, taunting me with the prospect of unaccustomed denial.

  And all the while my insides churned with emotions I didn’t want to examine.

  All the while delicate tremors filtered through her body and her breathing grew more erratic with her undeniable arousal.

  I was on the very edge of my sanity when Calypso’s fingers whispered over the button above my navel, toyed with the stud for a second before fluttering away again. Eyes that refused to meet mine remained fixed on my chest.

  She released her lip and I fought the urge to lean down and bite the plump, wet curve.

  Before her wicked hands could further wreck me, I caught them in one hand. ‘Calypso, look at me.’

  After an eternity her lashes lifted. Dark blue hypnotic pools pulled me in, threatening to drown me.

  ‘Say the words. I want to hear them,’ I pressed, aware that my voice was a gravel-rough mess.

  She inhaled. ‘I’ll take the leap with you. For now.’

  I had to hand it to her—she knew how to time her negotiations to maximum effect. But I’d given my word and I wouldn’t go back on it. Besides, the earlier we excised this fever from our systems the earlier we could start the extrication process.

  The earlier I could return to my life as I knew and preferred it.

  The punch of satisfaction I expected never arrived.

  More...

  ‘For now?’ I repeated, dismissing the hollow echo of the words.

  I steeped myself deeper in the moment. Revelled in the fingers gripping my shirt as if the small scrap of cotton would ground her. She swallowed again, then gave a nod.

  I crooked a finger under her chin and nudged her head upward. ‘Tell me, pethi mou,’ I insisted.

  ‘I want you,’ she whispered.

  The breathy little sound washed over my chin and throat, making something frenzied and untamed leap inside me, filling me with the prospect of what ‘more’ could mean.

  ‘More...’ I pressed, wanting irrevocable confirmation that she wanted this.

  Her chin lifted, her eyes gleaming boldly. ‘I want to be in your bed. I want you to take me.’

  I slid my hand up her delicate spine to tangle in her hair. To grip it and keep her attention on me. ‘I want to make you mine again. Tell me you want that.’

  Her fists bunched, a breathy little sound escaping her throat as she swayed closer. ‘I want to be yours.’

  Like over a breached dam, a torrent swelled inside me. Removing her silk dress was as simple as catching the fragile material and ripping it off her body.

  She gasped, staring down at the tattered fabric at her feet before attempting to glare at me. ‘I don’t believe you did that.’

  A smile caught me unawares. ‘I didn’t think you were that attached to it. If so, I’ll buy you a dozen more,’ I vowed thickly. Because the sight of
her body, displaying changes after bearing my son in the form of slightly thicker hips, a rounded softness in her belly and, best of all, the heaviness of her breasts, had intensified the throbbing in my groin.

  I was barely aware of sinking to my knees, framing her lush hips and pulling her to me. I welcomed the fingers clenching tight into my hair as my lips found the sensitive flesh below her navel and brazenly tasted her creamy skin. When she sagged against the door I went lower, removing her panties before catching one leg and throwing it over my shoulder so I could find the heart of her, the true feminine core that called to me with the strength of a dozen sirens.

  ‘Ax!’

  Her sweet cry urged me on, her taste a drug surging with unstoppable force through my bloodstream. I didn’t relent until she was splintering in my arms, her moans music to my ears. Only then did I scoop her up and carry her to my bed to begin all over again.

  Her head rolled on the pillow, her hair fanning out in a dark silken halo as her lips parted on hot little gasps as I rediscovered every delightful inch of her body.

  ‘Omorfi...’

  The word tumbled unbidden from my lips as I caught one pearled nipple in my mouth. And she was beautiful, with a certain indefinable layer of femininity and strength adding to her allure.

  ‘When you glided up that aisle like an obedient wraith I had no idea you were hiding this...this steel and sensuality beneath that frothy gown.’

  Her eyes widened in dazed surprise. ‘Was that why you left the next morning? Because I wasn’t what you expected?’

  It was my turn to be stunned. To ponder how events had unfolded through her eyes. But now wasn’t the time to admit I’d been unnerved then too. Just as I was now.

  ‘No. My delivery wasn’t great, but I believed leaving was best. However, this...’ I slid a hand down her ribcage, revelled in her unfettered response ‘...was certainly a surprise.’

  And the fact that she was even more responsive now threatened to annihilate my self-control completely.

  Before I was entirely consumed I reached for a condom, donned it and accepted the enthralling welcome of her parted thighs. I slanted my lips over hers, unwilling to leave any feast unsatisfied as I entered her in one deep, glorifying thrust.

  Pleasure detonated in a shower of fireworks as I seated myself deep within her. Felt her tighten around me, drawing me deeper. When she sought to shatter me further with needy whimpers and greedy hands I tore my lips from hers, gritted my teeth in an effort to make this last.

  But of course the next layer of sweet torture waited in the wings. With her mouth free, and the nirvana of a higher plane of pleasure waiting, I watched her slide into that unique dimension, that place where her unfiltered pleasure rippled from her alluring lips.

  ‘My God, you’re so big. So deep. I feel every inch of you...’

  A muted roar rumbled up my throat as her words threatened to completely unravel me.

  Her nails sank into my back, ripping away another layer of control. And just like on that night I’d never been able to put out of my mind I realised she was unaware of herself, that pleasure had transported her into another dimension.

  ‘Shall I roll my hips like that first time? That was incredible.’

  ‘Calypso...’ I wasn’t sure whether saying her name was warning or encouragement. Either way, she didn’t respond. She continued her mind-altering commentary. Commentary that fired a white-hot blaze inside me alongside the fiery one already raging from possessing her.

  I stared down into her stunning, unguarded face as I pushed in and out of her, racing both of us towards that special peak.

  Another man would have taken advantage of the situation, prised secrets from her subconscious while she was in this state. But that was an invasion my conscience wouldn’t let me stomach for longer than a nanosecond.

  So I refocused on the words tumbling from her lips, revelled in them for another reason altogether. Because they turned me on. Because no other woman had brought this unique, exquisite surprise to my bed. Because hearing her vocalise her pleasure charged mine in a way I’d never thought possible.

  Increasing the tempo of my thrusts, I lowered my body to hers, drew her tighter against me. ‘Wrap your legs around my waist, omorfia mou.’

  With gratifying speed, she complied.

  ‘Now, tell me more,’ I growled in her ear. ‘Tell me everything you’re feeling.’

  Whether she heard me or not, I didn’t know, but the words spilled out.

  Unmanned by her unfiltered longing, I kissed the corner of her luscious mouth and groaned when she chased mine when I withdrew.

  ‘Kiss me. Please kiss me.’

  ‘Say my name, matia mou. Say my name and I’ll kiss you.’

  ‘Axios,’ she moaned. ‘Kiss me, please, Axios.’

  Unable to resist the sultry demand, I kissed her again. Felt her tighten around me in response and gritted my teeth to keep myself on that dizzying plateau for one more second. She was eroding every ounce of my willpower, pushing me towards the zenith long before I was ready.

  And there was little I could do to stop it.

  Especially not when my mind was already flying to the next time, to the next position.

  She would be on top. Yes, she would ride me, her heavy breasts high and proud, while those unfettered words fell from her lips. The image was so potent, so vivid, I lost the ability to think straight.

  My unguarded growl in response to that scenario pushed her higher. Her nails dug into my shoulders, her head thrashing on the pillow.

  ‘Let go, Calypso. Now!’

  The command set her free. With a sharp, sweet cry, she dissolved into uncontrollable convulsions, her body writhing beneath mine in innocently uncoordinated movements that finally shattered my control.

  With a roar torn from deep within I succumbed to exquisite, untrammelled bliss. Time ceased to matter. I was aware I’d collapsed on top of her, one propped arm the only thing stopping me from crushing her. But her own arms were wrapped tight around me, as if holding me together.

  The singular, searing thought that I wanted to remain here indefinitely charged through my daze, forcing me to move. Forcing sanity back into this madness.

  But even as I gathered her to me after my return from the bathroom she was unravelling me again, the hand on my chest reaching deeper as she turned her face to me.

  ‘Ax?’

  ‘Hmm?’ Unfamiliar dread clenched my gut, escalating the notion that somewhere along the line I’d fallen under her mercy and her whim.

  Her breath fluttered out in an almost reverent exhalation as her eyes lifted to mine. ‘You’re the only man I’ve ever been with. I just thought you should know.’

  That gift, freely given when it could have been withheld in light of our circumstances, punched and winded me. The notion that opening up to her had possibly earned me this unsettled me even more.

  Questions and wants and needs surged higher than before, racing to the tip of my tongue before circumspection halted them. I wanted more from her. But did I have more to give to her and to Andreos?

  I pushed back the dismaying sensation.

  She was staying...for now.

  That unsettling little addendum would be tackled later. After much-needed regrouping.

  ‘Efkharisto.’

  The word emerged deeper, graver than I’d expected. I did nothing to offset it. Nothing but accept that things had to be different.

  Nothing I’d seen of the marriages around me had fuelled a need to embroil myself in one—not when they strained so easily and threatened to break at the smallest hint of adversity.

  But, in the hypothetical scenarios where marriage had crossed my mind, I’d known that unshaken faithfulness and stalwart support would be the cornerstone of its success. Not the kind of marriage held together by financial worth—the kind my grandfat
her had struggled to hold on to and ended up paying dearly for.

  That reminder cooled my jets long enough to let in rational thought. Long enough to know that Calypso and I needed a base of trust from which to operate.

  Which meant getting her to open up about her secrets...

  I decided to come at it from a different angle. ‘Are you ready to tell me why you chose to leave Greece?’

  Her eyes shadowed and her lashes swept down. But before I could catch her chin and redirect her attention on me she lifted her gaze, her eyes boldly meeting mine with a resolution I wasn’t sure whether to welcome or battle.

  ‘Okay.’

  Relief stunned me. ‘Okay?’

  She nodded. ‘I want whatever time we have remaining to be peaceful.’

  I forced my teeth not to grit at the reminder of a timescale. ‘Good.’

  A touch of nerves edged her features. When she went to move out of my arms, I caught her back. ‘It would please me if you stayed right here for this.’

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  HE WAS UNRAVELLING ME with his low-voiced requests. With this side of him that hinted at the kind of man I’d dreamed of calling husband and father to my child. The kind of man who asked me to take a leap even when I knew that ultimately my path might lie elsewhere.

  Tell him.

  Maybe this could all turn out differently.

  You could have more nights like this, far into the future.

  But what if the worst happened? I couldn’t put Andreos through that.

  Besides, while Ax had readily agreed to my stipulation...for now...he’d given me no insight as to what would happen beyond that.

  But I’d bought myself a little more time—and, Theos mou, I wanted to experience this again. And again. Without angst or acrimony.

  Even now, with my limbs weak from their physical and emotional expenditure, hunger was slowly gathering force, anticipation adding fuel to a fire which didn’t seem in a hurry to burn itself out. And if all it took was a simple recounting of my year, where was the harm?

  I pushed away the voice urging caution and when I opened my mouth the words that tumbled out surprised even me.