He hadn’t slept all night, and it was his own damned fault.
It was not in his nature to be patient, but he’d left Anna in the courtyard and gone to his bedroom alone. Where he’d tossed and turned until dawn.
He swore softly to himself. If he’d just made love to Anna last night, perhaps he’d already be free of this spell.
He took a gulp of the hot coffee. He’d need all the help he could get to make it through the day. He had to secure a new secretary to replace Lindsey, the negotiations for the land lease bid for his new casino resort project in Singapore were at a critical juncture, and all he could think about was getting Anna in bed. He was so wound up he couldn’t see straight.
He was off his game. Just when his business urgently needed his attention. It was intolerable.
And the worst thing was he had no idea how to convince Anna to be his wife. It was the best thing for everyone. Damn it, why couldn’t she see that?
He’d already reasoned with her. Fired Lindsey. Bought her a two-hundred-thousand-dollar ring. He’d offered Anna wealth and the protection of his name, and she’d thrown them back in his face.
Even seducing her hadn’t made her agree to his proposal. For a man accustomed to negotiation, he was in a tough spot. What was left to offer?
“More toast, Mr. Stavrakis?”
He growled in reply. Accustomed to his moods, the housekeeper gave him a cheerful nod. “By the way, thank you for hiring Mrs. Burbridge. She’s already popular among the staff. And such a sweet baby you have too, sir, if you don’t mind me saying so.”
“Thank you,” he bit out, then picked up the nearest paper to signal the end of the conversation. After the housekeeper had left he took several bites of food, then threw his paper down and went to look for Anna.
He found her at the pool, and watched her for several seconds from the doorway before she saw him.
She was in the water, holding Michael. The baby was laughing and splashing as she skimmed him through the water in the warm morning sun. Anna held him close, pointing out things in the courtyard. “And those are palm trees, and a fountain. That’s the blue sky, and the water is blue too. It’s going to be hot today,” she said to the baby, smiling. “So different from your great-grandmama’s old palace, isn’t it, Misha?”
Nikos envied her playful ease with the baby. He felt like an outsider looking at a loving family. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Having a child was his chance for a fresh start. To have a family of his own. To be the father he himself had never had. Damn it, how had everything gone so wrong?
It should have made him resent her, reminded him to hate her, but instead he felt only envy and a whisper of loneliness. Anna was simply in the pool doing nothing, splashing and wading, but he could tell she was having the time of her life because she loved just spending time with their child.
He’d been wrong to think about taking Michael away from her. Even if he’d been cruel enough to do it, Anna never would have accepted it. She would have fought him all the way. She had absolute loyalty and a single-minded devotion to those she loved.
His eyes went wide.
That was how he could get Anna to marry him.
Not jewelry. Not money. Not even sex.
Love. Love was the glue that would bind her.
He had to make Anna fall in love with him—fall so hard and fast that she’d not only marry him but would spend the rest of her life trying to get his love in return.
Which, of course, he wouldn’t give her. He wasn’t a fool. Loving her would make him weak when he most needed to be strong. How could he guard his family, protect them as they deserved, if his judgment was impaired? He’d never allowed himself to love anyone, and he never intended to.
But her loving him—that was something else. She had a character that was born for devotion. If she loved him it would ensure her loyalty for a lifetime. It would keep his son safe with a loving mother, and he’d be protected from stepfathers like Sinistyn.
It couldn’t be that hard to make Anna love him, he reasoned. She’d said she loved him before, though he hadn’t realized it at the time. All he needed to do was repeat those same conditions and she would do so again.
But she must never suspect what he was doing. She had to think she was falling for him of her own free will.
He narrowed his eyes, watching as Anna laughed with their baby, splashing in the pool, tilting her lovely pale face back to drink in the warm Nevada sun.
What carrot could he dangle in front of her to convince her to be with him and spend unguarded time together?
What if he allowed her to work as his secretary again? Just for a few days? Of course, it would be temporary. And, hell, he’d actually be grateful for Anna’s help in selecting a new secretary. Maybe she could even help polish the negotiations for the Singapore deal.
But it wouldn’t take long. A week, maybe just a few days of working together. He’d put on the charm. He’d spout nonsense about his feelings, if that was what it took. He’d wine her and dine her until she surrendered her body and soul.
And what a body. Her skin was pale as a Russian winter, but she looked sexy as hell, barely decent beneath a tiny string bikini that matched the alluring turquoise of the water. She’d certainly never worn anything like that when she was his mistress. She’d never flaunted her curves, never tried once to tease him. She hadn’t had to; she’d driven him wild even as a buttoned-up secretary who wore her hair in a bun and covered up her body with elegant loose-fitting suits.
But who was this siren in her place? String bikini today. Tight jeans and clinging halter top yesterday. Had Anna really changed so much?
He saw her give a worried glance at the sun and, cuddling the baby to her chest, she climbed up the wide pool steps. She pulled sunscreen out of the old, frayed diaper bag sitting on the stone table near the fountain. Sitting back on a nearby lounge chair, she sat the chubby baby down on her flat belly and playfully tickled him while slathering him with sunscreen.
She reached for a wide-brimmed hat on the edge of the stone table. Her nearly nude body stretched beneath the bikini, revealing the side swell of her breasts.
Mrs. Burbridge nearly ran into him as she hurried around the courtyard doorway.
“Oh! Excuse me, sir.”
He’d been so intent on watching Anna that he hadn’t heard the plump woman come up behind him. He straightened. “My fault, Mrs. Burbridge.”
“I was just going to ask Mrs. Stav—er, Miss Rostoff—” she flushed with embarrassment as she tripped over the name “—if she wanted me to take the baby inside. She didn’t sleep well last night, so I thought perhaps she’d like a bit of a rest.”
“She didn’t sleep well?”
“She has the room next to mine. I heard her pacing. Jet lag, I suppose, poor dear.”
So Anna had slept as badly as he had. Nikos would be willing to bet money it hadn’t been jet lag that had troubled her all night.
His lips curved up in a smile. Perfect. It was all coming together. By the end of the week—by the end of the day, if he was lucky—Mrs. Burbridge would never have to trip over Anna’s name again. She would be Mrs. Stavrakis.
* * *
Anna was barely back in the pool with Misha when she saw Mrs. Burbridge standing by the water’s edge. But it wasn’t the appearance of the Scotswoman that set her hackles on edge. It was the man behind her, who was staring at her like an ant under a microscope, as if he’d never seen a woman in a swimsuit before.
“Would you like me to take the bairn, Miss Rostoff?” Mrs. Burbridge asked. “I thought you might like a wee rest.”
Since it was only ten o’clock in the morning, she was sure the “wee rest” was Nikos’s idea. He wanted to get her alone, so he could finish his seduction and convince her to be his bride.
Not in this lifetime.
Anna turned to wade in the other direction, holding the baby close as if she feared the older woman might fling herself in the pool, orthopedic shoes and all, and wrestle Misha away. “No, thank you, Mrs. Burbridge. We’re happy as we are.”
She waited for Nikos to demand that she give up the baby, but to her surprise he didn’t. “Obviously she’s not tired,” she heard him tell the nanny. “I think we’ll just spend some time together as a family.”
Anna heard Mrs. Burbridge leave and looked back, hoping that Nikos had left too. No such luck. He was standing by the pool, watching her with an inscrutable expression. His presence was like a dark cloud over the sun. It made her tense, remembering how easily she’d almost given herself to him last night, how much she still wanted to feel him inside her. The argument between longing and fury had kept her up all night. Twice she’d nearly weakened and gone to his room. It was only by the sheerest self-preservation that she hadn’t woken up this morning in his bed, with a big engagement ring on her finger.
At least then she’d also have woken up with a big smile on her face. She shook the thought away.