The Enigmatic Greek by Catherine George Page B

hands clenched. He would never forget the horror of hearing his mother scream his name as she was snatched almost from under his nose, nor the harsh censure he’d received from his father for not taking more care of her—which had stung all the more for being deserved. He would make damned sure nothing happened to Eleanor Markham.
    At the thought of his mother Alex felt a sudden urge to make sure all was well with her, and rang to tell her he’d done her bidding like a good son and Eleanor’s article had been sent off to her editor. Talia was delighted. She praised him lavishly and advised him to make the most of the time he was spending with his guest.
    ‘You are right to keep her safe there with you, Alexei
mou
,’ she said lovingly. ‘Give Eleanor my good wishes and make her promise to visit me when she gets home.’

CHAPTER SIX
    E LEANOR lay perfectly still on one of the long chairs in the roof garden, her face in the shade under the parasol, and the rest of her—liberally coated with sun block—stretched out in the sun to top up her tan. For once she had no desire to read. Her mind was occupied with Alexei, and the abundance of physical attributes bestowed on him by nature. The few natural blondes of her acquaintance would kill to possess curling lashes like his; she shook her head in sudden impatience. It was time to leave this magical place. If she stayed any longer she’d risk falling for the man, which would be the height of stupidity from so many points of view she should put it out of her mind—and less cerebral parts—right now. After their hostile start he’d now warmed towards her to a very gratifying degree, it was true; enough to talk on subjects she was pretty sure he never discussed with anyone other than his mother. And on the subject of Arianna, maybe not even to Talia. But anything hotter than that was out of the question, as she well knew.
    She smiled bleakly. The only man in her past she had ever felt actual lust for had made it clear he looked on her as the perfect friend. Sexy bed-mates were two a penny, he’d told her, but an intelligent female friend like Eleanor Markham was a pearl beyond price. Alex had brought up the pearl thing, too. She was tired of it.
    Alex opened the door onto the roof garden quietly, and stood very still at the sight of Eleanor lying in the sun in a relatively modest bikini. Strangely, it made her far more desirable than the flaunted assets of most holiday makers, even with a dark bruise visible on her ribcage. Hands clenched at the thought of the man who had caused it, and he stood looking at her so long she stirred.
    ‘I disturbed you,’ he said quietly, joining her.
    Eleanor sat up and pulled her shirt on. ‘I’ve had enough sun for now anyway.’ She smiled at him brightly. ‘This is a perfect place to sunbathe. Do you spend a lot of time up here?’
    ‘Very little.’ He sat down beside her, close enough to breathe in the scent of warm, sun-kissed female, and had to clench his hands to keep from touching the glowing skin. ‘It was the general idea when I had the work done up here but I rarely have the time.’
    She shook her head in mock-disapproval. ‘Your empire would hardly disintegrate if you took half an hour off now and then, surely?’
    He smiled wryly. ‘You sound just like my mother—who, by the way, asked me to pass on her good wishes when I spoke to her earlier.’
    Eleanor’s eyes softened behind her dark lenses. ‘How sweet of her. Does she come up here to sunbathe?’
    Alex gave a snort of laughter. ‘Never! She keeps that complexion of hers well protected from the sun. Christo, the photographer who made her famous, laid the law down from the start.’
    Eleanor nodded. ‘I bought my mother the book of portraits he published, solely because the majority of them were of Talia Kazan. He described her in his foreword as his Greek goddess muse.’
    ‘He was furious when she gave up her career to marrymy father.’ Alex smiled