notorious playboy and in all likelihood regarded last night as a one-night stand. What was the protocol when you woke up in bed with a man you’d had casual sex with? she wondered. Would he offer her breakfast and ring Room Service? Or would he be impatient for her to leave and arrange a taxi to take her home?
She couldn’t do it, she thought bleakly. She could not go through with the charade of acting as though spending the night in a guy’s hotel bedroom was something she did regularly. It was not that she was ashamed of sleeping with him; she was a free and single female living in the twenty-first century and she would not judge any woman for enjoying sex without strings. It was just that it wasn’t
her
. She had certain rules she lived by, and last night she had broken all of them.
Another thought struck her. Had she managed to
persuade
him to buy Eirenne? She paled. What had she been thinking last night? The truth was she had not been thinking at all, but had been swept away by passion tinged with evocative memories of their relationship years ago. Now, in the cold light of day, she could not bear for him to believe that she had followed in her mother’s footsteps and become the type of woman who was prepared to sell herself for financial gain—even if it was not for her own gain.
It suddenly became imperative that she left before Dimitri woke up. She couldn’t face him when her emotions were all over the place. Taking care not to disturb him, she slid out of bed and winced when she discovered muscles she had not known existed. The ache inside her was worse. She felt empty and a little bit sick as she gathered up her clothes from the floor and crept into the bathroom.
The clock on the bedside table flashed 9:13 a.m. As Dimitri stared at the red digits they changed to 9:14.
Theos!
He sat up and raked a hand through his hair. He had never stayed in bed until a quarter past nine in his life—or not to sleep, anyway. On rare occasions he invited a mistress to stay the night with him—the single benefit being that he could have sex the following morning. Last night had been one of those occasions, but it had backfired, because from the empty space in the bed beside him and the strangely muted silence of the hotel suite it appeared that Louise had already left.
Frowning, he flicked back the sheets and padded into the bathroom. The absence of the dress, shoes and underwear that last night had been strewn across the floor confirmed her disappearance. Maybe she’d gone to work, he mused as he stepped into the shower. He felt irritated that she had not woken him before she left. He was uncomfortable with the idea that she might have watched him sleeping, and that was crazy because he had never felt vulnerable in his life.
His bad mood was due to frustration that he hadn’t stirred first and kissed her awake, he decided. He’d bet she looked gorgeous first thing: sleepily sexy, with her hair all mussed and her mouth all soft and moist and eager. He would have liked to trail his lips down to her breasts and tease her dusky pink nipples until she made that little whimpering moan she had made last night. Hell, he would have liked to roll her beneath him and ease his swollen shaft into her, taking them both on an early-morning ride and watching her come apart in his arms.
He felt himself harden and turned the shower’s temperature setting to cold to cool his desire. There would be other mornings—and definitely other nights. He was not a fan of long-distance affairs, but the flight time between Athens and Paris was only three hours and it would be easy enough to meet up with Louise at weekends.
In many ways the fact that they did not live in the same city was good, he thought as he reached for a towel. There was less danger that their affair would slip into complacency and become boring. He could smell the lingering scent of her perfume when he walked back into the bedroom, and he kept picturing her lying naked on
She couldn’t do it, she thought bleakly. She could not go through with the charade of acting as though spending the night in a guy’s hotel bedroom was something she did regularly. It was not that she was ashamed of sleeping with him; she was a free and single female living in the twenty-first century and she would not judge any woman for enjoying sex without strings. It was just that it wasn’t
her
. She had certain rules she lived by, and last night she had broken all of them.
Another thought struck her. Had she managed to
persuade
him to buy Eirenne? She paled. What had she been thinking last night? The truth was she had not been thinking at all, but had been swept away by passion tinged with evocative memories of their relationship years ago. Now, in the cold light of day, she could not bear for him to believe that she had followed in her mother’s footsteps and become the type of woman who was prepared to sell herself for financial gain—even if it was not for her own gain.
It suddenly became imperative that she left before Dimitri woke up. She couldn’t face him when her emotions were all over the place. Taking care not to disturb him, she slid out of bed and winced when she discovered muscles she had not known existed. The ache inside her was worse. She felt empty and a little bit sick as she gathered up her clothes from the floor and crept into the bathroom.
The clock on the bedside table flashed 9:13 a.m. As Dimitri stared at the red digits they changed to 9:14.
Theos!
He sat up and raked a hand through his hair. He had never stayed in bed until a quarter past nine in his life—or not to sleep, anyway. On rare occasions he invited a mistress to stay the night with him—the single benefit being that he could have sex the following morning. Last night had been one of those occasions, but it had backfired, because from the empty space in the bed beside him and the strangely muted silence of the hotel suite it appeared that Louise had already left.
Frowning, he flicked back the sheets and padded into the bathroom. The absence of the dress, shoes and underwear that last night had been strewn across the floor confirmed her disappearance. Maybe she’d gone to work, he mused as he stepped into the shower. He felt irritated that she had not woken him before she left. He was uncomfortable with the idea that she might have watched him sleeping, and that was crazy because he had never felt vulnerable in his life.
His bad mood was due to frustration that he hadn’t stirred first and kissed her awake, he decided. He’d bet she looked gorgeous first thing: sleepily sexy, with her hair all mussed and her mouth all soft and moist and eager. He would have liked to trail his lips down to her breasts and tease her dusky pink nipples until she made that little whimpering moan she had made last night. Hell, he would have liked to roll her beneath him and ease his swollen shaft into her, taking them both on an early-morning ride and watching her come apart in his arms.
He felt himself harden and turned the shower’s temperature setting to cold to cool his desire. There would be other mornings—and definitely other nights. He was not a fan of long-distance affairs, but the flight time between Athens and Paris was only three hours and it would be easy enough to meet up with Louise at weekends.
In many ways the fact that they did not live in the same city was good, he thought as he reached for a towel. There was less danger that their affair would slip into complacency and become boring. He could smell the lingering scent of her perfume when he walked back into the bedroom, and he kept picturing her lying naked on
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