The Renegade Billionaire by Rebecca Winters

removed his hands from her arms. Like him, she fought for breath and backed away. He turned to open the front passenger door for her. “It’s a good thing one of us has to drive.” His voice sounded thick, even to him.
    Andrea moved past him and climbed inside without saying anything. She didn’t have to. Her eyes had glazed over and he could see the pulse throbbing at the base of her throat. If he put his lips to it, he wouldn’t be able to stop. Summoning his willpower, he closed the door and walked around to his side of the Jeep.
    â€œI’m glad it’s you at the wheel, Stavros.” Her tremulous voice gave her away even more. “I couldn’t possibly function the way I’m feeling.”
    â€œI’m not sure
I
can.” He locked the house with his remote, then turned on the ignition and they were off. “You realize we have Darren Lewis to thank for our condition.”
    â€œI was thinking the very same thing while we were inside your plant.”
    He inhaled sharply. “When I got the call from Gus, I’d just come from the board meeting. His news was the last thing I needed to hear. If you want to know the truth, before I knew your identity, I was jealous of Georgios, who’d been traveling around on the tour bus with the gorgeous American schoolteacher.”
    She stirred restlessly in the seat. “Georgios is happily married with a grown family.”
    â€œWhen you introduced yourself, I was thankful that I was happily
unmarried
and could pursue you. After you asked to come with me, I took advantage of your gift. Otherwise I would have shown up at your tour company with an excuse that I needed to talk to you.”
    She flicked him a glance. “It shocked me when I saw you in Sakis’s office yesterday.”
    â€œAfter what we shared, did you really think I would let you get away from me?”
    Andrea lowered her head. “I didn’t know.”
    â€œSomething extraordinary is happening to us. I know you feel it.”
    â€œThat’s the problem. In ten days I’ll be leaving for Brazil with Dad.”
    Brazil? He almost went off the road. “What do you mean? You said you were leaving for Indonesia in two months!”
    â€œDad’s plans were changed. You were right about the unrest there. After this weekend, I don’t plan to spend any more time with you. So if you’d rather I went back to Thessaloniki tonight, I would understand.”
    He’d been ready for that. “I have a much better idea. Why don’t we enjoy the rest of this day and forget everything else, including deadlines. I haven’t had a true vacation in ages and would like to celebrate the end of my career at the Konstantinos Corporation with you. Is that too much to ask?”
    His question was met with silence.
    He realized she was trying to stop things before they went any further, but it was too late. It had been too late from the moment they’d met. The thought of her leaving Greece, leaving him, was too horrendous to imagine.

CHAPTER FIVE
    â€œW E ’ RE IN LUCK , A NDREA . The tourists haven’t come to this secluded stretch of beach yet. Those with boats will arrive later in the day in droves, but for now they prefer umbrellas and drinks available on the other side of that headland.”
    Andrea was delighted. A quick five-minute ride from the marina in Thassos and they had this island paradise to themselves with its backdrop of lush vegetation. Once he cut the engine, the blue-and-white boat drifted onto fine white sand.
    After peeling off her clothes to reveal a two-piece white bathing suit, she jumped off the rear of the boat into aqua-blue water. Eighty-degree weather had warmed it close to bathtub temperature.
    â€œThis is heavenly, Stavros!”
    While treading water, she tried not to be obvious as she watched him strip down to his black suit. It rode low on his hips. Without clothes, he could be Adonis come