Free Heiress's Defiance by Lynn Raye Harris Page B

the time.”
    He arched an eyebrow. “Do you? Or do you just like to thwart me?”
    “I don’t get the impression many people thwart you, Christos.”
    “You do. Continually.”
    Her heart thumped in her chest. “Well, blind obedience can be so boring.”
    “You definitely aren’t boring,
glykia mou.
Far from it.”
    “Flattery, Christos,” she chided. “It will get you nowhere.”
    He got to his feet and she tilted her head back to look up at him.
    “Yes, I am aware. And I think it’s time I go.” He put the wineglass down and picked up his phone from where he’d set it on the island.
“Kalispera, glykia mou.”
    She shot to her feet, feeling suddenly bereft at the idea of him leaving her sitting here alone. “It’s still raining, Christos. And the power is out. You can’t leave in this. You won’t get home for hours.”
    “And yet I feel I have overstayed my welcome.”
    She clenched her hands into fists at her sides. He’d been perfectly pleasant for the most part. She’d been the one who’d had trouble letting go of her animosity—and her fear.
    “I’m sorry I’ve been prickly. You just aggravate me so much. But please stay. I have a guest room, and you are welcome to it for as long as you like.”
    He took so long to reply that she thought he would refuse. His eyes glittered in the candlelight and she had a sudden urge to slide into his arms and wrap herself around him.
    “Very well,” he finally said. “I accept your kind offer.”

CHAPTER SIX
    L UCILLA LAY IN her bed and tried to sleep. It wasn’t working. The house was so still. But that wasn’t the problem. No, the problem was that Christos was in the next room. They’d talked a little more, about mundane things, and then he’d said he would like to turn in. So she’d shown him to the guest room, given him some candles and retreated to her own room.
    That was two hours ago now and she just couldn’t fall asleep. She kept thinking about Christos lying so near. He would have stripped down to his underwear. Perhaps he lay on top of the sheets, his body exposed to the night. A dagger of heat stabbed into her when she thought of him almost naked.
    Really, it had been too long. Perhaps she needed a trip to the adult toy store. She could buy something with different speeds, keep it wrapped up in the bedside table until needed. She could name it. Not a Greek name. Definitelynot a Greek name. Jack. She would call it Jack, and Jack would ease this ache she felt whenever her body insisted on remembering the way Christos kissed her.
    Lucilla groaned and put her pillow over her face. This was ridiculous. Her cheeks were hot just thinking about setting foot inside an adult store. Not that there was anything wrong with it, but she could hardly walk inside one and browse. Maybe online. Yes, online. She could do that….
    A noise penetrated her lust-crazed thoughts, instantly sobering her. Had someone said something? She sat up in bed and strained to hear. And then she heard it again, a masculine cry coming from the bedroom next to hers. Alarm prickled her skin. Goose bumps rose along her arms. She got up and whipped on a robe, then grabbed her phone and turned on its light app before going out into the hallway.
    Christos cried out again and she hurried over to the door and knocked. The sound stopped abruptly.
    “Christos? Is everything all right? Christos!”
    The door whipped open a few seconds later. He stood there exactly as she’d known he would be dressed—wearing a pair of dark briefs and nothing else. Lucilla swallowed.His chest was bare and glistening, as if he’d been working out. His hair was mussed—and his eyes were wild.
    He swallowed, as if trying to get control of himself. “I’m fine.”
    She hugged herself, suddenly unsure. “I’m sorry to intrude. I just heard … I thought …” She couldn’t finish the sentence. What had she thought? That he was having a bad dream? Clearly.
    He raked a hand through his hair. “It