Annie West - The Savakis Mistress

With those dark good looks and air of leashed power, Damon could model for a pasha of old, accustomed to sumptuous luxury, sensuous pleasures and unquestioning obedience. He’d devour poor Angela in one snap of his strong white teeth then seek amusement elsewhere. As he’d found it yesterday, seducing Callie then playing games of innuendo through the long evening while she squirmed and suffered.

One sacrificial lamb in the family was enough! Callie had performed that function for the Manolis clan years ago. They couldn’t demand another.

She refused to watch her uncle ruin his daughter’s life with an arranged marriage as he’d ruined hers. Especially when Angela had a chance for happiness with an honest, caring man. That sort of man was as rare, in her experience, as a snowstorm on Santorini.

‘Don’t hurry, Angela. I’ll look after our guest.’

‘That sounds promising.’

‘Pardon?’ Callie turned to find Damon surveying her with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

‘I like the idea of you,’ he drawled, ‘looking after me. What did you have in mind?’

Heat danced in that calculating expression. His gaze trawled down to her jade top gathered in a knot below the bust, and lower to her bare midriff. Fire blazed over her skin as if he stroked his callused palm over her flesh.

Only yesterday…

Callie shoved back her chair, ignoring the juice she’d poured. ‘Showing you the guest bungalow,’ she said in a voice that was almost steady.

When he looked at her that way she couldn’t prevent the surge of reaction as her body came alive.

She wished she’d worn something other than lightweight trousers and a skimpy top. If she’d known he was here she’d have opted for a full-length tunic dress. But the gleam in his eyes told her it would have done no good. He remembered what she looked like naked.

Just as she remembered him.

He stood, his long, athletic frame unfolding from the chair. She had instant, dazzling recall of how he’d looked yesterday, all burnished skin and honed, hard-packed muscle.

She drew a shuddering breath and looked away, trying to control the riot of hormones clamouring for gratification.

‘Ah, Callie, is that all?’ One long finger traced the side of her neck and she jumped, jerking out of reach. ‘I’d hoped for something a little more…intimate.’

‘You—’ she sucked in a ragged gasp ‘—are pushing your luck!’

She lifted her chin, summoning the veneer of composure she’d perfected over the last few years. Ruthlessly she ignored the effervescent sensation of burgeoning desire and strolled to the edge of the terrace, back straight and face composed. It horrified her to discover how difficult it was to don her defensive armour. Only when she had her voice under control did she pause.

‘The guest quarters are this way.’

Damon watched her precede him down the lawn. Her hips swayed seductively and his hungry gaze focused on the delicious curve of her derriere , shown off perfectly by tight white trousers. Had she worn them to tease? Even in the bright sunlight he saw no panty line to mar the snug fit of cotton against flesh. Did she wear a thong or was she naked beneath the trousers?

Heat roared through him in an infuriating surge. Wasn’t it enough she’d kept him awake all night? He’d been angry at how she’d used then rejected him, yet needy for another touch, another taste of her gorgeous body. Even the fact that she’d snubbed him hadn’t doused his libido.

‘Are you coming?’ She stopped and half turned, showing her patrician profile. Even with her hair in a high pony-tail she looked as if she’d stepped from the pages of a glossy magazine, the sort his mother enjoyed. Beautiful, privileged people leading beautiful, privileged lives.

Privileged himself now, with more money and power than a man could ever need, still Damon felt the gulf between himself and such people. It was a gulf he’d consciously created, resisting the artificial lure of ‘society’.

He enjoyed his wealth, made the most of what it bought him and those he cared for, but he’d vowed never to succumb to the shallow posturing and brittle selfishness of that world. He’d seen enough as a kid when his mother cleaned villas owned by some of the country’s wealthiest families. When as a teenager he’d worked there and learned first-hand about the morals of the upper classes.

Damon was proud of his roots, unashamed that he’d succeeded by hard work and perseverance, not inherited wealth. He’d long ago learned the high-class world of the ‘best’people hid an underbelly of greed, selfishness and vice. The last thing on his agenda was attraction to a woman who epitomised that money-hungry shallowness. A woman who’d inherited the Manolis family values.

The fact that he still wanted her annoyed the hell out of him.

‘I’m right behind you, Callie.’

He strode to where she waited, mirroring her body with his. He was close enough to feel warmth radiate from her. He leaned forward, head inclined to inhale her scent.

If he’d hoped to discomfit her he was disappointed. With a swish of her pony-tail she led the way in a long-legged stride, riveting his gaze. It took a moment to realise that instead of the rich perfume she’d worn last night, the scent filling his nostrils was the intoxicating fragrance she’d worn yesterday: sunshine and musky, mysterious female.

Lust jagged through him, a blast of white-hot energy.

It confirmed the decision he’d come to last night—there was unfinished business between them. She couldn’t brush him aside like some nonentity when she’d had her fill.

‘Your colouring is unusual.’ He followed her, eyes on the swing of dark-honey hair as it caught the light. He’d picked her for a foreign tourist when he’d first seen her.

She shrugged. ‘Maybe I dye my hair.’

‘Ah, but Callie, we both know you don’t.’ The golden-brown triangle of hair he’d uncovered when he stripped away her bikini bottom yesterday had been the genuine thing. ‘I’ve seen the proof, remember? Up close and personal.’

He let satisfaction colour his voice and wasn’t surprised when she slammed to a stop ahead of him.

For a moment she stood still, her shoulders curiously hunched. Then she swung round and met his gaze. Not by the slightest sign did she reveal embarrassment. Her eyes were the colour of cool mountain water, her expression bland. No doubt she was free and easy enough not to feel discomfort discussing personal details with her latest paramour.

What a merry dance she must have led her husband. Had he died trying to satisfy her? Or had he been forced to watch her with younger men who gave her what he couldn’t?

‘Just as I know your colouring is black as sin,’ she murmured. ‘So what?’ Her brows rose as if she was bored.

‘It’s uncommon for Greek women to be so fair.’ He stepped close enough to see the smatter of gold shards in her irises, like spangles of sunlight amongst the green.

‘Half Greek. My mother was Australian.’ Her words were clipped, as if he’d delved into something private. He waited for her to continue. ‘Besides, some people here in the north have fairer colouring. All the Manolis family are the same.’ Her gaze settled on his dark locks as if disapproving.

‘Your cousin’s hair is brown. There’s no comparison.’

He watched her open her mouth as if to shoot off a riposte, then stop herself. She shrugged and turned away. ‘Now, if I’ve satisfied your curiosity—’

‘Not yet. Tell me,’ he drawled, ‘why keep me at arm’s length? Surely after yesterday I’m entitled to a little more warmth. Are you one of those women who need the thrill of a secret assignation to fire her blood? Are you turned on by the possibility of being found in flagrante delicto ?’