The Greek's Stolen Bride by Kate Hewitt Read Free Book Online Page B

truth of his words. "You must think me very naive."
    "I did," Theo admitted, "but now I see that you are strong and determined. And desperate too, but that has made you even stronger."
    She glanced down at the granite countertop. "I don't feel very strong."
    "You are. Trust me on this, Ariana. To survive--to endure--and still to hope? That is strength."
    She glanced up, felt her breath catch in her throat at the tenderness softening his stern features. "Is that what you did?"
    "Me?"
    "You must have had a difficult start to life."
    His expression hardened, eyes veiling. "I suppose," he said after a moment. "But no more than many." She nodded, accepting, yet she felt as if he were not telling something. Hiding it, but what? And why?
    "What happens now?" she asked as Theo tossed the salad.
    "First we eat. And then we discuss tomorrow."
    Tomorrow . "Will we get married in Naxos?"
    "I've arranged a priest to come here to perform the ceremony."
    "You can just do that?"
    "I did. And a solicitor as well, to arrange the prenuptial agreement." He glanced at her, eyes narrowing. "That upsets you?"
    It did, and she was surprised he'd realized that so quickly. "You have so much power," she said quietly.
    "I thought that would have been a comfort."
    She shook her head. "Power scares me. It's easily abused."
    "And yet," Theo observed, "if I didn't have power, I wouldn't have been able to help you. You can't have it both ways, Ariana."
    She let out a little laugh. "I suppose you're right."
    "You must trust me not to abuse it."
    "But I don't even know you."
    He glanced at her, eyes dark and serious even as his mouth quirked in a little half-smile. "Yet you trust me."
    He'd said as much before, and she still could't deny it even though part of her wanted to. Didn't want to trust, even if she had no choice, because trust was frightening. Dangerous. And Theo had already shown how ruthless and even brutal he could be.
    When he'd been protecting her.
    "I don't know," she whispered and he reached out to place one heavy hand on her shoulder. "We've had enough of this discussion. Come eat."
     
    Theo took several dishes over to the table in the dining alcove that overlooked the beach. Pita bread, hummus, salad and yogurt dip, as well as some marinated lamb his assistant Lukas had bought from the market. A simple meal, nothing like the dinner they'd had last night, but nourishing.
    And Ariana needed to be nourished. Not just physically, but emotionally too. He felt a fierce surge of protectiveness as he watched her walk over to the table, her bearing as proud and straight as ever even though her eyes were dark and shadowed, and lines of tension bracketed her lush mouth. She was scared. Scared of him? Theo didn't think so, but he knew he'd plunged her into a whirlpool of uncertainty.
    Marriage.
    Why had he suggested it? He had never been interested in marriage before; he had not even considered such a thing with any woman until the words had come out of his mouth. Marry me. It had not been a romantic proposal, but then there was nothing romantic about their business arrangement.
    And yet that kiss... the memory of how she'd yielded to his caress made Theo's insides now tighten with need. He wanted her. Physically, yes, but something else too. Something more.
    Within the six months of their marriage, he hoped to explore the more they could both enjoy.
    And then?
    The question, sliding slyly into his mind, stilled him. And then what? Ariana walked away, into her own life? That was what he had promised her. That was what made sense for both of them.
    He glanced at her again, those dark, haunted eyes, that proud, tall carriage. And he wondered if in six months he would want to let her go.
    "You look very serious all of a sudden," Ariana said as she slid into one of the chairs.
    Theo handed her a plate. "Not at all." He pushed those wayward thoughts and sly questions out of his mind. He didn't need to think about six months from now; he needed to think about