With a rueful sigh, Billie sank down on the side of the stylish big bed. 'It would have been easier if you had just left me where I was for now. Why did you insist on bringing me back here tonight?'
Doffing his jacket and wrenching off his tie, Alexei sent her a darkling glance of warning as though she had strayed into a conversational no-go area. Muscles rippling through the fine silk of his shirt, he bent to remove his shoes. 'I want a shower before dinner…'
Billie tried to avoid the temptation of watching him undress, but she learned that she hungered for even that small intimacy. Black hair tousled, strong jaw shadowed by blue-black stubble, he was stripping off his clothes without a hint of self-consciousness. 'I've nothing to wear here,' she pointed out. 'I left half my clothes on Sea Queen.'
Alexei laughed. 'I would be quite happy for you to dine with me naked.'
'It's not going to happen.' Billie knotted her hands together and watched him lift the house phone by the bed to issue a command and then discard his shirt and shoes. Every lithe movement of his lean bronzed body mesmerised her: he was utterly gorgeous. A knock sounded on the door and he strode over to answer it and accept the garment bag and boxes he was handed. He dumped them on the bed.
'That's the clothing problem solved,' he said with distinct satisfaction.
'These are for me?' Astonished, Billie unzipped the garment bag and pulled out a flamboyant, strappy scarlet dress. 'You bought this for me? But when?'
'I saw it in a window in Paris. You wear drab colours. I thought that I would enjoy seeing you in something bright for a change.'
Once again, Alexei had contrived to confound her expectations. He might have met up with Calisto in Paris, but while he'd been there he had also contrived to go shopping on his wife's behalf. She pulled open the other packages and her complexion warmed when she saw the zingy red lingerie and high heels, which carried a much more sexual message.
'Those items were pure self-indulgence,' Alexei agreed without a shade of remorse.
'Why did you bring me back here?' Billie pressed uneasily, utterly disconcerted by his unpredictable behaviour.
His ebony brows drew together. 'That's a silly question. You're my wife. Until I decide otherwise, this is where you belong, yineka mou.'
He was a Drakos and possessive of what was his. But he was talking as though she were a prized car or some other item that he owned and he would keep her close…until I decide otherwise. Those words of cold warning sent a cold shiver down her sensitive spine and she was no longer so certain that staying at the villa with him was the right thing to do. 'I felt more comfortable in my own home,' she told him tautly.
'Sleeping alone? Get over yourself!' Alexei quipped with daunting disbelief, striding like a bronzed naked statue brought to life into one of the twin en suite bathrooms.
She remembered that picture of him with Calisto in Paris and discovered that she didn't want to ask him about that just at that moment. Not right now when everything felt so fragile and uncertain between them that she feared the wrong word or query might lead to a quarrel that could end their marriage for good. Her lies, her silence when she should have spoken up, had already put them on that dangerous slippery slope. Living in separate houses would not mend their differences and get them back together again, she recognised ruefully.
Even so she was walking on eggshells and could hardly bear the knowledge that to see Nicky she would have to leave the villa. It had proved a relief rather than a sacrifice to end the pretence that Hilary was Nicky's mother and, after all, she'd had only two weeks to luxuriate in the joy of being a full-time mum again for the first time since she had left London after her son's birth. And even though that fortnight had been a strain because of the situation between her and Alexei, Billie had adored having the comfort of her child within reach at all times.
Before Alexei was even out of the shower, two maids arrived with suitcases from her home. While they got busy in the dressing room, Billie went into the other bathroom with the outfit Alexei had bought for her. Thirty minutes later, she was ready for dinner and far from happy with her appearance. The scarlet dress was much more revealing than what she usually wore, cut away at the bust to make the most of what she had and very short, showing off her legs to well past mid-thigh. She checked her reflection, her brow furrowing while she wondered if the dress was a gift with a sting like a scorpion. Was this how Alexei saw her now? As a sexually provocative and available woman? As yet another in a long line of women prepared to wear whatever he bought and behave however he wanted if it pleased him?