icily, before she turned away to move towards the large balcony, missing the look of anger which crossed his dark eyes.
As she moved onto the balcony, she realised that she was in one of the rooms facing the back of the property, overlooking the sea from the top of the rugged cliff below them. Diona gasped in wonder at the wild beauty of it all, her eyes shining in awe, as she remembered the picture from the magazine. Nikias watched as her eyes half closed as her whole body seemed to embrace the smells and sensations of being so close to the cliff. As he watched her, he felt a strange need to touch this woman, to reach out and run his hand down her body, that body which was causing him to react in a very personal way. Frowning with the realisation of his own thoughts, he looked away.
Diona Brown was not what he had expected. She was smart, funny and quick, most definitely not the kind of woman he expected Alexis to become involved with. With another frown, he worried more. This was just the kind of woman who could actually get his younger brother down the aisle. She was different and even he could feel how he reacted to her, feeling the stirring within him, as she stood so statuesquely against the outline of the sea. That wonderful body, so young and supple, was calling to a very primitive part of him.
With a small shake he moved off the balcony, as she followed him. “We will serve dinner at seven”, he said in a more business-like tone, before looking at his watch. “Make that thirty minutes” Diona looked at him wearily. “If you don’t mind Mr Dranias, I will skip it thanks” “That’s up to you”, he said, his tone a little harsh at her deliberate snub, “I suppose I could have something sent up to you if you would rather play the martyr and stay in your room”
Diona threw him a derisory look as she wearily rubbed her head. “Actually, as much as I have no real interest in spending any more time in your presence than I have to, the fact of the matter is that I pulled a double shift, before having to fly over here to save my sister, only to be kidnapped by her boyfriend’s arrogant brother”, she said, her eyes flashing angrily, “And on top of that I have a headache, which will only really go if I get some sleep, so if you don’t mind, please leave”, her voice suddenly so tired. As Nikias was about to speak he saw just how pale and tired she did in fact look, and with a small nod he put down her case and left the room. When he left, Diona again sighed wearily, as her whole body cried out for rest. Pulling out her nightdress and toothbrush she prepared for bed, too tired to unpack that night. Crawling under the sheets and feeling as she moulded into the softness of the mattress she sighed with pleasure, relaxing as sleep quickly took over, her last thought before she lost consciousness being that she would sort this whole mess out in the morning.
As Nikias ate his dinner that evening, his thoughts kept returning to the young woman he had so neatly trapped on his island. His intentions had been to have as little contact with her as possible, not liking the giggly young women his brother associated with, but she was a surprise. He expected tears and tantrums when he sprung his trap, but instead she was calm and controlled, countering all his comments with those of her own. He found himself enjoying her company, even if she was so obviously lying with her unbelievable story with regard to not being involved with his brother. She was D Brown and had been at the restaurant as expected. When his detective followed her to her hotel, there had only been one Miss D Brown resident, and it was the same hotel that Alexis often booked his lady friends into. Her story was preposterous, but he frowned at her insistence that it was the truth. With a small sigh, he wondered whether to check it out anyway, just to be on the safe side.
For the rest of the night he