Niko's Stolen Bride Read Online Free PDF

the blonde in hard mindless sex. He’d squeezed the woman’s breast through her thin white tank top. As she moaned, he’d jerked her head around to shove his tongue down her throat.
    It was humiliating to know her friends, ranged behind her, had witnessed the vulgar scene. The thought of ever being in that woman’s place made her physically ill in that moment. It still did.
    Or perhaps what made her ill were the unanswered questions. Had she misinterpreted his timidity as shyness when it was, in fact, dissatisfaction with their sex life? If so, what hope did she have with other men? She’d thought there was an awareness, a flicker of interest between her and Niko, but he’d dumped her in this cabin without a backward glance.
    It was obvious that she’d imagined any attraction between them. Was this what was meant by a rebound relationship? That the first man she stumbled across she’d want with an almost ridiculous intensity? Or perhaps it had something to do with the scene of Frank and the woman he’d been with last night. She wanted the delicious, heated excitement she had sensed in their urgent movements. The utter surrender to desire. No awkwardness, no thinking, only feeling.
    Niko could deliver this. She knew it in some deep, responsive, feminine core. Her mind, though, was aware that he was totally off limits. The problems that would arise if she were to become involved with her stepmother’s brother were colossal. She should follow his lead and keep her distance.
    Entering the small private bathroom that housed a shower and soft, thick towels embroidered with the Maragos Shipping logo, she flushed the rose petals down the toilet. She didn’t feel the sting of retribution that she’d expected, but then again she didn’t feel the pain either.
    The idea of a quick shower was irresistible. When done, she changed into the tank top and jeans she found in the overnight bag and left the room, wandering into the kitchen – or galley, as she thought it was called on a ship. A myriad of stainless steel cabinets and appliances vied for space in the cramped quarters. An oval port hole over the single sink let in light that dappled across a bowl of fresh, red apples left on the counter. Helping herself to one, she bit into its crisp sweetness as she strolled back toward the staircase. She stopped with one foot on the first rung. Pivoting slowly, she stepped across the small landing and opened the door to the closest guest bedroom.
    She shouldn’t pry, but hadn’t Niko told her the ship was hers for the day? The room was furnished in darker paneled wood with gold bedcovers trimmed in scarlet. Nothing personal in sight. No hint of inner knowledge about the man. For the life of her, she couldn’t figure out why she cared.
    If this understated luxury was his lifestyle, then it was apparent that Nikolaos Maragos was out of her league. A man with his family connections would know models, actresses, a bevy of wealthy and sophisticated women. Compared to them, she would seem commonplace, nothing but a problem foisted on him by his half-sister.
    For a moment, she considered jumping ship, just walking off. The alternative wasn’t attractive: Aunt Betty preaching to her about the importance of a long engagement, her cousins being overly sympathetic. The thought of facing them made her flinch.
    She raised her hands to wipe away the destructive thoughts with impatient movements. Her mother had always told her to find a spark of enjoyment in the day, no matter how disappointed she was in how it had turned out. Never had she found that advice so hard to take. Still, she’d try. She’d find something to enjoy in Key West, and then she’d catch the first flight back to her everyday world where she had a small apartment and a cat. Houdini would be glad to see her home early as would her boss. He’d been upset to lose two of his staff to a vacation at the same time.
    She pulled the door shut and stood in the small opening at the