The Greek's Stolen Bride Read Online Free PDF

sundress, and, Theo saw, sensible court shoes. Appropriate clothing for an escape without drawing unnecessary attention to herself. She glanced searchingly at him for one taut second before she return her gaze to her plate.
    Smiling Theo helped himself from the dishes on the sideboard: eggs, cold meats, yogurt, and several different varieties of fresh fruit. A servant poured himself a cup of thick Greek coffee as he took a seat opposite Ariana.
    "How did you sleep, Miss Leotokos?" he asked formally, and she lifted her gaze to stare at him, annoyance flashing in their silvery depths. She was so afraid of being suspected, Theo thought with a pang of bemusement. Didn't she realize not speaking would draw more attention? Or did Leotokos really expect his women to be completely silent?
    "Fine, thank you."
    "Will you marry on the island?" Theo asked as he dug into his eggs. "Or in Athens?"
    She pressed her lips together, and her father hissed in annoyance. "Answer the man, Ariana."
    "On the island."
    "A beautiful place to wed," Theo remarked and her eyes flashed again, gunmetal gray.
    "Indeed."
    "And have you planned a honeymoon?"
    "Ariana doesn't need a honeymoon," Leotokos intervened. "Dion cannot afford the time away from work, in any case."
    "Shame." Theo smiled for her alone, letting his gaze linger on her deliberately. "Perhaps you will have another opportunity."
    "Perhaps," Ariana agreed, and looked away.
    They ate the rest of the meal in silence, and when Theo had taken his time over his coffee--he would operate on no one's timetable but his own--he pushed away from the table and stood up.
    "And now I shall face the Minotaur."
    Leotokos's eyes gleamed with feral malice as he rose as well. "You know the terms?"
    "I have one hour."
    "If you succeed, you will win a million euros and employment with Leotokos Enterprises."
    "And if I fail?" Theo asked, daring the man to admit his nefarious scheme.
    "Failure is its own punishment, is it not?" Leotokos replied with a shrug. "Everyone will know you have failed, and that brings its own consequences."
    Was that how he explained the career implosions of the last six? Theo shook his head before he caught himself and smiled easily at the man he hated.
    "Indeed. Then I hope I shall not fail."
    "We shall see," Leotokos answered, and from the way his chest swelled Theo knew the man did not expect him to succeed. He really was impossibly arrogant, which was good news for him. It had made his own intentions all the easier to carry out.
    "Lead the way," Theo replied, and followed Leotokos out of the dining room. He paused in the doorway to turn back to Ariana.
    "Will we meet again do you think, Miss Leotokos?"
    "Only to say goodbye," Ariana replied evenly, and Theo gave her a wink. He watched with satisfaction as her cheeks stained pink and then followed Leotokos to the study.
     
    One hour. She had one hour to wait, for she did not think Theo would disarm the Minotaur without the knowledge she could have-- should have--given him. Why had he not listened? Why had she not insisted?
    The man was insufferably arrogant. Did he actually think he could best her father and his entire staff, and get her out of this place? Or had he been toying with her last night, and had no intention of allowing her to escape?
    As for marriage...
    She had put her very life in the hands of a man she neither trusted nor liked.
    Liar . No, it wasn't a lie; her physical attraction to Theo Atrikes was completely separate from her regard--or lack of it--for him as a human being. As a man.
    Ariana finished her breakfast, discreetly wiping her damp palms on her napkin before rising from the table. "I think I shall go for a walk in the garden," she told one of the servants clearing the breakfast things, and as sedately as she could she headed outside.
    She wound her way along the gravel paths of the villa's extensive gardens, the scent of hibiscus and bougainvillea heavy on the still air. Although it was only nine o'clock in