Page 4 of Billion-Dollar Baby Shock

She caught the mask and turned around again.

Dion undid his mask and lifted it off. He saw her eyes widen on his face.

He knew he was handsome but the knowledge came with no arrogance.

He’d inherited his father’s looks—the looks that had seduced his feckless mother and so when he looked in the mirror he took no pleasure in his even features. They mocked him.

‘Wow,’ she breathed. ‘You’re very handsome.’

Dion smiled. Her lack of guile surprised him and very little surprised him these days. She affected none of the cool nonchalance of the women he was used to. Of course, it probably was an act, but he was enjoying it.

Then she blushed, as if she’d just realised what she’d said. Adorable. He couldn’t remember the last time a woman had blushed in his company. They were as cynical as he was. Hardened. And that was fine because he didn’t want soft.

Except, maybe he did, in this instance. Because this woman exuded a kind of softness he’d never seen before. Soft curves and a self-effacing warmth that was truly novel.

‘You are beautiful,’ he said. And she was. In a very refreshingly unmanufactured way. Gorgeous skin. Huge blue-green eyes. Long lashes. Finely etched brows. A straight nose. And that mouth…that made him think of far more debauched things than soft .

She made him hard.

He touched her chin with his finger, tipping it up a little. Her eyes widened. He felt her breath against his skin and got even harder. Theo mou. He’d barely touched her and he was primed to go off like a firecracker.

She said, ‘I don’t even know your name.’

He looked at her and suddenly realised that for the first time in a long time, a woman didn’t know who he was. He’d never courted the press, but in Greece everyone knew who he was.

She could be lying, of course, but again he found that he was prepared to go along with this fantasy and enjoy the moment of anonymity.

‘Names are overrated, don’t you think?’

He felt her breathing quicken a little. Maybe she liked the fantasy too. She said, ‘I think…you may be right.’

Dion’s gaze moved back to her mouth. She bit her lip and his blood spiked. He said in a rough tone, ‘I want to kiss you.’

He saw the glistening pink of her tongue. ‘I… I think I’d like that.’

He put his hands on her arms, slender but strong, and tugged her towards him. Their bodies touched again and Dion had to grit his jaw against the surge of desire. She was so soft. Her breasts were pressed against his chest.

He lowered his head and fitted his mouth over hers and it was like two jigsaw pieces slotting into place.

It was as if they’d kissed before but of course they hadn’t.

And he’d never ever felt this sensation of the ground shifting on its axis as all of that lushness softened against him and with the slightest encouragement she opened to him and any notions of soft or self-effacement or shy were blown to smithereens.

Dion’s hands tightened on her arms as he fell down and down into a cauldron of fiery need, barely even noticing how her hands came to his jacket and clung on as if she too were drowning in the fiery pit.

* * *

Tara wasn’t even sure if she was still standing.

All she could feel was the intoxicating, drugging, electrifying sensation of this man’s mouth on hers and his tongue, touching hers, exploring her mouth, enticing her to open up…

which she was doing with an eagerness that belied her lack of experience.

It was hands down the most uncharacteristic thing she’d ever done and the most exciting. Every part of her body was tingling, vibrating. Her breasts felt heavy and her nipples were tight. She wanted to press closer against his body, to create a friction that she felt instinctively would be good.

But then he was pulling back, taking his mouth from hers, and it was a struggle to open her eyes and focus on his face. It eventually realigned into its perfect lines.

His cheeks were flushed, some hair flopping forward onto his forehead. He asked, ‘Are you okay?’

Tara nodded. Her tongue felt heavy, thick, but she managed to get out, ‘I…um, think so.’

She realised she was clinging onto his jacket as if he were stopping her from collapsing. She couldn’t seem to unwrap her fingers from the material. He still had his hands on her arms. She heard the faint sounds of the party behind him. Tinkling glasses, laughter, music.

They were in a little cocoon of their own. Tara couldn’t quite wrap her head around what was happening but she wanted him to kiss her again.

So when he said, ‘Will you spend the night with me?’ she felt no hesitation.

She said, ‘Yes.’

She hadn’t completely lost the run of herself. She knew why she was here and what was at stake—finding the father of her baby—but at this moment she was on the precipice of that. She hadn’t yet found him or confirmed for sure that she was the baby’s mother with a DNA test.

So, she did the most rebellious thing she’d ever done and she chose something just for her. For now. For tonight. Tomorrow she would worry about everything else.

Her baby’s father was here in Athens. She would find him. She had time. Didn’t she? Feeling a little desperate, she reached up and pressed her mouth to his again, revelling in the firm texture of his lips. The slight burn of stubble on his jaw.

His body was hard, pressing against her, and it sent a wild euphoria through her. She pulled back and said a little breathlessly, ‘Just so you know… I don’t normally behave like this.’

His mouth tipped up on one corner. ‘I believe you.’

Tara immediately felt insecure. Was it that obvious she was inexperienced? But then he said, ‘Let’s leave now.’

Her insecurity melted away. ‘Okay.’

Their masks were left on a wall behind them as he took her hand and led her through the thronged room and out through a reception hall and then out to the main entrance of the villa.

Within seconds a chauffeur-driven car was pulling up in front of them. The man opened the back door for her and she got in. He went around the other side. Tara knew she should be questioning her sanity but her instinct told her she could trust him.

Even so, as the car swept down the winding drive of the villa and towards the centre of Athens she asked a little shakily, ‘You’re not a serial killer, are you?’

He turned to her and his face was in shadow in the back of the car. Lights from streets illuminated the car for brief seconds. He looked fierce. Intense. Her heart pounded.

He said, ‘No, I’m not, you’re safe with me. We won’t do anything you’re not comfortable with. I don’t expect anything from you just because you’ve agreed to come with me. I mean that.’

Something inside Tara eased a little. Then he took out his mobile phone and conducted a conversation with someone on the other end in rapid and incomprehensible Greek. Even that was sexy.

As he was on the phone he was undoing his bow tie and opening the top button of his shirt. Tara wanted to crawl onto his lap and continue undoing his buttons and press her mouth to his throat.

She turned her head and looked blindly out of the window at the streets of Athens, people sitting outside bars drinking and talking. Normal. What on earth was happening to her? The urge to touch him was so visceral. Primal. As if she’d recognised a mate on a very base level.

She’d never been so aware of herself before and her interest in sex. Because she’d never allowed herself to be free like this. She’d had too much responsibility.

But not any more.

Until you find the father of your child.

That stark reminder dropped into her head just as the man turned to her and said, ‘Maybe we should exchange names.’

She shook her head, desperately trying to stave off reality for a little longer. ‘No, let’s not. One night…that’s all this will be, right?’

He reached for her and tugged her towards him. He said, ‘One night is all I can offer.’

She looked at his mouth and wound her arms around his neck and breathed, ‘That’s fine with me.

’ And pressed her mouth to his. His hands roved over her back and waist and any illusion that she was in control soon dissolved as he masterfully took over the kiss and explored her with a thoroughness that had her squeezing her legs together in a bid to contain the damp heat at her core.

After long, drugging moments he pulled back and said, ‘As much as I could take you here right now, I think I know somewhere a little more private and comfortable.’

Tara would have been fine with here and now but she tried to sit up and feign a level of sophistication she really didn’t feel. ‘Okay.’

She only then clocked that they were at what looked like an airfield. The car swept through gates and all the way up to where a helicopter was standing with pilot waiting.

The man got out of the car and came around to her door, helping her out. The warm Aegean breeze lifted her dress a little and ruffled her hair.

She looked at the helicopter. ‘We’re going in that?’

He nodded. Tara asked, ‘Where?’

‘A small island not far from the mainland. I’ll have you back just after dawn, I promise.’

Tara swallowed. This evening was definitely taking on a dreamlike aspect. He took her hand again and said, ‘Trust me?’