why she’d coldly ended their relationship when it had been so good, so right. Xena didn’t recall how she’d consoled Rio, how she’d tried to persuade her to tell Lysandros, and right now that suited Rio. She needed to avoid that painful conversation for as long as possible.
‘So why are you not practising, Rio? Xena loves to hear you play. As do I.’ He began to walk towards her, stopping when she backed away.
‘I... I...’ she faltered, not knowing what to say without telling him exactly why she didn’t want to go near the piano.
‘At least you can still physically play the piano—if you choose to.’
His accusation hit home and she dragged in a breath. Did he have to make her feel worse? Play on the guilt she felt about the night of the accident? About him? Them?
‘This isn’t about me. This is about Xena.’ Desperately she pushed back her pain, her raw emotions, trying to bring the conversation back to Xena.
He took another step towards her, bringing him so close she could smell the citrus tang of his aftershave, and it made the memory of their last kiss collide with the guilt for all Xena was going through, as well as her own fear. She tried not to recall how light-headed Lysandros had made her feel when he’d smiled at her, reminding herself he was well versed in the art of charming women.
Yet he’d been prepared to take things slowly with her. At first, she’d thought it was simply because of her friendship with Xena, but soon she’d wondered if it was more than that. He’d respected her. He’d showed patience and kindness totally in contrast to the playboy past Xena had told her about. He’d treated her as if she was special.
‘Is it, Rio?’ His voice had deepened, become so sensually soft he could be seducing her.
‘Of course it is. I’m here for Xena, not myself—or us. Not that there is an us any more.’
‘What happened after the recital, Rio? What are you keeping from me?’ His question hung in the air and she hated the way he made her feel, the way she wanted to confide in him, tell him what had happened. But she couldn’t. It was over between them and there was no point in going over that night now. She was here only for Xena.
‘There is nothing to tell,’ she said quickly, hoping he wouldn’t keep asking, be able to tell she had been doing exactly that.
‘Let’s take a walk on the beach while Xena is resting.’ He changed the subject so fast Rio felt dazed.
‘Xena and I are due to visit your mother today.’ She grasped at that. ‘Maybe we should wake Xena now.’
‘As I am the one charged with the task of getting you both there, we can spend a while walking on the beach first.’ He paused and looked at her, the intensity in his eyes changing, making her pulse leap with awareness she wasn’t sure she was ready to acknowledge yet.
‘I ought to leave Xena a note. In case she wakes.’ Rio began to write a quick note and Lysandros stood over her, so close her body began to tremble, not with fear, as she’d expected, but with anticipation. Need. For him.
‘Make sure you mention you and I are together.’ His voice had dropped to almost a whisper and was so sexy she had to close her eyes against the tingle that rushed up her spine.
She put the pen down and turned, her gaze locking with his, holding it.
* * *
Lysandros knew Rio was keeping something from him. He’d known it since he’d first arrived at the hospital after the accident. He’d seen it in her eyes. Sensed nervousness in every move she’d made. Now that Rio was here with Xena, he was going to get to the bottom of what had happened the night she’d left him waiting alone at a romantic and secluded table for two.
The sunshine was gaining in strength as he stepped out of the villa, across the terrace and onto the sand. Beside him Rio adjusted her hat, and while he accepted it was necessary to protect her pale complexion from the sun, he sensed it was much more about erecting a physical barrier between them. He put on his shades. If the way his body was reacting to her nearness was anything to go by, the more barriers between them the better. For now at least.
‘What really happened the night of the accident?’ He plunged right in as swiftly as if he’d just dived into the cool waters from his yacht.
‘I told you. A car ran a red light and hit Xena’s.’ The defensive tone of those short, sharp sentences gave so much away, but that wasn’t what he wanted to know.
‘I know the details of the accident itself.’ He couldn’t keep the impatience from his voice. He had to know just why his sister had been driving around London alone so late at night.
‘So why ask?’ He sensed her looking at him, but he kept his focus ahead, sure that if he didn’t put her under the spotlight she would tell him the finer details of that treacherous night.
‘Because I’m Xena’s brother and I want to know what happened before the accident.’
Her pace faltered and she stopped, forcing him to do the same, but she didn’t look at him. Instead she stared out to sea. Yet another avoidance tactic. ‘There is nothing more to tell.’
‘Are you sure, Rio?’ The question caught her attention and she turned to face him. He wished she didn’t have her sunglasses on, wished he could see the expression and emotion in her soft caramel-brown eyes.
She sighed and he watched the smooth, pale skin of her throat move as she swallowed. At least he could now be certain he was finally near the truth. ‘You might be able to manipulate others into doing what you command, but it won’t work with me.’
The passion in her voice was intense and she moved away, holding her hat in place against the playful, warm wind. Her long limbs were outlined as the wind flattened the blue sundress against her, testing his resolve far too much. He couldn’t allow himself to be distracted by the attraction she still had for him. Not yet. Xena had to come first.
‘Manipulate?’
‘Yes, you try and control everything. Everyone. Even Xena.’
‘I resent that accusation. What I do for Xena I do out of love.’
‘Love?’ She abandoned her attempts to hold her hat in place and took it off, exposing her subtly highlighted hair, which had been pulled back into a rough ponytail. The wind whipped stray strands of hair across her face and he scrunched his hands against the urge to push them back from her lovely and beguilingly innocent face.
Whatever it was that had changed things for Rio after the recital, he sensed she was fighting hard against her attraction to him. An attraction he still felt, still wanted to explore. Patience was all he needed.
‘I don’t think a man such as the mighty Lysandros Drakakis, CEO of Drakakis Shipping and Luxury Yachts, does anything for love, does he?’
Her taunt had the desired effect but he resisted the urge to respond with anger. He was well aware of his inability to emotionally connect with his sister or mother, let alone with another woman. Rio might have challenged that on so many levels, but he wasn’t going to allow her to know it right now. ‘Love for my family is an entirely different thing from passionate love. That kind of love is built on sexual attraction and heated desire.’
