his trousers.
The drab sparrow had metamorphosed into a peacock. Somewhere in Alekos’s stunned brain he registered that the description was all the more apt because her dress was peacock-blue silk and the long skirt gave an iridescent shimmer when she walked. The top of the dress was high-necked and sleeveless, leaving her shoulders bare. A sparkling diamanté belt showed off her slender waist.
From the front, the dress was elegant and Alekos had no problem with it. But when Sara turned around to check that the espresso machine was switched off, he saw that her dress was backless to the base of her spine. A hot haze of desire made his blood pound through his veins.
‘You can’t wear that,’ he rasped, shock and lust strangling his vocal cords. ‘Half the board members are over sixty and I know for a fact that a couple of them have weak hearts. If they see you in that dress they’re likely to suffer a cardiac arrest.’
She looked genuinely confused. ‘What’s wrong with my dress?’
‘Half of it is missing.’
‘Well, technically I suppose that’s true. But I don’t suppose the sight of my shoulder blades will evoke wild lust in anyone.’
Don’t bet on it, Alekos thought grimly. He would not have believed that a woman’s bare back could be so erotic. The expanse of Sara’s skin revealed by the backless dress invited him to trace his fingertips down her spine and then spread his hand over her tempting nakedness.
Theos, what he actually wanted to do was stride over to her, sweep her into his arms and ravish her thoroughly and to their mutual satisfaction on top of his desk. That particular fantasy had been a common theme for the past four days, which had frankly been torturous. Sara had turned up for work each morning wearing outfits that had sent his blood pressure soaring. Her stylish skirts and blouses had hugged her curvy figure without being too revealing, and somehow the hint of her sexy figure beneath her clothes was much more exciting than if she had worn a miniskirt and boob tube.
He checked the time again and realised they would have to leave immediately or risk being late for the dinner. ‘God knows what the board members will make of you dressed like a glamour model in a men-only magazine,’ he growled as he held the door open and then followed Sara into the corridor. ‘You know how conservative some of them are.’ He shoved his hands into his pockets out of harm’s way, but he could not control the hard thud of his heart, or the hard throb of another part of his anatomy, he acknowledged derisively.
‘Nonsense, they’ll think I’m wearing a perfectly nice dress,’ she said serenely. ‘The board members like me. They know I work hard and I would never do anything that might harm the company’s image.’
Alekos had to admit she was right. Even his main critic Orestis Pagnotis approved of Sara and had remarked to Alekos that he should consider marrying someone as sensible and down-to-earth as his PA.
The trouble was that Sara no longer looked like his sensible PA. She looked gorgeous and unbelievably sexy, and while Alekos certainly had no thoughts of marrying her he couldn’t deny that he wanted her—badly. He was not used to denying himself. But the rules he had made about not getting personally involved with any member of his staff meant that she was forbidden. To a born rebel like himself the word forbidden acted like a red rag to a bull. It was a fact of life that you wanted most what you couldn’t have, Alekos brooded when they were in the car on the way to the dinner. It was also true that rules were made to be broken.
The restaurant was at a five-star hotel on Park Lane and a private dining room had been booked for the board members’ dinner.
‘Alekos!’ A high-pitched voice assaulted Alekos’s ears as he walked into the private function suite, and he swore silently when a young woman ran over to him and greeted him enthusiastically by kissing him on both his cheeks.
‘Zelda,’ he murmured as he politely but firmly unwound her arms from around his neck. Orestis Pagnotis’s granddaughter was as exuberant as a young child but there was nothing childlike about the eighteen-year-old’s physical attributes. Alekos was surprised that Orestis had allowed his granddaughter to wear a gold clingy dress with a plunging neckline. But he knew that Zelda was her grandfather’s favourite grandchild—a fact she used shamelessly to get her own way.
Zelda had developed a crush on Alekos the previous year when he had spent a few days meeting with some of GE’s senior board members aboard the company’s flagship yacht, Artemis. One night, Alekos had found the teenager waiting for him in his bed. He had managed to persuade her to return to her own cabin and had done his best to avoid her since then.
But the gods were ganging up against him tonight, he decided as Zelda linked her arm possessively though his and he had no choice but to escort her into the salon, where champagne cocktails and canapés were being served. He looked around for Sara and his temper did not improve when he saw her chatting with the new whiz-kid CFO. Paul Eddis was in his early thirties, and Alekos supposed that women might consider his blond hair and rather delicate facial features attractive. Sara certainly looked happy in his company, and Eddis was staring at her with a stunned expression on his face as if he couldn’t believe his luck that the most beautiful woman in the room was giving him all her attention.
The evening went from bad to worse when they were called to take their places for dinner and Alekos discovered he was seated next to Zelda. Sara had arranged the seating plan and he’d specifically asked her to put him on a different table from Zelda. Had Sara decided to have a joke at his expense? Alekos glared across the room to where she was sitting at another table. But she was facing away from him and white-hot fury swept through him when he noticed the waiter ogling her bare back.
He forced himself to eat a little of his cheese soufflé, which was as light as air but tasted like cardboard in his mouth. ‘Shouldn’t you be at school, studying for exams?’ he muttered to Zelda as he firmly removed her hand from his thigh.
‘I’ve left school.’ She giggled. ‘Well, the headmistress insisted I leave because she said I was a bad influence on the other girls. But I don’t need to pass exams because I’m going to be a model. Pappoús is paying for me to have my portfolio done with a top photographer.’
‘If you don’t behave yourself, perhaps your grandfather will refuse to fund your modelling career.’
‘Oh, Pappoús will give me anything I ask for.’ Zelda leaned closer to Alekos. ‘If I don’t behave, will you punish me?’ she said artfully.
He would like to punish his PA for putting him through an uncomfortable evening. Alekos’s furious black gaze bored into Sara’s shoulder blades. And yes, they could send a man wild with desire, he discovered. The hellish meal ended eventually but as the band started up and he strode away from the table—ignoring Zelda’s plea to dance with her—he was waylaid by Orestis Pagnotis.
The older man glared at Alekos with his gimlet gaze. ‘Keep away from my granddaughter. Zelda is an innocent young woman and I will not allow you to corrupt her, Alekos. I’ve always been concerned that your womanising ways would bring the company into disrepute. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that you need the support of every member of the board to implement the changes you want to make within GE.’
Alekos struggled to keep his temper under control. ‘Are you threatening me?’
‘I suggest you think hard about what I’ve said,’ Orestis warned.
Sara stood up as Alekos approached her table. ‘What’s wrong? You don’t look like you’re enjoying the party.’
