Kidnapped the Wrong Sister, Marie Kelly [simple ebook reader .TXT] 📗
- Author: Marie Kelly
Book online «Kidnapped the Wrong Sister, Marie Kelly [simple ebook reader .TXT] 📗». Author Marie Kelly
Rising from the table with purpose, she moved up to the second floor of the lovely building, moving in and out of the different rooms. In each she picked up the phone, grimacing as each and every one was, as he already told her, dead. However, one of these rooms would be his, and right now he was downstairs somewhere in his office leaving her free to search. As she reached one door she found it to be locked, and she cursed gently, realising that he had outmanoeuvred her once more.
Diona spent nearly a half an hour on her fruitless search, amazed at the size of the home. Finally she decided to search the island for other outbuildings he might have missed, perhaps she could even get one of the people she had spotted earlier to give her a lift off or even just to let her use their mobile phone.
As she moved quietly back down the stairs she dropped down, as she saw him exiting a room at the end of the hall where, unaware of her presence, he headed into another room. Hardly believing her luck, Diona silently ran down the rest of the stairs slipping into the room he just left, realising that it was indeed as she suspected: his office. A large wooden desk which probably cost as much as her whole flat took up a prime position close to a picture window looking out over the cliff, and she was once more reminded of the wildness of the house setting, the thought that it suited its owner so well fleeting through her mind. Rushing over to the phone she picked it up, hearing the dial tone, much to her relief. As she began to dial her sister’s mobile number, the tone died as a message requested she enter the three digit security number. Looking in disbelief at the phone, she cursed it, placing it back onto its cradle, her eyes scanning the room for some other means with which to contact her sister. Spotting the computer on the desk she quickly moved over, pressing the keys in the hope that he left it connected - a hope which was quickly dashed as she had been requested to enter a password. Closing her eyes in defeat she stared at the screen. “Give up”, a voice from the other end of the room spoke softly, causing her to lift her head quickly to see Nikias watching her from the door, which she had not heard open. “And just so you know, I have banned all mobile phones for the week and threatened anybody who agrees to take you across to the mainland with immediate dismissal”, he added, almost as though he had read her mind. Clenching her hands angrily by her side and gritting her teeth, she glared at the man on the other side of the room. “You have to let me off this island… I need to save my sister from your damn brother”, she bit out, her tone low and angry.
“While you are here, as far as I am concerned my brother is safe… at least from you”, he retorted, his tone just as controlled as hers, as the two glared at each other, both feeling the way the very air between them was charged. As Nikias moved towards her, Diona panicked, suddenly so aware of the handsome tall man before her, and she moved around him nimbly, reaching the door and fleeing from the room, moving out of the house in a sudden need to feel fresh air on her body.
Standing in his office, Nikias watched her leave, seeing how she fled, her eyes full of panic. He frowned gently, feeling once again the need for her made more acute by the fact that she had not tied up her hair, and it still hung around her body giving her a sensual look, which caused the blood in his veins to boil so alarmingly. God she was good, he thought, even her hard-to-get innocent act was better than any other he had come across, and he knew that she was trouble with a capital T. However, lifting up the phone he quickly barked out commands in Greek before moving out of the room to find her.
He spotted her moving down the path towards the beach and with a grin he knew that she was still searching for a way off the island, admiring her perseverance in spite of himself, as he quickly caught up with her. Moving as quickly as she was able down the uneven path, Diona heard him calling her name, stopping in her tracks as she looked back, watching intently as he strode towards her. “Will you promise to give up trying to escape?”, he asked, his eyes holding hers. “Absolutely not”, she threw back defiantly, with such determination that he looked heavenwards, muttering something she could not understand, in Greek. “In that case I will have to make sure that you don’t get yourself into any trouble”, he finally said, his expression grim as she glared back at him. “Do you ride Diona?”, he asked more softly, as she frowned at him in surprise. “A little”, she replied, her voice confused as he placed a hand on her back, instantly causing sensations to travel up and down her body, as he directed her to a path to the side of where she was currently walking. “Then at least let me show you the island, and prove that there is no way off”
With that he led her to an area which opened up into a stable block, where a man already stood with two horses saddled and ready to go. Offering her a hat, which she took and secured on her head, he moved over to talk to the man holding the beautiful animals. Taking the largest, a black thorough-bred stallion, he swung easily onto the animal, sitting so well, controlling the magnificent beast. Shaking her head in thanks at the offer of help, Diona placed her foot into the stirrup of the smaller mare, a magnificent chestnut, quickly pulling herself into the saddle, as she fixed the stirrup to the right length.
“So you ride”, he stated with approval. “Not for years”, she responded, despite herself feeling a sense of exhilaration at once more being on the back of such a wonderful animal. “Daryle and I used to ride before my mother...” Diona stopped, looking away for a moment as he looked at her in surprise, seeing the way her face became suddenly so sad before she once more regained her composure looking at him with her chin raised defiantly. “I can manage”, her tone more in control. With a smile he then led her down towards the beach.
They spent the morning riding around the beautiful lush island. Nikias proved to be an excellent guide as he pointed out different points of interest to her, and she found herself enjoying his company, laughing with him as he seemed to relax in her presence, making small jokes and laughing back at hers. As they galloped across one of the beaches, she held her breath at how perfectly he controlled the large animal which fought so hard to go faster while he kept it level with her. She quickly found everything she learnt as a child came rushing back to her, and she smiled back at him with real joy on her face. She enjoyed the feel of the graceful animal under her and the wind whipping her hair which fell down her back, blowing it around her shoulders as she laughed happily, forgetting for a time why she was there. At lunchtime they were met on one of the beaches by a young woman holding the hand of a small girl. The two talked to Nikias, who had lithely dismounted. They handed him a basket with food, which he laid down as he lifted the small girl, tickling her. Diona watched how his handsome face once more broke into that heart-stopping dazzling smile at the small child who laughed back at him, before he put her once more onto her feet, waving as the two moved back up to the house. He then moved to help her dismount from the tall animal, his hands on her waist instantly causing her body to jump alarmingly.
“Your child?”, she questioned, as he grinned back at her. “No, my housekeeper’s grand-daughter, her daughter is staying here for a few days holiday”, he smiled, a mocking look entering his eyes. “To my knowledge I don’t have any children” Diona looked over at him. “It must be so hard to keep up”, she bit out, a small edge coming to her voice as he once more looked at her, a smile on his lips.
“You seem to have a very low opinion of me, Diona”, he murmured, his voice soft as he looked over at her, passing over packs of sandwiches and drinks which she accepted hungrily. “And yet it is probably better than the one you have of me, or my sister”, she countered, seeing the smile play on his lips. “And what have I done to gain your censure?”, he asked softly, as she looked at him with disbelief. “You mean other than kidnapping me and keeping me a prisoner on this island?”, her voice incredulous. “Yes apart from that”, he replied smoothly, his lips twitching seeing how she looked away, her eyes watching the waves before returning to him.
“After our little run-in at the restaurant, and before you had me spirited away, I read an article about you”, her voice accusing. “There seemed to be a lot of different women in the pictures, which makes me think that you like to play the field Nikias, so I have to wonder how you can be so hard on your brother when you are little better yourself”
Nikias frowned, remembering the article she was referring to. It had been the board’s idea to do the interview, something which he usually shied away from, liking his privacy. He remembered the attractive interviewer, her name escaping him, and how she flirted with him the whole morning, before he took her to his bed, spending a very forgettable afternoon with her. Looking over at Diona, he felt the feelings rising within him again. Why did this woman disrupt him so much when women like the reporter, and if he was honest with himself all his other recent lovers, left him lukewarm? As he watched her thoughtfully, his mobile began to vibrate, as a text was delivered. Pulling it from his jeans he looked at the caller ID, seeing his brother’s name and reading the short message with a frown on his face. Am ok. Will phone later need to sort something out. With a small smile, he looked over at Diona. “Seems your boyfriend is managing without you”, he said, reading out the message to her as she frowned back at him. “Why is it so hard to get through to you that Alexis
Comments (0)