CHAPTER THREE
SOFIEWOKEWITHa start. Her heart was pounding. Had she been having a bad dream? Then she heard it. A low, moaning sound. Tortured. Then a shout.
Darius.
She got out of bed and pulled on her robe, belting it loosely, then went out into the corridor.
It was pitch-black outside. The middle of the night. Darius had been in a brooding mood all the previous evening. She’d put it down to frustration at his memory loss.
She hesitated at his door when she didn’t hear another sound. But then it came again and she jumped. A shout—something that sounded like No!—and other words in that same guttural language he’d spoken first. Greek.
She still hesitated. Clearly he was having a nightmare. Should she intrude?
But then he made the most heart-wrenching sound and cried out, ‘Mama... Papa!’
Acting on instinct, Sofie pushed open the door. There was one low light burning near the bed. Darius’s sheets were twisted around his waist and legs. He was bare-chested and his muscles were sheened with perspiration. His face was stark with pain.
Sofie’s heart went out to him.
She went over to the side of the bed and hesitated again, not knowing if it was a good idea to wake someone in the middle of a nightmare. Maybe she could just soothe him with her presence without waking him.
She put out her hand and touched Darius’s brow, just as he said brokenly, ‘Darius...óchi...’
Sofie sat down gingerly on the side of the bed. He seemed to be calming a little. He’d stopped thrashing. His jaw was still gritted, though, and she moved her hand down to his chin, her fingers tracing the tense line, willing him to relax. Stubble prickled against her skin, making her a little breathless.
She thought she’d done it. She thought she’d somehow communicated to him that he was safe, that he was okay. She was just lifting her hand, about to stand up, when Darius suddenly stiffened and his eyes snapped open.
She was caught midway between standing and sitting by the intensity of his gaze. He was looking straight at her. Unfocused at first. And then, as if coming out of a trance, his eyes narrowed on her.
His hands reached up and wrapped around her upper arms. Not gripping, just holding her lightly. He said roughly, ‘You.’
Sofie swallowed. This was the second time she’d disturbed this man out of a sleeping state. ‘Sorry, I heard you shouting. You were having a bad dream.’
A ‘bad dream’ sounded far too benign for what Darius had just experienced. A nightmare about a hellscape would be more accurate. He couldn’t even remember the images. All he could remember was the feeling of utter helplessness and terror. Horror. And then a feeling of grief and loss so profound that it lingered in his gut even now, pervading every organ and making his skin clammy.
Yet she was here. Once again at his side. Pulling him out of the depths of unconsciousness.
The cool touch of her hand lingered on his jaw. He wanted her hand on him again. He needed it as he needed air to keep breathing. She was the only one who could defuse this awful dread in his gut. The clammy feeling on his skin.
She was already having an effect. All he could see was her. Those huge blue eyes so full of concern. The thin silk robe gaping open to show full breasts barely contained by the lace and cotton of a sleep vest. Thighs bare. Black hair tumbling around her shoulders...
‘Darius...’ she said softly.
It wasn’t an entreaty to stop. It sounded like a question.
‘You feel it too, don’t you?’ he said. ‘This attraction between us.’
She did nothing for a long moment. Eyes huge. Then she nodded. Her breathing quickened.
‘I want you, Sofie. I need you.’
That word need—it felt alien on his tongue. In his mouth. Clearly it was not something he said regularly. But he couldn’t care less about the implication of that now. Or anything else. All he knew was that Sofie was the one solid thing in his life that he could hold on to and that he wanted way more than that. He wanted to lose himself in her.
She opened her mouth. He saw the pink of her tongue and desire raged through his blood, hardening his flesh.
‘I... I haven’t done this before. With anyone. I mean, I’m...’
‘You’re innocent.’
He’d known this. Hadn’t suspected how innocent, though. Curiously, it made him feel protective. Possessive. He didn’t want any other man touching her for her first time.
‘Do you want this?’
Sofie’s heart was pounding so hard she felt sure that he had to hear it. Feel it. ‘Do you want this?’ She realised that this was exactly what she wanted. Through her own reticence, and then the poor health of her parents, she hadn’t had a boyfriend, and she did not live in a place where casual sex went unnoticed. But also, crucially, she’d never met anyone who’d made her want like this. Who’d made her so aware of herself as a woman. The fact that this man desired her...it was overwhelming.
Sofie nodded before she lost her nerve. ‘I... Yes, I want this. I want you.’
She saw the flash of fire in his eyes and her blood leapt in response. Her breasts felt tight. A pulse between her legs throbbed.
But then a strange expression crossed his face. He grimaced. ‘Protection. We need protection.’
For a second Sofie had no idea what he was talking about, and then she understood. Protection against pregnancy. Relief made her feel light-headed. ‘It’s okay, I’m on the pill. For painful periods.’
She cringed slightly. He didn’t need to know about her periods. But he’d probably wonder why she was on the pill if she hadn’t had sex before.
He said, ‘The hospital gave me a clean bill of health. Of course I can’t guarantee that—’
Sofie cut him off. ‘I’m sure you’re fine.’ She was afraid that if he rationalised it for too long he would realise that this was just a desire born of these strange circumstances and that he didn’t really want her after all.
She knew she would never meet a man like him again but her conscience pricked. Was she taking advantage of him in his weakened state? When he was vulnerable? She was meant to be providing a safe haven—not jumping his bones because she fancied him.
She said, ‘Are you sure that this is what you want?’
That flash of fire again. His gaze dropped down to her mouth, and lower to her breasts. Bare thighs. His hands tightened on her arms. He looked back up. Sofie was trembling all over. After just a look.
‘I’ve never wanted anything more than this.’