Sofie was up in her bedroom. Somehow she’d managed to break away from Achilles’s mesmerising gaze and seductive words and was trying to inject some oxygen and rationale into her brain. She looked around the room—the bedroom she hadn’t slept in for a few nights. Because she’d been too busy losing her virginity with a sexy stranger.
Who was no longer a stranger, as he’d rightly pointed out.
Except he still was in so many respects. And he would be for ever if she didn’t leave with him, whispered a little voice.
‘I want you to come with me.’Had she hallucinated that? He couldn’t possibly have said such an audacious thing. But he had. And it was clear he’d expected her to say yes. He hadn’t looked remotely nervous or unsure.
But she’d found herself resisting his pull, reacting to an arrogance that had become more pronounced with the return of his memory. She couldn’t get the picture of him on that website out of her head. He’d looked so gorgeous in a three-piece suit. Gorgeous and obviously very important. It made sense now—she’d suspected he was someone.
She felt slightly insulted that he obviously thought her life was so inconsequential that she could just leave on the spur of the moment because he asked her to.
It is inconsequential, whispered a little voice.
She scowled at herself. And then caught sight of her reflection in the mirror. Shapeless shirt. Faded jeans. Hair up in a messy knot. No make-up. And yet he saw something in her that made him still want her? Even after his memory had returned and he must surely be comparing her to the other women he’d been with?
It was a very flattering thought—that even when the real world was about to reappear and whisk him back to his life he wanted to take her with him. She hadn’t ever ventured further than France.
It was too seductive. Dangerously so.
Sofie had always felt a little invisible. Her parents had loved her, but she’d always felt as if her presence just reminded them of the loss of a large family, so she’d got used to tucking herself out of sight or keeping busy so she didn’t encroach on their sadness. Not even when she’d been caring for them had she felt ‘seen’. And sometimes, when she was among her peers, she felt as if they were so busy with their own lives and families that they wouldn’t notice if she just got up and walked out of the room and left the island behind.
But, if she was to believe what had just happened, the most charismatic and exciting man she’d ever met really saw her, and still wanted her to come with him. It was huge.
A frisson of excitement prickled over her skin. Could she really do this? What Achilles was offering was everything she’d secretly been dreaming about. Getting away from this place and seeing the world. She’d told him that. She’d revealed so much to him. It shocked her now to realise how comfortable she’d felt with him. How much she’d trusted him.
Of course, she reminded herself, she didn’t need a man to take her away from here to fulfil her dreams. She could do it all by herself. But suddenly that thought didn’t appeal—setting out on her own.
She thought of watching him walk away and felt panicky.
Was he right? Was this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?
She heard a noise outside and looked out of the window to see a very sleek black SUV coming down the drive. Tinted windows. No one had a car like that around here. More evidence of the outside world. His car.
The panicky sensation became heart-pounding adrenalin. This man would not wait around. He meant what he said. She knew the answer to her question. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. She had no idea how long it would take for him to realise he’d made a massive mistake, asking her to come with him, but she was going to do the craziest and most spontaneous thing she’d ever done in her life and seize this opportunity and make the most of it.
Before Sofie lost her nerve, she went back downstairs. Achilles was in the hall, with Pluto by his side. That image alone solidified her resolve.
The SUV was pulling to a stop outside the door. Achilles turned around and Sofie stopped on the last stair. She was breathless. ‘Okay,’ she blurted out. ‘I’ll come with you.’
Achilles’s expression didn’t change, and for a gut-churning second Sofie thought that maybe he’d changed his mind, but then he smiled and reached for her.
‘You’ve made the right decision.’
‘What did you say your business was, exactly?’ Sofie asked a short while later. They had stepped out of the back of the SUV onto a cleared area of greenery not far from the hospital. A place where Achilles’s team had been told they could land the helicopter.
‘I didn’t say.’
‘Do you want to elaborate now, maybe?’
She sounded a little shaken. Achilles looked down at her and bit back a smile. She had no idea.
Her eyes were huge. She’d pulled her hair back into a loose plait. She was wearing what he figured were her ‘smart casual’ clothes. A pair of dark trousers and a wraparound sleeveless silk top. Sling-back shoes with pointy toes. She could have passed for one of his assistants. But he was going to make her his mistress.
She needed to know exactly who he was and what she was heading into.
He said, ‘Sofie, look at me.’
She tore her gaze off the sleek modern helicopter on the ground and turned to face Achilles, tipping her face up. He wanted to kiss her. But he restrained himself.
‘I should probably tell you that I’m not just a CEO. I’m the heir and owner of Lykaios Industries.’
She frowned a little. He elaborated, ‘It’s a steel and construction company. We’re one of the biggest in the world.’ And would become the biggest again very soon, Achilles reminded himself. ‘It’s been in my family for generations.’
Sofie considered this. ‘That picture of you on the website, outside that building...’
‘I own that building. It’s our head office in Athens. We also have offices in London and New York.’
Sofie blanched a little. ‘So...you’re a big deal?’
Achilles bit back another smile. ‘Some would say so. We’re very successful.’
‘You’re...rich?’
‘I’m a billionaire.’
Sofie took a step back, going even more pale. Not the reaction Achilles had been expecting.
She shook her head. ‘Look, Achilles, I don’t know if this is such a good idea after all. You’re clearly very important and I’m—’
Achilles reached for Sofie’s hand, surprised at the dart of panic he felt. ‘You’re not backing out now. All this doesn’t mean anything. I’m still me.’
She looked at him as if trying to ascertain who that me was. Eventually she said, ‘Maybe, but you come with a little more baggage than I’d imagined. I thought we were going to be taking the car ferry to the mainland so we could drive down to London, or maybe get the train.’ She frowned, looking suspicious. ‘How exactly are we getting to London?’
She was like a skittish foal. He said, ‘We’re taking the helicopter to Glasgow, I believe, and then my private jet will take us to London.’
‘Private jet... Achilles, I’ve never been on a plane, never mind a helicopter.’
‘Then what are you waiting for?’