Chapter Five
Gemma’s heart raced as she parted her lips. She knew she’d lost her mind. Instead of anticipating Nikos’ kiss, she should jump up and put the length of the room between them.
In a minute.
First she wanted—
Hal cleared his throat.
Nikos slowly released the cascading waves of hair and sat back, looking impassively at his servant.
“Yes?”
“Excuse the intrusion, Mr. Mannering is calling. He says it’s urgent.”
Hal held out a cordless ivory phone.
Nikos took it and sat up.
“Yes?”
Gemma struggled to rise from the low divan. She ignored Hal and walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows to gaze sightlessly out on the springtime beauty of Central Park. She hugged herself as she tried to find some rational thought. What was she doing letting herself be seduced by Nikos? Hadn’t she learned enough from her experience with James to know that men had their own agenda?
It was easy for Susan to fantasize about Nikos; she didn’t have to live with him or work with him. Or consider what their next step would be. Gemma did.
She needed to be very careful not to get caught up in the make-believe world they were creating. He valued her as an employee—this absurd idea of marriage proved that. Plus, she was able to help him out.
Nothing had changed. Unless he thought because they were married, he could now change that relationship.
“Gemma.”
She turned. He’d laid the phone on the side table.
“What did Phil have to say?” she asked, keeping her distance.
They had to settle things before she’d feel comfortable again.
“He contacted Immigration. They are naturally suspicious, considering the haste of our wedding. We are to meet with an inspector the day after tomorrow. If he isn’t satisfied with our explanation, the deportation will go forward.”
“Then we have to make sure he’s satisfied, don’t we?”
“A single interview with us probably won’t be the end.”
Gemma shrugged. “We’ll do the best we can.”
“And as long as we present a united front to the world, he won’t find anything amiss.”
She eyed him suspiciously.
“What does a united front mean?”
Slowly, he smiled. Gemma felt her heart melt. Did he have a clue how devastating that smile was? How it made her feel tingly inside, as if her blood were filled with effervescent bubbles like fine champagne?
“To the world, we’ll appear as a devoted couple. We’ll start at the party Sven Johannsen is giving Friday night. He has a new artist as protégé and is hosting a showing at the gallery on Fifth Avenue.”
“This Friday night?”
“Yes. I’ve already accepted the invitation. You’ll attend with me, of course.”
“You must have to have been sure you wouldn’t be deported before then. Don’t you think you could have asked me first?”
He rose with one easy move and walked across the room to her.
Or at least Gemma tried to think of it as walking, though it had the earmarks of a panther stalking his prey. Controlled, smooth, but focused and direct.
She swallowed hard.
Start as you mean to go on , she admonished herself.
“Nikos, if this is going to work at all, we have to come to some kind of understanding. At work, you’re the boss. What you say goes. But this isn’t work. If you want me to consider this my home, then I get some say in things.”
He nodded once, his attention focused on her.
Gemma took a deep breath.
“If you want to do things as a couple, then I need to be given the chance to take part in making plans.”
“These plans were made before we even discussed our marriage.”
“Then I don’t need to go. They obviously were satisfied with you coming alone before. Nothing has to change.”
“Don’t be na?ve. Can you imagine the rampant rumors if I show up two days after the wedding without my wife?”
Gemma tried to find a way to make him understand where she was coming from. She’d had years of practice dealing with his high-handed way of working. Surely she could find a satisfactory way to have a harmonious home life for however long the marriage lasted.
“Maybe I have other plans. Maybe—”
“Cancel them,” he said ruthlessly.
She blinked.
“This will not work if you think you can order me around. This isn’t the army, and you’re not my commanding officer.”
“Army? What are you talking about?”
“You. You’re so used to ordering everything you don’t even realize you’re doing it. But not in a relationship with a woman. With me specifically.”
“Do you have other plans?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“That’s not the point. I might have. All I want is for you to see me as a person in my own right—to be asked.”
He took a deep breath, running the fingers of one hand through his hair.
“Gemma, I have an invitation to a party at Sven Johannsen’s on Friday night. Would you do me the honor of attending with me?”
She smiled and nodded. “I’d love to go.”
He frowned. “Are you playing games?”
He stepped closer.
Gemma held her ground.
“No, just establishing ground rules, I guess.”
“I don’t remember having had a lot of complaints from other women I’ve taken out.”
“Then they spoiled you. You’ve lived in America long enough to know women like to be independent.”
“I’ve had no complaints from you over the last five years.”
“What I put up with at work isn’t the same as what I’m willing to put up with at home.”
He reached out and brushed her hair back from one cheek, letting the back of his fingers caress her skin.
“Your skin is as soft as a baby’s. And your hair is like hot silk.”
“Are you deliberately changing the subject? I don’t think we should do this.”
Where was the decisive tone she needed? Her voice came out totally breathless.
“Ah, but don’t you think a husband and wife are allowed a certain amount of, shall we say, intimacies?”
“But we’re pretending.”
“The feelings I’m experiencing right now don’t feel like pretend.”
Slowly, he drew her closer.
Gemma put up her hands to push him away. Only when her fingers touched his heat, she lost the will to push. She wanted to explore, to touch, to uncover every bit of the mystery surrounding her husband.
When he kissed her, she forgot even that quest. Parting her lips, she returned his kiss with rising passion. Caught up in the moment, she could only hang on while her senses soared. She delighted in the feel of his hard body against hers, in the pleasure that cascaded through her.
When he ended the kiss, he didn’t pull away, but trailed nibbles along her cheek, to her neck and throat, kissing the wild pulse point at its base.
Gemma didn’t know how her arms came to be holding him, or how her fingers became threaded through his thick hair, but she took advantage of the situation, exalting in the sensations that continued to sweep through her.
He wanted her. She was experienced enough to know that. For a moment she almost gave in to impulse.
But caution held her back. Had her slowly release her hold.
Nikos felt the change because the kisses became lighter until they were no more.
He rested his forehead on hers and gazed into her eyes.
“We’re married. And I haven’t lived like a monk. But we will do nothing to ruin this relationship. If you want to take it beyond the platonic, let me know. Otherwise…”
She nodded. She didn’t know what she wanted. Right now she wanted to have more kisses, to feel his hands on her body, to know the soaring ecstasy she suspected only Nikos could give her.
But she didn’t trust herself with men anymore. How did she know what the real agenda might be? After James…
No, she wasn’t going there again. James was her past. Nikos was her present. She didn’t know about the future.
But she was too unsure of anything right now to bank on any certainty.
Gently disengaging herself, she tried to smile. Knowing it was a futile effort, she stopped.
“I guess we need to see how it goes before taking any steps that might complicate things.”
He straightened to his full height and looked down at her.
“Especially when what I have to say will offer another complication.”
“What?”
“I think until the INS finishes its investigation, you need to share my room.”
Stunned, Gemma widened her eyes. Had she heard him correctly?
“Share your room—your bedroom? ”
“Phil went over some questions he suspects the investigator will ask. Like, have we consummated this marriage? Do we share a room? A bed? How long have we been in love? Did we date?”
Gemma couldn’t have said a word if her life depended on it. She was looking forward to the sanctity of her bedroom at night. A place where she could escape Nikos’ powerful attraction and magnetism for a while each day.
Now he wanted to take that away? Have her share his room?
He smiled, though no amusement showed in his eyes.
“Thanks. Your faith is overwhelming.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Never play poker. Your expression gives away everything.”
“That’s not true. I have a great poker face. Look at how I do at work.”
“Trust me, I could sense that you aren’t thrilled with this complication.”
She took a deep breath. The day was taking on a surreal atmosphere.
“What else? Might as well get everything out in the open. Any other complications?”
“Would that be such a hardship? To sleep in my bed? It’s quite large, and I don’t move around a lot.”
Sleep. A euphemism for making love.
Not that Nikos meant that. They’d merely sleep in the same bed. That huge king-size bed she’d glimpsed when touring the apartment.
“Okay. What else?”
“When around others, we need to act like we are a devoted couple.”
“You said that before. What do you mean by devoted?”
He encircled her neck with one hand and pulled her closer.
“Touching, smiling into each other’s eyes like we hold the secret of the universe.”
He demonstrated, and Gemma’s knees went weak.
What would she give to have a man look at her like this and mean it? She’d always wanted to fall in love and get married. Instead, she’d fallen in love with the wrong man and married a different one.
One who could capitalize on her vulnerability right now and lead her to imagine she was falling in love with him.
“You’re not doing your part. Is this another instance where I have to ask?” he asked softly.
Slowly, Gemma relaxed. Gazing up into Nikos' eyes, she let a hint of emotion creep into hers. Smiling as seductively as she could, she reached up and brushed his lips with her fingertips.
“I’ll give it my best shot, darling,” she said huskily.
He groaned and stepped back.
“It’s easier to deal with women in Greece than contrary Americans,” he said, turning. He walked to the table and reached for his glass, draining the juice.
Feeling she’d held her own, Gemma didn’t know how long she could hold out against the powerful pull of attraction her new husband engendered.
The sooner they got things back to normal, the better.
As if Nikos heard her thoughts and agreed with them, he became the perfect host to a guest in his home. The afternoon passed pleasantly as they explored superficial topics of conversation.
Hal prepared a wonderful meal for a wedding dinner, complete with champagne. Gemma took only a sip of hers.
“This is delicious,” she murmured, wishing she dare drink more.
“My favorite aunt is from France. Her knowledge about fine wines is amazing. She’s Allessandros’s mother. You’ve met my cousin.”
“Yes,.”
“He has an American wife. I’ll have to ask him for pointers.”
She gave a mock frown. “A little consideration is all I’m asking.”
He laughed and raised his flute.
“May all our days be as delightful as this one has been, Gemma.”
Pleased with the toast, she touched her own glass to his and sipped.
Gemma hadn't expected a honeymoon. But Nikos had told her yesterday that he had planned for them both to take the rest of the week off from work. She was astonished when she rose the next morning to discover Nikos had left.
Weren't they both going to take the time off?
When she dressed and went to the dining room, Hal came in from the kitchen.
“I am to give you this note,” he said when she asked where Nikos was.
Gemma opened the note and scanned the contents. Nikos had gone in for an errand. If she awoke before he returned, he hoped she'd make herself at home. Hal was available to prepare her breakfast.
And perhaps she'd move her things into his room. Tonight they'd share a bed to answer the INS’s questions with all the honesty possible.
Another paragraph suggested she shop today for something to wear to the party. What was suitable for a personal assistant might not be suitable for his wife.
Gemma crumpled the note into a ball. If he’d been near, she’d blister his ears with her thoughts about his suggestions.
“Madam?”
“I’ll take a poached egg on dry toast and some herbal tea.”
“There is an assortment of teas already at the table. I’ll bring you boiling water and prepare your breakfast.”
Fuming, Gemma followed Hal into the dining room. How dare Nikos suggest her clothes were not suitable. They were stylish and of good quality.
Suitable for the wife of a wealthy international businessman? a voice inside whispered.
She sat and picked a packet of tea. Fixing the hot brew, she considered her options. She could feed her anger and let loose when he returned. Or she could go buy the most expensive dress she could find and charge it to him.
She didn’t care that her reaction was childish. He made her so mad sometimes. It'd serve him right if she sent him the bill.
He won’t mind , that voice said.
Which was probably true. He had enough money to buy any boutique she’d try with pocket change.
After dawdling over breakfast as long as she could, Gemma gave up waiting for Nikos. If he didn't care enough to return this morning, she'd put the time to good use.
Her first stop was the boutique she'd visited before. Recklessly, she told the saleswoman that she wanted the most outrageous dress they had. It would put a huge dint in her savings, but she didn’t care.
Trying on dress after dress, none of them seemed exactly right. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for—something to make a statement and drive the point home to her new husband.
When the salesclerk brought in a flame red dress, Gemma knew it was the one.
Trying it on, she crossed her fingers it would fit. She wasn’t showing much in her pregnancy yet.
The dress slid over her like a second skin. It was one-shouldered, so that her left arm and shoulder were bare. It scarcely reached the top of her knees. Shimmering in the light, it was a sexy siren of a dress.
“Wow,” she said.
“Wow is right,” the saleswoman agreed. “If that doesn’t get him to sit up and take notice, forget the man. He’s dead.”
Gemma glanced at her.
“You think this is for a man?”
“Why else?” the woman asked, amusement dancing in her eyes. “You want to tell me different?”
Gemma laughed. “No. I’ll take it. Shoes?”
“We have some strappy high-heeled sandals in the exact shade that would be perfect for that dress. Let me see if we have your size.”
While she waited, Gemma turned this way and that before the mirror. She looked totally different, wild and free. And as unlike a staid personal assistant as it was possible to get.
Her heart sped up when she thought of Nikos' reaction when he saw her.
Throwing caution to the wind was fun, she decided. As long as she could handle things. Their understanding was firm. No falling in love on either side.
Katrina had burned him, just as James had burned her .
They had a mutually beneficial agreement that suited them both.
“Try these.” The saleswoman handed Gemma the shoes.
They were perfect.
Gemma hummed happily as she changed back into her street clothes.
As the salesclerk wrapped the dress and shoes, she glanced at Gemma hesitantly.
“I’m stepping out of line with this, but I would suggest a new hairstyle. Something short and sassy that will complement the dress. Or have it done up in an elaborate cascade?”
Gemma nodded. It was worth thinking about.
Hadn’t Nikos just yesterday said he liked her hair around her face?
Not that she would change her hairstyle because of his comment. But another style would go better with the dress.
Gemma hurried back to the apartment, placing her new dress in her closet. She spent part of the afternoon moving her other clothes to Nikos’ closet. And to the drawers Hal had cleared for her.
Feeling odd about sharing the space, Gemma left as soon as everything was put away.
Where was Nikos?
She phoned the office and learned that he had gone in for a short meeting and was involved.
It was late by the time Gemma heard the door to the apartment open. She had given in to Hal’s entreaties and eaten hours earlier.
Nikos appeared in the doorway to the living room. Gemma put down her book.
“Tough day?” she asked.
He looked tired. She had never noticed that before. Was she growing more attuned to the man?
“More so than usual.”
He loosened his tie and shrugged out of his suit jacket.
“Go change, and I’ll get Hal to fix your dinner. I already ate.”
“I hoped you would.”
He hesitated a minute, then nodded. “I won’t be long. I didn’t mean to desert you on our first day together. But the negotiations need to get out of the logjam or we’ll be stalemated when the contract expires.”
“I know that.”
He nodded.
“I missed my personal assistant today.”
“Nice to be appreciated. Maybe I should hit you up for a raise next Monday.”
“Maybe I’ll give you one without being asked.”
Gemma smiled as she listened to him walk down the hallway. One more weekday to play honeymooner, then they’d be back at work on Monday and things would be as close to normal as they'd get for the next few months.
Nikos brought her up-to-date on the situation while eating dinner. She realized she'd worried he would close her out of the loop once they married. But he didn’t.
“Tomorrow morning, we have the interview with the Immigration Department. And the party in the evening,” Nikos said.
“I have an appointment to have my hair done in the afternoon,” she mentioned casually.
Would he like her hair short? Or did he like it long? Doubts assailed her.
They were chased away when it came time to retire. Tonight Gemma was sleeping in Nikos’ bed. With him. Tomorrow could take care of itself. She had tonight to worry about.
When he said he wanted to check his messages in his home office, Gemma took the time to hurry to the bedroom. Clad in a full-length nightgown that tied at the neck and had long lacy sleeves, she slid into the bed and clung to the edge. She wasn’t sure which side she should sleep on, but took a hint from the clock by the far side. Surely it was placed so he could silence the alarm each morning.
Despite the worry about the sleeping arrangement and tomorrow’s pending meeting, Gemma fell asleep long before Nikos joined her.
The next morning the bed showed signs of his occupancy, but Nikos was already up when she awoke.
Stretching, she reached out to touch the pillow he’d used. He had been right, darn him. Nothing had happened, and the bed was plenty large enough for them both. She'd never known he’d joined her last night.
Dressing, she hurried to the dining room. Nikos had finished eating and was sipping coffee as he read the paper.
“Good morning. I hope I’m not late,” Gemma said as she took the chair to his right.
“We have plenty of time. Phil told me yesterday they'd probably interrogate us separately.”
“Oh. Okay, I guess. What are we saying?”
“We’ve worked together for five years. During that time, we’ve grown close. Not realizing how close until it looked as if I was being deported. Then you confessed your love for me and I said—”
“Wait a minute. I confessed my love for you? Try it the other way around.”
“Now's not a time to be contrary.”
“It works just as well the other way. You found out you were being deported and hated to go—not because of work, that would get done with your excellent managers—but because you’d have to leave me.”
She smiled brightly. “I really think that is much better.”
Nikos frowned, but gave the matter serious consideration.
“Maybe you’re right. It takes the emphasis off the business.”
“I’ll want a really large raise,” she said smugly.
Three hours later, Nikos and Gemma entered a cab in front of the Immigration Building. He settled back as the driver slid into the busy traffic.
She leaned closer to whisper in his ear.
“I think we pulled it off, don’t you? It went so smoothly.”
He nodded, his eyes on the cabdriver. The man ignored them as he fought the heavy midtown traffic.
Nikos looked at Gemma. She was glowing with happiness. There was more to go through, but she was right—it looked as if the inspector believed their story. Of course, bringing in her pregnancy helped. Nikos knew the man thought the child was his.
For a moment, he wondered what it'd be like to be a father. To take turns rocking a cranky baby, or to watch his wife nurse their child at her breast. To watch Gemma shower her love on the baby.
Her scent reached him, light and fragrant. Lilacs, he thought. He was used to it, for she wore it all the time. Used to it, but attracted just the same.
Blast it, he found that happening more and more. When had Gemma changed from a perfect personal assistant to a woman who captured his attention?
She’d been giving and passionate in the kisses they’d shared. Yet last night, despite the warmth in the apartment, she had worn a virginal gown to bed that covered her from head to foot. At least, he imagined it was long.
She’d had a warm flush on her face when he finally joined her in the bedroom. He’d watched her sleep for several long moments, trying to figure out what had changed between them.
And why he was feeling a need to know more about her, to touch her, to feel the delicate texture of her skin.
Why he wanted to kiss her. Why he wanted her.
He looked out the cab's window. Things had changed, but he hadn't. Hadn’t Katrina proved women wanted what men could give them, but not the men themselves?
In this situation, Gemma was no different. She wanted an escape from embarrassment because of her unexpected pregnancy.
He'd better never forget that. No matter how much he might want her.
“I’ve changed my mind, driver,” Nikos said, giving him the office address.
To Gemma he said, “Since you’ll be busy this afternoon, I might as well go in to the office for a few hours.”
To escape the temptation that was growing when he was around her. The temptation to kiss her, to learn more about her. To make her his wife in every way.