The Greek Billionaire's Innocent Princess. Chantelle Shaw

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СКАЧАТЬ wondered how Nikos would react when she told him she was a princess. Would he share the general consensus of the guests that she was the ugly duckling of the family? It didn’t help that he was so stunningly good-looking. She could feel her heart thudding erratically as she absorbed the masculine beauty of his face, and she was startled by a fierce longing to run her fingers through the lock of silky black hair that had fallen forwards onto his brow.

      She was terrified that he could somehow read her mind, but she could not tear her eyes from his, and she sensed something indefinable pass between them that made her skin prickle and her breasts tingle. To her horror she felt her nipples swell beneath her dress and she hastily crossed her arms over her chest, her cheeks burning.

      Nikos recognised the flare of sexual awareness in the waitress’s eyes and was infuriated by his own body’s involuntary reaction to it. He did not have time to waste dealing with a stroppy domestic, even though the chemistry between them was tangible. ‘I suggest you look up the word “servant”,’ he said coldly. ‘You’ll find it means “someone who is paid to serve”. I’m sure Prince Sebastian is a fair employer who pays you a generous wage, and I would be grateful if you could do as I’ve asked without further argument.’

      He should walk through into the private sitting room and make his call—but for reasons he couldn’t explain, he hesitated. He could not dismiss the ridiculous urge to pull the girl into his arms and kiss her senseless. Not a girl, he corrected himself, his eyes drawn once again to the firm swell of her breasts. She was very much a woman, with a gorgeous hourglass figure that might not be ‘in’ with the fashion police but was incredibly sexy. He felt a fierce tug of sexual hunger in his groin and inhaled sharply, his nostrils flaring. ‘What is your name?’ he demanded harshly.

      ‘It’s…Rina.’ The words spilled from Kitty’s lips, and the moment they were out it was too late to retract them. She didn’t understand what had prompted her to withhold her true identity, but she knew that Nikos had previously met Liss at a party in Paris and, although it was stupid, she could not bear the idea of him comparing her with her beautiful, glamorous sister. ‘I’m new here,’ she mumbled, assuring herself that she had only lied to save him the embarrassment of learning that he had mistaken a member of the royal family for a servant.

      ‘I see.’ Nikos strolled back across the room towards her and Kitty felt her pulse-rate quicken with every step he took. He swamped her senses and she was tempted to turn and flee, but when he halted inches from her she saw the gleam of sexual curiosity in his eyes and shock held her immobile. Surely she was wrong? Nikos had dated some of the world’s most beautiful women and it was rumoured that he had been having a white-hot affair with the stunning Hollywood star, Shannon Marsh, for months. It was inconceivable that he could be attracted to a frump like her— wasn’t it? She licked her suddenly dry lips and was startled when the expression in his eyes hardened to a predatory gleam that caused her heart to pound.

      ‘Something tells me you have a lot to learn, Rina.’

      The mockery in his voice was mixed with a blatant sensual message that sent a quiver of excitement down Kitty’s spine. She had led a sheltered life at the palace, and at twenty-six was painfully aware of her sexual inexperience, but the feral heat in Nikos’s eyes was unmistakable, even to a novice like her.

      ‘I’d better go…and bring you some champagne, Mr Angelaki,’ she said breathlessly, jerking away from him before she gave in to the temptation to close the space between them and press her soft body against the muscled hardness of his. Dangerous thoughts; and instinct warned her he was a man who was way out of her league.

      ‘Yes, you better had.’ Nikos laughed softly, self-derisively; breaking the web of sexual tension that curvy little waitress had somehow woven around him. ‘Out of interest, how do you know my name?’

      ‘I’ve seen your photograph, and read about you in the newspapers,’ Kitty admitted, although she did not add that she regularly scanned the tabloids for articles about him or that she was rarely disappointed by his absence in the gossip columns. Nikos Angelaki’s luck at the roulette table was as legendary as his business acumen. He was a gambler and a risk-taker, a high-flier who was frequently snapped by the paparazzi driving around Athens in his Lamborghini with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of beautiful women at his side. ‘You have a reputation as a millionaire playboy with a different blonde on your arm almost every week,’ she said stiffly.

      Nikos shrugged carelessly. ‘You shouldn’t believe all you read in the papers, Rina. Some of my “blondes” have lasted much longer than a week, and a few have even made it to a month,’ he added sardonically. ‘But I think my private life is nobody’s business but my own—don’t you?’

      ‘Absolutely,’ Kitty replied tightly, stung by his rebuke. ‘It’s no concern of mine that you change your women as often as other men change their socks.’

      An ominous pause followed her defiant statement, and then Nikos threw back his head and laughed. ‘I wonder if Prince Sebastian is aware that he has a rebel among his staff?’ he drawled, moving before Kitty had time to react, and capturing her chin between his strong fingers. ‘If you’re not careful that sassy mouth could get you into a lot of trouble, Rina.’

      She was trapped by his closeness, and the heat from his body mingled with the sensual tang of his aftershave stole around her and held her prisoner. The gleam in his eyes sent a tremor through her, and for a few electrifying seconds she thought he was going to lower his head and kiss her. She held her breath, torn between fear and fascination, and felt a crushing sense of disappointment when he abruptly released her. Of course he hadn’t intended to kiss her; stupid of her to have thought it.

      Nikos wondered if she knew how easily he could read her mind—or how tempted he was to accept her unspoken invitation and crush her soft mouth beneath his. It took every ounce of his will power to step away from her and retrace his steps back across the room. ‘Go back to the ballroom before I decide to tell the prince of your reluctance to do the job you are employed to do,’ he said tersely. ‘And, Rina—’ he paused in the doorway of the sitting room ‘—don’t forget my champagne, will you?’

      His arrogance was breathtaking. It was on Kitty’s lips to tell him that under Aristo’s ancient laws his lack of respect for a member of the royal family was a serious offence. He was lucky she did not call for the palace guard, and have him thrown out, she thought angrily. She was renowned for her calm and peaceable nature, but she was infuriated by his insolence.

      But it was her own idiotic fault that he believed she was a waitress, and, uttering a most unprincesslike curse, she swung on her heels and marched out of the banqueting hall.

      CHAPTER TWO

      KITTY spent the rest of the evening carefully avoiding Nikos Angelaki, but she could not forget him, or the electricity that had fizzed between them when they had been alone together. No man had ever looked at her the way Nikos had done—with a raw, sexual hunger in his eyes that had evoked a wild longing deep inside her and left her wishing that he had swept her into his arms and made passionate love to her on the banqueting table.

      Unable to dismiss her shocking fantasy from her mind, she had been too embarrassed to face him again with the food and champagne he had requested, and had asked one of the staff to serve him. Later, she had hovered behind a pillar, and watched him partner a steady stream of beautiful women on the dance floor. If it hadn’t been for her stupid lie she could have asked Sebastian to introduce them, and maybe he would have asked her to dance. But if she revealed her identity to him now she would look a complete idiot in front of Nikos, and her brother.

      She wouldn’t know what to say to him anyway, she acknowledged bleakly. She was hopeless with men. The few СКАЧАТЬ