CHAPTER ONE

      NIKOS LAZARO PETRAKIS stood and glared out at the sparkling sea beyond the offices of Xanthippe Shipping, his self-built empire, but he didn’t see any of it. The words he’d just read in a text burned into his mind. And memories of the only woman who had stirred longings for things he could never allow himself to want set his body alight.

      We need to talk. Meet me on the beach tonight. Serena.

      Serena James had almost got through his defensive wall, affecting him far more than he cared to admit. He’d been glad when the excuse to banish her from his life had presented itself. He hadn’t heard from her since that night three months ago. She’d walked away from him without looking back, rousing memories he’d rather have forgotten, but her silence since had been a welcome relief.

      He pressed his eyes shut against the image of Serena. She had been hard to forget and, judging by the way his mind raced now, he still hadn’t achieved that aim. For weeks his body had longed for hers. He’d been able to see her, smell her and feel her warmth if he closed his eyes, letting his thoughts slip back. But he’d held firm to his resolution of no commitments. He’d pushed her away emotionally and physically, but hadn’t been able to sever the thread of attraction completely. It remained like a web spun in the early dawn, keeping them inextricably linked.

      On his return to Athens he’d thrown himself fiercely into his work and had gone after the cruise company Adonia with a ruthlessness that had made even his PA look at him in question.

      He clenched his jaw against the heated memories of his time with Serena, knowing there could only be one reason for her return to Santorini, the island he’d grown up on. His eyes snapped open and he inhaled deeply. There could be no other explanation.

      During the summer she had arrived on the island to research her next article, and the passionate romance they’d shared had culminated in reckless and unprotected sex on the beach. Were there now life-changing repercussions? Consequences he hadn’t planned on and most definitely didn’t want?

      Alarm bells began to ring. Why had she had waited so long? Had she done as he’d feared and used her journalistic background and connections