Page 44 of Vows of Revenge

He brought them to the surface. Saw them clearly.

Yes. Yes, it was still that simple. All he had to do was show Cosmo that Andrakis’s daughter was not available to be his bride—just as he had planned from the off.

It really is that simple.

And because it was so simple there was no reason not to stick to it—not to go ahead with it...go through with it.

For a moment longer his gaze went on resting on the dark waters below, as if there were currents moving deep below the surface that had not previously been there, stirring deep waters in unknown ways.

Then, abruptly, he turned away, not wanting to think about it any longer. The day stretched ahead, and they were planning on heading off further afield, doing more sightseeing—this time towards the coast and Dunrobin Castle—for the day was fine and sunny.

He could hear that the shower had cut out, and shortly afterwards Kassia was stepping into the bedroom, wrapped in a towel, her hair pinned up loosely on her head, tendrils falling damply around her face. She looked effortlessly beautiful—bare shoulders, long legs, slender body.

He crossed to her, with a familiar glint in his eyes and an even more familiar tightening in his loins.

‘That,’ he told her, and he could hear the husk in his own voice, ‘is a very dangerous thing to do, Kassia. If you want us to set off sightseeing in good time.’

His hand reached for where she’d knotted the towel over her breasts, gently easing the knot loose.

She caught his hands. ‘Damos, no!’ she laughed.

His eyebrows rose. ‘No?’

‘Yes! As in no,’ she said firmly, stepping away from him. ‘Breakfast will be waiting for us!’

He gave her a considering look. ‘Hmm, tough choice... One of Mrs MacFadyen’s gargantuan breakfasts versus making passionate love to you.’

She laughed again. He liked to hear the sound, and answered it with a laugh of his own.

‘OK, breakfast wins. But...’ he held up a hand ‘...don’t think I won’t claim making passionate love to you when we get back this afternoon!’

She blew him a kiss, but kept her distance.

Damos knew why—and knew, with a sense of deeply masculine satisfaction, that she would have been just as happy to defer breakfast a while...

‘It’s a date,’ she promised, and her eyes had a glint in them that matched his own.

She turned away, fetching fresh undies from the chest of drawers and a smart pair of trousers—nothing baggy any more, Damos thought with satisfaction—and a stylish cotton top to go with them that skimmed her breasts and shaped her slender waist. Brushing her hair out, she clipped it back with a barrette. Its new rich colour still held, catching the sunlight.

He watched as she applied a little mascara, a trace of lip gloss, but nothing more. There was appreciation in his regard. Oh, when she went for the full works—face, hair and gown—she could look sensational, just as he’d told her that evening at the Viscari Art Deco dinner-dance.

But she does not need to—not for me. Just to see her like, this is enough...more than enough.

Just being with her was more than enough.

And he had no intention—none—that he should not be with her...

OK, so their time here in the Highlands was coming to an end and soon they would be returning to Greece. But there...

I’ll get the business of Cosmo and her father out of the way, dispose of it, and then focus entirely on Kassia.

It was a pleasing prospect—a very pleasing one indeed.

Kassia and me—me and Kassia...

Again, as he had that very first night with her in London, he felt the strange, powerful emotion sweeping up in him that he could not identify. He only knew that it was possessing him.

Body and soul...

---