She couldn’t contain the excited laugh when he boosted her into his arms and headed to the garage—aware of what he was probably planning to gift-wrap, because it was already stretching his sweatpants.
But as they raced each other to get enough clothing on to head out to the sauna hut, it wasn’t his awesome cock she was anticipating the most, it was celebrating the newfound intimacies they’d shared.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Answer your damn phone, Theo!
Theostaredatthe latest text from his brother and thumbed through all the others that had come through while he’d had his phone off. It was one of hundreds of increasingly irate messages and calls and voicemails that had been sent since he and Freya had arrived at their deluxe winter retreat—a week ago now.
He’d told himself he didn’t want to be tracked. That it made sense to keep the phone off. But the truth was he’d been avoiding his brother, avoiding the outside world in general… While indulging himself with Freya. Because he hadn’t wanted anything, or anyone, to intrude.
But when he’d woken this morning, his limbs tangled with Freya’s, his body ready to take her again, and his heart butting his tonsils as her scent invaded his senses and she shifted in her sleep…he’d known he couldn’t ignore reality any longer.
He had to figure out what to do once they got back to civilisation.
The truth was, what had happened on Christmas Day—and the sauna gift she’d given him, which they’d both enjoyed well into Christmas night—had left him dazed and wary but also unwilling to think about anything but how many times and ways he could enjoy her—until they worked this ‘connection’ out of their system.
But it was over a week now since he’d first had her, and the hunger resolutely refused to fade. Worse, though, was the sense this wasn’t just about sex—especially not to her.
He’d seen the emotion in her eyes, more than once since Christmas Day. And it crucified him, because he knew he wasn’t the good guy she thought he was. If he had been able to stop reaching for her, to stop wanting her, he might have convinced her he wasn’t that man. But every time they had sex now, every time they talked into the night—both curious about each other’s pasts—every time they messed about in the snow, or the sauna, he could sense her falling in love with him. And some selfish, needy part of him hadn’t wanted to stop her.
He’d never considered himself an empathetic guy. Had never been attuned to anyone else’s feelings but his own. And had certainly never felt guilty about using women and then discarding them, because he never made promises, or commitments.
But Freya’s belief in him had become as intoxicating as everything else about her.
He needed to speak to his brother to anchor himself, because it was starting to scare him how addicted he’d become to Freya’s smile, her scent, her softness, her compassion and her determination to see the best in him—all in the space of a week. He needed to get back the guy who didn’t need the approval of others, who kept his eyes on the prize and didn’t let messy emotions get in the way of what he needed to achieve.
Then he could plan his next move.
That sentiment-free zone was his safe space. He didn’t like the pointless yearning every time he looked at her. And every time he thought about them parting ways once they contacted her father and informed him Freya wasn’t returning to Galicos.
He clicked on the messaging app and engaged the video-call function. His brother’s face appeared on the screen almost instantly, his hair wild, his chest bare and his eyes bleary.
Theo frowned. Had he got the time zones wrong? He thought Finland was on the same time as Greece, but it was noon already and his brother looked like shit.
Then he caught the high-pitched wails in the background.
‘Theo, where are you? And what took you so damn long to return my calls?’ Xander grumbled. Then a tiny head came into view, held in the palm of his brother’s hand. Xander pressed the fussy baby against his shoulder. And whispered soothing words in Greek.
‘She wants her mother’s breast,’ Xander murmured, his voice gruff. ‘But Poppy is sleeping, I don’t wish to wake her.’
She?
So, he had a niece. Theo processed the information, struggling to swallow down the raw feeling in his throat. The baby hadn’t seemed real until this moment, but now it did. Too real.
‘Don’t they have nannies for that?’ he managed, wondering why his brother would be caring for the infant alone.
‘We’re interviewing them now,’ his brother replied. ‘But Poppy is breastfeeding, and we wanted it to be just the three of us for now.’
Why?
Theo frowned, staring as Xander continued to croon to the tiny squirming bundle while propping the phone against something, so he could use both hands to hold his daughter. When his brother stepped back, it gave Theo a full-length view of them both.
Not only was Xander wearing pyjama pants instead of a suit in the middle of the day, but he also didn’t look as if he’d shaved in a week. The wiggling bundle burped, then quietened,snuggling against her father’s collarbone. Xander smiled, his whole face softening.
Who was this man? Because Theo didn’t recognise him as the billionaire shipping magnate who was always controlled, always unruffled, always ruthless and detached and career-focussed.
This man looked as if he hadn’t slept in days, but he also looked relaxed and blissfully happy.
