Lie with Me

“Come here.” His voice had been raw, hungry, and there was a question in his tone that I’d answered by sitting down on the bed next to him. He’d moved quickly then, levering himself up and moving his free hand to the back of my neck to draw me even closer until his mouth was only a breath away from mine.

Time had seemed to slow as everything about him flooded my senses. His eyes had been so beautifully dark. Had I noticed that before? And he’d smelled of soap, simple, basic. Wonderful. I could feel the press of each one of his fingers against the skin at the back of my neck.

I’m not sure who moved first, but our mouths made contact. It wasn’t a kiss really—just the gentlest brush of lips against lips. But the pleasure was so intense, the need to have more so huge that when he’d suddenly dropped his hand and drew back, I’d wanted to cry out in protest. But before I could make a sound, someone had spoken from behind me.

“Good morning, Philly. I’m beginning to believe that Roman’s recovery depends on your visits.”

Roman’s father. I’d taken a moment to gather my thoughts before I turned to him and managed a smile.

I hadn’t slept for two nights as I’d relived those torrid moments and fantasized about what might have happened if we hadn’t been interrupted…

Though I’d visited him each day, we hadn’t been alone again. Finally, this morning, I’d reached a decision. It was high time I took action. I wasn’t a sixteen-year-old with a schoolgirl crush. I was a woman, and I knew what I wanted.

Even now, I wanted to go into the room and touch him, to strip him out of that thin hospital gown and run my hands over that smooth skin, those taut muscles—

Roman rose suddenly from the chair. Through the slightly opened back of the hospital gown, I caught a glimpse of bare buttocks before I whirled away from the door and pressed my back against the wall. Ruthlessly, I tried to gather my thoughts, and rev up my momentum. I dragged up all the arguments I’d made to myself in the past two days, mentally ticking them off on my fingers. He’d very nearly died. I might have missed my chance of making love with Roman Oliver forever. But the Fates had spared him. The Angelis family has always put a lot of store in the Fates. Surely the fact that Roman was alive was a sign that I should do something.

Not for the first time I wished that I’d inherited my aunt Cass’s power to see into the future. Psychic powers run strong in the Angelis family—especially in the women. Aunt Cass believed that the power could be traced back all the way to the Oracle at Delphi. Even my three brothers possessed some kind of clairvoyance. But my psychic ability seemed limited to the work I did with animals. I’d always had a special knack for communicating with them mentally. Some people were skeptical about my special connection with animals, but because of the pets I was able to help at the vet hospital where I worked, my reputation was growing more and more.

Animals I understood. It was people I didn’t always get. So I didn’t have a clue about what would happen when I propositioned Roman Oliver.

Nerves knotted in my stomach. A part of me wanted to race right back home. But I was twenty-three; Roman was twenty-nine. What were we waiting for? Drawing in a deep breath, I turned, opened the door of Roman’s room and walked in.

He was back in bed with most of his body discreetly covered by the sheet, and he was reading what looked to be some business papers.

“Philly.” Glancing up, he sent me a smile. The kind of brotherly smile he’d been giving me for so many years. My stomach sank, but I moved toward the bed.

“Am I interrupting?”

He glanced down at the stack of papers. “A lot of things have been piling up on my desk, and I bribed my personal assistant to smuggle some work in to me.” He met my eyes again. “But I have some time for my most frequent visitor.”

For a moment, our eyes merely held, and I thought for an instant I saw a flicker of something. My heart leaped.

It’s now or never, Philly. Go for it.

“I came here to say…I have something that I want you to know.” I’d prepared a little speech. But every time I was with Roman, I had difficulty organizing my thoughts. I couldn’t help remembering what had almost happened the last time we were alone in this room. What if I stopped talking? What if I just walked to the bed and pressed my mouth to his?

“Yes?”

I caught myself twisting my fingers, something I’d stopped doing when I was in junior high. I felt a sudden surge of anger at myself. Why was I still hesitating? “I came here to talk about us and about what happened two days ago just before your father walked in.”

Roman opened his mouth, but I held up a hand. “Please. Let me finish. I know that we’ve known each other a long time. And for a lot of that time, I’ve had a kind of schoolgirl crush on you.” Get to the point, Philly. “But my feelings for you have changed. I’m very attracted to you and I want to make love with you.”

For a moment, Roman said nothing, and I couldn’t read anything in his expression. Finally, he responded, “Philly, I want you to know that I care a great deal about you, in much the same way that I care for my sisters, Juliana and Sadie.”

Pain struck—a hard sucker punch to my gut. I might not have been able to say another word if a surge of temper hadn’t followed. Hands fisted on my hips, I strode toward the bed. “It wasn’t brotherly affection I saw in your eyes two days ago, and I didn’t imagine your mouth brushing against mine. If your father hadn’t walked into the room, we would have kissed and a whole lot more.”

I saw another flicker in his eyes. Of desire? Or pity?

“I’m sorry. I was afraid you might have misinterpreted that, and I should have said something sooner. I was just waking up, and I thought for a moment you were someone else. Someone I’ve been dating.”

For a moment, I couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. The second slap of pain was too consuming. It pounded into my heart like a fist.

But I didn’t have to say anything—Roman was talking. I saw his lips moving, but only caught bits and pieces—something about how he thought of me as family, loved me like a sister. And that he couldn’t lead me on but it was a good thing I’d brought it up so that we could clear the air. And then he apologized.

I nearly saw red. I’d spent most of my twenty-three years learning to control my temper. But this time, I was grateful for it because it helped me deal with the pain. Roman was dead-on right about the fact that it was a good thing I’d brought the subject up. Because now I had my answer—even though it wasn’t the one I’d wanted.

Pride ran deep in the Angelis family, and I didn’t think I’d ever needed it more. Squaring my shoulders, I said, “I won’t bother you again.”

Then, somehow I made it out of the room.

ROMAN STARED at the door after it swung shut. Philly Angelis had thrown him for a loop, and he still couldn’t gather his thoughts. For two days, he hadn’t been able to rid his mind of the memory of what had nearly happened right in this room. He’d almost kissed her, and if he had, he wouldn’t have stopped there.

He never went into a business meeting unprepared, but he hadn’t been prepared for her today. If he had been, he would have handled the situation better. He wasn’t even clear on what he’d said to her. The words he’d spoken had been nothing but babble in his ears because he’d had to focus all his energy on staying still when, with every fiber of his being, he’d wanted to go to her, take her into his arms and act on the proposition she’d just made him. How many times had he imagined having her beneath him, plunging into her again and again?

Now, he’d hurt her—the last thing he’d wanted. But it was for her own good, and for his. Roman raised his hands, intending to run them through his hair. When he saw they were shaking, he dropped them back down on the blanket. Something akin to fear moved through him.

No other woman had ever affected him this way. For years, he’d been guiltily lusting after Philly Angelis—ever since she was sixteen. He’d taught himself to live with the steady thrum of desire he’d felt whenever he was near her. And for years, he’d been able to control it by reminding himself that she was too young for him. But since she’d returned from college a year ago, all of his discipline and control had been slipping away. Whenever she was near, desire escalated into a raging need that bordered on pain. There’d been an incident at the Angelises’ family restaurant, the Poseidon, when he was sure Kit had caught him watching Philly. Roman had seen something in Kit’s eyes. A question? A warning? But then Theo and Nik had joined them, and Kit had said nothing.

But Roman didn’t need a warning from Kit. Even without the age difference, he could never act on his attraction to her. The Angelises were family to him. Kit and Nik and Theo were the brothers he’d never had. Becoming sexually involved with their little sister was out of the question. Her father, Spiro, a man Roman looked on as a second father, was an old-fashioned Greek. He’d expect commitment. Marriage.

Hell, Philly would expect it. And deserve it. And Roman had long ago decided that marriage was not on his agenda. Oliver Enterprises would always be his first priority. Ever since he was a boy, he’d dreamed of running the company his father had created. But there was a price to pay. A wife and family would always suffer from neglect. He’d experienced that personally and so had his sisters. His father had buried himself in the business while they’d been growing up, and even more so after their mother’s death. Roman had spent more time with his younger sisters than Mario Oliver ever had. He was now on wife number three, and she was already constantly complaining that she saw nothing of him.

I’m very attracted to you and I want to make love with you.

God. This time Roman managed to run his still-trembling hands through his hair. Words always made things more real. When she’d looked into his eyes and spoken them, he’d very nearly lost it. He could have had her right here in his hospital bed. Or on the floor. Or in the chair where he’d been sitting and fantasizing about her. It would have been wild and crazy and perhaps once would have been enough. But Roman didn’t think so.

He’d done the right thing, the only thing he could do. Whatever hurt Philly had experienced today would pale in comparison to the way he’d hurt her if he acted on his feelings. She’d keep her distance now. He’d stay away from her family’s restaurant and gradually the feelings would fade.

They had to.

He glanced down at the business papers he’d been reading, but it was a long time before he could actually see them.

1

One month later…

“YES, CALL ME BACK just as soon as you have some information on flights.” I hung up the phone on my travel agent and turned to face my two curious cats.

Well, Pretzels was curious. And a bit apprehensive. He could always sense it when I was thinking of leaving him for any length of time. Not that I did it very often. Peanuts, his sister, had a more complacent nature. Though they looked very much alike, a pure silvery-gray with white paws, they had very different personalities.

Right now, both cats were seated on the wide window seat of the small apartment I kept in the mansion my aunt Cass had inherited from her father. The house was huge, and it took a lot of money to keep the place going, so about four years ago the family had decided to renovate it into apartments. My brothers and I each paid rent on our own places, and my dad and new stepmother, Helena lived in the gardener’s cottage. When we eventually moved out, Aunt Cass could continue to make a good income by renting the apartments out.

“I’m going to go to Greece,” I informed my two pets. Saying the words aloud helped make my plan more of a reality, and a little thrill moved through me. I hadn’t told anyone yet, so Pretzels and Peanuts were functioning as my test audience. It was a role they often played. My family tended to be a bit protective of me, and I wasn’t sure how they’d react to my trip. Of course, now that I’d made my decision, I was going to go to Greece no matter what, but I’d have a better time if they weren’t worrying too much.

Pretzels immediately leaped off the window seat and joined me on the couch. His apprehension had escalated into high anxiety. I lifted him onto my lap and began to stroke him. “You’ll be with Aunt Cass and Kit.” I pictured first one apartment and then the other in my mind. Then I pictured Aunt Cass and Kit. Almost immediately he began to calm. “They’ll take good care of you.”

With a sigh, Pretzels settled himself firmly on my lap as if to keep me there. He was a bit possessive of me. Peanuts remained on the window seat cleaning her paws. I sensed she was already anticipating the extra treats she would receive from Aunt Cass and Kit.