Chapter Three
Leo is Born Leader
Breakfast and lunch passed, and still no sign of Leonidas. The evening before, he led Kalista through an empty hallway to her rooms. He’d laid a chaste kiss, nothing at all like the one they had shared on the beach, atop her forehead and bid her sweet dreams. Sweet. Holy hell, there had been nothing sweet about her dreams. They had been raw and erotic. She’d awakened in a hot sweat twice.
Helena rapped at her door far too early. When Kalista managed to stumble to open it, she had been greeted with a squeal and a slew of thanks. “You did it. I mean, of course you did, but so soon.”
Yawning, she backed up, shocked to find coffee, tea, and juice on the table on her balcony. “How?”
“Oh, they snuck in about thirty minutes ago. No one knew what you liked, so it’s all there. Breakfast is served buffet-style downstairs, but if you prefer, they’ll bring you a tray.”
“No I don’t need to be waited on hand and foot. Let me jump in the shower.” She paused to pour a cup of coffee before heading into the bathroom, leaving the door cracked so she could converse with the teen. “So, what has you so wound up?”
“Oh my goddess. It’s so exciting. I can’t even…okay, I can, but I can’t.” She squealed again. The door opened, and the teen stood holding up a paper while Kalista reached for a towel. “He signed it.”
Helena shook so much Kalista couldn’t see anything but black and blue writing. “He signed what?”
“My F.I.T. papers. I’m taking a quick summer course in August after the festival and then, if I still like it, I can apply next year.” The girl spun around with her paper to her chest. Kalista took the opening to jump in the shower. “I knew you could convince him but, wow, in one night. He is saying yes to everyone. Normally we get a sarcastic comment and a ‘I will think about it.’”
“Perhaps he is embarrassed everyone watched us last night.” She added, under her breath, “I know I am.”
“Are you kidding me?” Helena stood outside the walk-in shower. “I have never seen anything so romantic. Like something out of a movie.”
She had hoped when she came down to breakfast he would have come out to say good morning. Instead, the room quieted as she entered, but then the diners greeted her with warmth and the conversations started again. People came, ate, and left. Some took their breakfast with them, but it appeared everyone in the family ate together or at least came together to get their food.
Returning from a trek around the villa, a scream rent the air. She raced in the direction of the sound and found a three-year-old with skinned knees, scuffed palms, and a cut on the forehead bleeding. The young mother tried to look over his injuries and calm the child all at once.
“Oh, poor guy. Can I check his wounds?” she said, praying the woman spoke English.
“Ms. Vidal.” The mother tried to smile but failed.
“I’m a nurse.” She sat on the ground at the little boy’s side. “Hey, big guy. Can I take a peek?” Lifting her gaze to his mother, she asked, “What’s his name?”
“Augie.”
“Hi, Augie. My name’s Kali.”
The little boy’s cries lowered in volume as he nodded at her.
“I need a first aid kit and some ice packs,” Kali said to no one in particular in a calm voice.
The mother ran inside and, within seconds, a half dozen people surrounded her, but her attention stayed on the boy. She pressed a gauze pad to his forehead, assessing him. When the mom came back with ice packs, Kali offered her a grin. “It’s okay, Mom. It looks far worse than it is. I don’t think he even needs stitches.”
After only a few moments, she rocked Augie on her lap as she held the pressure on the head wound while the little boy played with the charm bracelet she wore.
The crowd parted to admit Leo to her side. “Hey, champ. Those feet get tangled up on you again?” Leo asked squatting.
Sticking his thumb in his mouth, the little boy nodded.
Leo brushed a stray hair from her eyes. “What do you need? Can we move you into the house where it’s cooler?”
“No, he’s finally calm.” She kissed the top of his downy head. “I don’t want to get him going again. We can just sit here for a bit, right, Augie?”
The little boy gave her a tearful smile, and she gave him a little squeeze in return.
“You can’t be comfortable on these flagstones.”
“I’ll survive.” She replaced the gauze with a new one to absorb the seeping blood then offered his mom a reassuring wink. “Head wounds always seem worse than they are.”
When Augie turned and reached for his mother, she let him go. “Hold the pressure, so I can clean up the other wounds.”
Ten minutes later, the little boy was all bandaged up and ready to take on the world. Leo helped Kalista up. “You are covered in blood.”
The beautiful silk blouse was blotched and stained. “Oh no.”
“We can get you another shirt. We can’t get another Augie.” He guided her toward the house with a hand on her lower back.
His words were winners, the kind to cement him into her heart. As they reached the stairs, she turned, hesitant. “I think I can find my way back and change, you don’t need to escort me.”
“What if I want to?”
“Don’t you have work to do?”
“You’ll soon learn I always have work to do. But the same files on my desk five minutes ago will be on my desk when I get back.”
“With how many more added?”
“A good question.” He increased the pressure on her lower back, urging her up the stairs, and a slight shiver ran through her spine. “But if I don’t take a break, we’ll all feel it.”
“So what are you planning to do when we reach my room?”
She could have laughed at the way his brows furrowed. “Honestly, I’ve no idea. Perhaps we should go for a swim. It’s the hottest part of the day and about the time I try to get some laps in.”
“Well, don’t let me stop you.” No way in hell would she be getting into a bathing suit with him yet.
“Please swim with me. I have a conference call in”—he glanced at his watch—“a little over and hour.”
“And the only place we can spend this next hour is in your swimming pool.”
“My bed is available, but I thought you might think it too soon.”
She stopped. “No. Definitely not your bed.”
“Yours?”
“Give me ten minutes to get ready, and we’ll swim.”
“That was entirely too easy.”
She gaped at him. “You tricked me!” She couldn’t be too angry. She wanted to spend the rest of the day making love to the man before her, but something primal within her warned she would forever be altered in ways she could not comprehend. So, she’d swim.
Chuckling, he leaned in and lifted her chin so her lips closed then brushed them with his. “See you in ten.”
As she turned into her room, Helena came out of the closet and Kalista jumped back.
Not acknowledging her fright, Helena held out a hand. “Give me the blouse and I’ll see if I can’t get those stains out. Your bathing suit and a cover-up are in the bathroom. Do you want me to apply some sunscreen or would you rather Leo do it?”
Images of him slathering her with tropical-scented lotion had her clenching her thighs tight. “Would you?”
“Oh, and you’ll need a hat. This sun is unforgiving, and your skin is not prepared for its onslaught.” Why Kalista thought the other woman would turn and give her privacy at this point she had no idea, so, resigned she stripped the light-pink blouse off and handed it over. Helena examined the fabric. “Augie is all rough and tumble. We love him, but he can be a running disaster.”
“How many children are on the island?”
“There are five under five. Five between six and ten.”
“I’m surprised I didn’t see more this morning.” Kalista went into the bathroom to change but left the door ajar because she had learnt already a closed door seemed to be the surefire way for Helena to come in.
“They eat in the nursery,” the teen called to her.
Kalista shimmied into the one-piece Van Gogh-inspired bathing suit. She steeled herself before checking the mirror. When she did, she viewed a woman with serious curves, but the suit did an amazing job, lifting and hiding her flaws. She couldn’t hide her hips and thighs, but she didn’t feel like a beached whale, either.
“Many on this island would kill for your curves.”
“Do you ever knock?”
“Oops sorry.” Her rap echoed in the bathroom. “I have to get a picture of this outfit, too.”
“Absolutely not.” She might feel okay about heading out to the pool with a man who made his sexual attraction to her obvious, but she drew the line at a picture of her that might be seen by a bunch of fashionistas who perpetuated the stereotype thin was the only beauty. “Any other outfit. Not this one.”
“But?”
“I believe Kalista said no.” Leo’s voice wafted into the room.
Helena wagged her eyebrows at Kalista before pulling her out of the bathroom. “When you see her, you’ll understand why I want a picture.”
“No.” She planted her feet when her eyes locked with Leo’s. His golden eyes glowed like molten metal. She stumbled back, feeling like his prey.
His slow appraisal took her breath away and, when he stepped forward, Helena squeaked and ran, closing the door behind her. “Nothing like leaving me alone in the lions den.”
“What did you say?” Leo eyed her suspiciously. “We had better head where there are other people.”
Gnawing on her lower lip, she wondered why she felt bereft at his sudden change of tack. “Let me get my cover-up and hat.”
“Do you have to?”
As she lifted the cover-up, the sunscreen fell on the counter in the en suite. “Shoot.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” When she reentered the room he stood by the bed with her hat. “Helena was going to…”
He waited for her to continue but eventually encouraged. “Going to?”
“Apply the sunscreen.”
His closed his eyes and reached for the sunscreen. “Turn around.”
She turned her back to him and pulled her hair over one shoulder. Every hormone on her body rose to active alert. Sudden desire to push him onto the bed behind them and have her way with him overwhelmed her, and he hadn’t even touched her yet.
“You could test a saint,” he ground out before he began smoothing the lotion over her bare skin. Heat so intense she thought her body might go up in flames. His fingers paused on her pulse point on her neck. “If we’re going to get out of here with your honor intact, we need to leave now.”
Casting a glance over her shoulder, she shuddered at the lust in the deep-golden eyes. “What if I don’t want to swim? What if we stayed here?”
“We can’t. I can’t.” His breath hot on her nape sent shivers down her spine and, as he stepped away, left her uncertain and dejected. “Where’s your hat?”
Had she misread him? Embarrassment engulfed her, and she had a gut-wrenching need to hide. She fumbled with her cover-up. Turning, she offered him the best smile she could summon. “Shall we?”
He cocked his head to the side and stared her down. “Kalista.”
“You yourself said you didn’t have much time.” She slipped on her sandals and fled the room. She could sense him behind her which surprised her, as she couldn’t hear him on the marble floor even though no matter how quiet she tried to be in the hallway she always sounded like a horse on pavement.
With every step she wavered between he wanted her, had she moved too fast, come on too strong and turned him off, to had she just misread everything. But the kiss the night before had been true, this crazy connection between them no delusion. She paused at the archway to the outside. Turning, she found him staring at her with her hat at his side. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” His voice held a strangled element.
Well good, let him feel the discomfort, too. Helena offered her an excited greeting from the pool then switched her attention to her brother, her smile faltered. She stormed over to lean into her brother as they exchanged a few words in Greek, and to Kalista’s surprise, Helena then bopped her brother upside the head.
Leonidas rubbed the back of his head and stared at his sister. Had all the women in his life gone crazy? Technically, Kalista wasn’t in his life yet, but she would be if he had to relocate to America for the next year to court her. “What the hell?”
“You are an idiot,” Helena said in Greek.
“Excuse me.”
“For a man who has such a brilliant business mind, you are an idiot when it comes to women.”
“I have never had any issues getting a woman.”
“Then why is your mate across the pool encased in a block of ice even Helios couldn’t thaw?” She bopped him again. “I left you in the perfect predicament. She looked gorgeous and felt great about herself and in need of someone to rub sunscreen into her alabaster skin.”
“I don’t think she’ll let me touch her.” He glanced in her direction, glad for his dark sunglasses. She lay on the large daybed at the other end of the pool. As far from him as possible. “She needs sunglasses.”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“She needs sunglasses.” He repeated this time in English to reiterate his comment but knew his sister would continue to berate him in Greek.
The Greek curse from his lioness sister had him turning back to her, but she started barking orders to one of the nosy relations hanging back from their discussion. “Somebody get Kalista a pair of sunglasses since my idiot brother can’t focus on anything else at the moment.” She turned back to him. “Happy? Now what the hell did you do?”
“One minute I’m applying the sunscreen, the next she’s giving me the cold shoulder and covering up as effectively as if she wore a winter coat.”
“So what happened between those two moments?”
“I’m not discussing it with you.”
“I’m not a baby anymore. I know all about the birds and the bees.”
His protective streak roared forward to demand where she learned about those two things. He drew in a deep, slow breath. More heavy-handedness would have his sister stomping off and solve nothing. “You’re still my baby sister and that will never change.”
“You came on too fast, didn’t you?”
“No. I slowed us way down.”
“Did you stop yourself, or did you stop her advances?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes, it matters. Because women come on to you all the time, you might not realize that is not something all women are comfortable doing. Kalista is one of those more reserved women. She isn’t like us. She can’t understand this power of attraction. We grow up being told you will find your mate, and the mating fever will complete you, control you, and it can overwhelm you. It will burn into you. She has been raised to believe she will meet some nice boy, date, fall in love then get married and have babies. This…” She placed a hand on her heart. “What we go through is not her normal—not even close.”
“I can’t drag her into something she doesn’t understand. So what do you suggest?”
“Make our normal hers. Everyone can see your connection. Hell, she spent all morning in the house, staring at your office door until she finally took off. Not just you, but our environment makes her nervous. And she doesn’t even know we are lions. She’s uncomfortable with the amount of money being spent on her. She told me the most expensive piece of clothing she’d ever bought was a pair of boots she wanted for months, but she felt guilty and returned them before she wore them. Those boots cost less than one of those sandals on her feet. She isn’t part of our world.”
“She will be.”
“Goddess willing, yes. But tonight, when the other prides show up, there’ll be purists who’ll see any mixed mating as an abomination. It doesn’t matter if the fates have decreed it. There will be lionesses who still believe if they get rid of her they’ll have a chance with you.”
“I know all this. Until we have completed the bonding, she is in danger. It’s why there are betas never far away from her.”
“She has the fight and strength in her. But if you don’t fix whatever you screwed up between you, now, she’ll be on a plane in the next few days, and you will lose your window for this year.”
He ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
“Go to her, and grovel if you have to.”
“Grovel?” The word tasted like ash on his lips.
“How about starting by asking her what upset her?”
When had his sister become a smart young woman? He leaned in, kissed her cheek, accepted the pair of glasses from an out-of-breath cousin, and circled the pool to the shaded area he had created for Kalista today. The pool had two teak daybeds with more giant pillows than he believed anyone needed. Although the regular canopies shaded, they were not enough to protect his American mate from the harsh Mediterranean sun. Workmen had labored much of the morning, hanging canvas canopies over and around the far daybed to offer extra protection.
Her eyes were closed, and she jumped slightly when he lowered himself to sit next to her on the cushion. “I thought you might need these.”
Even with her hat on and in the shade, she put a hand up to block the sun. “Thank you.”
He laid a hand on her bare hip and thanked the goddess when she didn’t move away from his touch. “I’m sorry.”
“For?”
“For whatever upset you. Can you tell me what has you so distressed, I can’t fix what I don’t know is wrong.”
She sat up and pulled her knees to her chest, forcing him to remove his hand. “I’m more embarrassed than anything else.”
“What do you possibly have to be embarrassed about?”
“Do you have any idea how out of my league you are? I threw myself at you, and you obviously weren’t as into it as I was.”
He forced her chin up so she would meet his gaze. “I remember being two seconds away from making love to you, but had I done so, we wouldn’t have left your room for a week.”
“Oh.” The delightful O her mouth formed made him want to kiss her senseless. But he held his libido on a tight leash right now.
“Never doubt I want you with every fiber of my damned being.”
“Now I feel stupid.” She laid her cheek on her knee. “You, this whole place, are turning me into someone I don’t recognize.”
“Stop tearing yourself up. When we make love for the first time, it will not be a quickie over my lunch hour. I want to take my time, learning what you want and like. And while I tried to be a gentleman, I inadvertently sent you a mixed signal and caused you to believe I didn’t want you.”
“I…”
“Remember, only truth between us.”
“I’m uncertain. When we are together and you touch me, I need you then when you are away I doubt myself. I’m usually a strong, self-sufficient woman, I’ve never needed a man, yet I need you. I hate the thought of going home without you, but feel guilty for not being with my father.”
“Your father is stable, and they are moving him to a rehab next Tuesday if all goes well.”
“How did you know?”
“I called this morning and chatted with your two brothers. Both of whom agree you need a vacation.” The information her family had given him had formed a fuller picture of the woman she was. Dedicated, hardworking, and selfless had been the three words repeated. She hadn’t had a vacation in years. They begged him to convince her to stay, allow herself to decompress before coming back to take on the care of her father.
“But…”
“Your father’s concerned about you, too. He is in great hands at the hospital, and the rehab will take over next week, but he will need you when they discharge him.” He didn’t say he intended to have her father brought here to the island to heal and recover. “Until then, he worries and believes you need to relax.”
“It’s not easy.”
“Because you are a caring, empathetic person.” He stood and extended a hand to her. “Come, let’s swim before I have to head back in to deal with business. I would rather spend time with you.”
“Why me?” She let him lift her up. “I know I asked you last night but…”
He placed her palm on his bare chest over his heart. “This leads me. And tells me you are the woman for me.” He wanted to tell her she was already his woman, but no modern woman would respond well to his primitive need to make her his. “When I first laid eyes on you in my office, you took my breath away.”
“I was a complete mess.”
“I didn’t see a mess. I saw my destiny.” He led her down the steps into the pool. On any other day he would have dived in and started laps. Once waist-deep, he pulled her against his chest and laughed at her squeak of surprise. “I need you to do me a favor.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck as he moved them into the deep end. “If I can.”
“Helena and a few of the cousins are going to come and pamper you this afternoon. I want you to let them do it.” He wanted her to feel like a queen. His queen. “Tonight, you are going to meet a great number of people, and many of them are the type you think I should be with. The tall model type. I don’t want your doubts to play in. And not all of them are kind. Some I deal with because I have to.”
“Are you trying to run me off?”
Fear ran through him until he saw her cheeky grin.
“When I’m in your arms, I can tell who you want.”
“How?” he asked.
She wrapped her legs around his waist, pressed against his erection, and giggled as he hissed.
“Minx, you are going to make it impossible for me to work.”
“No, just for you to stay away from me.”
“I don’t need any help in that department.” He claimed her lips. Gripping her ass, he pressed her into further contact with the evidence of his arousal. As the kiss deepened, he knew he couldn’t be the one to pull away this time. She had to do it. He learned from his mistakes.
At his breaking point, when he was about to claim his mate right there in front of everyone in the pool, she pulled away, gasping for air. “You’re right. If we do any more today I’ll be useless for weeks.”
“Not much of a deterrent.” Imagining making love to her until she couldn’t walk sent all the blood from his brain to his cock, and his lion roared.
“Okay, you two.” Helena coughed from the edge of the pool. “You adelfós need to get back to work, and, Kali, we need to prepare you for tonight.”
“The proper way to announce your presence is to cough first, make a ton of noise, and then say something. Not the other way around.” Kalista blushed a beautiful share of crimson.
Unable to prevent the grin forming on his lips, he said, “You sound like you have experience in this.”
“I’m the baby sister, too,” Kalista admitted.
“Give us five minutes alone, Helena,” he demanded, not breaking his focus on Kalista.
“You have five. No more.” His sister left them, but not before going into a coughing fit.
He helped her out of the pool and returned her to her room, holding her hand, but he left her at the door. “For reasons I think we both understand, I’m going to bid you ado here. I will meet you downstairs at seven.”
“When do your guests start arriving?”
He wanted to hear her call them “their” guests. Soon he reminded himself. Tonight the moon moved from Cancer into Leo. By having her at his side this night, he would make his claim on her and a clear statement to the women. Whether they choose to listen would remain to be seen. “Some should have stepped on the southern dock about half an hour ago. Mostly those with children, wanting to get settled before the big dinner tonight. Two more boats are due in fifteen minutes, and then two every hour until about seven. Tomorrow, more boats will arrive.”
“That’s a lot of boats.”
“It’s a lot of people,” Helena said coming from the room into the hallway.
“Should I have coughed?”
“No,” they said in unison.
“Good, now if you would be kind enough to get lost. You are delaying our schedule. You will shower, shave, and, in thirty minutes, be perfect. A woman’s perfection takes hours.”
“I never wanted perfection,” he said but gave her a quick kiss and headed down the hall to his own room. Once he had the door closed he stripped out of his swim trunks, stretched, and shifted. His lion had been contained for too long, and now, with his sexual frustration at an all-time high, he needed to blow off some steam.
He roared loudly, letting those on the island know he maintained control. Seconds later, his betas returned his call, followed by a few random guests. He hadn’t placed Kalista in the room next to him because of proximity. He did so because the Marble Room had been long ago soundproofed to allow the lions to shift when humans entered the premises. How he wanted to prowl, feel the ground beneath his paws, but he didn’t have time and didn’t want to risk Kalista seeing him in this form just yet. She was falling in love with him as a person. Him as a lion might be too much for her to handle.