Page 7 of Billion-Dollar Baby Shock

He nodded.Tara asked, ‘Where?’

‘A small island not far from the mainland.I’ll have you back just after dawn, I promise.’

Tara swallowed.This evening was definitely taking on a dreamlike aspect.He took her hand again and said, ‘Trust me?’

CHAPTER TWO

Tara looked at him.Even though he was intimidatingly gorgeous, sexy and very intense, there was something about him—some kind of vulnerability she sensed that resonated deep inside her.She did trust him.

She nodded.He led her over to the helicopter and she clambered in as elegantly as she could and sat down.He pulled the straps around her and his hands brushed against her breasts.She sucked in a breath.He looked at her and his eyes were fiery gold.He gave her a set of headphones to put on over her ears.

He then went and got into the passenger seat beside the pilot and she was glad because it gave her a chance to regain her breath and a portion of her functioning brain cells.

She’d never been in a helicopter and when it lifted off the ground and wobbled, she gripped the seat on either side of her thighs.The man looked back at her and mouthed,Okay?and Tara just gulped and nodded.

Soon they were high in the sky and flying over the ancient city.The Acropolis looked like a toy model on the hill.They were flying over the port with hundreds of boats in their berths.Big ferries.Then they were overthe sea.Tara could see islands in the distance, lights like jewels in harbours.

After about thirty minutes the helicopter started to go lower and Tara could make out an island.There was a string of lights around the coast and further inland.Gradually she could make out that they were landing on a floodlit helipad on what seemed to be lush grounds on a hill overlooking the town at the harbour.

She could see a villa now, a modern minimalist’s dream.Flat roof and white lines and lots of glass.There was a pool, glittering under the milky glow of a full moon.

When the helicopter had landed the man jumped out and came around to help Tara, undoing her safety belt.She stepped out onto the ground and felt wobbly on the grass in her high heels.He said something to the pilot over the din of the rotor blades and then he was leading her away.She watched as the small aircraft lifted up again into the sky and banked left before disappearing back towards Athens.

So now she was alone on an island with a total stranger who she’d just agreed to spend the night with.The fact that no one in her family had any idea where she was occurred to her and she felt foolish.She’d spent the best part of ten years making sure she knew where every one of her siblings was at any given moment and now she was behaving like a recalcitrant teenager.

The whirring rhythmic beat of the helicopter was gone and in its place was a dense silence broken only by night insects.But then Tara could make out the faintest sounds of music and laughter and talking.The man said, ‘When the wind blows a certain way it’s possible to hear sounds from the harbour below.’

Tara found that somewhat comforting.They weren’ttotally isolated.He took her hand again and led her across the lawn towards the villa.Lights came on as they walked through the garden, presumably solar powered.

There was a sleek terrace by the pool and the water looked serene and very still.Tara could imagine the view in daylight must be outstanding.

He was at a door now and sliding it open.Tara hung back.‘Don’t you need keys?’

He looked at her.‘I have a housekeeper who opens the place up when I’m coming.’

‘You’d already planned to come here?’Had he intended on bringing a woman here tonight all along?And she just happened to be the lucky girl?The thought left a sour taste in her mouth.

He faced her.‘No, but I rang her on my way to ask her to open up and bring up some supplies.’

‘Oh…’ This was so far removed from Tara’s existence that she wasn’t sure where to start trying to figure everything out.

He walked towards her.‘I wasn’t planning this… I’d had every intention of going back to my home in Athens but…after meeting you I wanted to come somewhere very private.’

Something else struck Tara.She looked at his hand but it was bare, and back up to his face.‘Are you married?’

If she didn’t see the almost visible shudder go through him she wouldn’t have believed it.He said, ‘Theos.No.Absolutely not.’

Tara almost smiled at his reaction.‘Not a fan of the institution, I take it?’

Now he scowled.‘No.’

Tara thought again of letting someone know where she was and said, ‘Do you mind if I use your bathroom?’

The scowl disappeared.He slid open the door wide and Tara could see into a vast open space.‘Of course, let me show you where to go.’

He directed her to a sleek and very modern bathroom stocked full of luxury products.She picked up a hand cream and smelled it and closed her eyes at the gorgeous scent—a mixture of bergamot and something like orange.Who was this guy who could just rustle up a helicopter to bring him to an island and the kind of villa Tara saw only on property shows about millionaires and billionaires?

She pulled her mobile phone out of her evening bag and sent a quick text to her brother, Oisín, dropping a pin to her location and saying,