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CHAPTER ONE

‘STAY’

Milly Jah her at the sound of that single word, uttered in a husky voice by a man she’d never actually seen in person Her employer

‘Pardon?’ She turned around slowly, blinking into the diainst the Aegean’s azure sky, the tiniest sliver of leh the heavy loomy shroud of the study it could have been the depths of a dark winter’s night, the thick stone walls of the villa keeping out the island’s baking heat

‘Stay’

It was clearly a command, uttered with brusque authority, and so slowly she closed the door, the final-sounding click echoing in through the room

She hadn’t even realised he was in the study when she’d opened the door to do her usual dusting, only to stu in the shadows, barely visible

Alexandro Santos’ instructions had been clear—he was not to be disturbed Ever And now she’d unwittingly done just that, because she’d heard the car one out Her heart clih the gloory? How could she have been so careless? ‘I’m sorry, Kyrie Santos I didn’t realise you were here Isis there so you need?’ she asked in as steady a voice as she could

In the nearly six months since she’d been hired as housekeeper by Alexandro Santos, she’d never spoken to him, save for the first, rather abrupt conversation on the telephone when he’d offered her employment This was the first time he’d been back to his luxurious retreat on the Greek island of Naxos since she’d started work, and she’d been tiptoeing around the villa for the last two days, trying to avoid him since he’d made it so clear he didn’t want to be bothered At all And now she ht have messed it up completely

‘I’ to break the taut silence ‘I won’t disturb you again’

‘Never ers; she sensed the , Miss James’ He spoke in a cold drawl, more than a hint of darkness in his tone She wished she could see his face; the rooht barely touched the top of his ht-dark head

She blinked, her eyes straining to see more, and, as if he sensed her scrutiny, heto theso his back was to her, the light gilding his outline in gold—all six feet three of powerfully builttautly across his back and broad shoulders

‘Yes,’ he answered his own question ‘I do need so’

‘Then how can I help you?’ Milly asked, glad that thereshe could do ‘Would you like a mealor the room tidied?’ She trailed off, because she had the sudden, inexplicable sense that he didn’t want either of those things, and she felt foolish for offering them

Alexandro Santos didn’t answer her He hadn’t moved, and she still couldn’t see his face She knehat he looked like from the Internet search she’d done when she’d first been hired: dark hair, sculpted cheekbones, cold, blue eyes, a body of leashed and lethal power

Ridiculously handsome,

but in a way that had trailed a chilly finger of unease along her spine He’d looked both intent and remote, a fierce determination in those blue, blue eyes, a sense of distance about him so even in a crowd he stood out, apart Now she couldn’t see him at all, and that wasn’t any better