Claimed by the Sicilian Tycoon (10 page)

Abruptly
he found himself wondering exactly what sort of home Lyra lived in, and how
different it was from this apartment.
 

“Do
you like it?” he found himself asking.

She
grinned. “What’s not to like? The view is beautiful, the area is gorgeous, and
there are actual shops downstairs in the same building.”

“There
is also a gym and a swimming pool, though you are the last person who needs to
use either of those facilities.”

Lyra
laughed. “You don’t think I need to tone up a bit?”

“Are
you serious?”

“No.
I’m not. I’m aware that my body is pretty much perfect.”

“Not
many women can say that.”

She
flicked her hair—worn loose around her shoulders—with her hand, and Andros
watched as it fell down her shoulders. Last night it had fanned around his face
as she rode him to orgasm. God, he wanted more.

“Thing
is, Andros,” she said as she walked over to the window and looked out on to the
view. “I do nothing to make it that way. I should lie and tell you I diet and
exercise constantly, but I don’t. I’ve looked like this since I was in my teens
and it doesn’t change.”

“You
are beautiful,” he said, because she was. Dressed in one of his shirts that
reached down to her mid thighs, she’d clinched it shut with one of his belts,
teaming it with her ridiculously high heels. He’d offered to drive by her
apartment, pick her up some clothing, but she’d shook her head and said his
shirt was fine. He couldn’t help but agree.
 

“By
chance.”

“What
do you mean?”

“I
didn’t do anything to look like this,” she said. “I didn’t work for it or earn
it, it’s just a genetic lottery and I don’t even know who it’s from.”

“What
do you mean?”

Lyra
shrugged, turning from the window to look him square in the eye. “I never knew
my parents, or at least if I did I don’t remember them. My dad walked out on my
mom from what I can gather, and my mom dumped me when I was very small. I don’t
remember really. I was too young.”

“What
happened to her?” Andros asked, intrigued by this small insight into Lyra’s
life.

“My
mom? I have no idea,” she said. “Only thing I do know is that she was not
parental material. I managed to get my hands on my file once, when I was
younger, and it said a few things. It was…uncomfortable reading.”

“What
of your sister?”

“My
sister?”

“You
mentioned her yesterday.”

“I
did? Well actually, I have two and they are both exquisite. Rachel in
particular is heartbreakingly beautiful.”

“I
doubt she could come close to you.”

Lyra
rolled her eyes. “You’d be surprised.”

“And
the other sister?”

“Penny.
She is also beautiful, but differently so. She’s all ice and haughtiness. We
call her the cat because I swear she could be one in another life.”

“And
she let you all go, your mother I mean?” Andros asked, baffled by such a
thought. His own family was close knit. He spent a significant amount of time
with them, ensured they were all well looked after. His parents, in fact, were
currently on a six month tour of Australia, his younger brothers in the States,
and he would visit them all fairly soon.
 
“What are your sisters’ ages?” he demanded.

Lyra
rubbed her hands up and down her arms, the only indication she’d given so far
that she was uncomfortable.
Interesting.

“I
don’t want to talk about this anymore,” she said. “Let’s go in the bedroom and
have sex again.”

Her
abrupt change of topic did not have the desired effect. Andros stepped forward,
intrigued to find out what had shaken her usual flippant demeanor.

“I
have meetings in an hour. Tell me instead about these sisters of yours.”

“No
more sex?” she pouted. He wanted to bite her lip.

“I
satisfied you not long ago.”

“I
think you’ll have you work cut out keeping me sated, lover.”

“You
are deliberately changing the subject.”

She
laughed. “Mystery, remember? Leave it be.”

Andros
narrowed his eyes, tempted to push her a bit more, but his cell vibrated, and
he really did have to get going. “Someone will arrive today with clothes and
such for you, and we will pick up this conversation when I return tonight. I
will also satisfy you quite thoroughly then.”

“You
arranged that this morning, too? The clothes woman?”

“I
did,” he confirmed, though in truth he’d left it in the hands of his assistant,
Marjorie, a terrifying woman who ran his office with an efficiency that
outpaced even his. She never questioned his requests, and this morning when
he’d asked what apartments were on the company’s books, where a personal
shopper could be found and so on, she’d simply stated that she would take care
of it.

He
expected no less.

“I
have clothes though,” Lyra said. “I can go get them whilst you’re at work.”

“Mistresses
are provided for. It will please me to dress you in silks and such. And this
is
what you asked for.”

“Yes…”

“What
you came after me for. Why you schemed and planned for.”

She
rolled her eyes. “I did not scheme.”

“The
register?” he reminded her.

“Okay,
well, just a little. How else would someone like me be able to get the
attention of someone like you? And it wasn’t huge amounts of scheming anyway.
Nothing shady.”

He
shook his head. “With your looks, Lyra, you would only have had to walk past me
in the street. That would have been enough.”

“Say
I did,” she asked, her eyes twinkling. “What would you have done?”

“If
you walked past me in the street?”

“Uh
huh.”

“I
would have stopped you and escorted you to my car,” he said. “Events would then
have played out very much like last night.”

Was
it just last
night? It felt like a long time ago to him now, such was Lyra’s allure.

“What
if I refused?” she asked.

“You
would not.”

“And
how do you know?”

“Because
we would not be here now if that were the case.”

“True.”

His
cell vibrated again, and he frowned. “I must leave. Come, kiss me goodbye, and
I will see you tonight.”

She
did, but the kiss was nowhere near enough. If anything, it only inflamed him
into wanting more.

“Don’t
stay away too long,” she whispered against his lips, and his cock throbbed.
Andros wondered if that was going to be its permanent state from now on.

He
nodded stiffly and strode off towards the door. As he closed it on his
mistress’ new apartment he saw her sink down onto one of the ridiculously plush
couches, and his only thought was that he would very much like to be in there,
sinking with her.

Chapter Eleven

Lyra
couldn’t sit still for long. There was too much to explore, too much to look
over. She waited until Andros was gone and leapt up, eager to learn about the
new world she’d been catapulted into. Well, maybe not catapulted. She’d
launched herself head first, and part of her couldn’t actually believe it had
all come together.

She
had him. Exactly where she wanted him. The hard work was done.

It
was time for some fun.

And
oh lord, there was certainly going to be lots of that, she thought, unable to
help the grin spreading across her face. Andros was sexy, sculpted, he was
everything she imagined and more. Her muscles still ached slightly as she moved
around, and she paused to kick off her heels, padding barefoot into the
kitchen.

A
coffee machine stood in the corner, and Lyra rooted through the cupboards until
she found a few packs of instant along with some dried milk. There was nothing
else but a few bottles of water, her stomach grumbled.

She
was hungry.

Famished
in fact, the sexercise having given her appetite a firm shove. She walked back
into the living area, and opened up her little clutch purse. In total there was
fifty-three pounds in there, enough for some lunch certainly, but Lyra was
loathe to waste money when she could hold out until dinner. Andros was bound to
take her somewhere and there was coffee to quell the hunger pangs.

She
thought about what she’d said, about how she never needed to diet to stay trim.
The truth of it was, though, that money was never something she and her sisters
had a lot of. They got by on the bare minimum they could bring in through their
jobs. Waitressing, cleaning, bar work. It was minimum wage stuff and once they
pooled it all, paid their bills, and whatnot, there was very rarely a lot left
for fancy food. They ate the basics and were grateful for it. After all, they’d
lived in some rough places where food was a luxury, and that attitude had
carried them into their later years.

Then,
too, was the fact that over the last few months they’d saved desperately,
constantly, for enough money to carry out their missions. Penny had needed her
specialist equipment, Rachel enough money to carry off her deception—it had
soon mounted up. Only Lyra had insisted that she was fine with a few quid in
her purse and a sex bomb outfit. Did she feel weird expecting Andros to feed
her?

She
thought about it for a moment but shook her head. This was what she’d asked
for. Him to look after her and there seemed little point in feeling shameful
about the fact. She was giving him exactly what he wanted and he would do the
same in return.

She
headed back into the kitchen and set the kettle on. Soon the smell of
coffee—instant or no—filled her nostrils. It made her stomach gurgle, but Lyra
ignored it. She took the coffee and a glass of water and settled onto the
couch. Thinking.

About
him. About her. About how soon she could ask for the money for
The Point
. A week? Two? A month? Maybe
she wouldn’t even need to ask, she thought. If a whole month went by then
Andros would probably have had enough. He’d give her a parting ‘gift’ and
whatever it was she’d sell it to get the funds she needed.

She
flicked on the flat screen, wondering as she did so if Penny was home yet. Her
mission had a very quick turnaround. She needed only to break into Sebastian
Demetrious’ safe and steal the cash they needed. Lyra herself had scoped out
the house weeks and weeks ago. It had been easy enough. She’d simply hired on
to one of the big cleaning firms that serviced his home on a regular basis.
Like Andros, Sebastian was not a man who enjoyed being surrounded by staff.

And
Rachel? Her mission would be considerably longer, just like Lyra’s would. There
were weeks and weeks ahead of them yet…

A
few hours later, after she’d taken a nap, drank two more cups of coffee, and
watched a bit of TV, a knock sounded on the front door. Lyra shot up, wondering
if it was Andros, and felt ever so slightly disappointed when she opened the
door to see a woman stood in the doorway. She was mid-thirties at most, her
hair a perfect wave of auburn cut close around her chin. She was also very
tall, very thin, and looked very stern.

“Lyra
Matthews?” she asked, looking her up and down.

Lyra
nodded.

“I’m
your personal shopper, Melissa.”

It
was then that Lyra noticed a number of binders in the woman’s arms and she
remembered Andros saying something about a woman coming round. “Of course, come
in.”

The
woman, Melissa, followed her into the living room and Lyra waved a hand towards
the couch.

“Can
I get you some coffee? It’s only instant I’m afraid and there’s no sugar.”

“I’ll
pass thanks. We can get right down to business.”

She
crossed her legs, shook her head so that her hair fell into place and smiled.
Lyra smiled back even as uneasiness settled in her gut. Melissa’s manner was
off, but how exactly Lyra couldn’t put her finger on, so she joined her on the
couch and took one of the binders the woman offered.

“These
are all readymade,” Melissa said. “Choose from them, and I will ensure they are
delivered before close of play today in your size.”

Lyra
opened the folder, and flicked through page after page of dresses. “There’s so
many.”

“Andros
has given you an unlimited budget. You can have them all if you desire.”

The
way she said his name…Lyra looked up and caught the other woman’s eye, noticed
that her gaze flicked back and forth to what she was wearing—Andros’ shirt—and
realized then exactly what the issue was. “He has, huh?”

Melissa
nodded briskly. “This binder includes shoes and handbags. There is also one
here for coats. It is my understanding that you plan to shop on your own in the
future and this is all to get you started.”