Kidnapped the Wrong Sister (3 page)

Hearing her voice, he
stood up straight, turning to face her.  He looked over at the small woman before him, now fully able to appreciate her lovely figure as she stood looking back at him with such confusion in her beautiful blue eyes.  His eyes flicked over her, admiring what he saw, as he kept his face expressionless.

“Now why would you assume that Alexis is here Miss Brown
?”, he asked, a small smile playing on his lips.  Diona frowned.  “I received a letter from him”, she said slowly, a sinking feeling rising within her, “He said that I should stay here”  Diona watched the smile on Nikias’ face widen slightly as she dropped her bag onto the floor, her features becoming angry.  “The letter wasn’t from Alexis was it?”, she said, her tone low as she glared at the man before her.

Nikias
moved forward towards her.  “Very good Miss Brown”, he drawled.  “I had a phone call from my brother not long after I left you … he told me that you ripped up the cheque, he had a lot to say about that, along with a few other things, none of which I will bore you with… Not a smart move Miss Brown”

“And why is that Mr Dranias
?”, she bit back, her eyes angry daggers. “Because you forced my hand…I told you there was no way that I was letting you get your greedy little hooks into my brother... so welcome to my island”  Diona looked at him, the confusion on her face so clear.  “Wh…what do you mean?”, she stuttered.

By now Nikias moved so close to her that there was only about a foot between them, and she could see his dark eyes as they looked down on her with triumph on his face
.  “I mean Miss Brown that you will be staying here, until you’re due to return back to the UK, when I personally will put you back on the damn plane and out of our lives.  My brother has a very short attention span, and I’m sure that once you are out of the way, he will quickly find other little playmates with which to fill his day”

Diona
looked at him with shock, her eyes wide with disbelief.  “You can’t do that!”, she cried out.  He smiled back, his eyebrow lifting. “I think you will find I already have”, he replied, his voice soft, enjoying seeing the confusion on her lovely face, before her expression became harder and more determined.  “There is a law against kidnapping Mr Dranias…even for people like you”  He continued to smile at her.  “I don’t know why you would think you were being kidnapped… you are free to leave anytime you like”

Diona
looked at him suspiciously.  “Well I think I would like to leave right now”, she said with determination, lifting her bag and turning to go.  With a note of complete triumph he spoke so softly behind her.  “And how do you propose to get off this island Miss Brown?”  Turning back quickly, she looked at him with horror on her face as the full enormity of her situation dawned on her.

“The boat isn’t coming back is it
?”, she said slowly, a contained anger in her voice, as he shook his head.  “Nope, I gave them instructions not to come back for another week.” Her eyes narrowed on seeing how his laughed at her.  “Isn’t that when you need to be heading back to the UK?”, he said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

Diona
looked around the room; spotting the telephone she moved over to it to call for help.  Lifting the receiver she heard nothing, not even a dial tone.  Nikias sauntered over to a nearby table, his tall frame so relaxed, as he calmly poured himself a whisky, putting ice cubes into it and lifting it to his lips.  Diona however could feel the panic rising within her, holding her body stiff as her eyes moved around the room looking for some other way out.

“Every phone in the whole building has been disconnected for the week.  The only phone which works is mine… and I am afraid that you won
’t get access to that because it is in my room… not a room you will be visiting”, he added looking down at her with no attempt to conceal the disdain on his handsome face.

Diona
threw the phone back onto its cradle, as he saw the look of panic cross her eyes before she closed them.  He watched as she willed her whole body to become more calm, and when she reopened those wonderful blue eyes, the colour of a summer’s day, he could see in them only grim determination, along with a hint of anger, the sudden change in her surprising him.

“While I find that thought very comforting Mr Dranias”
, she said, biting out his name contemptuously, “it doesn’t take away from the fact that you can’t do this...I have evidence… the letter”  Nikias smiled again.  “And what exactly does that say? I believe that you were invited to come here, very nicely if I say so myself, and it was completely your choice …just as it was your choice to get into the car and boat.”

With another triumphant look
he added, “So before you start screaming foul play, Miss Brown, remember you chose to come here, every step of the way”  Diona looked at him with complete disbelief.  “You set me up”, she said, her voice hardly audible.  “Yes, now can I get you a drink Miss Brown?”, he asked, pouring her a glass of red wine and moving forward to offer it to her.

Diona
fought the overpowering temptation to scream at him and knock the drink from his oh-so-calm fingers as she moved away, ignoring the glass which he placed on the table beside where she stood.  Stopping, she placed her hands on her hips lifting her head to look skywards before with a soft sigh she lifted her hands and gently clapped.

“Bravo, Mr Dranias”
, she said, a small laugh rising to her lips, her eyes lowering to meet his, causing him to frown slightly.  “Perfectly planned and executed”, she smiled, “Except for one little thing…you got the wrong sister”

He
looked at her with confusion.  “What are you talking about?”, he asked, his brows furrowed as he tried to make sense of what she was now telling him.  “My name is Diona Brown…not Daryle Brown”, she said, a mocking look coming into her eyes.  “You got the wrong sister”

Diona’
s look of victory was short-lived however, as he started to laugh.  “I have to give you marks for originality Diona.  D Brown - that was the only information I had to go on…that plus where he was planning on meeting you today.  It’s a very interesting little story, however, I think you are forgetting this afternoon, when you didn’t deny being my brother’s mistress”, a cold glint in his eyes.  “Possibly because you didn’t give me a chance”, she retorted quickly, “You sat down and started threatening me before I could even explain who I was” Nikias Dranias smiled, an irritating self-assured smile as he sat down on one of the leather couches, crossing one long leg over the other, watching her with amused interest.

Suddenly realising what he
had actually said she looked coldly at him, her eyes narrowing with anger.  “And my sister is not your brother’s mistress… According to her they are in love and plan on getting married”  He looked back at her evenly.  “Now we seem to have come back full circle Miss Brown… and like I said before there is no way that you are marrying my brother”

With a look of irritation she
lifted the wine taking a large drink, before sitting down on one of the couches opposite him. “I came here to stop the wedding”, she said as patiently as possible.  “But now thanks to you…the two of them are out there with nobody to make them see sense”

Sitting back
, she clenched her hands in anger seeing how he sat silently watching her, his eyes not believing a word she was saying.  His whole countenance was calm and controlled as his eyes watched her with mild interest while she felt her whole insides churning with so many different emotions.  Sheer exhaustion was causing her to start to feel disembodied, lending the situation a surreal quality.

“You are the most arrogant, insufferable man I have ever met”
, she bit out glaring at him, as he laughed back at her.  “I’ll take that as a compliment”, he responded, his voice full of mockery as he took another mouthful of the golden liquid as the ice clinked in his hand.

Diona
pushed herself back in her seat angrily, before putting her hand up to her brow, as her head began to pound.  “This is crazy.  My name is Diona Brown.  I am a nurse from the UK and the only reason I am in this country at all is to stop my sister from making the biggest mistake of her life”  Looking over at the man who still sat watching her with a mocking look in his eyes she sighed in surrender.  “And you don’t believe a word I am saying”, she added with another sigh, as every limb felt so heavy from the tiredness which pervaded her whole body, as he smiled, shaking his head.  “Finally something we can agree on Miss Brown”

Lifting her drink in her hands she
looked over at him.  “So how does this work Mr Dranias?”, she asked with resignation.  With a small smile he looked over at her.  “I am a civilized man Miss Brown, and hope that you will make full use of the many resources on the island... I hope that you enjoy your holiday… just not perhaps as rewarding a one as you were hoping for”  “Fine”, Diona sighed, “Let’s just the two of us sit back on this beautiful island of yours and let our siblings destroy their lives” 

With a small chuckle of triumph he
stood up.  “Come with me Diona, let me show you your room for the duration of your visit”. Reaching over he pulled her case into his hand, lifting it effortlessly as though it weighed nothing, mocking Diona’s struggle with it earlier.  She watched him, before finally with a soft sigh she stood, realising that he was not going to listen to anything she had to tell him and knowing that she was too tired to make any sense anyway.

“Lead on mien jailor”
, she spoke lightly, seeing the small twist of amusement on his lips.  He then strode over to the magnificent marble staircase, moving up it quickly before leading her to a large doorway.  Following closely behind him, Diona gasped at the room she found herself in.  Decorated in white and creams it was elegant and opulent, and despite herself, she stared in admiration.

“I hope you will not find your jail too difficult to live in”
, he said, his voice mocking her earlier comment.  However, Diona moved to one of the two other doors in the beautiful room.  In the first she found a large walk-in closet and in the other a luxurious en-suite bathroom stocked with everything she could ever need.  With a mocking look at him she had not even tried to hide the disdain in her voice. “Let me guess - you kidnap lots of women and force them to stay here”, her eyes contemptuous as he laughed back at her.  “Not at all Miss Brown, the women who stay here usually stay in my room”, he replied, a wicked smile on his lips.  Diona looked over, her eyes flicking over him, trying not to show how his dark good looks and sheer presence was affecting her, despite how tired she felt, her bones suddenly feeling so heavy with the fatigue which filled her whole being.

“I bet”
, she replied with a weary sigh, her look still full of contempt , “I suppose given the large amount of traffic, it saves changing too many beds”, she added icily, before she turned away to move towards the large balcony, missing the look of anger which crossed his dark eyes.

As she
moved onto the balcony, she realised that she was in one of the rooms facing the back of the property, overlooking the sea from the top of the rugged cliff below them.  Diona gasped in wonder at the wild beauty of it all, her eyes shining in awe, as she remembered the picture from the magazine.  Nikias watched as her eyes half closed as her whole body seemed to embrace the smells and sensations of being so close to the cliff.  As he watched her, he felt a strange need to touch this woman, to reach out and run his hand down her body, that body which was causing him to react in a very personal way.  Frowning with the realisation of his own thoughts, he looked away.

Diona Brown was not what he
had expected.  She was smart, funny and quick, most definitely not the kind of woman he expected Alexis to become involved with.  With another frown, he worried more.  This was just the kind of woman who could actually get his younger brother down the aisle.  She was different and even he could feel how he reacted to her, feeling the stirring within him, as she stood so statuesquely against the outline of the sea.  That wonderful body, so young and supple, was calling to a very primitive part of him.

With a small shake he
moved off the balcony, as she followed him.  “We will serve dinner at seven”, he said in a more business-like tone, before looking at his watch. “Make that thirty minutes”  Diona looked at him wearily.  “If you don’t mind Mr Dranias, I will skip it thanks”  “That’s up to you”, he said, his tone a little harsh at her deliberate snub, “I suppose I could have something sent up to you if you would rather play the martyr and stay in your room”

Diona
threw him a derisory look as she wearily rubbed her head.  “Actually, as much as I have no real interest in spending any more time in your presence than I have to, the fact of the matter is that I pulled a double shift, before having to fly over here to save my sister, only to be kidnapped by her boyfriend’s arrogant brother”, she said, her eyes flashing angrily, “And on top of that I have a headache, which will only really go if I get some sleep, so if you don’t mind, please leave”, her voice suddenly so tired.  As Nikias was about to speak he saw just how pale and tired she did in fact look, and with a small nod he put down her case and left the room.  When he left, Diona again sighed wearily, as her whole body cried out for rest.  Pulling out her nightdress and toothbrush she prepared for bed, too tired to unpack that night.  Crawling under the sheets and feeling as she moulded into the softness of the mattress she sighed with pleasure, relaxing as sleep quickly took over, her last thought before she lost consciousness being that she would sort this whole mess out in the morning.