Novels by Magnus Simons

Damian lay in the dark, wide awake as she slept. She’d fallen asleep snuggled next to him and now one slender arm was wrapped around his waist and her head was buried in his shoulder as she breathed softly.The scent of her soap—that smell that he associated only with her—slid into his brain and blurred his thinking.He wanted to extract himself from her grip but he didn’t want to risk waking her.The night was warm but he was cold with panic.He shouldn’t have brought her here. He’d sent out all the wrong messages and then compounded it by not even waiting for her to undress before having sex with her in the pool.The intensity of it made him uncomfortable. He was used to being in control, not losing control. He was used to walking away. Used to keeping himself separate. And yet here he was, his limbs tangled with hers,anything but separate.Tomorrow, he promised himself as he stared into the darkness, when she woke he’d make some excuse. Take her back to Athens and explain he couldn’

Damian sat sprawled in his chair at the head of the table, his features stony as he listened to his executives discussing a business issue that should have interested him but didn’t. His mind was preoccupied with memories he himself had unlocked. It was like ripping open an old wound, tearing through healing tissue and exposing raw flesh. It wasn’t just pain, it was screaming agony. But worse than that was the thought of Sophia struggling on her own, looking over her shoulder all the time, never able to relax and just enjoy her new life.Despite the efficient air-conditioning, sweat beaded on his brow.As well as watching Sophia they’d been watching Leonidas but her father hadn’t shown his face since their encounter on that day.What the hell had possessed him to get involved with Alexander Leonidas’s daughter? It was a decision that had ‘trouble’ written all over it.‘Damian—?’Hearing his name, he glanced up and saw Evelyn his secretary in the doorway.It was unheard of for her to int

Three weeks later Sophia was balancing plates in a small taverna tucked away in the labyrinth of backstreets near the famous Acropolis when she heard a commotion behind her.‘Hey, Anna, take a look at him,’ breathed Mariana, the waitress who had persuaded the owner to give Sophia a job when she’d appeared out of nowhere only hours after she’d slipped away from the luxurious confines of Damian’s yacht. ‘That man is smoking hot. He should come fitted with air-conditioning.’Terrified of losing concentration and dropping the plates, Sophia focused on her task until the meals were safely delivered to the table. ‘Two moussaka, one sofrito and one kleftiko.She was so nervous of doing something wrong and losing her job she didn’t even look to see who was attracting everyone’s attention and anyway, she’d had enough of ‘smoking hot’ men. ‘Can I fetch you anything else?’‘Just that indecently sexy Greek man who has just taken the table behind you, honey,’ the woman murmured, her eyes fixed in th

NUMB with shock, Sophia sat in the stateroom of Damian’s luxury yacht, watching over her mother.She knew she had to move but she ached from head to foot after her fall onto the hard floor. Every time she tried to boost her spirits panic descended, squashing her flat. She had nothing. No money, no home, no job, no means to support herself. And the craziest thing of all was that none of that depressed her as much as the knowledge that Damian had set her up. That nothing about that night had been real.It was humiliating to admit that she’d been so naïve it hadn’t even occurred to her to be suspicious when he’d invited her to attend the party. She’d seen him as heroic instead of as he really was—a ruthless businessman who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.He was no better than her father.She was going to have to try and find someone else to give her a business loan but she already knew her father would block every avenue.In the midst of her lowest moment ever, the door to t

Damian, are you even listening to me?’Damian turned his gaze from the window of his Athens office to his lawyer, Nico. ‘Pardon?’‘Have you heard a word I’ve been saying? I’ve been telling you that Baxter has agreed to all our terms. We’ve been working on this deal for over a year. We should celebrate.’Damian didn’t feel like celebrating. He listened to his friend offer profuse congratulations, his mind preoccupied with Sophia.What the hell had possessed him to sleep with someone as inexperienced as her?Her overreaction to the news of the photographs had made him realise how young she was. She’d said she wanted independence, but then freaked out at the thought of her father finding out.Clearly surprised by the lack of response, Nico paused. ‘Don’t you want to hear the details?’‘No. I pay you an exorbitant amount to handle details for me.’Was it the sex that had made her panic? Remembering the bruises made him shift in his seat but nothing relieved the guilt. He’d never bruised a

Damian lay with his hands hooked behind his head, watching as dawn sent beams of light across the bedroom. He could see a tiny bird dipping itself in the pool, playing innocently, blissfully unaware of the possibility of danger.It reminded him of Sophia.Next to him, she stirred. With a moan, she flung her arm over her eyes. ‘Turn the light off. Ugh—how can you be so thoughtless? It’s giving me a headache.’He turned his head to look at her, remembering how frank and open she’d been. He was starting to understand why her father was so overprotective. She was a sitting duck for any unscrupulous individual that happened to come along.And now she was lying in his bed.His bed. In his house, where no woman had stayed the night before. The house he’d built from nothing after Alexander Leonidas had ripped everything from his family.Now he lay in silk sheets, but he never forgot how it had felt to lie on the cold, hard ground with the smell of rotting food in his nostrils. He never forgot