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Achilles saw her as soon as she entered through the central arch of one of Athens’s most glamorous locations. An ancient temple that had been turned into an exclusive space for cultural and charity events.
He could actually have made it back to the apartment in time to pick her up, but at the last minute he’d decided it would be no harm to set in place some boundaries, some distance. So he’d resisted the urge to change his plans.
She looked very pale from a distance. Luminous, almost, next to the darker skin tones around her. The naturally sun-kissed skin of Athenians.
He could see that her hair looked lighter, slightly shorter. It sat in glossy waves over her shoulders. A mask covered the top half of her face, much like everyone else, but left the bottom half exposed. The plump outline of her mouth. The delicate jaw.
His insides tightened as he acknowledged just how beautiful she was. Naturally. Her body was like a siren call. Curvy and shapely in a way that seemed almost provocative next to women who were as thin as stick insects.
And with an instinct born of years of tracking beautiful women he could see men noticing Sofie. Starting to circle her. As if this was not a civilised gathering but something far more elemental.
Before any of them could make a move, Achilles closed the distance between them and snaked an arm around her waist.
She tensed and looked up, and then relaxed again. ‘It’s you.’
‘Sorry I had to let you arrive on your own.’
He realised he really meant it. He couldn’t understand why he had thought it would be a good idea to put some space between them. He was fully in control of this situation, even if Sofie did turn out to have an agenda.
‘I won’t lie and say I’m not intimidated—this is so impressive. How do you ever get used to places like this?’
Achilles looked around at the spectacular surroundings and the monied glittering crowd. Like the party in London, it was a scene he’d experienced a million times before and would experience a million times more. No matter how many times he threw himself out of planes or down the steepest ski runs in Europe it seemed there was no escaping his destiny.
He felt jaded all of a sudden. An emptiness. And with that realisation came again that sense of something just out of reach. A thread of memory he hadn’t recovered yet. Some revelation. Having Sofie by his side usually eclipsed that niggling sense of something still hidden, but not tonight.
A waiter came with a tray and Achilles let Sofie go momentarily to take two glasses of sparkling wine, handing her one and shutting the rogue thoughts out of his head. He clinked his glass to Sofie’s and regretted that half her face was obscured by the mask. He wanted to see those fascinating expressions.
His eyes drifted down over the dress and his blood heated even more. It showcased her sexy body to perfection. He said, ‘You look...stunning.’
She blushed. Would she ever not blush?
Then she said, ‘Thank you for arranging the spa treatments and the hair and everything. I hope it’s made me more presentable.’
Achilles might have assumed she was fishing for compliments, but he knew she wasn’t. ‘Everyone is wondering who you are.’
‘Because it’s obvious I don’t belong here.’ She looked down.
Achilles put a finger under her chin and tipped it up. He acted on instinct, pressing a swift kiss to her mouth that had nothing to do with claiming her publicly and more to do with something far more disturbing. A need to reassure her.
He said, ‘You’re with me. You belong here just as much as these people around us.’
She looked up at him. Eyes wide and dark blue under her mask. For a second he thought he saw the sheen of moisture, but she blinked and it was gone. Her voice was husky, though, when she said, ‘Thank you for that.’
He took Sofie’s hand and led her into the crowd, determined to make the most of being seen with a new lover. And a wholly unexpected one at that.
The function in London hadn’t remotely prepared Sofie for this. This was next level. The sheer opulence made her think of the Greek and Roman empires.
The air was thick with the scent of exotic flowers and a mixture of priceless manufactured perfumes and colognes.
At one point Achilles caught her wrinkling her nose and said, ‘Okay?’
In spite of the majestic surroundings, Sofie was beginning to feel increasingly hot and suffocated. She said apologetically, ‘I think I need to get some air, but you stay here. I’ll find my way outside.’
‘No, I’ll—’
‘Lykaios—there you are. We need to talk about the deal in New York. Where have you been for the last few weeks? No, don’t tell me... I can only imagine...’
The man interrupting them barely glanced at Sofie. She sent a look to Achilles, telling him to stay, and stepped away before he could stop her. He let her go.
Sofie spied open doors in the distance and made her way through the crowd, who all seemed to be infinitely taller than her. When she got outside to a terrace she pulled off her mask and sucked in the evening air. It wasn’t cool, but at least there was a bit of a breeze and she felt she could breathe again.
Manicured gardens stretched out before her. People were moving around the garden: women in long dresses, men in suits. If she closed her eyes and opened them again she could almost imagine she had slipped back a century. Flaming lanterns lit pathways. Fairy lights were strung along bushes and in trees. It was magical.
Classical music floated on the breeze from inside. She turned around and leaned back against the terrace wall. From here she could see Achilles as he easily stood head and shoulders above almost everyone else.
She thought of what he’d said to her: ‘You belong here.’ Not true, obviously, and yet emotion had risen before she could hide it. Hopefully she had, though. Achilles wouldn’t understand how or why those words had impacted her so deeply.
To have a man like him really look at her, say such a thing and make her feel so visible, so wanted...it was more seductive than any designer dress, spa treatment or glittering event. And that was why she had to be so careful. A man like him was used to issuing platitudes to women. To saying what was required in the moment. He was an expert. It didn’t mean anything.
And yet...the warm glow still burned in her belly.
She noticed now that he looked tense. Tense in a way he hadn’t been on the island. But then that was to be expected when he had so much responsibility. An entire industry in his name.
He was talking to another man now and his jaw was tight. He must be so used to these kinds of situations that they barely impinged on his consciousness any more. That made Sofie feel sad. For him. That nothing impressed him any more. If it ever had.
She saw women circling Achilles, waiting for an opportunity. One came when the man he’d been talking to walked away. But just as one of the women approached Achilles looked around and caught Sofie’s eye where she stood outside.
Without even acknowledging the woman, Achilles moved towards her. Sofie couldn’t deny the very feminine thrill she felt that she was the object of his attention—however briefly. And in a place like this, surrounded by the most beautiful people in the world.
It was surreal and it was heady.
