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“I’m certain that he did,” said Cameron. “But I will not allow it.”
“Something to take up with him. I will not defy him.”
“And get you to find me?” he asked the man, who was so small he only came up to the middle of Cameron’s chest.
“Mr. Agassi spends quite a bit of money here. On mistresses. He is a valued client.”
Cameron laughed at that. Bitter.
“Of course.”
They walked back out of the store, and he took her hand. “Down here. There’s a small café that serves very no-frills food. But of the highest quality. I think that will be a good experience for your first restaurant. Neither of us needs anything overly formal.”
She was still processing what had just happened.
She was wearing his ring. They were walking down the Parisian street together. He was holding her hand.
His hands were so rough.
“Why are you so angry?” she asked.
“Right now? Or in general?”
“Well, start with right now and work your way back,” she said.
“Apollo is being heavy-handed. I don’t need his charity, and he well knows it. I’m frustrated with him because he strong-armed me into the situation anyway.”
“Except he didn’t,” said Athena. “You were ready. You were ready to leave, and perhaps, Apollo knew that and decided to give you the push you needed. Be honest, Cameron, no one could force you to leave if you didn’t want to. You never would’ve danced with me if you hadn’t wanted to, and you certainly wouldn’t be here,” she said, sweeping her arm wide, “if you didn’t want to be. You are a stubborn, beastly man, and you certainly won’t be told. So why you are hell-bent on acting as if this is all because of your business partner, I don’t know.”
He looked at her, and for the first time, she thought she might have succeeded in actually shocking him. His eyes went fractionally wider. “Are you... Are you telling me that you think I know why I have done this?”
“No,” she said. “I don’t know. But I don’t think you do either.”
“That makes no earthly sense, woman.”
“I think it does. You want this.” She stepped in front of him, and she put her hand on his chest. She was shocked to find that his heart was raging there. “You want to be away from there. You do... You don’t actually want to be alone you...”
He gripped her wrist again, and pulled her hand away. “Stop toying with me as if I am not dangerous.”
“What will you do? Will you devour me? Or will you kiss me?”
“Athena...” he growled.
“Cameron...”
“You do not want this,” he said, his voice low. “You have been captive all of your life. You need to go and experience the world. You do not need to kiss the first man you meet.”
“Why are you afraid to kiss me? Are you afraid you won’t stop?”
“You don’t want me.”
“I do. I do want you. How dare you tell me how I feel.”
“You are being a silly girl. Let us go eat.”
And she found herself being hauled into the café, where she was seated unceremoniously. She tried to appreciate the fact that they were in a restaurant. That she was experiencing something new and different. That it was like something out of a movie, and such a simple thing, such a normal thing for other people, and yet so different for her.
Because she was still focused on what it had felt like to touch Cameron’s chest. To feel his heart raging beneath her palm.
