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She’d never seen such cold frost in Aristos’s eyes and something else struck her. She had hurt him—hurt the mighty, powerful, brilliant Aristos Carides. The man that nothing touched. And even more alarming was that he hadn’t hidden his anger either.
It felt like she’d arranged her life into a rigid, unbending jigsaw puzzle, only to realize she not only had it wrong but there were important pieces missing.
“I’m sorry for not confronting you with my...doubts.”
He barked out a laugh—loud and jarring and full of a bitterness she’d never seen in him. “But not for doubting me in the first place?”
“I had my reasons to form the assumption in the first place. But I admit that I jumped to a conclusion that might not have been arrived at.”
He cursed—a filthy word that his cousin Stella had taught her in the two months she’d lived at the Carides mansion. “Christos, Mira. You’re the most infuriatingly stubborn, arrogant, tight-lipped woman I’ve ever met in my life.”
“That’s quite the distinction as I know howmany,manywomen you’vemet, Aristos,” she retorted.
God, where was her common sense? Why was she riling him up like this?
He advanced on her and she stood rooted in place, despite every rational instinct urging her to flee. Oh, Aristos would never hurt her in any way, she knew that. She’d always known that. It was her own heart that built unfounded expectations and ridiculous notions around him.
Reaching her, he grasped her by the nape of her neck and pulled her closer. How he managed to do it without actually being rough, Mira had not enough sense to figure out. Only that it felt possessive and hot and she liked it. Like really liked it. Liked it enough to feel dampness gush between her thighs, enough for her breasts to feel achy and heavy, enough to want to chase more.
“I want to know why you came to such a ridiculous conclusion.”
Mira arched her back, which pushed her chest onto his and felt an answering shudder run through him. Satisfaction zinged through her. She swallowed at the stark need that filled her every pore. “Pity we all don’t get what we want, then, isn’t it? Even the powerful, brilliant Aristos.” She licked her lips and his gaze zeroed in on that spot. “Actually, you’re not really that brilliant, are you? Because you’re missing the obvious point here.”
“You’re playing with a street dog,thee mou. They don’t play by rules. They might look and act domesticated but they never lose that ruthless edge.”
She scrunched her nose. “I really object to that analogy, Aristos. But if we must use it, I’ve never, ever shamed you for your origins.”
“No?”
It was her turn to frown. “Of course not,” she said, a sinking feeling in her gut. “I’d be the worst kind of person to hold that against—”
“What did I miss?”
“Don’t change the subject,” she said, stiffening up in his hold. “You’re not the only one who could get angry by unfounded accusations.”
“What did I miss, Mira?”
She huffed out a breath, knowing that she’d just be butting her head against an immovable wall. When Aristos shut down, she remembered like it was yesterday, he shut down hard. “You’re angry with me, I know. Probably enough to dissolve our arrangement,” she said, testing the waters.
“Wouldn’t you like to know, Dr. Carides?”
Really, the man was far too perceptive for his own good. “Fine. You have every right to be angry. But you missed the fact that I came into your room tonight, Aristos. Dressed like I am,” she said, ignoring the heat climbing up her chest.
His gaze shifted down, and gleamed. Her big breasts were just about falling out of the lace negligee’s neckline, pressed up tight against his chest. Between the lace chafing her sensitive nipples and the heat from his body, it was a miracle she hadn’t melted into a puddle at his feet.
Something like a growl escaped his throat and one large hand cupped her hip with a possessiveness that made her want to whimper with need. “Why didyou come into my room tonight?”
“Losing my grandparents so close together made me realize how...lonely I’ve been. Not just these last few months, but before we met again in Vegas too. How I’ve pretended like it’s enough and the pretense became reality. I wanted to feel something real tonight. To feel alive. To grasp something for myself. And you... Kissing you was the most real thing I had felt in so long, Aristos. Selfishly, I wanted to ask you for more. I wanted to forget contracts and clauses and transactions and just ask you to give me something real again. Something no one else can give me.”
His chest rose and fell, as if he felt gripped by the same emotion that held her. “And what are you dressed for,yineka mou?”
Pushing to her toes, she let more of her weight fall into him. His grunt cinched the knot in her lower belly tight. Nuzzling into his stubbled jaw, she reveled in the rough graze of it against her soft skin. “To be seduced to within an inch of my life. To seduce you too though I really don’t have much experience with that.”
As if granting her unspoken wish, he rubbed that stubble against the soft underside of her jaw, her neck, his fingers drawing mindless circles against her lower back and buttocks. God, they hadn’t even kissed yet and she was this close to climax. The scent and heat of him surrounded her, bringing back memories she’d shoved so deep that her heart thundered in her ears. Pulling back to look at him, she tried to hold on to the last thread of sanity but it was a losing battle. “I could’ve asked Yana for pointers but then I’d have to illuminate her and Nush about the state of affairs between us. And I couldn’t have that because they adore you and idolize you and think we’re this great love match going through a rough period and I didn’t want to break their hearts.”
He bopped the tip of her nose, his smile wide. “You’re cute when you’re nervous.”
“I’m not nervous. I’m...horny and needy and if you don’t—”
