“You had all of this planned, didn’t you?” I said.
“I wanted it to be perfect.”
***
The tint on the car windows was too dark to appreciate the scenic route down the hill, so I lowered the window to have a better view.
As we entered the city, the streets and sidewalks of Kolonaki—the neighborhood where David’s house was located—were thriving with nightlife. Bright street lamps illuminated the avenues, and the breeze carried laughter and music.
We arrived at an ivory building with a gated patio entrance. As we walked in, I admired how clean and pressed—and stiff—the waiters’ black and white uniforms looked. The walls were made of white stucco, giving the restaurant a rustic, elegant feel.
The maître d’ showed us to a table located on the balcony. The linen draped tables were set with fine china, crystal stemware, and two ice buckets—one with a bottle of red wine, the other champagne.
“I feel out of place,” I said.
“Why?”
“Look at everyone here.” I eyed a young couple two tables away. “I bet they even sweat with sophistication… like you. You fit perfectly—you’re beautiful. Me? I’m average. As plain as they come.”
David put down his menu.
“You’re wrong. Haven’t you seen the gazes you receive from men, or how women look at you with envy?”
“No one looks at me like that.”
“I look at you that way all of the time.”
“You know what I mean. I’m referring to the rest of the world.”
“There is no rest of the world for me.” He rubbed his thumb on the top of my hand. “You’re my world, and nothing will ever change that.”
***
During the course of the meal, David told me about the sights he wanted us to see in and around Athens. I gave my opinion of what the next day’s itinerary should be: sightseeing, museums, light shopping.
“Our first priority is to find your father,” David said. “Sightseeing can be done any day. There’ll be plenty of time.”
“I need one more day to take this all in. This isn’t easy for me. I don’t know how he’ll react when he sees me standing in front of him. I don’t even know how I’ll react.” I stared at the spoon in my hand. It reflected half of my face, my features distorted. It was the exact depiction of how I felt inside. “You know,” I continued, “out of everything, what scares me the most is not finding him at all—and not knowing what we’ll become until it’s too late to do anything about it. That uncertainty enslaves me. I can’t do anything with the rest of my life until I know. All those plans I had…”
“We’ll find him,” David assured me. “And you’re right. You do need time. We can hold off on that trip for a few more days.”
“Thanks for understanding.”
The sound of musical instruments rose from somewhere below. I stretched my neck to look down in the direction of the melody. Through the metal bars of the railing, I saw the couples gathered in the downstairs patio, dancing to the slow rhythm of the notes.
“Dance with me?” David stood from his chair, offering me his hand.
There on the balcony, overlooking the sparkling city lights, we danced. We were surrounded by flowers and vines and embraced in the tepid currents of the Greek summer night. David’s spicy scent was alive in the breeze, daring me to go nearer. I rested my cheek on his chest, listening to the strumming of his heart. It was the loveliest beat I had ever heard.
As the song continued to play, David raised my face and looked into my eyes. He ran his hand along my jaw and down to my neck where he pressed on the Star Crest that hung from the gold necklace. Then with a quick step he dipped my body down and cradled me in his arms. I was suspended in the air, my heels hardly touching the ground.
“I love you,” David whispered as the song ended, and then he kissed me.
***
I nestled into the comfort of the silky bed sheets. My thoughts floated to David. His scent was still on my skin. The memory of his kisses made my lips tingle. Was he thinking of me? I stared at the door, knowing that only a few rooms down the hall my David Chios lay alone in his bed, too. I knew which door was his now. Would it be too forward to ask for one night in his arms? I had never done anything like that before. I bit my nail and thought about it for a minute.
Without making a sound, I stepped out of my bedroom and walked down the hallway to David’s room. I hesitated to knock. Mustering up the courage, I held my fist up and held it there for a moment. Just as my knuckles were about to touch the door, the knob twisted open. David was wearing only pajama bottoms, his sculpted torso exposed. My eyes widened.
“Is there something wrong?” he asked.
“Um…” I swallowed. “I wanted to know if—if I can sleep here tonight?”
David didn’t respond. Me and my stupid ideas. I felt like an idiot.
“Sorry. This was wrong,” I said, turning to leave.
David caught my hand and drew me against him. He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me into the room. He closed the door behind me and pushed me against it. I gasped in surprise. His lips began to trail kisses along my jaw, turning into soft bites on my neck and continuing down to my shoulder. One of his hands ventured down my backside and to my thigh. His fingers moved up under my nightshirt and stopped at my hip. My breathing grew faster. His sandalwood essence flourished from within him, and I breathed him in. In one swift move, he lifted me and carried me to his bed. The weight of his body landed on me. His lips drank me in like he’d been parched forever. His yearning was evident against my hip, and in my own desire I allowed his hands to caress every inch of me. I let out short whimpers as his pelvis began to move over mine, creating waves of friction that caused sensations I had never before experienced. The more weight he used in his drive, the deeper I kissed him.
“I need you,” his voice was hoarse and breathy as he spoke through gritted teeth.
I felt his fingers hook the elastic of my underwear and pull down.
“David,” I said, breathless. “Wait.” I squeezed his hand. “We can’t.”
The movements ceased. He buried his nose in my hair, and I could feel his hot, ragged breath on my neck. His heart was racing against my chest at the same pace as mine. One of us was shaking. Or was it both of us? At last our breathing returned to normal. David turned my face to the side so I could look at him.
“Did you stop me because of that stupid rule we’re not supposed to break… or because you’re not ready?”
“Because of the rule,” I told him. “It stays in place until we’re the same, remember?”
“You realize no one would know we broke it?”
“They wouldn’t?”
“No. Not even the strongest empath has the power to see that. Intimacy is off limits.” He pressed his forehead against mine, his blue eyes looking deep into me. “I want to ask you something.”
“So ask,” I said.
He pecked my lips in the gentlest way I’d ever been kissed, and then he asked, “Will you marry me?”
“What?” I snapped my head back.
“Will—you—marry me?”
Was he really asking me this question? I thought about my answer for a moment.
“Yes,” I said. “But it’ll have to be a long engagement.”
“I meant now.”
“As in right now, right now?”
“Yes.” He ran his thumb along my bottom lip. “We don’t need any witnesses. No officiant either. It’s how it’s done in my culture. It’s a private ceremony—between you and me.”
“As in… we…”
“Make love.”
“And what then? We’d have to keep it a secret?”
He nodded. “Like Romeo and Juliet.”
“David…” I closed my eyes and sighed. “I’m in love with you. I’ve never met anyone that makes me feel this way. I want to spend my entire life with you, and as romantic as having a secret marriage sounds, I don?
??t want to keep something like that from my mom or anyone else for that matter.”
He rolled his body off me and stared at the ceiling. He didn’t say a word. His expression told me far less. I sat up and rested my head on the headboard, waiting for any type of reaction from him. Nothing. After a few minutes, his silence began to eat away at me.
“If it’s about the sex—” I started.
“This isn’t about sex. It’s about loving you so much that it makes me feel miserable and elated at the same time. It’s about needing you so much that I feel like I can’t breathe without you. I want to belong to you, and I want you to belong to me.” He sat up and looked straight ahead. “But I do understand that it’s not about what I want. It’s about what we want.”
“How do you always find the right words to say?”
“It’s easy when you’re saying them to the right person.”
“David,” I said, and he turned to look at me. “I’m worried that what just happened between us might be a problem from now on.”
“It won’t.” Slowly, he leaned into me and set his lips over mine. His fingers ran up the length of my leg. He bit my lip and his hand clutched the inside of my thigh. I let out a stunned shriek. “We can find other ways to be intimate,” he suggested.
I nodded, reaching for his lips.
***
A golden beam of sunlight was cascading over me when I opened my eyes, making it hard to focus on my surroundings. It took me a moment to remember where I was—David’s room in Greece. I smiled as flashes from the previous night played in my head. Blushing, I dug my face into the pillow. I had no idea that David could be so different in that aspect and so remarkably sating… even without breaking the rule that stood between us. I twisted my neck and faced the left side of the bed. David was lying on his side, his head propped on his hand, studying me from the waist down. I tugged at my nightshirt and lowered it over my hips. I reached for the blanket and covered my legs. David smirked.
“Good morning,” he said.
“Hi.”
“How did you sleep?”
“Great. You?”
“Excellent.”
I looked at the door, wondering if it was locked.
“Do you think Camilla’s up?” I asked.
“She is. I sent her to the market. She should be back soon.” He reached behind him and brought back a balled up piece of pink lace. “I think this is yours.”
I took it from his hand and inspected it. My bra? How the hell did that happen? “Well…” I cleared my throat. “I guess I should go get dressed.”
“Yes, I think you should.” He pulled the blanket up to my chest and kissed my forehead. “We don’t want to break any ground rules this early in the day.”
When David stepped into the bathroom to shower, I stuck my head out the bedroom door and peeked down the hall. I was worried Camilla might be back from the market and see me leaving David’s room. Not that it was any of her business, but I’d still be embarrassed.
***
Breakfast was served in the kitchen after Camilla returned from the market. During the meal, I told David that I had changed my mind about the trip to Kyparissia. It didn’t matter how long I waited, I’d never really be ready to meet my biological father. Might as well get it over with. Our future depended on it, after all.
“Are you sure?” David asked. “Why don’t you take at least two more days?”
“I was being selfish before—not thinking about how you felt. I know how important it is that we find him.”
“I think being nervous and scared is part of being human and has nothing to do with being selfish.” He took a drink from his glass of juice. “But it would be better to find him sooner than later.”
“Then it’s settled. We leave for Kyparissia tomorrow.”
“If you don’t change your mind by morn—”
“I’m not going to change my mind,” I interrupted him. “We need to do this.”
The doorbell rang as I picked up David’s and my plate from the marble kitchen island where we had eaten. Camilla sent Paulina, her young niece, to tend to the door. Camilla took the plates from my hand and shooed me away.
I had liked everything about Athens so far—the food, the house, and the city. But there was one thing that really displeased me, and that was the way that Paulina looked at David. She was one of those rare, natural beauties that would stand out even in a crowded room. I knew she was only doing her job, but it made me jealous to see her cater to David. Even more so, the constant glancing at David annoyed me to no end.
After several minutes, Paulina walked back into the kitchen.
“Signore, there’s a visitor,” Paulina said with an Italian accent.
“Who is it?” David asked.
“He would not say. He called himself your brother, but I’ve never seen him before. Should I ask again?”
“No,” David said. “I know who it is.”
We walked to the large foyer where a slim, blond man stood with his back to us. He wore a tailored, gray suit and held his hat in one hand on his waist.
“My brother!” David extended his arms, obstructing my view as the man turned.
“Mon frère!” The blond exclaimed in a thick French accent.
The two exchanged a one-armed hug and a pat on the back. David turned to look at me with his arm over the young man’s shoulder. He didn’t look a day over twenty.
“Isis, I’d like you to meet my best friend, Eros Lamoureux,” David said as they walked toward me. “He’s like a brother.”
Eros’ grey-eyed gaze fell on me like a lightning rod—penetrating and electrical and overall shocking. For some reason, his face was familiar. But aside from familiar, it was beautiful. He glanced at the star on my chest and then looked at David with a cocked brow.
The contour of Eros’ pink, pouty lips moved slowly as he said, “Enchantè,” and kissed my hand. His touch felt like a warm, steady current running through my hand and up my arm. And his voice… the sound of his musical voice streaming through my ears seemed to carry a magnetic spell that wouldn’t let me turn away. “Have we met?”
“No,” I said, trying to look away.
“I swear I’ve met you before,” he told me. “I never forget a face.”
I felt my heart beating faster as he took a step forward and closer to me, my hand still in his. Our eyes locked, and my surroundings fell away. All I could see was him.
“Eros…” David’s voice was a little deeper than normal.
“Oui?”
“Isis will be my wife someday.”
“I gathered.” Eros released my hand and turned away from me. “I assume she knows about us—our race?”
“She does.”
“Well…” Eros raised his brows, eyes wide. “To know that one day you’ll have such a lovely creature as your wife is… I’m speechless. My congratulations to you both and good luck. You’ll need it.”
“Thank you,” David said.
Eros reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a pair of glasses and a handkerchief. He patted his forehead with the white piece of cloth.
“The heat is unbearable in Greece this time of year.” Eros looked me over from head to toe. “You’ll find out just how hot it can get.”
“She’s used to this type of weather,” David said as he hooked an arm around my waist.
“The heat doesn’t bother me,” I agreed.
Sitting in the living room, Eros and David continued with small talk. All the while, Eros stared at me, insistent on holding my attention. I felt annoyed because no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t stop staring back.
“Are you okay?” David squeezed my hand.
I peeled my eyes away from Eros. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You seem distracted.”
“Not at all.” I forced a smile. “I’m just listening to the conversation.”
“I’m sick of lodging at hotels. There’s nothing like waking up to see the faces of your fa
mily,” Eros said to David as they retrieved Eros’ luggage from his car.
Watching them from the front door, I tried to figure out why I felt attracted to Eros. I couldn’t ignore the fact that he was gorgeous, but I had yet to meet a deity that wasn’t. Only, his looks weren’t what appealed to me. It was something else that I couldn’t put my finger on. As I observed him from a distance, I saw that his style of dressing was the reason he looked older than David. I wondered about his real age, but then I remembered that you could never be sure with immortals.
“You say you visited my home in America?” David asked him, walking through the door.
“Oui, I went to your new village, and there was nothing there. Why would you even consider investing in real estate?”
“It’s a town, not a village. And it’s a nice change.”
“A boring change, if you ask me. At least, I could never live there.” Eros removed his coat after he set his luggage down. He carried more suitcases than a southern bell, I thought. “It would depress me and put a damper on my business.”
“What business are you in?” I asked.
“You haven’t spoken to her of me, mon frère?” Eros frowned at David.
“Once, but that was the worst decision I’ve ever made,” David said to him. “No offense.”
“Has he been spreading filthy rumors about me?” Eros’ eyes narrowed as he looked at me. “Don’t believe a word.”
“Actually,” I told him, “David’s never mentioned you.”
“I did tell you about him once. I never mentioned him by name, but it was the day of the incident—with your hand.”
“Eros is the friend that you went to visit to make me fall in love with you?” It all started to make sense. I started to understand why I felt attracted to Eros. He could make me feel this way. But why would he do that to me when David was his closest friend?
“I don’t know what he’s told you, Isis.” Eros pronounced my name with short I’s. “But I’m the most pleasant person you’ll ever meet.”
And then, there it was again. There was something about the way he looked into my eyes that made me want to fall on my knees—in the most literal of terms. I didn’t understand that overwhelming sensation. I stood there, immobile, peering back at him. What the hell was he doing to me?