Page 56 of Beyond Enemy Vows

16

NIKO

Ileave the market and head to my waiting Rolls Royce. Thank God my driver's the one shutting my door or I might have tried to rip it off.

I'm frustrated.

As he drives away, her taste is still on my lips. Like stolen wine—sweet, forbidden, and nowhere near enough.

She floods my mind so relentlessly that every woman with long brown hair walking on the sidewalk becomes her. She's everywhere while nowhere near me.

I've never thought about someone so much that my mind plays tricks on me. I rub my forehead and notice my hand smells like her, too. From when I touched her face. It's the perfect mix of suntan lotion and whatever it is that's uniquely hers.

My driver follows the orders I'd given him before leaving for Athens and pulls up to the Athenian Palace, one of our hotels. With Calli here downtown, I don't want to leave. I want to be close. Ready for her.

I get out and walk through the lobby, nodding to the front desk. They know me well. I get into the elevator and make my way up to the Petrou family suite. Always readily available to us.

It sits on the top floor, overlooking the city like we own it. Because in a way, we fucking do.

When I'm alone inside, I immediately loosen my tie, ripping it from my neck and tossing it onto the white sofa.

Across the room, above the marble fireplace, hangs a painted portrait of my father, Stavros Petrou, in all his cold-eyed, smug glory.

"Enjoying the view, old man?" I ask, walking to the bar cart. I pour three fingers of top-shelf brown liquid.

I hold up the glass to his painted face. "To the devil himself," I say, raising the glass. "May your end come soon and slow."

The liquor burns going down, but it's nothing compared to the fire in my chest. Nothing compared to the heat of Calli's mouth against mine just minutes ago. The gasp she made when I grabbed her wrist and pulled her into me.

I collapse onto the couch, drink in hand, head falling back against the cushion. I loosen a button from my shirt, trying to relax, but I can't. Knowing she's here, I can't do anything but fight the urge to be near her, smell her, take her in my arms and honor her like she deserves.

I feel almost lifeless after seeing her. After touching her. After having to watch her walk away with someone else.

I close my eyes, let myself fall back into the memory. Back to the market. Back to her.

I spotted her before she saw me, obviously.

Standing amid the chaos of the market, she looked like something from a dream. Like an angel among the mortals.

A few strands of her hair stuck to her face in the heat, and as she brushed them away, I noticed how flushed she looked from the sun. Her cheeks pink and her skin more golden from a slight tan.

And then I saw my necklace. Our special commitment. Our bond that no one can take away, hung around her neck. I felt lust fill me from just seeing her wear it, out in public, where no one knew what it meant but us.

For a few seconds, I didn't move. Just watched from across the aisle, tucked beside a stall selling crates of tomatoes and garlic ropes. She was scanning the vendors, clueless to the eyes following her.

My eyes.

God, the way she moves. Even when she's just walking, she's got this unintentional grace that drives me fucking mad. She always looks perfect, as if walking a few inches off the ground.

I followed, keeping enough distance that she wouldn't notice. Watching the way men turned to stare as she passed, their gaze lingering a second too long.

Each one made my blood simmer.

I shouldn't be here. It's too risky. I know Katerina, maybe Ares himself, is nearby, and yet, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

I couldn't wait any longer.

I circled around, slipping between two stalls from the opposite aisle. When she passed, I reached out, grabbing her hand and pulling her into the narrow space between canvas walls.