Page 57 of Beyond Enemy Vows

We interact quickly, too quickly

And then came Katerina's voice.

My cousin appearing. I could feel Calli tense beside me.

We exchanged pleasantries. The conversation stretched thin with tension. All I could think about was how Calli should be walking out of this market with me, not Katerina. How she should be in my bed tonight, not in a room down the hall from her brother.

When we finally parted ways, I watched her leave, feeling something crack inside my chest.

She wasn't mine. Not yet. Not where it counted.

But she would be. She has to be.

I open my eyes and I'm no longer at the market. I'm in this fucking hotel suite.

I get up and walk to the door leading outside. Maybe some fresh air will help.

Pacing, my memories of Calli burn through me like acid.

I hate that she has to hide, to lie. That we both do. I hate what it's doing to her. What it's doing to me.

I walk around the terrace, along the edge of the infinity pool, and look down on Athens. Even that looks different knowing she's somewhere below.

When this started, it was obsession. Possession. Something dark in me craving hers.

I wanted to own her. To mark her as mine. To take her from her brothers and keep her all to myself.

But now?

Now it's something more. Something terrifyingly real to me.

I rub my face and take another sip of my drink.

Jesus, this is fucking crazy.

Beyond our sex, which is like seeing heaven every time I'm inside her, it's the trust I have in her. What she's kept from everyone—that's beyond loyalty most show.

In fact, I've never trusted anyone the way I trust her. Never let anyone see past the mask I wear. Never wanted someone to know all of me. However, over the past couple of months, she's gotten to know the good, the bad, the fucking monstrous, and still, she chooses to stay. Tells me I'm not crazy. Sees how my dad has been nothing but a piece of shit to me for as long as I can remember. She could have used this against me and told her brothers but she's been so loyal to me. My good girl.

And thinking about my father, my mind goes over our most recent conversation. Or rather, confrontation with thinly veiled threat, as that's mostly what I have with him.

"End it… Wouldn't be the first time."

What the hell does that mean, anyhow? How many times has my father "ended" problems? How many bodies are buried under the Petrou legacy?

And then that word he called her. How fucking dare he.

The thought of Stavros anywhere near Calli makes my vision blur with fury. Imagining his voice threatening her makes something primal and violent rise up inside me.

I'd rip his throat out with my teeth and sleep like a baby.

And it's as if the universe knew my red-hot rage planning would consume me, my phone buzzes in my pocket.

A text from her.

Can't stop thinking about you.

I smile despite everything. A few words and she's pulled me back from the edge.