Page 36 of Immoral (Park Avenue Kings #3)

DIMITRI

“ O KAY, I KNOW we’ve been working on rebuilding our trust, mon monstre. But this is asking a lot.”

Benoit eyed the scrap of material hanging over my finger with a healthy amount of caution. I couldn’t blame him, not really. With the way I’d treated him—up until a few days ago—he was smart to question my intentions.Even if he had no reason to.

“And here I thought we’d moved past all of that.”

“We have,” he was quick to assure me. “But a blindfold?”

Just because we’d moved beyond the name calling didn’t mean I was going to let him think I was a total pushover. But, truth be told, I was starting to think I’d let him get away with just about anything.

“Then you should trust me enough to put this on.” I moved closer, dangling the piece of black fabric at him like one might a cape at a bull. I was daring him, and if there was one thing I’d come to know about Benoit, it was that he couldn’t resist a challenge.

“Fine.” He snatched the narrow strip from my finger and wrapped it around his eyes. “But please tell me I’ll eventually see the light of day again. I would hate to think I let you talk me into walking off the edge of your cliffside retreat.”

He turned his back, and I tied the blindfold in place. “Maybe I should look into a gag for you as well.”

Benoit turned his head and, when our noses bumped, moved back a fraction. “Your choice, really. But I have to tell you, I’m way more fun when my mouth is unoccupied.”

I grinned despite myself—and because he couldn’t see—then leaned in to brush a kiss across his lips. “I might have to disagree with you on that one.”

Benoit sighed as I reached for his hand and laced our fingers.

“Now come, follow me.”

It’d been several days since our faux-Christmas, and with only several more remaining until he was due to leave, I’d found myself developing quite the obsession with time.

It was going by too fast. Not that I’d ever admit that to him.

But somewhere between my demanding he stay with me the remainder of my trip, and our actually spending those days together, I’d grown accustomed to having Benoit around.

Whether it be in the kitchen or living room, sharing a meal or a swim in the pool, I’d gotten used to hearing his bare feet on the slate floors, his humming whenever he made our morning cappuccinos, and the soft sounds of a man in a deep, peaceful sleep.

I never thought I’d have that. Someone to share the quiet moments with, to share this side of myself with—but I really didn’t.

This was a false sense of reality, a moment I’d stolen for myself by threatening Benoit’s boss. But I wasn’t going to think about that, not yet. Not until I had to give him back.And that wasn’t today.

I led Benoit around the pool and down the paved path we’d walked up when we first arrived. There were only two ways off this island my house was built on—one was by air and the other, of course, by sea.

“Stop,” I said, drawing Benoit to a halt. “There are steps you have to walk down now. There’s a rail to your left, and you can use me?—”

“ Ooh , can I?”

“—to lean on, here on your right.”

Benoit’s fingers gripped mine a little tighter as he followed my instructions, and soon we were at the bottom of the stairs, standing on my private pier.

“I’m going to take off your blindfold now, okay? Don’t move, or you might not like where you end up.”

“Um,” Benoit said as I let go of his hand and moved behind him, “if that’s supposed to be reassuring, it’s not.”

I chuckled as I reached for the knot at the back of his head, and when the material fell away, Benoit gasped.

“ Mon Dieu, ” he said as he stared out at the catamaran docked in front of him. “Is she yours?”

“She is. And tonight, she’s ours.”

Benoit walked up the pier, looking over the sixty-seven-foot sailing boat I’d had delivered this morning.

“Tonight?”

I slipped my hands into my pockets and wandered up the pier. “I’m not sure if you realized, but it’s New Year’s Eve.”

Benoit spun back to face me. “New Year’s?”

“Yes.”

I could tell by his shocked expression that he’d totally lost track of the days, and had I not been hyperaware of when he was due to leave, I likely would’ve done the same.

“You don’t strike me as the type to stay home on such an occasion. So I thought I would take you out. The safest way I could, that is.”

“I can’t believe it’s New Year’s Eve already.” He walked back to me, shaking his head. “The week flew by.”

“It did,” I said as the wind whipped up and blew some of his hair across his forehead, and I reached out and brushed it back from his handsome face. “So, what do you say? Want to ring in the New Year with me?”

I wasn’t really giving him a choice, but when Benoit looked up at the magnificent boat, then back to me, his bright smile told me he would’ve said yes even if he did have one.

“Do I get to kiss you at midnight?” he asked.

“What do you think?”

“Well, in that case, I’d love to.”

I gestured to the stairs that led to the main cabin. “After you.”

FOR A FEW hours the catamaran sailed along the coastline, giving us magnificent views of the island that Benoit hadn’t seen from this angle before.

It was one thing to view Santorini from high above, but out here on the water he could see it all: the villages, the iconic caldera.

No matter where I went, nothing ever compared to this place.

But now that I was seeing it through Benoit’s eyes, I could appreciate just how beautiful it really was. Wild I’d never paid attention before.

“Looks like we weren’t the only ones with this idea,” he said, pouring himself another glass of his favorite brandy that I’d tracked down. He took a long, appreciative sip, poured a little more, and then nodded at the other boats all around us.

“Want me to get rid of them?”

His brow shot up. “I’d love to know how you’d do that.”

“A couple of shots fired usually does the trick.”

“ Usually ? So you do this often?”

“Do I value my privacy and hate anyone coming too close? You know the answer to that.”

Benoit let out a laugh and shook his head before reaching for my hand, pulling me out onto the beach platform of the boat with him.

Usually this was the spot for tanning or lounging after a swim, but tonight it was set up with a plush assortment of blankets and pillows, perfect for watching the night sky.

Who the fuck was I?

A sudden explosion to my right had me moving fast, shoving Benoit down on the ground and reaching for my weapons stored in the lockbox. No hesitation, just action. Whoever was popping off would regret it, and the second I had the gun in my hand, I got to my knees and?—

“It’s okay,” Benoit said, placing a palm on my ankle. “They’re just testing the fireworks.”

What?

Another bang sounded, coming from the same direction as the first, and when I lifted my gaze to the sky, I saw the green and gold flashes lighting it up.

Fuck. My shoulders dropped as the rush of adrenaline eased off, and Benoit gave my leg a squeeze.

“Sorry,” I said as I put the gun away and turned back to face him. Miraculously, he still held his full glass, not a drop spilled even when he’d hit the floor.

“It’s okay. We’re safe.”

But paranoia still had me looking around, memorizing each of the faces on the nearby yachts and party boats, searching out anyone with an ill intent. Shit, maybe this had been a bad idea. Too many people and no way to protect the two of us if?—

Benoit’s lips crashing down on mine had those thoughts instantly ceasing, jolting me back to reality. That delicious tongue, sweetened with brandy, stroked mine, unhurried.

I fell into his kiss easily, giving him the focus he deserved, and then he pulled back and rested his forehead against mine.

“Better?”

I nodded and ran my hand down his back. “Much.”

“Good.” He handed me his glass and then rose to his feet, heading back to the bar cart inside to pour another drink.

When he came back, he also had a box of cigars and a devilish smile.

“You know, I have to say, seeing you jump into hot protector mode is sexy. A little alarming, but it’s nice to know you weren’t going to let me get riddled with holes. Doesn’t really work with my outfit.”

As he settled in beside me on the blankets, I took a long swallow of brandy, my heart rate finally coming back down.

Everything was fine. It was just an overreaction, but it’d triggered me, sending up a rush of memories I tried to keep locked away.

“I think we deserve these after that,” he said, choosing a cigar from the box and cutting off the tip. He toasted the foot before bringing it to his lips and gently puffing, then handed it to me.

“No, it’s yours.”

“ Non, mon monstre . To my hero.” He winked and placed the stogie between my lips.

“Hardly,” I said, but I couldn’t complain once I drew the smoke into my mouth and savored the smooth, rich flavor.

It instantly brought a calm to my body that only Benoit had been able to match, and when I blew out the smoke and opened my eyes, the affectionate way he was looking at me made my heart stutter.

“My father died in an explosion,” I said abruptly. “Things were more tense here back then. There were some gang-related issues that spilled over onto the streets, and my father got caught in the crossfire.”

Benoit moved to face me, listening with his brandy in one hand and his own lit cigar in the other.

“The man who broke it up was terrifying. My friends and I had called him the scariest man on the island, because he always traveled with a pack of men and all of them carried more weapons than an army.” I paused to take a drink, my throat feeling dry.

“But that day he wasn’t any of those things.

He was kind and compassionate to a kid who’d just lost his father. ”

“Giorgos?” Benoit said, and I nodded.