Page 39

Dionysus

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

We barely get back to the bedroom before the landline phone rings.

I almost never receive calls on it, and given the time of day, it can only come from someone who was trying to contact me on my cell phone.

With a towel around her hips, Cecily starts leaving the room, perhaps to give me privacy.

“Don’t. Stay.”

“We—"

“At least wait for me to answer the phone.”

I’ve dressed her in my robe, and she looks even more fragile in the outfit that is several sizes too big for her.

Dragging her feet, probably because I ruined her escape plans, she sits on the edge of the bed.

I pick up the phone.

“Dionysus?” I hear Elina on the other side, and immediately my heart skips a beat.

“What’s happened?”

“Don’t freak out, but it seems one of my maids forgot about Joseph’s allergy and gave him a peanut butter cookie.”

“Is he okay?”

“Odin called the pediatrician who takes care of the children, but before he even arrived, we administered the EPIPEN as advised by the doctor. It’s good that you sent the medicine for an emergency like this. He was examined afterwards and is fine, but all the excitement has made him anxious.”

“I’m on my way.”

“Yes, come. He’s calling for you and Cici.”

“I’ll be there in half an hour at most.”

“What happened?” Cecily asks as soon as I hang up.

“One of the maids gave Joseph a cookie containing peanuts. As you know, he is allergic.”

“Oh my God!” She turns pale. “How is he?”

“Elina assures me he’s fine, but I’ll go get him. She told me that even after he was medicated, he continued to be anxious, calling for both of us.”

“Can I go too?” Cecily looks as nervous as I feel, which only makes me even more certain that she really cares about my son. For her, Joseph is not just a way to make a living.

“Yes, sure.”

“When you go away next time, let me stay with him, Dionysus. You have my word that Joseph will be safe with me. I’m not accusing Elina of anything. What happened was an accident, but if you’re away, I’ll give him one hundred percent of my attention.”

“Okay.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. When I have to leave the country, Joseph will be in your care.”

“Because you trust me, or because of what happened between us?”

I take my eyes off the road to look at her. “If you think that taking you to bed would make me leave my son in your care, you have no idea who I am, Cecily. I will leave Joseph with you because I trust you. Furthermore, the rules about not leaving the house alone with him remain.”

“I don’t mind, as long as I can make sure he’s okay.”

She seems annoyed, and if it were anyone else, I would leave it alone, because I’m not the sensitive type or one who pays much attention to other people’s feelings, but I find myself explaining, “I’ve never allowed any of the women I knew after Sue’s death to approach him.”

“Were there that many?”

“I’m a healthy thirty-two-year-old man, Cecily. I have an active sex life.”

“I shouldn’t have asked. It’s none of my business, Mr. Kostanidis. Our agreement is already over.”

“Less than half an hour ago, I was fucking you inside my shower. I came in your mouth, and you drank and wanted more, so don’t give me that Mr. Kostanidis thing, Cecily.”

“It was you who said that I should forget about us when the agreement ended.”

“That’s before I knew what it feels like to be in your pussy. I’m not a romantic guy, but I want to see what can happen between us if we stay together.”

“It’s physical attraction. In what world do a nanny and a Greek billionaire get together? Not mine, certainly.”

“If you’re pregnant with my child, you’ll see that happen, because I’m going to put a ring on your finger so big that it can be seen from the lunar platform.”

“You don’t know me. You don’t know anything about me. How can you even consider marrying me?”

“I want to raise my child, if there is one.”

“We don’t need to get married for that to happen.”

“Why not? You love Joseph. Our sexual attraction is undeniable. It’s a good arrangement.”

I notice that she has turned in her seat to look at me. “Is that what happened between you and Sue?”

“Do you want to talk about my late wife?”

“I should answer no, but you were the one who hypothesized that I might be expecting your baby, so yes, I want to know about your relationship.”

I look ahead in silence for a few seconds. “Joseph is not my biological son.”

“I know. Elina told me. Can you tell me more about it?”

“I met his mother when she was still pregnant.”

“Where is Joseph’s father?”

“The son of a bitch is dead.”

She gasps, perhaps scared by my aggression. “What did he do wrong?”

“He drank, used drugs, and beat her, even after finding out that she was expecting a child.”

I stop at a light, and in the rearview mirror, I see the bodyguards following us. When I look to the side, Cecily is rigid in her seat, her face turned to the window.

“How did he die?” she asks, without looking at me.

“Does it matter? He deserved to die. I would kill him with my own bare hands if he was still among us.”

She still doesn’t say anything.

“Scared of my other side, Cecily? That’s me. A Kostanidis. I don’t forgive or feel sorry for my enemies.”

“It’s not that.”

“What’s wrong, then?”

“Nothing. I’d like to hear the rest of the story.”

“When I met her, Sue was in need. I found her on the street, in fact, very similar to what happened to us. She was trying to climb the sidewalk with a stroller. She was alone, hungry, and didn’t know what to do to take care of the child that was about to be born. I helped her. We ended up forming a bond. When Joseph was born, I fell in love with him and wanted him for myself.”

“And then you married her.”

“Yes.”

“Did you love her?”

“Not in a passionate way. As a mother and my partner, I felt affection for her. There were never any sparks or . . .”

“Or what?” she asks, turning in the seat to look at me.

“ Hunger , redhead. I was never hungry for her like I am for you.”