Page 27

Zeus

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

"You dismissed Mr. West," she says when we're almost at my beach house.

"I usually let him go on weekends."

"Where are we going?"

"The Hamptons. Do you really want to talk? You seemed ready to stab me when we left the club."

"I don't like silence," she says, not with her usual tone that hovers between irony and annoyance but rather sounding insecure.

And just like that, she manages it again. She makes the anger I felt at her teasing game at the club, during her performance, dissipate.

I noticed she was looking at me while I was driving, but I still didn't feel stable enough to talk without starting another fight.

"Why don't you like silence?"

"Because until Eleanor moved in with us, we had a lot of it."

"Your dad didn't take care of you properly?"

"He fed us, and we had clothes to wear. When he had money, he was the best person in the world, but that was rare. We spent most of our time out of school alone."

"Do you have siblings?”

"One sister," she answers simply and looks out of the window again.

"You said you don't like silence, yet you get very quiet when you don't want to tell me about your life."

"I don't want to talk about my family yet."

"But you will at some point?"

"Yes." She turns around in her seat, facing me. "Zeus, we need to set some ground rules."

"I won't intervene between you and your employer again, but as for hiding our relationship within the club, the answer is no."

"Why do you want to expose yourself? For a man in your position, it would be much better if we kept everything anonymous."

She's right, of course, but seeing her think so rationally while I'm a mess inside irritates me even more.

"What's the purpose of this conversation, Madison? I've already told you I won't interfere again, but be warned, this won't be the only time we travel."

"People will talk if they see us together."

"I don't give a damn," I say, pissed off, and I almost laugh at the irony, because just a week ago I was worried that some scandal related to SIN could harm the bank's stocks. "What exactly are you getting at?"

"Nothing. I said what I had to say. Just don't come throwing it in my face if it becomes uncomfortable for you to be seen with me."

"Let me worry about that, but regardless of anything, don't lower your head to anyone in my circle. They're not better than you. When they bleed, it's the same color as everyone else."

"I don't intend to lower my head; I just didn't want to embarrass you."

I park in front of the house, and even after turning off the car, I don't make any move to get out, watching her reaction.

It's not what I expected—no ironic comment about the size of the house or anything like that.

She turns to me, smiling. "I can hear the sound of the water from here." There's so much enthusiasm in her voice that I can't help but smile.

Oh, Madison. Will I be able to decipher you by the end of the months we'll spend together?

"Do you like the ocean?"

"Yes. I went for the first time when I was ten, when Eleanor took us. I think I'm descended from fish, not monkeys."

I get out of the car and open her door. "Do you want to walk on the beach?"

"Can we?" She’s like a little girl in front of a candy store, looking at me and then at the house, as if trying to see the sea beyond it.

"We can do whatever we want. Just let the security guards check the house and the beach first."

Finally, that makes her turn completely towards me. "Do you always follow these rules?"

"Yes, my family is very visible," I say vaguely because I don't want to go into details. "Do you really want to walk on the beach?"

"I do."

"Wait here for a moment."

I step away to instruct the head of security to set up a table with food and drinks to be served by the sea. When my staff has been informed that I’m coming here, they stay up later.

I come back to her. "If you really want to walk on the sand, you need to get rid of those.” I bend down and start loosening her sandals.

"You don't need to do that. I can take them off myself.”

"I don't do anything because I need to, Madison, but because I want to. Haven't you figured that out yet?

Before she can respond, I pick her up and start heading towards the gardens.

Her arms come around my neck. "You're lucky to have a house where you can sleep listening to the sound of the waves.” Her head is resting on my chest as I walk, and I look at her.

Madison values little things that I don't even pay attention to, maybe because I've always had everything at my disposal.

"The sound of the waves is pleasant."

I set her down, and she takes a step back, smiling. "Pleasant, Mr. Kostanidis? The crashing of the waves is a true journey."

She goes to the water's edge and wets her feet. Beautiful, free, and at least for now, mine.

I hear noise behind me, and when I turn around, I realize the staff is setting up what I ordered.

Once they're done and have left, I kick off my shoes and socks and roll up my pant legs. I know they won't come back. I value privacy, and those who work for me are well-instructed about that.

I walk over to her. She’s facing away from me, seemingly mesmerized by the water.

"Are you hungry? I had them bring food and drinks for us."

She looks back, lost in her own thoughts. "I could stay here forever."

It's the last word she says that affects me.

Forever.

I'm not a forever in her life, and maybe I'm sending the wrong message.

Instead of delving into why no time with her seems enough, I opt to play with my usual weapon: seduction.

That's why we're together. We've entered a contract to give and receive pleasure, and in the end, each of us will walk away with the benefits of that agreement.

"I don't live for the future," I lie, because I'm a planner by nature. "Forever is too long. I prefer to make our now very enjoyable."

She looks at me with confusion, perhaps because of the tone I used, but I ignore that angelic face, focusing solely on desire.

Walking over to where she is, I run my hand down her back and unzip her dress.

She barely breathes but keeps staring at me the whole time. She doesn't protest, doesn't say anything, yet her eyes ask me a lot of questions.

I silence them with a kiss, while my hands lower her dress.

She's in only her underwear now, and I step back to look at the perfect woman who drives me crazy.

"You're sin incarnate, Madison."

She seems a bit shy, but she doesn't try to hide herself, even though she knows I'm studying every inch of her body.

"Take off your panties."

"What about your staff?"

"They've all gone to sleep." To encourage her, I discard my shirt and then my jeans.

I take a bit longer to remove my boxers, waiting for her reaction to seeing me half-naked, as I still have a bit of clarity. She needs to know where we're heading.

"I want to see you," she says, but she doesn't wait for me to act. She approaches and kneels in front of me.

She watches as she slowly takes off my underwear, and because of the shadows of the night, I can't decipher the expression in her eyes.

My erect length jumps dangerously close to her face.

"I didn't want to disappoint you, so I watched some videos. I'm eager to put what I've learned into practice."

It's the last thing she says before she takes my cock between her soft lips.