Page 31

Madison

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Next day

"You don't have to call the staff. I can make our breakfast." I've just come out of the bathroom, and he's lying on the bed, shirtless. I need to wipe the drool from the corner of my mouth.

I can hardly believe that I have this delicious and gorgeous man all to myself for six months. Delicious, gorgeous, and insatiable, considering what happened between us last night and this morning.

I lied when I told him this morning that I wasn't sore. I am, but I don't know when we'll have a whole night together again, and a kind of compulsion makes me want more and more of him.

"It should be ready, but don't worry, they've probably already left. They know I value my privacy."

I'm wrapped in a towel as I search my bag for something to wear, but I know his eyes are on me the whole time.

"You can go to the closet. You'll find everything you need there."

It's on the tip of my tongue to tell him he doesn't need to dress me, but I hold back because I don't want to come off as ungrateful. Yesterday, when we entered the house, there were five swimsuits of different styles and sizes waiting for me.

I swear to God, the man thinks of everything.

I enter the closet, curious to see his private space, as I've barely had time to observe the two-story house that could fit about three of the buildings I live in inside.

"Where are they?" I ask, maybe a little too loudly but so he can hear me.

"Right there."

When I turn around, he's right behind me, pointing to bags of clothes in one corner of the massive space, which looks more like another bedroom than a closet.

After everything that has happened between us, his presence shouldn’t intimidate me, but it's different when we're in bed. I can feel his desire with every cell of my body. We're the same. Here, where his wealth is so prominently displayed, I feel out of place.

I walk over to the bags and crouch down to see what's inside, feeling extremely embarrassed. The clothes are wrapped in tissue paper, but I can see three identical dresses, white, with thin straps, also in different sizes. I pick them up to check the sizes and decide the medium one will fit me.

"There's lingerie, too."

"I brought some, thank you," I say, trying to walk past him, but he doesn't let me.

"What's wrong?" he asks, holding my arm. He's only in boxers, and the man's abs are obscenely defined. I'd rather fixate on his body than fall into the trap of thinking that him buying clothes for me might mean something. He probably does this with all his women.

"I know that eventually, I might have to accept gifts from you if I'm really going to accompany you to some events, but you don't need to dress me when we're at home."

He takes the bag from my hand and makes me look at him. "Have I offended you?"

"No."

"Then, what's wrong?" he repeats.

"You'll think I'm dumb if I say it."

"I think you're feisty and always defensive, which aren't necessarily flaws, but never dumb. You're mature for your age."

I take a deep breath, prepared to embarrass myself.

"I don't want to be to you what all the others were. Like there's some kind of relationship checklist: jewelry, check; new clothes for my temporary woman, check. I'm not a doll, Zeus. I don't care about presents; I just want the time we spend together to be good."

I crouch down again to pick up the bag, and after taking a pair of panties from my backpack, I rush into the bathroom.

"Are you wearing a bikini underneath?" he asks as I descend the marble staircase.

"No. Just panties."

His eyes flick to my breasts because the dress obviously reveals that I'm not wearing a bra. "You look beautiful, but we're going on a boat."

"I'll go back upstairs to get the bikini."

"Or you can just be naked on the yacht."

I don't know if he's joking. If I had to guess, I'd say yes, but his eyes tell me he'd like me to be naked all the time.

"Hmm . . . tempting, but I don't think I'm that brave." Instead of going back up the stairs, I walk over to him. "I don't want to fight. I mean, we'll argue from time to time because both of us have difficult temperaments, but I don't know if I made myself clear when I said those things upstairs."

"I’ve never bought clothes for a woman, Madison. It didn't even cross my mind. I wasn't celibate before you. I've had many women but nothing involving a relationship beyond dinner and the bedroom."

My foolish heart races because, although the little jealousy bug gnaws at me inside, Zeus is trying to tell me something.

"I'm not demanding promises. I understand that I'm just another lover in your life, but you'll never be just another lover to me; you're my first everything. I just want the time we spend together to be special." I look down, embarrassed at having exposed myself like that, to risk him thinking I'm a needy fool.

He lifts my chin. "I've never experienced anything like what's happening between us, so when it comes to being just another lover to me, nothing could be further from the truth."

We gaze at each other in silence, and I'm the first to break eye contact because I know how dangerous believing in words can be. So as much as I want to jump into his arms, I flee for the second time this morning to get my bikini.

"I'm definitely a fish," I say, climbing the steps of the yacht after my tenth dip in the sea.

The afternoon is fading, but I begged him not to return to the shore just yet.

"Do you want to spend the night on the boat?"

"Can we?"

"We can do anything."

"Is that because you’re Zeus Kostanidis, the king of the gods?"

"That too," he says with the arrogance that I'm increasingly captivated by, "but mostly because I don't want to share you with anyone."

My heart races, and though I try to fight the effect of his words on me, I can't.

"We're alone," I say, as if what he just said was no big deal.

"But sometimes people from the neighboring properties show up, and I don't feel like having my friends drooling over you."

“I don’t even know how many eyerolls that comment deserves. First of all, I have men looking at me every night, and I’ve never desired any of them.”

He grimaces in disgust but then extends his hand to me. "Come here."

"I'll get you all wet."

"I don't give a damn. I want to hold you for a bit."

I'm crossing a line I set for myself by snuggling in his arms. In my self-preservation pact with myself, I promised that my time with Zeus would be about pleasure only. When he holds me like he’s doing now, with my back against his chest and his arms around me, I feel cared for, and I'm scared of becoming dependent on it.

"What would you do if you didn't have to work at the club?"

I turn around to face him, but he doesn't let me go, keeping me protected in that fortress of muscle. "You're not going to support me."

"Nobody mentioned supporting you. This is about your future. You told me you danced at SIN out of necessity, but is that what you want to do forever?"

"No. I'm going back to studying. I want to major in fashion."

"To become a designer?"

"Um . . . not in the sense of creating clothes. I'm thinking of opening a company that offers personal stylist services to people with lower incomes like me. Poor women also want to look beautiful, and there are several stores with great prices. You just need to know how to put the right combinations together, and everyone can dress well."

He looks at me for a while before saying, "Have you looked into any colleges?"

"Several, but right now it's impossible. I have to wait for Brooklyn to wake up."

"I'd like to help."

"With what?"

"With everything, but first, with your sister."

"How?"

"I can arrange for a specialist to make sure everything that can be done is being done."

"You would do that?" I don't even try to hide how fast my heart is beating.

It might be my imagination, but the powerful Zeus Kostanidis seems somewhat awkward.

"I'm a problem-solver. Now that you've told me about your sister, I want to make sure she's receiving the best treatment. And another thing. Regarding the person or people who hurt her, do you know who they are?"

"They've been arrested. She's not in danger anymore."

"I'd also like to provide a family law specialist to handle the custody issue with your niece and nephew. Just in case that social worker comes up with something else to bother you about."

"Why are you offering me so much? It's not part of our agreement."

"You were the one who proposed an agreement. I wanted you, contract or not."

"It's the same thing. I just put it in writing. But you didn't answer my question: why are you going above and beyond to help me?"

"We're going to spend six months together, Madison. I don't know what kind of man you think I am. I have more flaws than good qualities, but I take care of what's mine, and while you're with me, you're mine."