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The last thing I wanted was to be out of the house before she woke up, but my plans went off the rails the moment my phone vibrated early in the morning with a message from my lawyers.

We needed to decide which public statement to release about the ship issue. If everything came to the surface, the fleet acquisition would be a mistake and stocks would plummet.

I ordered that a rigorous investigation be carried out and the culprits brought to light. In this case, I think transparency would be the best solution, although I’m not too keen on involving Zoe’s name in a scandal. In addition to being very young, if what I intend to do becomes a reality—staying with her without an end date—the press won’t leave her alone.

My intention was to have breakfast together and clear up the confusion about my name. After yesterday, there is no reason not to open up.

I think about the blonde goddess tangled up in my sheets as I get up. She was passed out, exhausted, and I wondered if I wasn’t too rough for our first night together. But then I remember that the second and third times, she was the one who came to me while I was trying to keep myself under control, fearing that I would hurt her.

Zoe, even inexperienced, is a sexual hurricane. It won’t take too long for her to know her body well. I want to be the one to teach her to discover herself.

I’ve never made plans beyond a weekend with my past girlfriends, but I wonder if there would be room for her in my life when we get back to the States, my main residence. In our conversation at the restaurant, she told me that she lives in Boston, but her dream is to live on a rural estate—which doesn’t seem to match the stunning woman she is.

The kind of life she craves couldn’t be further from mine. I don’t have any connection with the countryside; I’m a man of the world, not so much by choice but because of my business.

Anyway, I would like to explore this intense sexual attraction further. It’s only been a little over three hours since I left her, and I’m already looking forward to getting back to the apartment and losing myself in her sexy body.

Before leaving, I left a note letting her know that my housekeeper would be at her disposal to serve breakfast. Shy as she is, I had no doubt that she would let herself stay hungry until I returned, and I had no idea what time I would be back.

I also left an envelope with my maid containing more than twice the amount she would normally receive from the ship. I don’t want her to feel financially reliant on me, although the amount that represents her salary, for me, is equivalent to the value of a cup of coffee.

“Are you sure you want to close the deal?” my analyst asks, referring to the ships.

“Yes, I don’t back down on my word. How long will this meeting last?”

“Half an hour.”

I run a hand through my hair irritably, my thoughts totally focused on the beautiful woman waiting for me.

I slept next to her, which was new to me because I never spend the whole night with a girlfriend. Sharing a bed with someone can create unrealistic expectations, and my life is always black and white; any other colors are excluded. But when Zoe lay on top of me and I felt her body heat, her soft breathing, and her hands in my hair, any thought of getting up and leaving her was gone .

The need for her is a kind of addiction, a compulsion that only increases the longer I stay by her side.

And then there’s the fact that she went through so much shit yesterday. I’m not normally a sensitive guy, but Zoe is in a foreign country and I’m the only person she knows.

“Not a minute more,” I warn the men seated across from me. “Time is already running out. Make it worth it.”

I can’t say when I last felt this anxious to see a woman again. Never would be a great guess.

However, as I take the elevator to my penthouse, electricity spreads through my entire body.

I plan to take her to the yacht later today, but right now, the only thing I want is to be inside her again.

I enter the code to unlock the door, and before I can open it, someone inside does, but it’s not Zoe; it’s my housekeeper.

Weird. She should have left by now.

“Doctor Lykaios, I waited for you to arrive to warn you personally.”

Her words trigger my concern right away. Something could have happened to Zoe.

Fuck, I shouldn’t have left her alone.

I enter the apartment without looking at my employee, walking straight to the bedroom.

“Doctor Lykaios,” calls the woman, so I stop at the top of the stairs.

“Not now. I need to speak with my . . . guest.”

“But that’s exactly what I’m trying to tell you. She’s gone. About three hours ago, she left without saying goodbye.”

“What do you mean, left ?”

“She ate very little for breakfast, so I handed her the envelope as you ordered. About fifteen minutes later, I heard the front door slam. When I checked the security camera, she was already in the lobby. ”

“Are you sure she left with her suitcase?” Maybe she needed to buy something.

“Yes, with the suitcase,” she says. She is an employee who is sent to my residences in Europe whenever I spend a longer period somewhere, although her fixed location is in my apartment in London. She doesn’t sleep in any of my properties while I am in them, though. She is an excellent employee, but I sometimes have the feeling that she intrudes beyond her duties.

“You can go now.”

“Do you need anything else, Doctor Lykaios?”

“I told you. You can go.”

She turns her back.

“Just one more thing. Why didn’t you call me to let me know that Zoe was gone?”

“I didn’t think it was important.”

“Let’s get something straight: I’m the one who judges what’s important in my life. Your job is to report anything unusual that happens on my property. Am I clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

I turn my back and head for the bedroom, still believing it could all be a misunderstanding.

Of course, I hardly know her, but from what she’s shown, Zoe doesn’t seem like the kind of frivolous girl who’d run away without talking.

When I get there, the first thing I see is a sheet of paper on top of the bed.

I don’t hesitate about anything, but I find myself slowing down before I reach it.

Annoyed with myself for acting like this, I grab the piece of paper.

Don’t look for me. What happened between us was a mistake I will regret for the rest of my days.

I read it three times before I’m sure my eyes aren’t deceiving me.

A mistake ?

Did she call last night a mistake ?

Who are you really, Zoe Turner? You are not the same beautiful girl who fascinated me. She wouldn’t be so cold in a farewell.

I replay everything that’s happened between us since the moment I first saw her.

Yes, I wasn’t very subtle in my approach, but I didn’t force it. I’ve never had to impose myself on a woman, and I even asked her yesterday if that’s what I was doing.

The urge to pick up the phone and clear everything up is overwhelming, but I’ll be dead before I let anyone crush my pride.

I’m Greek, and I don’t bow my head to any man or woman.

As of that second, Zoe Turner is in the past.