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He wore a bespoke slate grey suit, its lines falling on his form with mouth-watering perfection.
His gaze flicked to his father for a nanosecond, a potent look passing between them before those eyes returned to her. Locked.
It was almost as if she was all he could see. All he wanted to see.
Under other fantastical circumstances Odessa might have allowed herself to be swept away into sheer bliss by that look. But she knew what it meant. It was a look of pure conquest. She’d handed herself over on a platter and he intended to devour every last piece of her.
When they finally reached the top of the aisle, father and son exchanged another long, speaking look, which was topped off with an approving nod from Sergios.
Then Ares was facing her, grasping the hands his father had just released, raising the one bearing his dazzling engagement ring to his lips.
The resulting electricity only added to the fireworks occurring within her, and again Odessa had to caution herself that it was all for show—the same as when he raked her with a heated gaze and murmured throatily, ‘You look exquisite, eros mou,’ in a way that made the priest smile and nod, thoroughly ignorant and approving the compliment.
She tried not to let those fanciful fireworks consume her as they repeated the vows that would bind them together. She scrambled for pragmatism when afterwards they walked back down the white-carpeted aisle and into the marquee overlooking the ocean where their reception was to be held. It was decorated with lavish ice sculptures, and priceless caviar and vintage champagne flowed.
And she clawed that pragmatism especially close when Ares took her in his arms, possessiveness blazing in his eyes and running through the body that he pulled dizzyingly tight against her as they swayed in their first dance.
‘Once again I find myself wishing time and everyone away,’ he murmured in her ear, and the twist of his mouth in an attempt at humour was immediately eroded by the heated purpose in his eyes.
‘Because you want this to be over as quickly as possible?’ she ventured, even while the see-sawing in her belly made a mockery of that flippant response.
The heat intensified. ‘On the contrary... When we’re finally alone I’ll wish for time to stand still, so I can savour the moment.’
The thick layers of anticipation and exultation were hard to dismiss when they ruffled her own unsettled emotions so expertly.
‘Gloating is a sin,’ she told him. ‘You know that, right?’
His flawless teeth flashed in unabashed elation as he pressed her closer still, his breath brushing her cheek as he said, ‘I welcome the punishment. Because nothing and no one will stop me from savouring every inch of you, matia mou. As much as I have wished to deny it, I can’t help but accept that I’ve waited a long time for this moment. And make no mistake: I mean to take it.’
There was nothing to say to that, even if she’d managed to speak above the traitorous currents rushing through her while she battled for her heart to remain above this erotic and emotional fray.
The battle continued as Ares handed her over to his father for the next dance, and as they were toasted and showered with gifts from well-wishers. And then, once Ares had draped a flawless diamond bracelet on her wrist, and drawn the requisite gasps from their guests, he was swinging her into his arms and striding off with her to raucous applause.
He didn’t stop until he’d crossed the threshold into his...their...suite.
When she glanced longingly at her side of the room, he intercepted the look and shook his head. ‘Oh, no. You won’t be returning there for quite some time,’ he rasped in her ear.
Her foundations had grown shaky, but she still fought on. ‘Can we talk about this?’
‘No. The time for talking is over. Accept it. Unless you mean to go back on your word?’ he dared, his eyes blazing into hers.
Hating him a little, for knowing the exact buttons to push, she raised her chin. ‘Never.’
The slightest tinge of relief in his eyes was wiped away by triumph as he strode up to the bed, then slid her down to her feet. She couldn’t fail to notice the hard, screamingly male angles of his body, or easily dismiss their effect on her.
Nor could she fail to take in how imposing his king-sized bed was up close. She’d only looked at it briefly when Demeter had escorted her to her room yesterday. Now, the waist-high mattress festooned with pillows and sleek sheets evoked images that sent pulses of fire though her veins, burning her from the inside out.
But while she was dying with nerves at the thought of the unknown—because she’d only done this once before, in a furtive, shamefully unremarkable three-minute fumble that had left her mourning the gift she’d so carelessly thrown away—Ares was simply...watching her.
As if now he had her he wanted to stretch out the inevitable.
Well, she didn’t.
In a blind need to stop the rollercoaster, she reached for the diamond bracelet he’d gifted her just an hour ago.
His hand flashed out, stopped her. ‘No. Leave that on. In fact...’
He caught her wrist and tugged her after him towards a painting she suspected would more than hold its own at the Uffizi.
