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She pursed her lips, debating not answering, then... ‘Because, whatever you think of me, I’m not a monster.’
For an eternity, he simply stared at her. Then he rose, strode away to the other side of the room. She should have been relieved he was dropping the subject, but all she felt was deflated. Then that charge he carried with him, that sheer vitality, infused her again when he reversed his course. Kept coming until he reached her.
Crouching beside the bed, his eyes teeming with the indecipherable emotions he seemed to be grappling with, he reached out, brushed his fingers down her hot cheek. ‘You’re many things, agapita. Some I’m yet to fully discover, because it seems you can throw a wrench in my beliefs, but one thing you’re most definitely not is a monster.’
He stared at her for another age before, leaning forward, he dropped a kiss on the corner of her mouth.
‘Efkharisto.’
‘Parakalo,’ she answered, the response natural and automatic now.
But inside she was a mess, and the feeling that they’d turned a corner was unwilling to leave her frantic brain.
‘I can’t believe Sergios got the butler to tell him about that,’ she blurted, eager for a distraction.
‘He cares for you,’ Ares said, his tone gruff.
That melting feeling grew warmer. Comforting. But it lacked something vital. Something she was fearful to hope for.
‘I know.’
‘He wants to return to Athens. I told him not to.’
She nodded. ‘It’s not necessary if we’re going back to Ismene soon.’
A look crossed his features, too quick for her to decipher. Then he was placing the tray on her lap.
‘You never got around to eating,’ he drawled.
But she caught the trace of wicked humour in his tone. He, too, was attempting levity.
A small chuckle broke free before she could stop it. Then she curbed it when she heard the tinge of hysteria tingeing it.
Her eyes widened when she saw what was on the plate.
Souvlakis.
She wasn’t going to question how this had been whipped up so quickly. Maybe it was relief, residual adrenaline, or knowing she was eating for two now, but her stomach growled again as the aromas hit her.
Folding warm bread around the slices of meat and gooey sauce, she bit into it.
At her soft moan of appreciation, Ares’s eyes darkened.
He watched her eat two, then nudged a third towards her when she hesitated. She took it, eating more slowly this time.
When she was done, he removed the tray and tucked the covers over her. He watched her for another second, then brushed a kiss on her temple. ‘Rest now.’
The combination of life-changing news and the awful event that had followed had sapped her energy, and although it was barely evening, Odessa sagged against the pillows, her eyes already drooping by the time Ares’s broad form disappeared through the bedroom door.
She slept fitfully, her rest disturbed by choppy dreams. Twice she felt hands soothing her, running through her hair, calming her as she fell back into sleep. When she woke a few hours later it was to find Ares pacing the terrace outside his suite, the phone plastered to his ear as he conducted a low, heated conversation.
Sensing her regard, he ended the call and entered.
‘Is everything all right?’ she asked.
He glanced down at the phone with a frown, then slotted it into his pocket. ‘Not entirely, but I’m working on it.’
‘Was that the police?’
