She had her back to him. Her bare back, beautifully shaped and making his hands itch to touch. Hair pulled up, drawing attention to that graceful sweep of neck. A choker of material was at her throat, little buttons at the back of her neck. A white dress, falling from her hips in loose, elegant folds.
Legs bare under the dress, high heels.
Ares knew that for the rest of his life, this image would be seared onto his brain.
As if hearing his thoughts she turned around and the front view was even more spellbinding. The dress had a deep vee at the front and he could see the tantalising curves of her breasts. His hand tightened on the bottle of champagne as he forced his legs to move in her direction.
She gestured at the dress. ‘I’m probably a little overdressed but I couldn’t resist. I’ll never get to dress like this at home.’
Ares felt like telling her she could dress like that for him but he bit it back. She would be dressing for duty and, some day, her husband. He was glad he’d changed into dark trousers and a white shirt, at least.
‘You look beautiful.’ The words felt horribly inadequate. She was stunning. And she oozed an elegance and sophistication that didn’t just come from her breeding and background. They came from her. She’d be elegant in anything. She humbled Ares.
‘Thank you.’ She ducked her head, some hair falling forward.
Ares poured her a glass of sparkling champagne and one for himself and put the bottle in an ice bucket. He handed her the glass.‘Yamas.’
She looked up and smiled.‘Santé.’
They took sips, eyes locked, sparks flying. For someone who’d always taken feeling comfortable around women for granted, Ares felt unaccountably tongue-tied.
Showing her consummate diplomatic skill, she asked, ‘Did you get much work done?’
Ares huffed a rough-sounding laugh. ‘Really? We’re going to talk about work?’
She rolled her eyes. ‘I’m interested. How many clients do you have at the moment? Not counting me.’
‘I don’t consider you a client.’
Her cheeks flushed and she bit her lip. Ares knew he wouldn’t make it to dinner if she kept doing that. He reached out and tugged her lip free. ‘Stop that. Your mouth is mine to bite.’
She flushed even more. ‘So I’m getting a lover and a bodyguard rolled into one? That’s a good deal.’
Ares scowled at her and then he spotted something—he’d spotted it before but hadn’t had this chance to ask her about it. He reached for her right arm and lifted it up, turning the underside upwards so that he could properly inspect the tattoo she’d had done on the inside of her wrist.
He looked at the letters, only five of them, and read out loud, ‘B-e-l-l-e. Belle.’ The E ended in the shape of a heart. It was light and delicate. Discreet. Classy, as tattoos went.
He felt Cassie’s tension. He looked at her. ‘Who’s Belle?’
Chapter Ten
CASSIE’S HEART WASthumping and her chest felt tight. Not even Ares’s hand on her arm could distract her right now. She should have known this would incite interest but she’d wanted to mark her sister in some way. Brand herself with her presence. Bring her with her on this journey.
Her voice was husky. ‘She was my sister. My twin sister. Christabel. Born five minutes after me. She died shortly after birth.’
Ares’s hand tightened around her arm for a moment. ‘I didn’t know.’ He let her go and Cassie brought her arm into her belly. ‘Not many do, to be honest. They didn’t publicise the fact that my mother was pregnant with twins. She was superstitious. She’d had a miscarriage before I—we—were born.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Ares said simply.
Cassie looked at him. ‘Thank you. It turns out she was right to be superstitious. It might sound weird but even though we never really met…except for in the womb, I’ve always felt her presence. As if I’m living a life for both of us. This whole trip…has been in part because I always wonderd if she’d have been more outgoing than me. More brave.’
‘You are brave.’
Cassie looked at Ares and swallowed down the lump in her throat.
He asked, ‘Would she have been queen?’
‘Probably not as I was born first.’ Cassie had always felt ridiculously guilty on some level, as if her successful birth had cost her sister’s life. ‘I always felt as if something or someone was missing. It made sense when I found out that I’d had a twin.’
