He nodded.
She smiled. ‘Well, that makes sense. We’re in Greece.’ She cringed inwardly. She was being an idiot.
Cassie glanced around quickly and said, ‘Look, I owe you a drink for potentially saving me from a pretty horrific situation. How about that bar over there?’
He looked to where she was pointing and Cassie held her breath. She could hear some kind of jazzy funky music beat. A world away from the disco inferno they’d just left behind.
After what felt like an eternity, Ares said, ‘Sure, after you.’
Relief swept through Cassie. Because this man had single-handedly woken her desire. Like Sleeping Beauty. Cassie suppressed a slightly hysterical giggle. She blinked her eyes a few times. The dark contacts she’d put in were scratching a little but she couldn’t drop her guard now. She knew she was being reckless by evading her bodyguards and it was the most rebellious thing she’d ever done, but, that tacky bar earlier aside, this was turning into one of the most thrilling evenings of her life.
Pathetic.She ignored the little voice and stepped into the bar, very aware of the tall solid presence behind her.
Cassie was still a little unused to not being automatically recognised so when the greeter came over and skipped over her to look up at Ares, it was a little jolting but not entirely unwelcome. Ares stood beside her, and as they were led to a table in a corner booth, he lightly touched her back.Her bare back.
Electricity sparked up and down her spine and between her legs felt sensitive and hot. She slid into the booth, and he followed her, accepting the menu from the server, who couldn’t seem to take her eyes off him. Cassie couldn’t blame her.
Sitting beside him now, she could really take him in. The hard planes of his face, that mouth. Deep-set eyes. Softened by the beard that hugged his jaw. Messy hair. He should look thoroughly disreputable but there was something about him that Cassie recognised.Class.He couldn’t hide that. Intriguing.
He looked at her and she swallowed. She was not used to this at all. ‘So, um, do you come from this island?’
He shook his head. ‘No, the mainland.’
He hadn’t cracked a smile once since they’d met. Cassie smiled for both of them. Being sunny came easily. She’d been doing it all her life. ‘Care to narrow it down a bit?’
His gaze was fixed on her mouth and then it moved up over her face. She’d never felt so self-conscious. She was very aware of the heavy make-up, contacts and glitter. He looked as if he was holding back a scowl. Definitely not Mr Charming.
‘Athens.’
Then he said, ‘What about you?’
Cassie tensed but kept the smile in place, because it seemed to unnerve him. ‘Oh, I’m just here for a few days on holiday.’
‘From where?’ he all but bit out.
Cassie waved a hand. ‘A little place you’ll never have heard of, near the South of France.’
Luckily the server came back and took orders for drinks before he asked her to elaborate. Cassie ordered a sparkling wine and Ares ordered something non-alcoholic. When the server left, he put an arm across the back of the seat. Cassie was very aware that his fingers rested within touching distance of the top of her back.
Feeling a little out of her depth but trying to ignore it, she asked, ‘So are you here on holiday too?’
He shook his head. ‘No, work.’
Cassie made her smile brighter. ‘You’re not fond of long sentences, are you?’
There was the faintest glimmer in his eyes to show that her remark had made its mark. So maybe there was some humour after all. And why on earth was he so appealing when he wasn’t even going out of his way to charm her? Was she hard-wired to be drawn to people who she felt she had to humour? That cut a little too close to the bone and Cassie felt her smile slipping just as the drinks were delivered.
She took a quick sip to hide the sudden onset of introspection. Ares took a sip too of his drink and Cassie couldn’t avoid looking at the way his throat moved…leading down to the top of his chest, revealed by a couple of open shirt buttons. She could see dark hair, curling. He was somale. She’d never thought she’d find someone so unashamedly masculine attractive.
She put down her drink. ‘So, what is your work, then?’
He put down his glass but kept his hand around it. Cassie couldn’t help but notice his long fingers, blunt nails. She could just look at him all day. He was mesmerising.
‘I dabble in a couple of things…investment, and logistics.’
‘Sounds…vague,’ Cassie said. He obviously wasn’t going to elaborate.
‘What about you?’
