Page 20 of Seasons of Sin

“I’d take you with me.”

He mulled over the sentence and then nodded, his eyes locked challengingly to hers. “And I’d go willingly.”

Her heart turned over in her chest. She knew she desperately needed to lighten the mood. “Anyway, these questions of yours must be pretty scary if you had to go to these lengths to get them answered.”

“You have things you wish to keep private,” he murmured softly.

“Oh.” Her skin paled, and she sat up straighter, crossing her legs together. The statement cut through her very heart. “You’re being serious?”

“Why not?” He lifted his shoulders. His expression was so beautifully calm that her heart squeezed and remorse crested through her. Is this what infidelity felt like? Why then did she feel a sense of guilt towards this man, rather than her husband?

“What do you want to know?” She said hesitantly, and Thad shook his head.

“You act as if I’m asking to pull your teeth out one by one. Why?”

She bit down on her lip. Her eyes drifted out to the ocean. “You know why.” She swallowed. “I came to Athens to get away from … stuff. I didn’t plan to meet someone like you. I’m not really in the right place to start swapping life stories.”

Her cold detachment hurt; all the more so because he suspected it was just an act – but an act she desperately didn’t want him to see beyond.

“You did meet me, though, whether you planned to or not. And having enjoyed your body for three glorious nights, I want to know more now. I want to know what’s going on in here.” He tapped the side of her head and she squirmed away on the pretense of sipping her champagne.

“Fine.” She smiled at him tersely. “I studied philosophy at university, which means I love to read and over-analyze everything but unfortunately doesn’t make me tremendously employable in any field,” she said matter-of-factly, but still helaughed at her appraisal. “So I’m doing volunteer work until I figure out what I want to do next. I’m not qualified for anything. Literally nothing. I’m one of the few people in my generation who loathes technology and uses it a bare minimum. I can’t type. I have no head for maths. I bore easily. I don’t even know if I have an interest in anything.” She felt a sob in her throat and she swallowed it determinedly. “And I hate to whine about it to you because there are children dying in this world from lack of food and I’m incredibly spoiled and indulged and still can’t get my act together.” She angled a sardonic expression in his direction. “Are you regretting your interest now?”

“Of course not,” he murmured, tilting to face her. “Is this why you came to Athens? To, as you put it, get your act together?”

“Yes,” she said, and it was the truth. Never mind that she was omitting a vital detail regarding her husband’s cheating.

“What volunteer work do you do?”

“Does it matter? It’s just an excuse to leave the house every day.” She blinked back tears.

“I do not believe that,” he said, moving to sit behind her and pulling her gently back onto his chest. She smelled so good. His whole body tensed in pleasurable anticipation.

“You wouldn’t know what it’s like,” she muttered darkly. “To have no clue what you want from life, and no impetus with which to achieve it.”

He frowned. “What are your parents like?”

“My parents?”

“Yes. Most people seem to attribute their decisions, in part, to the way they were raised. I certainly credit my grandfather with many of my traits.”

“Like what?”

“Uh uh,” he said softly. “Nice try. We are talking about you,agape mou.”

She sighed. “Mum and dad are great. They have always taught me I could be anything. Maybe that’s part of the problem. I spent so much of my childhood learning what I could do and no time thinking about what was necessary to achieve it.” She cringed, shaking her head so that her hair tickled his chin. “I hate that I speak like that. I have had the luckiest childhood. I really am a spoiled brat. I’m pathetic.”

Her proclamation angered him. “Hey,” he wrapped an arm around her waist.

In the future, he would know it was that moment that made him feel a need to protect her. That moment in time, more than any other, made him want to shake her and show her how wrong she was about herself. “Why the hell do you let yourself speak like that? Let alone think it? You’re a kid, in the scheme of things. There is still plenty of time to find what it is you want from life.”

She shook her head. “Growing up, my mum was this incredibly perfect housewife. The ideal wife. Stunning - she was a real-life Bond girl, you know - and very kind, and intelligent. When I was born, she gave up everything else to be a full time mum and wife.” He felt her slender shoulders shrug. “I guess I always wanted to be like her.” She pulled a wry grimace. “Pity I missed out on her looks and patience.”

“You are depressing and infuriating me,” he said simply. “How can you not see what everyone else does?” He ran his hands down her arms. “Who has been telling you this crap? When you boarded my flight, I was almost winded. I have never known a woman like you.” He captured her fingers in his and lifted them higher in the sky before placing a delicate kiss on her thumb. “And even if you were as plain looking as a board, you are funny and kind and intelligent and … you are wonderful,agape mou.”

And for Saphire, that was her moment. The moment she knew she’d gone too far. That simple revenge sex had turned into something far, far more dangerous.

“I have to tell you something,” she said slowly. Her eyes fluttered shut. “It’s about my … friend.”