by Pamela Ann
Emma tried to smile. “I’m crazy about him, too. Bass has been this terrific, perfect guy. I’m scared how our relationship is going so fast, but it feels like it was meant to be that way… like being with him is never going to be simple or ordinary. I only have one heart, though. Sadly, it holds two men in it. One I want to keep, the other, I want to set free. How do I let the other free when he securely locked himself in, throwing away the key?”
“Shit, Em.” Yeah, I sucked at this. There was nothing I could say to make it better. She was going to be in a crazy battlefield of love, with two determined, Alpha demigods. Wishing her luck wouldn’t do shit.
After another five minutes, Emma gathered herself up and decided to stash her Pandora’s Box back in my closet. This time, I wouldn’t be caught dead with that medieval historic piece of art.
“You can stash the rest in there, but I won’t let you do that to the ring. You need to find a place to keep that safe.” The problem was where. The only thing that I could think of was for her to wear it, but it was impossible with Lindsey with us.
“Fuck, fuck! I don’t need this problem, Tris. Fuck,” she cursed again.
In the end, she was reluctant, but knew it was the best if she held on to it. We were staying in Athens tonight and we’d be spending the whole weekend on a yacht. Leaving that ring in the closet, unguarded, was out of the question. It would be disrespectful to the ghost of Carter’s grandmother, but it was also an absolute disrespect to the ring itself. It was way too beautiful to be treated that way.
Yeah, I have a partial love affair for flawlessly beautiful masterpieces.
Chapter 13
Trista
We traveled to Athens by a helicopter with Dimitris as the pilot and Taylor next to him. Pretty boy looked like a kid in a candy store, ecstatic and giddy with joy.
Dimitris landed on a helipad atop his building. He was a great host and showed us to the seventh floor, where the guestrooms were located. Apparently, the other floors were for entertainment, dining and living room, with the gym and the penthouse being his quarters. His home was not decorated in an over the top fashion. Black and white with understated style left us all feeling comfortable.
Taylor and I didn’t speak to each other unless it was necessary, and I liked it that way. I hoped it would continue until the month was up.
After a nice rowdy dinner, Dimitris took us clubbing. I caught Lindsey a few times giving Dimitris a look. The Look. I planned to ask her about that once we were alone.
We had barely finished our first mojitos when Lindsey stood up and started to dance right in front of the guys. “Come on my pretty girlfriends, let’s get crackin’.” She took Emma’s hand on one side and mine on the other.
It was thrilling to be around my friends. Even though Amber wasn’t with us, the feeling of security I got from Emma and Lindsey was enough for me. Tonight, I had to try to forget about everything. After all, I had less than a month to enjoy my time of being alone here. Once I got back to the motherland, shit might hit the fan. Who really knew what the future held?
For a good hour, the three of us danced like old times. Emma and I were rather surprised—okay, we were definitely surprised—when Dimitris interrupted us and asked Lindsey to dance with him. “Um, maybe later? I’m still busy with my friends,” Lindsey said with hesitation.
Huh. Wasn’t she flirting with him earlier? What had happened in that short amount of time from Aspasia to Athens for her to act odd?
Dimitris turned his attention to us, Emma and I in particular. “Do you ladies mind if I borrow your friend for a while?”
“Go ahead. Take care of my boo, D.” Emma winked at Lindsey.
Lindsey blushed! Um, what the hell? It was rather odd to see her in such a shy, reddened condition. “I’m okay with it, Lindsey likes her McHotties.” I said McHotties in my best southern drawl to mask it from Dimitris, but Lindsey understood and she just gave me a murderous glare.
When I saw Emma gaze up to where our table was located, she was just staring with an enamored look in her eyes, at Bass, who was laughing with one of the guys who had just arrived to join him.
“Go be with him. You know you want to.” I urged her on.
She merely shook her head. “He’s great isn’t he?”
Duh, Emma? “I think the whole world thinks he is. Look around, tell me, how many here think he’s great?” I pointed her chin to the gawking female fans vying to get a glimpse of the movie star. Suddenly, I realized how hard this must be for her. Someone always wanted a piece of Bass. How did she do it?
“You know, there were rumors that some of the extras made this bet as to who could get Bass in bed first? I know he won’t, but it doesn’t make me stop thinking about it.” She bit her lip and focused those cornflower blue eyes at me, questioning, worried. “When we go back to the real world, do you think we’ll survive LA?”
Dude, I sucked at giving advice. Have you seen my life? Of course, I shut my trap and tried to be a good friend, though. “I can’t speak for Bass, I don’t know him that well, but from what I have observed, he’s nuts about you, Doll. I can’t honestly tell you if you guys will be okay when you get back. You know more than anyone what kind of temptations are around tinsel town. You have yours, too, but no matter what you do, just try to stay real. I know it’s freaking ironic that I would give you advice after what I’ve done with my life, however you have a chance here at great happiness, Em. I want that for you.”
Emma’s stunning face suddenly contorted at my response. “You have to stop it with this shit about you messing up your life. You made a big mistake, but that doesn’t mean you can’t move on from it. That doesn’t define who you are, Trista. Please, I don’t want to hear anymore of you degrading yourself this way. We all make mistakes that we aren’t proud of. No more being sorry for yourself, okay?” Emma reached out and gave my hand a squeeze. Her kind eyes made me want to weep.
If you only knew the extent of what I had done, you might not think that. “I’ll try. That’s all I can do. Now, why don’t you go and keep your man company? I’m going to find one of my own for the night.” I shooed her away. After a minute of convincing her that I was okay, she left and strode towards where Bass was sitting with the other actors that were in the film with them.
Since I was in dire need of a drink, I ordered my Adios Mother Fucker. When I held out my card, a man shoved his card into the bartender’s grasp instead. Stunned, I just gave him a “what was that for?” look. Instead of explaining himself, he held out his hand. “Alexandros Pallis.” The tall Greek man introduced himself. He was tanned with jet-black hair and dark eyes, and a sexy, drool-worthy accent. Sign me up, please!
My fun, frilly self came out automatically. “Trista, just Trista.” I shook his hand, and didn’t let go of it.
We started talking about his life. He was twenty-eight years old, and worked for his father in their family company. One thing I noticed with these Greek men was that when they were interested in a woman, they made it known in such a way that a woman knew his intentions, yet they did it in a nice fashion, like a dance. Take Dimitris, for example, that man hadn’t moved his eyes from Lindsey since the moment he’d met her. We all knew what his intentions were without him seeming overbearing. I suppose, I could refer to it as court dancing. It was a refreshing thing to see for a change. I mean, I didn’t have anything against the American way. “Ooh, baby you look mighty fine. Want to bounce and chill somewhere?” or “Hey, girl. You look hot. Want some beer?” There’s nothing really wrong with it. To be quite honest, the words used didn't matter when the guy was good looking. However, it’s nice to see a different approach to it, I suppose.
We chatted for about half an hour. Alexandros was a gentleman and I was pleased to know this. I knew deep down he must want to score with me tonight, yet it was amazing how unobvious he was. We drank and danced for an hour or so. He didn’t even try to kiss or grope me on the dance floor, which I found rather odd. Men usually bust out thei
r dry-humping skills when dancing, he just danced. Although, I knew sooner or later, he would make a move on me.
I was proven right ten minutes later.
“Do you want to get out of here?” Alexandros asked, lifting my chin to match his gaze.
Well, here it is. “Sure, that actually sounds good.” I smiled at him. A big part of me wanted to go through this just to get it over with. It had been far too long since I had fun with any man, other than Harry, between the sheets. A small part of myself, however, told me that this might not be something I wanted to do.
“Ne, I think tonight will be good for us.” Alexandros took hold of my hand and guided us off of the dance floor.
I knew that before I left the club, I needed to tell my friends. It would be disrespectful and irresponsible of me not to. I scanned the place for Lindsey and found her busy dancing with Dimitris. From the looks of it, something hot was brewing with those two, so I didn’t really want to disturb them. That only left me with Emma to tell, who was back at the VIP table with Taylor, Bass and a few of the other actors from the set—Mo McCormack, Tanya Welsh and Vincent de la Cruz. I wanted to just leave and not go over to the table, but I knew they would be worried if I didn’t tell them where I was going.. “Do you mind waiting here? I have to tell my friends where I’m going.” I also asked him to call my cellphone so I could give his number to Emma. I needed to make sure that it was really his phone and not a phony one. I then had him text me his address as well, just to be sure. I may have no problem with a one-night hook-up, however, I wasn’t stupid enough to go off on my own with a guy without some kind of assurance that I would be safe, like get their entire background check—okay, pure bull—but somewhere along the lines, if possible. Other men would have reacted differently, but Alexandros simply wasn’t bothered by it. “I can give you my identification card, too, if you need it?” He gave a humorous laugh. He was teasing, but I also knew he meant it.
“No need. This is perfect.” I pressed my body against his and whispered against his ear. “I’ll be back.”
As I walked towards the VIP section, I gave myself a mini pep talk. I had been so blinded by my determination to get over Harry that I didn’t anticipate a little hesitation on my part. I knew I needed to get through this. I couldn’t pine away for Harry. For a year, I’d been so blinded by lust and love for him, nothing else had mattered. There was no future with Harry, though. What he did to me after he found out about the baby was totally inexcusable. Plain and simple, black and white, the man was a Triple A-Asshole.
When I got to the table, I smiled when Emma pulled me down next to her. “Hey!” I hollered. The rest of them greeted me back. I didn’t risk glancing at Taylor. I just wanted to pretend that he was not around. The less eye contact I made with him, the better… and it seemed to be working quite fine.
“You look happy.” Emma observed, smiling at me.
You do, too, Doll. You look like someone lit you up. “Do I? Well, I wanted to talk to you about that.”
Bass’s head popped up next to Emma’s shoulder. “Want to introduce the man? Hold on, don’t tell me you’re leaving with him so soon?” Bass was checking Alexandros out, as he was clearly visible from up here. Bass had no trouble picking out the right man, Alexandros’s eyes were trained on me.
I shot Bass a winning smile. “I am, actually. I have his number and addy. I will text it to Emma now. Is that cool?”
“Um, well, I guess if you really have to…” Emma was biting her lip. She only did that when she’s unsure, nervous, or thought something wasn’t a good idea.
I was busy going through my phone and didn’t look up until I was done. “What?” I questioned the handsome blonde couple. Why was Emma being a pooper?
Emma pressed her lips together, before she spoke again. “I just don’t want you in harm’s way. We’re in a large city now, a place you’re unfamiliar with, a foreign country where you don’t speak the language.”
Damn. The woman started busting out her formal speech. I had to get out of here before Lindsey joined us. If Emma was reacting this way, Lindsey would be worse. I was actually surprised Taylor hadn’t butted in on the conversation yet. It was so unlike him, but who cares? “There’s nothing to worry about. I have GPS on my phone. You’ll know where I am. We good?”
Emma went on pressing her lips together again. I knew the rest of the table was listening to us talking because they became silent. The music thudded loudly around us.
Bass wrapped his arms around Emma’s neck before he directed his attention to me. “Promise us that you’ll have your phone on at all times. Don’t forget to mention that you know people who will hunt him to the ground if he doesn’t return you in perfect condition. If he does something you’re not comfortable with, we’ll come get you at any hour. Be safe, alright?” He kissed Emma’s cheek before continuing, “Your friend here worries, as we all do. Warn him that you have Dimitris Kosta on your speed dial. That should scare him off.”
I had learned tonight that Dimitris was from an influential family. They had a powerful lineage and a lot of money. His ancestors had a part in forming Greece’s history. Who could thump that? I overheard this information from Mo McCormack, one of the actors, as he spoke in an animated fashion to Tanya Welsh.
“Got it, Boss.” I gave Emma and Bass a quick hug (So cool! I’m tight with the Badass BC!). Before leaving, I bid everyone else goodnight—ignoring Taylor, of course. When I strutted away from them, I could feel his eyes on me, burning holes in my back. It bothered me that we have this weird, push and pull tug of war with each other. A man that could make me feel this way without fully knowing him, one that I haven’t even kissed—let alone had sex with—was perplexing. The only reasonable explanation that I could come up with other than The Hero Syndrome, was that Taylor always seemed to be there when I was about to break down into tears. I hated that he got a glimpse of my inner scars, my constant pain and what lurked in my darkened soul.
When I was close to reaching Alexandros, I shoved my lousy thoughts away. “Ready, omorfi mou?” he drawled as he wrapped his arms around me, his eyes sparkling.
Talking to me in Greek earned him extra brownie points. “What’s omorfi mou?” It sounded off when I pronounced it, like I was a total wannabe. I sucked at languages, anyway.
“Omorfi means beautiful. Mou means my. My beautiful girl.” Alexandros broke it down for me in such a cute way. I almost didn’t want to think about how possessive he sounded when he said my. We barely just met and he calls me that in no time. I’m definitely not in America.
“That’s sweet, but we should get going.” My hand reached out to take his before he guided us towards the exit.
I let out a loud gasp when a large hand tightly grasped my arm. “I don’t think so. Sorry bud, but you can’t leave with her.” Taylor’s clear commanding voice hung in the air. I could hear the underlying threat in his words. By the look in his eyes, he wasn’t about to be toyed with.
“Who is this man to you?” Alexandros directed the question to me, his accent more pronounced. His patience looked like it was running out.
“He’s a friend of my friend. He’s just looking out for me, nothing more, honest.”
When I felt Alexandros’s hand grip mine, I knew I had to interrupt before he said something that would detonate Taylor. The last thing I needed was for them to fight. “Taylor, back off. This isn’t funny anymore!” My small hand tried to detach his fingers from my arm; instead of letting go, he held it tighter.
“Do I look like I’m cracking jokes to you, Trista?” Taylor hissed, his words were directed at me, but his eyes were glued to Alexandros, unfaltering.
Seriously, how humiliating was this?
“I’m sorry about this. Let me just talk to him for a second,” I said to Alexandros. Glaring, I spoke to Taylor. “We need to talk. You have gone way overboard!”
Without much consideration, Taylor dragged me with him. My steps had a hard time keeping pace. He was acting like a majo
r brute and was pissing on my parade. Enough was enough.
We reached a darkened turn, Taylor reached for the first door he could get open, made sure it was empty then yanked me inside by my arm.
An angry growl erupted from within me as I violently shook his hand off. “You stupid shit! I’m so sick of this idiotic, damsel in distress, rescue protocol you’ve been exhibiting!” I screamed at him before he even closed the door.
A grating laugh came from him. “You’re calling me stupid? Well, that’s very generous of you. You should look into the mirror first before you call someone else stupid!”
Aw, hell no! The claws and fists were definitely coming out now.
Raging with violent ire, I closed the gap between us in a blink of an eye. With my hands, I pushed him backwards. “How. Fucking. Dare. You!” I emphasized each word with a hard push until he was against the wall. “You have no right to get into my business. You saved my life, thank you, but that doesn’t give you the right to fuck it for me. It’s my life. My right if I want to fuck it up or not.”
In a flash, he swiftly switched us, and now I was the one trapped against the wall. My crazy rant had little effect on him. My intentions clearly did not register. In fact, he was incensed with rage, absolutely livid in his own right. He looked like a man who was beyond his limit. “You are a fucking selfish woman. Get out there and face reality! The world doesn’t revolve around you, Trista! So, what if your boyfriend broke up with you? Big fucking deal! Toughen up. Life is a big boot camp. Grow some backbone, you self-centered brat.” He furiously spat at me, our faces inches from each other.
SLAP! My palm connected to his cheek with a swift movement. Taylor made a harsh growl. His eyes looked completely dangerous.
Yet, none of it fazed me. I had never known uncontrollable rage until tonight. Where does he get off insulting me like he’s known me all my life! “How dare you! You don’t know me, so you don’t have the right to criticize my actions. Get off your high and mighty fucking horse, Taylor. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not perfect and I don’t claim to be. I make mistakes, all the time, but that doesn’t make me a bad person. You can’t just stand there and judge me like a bystander watching the drama unfold before your insipid eyes. YOU. KNOW. NOTHING!”
