In Love After Office Hours (Wrong For You series Boxsets #7)

Ten

"I F YOU NEED ANYTHING ," Astrid said, "we're just downstairs." Pippi's mother pulled the door closed after giving her eldest daughter's guest a friendly smile. Outside, she found herself the subject of several expectant looks, and it was obvious they were all wondering the same thing.

What was a cosplaying Greek billionaire doing on their doorstep?

Astrid flashed them an okay sign. There's nothing to worry about. A smug smile formed over her lips. Because I'm absolutely certain your big sister has the man smitten!

Everyone celebrated... silently, with her daughters exchanging high-fives while Astrid's aunts started smiling smugly. Pippi had obviously inherited their good taste in men, and thank God for that!

Inside the room, Acheron and Pippi were gazing at each other, both of them waiting for the sound of footsteps, but all they heard was silence.

When he raised a brow at her, she could practically hear him asking, ' Do they truly believe we don't know they have their ears to the door?'

She lifted her shoulders in a shrug. I guess. Excitement was probably why her family was acting unusually dense.

A smile curved over his lips. I don't mind, though.

Pippi lifted her chin. Who says I care about what you - oh my God. It finally dawned on her that both of them were communicating silently like some stupid, lovesick couple, and dismay turned to mortification when she saw the gleam of amusement in his eyes.

"It doesn't mean anything," she muttered. "You're just...you're just easy to read."

"If you say so, mikrí mou."

She saw his gaze absently roaming his surroundings as he spoke, taking in every inch of the tiny bedroom she shared with her sisters, and Pippi couldn't help feeling defensive. "I'm sorry if it's not what you're used to," she said stiffly. No doubt, the combination of bunk beds and Spartan-style furniture would remind him of army barracks, and, if it did, well - so be it. She had nothing to be ashamed of—-

"I've lived in far worse conditions."

Pippi's thoughts came to a halt at Acheron's words.

"I'm sure you've read at least some of the rumors about my past, and suffice to say, not all of them was made up. My uncle - Yehor Kokinos - had offered my then-pregnant mother to disappear, and she was...the type that took kindly to bribes. Based on what I know of my uncle, I'm also fairly certain he meant for her to dispose of me—-"

Hearing him speak of such things rendered Pippi speechless with horror. His mom had been paid to kill him?

"She probably would have if he had paid her more—-"

"I'm so sorry." She could no longer contain herself, and she had to dig her fingers deep into her palms to keep herself from throwing her arms around him. "I know it won't make a difference, but I'm really sorry."

Acheron's broad shoulders moved in a dismissive shrug. "It taught me to be tough at the very least. Although I was already twelve when she died, I had learned to fend for myself years before that—-" Seeing her pale in reaction, he said gravely, "I had the worst childhood you could ever imagine."

Her heart broke for him. "I'm just so, so sorry—-"

"Sorry enough to give me another chance?"

The words 'of course' almost slipped past her lips when Pippi realized in consternation she was being manipulated. "Mr. Simo—-"

"No." This time, there was no smile in his eyes, nothing except a look so intense she realized too late she had been better off when he wasn't being serious.

"Call me by my name."

His voice was low and forceful, and something in her ached to obey him. And maybe she would, if there were only herself to consider.

Oh, if only.

But she had her family to think of, and pain chipped at her heart as she heard herself say, "I can't." She saw his jaw clench, and the sight gave her the oddest feeling. It was almost as if she had hurt him...and she didn't like it. She just...didn't. She gazed at him helplessly, tormented by clashing emotions and unable to make sense of a single one of them.

Beautiful, like a Greek god.

And for some reason, this particular god had chosen to don a police uniform and ride a bike to her home because...

Because...

Because...

Acheron knew the exact moment the truth dawned on her, with the way her head jerked up, and her blue eyes - filled with confusion and disbelief - came to search for his.

She had always been honest with him.

Getting involved with you - in any way - is just too much of a risk for me.

Which was why , Acheron knew, anything less than the truth would be a disservice to her.

"I want you." He deliberately repeated the same words he had used before, and by the way her eyes widened, Acheron knew she thought the same thing. "You once asked me why, and I still have no answer to give you. I simply want you - but unlike before, I also know just how much I want you."

Pippi's heart was in her throat. The way he was looking at her was making her wish for the impossible, but what if she was wrong?

"I want you enough to have gone without sex ever since I kissed you." Acheron's voice was taut. "I just couldn't make myself touch another woman."

Pippi didn't even have the chance to react. Her eavesdropping family had already done it for her, their loud gasps giving their presence away. She saw him wince, and she couldn't blame him. "Sorry," she whispered. "Just give me a moment and I'll get rid—-"

She had already started to turn away when his fingers curved around her elbow, and she froze.

Oh God, how long had it been?

And then he was spinning her to face him.

"It doesn't matter." He released her from his grasp, and a pang of emptiness struck her at the loss of his touch. "Neither of us will have anything to hide from them."

Pippi found herself struggling anew to make sense of his words. "What do you mean?"

"I'm saying...I was wrong before."

He was?

"At that time, all I let myself think of was what I wanted, and I thought, in my arrogance, I knew what you wanted, too."

Despite the way his admissions still had her head reeling, Pippi could no longer keep silent. "You weren't entirely wrong," she forced herself to say. "I...I did want you to t-touch—-"

"That's not what I'm talking about." His voice was gentle.

Her cheeks turned red. "Oh."

"As much as it pains me to admit it, I realize now I was acting like a selfish bastard with you at that time. I thought I was hearing you just fine, but I wasn't actually listening to you at all."

"What exactly are you saying?" she whispered.

"I'm saying I had acted like an asshole before, and I hadn't even known it." His lips twisted in a humorless smile. "I was expecting you to be bowled over by the privilege of being my girlfriend for two months."

She wanted to lie, but she just couldn't. "I was bowled over—-" She stopped speaking at the strained expression on his face.

"You're too damn honest."

Pippi stared at him, bewildered. "And you don't like it?"

"It makes me feel like you're too good for me, so no. I don't fucking like it."

"Oh."

"But—-" Acheron couldn't help sounding defensive. "I'm a work in progress now, and I'm not the type to make the same mistakes."

"I see." Although, in truth, she no longer understood what he was getting to now.

"I know I cannot completely eliminate the risks being involved with me represents, but I promise you, mikrí mou - if you trust me, I will do everything in my power to protect you, starting with this—-" He made a rather stiff gesture towards the ridiculous getup he had on. "If there is a need for us to meet in public, I will endeavor—-" He heard something suspiciously like a giggle bubble past her lips, and he stopped with a scowl. "If you fucking laugh—-"

"I'm n-not."

Hell could've frozen at the look in his eyes, and his voice had turned deadly soft when he spoke again. "You make a terrible liar, Ms. Jones."

"I'm sorry."

"You don't sound like it."

This time, she could no longer control herself, and a full-fledged laugh escaped her. "I'm sorry." But she wasn't, not really. How could she, when everything was so clear now, and it was making her all choked up and unable to breathe?

The way Pippi was looking at him now made Acheron want to haul her close, but he forced himself to keep still, a part of him unable to trust that what he wanted was truly his for the taking now.

And besides, there was still that other thing to talk about...

"Before you make a decision about us," he said abruptly, "I wish to be completely truthful with you."

The tone of his voice made Pippi's heart slam against her chest, and she had to gulp past the sudden lump in her throat before she could speak. "Alright."

"Asking you to agree to be my girlfriend for a specific period of time was just me being selfish in another way. It didn't occur to me then, but I know..." His jaw clenched anew. "Having given myself sufficient time to analyze my actions, I am now aware that all I had been doing was forcing you to take all the risks."

Like he had with Ms. Longbourn, Pippi couldn't help thinking.

"I would have everything to gain - and you would have everything to lose."

Every word he spoke was the truth, and hearing him speak it made Pippi finally understand what had made her turn his offer down. Even though what he had offered her was better than what Ms. Longbourn had enjoyed with him, it still hadn't been enough - because what he had been offering her was a lie.

He had told her that she would be the one calling the shots, but that hadn't been true at all. The mere fact that he had been the one to decide how long the relationship would last was enough to make the whole relationship a lie, and that truth would have always made her feel insecure and on unequal footing with him.

It was a truth that her heart had subconsciously recognized even when her mind was still struggling against her growing need for his touch. It was a truth that had saved her from giving in, and it was a truth that she had never once imagined she would hear Acheron Simonides acknowledge.

And yet he had.

And now there was no forgetting it.

"You really were an arse back then," she told him tremulously. "And I wish, if only for my sake, you had stayed that way." She saw his gaze narrow demandingly at her, a silent command to explain herself plainly, and a smile wobbled its way to her lips. She instinctively knew that was just the start, a stolen glimpse of the days she would share with him—-

Me, Tarzan, you, Jane .

But instead of filling Pippi with trepidation, the thought of having this domineering man command every second of her life simply made a sensual shiver run down her spine.

"You don't get it, do you?"

The faint hint of laughter in her voice made Acheron feel like giving her bum a good, hard slap. "Just spell it out, dammit—-"

"I'm saying I understand you want me...but you're not in love with me."

All hopes he had of having Pippilotta Jones in his life expired in an instant. "Pippi..." He raked a hand through his hair. What she was saying was the truth, but goddammit, hearing her say it worried him like hell. "I know I'm not exactly the most trustworthy man on the planet—-"

"And I'm okay with that."

"But before you make any rash decisions—-" He broke off when Pippi's last words finally hit him.

"What was that again?"

"If you had stayed an arse..." Pippi's voice shook a little at the effort it took her to overcome her reticence and speak from the heart. "I would always have managed to keep my distance. But then you changed..." The smile that curved over her lips was the most beautiful thing Acheron had ever seen. "If you promise it will be just me—-"

"You have my word."

He had spoken the words so swiftly Pippi couldn't help feeling just the tiniest bit... giddy, and the realization filled her with both terror and awe at the same time. Am I doing the right thing here, God?

Her gaze returned to Acheron, taking in the proud, beautiful lines of his face, and she felt even more overwhelmed.

Acheron saw hesitation flicker in her eyes, and he said fiercely, "I'm not lying." He slowly reached for her, a part of him already expecting her to refuse his touch...but she didn't, and his chest tightened as she let him pull her towards him. "You're the only one for me, Pippilotta Jones."

Their bodies touched, the contact making him suck in his breath, and Pippi gasped. But it was the naked truth in his eyes that made her whole being melt -—

"Say you believe me, mikrí mou. "

Her eyes stung at the enormity of what he was asking, but deep down inside her, she already knew that what he was asking for had already been his the moment he showed up dressed like a cop at her doorstep.

"I do." Her smile was tremulous, but her soft, firm voice rang with sincerity. "I trust you, Acheron."

The sound of his name on her lips was more potent than any aphrodisiac, and a shudder ran over Acheron's powerful frame. "Goddammit, Pippi." Sexual tension underlined the muttered words, and he couldn't stop himself from tightening his hold on her waist. "Do you know what you're doing to me?"

"Probably the same thing you're doing to me," she admitted with a smile that was half shy, half impish, and one hundred percent designed to drive him crazy with lust.

Ah, fuck it.