Chapter 17 Calli
CALLI
The Acropolis glows against the night sky like something out of myth, omniscient and knowing, towering over the city like it's watching everything.
It should be breathtaking. Instead, I can barely register its magnificence through the fog of my anxiety.
I sit at a candlelit table on the terrace of one of Athens' most exclusive restaurants, pretending to listen as Katerina and Ares talk about some vineyard in Santorini.
My phone sits in my lap, hidden beneath the crisp white cloth napkin. I glance down every few seconds, my fingers lifting the corner of it slightly to check it again and again. Still, nothing.
"I'm surprised Theo isn't joining us," Katerina says, taking a delicate sip of her wine. "His recommendation, and it's so nice here."
Ares shrugs. "Something came up. Business."
"You all work too hard," I say, reaching for my water glass to hide my impatience.
"It's what keeps us alive," Ares says, swirling a red wine in his glass. "And we have to find out what happened, Calli. You know that."
"Of course she knows," Katerina says, interrupting. "We just like family around, where we can see them. Not off doing business stuff," she says, smiling at me.
"Yes, exactly," I say.
I look down at my own plate. I've barely touched the food. My stomach's been in knots all day, from the worry about being pregnant, from seeing Niko at the market, from the dangerous game we're playing.
I look back up at them, but my brain tunes in for about five seconds before drifting again and looking down at my phone.
God, hurry up, Niko.
Then.
My phone lights up.
I nearly drop it in my haste to read the message, trying to remain calm.
Turn left when you walk out the entrance, then another left down the first alley. I'm waiting.
My heart pounds so hard I'm certain the entire restaurant can hear it. Heat rushes to my face, and I quickly lock the screen, tucking the phone into my clutch.
"I need to use the restroom," I announce, my voice higher than normal. I clear my throat. "And I should call Keira, she texted about something important."
"Don't be too long," Ares says, barely looking at me.
Katerina's gaze lingers on me a little too long. There's something in her eyes, knowledge, or at least suspicion. But she doesn't say anything.
God, how I wish I knew if she suspected anything, or if I was just totally overreacting. I've been doing a lot of that under these circumstances.
I grab my clutch and stand, willing my legs to move at a normal pace as I walk through the restaurant.
I nod politely to a server, push through the front doors, and step into the warm night air. The street hums with life. Laughter, motorbikes, the scent of honey-soaked pastries drifting on the breeze.
My pulse pounds.
This is reckless. Extremely risky. Insane. But I can't stay away from him.
I turn down the street, heels clicking on stone. The first alley is dim, tucked between two shuttered shops. It's narrow. Dark. The kind of alley your mother warns you not to walk alone at night.
I hesitate for a second.
"Niko?" I call out in a low tone, like I don't want anyone but him to hear me.
"Here, orea mou." His voice comes from the shadows, low and familiar in a way that makes my skin tingle.
I can just make out his silhouette leaning against the stone wall, hands in his pockets, waiting like a predator in the shadows. Even in the darkness, there's no mistaking him, the broad shoulders, the confident stance, the way he carries power in every line of his body.
I walk down the alley and he steps forward from the darkness like a god, the glow of the city at the edge of his jawline.
Our eyes lock and something electric passes between us. He walks toward me without a word. In three long strides, he's in front of me. His hands grab me by my waist, spin me, and pin me against the wall.
His mouth crashes onto mine.
There's no time for words. We both know time is limited, and we're starving for each other, like fire searching for oxygen to stay alive.
He's kissing me with a hunger that makes my knees weak. It's rough, possessive, addictive. His tongue slides against mine, and I moan into his mouth, my hands fisting in his expensive dress shirt.
One of his hands covers my mouth while the other grips my thigh and hoists it around his waist, hiking my dress up my leg.
This is crazy. Public. But I don't care. I want to be ruined by him.
I feel his fingers trace the edge of my panties, teasing me through the damp fabric. My head falls back against the wall, and I bite his palm to keep from making noise.
He growls low in his throat, removing his hand from my mouth to unzip his pants. I pull him closer.
The thrill of it. Public, forbidden, reckless, it only making me wetter.
His fingers push my panties to the side, and then he's sliding inside me, filling me completely in one hard thrust. The sensation is so intense I cry out, but his hand is back over my mouth, holding my moan in.
He doesn't give me time to adjust. His hips slam into mine again and again, quick, brutal, perfect. My nails claw at his shirt, grabbing fistfuls of fabric, needing something to hold onto before I come apart.
My muffled moans vibrate against his palm as he fills me in ways only he can.
Maybe it's the thrill, maybe it's my need, maybe it's the way he makes me feel when I'm with him, but I'm already coiling up tight. Whiteness at the sides of my vision. I'm going to come.
My mind goes blank, not thinking about the alley, not thinking about Ares and Katerina inside, nothing. Just lustful bliss.
I come apart like I've been waiting for this my whole life. Waves of pleasure crash over me, and I hear the sound of my rapid breathing over his hand.
My body shudders around him, legs locking. I come so hard I nearly fall.
He follows immediately after, his body tensing against mine, his groan of release warm against my neck as his hot seed fills me so perfectly.
For a second, neither of us move, just the sound of our breathing and the world ignoring our secret.
His hand slides off my mouth and down to my necklace. He touches it, acknowledging my commitment to him. To us.
Then, slowly, reality begins to filter back in. The distant sounds of traffic, laughter from passersby, the ticking clock of how long I can be away before someone comes looking.
We laugh breathlessly as we fix our clothes, both slightly dazed by what just happened.
I just had sex in a side street. In Athens. Behind a five-star restaurant where my brother is sipping a $300 glass of wine.
And I've never felt more alive.
"Oh my God, Niko. We just had sex in a Greek alley. You've corrupted me," I say, smoothing down my dress with shaking hands.
His smile is dark, satisfied. "And I don't plan on stopping orea mou.”
I laugh as I attempt to fix my hair, running my fingers through the tangled strands. "I was perfectly well-behaved before you came along and now I can't get enough of this."
He laughs, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. His touch lingers on my cheek. "I enjoyed this. You know, I should take you like this every day until you can't walk."
I hit his chest playfully. "Niko Petrou, you're ridiculous."
He captures my hand and brings it to his lips, kissing my palm with surprising tenderness. "You bring it out in me."
I finish adjusting my dress and smooth my hands over my hair one final time. "Do I look okay?"
His eyes travel over me slowly. "There's no situation where you could ever look anything less than perfect. Like my goddess."
"Not true," I say with a smile, "but thank you. I mean, does it look like I just had a little rendezvous with a lover, or..."
Niko pulls me close, his arms wrapping around my waist. "Lover, huh?"
Shit.
That came out too easily.
I freeze, suddenly unsure, afraid of what he'll say if I don't clarify. What if I mean it more than he does?
I mean, my feelings for him are growing, deepening into something that terrifies me. But I can't bring myself to name it, to put it out there yet. It's too big, too dangerous.
Before I can respond, a couple walks by the entrance to the alley, laughing as they pass.
"I have to go," I say, reality crashing back in. "They'll be wondering where I am."
I pull away, but Niko grabs my arm one last time. "Come back to me soon, Calli."
I nod and smile, my voice shaky with emotion. "I always do."
With one last lingering look, I turn and hurry back toward the restaurant, my body still humming from his touch, my mind a whirlwind of desire and fear.
I walk back inside and when I reach our table, Ares looks up, his brows furrowing slightly. "You okay?"
"Just hot," I say, sliding back into my seat, avoiding his gaze. "Keira made me laugh at something too. You know how she is." I lie, still feeling Niko inside me.
I reach for my water glass, needing something to occupy my hands and cool my burning face.
Katerina's watching me too closely. She sips her wine, one brow barely raised.
"I was just telling Ares how we ran into my cousin today," she says casually as she twirls her glass.
I nearly choke on my water.
"Oh right, I forgot," I say, taking another long drink, trying to hide the fact that I just had sex with him in an alley and my panties are soaked because of it.
"Fucking Petrous," Ares says, shaking his head.
"I thought they were business allies?" I ask, trying to sound casual. "I mean—“
"We tolerate them, sure, thanks to Dad's old way of building alliances," Ares interrupts, "but they just take and take, like parasites." His hand tightens around his wine glass. "But if they got too close, I'd kill..." He stops suddenly and turns to Katerina. "I don't—"
She waves it off. "Stavros is the one I hate. You could do whatever to him, but Niko's less evil."
Ares grunts.
"He's not like his father," she adds.
"Still," Ares says firmly, "he's his son. Next in line to run that family. He can never be trusted beyond what is necessary to keep peace."
My stomach twists.
If only you knew what was really going on, he'd snap.
The rest of dinner passes in a blur. I'm too caught up in my thoughts, in the lingering sensation of Niko's hands on my body, in the growing dread of what might be happening inside me, and what Ares said.
I keep my head down, picking at my food. I can't taste it. I can't even remember what I ordered.
We finally finish and head back to the hotel.
Once inside, I excuse myself quickly, claiming exhaustion. Ares barely acknowledges my departure with a distracted nod, already on his phone dealing with God knows what. Katerina's eyes follow me as I walk away, but she doesn't try to stop me.
Inside my suite next to theirs, I lock the door and finally breathe.
I change and curl up in bed, my hand resting on my stomach. The soft sheets do nothing to comfort me as my thoughts spiral out of control.
What if I am pregnant?
What if they find out about us?
How the hell could this ever work?
I close my eyes and grip the diamond at my throat.
Even if I love him and he loved me, it wouldn't be enough. We would still be consumed. Destroyed.
Emptiness washes over me, and for the first time in a long time, I cry for a loss that hasn't happened yet, but already feels inevitable.