Chapter Four #3
As she got out of the shower, she was again highly annoyed by how nice everything was, and the one precious thing she’d brought with her—a personal scent that she’d made herself—layered beautifully with the soaps and lotions.
It was as if he’d known what kind of scents she liked and bought accordingly, which was nonsense.
Archimedes was highly unlikely to have personally chosen the soaps and lotions in the damn bathroom.
Once she was clean and smelling the way she liked, she wriggled into the scarlet silk dress, appalled to find that her cotton knickers showed, no matter how she arranged the fabric, the cheerful bunnies on them completely at odds with the sexy vibe of the dress.
She scowled at the offending underwear, then slipped her knickers and bra off and stood in front of the full-length mirror in the wardrobe.
A different woman stared back at her. The silk gown clung to the shape of her body, the deep neckline highlighting the curves of her breasts, the bias cut of the silk hugging her hips and then that thigh slit that went almost to her hip.
Zoe scowled at the woman in the mirror, too.
It wasn’t her vibe, not at all. She was used to being in the shadows, the unknown threat slipping under firewalls and getting around passwords.
She wasn’t used to being the centre of attention, still less in a sexual way.
But this dress was deeply sexual and it made her look deeply sexual too, and she was uncomfortable about it.
She also knew that if she wanted to shock Archimedes, this was how to do it.
Are you sure you want to do this?
No, she wasn’t, not at all. She could take the dress off and go downstairs to dinner in her jeans and T-shirt.
Or she could stay in her room and wait to see if he’d send a security guard to get her, which she was sure he would.
Again, though, if she came down in jeans and a T-shirt, she knew what would happen then.
He’d give her a satisfied smile and make some quip about her general loathing of dresses, which would end with her wanting to punch him in the face.
But swanning downstairs with a hip-high slit in her dress, lipstick and heels would be the equivalent of a punch to his face, and had the added bonus of not hurting her fist.
So, steeling herself, Zoe kept the dress on and her underwear off, found the matching sky-high stiletto sandals that went with the dress, then teetered back into the bathroom for make-up.
She had only the vaguest idea of how to put make-up on since she never wore it, but after a few attempts she managed to apply some mascara and the required lipstick.
No surprises that the lipstick matched the dress too.
He’d also specified jewellery, and there were quite a few extravagant pieces in a velvet-lined drawer in the wardrobe. She never wore jewellery either, and was tempted to ignore the stipulation, but again, it would be worth the ignominy of doing what he said if it shocked the pants off him.
After a couple of minutes debating, she decided to wear the most expensive, most extravagant-looking piece she could find, whether it matched the dress or not, eventually settling on a gold choker.
It was fashioned as a golden net studded with different precious stones that gleamed like tropical fish.
Once she’d put that on, she took one final look at herself in the mirror, shocked by the stranger staring back at her.
She looked like someone’s trophy wife, and on reflection, that was exactly what she was, which didn’t help her temper.
But he was the one who’d demanded this nonsense of her, so she was going to make sure she rendered him utterly speechless.
At the designated time, she left the bedroom, making her way downstairs to find a pleasant-faced older woman waiting at the bottom of the stairs. The woman introduced herself as Lydia, Mr Athineos’s housekeeper, and she was here to show Zoe to dinner.
Zoe followed her through a series of corridors and down some stairs before they came out of the villa and into the warm Greek night.
The air felt soft on her skin and smelled of salt and sun, with hints of warm stone and rosemary, and something tight inside her calmed.
It was different to the sharp smells of London, wet concrete and rain and petrol fumes.
Much more restful, and again annoyance tugged at her.
She didn’t want to find any of this pleasant or restful, especially when she’d been dragged here very much against her will.
Lydia led her down some stone steps to a terrace that faced the sea.
Tall pines surrounded the terrace and there were lots of stone pots overflowing with lavender and rosemary.
A table stood in the middle and it had been set with a white tablecloth, crystal glasses and silver cutlery.
Small tea lights had been lit in exquisite glass holders made out of different coloured glass.
The tiny flames leapt and danced, flickering in their holders and making the terrace look as if it was surrounded by a cloud of glowing multicoloured fairies.
It was, unfortunately, beautiful.
A tall figure stood at the edge of the terrace, looking out to sea, his hands on the parapet, and for a moment Zoe stared at his broad back, her heart beating faster.
Silly of her. It was only Archimedes and she didn’t care that he was wearing exquisitely tailored evening clothes that seemed to highlight every line of his powerful shoulders and narrow waist. She didn’t care what he thought of her in the gown, either.
All that mattered was that she shocked him or unsettled him in some way, that was all.
‘Mrs Athineos, sir,’ Lydia said, then withdrew back up the stairs.
Zoe lifted her chin, ignoring the strange bolt of electricity that had gone through her at the mention of ‘Mrs Athineos’. Which of course she was, not that she’d ever call herself that.
Archimedes turned and a wave of intense satisfaction swept through her as his eyes went wide, taking her in, a ripple of shock flickering over his handsome face.
She lifted her chin higher, meeting his gaze head-on.
‘Well?’ she said. ‘Here I am. Gown, shoes, jewellery and lipstick, as specified.’
His gaze flickered then travelled down her body, taking in every inch of her, and, much to her horror, she found herself blushing yet again.
What was going on? Satisfaction that she’d managed to shock him, yes.
Blushing because he was very definitely looking at her body and was no doubt aware that she wasn’t wearing any underwear? Definitely not.
Perhaps she should have kept her cotton knickers on.
Slowly, Archimedes’s gaze travelled back up to her face once more, a deep blue spark gleaming in his eyes. A spark that sent prickles of heat all over her skin.
He, of course, looked magnificent in black. Dark and dangerous, a beautiful threat, and she wished she wasn’t so aware of him in that way. She wished that all those hot prickles weren’t what she had a horrible feeling they were.
Without taking his gaze from hers, he walked over to her with the lithe grace of a stalking panther, before stopping and holding out his hand.
‘Mrs Athineos,’ he said. ‘Let me escort you to the table.’
Zoe didn’t want to be escorted anywhere or to take his hand, a very feminine part of her knowing that touching him would make that prickling sensation worse, make her heart beat much faster than it already was. Make her want things she most definitely didn’t want.
She could still feel his mouth brushing over hers when he’d kissed her in the church and the warm touch of his skin as he’d slid his ring on her finger.
Yes, touching him would be a very, very bad idea.
Which meant her only option was to ignore his hand, brush past him and sit down at the table herself.
However, doing that would mean betraying the fact that she didn’t want to touch him, and she could already tell he knew that already.
That he was challenging her to touch him, daring her to.
He’d done that to her as a child, encouraging her out of her comfort zone, daring her to push her own boundaries, to learn more, to do things she didn’t think she could do or was afraid of.
The first time she’d successfully hacked into a Fortune 500 company’s mainframe was because he’d dared her to, and when she’d done it he’d been just as pleased for her as she was for herself.
This kind of challenge, though, was of a different sort and one she wasn’t used to, but she knew already that she couldn’t refuse it. She couldn’t back down or show him any kind of weakness, because he was just as aware as she was of how a weakness in any kind of defences could be exploited.
So, bracing herself, Zoe very deliberately placed her fingers in his and, ignoring the sharp jolt of electricity that pulsed through her at the touch, she let him lead her to her seat.