Chapter Seven #2
Zoe had now gone as red as her bikini, her eyes very wide as she stared at him. And she did stare at him. At all of him.
He lifted a brow, satisfaction coiling inside him at her blush and the glitter of appreciation in her eyes. ‘See something you like?’
She hurriedly averted her gaze from his body. But it was too late. They both knew she’d stared, and now they both knew she’d definitely liked what she saw.
‘No.’ The huskiness in her voice was pronounced now. ‘Of course not. If I’d known you were going to swim—’
‘Naked,’ he finished for her. ‘If you’d known I was going to swim naked, then what would you have done, Zoe? Please, enlighten me.’
The red glow in her cheeks had spread down her neck and chest, the bikini she wore hiding nothing. ‘I would have decided not to swim.’ Her chin took on a stubborn slant, even though she was staring at the water. ‘In fact, maybe I’ve changed my mind—’
‘Coward,’ Archimedes interrupted, low and rough. ‘You started this game. You wanted to play it. But now you’re getting pushback, you don’t like it? That’s not the Zoe I knew. The Zoe I knew had the guts to follow through at least.’
She looked at him sharply, anger flickering in her eyes. But he didn’t wait for her to respond. She’d made the first move and he’d countered it. The next move was hers.
Archimedes turned, strode over to the edge of the pool and dived in.
* * *
Zoe watched his sleek tanned figure dive neatly into the water, all the while silently berating herself.
She’d felt so smug this morning, dressing in the bikini and throwing a kaftan over the top, looking forward to seeing his reaction before he left for whatever trip he was going on.
Then she was going to settle herself in front of her computer and work on figuring out how to breach the Ares firewalls.
When she’d come down to breakfast and found him standing with a cup of coffee and staring moodily into the distance, her heart had beat a little faster, she couldn’t lie.
She’d had a terrible sleep the night before, her dreams full of him, but she’d hauled herself out of bed, determined to put him in his place with the plan she’d decided on.
She’d steeled herself for his presence, of course, but still, seeing him standing there in a crisp white business shirt and tailored dark blue trousers, his eyes glowing fiercely, had made her breath catch.
Then it had caught again when their gazes had met and his had widened, taking in what she was wearing.
A charge of satisfaction had gone through her, which had only deepened after it became obvious that he was in a temper, and probably because of how she affected him. She’d had to smile at that, which had only annoyed him more.
Of course, he knew what game she was playing—he was too experienced not to—but she’d had fun pretending she wasn’t playing games at all, pushing his temper further. He was leaving, as he’d said, and wouldn’t be back for weeks, so why not push him for all she was worth?
She’d thought she’d had the last laugh when she’d turned away to go to the pool, but apparently he’d had other ideas. She hadn’t expected him to follow her to the pool area, only seeing he’d followed her after taking her kaftan off.
She’d had to brazen it out, because her plan had only extended to needling him before he left. She hadn’t thought about what to do if he made a move, and she certainly hadn’t counted on him not leaving at all.
She hadn’t counted on him using the same tactics she’d used on him to get to her either.
The lazy way he’d unbuttoned his shirt, his blue gaze holding hers, before taking it off, exposing broad shoulders, muscled chest and hard, carved abs.
His skin was the deep olive of his homeland, and smooth, crisp black hair curled on his chest. He was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen and her mouth had dried.
Then it had dried even further as he’d unbuttoned his trousers and stepped free of his clothes.
He’d stood in front of her, gloriously naked and not caring one bit, not that he had any reason to care since he was magnificent, but there had been definite challenge in his eyes.
He’s right though, isn’t he? You are a coward.
Anger clenched inside her as she watched him surface, his black hair sleek as a seal’s pelt. He’d taken the one advantage she’d had over him and had called her bluff, raised the stakes, and she didn’t know if she was equipped to answer it.
Archimedes lifted a hand and ran it through his wet black hair, glancing over his shoulder at her. Water glistened on his skin, drops trailing down his powerful shoulders and back, and hunger twined with the anger sitting like a hot coal inside her.
She’d decided she was going to push him, but she should have expected that he wouldn’t wait around to make a move. He’d always been a man of decisive action, who took control of a situation, and that hadn’t changed. Neither had the way he challenged her.
You always met his challenges back then. Are you going to run away now?
Zoe drew in a silent breath. Back when she’d been an anxious little girl, he was the one who’d drawn her out of her shell, who’d encouraged her to do the things that scared her, that she was nervous of, and each and every time she’d overcome some obstacle he’d cheered her on.
He was the one who’d helped her to be better, to be great, not Banks, and he was doing the same thing now.
The contrary, stubborn part of her could not let it go. Could not let him be right that she was every bit the coward he accused her of being. Because she wasn’t a coward. She wasn’t.
Aren’t you? Isn’t that why you stayed with Banks instead of leaving?
Zoe shoved that thought away hard, and slowly walked to the edge of the pool. Archimedes turned to face her, blue gaze glinting.
No, she wasn’t going to walk away. She’d decided to play this game with him, and she’d acknowledged last night that it had the opportunity to backfire on her, and it was likely going to do so now.
But that didn’t matter. What mattered was that his control wasn’t as impregnable as it seemed—why else would he have followed her?
Taken off his clothes and jumped into the water?
‘You’re having a swim before work?’ she asked.
He lifted one muscled shoulder. ‘Why not? I’m the CEO of the company. I can do whatever the hell I like.’
‘You’d better step aside then,’ she said.
‘You’re in my way.’ And she reached to undo the tie of her bikini top, ignoring the nervousness that coiled tightly inside her.
He’d seen most of her body anyway, since the bikini basically hid nothing, but still, being naked in front of him made her feel exposed.
She wasn’t going to let that get to her though, as she let her bikini top fall and shoved down her bikini bottoms. Then she straightened, watching as his gaze flared in response.
Goosebumps rose all over her bare skin, little electric shivers shocking her. There was hunger in his gaze, as well as appreciation and desire, and she found herself standing straighter, her nervousness dropping away along with the sense of exposure.
He liked looking at her and he didn’t hide it, didn’t bother to pretend he didn’t feel it, and that felt powerful. That made her feel strong and in control, a feeling that only grew as he slowly came through the water towards her, his hungry gaze on hers.
‘What are you waiting for?’ His deep voice had gone even deeper, even rougher. ‘The pool’s big enough for both of us.’