Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Dimos
I can’t remember the last time I was this nervous, and I hate it. This is barely a date. It’s one night and I’ll never see this girl again.
I ignore the tightness in my chest as those words bounce around in my head.
These feelings are as irksome as they are a relief. I’m glad I’m not so jaded I can’t feel emotion for another woman anymore, but feeling something this soon after Emma is unwelcome. I need a break from it all. I don’t want to want someone else right now. I need to spend some time alone.
“Here’s to our last night in paradise, my friend.”
Ez breaks me from my thoughts as he walks out onto the balcony of the suite where he and Eliana are staying. He hands me a highball glass with a couple of fingers of whiskey in it. They were headed back to Little Venice tonight, but at the last minute decided they were going to stay at the resort.
To spy on me, I’m sure.
“Oh, I don’t know. I’m thinking about sticking around for a while,” I joke.
Kind of.
I finger the smooth surface of the glass, and it reminds me of Gianna’s silky, tanned legs.
Stop it, D.
“I know you would stay if you could.”
“There isn’t anything for me to return to, Ez. I can work from anywhere. Emma’s gone, finally.” I ponder the possibilities for a moment. “I would miss my yacht, though. Someone would have to sail it out here for me.”
We clink our glasses together, and I take a sizeable gulp of the warm amber liquid. I relish the burn as it coats my throat. A brief period of silence follows before Ez speaks again.
“I know you were thinking of making the move from the West Coast to the Big Apple. Now that you’re no longer tethered, have you given it any more thought?”
Ez and Eliana have been trying to get me to move to New York City for the past few years.
We have a blast when I’m out there, and I know I would enjoy it.
But I haven’t been able to take the leap yet.
I blamed it on Emma a lot of the time, but the truth is, I don’t know if I’m ready.
I love my house on the Strand in Hermosa.
It’s beachfront, serene both inside and out, and the marina is so close, I could walk if I wanted to.
However, hearing the words I just uttered to Ez out loud, that I have nothing to return home to, does make me a little sad.
I’ve dreamt about the day Emma would finally be out of there, that she would stop sucking the air out of every room she walked into.
By no means would I want to go back to that life, and I never would, but. ..
I don’t want to go home to nothing.
The vision of Gianna sitting on the chaise lounge by the pool earlier flashes through my mind.
She had on a cream-colored bathing suit today, the outline of which was covered in turquoise stones.
Her perfectly tanned skin seemed to glow beneath it.
Then the image shifts to her sitting on the sundeck at my house in Hermosa.
Sprawled out on a bed of cushions, topless, lying on her stomach with a thin piece of gauzy fabric covering her bottom half.
I can picture myself going home to her. To théa.
“I’m still not sure I’m ready to make that move just yet,” I finally answer.
“Fair enough,” he nods.
I down the rest of my drink in one swallow, and within five minutes, we’re entering the elevator from the hallway outside of our door. When we step inside, I speak, needing to make a request.
“I have to ask something before we get downstairs. Gianna lives in New York, too. I don’t know if she’s in the city or upstate or what, but I’d prefer it if she didn’t find out you guys live there or that I have ties there.”
“You got it,” Ez agrees easily.
“I’m assuming she knows you as Nick.” Eliana states rather than asks as she shoots me some serious side-eye.
It’s my go-to fake name when I don’t want to give out my real one.
My full first name is Dimosthenis. My parents used to call me Nick when I was a young boy because of the “nis” at the end.
And Evanos is my middle name, so it’s not exactly a lie.
Before I’m able to admit or attempt to deny it, the elevator doors open, and we step from the car into the lobby.
“Saved by the bell,” I joke as I walk.
Ez and Eliana are eating at the main restaurant this evening, while I’ve made plans for Gianna and myself to dine privately in a more intimate setting. But when we get to the lobby, I realize I’m a little early.
“You guys go ahead, I’ll wait here for her,” I point to the sofa in the grand lobby area.
I sure could use a drink while I’m waiting.
“We were planning on stopping by the bar for a few drinks first, D. Why don’t you join us?” Eliana suggests.
I swear, it’s like we’re connected somehow, as if she’s my long-lost sister or something like that.
We joke around that it’s the pull of the Greek inside of us.
She can tell exactly what I’m thinking and feeling, sometimes even before I do.
I think about it for a second, worried I won’t notice when Gianna arrives.
But before I’m able to answer, I hear the familiar click of high heels echoing down the hallway behind me.
It’s like a universal siren for the male species. We all know it when we hear it, and it’s usually followed by the strut of a sexy woman. It’s too early for it to be her, but that doesn’t keep me from pivoting toward the noise.
When I turn around, I lock eyes on a sultry woman marching down the hallway toward me.
She’s one of the sexiest creatures I’ve ever seen, and my dick twitches thinking about bending her over the concierge’s desk and having my way with her.
I begin to feel guilty for having sordid thoughts of one girl while waiting on another, but then I realize exactly who it is I’m practically drooling over.
Théa.
I struggle to swallow the lump in my throat, and I pull on my tie, loosening it slightly. Everything seems to slow down as she continues to strut across the marble floor.
Does she even know how gorgeous she is?
She’s dressed in a low-cut, black, lace dress that barely covers the sacred place between her long legs.
The same place I’ve been itching to get a taste of since the moment I laid eyes on her.
The thin straps helping to hold her ample tits in place look like they could snap at any moment under the weight of them.
God help me if they do.
Her hair is done up in large curls which are pinned to the side with a crystal-studded bow barrette. The strappy, black stiletto shoes she has on make her already svelte legs look even more elegant. They add several inches to her shorter height, bringing the top of her head to the level of my eyes.
She flashes me a shy smile that contradicts the confident sway of her hips.
“Sweet Jesus,” I mutter under my breath, forgetting where I am and that there are other people around. I don’t even care who heard me.
“Gianna … hi.” I can barely get my words out.
“Hello,” she greets me before looking at Ez and Eliana.
Her angelic voice practically does me in.
“You look …”
My eyes trace every inch of her body while I try to think of a word strong enough to convey my feelings.
From her gorgeous, chocolate tresses to her piercing blue stare that’s locked on me from beneath lids hooded with what I hope is lust. Over the swell of her tits, following the curve of her hips, down to the bottom of her dress.
I stop momentarily when my eyes meet the hem.
What I wouldn’t give to run my hand up the length of her silky legs. Starting from her fuck-me heels, over her toned calves and thighs, right to her warm center … If I’m thinking it, surely countless others who feast eyes on her tonight will, too.
What was she thinking, wearing such a tight, tiny, poor excuse for a dress like that out of the hotel room anyway?
If I had the power to take my eyes off her, I’m sure I would find every other man within eyesight staring at théa mou.
The beast within me, a raging bull I haven’t felt stir in years, comes out, and I fight my instincts to tell her to go back upstairs and change into something less revealing.
Something that looks less like a negligee and more like a cocktail dress.
But I won’t do that to her. I take a calming breath, needing to control both my beast as well as my dick.
I don’t want to ruin my chance with her, but more importantly, I don’t want to embarrass her.
Besides, she has every right to wear whatever she wants.
Plus, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to show up to dinner with her on my arm.
To have every woman we pass along the way wishing they were her, every man wishing they had her.
The envy on their faces would be a fair trade.
“…breathtaking,” I finally finish my sentence and pray my pause wasn’t actually as long as it felt.
“Hi, I’m Eliana,” Eliana offers Gianna her hand, breaking me from my trance and once again proving she knows what I need.
“It’s very nice to meet you, I’m Gianna.”
“Oh, I know,” Eliana answers, smirking at me.
I watch as pink tints Gianna’s cheeks, and her posture stiffens. She’s embarrassed, and it’s adorable.
I roll my eyes at Eliana before introducing her to Ez.
“Nice to meet you as well,” Gianna smiles, correcting her reaction quickly and taking Ez’s hand when he offers it to her.
“We were just going to grab a drink before dinner,” Eliana explains. “Do you guys want to join us? I know you’re early for your reservation.”
I look to Gianna to weigh her response before I answer.
“That sounds wonderful,” she states.
She appears relieved, and I wonder if she needs a drink to help her relax as much as I do.
As Eliana and Ez turn toward the bar, I place my hand on the small of Gianna’s back and guide her across the lobby.
I can feel her skin heat through the thin, lacy material, and I'm reminded of the searing heat emanating from her when I kissed her hand at the pool earlier.