Chapter 2
CHAPTER 2
W illow
Where the hell had I put my clutch purse? “Mom. It’s just for a day. Twenty-four hours. I’ll be back before you know it. Why are you so bent out of shape?” I adored my mother, but she seemed to forget I was a big girl, way past the age where she could insist on telling me what to do.
“It’s supposed to be a family holiday and a celebration. Do you even remember you promised that we’d take time together?”
“Mom. We’re in Greece on vacation. I’m not going to see my friend for a long time since we live in Boston.” I felt the need to remind her that our current living situation was temporary.
“But you’re always busy at home. This is our one chance to be together as a family. All four of us.”
Because I had a life.
Damn it. Athena and the other girls would be here any moment and if I knew my mother, she’d invite them in for a ‘quick’ drink that would turn into an hour. She’d grill them until they were well-cooked. That would destroy the festive night.
“Are you paying any attention to what I’m saying?” she asked.
Not even for a second.
If I did, she’d make me feel guilty and I refused to be pulled into the drama.
“I heard you, Mommy dearest, but with Shane not bothering to show for dinner, things don’t seem quite so celebratory.” My older brother was the real pain in the ass. Yes, he had his life and had been living in Paris for years, but he and I were no longer close. Why wasn’t she calling him every few minutes, hassling him for being a no-show?
Maybe because he’d flown the coop almost ten years before. I, on the other hand, had chosen to remain living in my parents’ house while attending college all the way through getting my master’s degree. Mistake.
Big mistake.
“You know your brother is very busy,” she retorted in her not-so-nice way. “He has a highly important job.” Shane had always been her favorite child. I’d embraced that nasty little not-so-nice secret years before.
Not to say it didn’t annoy the shit out of me.
“Too busy to show up for my graduation celebration? No call? No positive ID from the Greek police? If a call had been made for ransom, maybe I would have bought that excuse.”
Where was my damn purse? Gah, I hated losing things. Sometimes I felt like I’d lose my head if it wasn’t attached.
Now she was giving me the silent treatment. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to share family times. None of us had seen Shane in almost two years, but we were in Athens, for God’s sake. And not Ohio or Florida or even Canada. Greece. I adored Greece. I’d sworn to myself I’d move here after college. People were awesome, the atmosphere was always welcoming, and I had a built-in family here as well. Friends of my uncle Gregory. Maybe I’d have time to sneak away, hunting down a perfect little spot I could rent. There had to be a need for my skills.
I raced into my room just as I heard the doorbell. The villa my father had rented was huge, complete with nine bedrooms, six bathrooms, four living rooms, six fireplaces, and a pool. For three people.
Daddy had wanted to make this trip special, but he hadn’t had the money. At least until recently. I was worried he’d taken out a third mortgage on the house I’d grown up in.
“Thank God.” I snagged my clutch from the bathroom, checked my reflection in the mirror, and flew back down the hallway before my mother had a chance to make it to the front door.
“Kisses, Mommy. Remember, don’t wait up. I am a big girl now. Tell Daddy goodnight.”
She huffed but stopped ranting.
For once.
But I wouldn’t hear the end of it when I returned in the morning. I grabbed my overnight bag, refusing to look back at her face. She’d have her stern you-don’t-care look, trying to create another wave of guilt.
Geez. I’d called her Mommy, something I hadn’t done in years. I was going on twenty-five, for God’s sake, not twelve. I headed outside. A car was waiting.
“Ready to go?” Athena asked. Her English was fluent, her father insisting she learn several languages. We’d been long distance friends for years.
“More than ready.” Laughing, we raced across the sidewalk to the waiting car. I’d met Athena the last time I was here almost thirteen years before. We were the same age and had a blast that week. Even our parents had become friendly, sharing dinners together. I’d remained in contact. Her other friends I didn’t know, but the more the merrier.
As I jumped in the back of her tiny car, my excitement was building. I didn’t care even a little bit I was being heavily scrutinized by the other two girls in the vehicle. They could bite my tushy for all I cared. I effectively lived a boring life, walking down a straight line to get from point A to point B. Discipline was my middle name.
Not tonight.
Tonight was like a new beginning, taking charge of my boring life.
“Willow, Katerina and Chloe. If you bitches aren’t nice to her,” Athena said, “I will kick your butts.”
For some reason, that broke the ice. I had a deliciously warm feeling this was going to be a very good night.
Club Sin and Shame certainly lived up to its name. With the line outside four blocks long, neon lighting up the sky as thumping tribal-style music blasted the night air, I’d known the place was going to be hot. When Athena breezed right past the entire line, blowing kisses at the two bouncers, I had to admit I was impressed.
Clubs weren’t my normal method of entertainment but as soon as we’d walked inside, the dancing bug hit me. We found a little corner where we could watch our purses and drinks while we danced the night away.
“This place is hot as hades,” I said to all three girls.
“Club Darkness is even better, but it’s on the other side of town,” Chloe said. “A bad neighborhood. Plus, this is where all the sexy men come to hunt their prey.” She roared like a lion, even clawing the air.
We all laughed and I scanned the club. Bad men. I had to admit to myself that I was in the mood to find one. Another goal in my boring life. What girl didn’t prefer a badass sex god? “There are some good-looking men, but where are the real hotties? You know the ones I mean. The va-va-voom kind of men you wouldn’t mind dragging you by your hair into a hot, wet embrace?”
Athena almost choked on her drink. “Wow. You are in the mood to party.”
Shrugging, I daintily took a sip of my drink on purpose. What I hungered for couldn’t be found with my passion purple vibrator. I hadn’t experienced sex in so long I’d forgotten what it was like. Not that I could claim the former time had been with a real man. Certainly not the buff he-man type.
“Mmm… You mean a sexy guy with broad shoulders and a carved chest?” Katerina asked. She had the kind of voice that should require her to be a sex phone operator. If they still had that kind of thing.
“You bet,” I threw out.
“A fantasy man reeking of passion and dominance who you could lick on huge pectoral muscles, chiseled abdomen, and the deep V leading to his big. Fat. Cock?” Chloe added.
“Uh-huh.” I sighed. I had a feeling I’d be hiding under my covers with my fake cock, hoping the vibrations didn’t wake my mother.
“You might find a few guys like that in the club.” Athena laughed. “Or maybe not.”
I shook my head, swinging my hips to the music as I continued dancing. The entire time I was shamelessly scoping for Mr. Hotness. A few might be good as tasty seconds, but the Big Mac variety I couldn’t find.
Yet the moment it felt like the earth was turning on its axis, I knew I was wrong. “You mean just like him?” I only pointed with my pinky, but heat instantly slithered up both sides of my face.
He was hotness personified, even if I could only see one side of his face. But he was the kind of man who could fill out a well-tailored suit like nobody’s business. He was huge, at least six and a half feet tall with dark, curly hair reaching his shoulders. I could barely breathe, let alone think, but I was longing to tangle my fingers in his thick locks.
All three girls looked in his direction then at each other. Were they slinking into the shadows? They were. What the hell? “What are you doing? Is there something wrong with the guy, like he’s been castrated, or he kicks puppies for fun?”
Athena breathed through pursed lips. “Close enough.”
“Meaning what?” I turned to face her.
“You don’t want to mess with him.” Chloe seemed nervous as hell.
“O-kay. Please explain.”
“Greek mafia,” Katerina added, even dropping her head as if doing so would keep him from looking in her direction.
When I wrinkled my nose, Athena leaned in closer. “He’s called the Godfather of the Night.”
“Why?” I’d certainly read about crime syndicates. I knew they were dangerous, but every man I’d seen on television or in the papers looked like Groucho Marx. Mr. Hotness couldn’t be mafia.
“Because he always kills his enemies in the dark and never misses.”