Chapter 27
Arax
“You designed this?” I was in awe at the lavishness around me.
“I went to school for interior design.” Penelope informed me. Late in the morning, after coming into my room and scaring me awake, she had suggested we go swimming. We had brunch on the deck, then she and Eleni took me down to the indoor pool.
It was absolutely beautiful, more like a grotto with a tall rockslide, a waterfall, and high walls that had jetting streams of water in a gentle flow.
Above those walls, there appeared to be a lounge section decorated with ivy and vines.
Entwined through them hung little lights, which were off as it was daytime but would look undeniably enchanting at night.
The water spray created a light mist around the grotto and it was so lush and green and incredibly relaxing.
The pool itself was enormous, like a giant rocky oasis and the waterfalls acted as a curtain against the outside world.
I stuck a toe in and saw that the bottom was lined in tiles the color of lapis lazuli, tinting the water a tranquil shade of the deepest blue.
“Wow,” I said in admiration.
“You like it?” Pen asked.
“It’s stunning down here.”
“I promised Leni we’d swim today. It’ll just be the three of us. Everyone else is in a meeting.”
“You don’t attend these meetings?” I asked curiously.
She waved a hand about. “I could, but I don’t want to. They’re too boring. Stan drones on and on. I prefer planning parties.”
“I see,” I said with a nod. Party planning definitely seemed like Penelope’s forte.
“What are you wearing under there?” she asked, indicating my t-shirt and shorts and adjusting her own flowy cover-up. Her dissatisfaction with my idea of swimwear was evident when I showed her it was just my sports bra.
“Pen, I’m sorry, but I couldn’t wear any of suits in my closet. They were… inappropriate.”
They really were. Not a single one covered anything that a light sneeze wouldn’t undo.
“You are kind of chesty,” she observed aloud. “But like I said, it’s just the three of us.”
“But what if someone else shows up?” I asked nervously.
“Who are you hoping will show up?”
“Errr, no one. I’m just saying,” I said, feeling myself getting hot.
“Uh huh,” she replied, seeing right through me… observing my blush spreading to the back of my neck. “You’re such a nun,” she scoffed, and shoved me in the pool.
I came up a sputtering mess as she and Eleni laughed at me. I splashed them both, and Eleni squealed, jumping into my arms a second later.
Despite it being early spring, being in the water felt wonderful. The temperature was perfect. After warming up with a few laps, I made a beeline for the slide and went down with Eleni in my lap while Pen sprawled out on one of the chairs.
“Are you working on a tan or something?” I teased, since we were indoors. “Get in the water with us!”
“Are you crazy?” she replied, pointing at her swimsuit, which consisted of bandage-style straps zigzagging around her curves. “This is vintage!”
I don’t know how she even got into that thing. I probably would have strangled myself trying to put it on.
“I don’t know what that means,” I replied.
“It means it’s expensive.”
I got out of the pool and squeezed the water from my hair. “Ready to go again, cutie?” I said, addressing Eleni. She nodded enthusiastically.
“Come on, Pen.” I tried to coax her. “The water feels great.”
“This suit doesn’t like water,” she said, shutting me down.
“Only you would wear a swimsuit you can’t even swim in.” Drake’s voice echoed off the stone walls. He walked over to where we were standing, dressed in a pair of swim trunks. His eyes skimmed over my body quickly before he looked away.
I sighed inwardly. I guess things were still tense, and even though he and Konstantine had patched things up, the incident from the other day hung over both of us, and he didn’t want to get caught looking.
Cyrus came out of nowhere and, in one motion, snatched up his daughter and cannonballed with her into the pool.
“Just the three of us, huh?” I said to Penelope.
She shrugged. “These meetings usually last all day.”
“Late lunch,” Drake said. “Then we’re back at it.”
I glanced over my shoulder to see if anyone else was making an appearance. I saw Vallon and Jason approaching, but there was no sign of Konstantine. I didn’t know if it was relief I was feeling or disappointment. I decided to go with relief.
I waved hello to the two of them, then called out to Eleni, “Slide?”
“Yeah! Can I sit on your shoulders, Roxie?”
I went up the steps and sat, then let her climb onto my back. “Ready?”
I was about to push off when Eleni’s voice rang out above me. “Uncle K! Uncle K! Watch!”
My head snapped up. I hadn’t seen Konstantine arrive, but I watched as he slowly turned around to face his niece.
He gave her a little smile before lowering his eyes to meet mine.
My pulse raced, and despite being already damp, I felt my hands getting clammy.
For the second time that day, heat crept from the back of my neck and spread through my face.
It wasn’t until I felt a tug on my hair that I was able to get it together.
“Come on, Roxie! I wanna show Uncle K!” Eleni whined impatiently.
I grinned at her.
After securing her on my shoulders, I slid us down. Just before we hit the water, I tossed her in the air, and she came down with a terrific splash, giggling wildly when she rose to the surface.
“Again!” she commanded, dragging me out of the pool and back toward the slide.
I moaned with a little laugh. “You have too much energy, kid.”
She stopped to give Konstantine a hug on the way, soaking him in the process.
Unlike the others, he was still fully dressed.
I saw his eyes look past her and travel upward as he took me in.
It was subtle on his part, and had I not been standing next to him, I would have missed the action altogether.
His eyes came to rest on the newest tattoo on the side of my torso, near my ribs, and I could tell he was reading the script.
I had gotten it after my injuries had fully healed as a way to disguise the rather large scar on my stomach, the only remnant of my accident.
Neither of us were paying attention to what was happening around us.
Eleni had made her way back to the slide, but the next thing I knew, someone pushed Konstantine into me with so much force, it knocked the two of us completely off balance.
I mindlessly grabbed him, and he somehow twisted his body in the air, causing me to land on top as we plunged into the water.
I floated to the surface, then coughed and laughed at the same time as him, and we were greeted with a round of rancorous chortling from Cyrus, who, by the way Konstantine was glaring at him, was clearly the guilty party.
“Are you all right?” Konstantine asked me.
“Yeah, yeah.” I nodded, pushing my hair out of my face. “I think I swallowed half the pool though.”
He grinned at me wickedly and climbed out the side of the pool. Walking up to Cyrus with steely determination, he grabbed him by the back of his neck like he was no bigger than Eleni and threw him headfirst into the water.
“Assface!” Cyrus shouted.
“You deserved it, Daddy!” Eleni smirked at him, coming to her uncle’s defense.
He dunked her head under the surface and thus began a game of chase between father and daughter.
“Help me, Roxie!” Eleni shrieked and grabbed a hold of me. I swam for our lives, but Cyrus caught up with us repeatedly and dunked us over and over until my lungs were burning.
“Save yourself, Leni!” I wheezed, pushing her toward the steps and away from her dad, my own escape hindered since I was gasping for breath and laugh-crying all at once.
Cyrus went for us again, but luckily and to my surprise, Konstantine waded into the water and wrapped an arm around his niece, scooping her up.
With the other arm he took my waist, lifting me out of Cyrus’s reach.
It was the first time he had willingly touched me since I’d arrived, and I the warmth from his fingers spread all over my skin.
Our eyes met for the most fleeting of moments, but his burned into me so intensely, I almost forgot we weren’t alone.
He lowered us and pulled his hand away from me slowly, allowing his fingers to graze my scar before removing them altogether.
I noticed their absence instantly as the sparks from his touch dissipated, only to leave me wanting more.
He lowered his gaze and walked away, as if nothing of note had occurred. “Lunch is over,” he said loudly, not breaking his stride or looking back. “Everyone back in my office in twenty minutes.” He kept walking until we heard the door slam behind him.
Around me, everyone was wearing an amused expression.
“Well,” Drake said with a shake of his head. “Guess lunch is over.”
The four of them quickly said their good-byes and left, leaving me with Penelope and Eleni.
“Um, Pen? Did I miss something?” I asked her, trying to sort through my muddled thoughts.
I didn’t understand Konstantine’s mood swings at all.
One minute he was joking around, along with everyone else, and the next minute he was running off, as if he was embarrassed for showing his more relaxed, humorous side.
“Who knows with him,” she said, unconcerned. “He’s always got a lot on his mind, especially now.”
“Especially now?”
“Don’t worry about it, Rox,” she replied, laughing at me. “Whatever that was, it wasn’t your fault. Let him figure it out.”
I wasn’t entirely sure what Penelope was implying. It was almost as if she was saying that Konstantine’s up and down attitude had something to do with me. Maybe it did.
“Hey, Penelope. Listen, if me being here is that big of a problem, I should just leave. Last year, he made it perfectly clear to me that strangers weren’t welcome and I—”
She held up her hand to stop me. “No, Rox. You’re wrong, and you won’t be going anywhere. You said you’re staying for my party, and that’s exactly what you’re going to do. My brother can be an idiot, but I promise you this is his problem, not yours.”
“Okay,” I said weakly.
“Hey,” she said, coming over to me and laying a hand on my arm. “I know we haven’t known each other very long, but I think you, Val, and I could be great friends, and I’m not going to let my dumbass brother ruin it.”
I smiled at her. “Looks like both the Grigoriadis siblings have a hidden sweet side.”
“Tell no one,” she replied with a grin as we gathered our things and went back upstairs.
Once I was in my room, it was evident how worn out I was. We had swum for hours, and trying to evade Cyrus’s attacks had seriously deprived me of oxygen. My strength not being what it used to be quickly transformed even the most basic activity into an overexertion.
I took a long shower, stretching my arms over my head, trying to loosen my tight knots in my back.
The steam and the warm water were making my eyelids heavy with sleep.
Dead tired, I absentmindedly ran the loofah over my body.
I was on autopilot until my hand accidentally grazed over my sensitive area.
My eyes flew open. It had been a long time since I’d gotten action of any kind.
I was feeling deprived, but still I resisted the urge to scratch the itch myself.
I preferred the real thing. I tried to focus on just about anything else, but my brain had other plans.
Images of the pool came to mind. Falling into the water with Konstantine’s rock-hard body underneath mine…
the way his soaking-wet shirt had clung to his torso so tightly I could count every single one of his abs.
His pants sticking to his perfect ass when he climbed out the side…
Fuck it, I thought and slid my fingers inside.
I was already wet, and my body responded instantly, I moaned at the sensation.
Here and now, I was finding the panacea for the ache.
I couldn’t stop myself; my fingers had a will of their own.
They knew where to go, how hard to press, and when to soften their touch.
Something supernatural had to be guiding them.
How else would they know to prolong the maddening build that was making me bite my lip and shake under the stream of water that was quickly pouring way too hot?
I’d never been this skilled and soon, my fingers became insufficient. I needed more.
I grabbed the showerhead, changing the setting to one more favorable and held it firmly against myself.
It pulsed against my nerves, drawing out a series of low gasps.
The pressure steadily mounted and a tantalizing knot was forming.
The timed jets were hitting me just right, each wresting a spark from within.
I pressed myself to the shower wall, my nipples hardening at the coolness of the tile as the jets performed their expertly choreographed pirouettes.
My knees started to give out, and I finally had to sit to keep myself from falling over.
I spread my legs and kept the showerhead where it was, and my fingers rejoined the party.
They found my opening and slipped in… one, then two.
My clit was on fire. I was getting close.
My heels pressed against the tile floor; it wasn’t my own hand I was riding anymore.
Konstantine’s fingers were inside me, pleasuring me…
His tongue replaced the shower head, flicking and fanning the flames, making the fire burn brighter, hotter.
A rush came over me when I visualized his lips enclosed around my center, his tongue burrowed deep.
I let out the loudest moan, sweating profusely.
My muscles were screaming. They were at the mercy of my release, but I didn’t want to let go of these thoughts just yet.
I needed Konstantine to stay, if only in my mind’s eye.
I could feel the roughness from his hands, fingers, and tongue all over me.
I wanted to make it last forever, but it was impossible.
My orgasm crested out of nowhere, and I cried out in both pain and pleasure.
The showerhead dropped out of one hand, but I kept the fingers of the other in place, sliding them rapidly in and out and over my clit until my body couldn’t take it any longer and snapped.
I squirted all over my hand, a first for me, and I laughed in my delirium, lying half-dead on the bathtub floor.
Straining, I dragged myself to sit up against the wall, unable to move or think until eventually some of my basic motor functions returned.
I finished my shower with what little strength I had left and fell into bed, my body, mind, and heart in exalted disarray.
Yet somehow, I couldn’t recall any other time when I had felt so thoroughly satisfied by my own devices.