Adonis in Athens - Page 21

“There’s a floor,” he protested. “It’s just not a pretty floor.”

“Window treatments?”

“Why would I want to block my view of the sea?”

“In case your wife was in here naked.”

He leaned against the wall and took his time looking her up and down, his eyes lingering on the swell of her breasts and long legs. “Then I’d buy window treatments…because the only person who gets to see my wife naked is me.”

She swallowed at the passion in his voice. Damn, sex was going to happen sooner rather than later and while she’d been fantasizing about it since the last time they’d done it, she wasn’t sure she was ready for the intensity she could see in his face.

“Do I make you nervous?” he asked softly, moving closer to her but keeping a little space between them. “You don’t have to stay here, koukla. We can do the nasty at your hotel.”

“It’s not nasty,” she whispered. “And yes, you make me a little nervous, but only because there’s so much…everything…between us. My memories are of the most amazing sex of my life and I’m afraid…”

“You’re afraid that you’ve built them up in your mind and now the real thing will be a disappointment.”

“It’s just that every other person I’ve had sex with has literally been a total disappointment and I don’t know why you weren’t.”

He reached for one of her hands and slowly brought it to his lips. “Because it’s us,” he said, kissing the back of her hand before turning it over and pressing light kisses on her palm, her wrist and trailing them further up the inside of her arm. “But don’t worry, I won’t rush you. I’ll wait until you’re comfortable.”

She closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation of his lips on her skin and remembering what it was like when he kissed her in other places.

“Come on. Let me show you the rest of this mess.” He squeezed her hand in his and led her up more stairs.

“So that’s all there was down there? A living room?”

“Living room, toilet with a clothes washer—washing machine?” He frowned.

She smiled. “Yes. Your English is so good… I’ve always meant to ask where you learned. You had to have been already fluent to attend a university like Yale.”

He nodded. “Yes. My parents sent me to special classes to start learning when I was young—all three of us actually—and then I took it in high school and really excelled. I speak Spanish fluently as well, though I don’t use it as often so I’ve forgotten a lot. I’ve been losing a bit of my English too, because I don’t use it in business as much as I thought I would.”

“I used to speak Spanish too, but like you said, when you don’t use it, you forget a lot. By the way, donde está el baño?”

He laughed. “The bathroom is right over there. One of them anyway. Go ahead and I’ll put your bags in the guest room.”

She paused, turning to look at him. “We both know that’s silly. I’m a little nervous but there’s no doubt what’s going to happen.”

He kissed the side of her face. “Then the guest room will act as a dressing room for you, because I’m sure you like to spread out your clothes and makeup and such.”

She just smiled and shut the bathroom door behind her.

He showed her the rest of the house, including his complete disaster of a kitchen. He hadn’t been kidding when he’d said it needed a lot of work. The floor was also bare concrete and the sink consisted of one of those giant soaking sinks found in many American laundry rooms. The refrigerator was college dorm-sized and there were no cabinets or usable counters. There was half a counter with an empty cabinet underneath, a folding table against one wall that had a microwave on it, and nothing else except dust bunnies.

Paige gave him a sideways glance. “I can’t even make excuses for this room.”

He laughed. “Maybe you could give me some suggestions on what to do with it.”

She arched a brow. “Refrigerator, stove, cabinets, countertops…tile? Maybe a dishwasher?”

“That’s all doable. The problem is time and details. What color cabinets? What type of flooring? Dark or light countertops? Is granite worth the extra investment?”

“Oh, absolutely! Then you don’t have to worry about putting a hot pan down—it has to be incredibly hot to burn or damage granite.”

“Good to know.” He showed her a small dining room and then an odd little room off to the side that appeared to be an office in the making, with a desk, leather chair, file cabinet and bookshelves. There were boxes everywhere, though, and it appeared that other than a phone and a computer, the room wasn’t fully functional. “I’d like to be able to work from home sometimes,” he explained. “But again, I haven’t had the time to get it set up.”

“Lots of potential,” she nodded. “And there’s a real floor!”