Thalos
Thalos took the wheel and steered the boat back out toward sea. His mind and body were raging. Gods, but one taste of her had been better than decades of dalliances with some of the most beautiful human females. He’d even had movie stars and famous models in his bed from time to time, but nothing and no one even came close to a simple kiss with Ariadne.
He wanted her, but he shouldn’t even think about it. Her words kept repeating themselves in his head. “I don’t even know how to please a male.” Why should she? But a male should know how to please her.
Maybe, he could teach her? After all, the Seer told him to teach her human and shifter ways. To help her get in touch with her humanity, wouldn’t sex be considered a normal part of that? He smiled bitterly. Of course, the Seer never meant for him to touch her in that way. She’d likely castrate him if she found out.
But then again, sooner or later, Ariadne would leave here. She’d head to some herd living in Britain or maybe the US somewhere, and perhaps she’d find a young male to bond with. What if the young male had no clue about the ways of the flesh either? They might both be doomed to centuries of a terrible sex life. In a way, it would be outright charitable of him to teach her.
The idea held more than a little excitement for him. She wasn’t jaded or bored. She wasn’t filthy rich and spoiled from years of attention and luxury. The littlest things pleased her or intrigued her. Her face when she’d tasted chocolate for the first time. He was ashamed to admit the moment had starred in a couple of his late-night fantasies.
Perhaps they could both get something out of it? He doubted she’d fall for him. He knew she didn’t really approve of the way he lived. Didn’t seem to like him sometimes, if he were being honest. Although, she’d warmed to him some these last few days. Perhaps, they might both find some enjoyment and fun together for a while before she left?
As he pulled into shore, he helped her out of the boat once it was tied up, and he asked her to wait by the car for a moment. Then he rushed back to the jewelry store and gave them instructions that Marina would be down for the ring and for them to add a pair of matching earrings. Then he went to the clothing boutique and bought the green dress. It came in small, medium, and large, and he guessed medium would fit her curves and her height the best. The assistant explained it tied at the back of the neck, and then hung down from there over the body, skimming it. So it should fit so long as he wasn’t wildly off with his estimation. He also asked them to find some shoes to match it, and to make them flats as he knew she struggled in heels. Again, he said Marina would be down to pick it all up later.
Once back at the car, he drove them home. The tension between them was thick, and he wondered if she wanted him the same way he did her. He wouldn’t rush this, though. Ariadne was worthy of a seduction. And a slow, torturous build would make it much more explosive when he did take her. He wanted her to enjoy it. In fact, a selfish part of him wanted to blow her mind and ruin her for all other males. Of course, such thoughts weren’t kind or nice, because he had to let her go. But still, it was what the possessive side of his nature wanted. And he had not found anyone to feel possessive about for a long time.
They pulled into the driveway, and he jogged around the car to get Ariadne’s door. He helped her out, and the moment they got into the house, she started to make her excuses about feeling tired and needing a rest. He understood. Their kiss had been passionate and electric. It blew his mind, so what it did to her when she’d only kissed one other person, he couldn’t imagine.
He'd give her some space now, but before he let her go, he took ahold of her hand for a moment.
“I’d like us to go out tomorrow. There’s a special restaurant I think you’ll enjoy.”
She nodded, but then her forehead made the little crinkle it did when she started to worry. “Is it a fancy place? I’m not sure I’ve got anything to wear.”
“It is,” he said. “But don’t worry about the clothes issue. Marina will sort it for you.”
The crinkle deepened. “I can’t accept you buying me clothes, Thalos.”
“Of course you can. What else shall I spend my money on? I’ve got far too much as it is.”
“It doesn’t seem right. And after what we did today, I’d hate to think I felt as if I owed you anything more. We can’t do it again.” She flushed and looked down at the floor.
He bit back his annoyance at her seeming to think he somehow wanted to buy her affection. He’d planned on buying her the dress and the ring before they’d kissed, and that decision had no bearing on whether anything happened between them. Not that he bought her flat-out refusal to contemplate it happening again. She’d liked it. A lot. Which maybe explained her sudden wish to stomp down on those feelings.
He’d already decided to give it time, take it slow. But now that he’d seriously thought about making her his, he didn’t want to back off and simply accept defeat. Not unless she outright didn’t want him. Then, of course, he would. He wasn’t some stalker lunatic who couldn’t take no for an answer. Although, thinking about what the Seer would do to him if she found out, maybe he was a lunatic.
“I don’t buy women gifts to try to get into their knickers. Trust me, I don’t need to.” He hated the way she flinched at his words, but he needed her to know if they went there, it would be purely because she wanted him. Not out of any sense of obligation. “The gifts I’ve bought you are only because I want to give them to you. Please, don’t equate them with anything else. You’ll offend me, and it will ruin them.”
She sighed and lifted her gaze to his. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply… Well, I did. I just want us to be clear. I can’t…we can’t do that. Not again.”
He nodded, face serious. “Of course not.” It didn’t do to let your prey know you were hunting them, after all.
A few hours later, the sun began to sink on the horizon. Marina knocked on the door of his bedroom, where he lay on the bed, laptop on his legs as he moved some investments around. “I’ve given her the clothes and the jewelry. I also took the liberty of buying her some makeup, and I’m going to help her get ready tomorrow, if that’s okay?”
“Of course.” He waved a hand at Marina. Why wouldn’t it be? Not that Ariadne needed makeup. But still, they were going to one of Corfu’s nicest restaurants, and before they did, he thought he might take her for a drink on the Liston in town. A beautiful old row of cafes under a stone colonnade where people sat and watched the world go by. He loved it there.
The next night, Thalos was deep in thought, looking at possible properties to buy. He glanced at his watch and shut down the web page. He needed to get ready.
Marina knocked on his office door. “I’m off to get Ariadne ready for your evening out.”
“Tell her to meet me downstairs in an hour and a half. If that gives you enough time to do whatever it is you women do?”
“Of course.” She grinned at him, and there was something devious there. God knew what little plots the female was cooking up. “See you then.”
An hour and forty-five minutes later, and he sipped at a whiskey as he waited in the living room for the females. He’d ordered a driver for the night from a firm he sometimes used. They were better than relying on the local taxis, and it would ferry them around all night. The restaurant was a twenty-minute drive from the center of town, and if he wanted to go to the Liston, they’d have needed to take four cabs in total. The service was used regularly by an assortment of the island’s resident millionaires and sprinkling of billionaires.
Footsteps had him looking up. Damn. He nearly swallowed his whiskey the wrong way. Marina had entered the room, but he didn’t even spare her a glance as all he could do was stare at Ariadne in the doorway.
He’d thought her beautiful from the first moment he saw her. But now? Wow. The green dress clung to her full bust, cut deep at the front and showing some cleavage from where the material gathered around the brooch to fall in waves to the floor. Emerald earrings glinted at her ears, and she wore the ring he’d bought for her. Marina must have taken the initiative to buy more than makeup because gold bangles clicked together on one wrist as Ariadne walked into the room. Her hair hung in long, lustrous waves down her back and shone as much as the silk of the dress. But oh, her face. Marina had used a light touch, but the makeup she’d applied highlighted those big, golden-brown eyes of Ariadne’s.
She walked into the room and smoothed her hands down the silk. “Do I look okay?”
He swallowed and nodded before he realized that might seem a touch unappreciative. “You look stunning. Absolutely gorgeous. Would you like a drink before we go?”
She shook her head. So, he stood and held out his arm. She took it and glanced up at him from under long, thick lashes.
“Show him the shoes,” Marina said.
He didn’t care about shoes, but he played along. However, when Ariadne shyly lifted the hem of the dress up and stuck out one slim leg, he felt himself harden. Shocked that such a simple action could rev his motor, he willed his dick to behave. The shoes were the same green as the dress. Perfectly flat sandals, with emerald green ropes of silk woven around her ankles. They were sexy as hell. Everything about her tonight was sexy as hell.
“Beautiful. As are you.” He sounded smooth, but inside, he felt shaky. Unsure of himself, as if the ground he stood on had somehow become treacherous.
“Thank you so much for this. And for making sure the shoes were flat. I know males like high heels. I’ve gathered as much from the magazines Marina bought me to show me the fashions females wear.”
Marina touched her arm. “Not everything we do is for males, Ariadne. Human women and female shifters often wear things for themselves.”
Ariadne did the little crinkle thing with her forehead he’d grown to love…like, he’d grown to like.
“But why would women wear those uncomfortable contraptions for themselves?” she asked.
Damn good question as far as he was concerned. Why indeed?
Marina shrugged. “Sometimes it is, indeed, to feel sexier. Sometimes to feel more powerful. Taller. Many reasons. A lot of what we do is for us, not our males. Look at handbags.” Marina gestured to the small gold bag Ariadne carried in the hand not holding his arm. “I bet Thalos here hasn’t even noticed it. Men don’t notice things like bags. We buy them and carry them because we like them. Life isn’t about pleasing males, honey. You should do things to please yourself. Purely for the pleasure.”
“We were taught pleasure for its own sake is wrong,” Ariadne said quietly. “Taking pleasure in wholesome things isn’t, like running in our horse form and enjoying our strength. Or swimming in the lake. But gluttony, pride, lust, adorning our human forms. Those things are not good. Draping yourself in expensive things to decorate yourself is something we were taught would be wrong. Only the gods and goddesses should do such things.”
He snorted before he could stop himself. “Honey, your people have been giving far too much credit to a bunch of jaded, so-called gods for centuries. They aren’t bothered about us anymore, if they ever were. So why should you bother about them?”
Ariadne opened and closed her mouth once or twice, and Marina shot him a murderous glare.
“Do you feel wrong tonight?” Marina asked Ariadne with a gentle smile.
Ariadne’s cheeks warmed to a fetching shade of pink, and she did her small, closed-lipped smile thing. “No. I feel beautiful. And…fizzy.”
“Fizzy?” He looked at her, puzzled.
“Yes, fizzy inside. Like I did in the car and when we went swimming. And on the boat…erm… Anyway.”
He bit back a laugh. Yes, she might say she didn’t want more, but if kissing him made her feel fizzy inside, she’d find it hard to resist him for long.
“Come on, beautiful. Your chariot awaits.” He led her out of the door, turning and mouthing a thank-you at Marina as they left.
The drive into town took them nearly thirty minutes as the driver went at a sedate pace. Once there, Thalos asked the driver to park and wait for them as they went to have a coffee. Ariadne loved her morning coffee, but he wanted her to try an iced one for a change, see if she liked it as much. They could sit and drink and then have a wander along the Liston as the sun set.
She gasped as they rounded the corner to where the Liston spread out in all its splendor. The columns of the esplanade rose from a walkway that positively shone. Once the sun set and the lights were turned on, they would reflect on the stone as if it were a lake.
Hand clamped over her mouth, she looked around, blinking. He’d been here so many times and had never seen it this way. Suddenly, he saw it as if through her eyes. Not his tired, indifferent gaze, but her keen, excited one. When he realized she was blinking back tears, he got a lump in his own throat and swallowed it down quickly.
“I never knew such a place could exist. This is so beautiful. I mean, I’ve seen pictures of the Acropolis in my history books so I know humans can create beautiful things, but this is stunning. What are those people doing?”
She pointed to the cricket pitch, where a game seemed to be winding down. He grinned at her. “It’s an English game called cricket. This place is such a mix of Venetian, French, Corfiot, and British. Come, we can sit at one of the cafes and have a drink. Watch them finish their game.”
She clapped her hands like a giddy child and grinned at him.
He ordered them each an iced coffee, and they sipped at it in companionable silence as the world passed by around them. She seemed riveted by the views, but he noticed how many men stared at her as they walked by…and he didn’t like it. He wanted to rip one particular guy’s head from his shoulders for gawking at her.
Shit. In one night, she’d made him get a lump in his throat. Made him jealous. And the night had only just begun.
A couple passed them by, laughing as they stopped to grab an ice cream from a vendor across the road. They took bites and then kissed one another. It soon turned passionate, and he smiled at them enjoying one another as the blazing sun set. They were young and happy and looked to be in love.
“That is surely not appropriate behavior for here.” Ariadne frowned at them.
“Why not?” He smirked at her shocked expression.
“It’s not… They aren’t mated, I don’t think. It’s wrong. Like what we did on the boat.”
“You know, Ariadne, where you’ll be going, people don’t live like they did in your herd. They don’t view having sex as some almighty sin. And in fact, because among most shifters there are more males than females, the females of the shifter world are often more experienced than the males in some cases. Unless the males consort with human females. A fair few of them do. But some of these herds are isolated. They live miles away from humans, and those males won’t get much of a chance. You might find yourself with a boy who knows nothing about what he’s doing, or how to please you.”
“If I love him, it won’t matter.” She turned and sipped her coffee.
“Don’t be so naïve. Centuries with a bad lover will grow even longer very quickly. You should let yourself experience the pleasures of the flesh.”
“Ah. And I suppose you’re the one who will be the perfect candidate to show me? After all, you’ve had a lot of practice, as you said yourself.” She leaned forward. “But did you ever stop to consider I don’t want to be another notch in some jaded playboy’s belt?”
He winced. Ouch. Her words were sharp. Hurtful.
“You’re always telling me what I should do, but maybe you should think about finding love, Thalos. You said yourself you’re bored, and your flings weren’t satisfying any longer. You say I need to learn how to please myself. Perhaps you need to learn how to open up to a person in a more emotional sense.”
Once more, her words stung. He had opened up, dammit. Told her things he hadn’t shared with anyone else. In fact, he’d talked more with Ariadne these past few weeks than with anyone for decades—other than Marina, and she didn’t count because she was like his sister.
He scrubbed a hand through his hair and sighed. His great mood of earlier ruined, he watched the cricket game end and the men stroll to grab drinks from where they’d left their bags.
The only reason she’d ruined his zen was because she was right. He hadn’t admitted it to himself before, but he’d been lonely. And the problem was, she didn’t mean herself when she told him to think about romance. It seemed all too clear from her words, she thought him morally bankrupt, intended to leave when the time came, and held no thoughts of any sort of future with him.
Fuck. He might be in trouble here. When he examined it, the situation suddenly seemed reversed from what he’d arrogantly assumed earlier. Truthfully, he’d imagined deflowering Ariadne and then letting her go on her merry way, while a little fantasy played out in his mind of her always missing him, her first and best lover.
What a prize idiot. Because when it came right down to it, he’d miss her. He’d miss her right now if she left. So, how did he think he could seduce her, make love to her, then watch her go? Because something told him it would be way more than mere fucking between them. He’d naïvely thought he could walk away unscathed. He might have been dead wrong.
Gods! He might have finally met his match.