But of course she didn’t hear him. By the time he’d tapped on her shoulder, making her almost jump out of her seat, the screen on her phone had gone black.
‘Who was that?’ he repeated, when she’d tugged the earphones out with trembling hands.
Dark colour stained her cheeks, her teeth bit into her full lips and her eyes were wide...fearful?
What on earth did she have to be frightened of?
Her throat moved before she answered. ‘It’s private.’
‘Private?’
‘Private,’ she repeated more decisively. ‘Did you want me for anything?’
‘Yes.’ He folded his arms across his chest and without even considering his words said, ‘I’m taking you out for dinner tonight.’
If there had been fear in her eyes before, all that rang out of them now was confusion. ‘Why?’
‘You need a break. You haven’t seen anything of my island.’
‘I’m here to work—not sightsee.’
‘You’ll burn out if you don’t take a break.’ He needed a break too, time away from the palace and the reams of courtiers if only for a few hours.
He knew next to nothing of this woman who had once been a beacon of light for him on a long, cold night.
An evening out would do them both good.
Her brows furrowed. ‘I thought Agon was closed on Sundays.’
He fixed her with the stare his brother Talos used to such great effect. ‘Let me worry about finding somewhere to go. You need a break from this office. I want you ready for a night out by seven o’clock—and no arguments or I’ll have you taken to the dungeons.’
Her eyes widened in surprise before she let out a bark of laughter.
He felt his own bubble of mirth rise up too, but smothered it. ‘Seven o’clock,’ he said, his voice brooking no argument.
‘I haven’t got anything to wear,’ she said matter-of-factly, as if that clinched it. As if that would let her off the hook.
On impulse, he leaned down to place his face before hers, taking in the ringing blue-grey eyes. He caught a hint of a light, feminine scent and inhaled.
‘Dress casually. And if suitable clothing is an issue I would suggest not wearing anything at all.’
Her cheeks turned so red they nearly matched the colour of her hair.
Pulling back, feeling lighter than he’d felt in years, he sauntered through to his office, pausing at the threshold to add, ‘If you’re not finished by five o’clock Nikos will escort you out of here. The office door will be locked until the morning. See you at seven.’
He walked into his apartment, his pulse thundering in his ears, and closed the door behind him.
What the hell was he playing at? A night out was one thing—but suggesting she go naked? That was inviting trouble. It was the kind of comment Theo would have made.
For five years his physical desires had been dormant. Being around beautiful women was a regular occurrence in his life, but not one of them had tempted him. None of them made him feel as if his veins had been injected with red-hot treacle the way being with Jo did.
None of them had propelled him to make an impulsive offer of a date. Well, give an order for a date.
No, not a date. Merely an evening away from the confines of the palace for them both.
Now his senses were straining to remember what she had looked like naked, but their night together was still a blur; a ghost that couldn’t be seen.
Something told him it would be best for that memory to remain a ghost.
CHAPTER FIVE
A LOUD KNOCK on her apartment door announced Theseus’s arrival.
Jo took a deep breath through her nose and pulled open the door, her heart thundering erratically.
And there he stood.
Tonight he’d forsaken the business attire he usually wore and donned a pair of slim-fitting dark blue jeans that hugged his long, muscular thighs, a light grey shirt unbuttoned at the neck and a fitted brown leather jacket that showed off the breadth of his chest to perfection.
All of that, coupled with his deep olive features and thick dark hair... He looked sexy. And dangerous. So dangerous she should close the door in his face and plead a headache.
He looked...
He looked like Theo.
He stepped over the threshold and stood before her, gazing down with a slow shake of his head. The look in his eyes threatened to send her pulses racing out of her skin.
She tried to swallow but her throat had dried up. Only once had she seen that look. Five years ago.