His smile dug right inside her. ‘Come on.’ His hand reached for hers and she put hers in it, smiling for no reason she could think of as they crossed the street together and took the stairs to his front door.
He didn’t use a key. There was an electric pad and he swiped his watch across it, so it opened with a soft click. A light automatically came on and Santos stood back, gesturing for Amelia to precede him into the house.
A high-ceilinged corridor gave way to a staircase to the left and a lounge area on the right.
‘Would you like a drink?’
‘Perhaps a tea?’
He flashed her a grin at that but lifted his shoulders, detouring away from the living space to bring the kettle to life. She watched as he made their drinks—coffee for him, tea for her.
‘Won’t you be awake all night?’
His grin was laced with seduction. ‘I can only hope.’
Her pulse slammed through her like a tidal wave; heat began to build low in her abdomen.
He led her upstairs then, and up again and again, until the steps narrowed, there were fewer and a small door opened onto the roof of the building, giving an uncompromised view of Athens and the Acropolis.
Above them, the stars shone against an inky black sky. She expelled a sigh of contentment, cupping her tea in her hands, watching as Santos pulled a brightly coloured blanket from a basket, spreading it across the roof, over the surface, before returning to the basket to retrieve some cushions. He scattered them over the blanket, then gestured for her to take a seat.
‘Nice touch,’ she drawled, using humour to defuse the fact that her heart was fluttering wildly inside her. She moved to the blanket, settling herself cross-legged on one side of it. He stretched out on his side, an arm propped beneath him, his body turned towards her. ‘Is this a standard seduction routine, then? I imagine it works pretty well.’
She was sure she felt him bristle at that. ‘Actually, I don’t come up here often. I thought you would like the view.’ He lifted his eyes towards the stars so she immediately felt childish for having waved his playboy reputation between them. She winced and turned her attention to the ancient city sprawled before them.
‘I do. Thank you.’
‘Does it bother you?’
‘What?’
‘That I date a lot of women.’
‘You mean sleep with a lot of women?’
He sipped his coffee and she could feel his eyes heavy on her profile. He didn’t answer her question.
‘Why would it?’ She angled her face to his, her expression carefully blanked of any emotional response.
‘I’m so different to you.’
‘Actually, you’re similar to me in more ways than you’re not.’ She took a drink of her tea then placed the cup on the ground beside the mat, wriggling down to lie beside him, her body inverse to his, a mirror image of his position. On autopilot his hand curved over her hip and her gut kicked with the anticipation that contact evoked.
‘How so?’
‘We’re both loners, choosing to stay isolated from any depth of human connection rather than be hurt by someone we love. You do that by having meaningless sex with whatever woman takes your fancy. I do it by losing myself in my work and refusing to get involved with anyone.’
She hadn’t consciously appreciated it before that moment, but as she spoke the words she realised how true they were.
‘In my case, it’s more that I don’t see the value in that kind of relationship. I appreciate finding your “soul mate”—’ he said the word with derision ‘—and living “happily ever after” might be the aspiration for many people, perhaps even the meaning of life, but for me, it’s not. Everything I have seen has led me to believe it’s a flawed goal, and that people make themselves unhappy by aspiring to it. I am not a loner. I enjoy the company of others.’
‘But on your terms,’ she interjected softly.
He appeared to think about that a moment, then nodded unapologetically. ‘On terms that are mutually agreed and which leave no room for misunderstanding or hurt feelings.’
‘I wonder if that’s possible.’
‘Why wouldn’t it be?’