“Ah. A knight in shining armour that you’re sleeping with?”
Her heart kicked up a notch at his phrasing, which made it sound as though he intended what they’d just done to become far more regular. He wasn’t acting as though it were a one off, as though he wanted to backpedal immediately. Nonetheless, she felt the self-preservation skills she’d developed years ago firm inside of her.
“But my independence has been hard-fought, Leonidas, and I’m not willing to let it go. While I appreciate your help, and I really do, I need to have autonomy. I need to be in control of my own life.”
His nostrils flared as he stared at her, and she could see his brain cogs turnings. “There’s another difference between Jackson and me. I don’t want to enslave you. I want you to stay here, so that I can keep you safe, and only for as long as necessary. That desire doesn’t stem from this,” he gestured from his chest towards her and she became aware of her still-naked form, belatedly reaching for her shirt that had been hastily discarded. He moved faster though, lifting it from her fingertips just as she reached it and coming to stand before her.
“Arms up.”
She blinked at him then did as he said, so he could slide the fabric down her torso, his hands brushing her sides, sending little shockwaves of awareness through her, one by one, until they grew in intensity and she had to bite back a soft moan.
When she opened her eyes, he was crouching in front of her.
“He wanted to make you his supplicant. I don’t.”
“You’re not interested in relationships,” she said probingly.
“No.” He stayed at her eye level. “Did you report his sexual assault to the police?”
Shame spread through her as she shook her head. “I should have. But at the time, I was worried about what he might say in the press, worried about my reputation, my sponsorships. It was only a few years ago but things were different, even then. There wasn’t the groundswell for victims that there is now. Besides, I just wanted to move on and forget it. He was out of my life. I know that makes me weak.”
“Nothing about you is weak,” he contradicted immediately, so immediately that she couldn’t doubt his sincerity.
“Thank you.” And she wasn’t thanking him just for his kind words, but for the ways in which he’d been stirring her back to life. Mila had forgotten she possessed any kind of libido until meeting Leonidas. For the first time in years, she was remembering that she was a sensual woman, as well as a professional athlete.
“Would you like to see some more of the house?”
Leonidas was nota man who stayed stubbornly wedded to one plan, even when information changed. As he showed Mila around the seventeenth century chateau, with its stone turrets and open, formally landscaped courtyards, and the terrace that boasted spectacular near-panoramic views, his mind was ticking over the things she’d told him, and by the time the sun had dropped low in the sky, and the vines were rustling with the evening’s breeze, he knew he had to relent, just a little.
“I’ve been thinking,” he said, leaning back in his chair with the appearance of relaxation, his fingers stroking her shoulder. “About ways for you to contact your team that won’t jeopardise your safety.”
She turned to face him so quickly that he had no doubts how much that meant to her. “Oh?”
“I have a satellite phone and as it happens, it’s untraceable. You can use it to check in.”
She considered that a moment.
“You’d have to be careful not to give anything away. They might ask questions. Where you are, what’s happened. How would you answer?”
“I can keep it very vague,” she said thoughtfully. “I hate the idea of lying to them, but I agree, until we know more, I should stay off-grid. For the next week,” she added, the addendum a talisman to them both.
“Good.” He nodded his approval even as a sense of unease spread through his gut. He wanted to control this situation, and he couldn’t do that if she insisted on contact with the outside world. But, nor could he force her to stay here, locked away from her colleagues. She had to have autonomy—she was completely right.
“I’ll go get it.”
“Now?”
“Would you prefer to wait?”
The air between them sparked but she dropped her eyes, shielding her thoughts from him. “I’m having such a nice time, pretending the outside world doesn’t exist. I’ll phone in the morning.”
But pushing everyone else away was not going to work forever, and just half an hour later, as they settled on a dinner option, his own phone began to ring. He was tempted to ignore it, but a glance at the screen showed his security chief’s face, so he lifted a hand to Mila, indicating he’d follow her inside soon, then turned his back.
“Grieg. Talk to me.”
Leonidas listened as Grieg outlined what he knew so far, his spine straightening and acid flooding his body as he imagined what Grieg was describing. When he disconnected the call ten minutes later, he knew only one thing for sure: he was glad he’d brought her here, glad he’d brought her to the edge of the world, and glad that they were together—here, with Leonidas, Mila was safe, even if at the same time, he had to face the prospect of having betrayed his dearest friend. It was a certainty that weighed down on him, but he couldn’t think of it then. Mila remained his priority.
“I’ve hadnews from my chief of security.”