“I’m not here to give you false hope. I keep it real.”
“Thanks a lot.”
“Anytime.” He stepped away and took his position at the bar where he could keep his sights on me and the expanse of the whole dining area without obstruction.
Over the next fifteen minutes, I ordered some sparkling water, sipped my drink, and scrolled through the news on my phone.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t push away the anxiety lying like a heavy weight in the pit of my stomach.
This had to work. I couldn’t go back. New York wasn’t the place for me anymore.
Guilt hit my heart.
It wasn’t a bad life. But it was one where I had no say. There were rules for everything. What to do. What to wear. What to say. I was the girl with the temper, who liked to play in the dirt, the one who threw knives and said the wrong things.
Yes, I liked my pretty things and playing dress-up, but I never wanted it to become part of my day-to-day existence.
Then there was my gambling vice.
What would my family do if they ever learned I’d run underground casino nights all through college and graduate school and that it wasn’t something new I’d learned in Vegas?
Hell, what would my intended think?
Fuck. I’d thought the wordintended. This engagement shit was getting to me.
Closing my eyes, I took in a few steadying breaths to clear my mind and calm my thoughts. However, instead of accomplishing those goals, the image of the man with the piercing emerald gaze flashed to the forefront.
Yep, and then there was that guy.
Of all the days to have anyone affect my body, it had to happen today. I’d waited for five fucking years for someone to make me want to throw caution to the wind, to make it worth stepping out of the box, and in a matter of a few seconds and with a look, this random man who I hadn’t even uttered a word to had me craving to let him do every dirty, wicked thing I’d seen in his eyes.
Maybe this was some cruel joke by the Greek gods for being the rebel Mykos.
A shiver slid down my spine, and I opened my lids, finding the very devil standing across the room.
Oh, fuck me. This was bad.
Please don’t notice me. Please don’t notice me.
Shit. Too late.
His focus locked with mine, and my heartbeat accelerated into a rapid roaring rhythm in my ears. An immediate ache ignited between my legs, making the desire I’d experienced earlier mild compared to what was coursing through my body now.
“Stay right there,” he mouthed as he set a course in my direction, not pausing when Jesse tried to intercept him, and weaved his way among the multitude of tables separating us.
He’d changed into slacks and a tailored jacket. The dark blue shirt he wore was open at the collar, revealing the black tattoos crawling up the back of his neck. There was no hiding the fact a honed, sculpted body lay under all of those clothes.
The complete confidence with the way he carried himself and kept me in his sights gave me the feeling of a predator who was stalking his next meal.
“Olympia Nyx Mykos,” he stated as he stopped at my table. The deep rasp of his voice washed over me and shot straight to my core.
I tilted my head up, taking him in. He seemed so much larger than when he stood on the other side of the observation glass.
His presence was overwhelming, almost too much.
Wait. He’d said Olympia. No one in Vegas called me Olympia. Hell, most people hadn’t a clue my name was anything other than Nyx.
Who the fuck was this guy?