Fruit of Misfortune (3 page)

“You’re wrong. Haven’t you seen the gazes you
receive from men, or how women look at you with envy?”

“No one looks at me like that.”

“I look at you that way all of the time.”

“You know what I mean. I’m referring to the
rest of the world.”

“There is no rest of the world for me.” He
rubbed his thumb on the top of my hand. “You’re my world, and
nothing will ever change that.”

***

During the course of the meal, David told me
about the sights he wanted us to see in and around Athens. I gave
my opinion of what the next day’s itinerary should be: sightseeing,
museums, light shopping.

“Our first priority is to find your father,”
David said. “Sightseeing can be done any day. There’ll be plenty of
time.”

“I need one more day to take this all in.
This isn’t easy for me. I don’t know how he’ll react when he sees
me standing in front of him. I don’t even know how I’ll react.” I
stared at the spoon in my hand. It reflected half of my face, my
features distorted. It was the exact depiction of how I felt
inside. “You know,” I continued, “out of everything, what scares me
the most is not finding him at all—and not knowing what we’ll
become until it’s too late to do anything about it. That
uncertainty enslaves me. I can’t do anything with the rest of my
life until I know. All those plans I had…”

“We’ll find him,” David assured me. “And
you’re right. You do need time. We can hold off on that trip for a
few more days.”

“Thanks for understanding.”

The sound of musical instruments rose from
somewhere below. I stretched my neck to look down in the direction
of the melody. Through the metal bars of the railing, I saw the
couples gathered in the downstairs patio, dancing to the slow
rhythm of the notes.

“Dance with me?” David stood from his chair,
offering me his hand.

There on the balcony, overlooking the
sparkling city lights, we danced. We were surrounded by flowers and
vines and embraced in the tepid currents of the Greek summer night.
David’s spicy scent was alive in the breeze, daring me to go
nearer. I rested my cheek on his chest, listening to the strumming
of his heart. It was the loveliest beat I had ever heard.

As the song continued to play, David raised
my face and looked into my eyes. He ran his hand along my jaw and
down to my neck where he pressed on the Star Crest that hung from
the gold necklace. Then with a quick step he dipped my body down
and cradled me in his arms. I was suspended in the air, my heels
hardly touching the ground.

“I love you,” David whispered as the song
ended, and then he kissed me.

***

I nestled into the comfort of the silky bed
sheets. My thoughts floated to David. His scent was still on my
skin. The memory of his kisses made my lips tingle. Was he thinking
of me? I stared at the door, knowing that only a few rooms down the
hall
my
David Chios lay alone in his bed, too. I knew which
door was his now. Would it be too forward to ask for one night in
his arms? I had never done anything like that before. I bit my nail
and thought about it for a minute.

Without making a sound, I stepped out of my
bedroom and walked down the hallway to David’s room. I hesitated to
knock. Mustering up the courage, I held my fist up and held it
there for a moment. Just as my knuckles were about to touch the
door, the knob twisted open. David was wearing only pajama bottoms,
his sculpted torso exposed. My eyes widened.

“Is there something wrong?” he asked.

“Um…” I swallowed. “I wanted to know if—if I
can sleep here tonight?”

David didn’t respond. Me and my stupid ideas.
I felt like an idiot.

“Sorry. This was wrong,” I said, turning to
leave.

David caught my hand and drew me against him.
He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me into the room. He
closed the door behind me and pushed me against it. I gasped in
surprise. His lips began to trail kisses along my jaw, turning into
soft bites on my neck and continuing down to my shoulder. One of
his hands ventured down my backside and to my thigh. His fingers
moved up under my nightshirt and stopped at my hip. My breathing
grew faster. His sandalwood essence flourished from within him, and
I breathed him in. In one swift move, he lifted me and carried me
to his bed. The weight of his body landed on me. His lips drank me
in like he’d been parched forever. His yearning was evident against
my hip, and in my own desire I allowed his hands to caress every
inch of me. I let out short whimpers as his pelvis began to move
over mine, creating waves of friction that caused sensations I had
never before experienced. The more weight he used in his drive, the
deeper I kissed him.

“I need you,” his voice was hoarse and
breathy as he spoke through gritted teeth.

I felt his fingers hook the elastic of my
underwear and pull down.

“David,” I said, breathless. “Wait.” I
squeezed his hand. “We can’t.”

The movements ceased. He buried his nose in
my hair, and I could feel his hot, ragged breath on my neck. His
heart was racing against my chest at the same pace as mine. One of
us was shaking. Or was it both of us? At last our breathing
returned to normal. David turned my face to the side so I could
look at him.

“Did you stop me because of that stupid rule
we’re not supposed to break… or because you’re not ready?”

“Because of the rule,” I told him. “It stays
in place until we’re the same, remember?”

“You realize no one would know we broke
it?”

“They wouldn’t?”

“No. Not even the strongest empath has the
power to see that. Intimacy is off limits.” He pressed his forehead
against mine, his blue eyes looking deep into me. “I want to ask
you something.”

“So ask,” I said.

He pecked my lips in the gentlest way I’d
ever been kissed, and then he asked, “Will you marry me?”

“
What?”
I
snapped my head back.

“Will—you—marry me?”

Was he really asking me this question? I
thought about my answer for a moment.

“Yes,” I said. “But it’ll have to be a long
engagement.”

“I meant now.”

“As in right now, right now?”

“Yes.” He ran his thumb along my bottom lip.
“We don’t need any witnesses. No officiant either. It’s how it’s
done in my culture. It’s a private ceremony—between you and
me.”

“As in… we…”

“Make love.”

“And what then? We’d have to keep it a
secret?”

He nodded. “Like Romeo and Juliet.”

“David…” I closed my eyes and sighed. “I’m in
love with you. I’ve never met anyone that makes me feel this way. I
want to spend my entire life with you, and as romantic as having a
secret marriage sounds, I don’t want to keep something like that
from my mom or anyone else for that matter.”

He rolled his body off me and stared at the
ceiling. He didn’t say a word. His expression told me far less. I
sat up and rested my head on the headboard, waiting for any type of
reaction from him. Nothing. After a few minutes, his silence began
to eat away at me.

“If it’s about the sex—” I started.

“This isn’t about sex. It’s about loving you
so much that it makes me feel miserable and elated at the same
time. It’s about needing you so much that I feel like I can’t
breathe without you. I want to belong to you, and I want you to
belong to me.” He sat up and looked straight ahead. “But I do
understand that it’s not about what I want. It’s about what
we
want.”

“How do you always find the right words to
say?”

“It’s easy when you’re saying them to the
right person.”

“David,” I said, and he turned to look at me.
“I’m worried that what just happened between us might be a problem
from now on.”

“It won’t.” Slowly, he leaned into me and set
his lips over mine. His fingers ran up the length of my leg. He bit
my lip and his hand clutched the inside of my thigh. I let out a
stunned shriek. “We can find other ways to be intimate,” he
suggested.

I nodded, reaching for his lips.

***

A golden beam of sunlight was cascading over
me when I opened my eyes, making it hard to focus on my
surroundings. It took me a moment to remember where I was—David’s
room in Greece. I smiled as flashes from the previous night played
in my head. Blushing, I dug my face into the pillow. I had no idea
that David could be so different in that aspect and so remarkably
sating… even without breaking the rule that stood between us. I
twisted my neck and faced the left side of the bed. David was lying
on his side, his head propped on his hand, studying me from the
waist down. I tugged at my nightshirt and lowered it over my hips.
I reached for the blanket and covered my legs. David smirked.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Hi.”

“How did you sleep?”

“Great. You?”

“Excellent.”

I looked at the door, wondering if it was
locked.

“Do you think Camilla’s up?” I asked.

“She is. I sent her to the market. She should
be back soon.” He reached behind him and brought back a balled up
piece of pink lace. “I think this is yours.”

I took it from his hand and inspected it. My
bra?
How the hell did that happen?
“Well…” I cleared my
throat. “I guess I should go get dressed.”

“Yes, I think you should.” He pulled the
blanket up to my chest and kissed my forehead. “We don’t want to
break any ground rules this early in the day.”

When David stepped into the bathroom to
shower, I stuck my head out the bedroom door and peeked down the
hall. I was worried Camilla might be back from the market and see
me leaving David’s room. Not that it was any of her business, but
I’d still be embarrassed.

***

Breakfast was served in the kitchen after
Camilla returned from the market. During the meal, I told David
that I had changed my mind about the trip to Kyparissia. It didn’t
matter how long I waited, I’d never really be ready to meet my
biological father. Might as well get it over with. Our future
depended on it, after all.

“Are you sure?” David asked. “Why don’t you
take at least two more days?”

“I was being selfish before—not thinking
about how you felt. I know how important it is that we find
him.”

“I think being nervous and scared is part of
being human and has nothing to do with being selfish.” He took a
drink from his glass of juice. “But it would be better to find him
sooner than later.”

“Then it’s settled. We leave for Kyparissia
tomorrow.”

“
If
you don’t change your mind by
morn—”

“I’m not going to change my mind,” I
interrupted him. “We need to do this.”

The doorbell rang as I picked up David’s and
my plate from the marble kitchen island where we had eaten. Camilla
sent Paulina, her young niece, to tend to the door. Camilla took
the plates from my hand and shooed me away.

I had liked everything about Athens so
far—the food, the house, and the city. But there was one thing that
really displeased me, and that was the way that Paulina looked at
David. She was one of those rare, natural beauties that would stand
out even in a crowded room. I knew she was only doing her job, but
it made me jealous to see her cater to David. Even more so, the
constant glancing at David annoyed me to no end.

After several minutes, Paulina walked back
into the kitchen.

“Signore, there’s a visitor,” Paulina said
with an Italian accent.

“Who is it?” David asked.

“He would not say. He called himself your
brother, but I’ve never seen him before. Should I ask again?”

“No,” David said. “I know who it is.”

We walked to the large foyer where a slim,
blond man stood with his back to us. He wore a tailored, gray suit
and held his hat in one hand on his waist.

“My brother!” David extended his arms,
obstructing my view as the man turned.

“Mon frère!” The blond exclaimed in a thick
French accent.

The two exchanged a one-armed hug and a pat
on the back. David turned to look at me with his arm over the young
man’s shoulder. He didn’t look a day over twenty.

“Isis, I’d like you to meet my best friend,
Eros Lamoureux,” David said as they walked toward me. “He’s like a
brother.”

Eros’ grey-eyed gaze fell on me like a
lightning rod—penetrating and electrical and overall shocking. For
some reason, his face was familiar. But aside from familiar, it was
beautiful. He glanced at the star on my chest and then looked at
David with a cocked brow.

The contour of Eros’ pink, pouty lips moved
slowly as he said, “Enchantè,” and kissed my hand. His touch felt
like a warm, steady current running through my hand and up my arm.
And his voice… the sound of his musical voice streaming through my
ears seemed to carry a magnetic spell that wouldn’t let me turn
away. “Have we met?”