“Costi,” I call out.
He steps out of his office, smiling down at me. “Good morning. Breakfast?”
I nod, suddenly ravenous for food.
He leads me down the hallway and into the kitchen. “I like this.”
“Like what?”
“Cooking for you. It reminds me of when we were kids. And we would sneak into the kitchen to find snacks.”
I giggle, even though I’m a grown woman. “Yeah, however, your mother kept nothing with sugar in the house.”
“Remember when we found the cookies? You wouldn’t eat them because you swore my mother put them there to test us.”
I point at him. “And I was right, too. She must have had an alarm on the box because she knew the exact second when you broke into them.”
Costi laughs, and it lights up his eyes. “Yeah, I got into a lot of trouble for that one bite of chocolate chip.”
“Hope it was worth it.”
His gaze sears into mine. “Oh, it was. Most forbidden things are always worth it.” He leans in and kisses me on my lips, and I wrap my arms around his neck, savoring the taste of him.
“What are we doing today?” I ask him once he’s broken the kiss.
“I have an errand to do.”
I raise a brow. “Sounds ominous.”
He smacks my ass. “Are you making fun of me?”
“What if I am?” I taunt.
He lifts me over his shoulder, smacking my ass again as he strides down the hallway. He drops me onto the bed.
I reach for him, bringing him down on top of me. “Kiss me,” I tell him, and he does.
He slants his mouth over mine, opening my lips with his tongue. “I can’t get enough of you, Bianca.” He props up to peer into my eyes. “And I don’t think I ever will.”
I tug him back down to kiss him once again.
I like his kisses.
They’re better than I ever could have imagined. And my imagination is top-notch.
Even though his kisses are urgent and needy, there’s a tenderness hidden deep down.
It makes Costi vulnerable in a way I never would have guessed when I first saw him after so many years.
It’s a vulnerability I think he allows no one else to see. It calls to me. Constantine Gold is a master at unlocking my heart. After last night, there’ll never be another.
He’ll have to keep my heart in his treasure box, because I’m giving it to him to have and to hold.
Seventeen
Bianca
* * *
It’s been a week and still no sign of Bishop or any of his men. What is the delay?
“You look like you’re thinking about something serious,” I say to Costi who appears to be concentrating hard as we laze on the back deck, overlooking the ocean.
“Just enjoying this.” He squeezes my hand.
I lean back in the lounge chair. “Me too. What’s going to happen when I go back to Miami?”
“I don’t know.”
My heart flutters but quickly disappears when I think about home. I can’t just leave my father and the business, but I can’t leave Costi either. “Maybe we can be bi-coastal? Or maybe, I could move here.” I hold my breath, hoping he agrees to something because I can’t live without this man.
He glances over at me. “I guess I’ll be heading back home to Miami then.”
I pop up in my seat, dropping his hand and turn to face him head on. “You’d do that?”
“Bianca, for you, I’d do anything.”
“What about your own business and your, uh… pirate life? I can’t ask you to move for me.”
“We’ll make it work.” He sits up to face me. “I’ll do anything to be with you, Bianca. If it means leaving Greece and my company behind, then so be it. I already have enough money, so I don’t need to work.”
I gawk at him in disbelief. “Are you sure?”
“Do you want me to live in Miami with you?”
“More than anything. But I’m willing to commute to be with you too. You’re right,” I say with a big grin. “We’ll make it work. Whatever I need to do.”
He reclines in the lounge chair and reaches for my hand. “Come here.”
The thought of Costi returning with me to Miami gives me hope this thing between us is real. I want it to be, but a small part of me fears it’s all too good to be true. It isn’t too much to ask for, is it?
I leave my lounger and straddle his lap. “Are you sure?” I ask him once more.
He answers by prying my lips open with his tongue. He traces it along mine and deepens the kiss as he grabs my ass. “One-hundred percent.”
I smile against his lips, wanting this all to be true. To be real.
It is, isn’t it?
He kneads my ass with his hands and stands in one fluid motion to take me inside. He rushes down the hallway, his lips trying desperately to stay connected to my skin as he moves through the house.