And, Stephanie realized, what made her mad the most was that she wanted to. She hated that she wanted to. She didn’t want to. But still her mind drifted back to his gentle fingers and his charming smile.
Ries was so handsome, and when he’d handed her the drink early this morning, her fingers had felt as if she touched a live wire. The man had some serious chemistry and her body wasn’t as immune as she liked to pretend it was.
She mentally told herself that she and Ries were never going to happen, unless the man was completely drunk and unaware of who he was with. She’d seen the model-like women he’d surrounded himself with at the bar and she was a far cry from meeting their standards. She couldn’t imagine him wanting her in any meaningful way. She’d just be a piece of meat to him.
And yet, he had hit on her that first night.
But he didn’t hit on her in the wee hours of the morning. In fact, he’d tried to dismiss her after she’d shared what she’d heard. Those were not the actions of a playboy on the prowl.
It was almost too bad.
In one respect, a wealthy boyfriend could solve all of her money problems. It wouldn’t matter if she had something useful to do as an occupation, she wouldn’t need to work.
Maybe I shouldn’t be so quick to push Ries away the next time he comes on to me? He is the handsomest man I’ve met – maybe ever. He’s charming and he’s treated me kindly so far. I could do a lot worse.
But Stephanie couldn’t quite convince herself that she should give in and compromise her values just to land a wealthy boyfriend. Everyone else expected her to sleep around and couldn’t seem to understand that she didn’t operate that way.
And there was more. Something about it felt – wrong. Like she’d be using Ries, after he had been the only one to try to help her.
I wish people would just take me seriously for once. I’m not just a sex object. I have a brain and dreams and aspirations. And the power to make them come true. I wish someone could see that.
That’s when she realized that someone had.
Ries. He’d listened to her and took her seriously. That was something. That was quite a lot.
It was all the more reason not to use him for his money or let him bed her. Inwardly, Stephanie seethed.
There’s no way I’m going to jeopardize this by giving in and sleeping with him at the first opportunity. That would make me no better than the rest of them. Ries is off-limits as far as I’m concerned.
I’d rather have him as a friend and ally than a notch on my bedpost.
Chapter 8
Stephanie spent the rest of her short break walking around the town. She worked the night shift, once again keeping her eyes peeled for man she was seeking.
She hadn’t seen Ries all day but he eventually wandered into the bar, sitting in Terri’s section instead of her own. She made a point to work her way around to his booth, stopping to pick up empty glasses on a nearby table.
“Hi,” she told him quietly.
“Hi.” Ries’ eyes drifted over her body but then rose to her face and stayed there. She stepped closer and asked, “Have you found anything?”
“No. I don’t even know who I’m looking for,” he told her quietly. “I moved about a lot today. If he’s hoping to catch me in a routine, he’s in for a rude awakening. I also hired a couple of armed guards to trail me at all times.”
“Really?” Stephanie glanced around the room. Only then did she notice the strong, vigilant men eying her and Ries at various places and near the exits.
“You didn’t see him in here today, did you?” Ries asked her.
“No. I kept watching the door hoping he would show up but he hasn’t so far.”
“Will he recognize you?” Ries asked.
“I don’t think so. I made sure he didn’t see me last night.”
“What about from the other night? Didn’t you serve his table?”
“I did but if I did run into him it would just be a coincidence if he recognized me. I could honestly tell him he saw me here.”
Ries nodded and then slipped from the booth, “I’m going to head back to my room. You’re still open for several hours?”
“We close at two.”
“Come see me after that and we’ll compare notes.”
Stephanie nodded, refusing to let the comments and questions from her fellow waitresses affect her actions. I’m doing nothing wrong.
Even if I sort of want to.
Ries left and she went back to taking orders. It was mind-numbing work and she allowed herself to drift to the what-ifs associated with helping Ries.
What if I only offered to help him so that I would have an excuse to keep seeing him?
I mean, what am I really thinking? That I might be able to bring down some crime syndicate or hired killer?
She found herself mentally answering her own questions. She knew she didn’t have the expertise to bring down the man trying to kill him and destroy his family. She was just one person and didn’t have any experience fighting crime or criminals. The idea was almost funny.
But you do enjoy being with Ries Kafatos? Talking with him and getting to know about his life?
She smiled at the next table, took their order and returned to bar to wait while it was filled. She had to admit she did enjoy Ries’ company. She’d only spent time with him twice, but there was tonight and who knew how many more nights to come.
Her shift ended and she headed over to the hotel, refusing to try and conceal her identity as she did so. The other waitresses can think whatever they like.
This pattern continued for the next several days, with midday “meetings” that involved food, wine, and an exchange of their life stories. She went to his hotel room each evening after her shift to update him and discuss any new developments that had occurred while he was out searching the town.
Stephanie often found herself listening in amazement as Ries described some aspect of his childhood that was so foreign to her way of thinking. The man had been born with the proverbial silver spoon and what he considered commonplace happenings were events Stephanie couldn’t imagine. They’d had once such conversation just this evening.
“Do you realize how lucky you were?” she asked quietly after he described being able to travel to the places that most kids only got to see pictures of in their history books.
“Lucky? Me? Why would you think that?” he asked.
“You had everything handed to you while you were growing up. I bet you never had to figure out how to pay the electricity bill, or the landlord, or have enough food to keep your stomach from hurting.”
Ries’ expression had sobered as he asked, “You experienced all of those things?”
“Yes. I’m not alone, lots of people around the world struggle with the basics of survival. When you don’t have money, you learn how to get by without it, or at least, without much of it.”
“I guess I never really thought about what my life would have been like without my money.”
“I’m glad,” Stephanie told him truthfully. “It’s not a fun time. You have this fairytale life that most people would do anything to have.”
“Trust me,” he told her. “Money has its own problems. There are always people wanting things from you and it’s hard to know if they are with you because they like you as a person or because of what you can do or buy for them.”
Stephanie nodded slowly, “I guess I can see how that would be tough to deal with. Still, growing up like I did was hard.”
“I personally envy you,” he told her.
“You do? Why on earth would you do that?”
“Look at you. You have confidence that goes for miles. You moved to another country just to get a clean start and possibly a better chance at making something meaningful out of your life. You’re scary independent in ways I’ve never achieved.”
“You haven’t needed to be independent, and you are way more confident than you’re giving yourself credit for,” she told him.
Stephanie wasn’t sure that Ries had fully understood what she’d been talking about, and she’d left, torn between wanting something to break on their investigation and wanting it to stay in limbo a bit longer.
She was really enjoying spending time with Ries and once the criminal was brought down, there would be no reason for them to ever see one another again.
They’d been sharing their thoughts and news about the criminal for over a week and Stephanie knew she had broken her own rule: don’t get emotionally involved. She’d gone and done it.
The more she got to know Ries, the more she was sure that she could be very happy by Ries’ side. What was even more amazing was the fact that he seemed excited to see her each time they met. She figured he would have tired of her by now.
He hadn’t tried to sleep with her. Not once. She admired him for that but also thought that she was the only one feeling the pull between them.
Then again, she liked the fact that he wasn’t just about getting into her panties but liked hearing her opinion on things and just talking with her about life. He actually listened to her and more than once he complimented her on her grasp of certain topics.
By the end of the first week, Stephanie had to acknowledge that Ries had all of the makings of Prince Charming. Maybe even her own.
He was definitely more than he showed most people. He was smart, had a wicked sense of humor, and deep down truly cared about a variety of things most playboys would pass off as beneath them. Not Ries.
Stephanie had a sneaking suspicion that she was one of the few people who ever saw this side of him, and that was fine with her. He had been nothing but an annoyance the first time they’d met and now he was becoming something more.
She just wasn’t sure what.
*****
Several nights later, Stephanie was once again with Ries after her shift at the bar. Ries had actually shown up at the bar about an hour before closing and insisted on escorting her to his new hideout.
He’d grown tired of the hotel’s lack of security and had rented an apartment in a high rise building that came with a 24/7 doorman and round the clock security personnel.
Stephanie stood quietly beside him as they rode the elevator up to the top floor, not surprised that his new apartment was the best this building had to offer.
Ries always seemed to go for the best of everything, and who could blame him. He could afford to, so why not?
“Want a drink?” he asked after showing her around the three-bedroom, four-bathroom space.
“Sure, but I’m not a very big drinker.”
“You told me that once before. Let me guess, you like wine over hard liquor?” he asked with a smirk.
“Absolutely.”
“Red or white?” he asked, heading for the fully stocked bar in the corner of the room.
“Red?” she answered hesitantly, not entirely sure that drinking with him was a wise idea.
He returned with two glasses and a brand-new bottle of some wine she couldn’t even hope to say the name of. He poured them both a measure of the red liquid and then watched her as she slowly tipped some of it into her mouth. Flavor burst upon her tongue, the flavors and spices bringing a smile to her face.
“This is really good,” she told him.
Ries took a drink of his own and smiled at her. “Let’s sit down.”
Stephanie chose to sit on the corner of the oversized couch, looking directly out over the small town. “You have a wonderful view.”
“I like it,” he murmured, watching her instead of the window.
Stephanie ignored him and they continued to discuss their days and the fact that so far there had been no new breaks in the identity of the man wanting to kill Ries.
“I imagine he’s getting frustrated. He seemed to think killing you would be an easy task and he’d have it done within a week.”
“Hopefully that will make him careless,” Ries murmured, refilling both of their wine glasses for the…third time?
Stephanie’s body was feeling nice and flushed, she was warm, and the flavor of the wine was wonderful as she took another drink. It dawned on her as Ries emptied the rest of the bottle into his own glass that they’d both had way too much to drink.
Way too much for me to drink with a man I’m attracted to, she thought.
They continued to talk, their conversation growing more scattered over time.
When Ries’ glass was empty, he set it down on the coffee table and smiled at her. “I’ll get us another bottle.”
“Ries, I don’t think…”
“Good, thinking can be overrated,” he told her, pushing up from the couch, only to stumble and hit the edge of the coffee table hard with his knee.
Stephanie rushed to steady him but found that she was very unsteady herself. She grabbed his arm, her palm connecting with his strong biceps, while her other arm landed on his waist. She instantly became aware of how warm and solid his body was. She looked up and caught him looking at her with latent heat burning in his eye.
She stared at him, the longing for something more, something tangible thick in the air around them. She could feel her pulse speed up and her body softened as she watched him, and the chemistry flowed between them. It was shocking in its intensity and she felt herself sway toward him…
“Ries!” Chris burst into the room, stopping at the sight of Stephanie and Ries together. “Sorry. Man, I know my timing stinks but we have a situation.”
At those words, Ries stood taller and Stephanie’s hands fell away from him as she did the same. “Situation?”
“Yeah. You need to come with me. We caught an intruder.”
“What kind of intruder?” Stephanie asked.
“The kind that was gathering information on Romeo here,” Chris answered dryly. “We caught a kid spying on the apartment.”
“A kid? Someone sent a kid to kill me?” Ries asked incredulously.
Stephanie shook her head, turning to him as she answered, “The man I followed was no kid. He looked lethal.”
Chris shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know about the guy you followed but we captured a kid. A teenager. He was sent here to spy on you.”
“How did he find me? No one is supposed to know about this place,” Ries asked, walking around the couch and retrieving the shoes he’d kicked off much earlier.
“I don’t know, but you’d best come and see for yourself.”
“I’m coming too,” Stephanie moved to retrieve her own shoes.
Ries nodded and both men waited for her by the door. Stephanie nodded to Chris as she exited the apartment and they followed him downstairs, her mind spinning with this new development.
What’s going on here?
Chapter 9
Ries, Chris and Stephanie headed downstairs to find security personnel standing guard over a boy much younger than his proclaimed fourteen years.
“We’ll take it from here,” Ries told the guards.
Stephanie stood in a corner and observed while Ries approached the young man, snagging an empty chair with his foot on the way. He looked commanding, even frightening, as he positioned himself directly in front of the young man.
“Pes mou to ónoma sou.”
The boy looked at him with fear in his eyes and nodded quickly, “Piotr”.
Stephanie leaned toward Chris and Ries heard her whisper, “What did he ask him?”
“His name.”
Ries bit back the grin that wanted to form, not wanting to give the boy any sense that he wasn’t in a heap of trouble. It amused him that Stephanie had chosen to come to a country where she didn’t understand even the most basic language. She was clearly smart but also clearly so new to Greece.
I could change that if we spent enough time together.
What am I thinking?
Now isn’t the time for a thought like that
Ries blamed his wayward thoughts on the heightened awareness he had of Stephanie since their almost-kiss a few minutes earlier. The fee
ling of her hands on him, the heat that shot through him, the warmth at her gentleness...
With some effort, he directed his focus back to the matter at hand. He leaned back in his chair and stared at the boy in front of him for several long moments, waiting for the kid to fully understand the amount of trouble he was in.
When the boy dropped his gaze and Ries caught a faint tremble in his lips, he knew he’d waited long enough.
“Do you speak English?” he asked, not wanting to listen to Stephanie and Chris go back and forth if it wasn’t necessary.
The boy nodded and Ries sat up, placing his hands between his knees and leaning forward. “I would suggest you use your words when answering me.”
The boy nodded and then looked up. “Yes, I speak English,” he said in a trembling voice.
“Good. Now, tell me: why you were sneaking around here spying on me?”
Piotr swallowed audibly and then whispered, “There’s this man…”
“What man?” Ries fired back sternly.
“Down at the docks. A group of us boys met him down there. He showed us your picture and offered us money if we would search the town for you.”
Ries exchanged a look with Chris and then pressed for more answers. “How many kids are looking for me?”
“I don’t know,” Piotr shrugged. “Maybe a dozen. Maybe more.”
“And the man pays you whether you’ve seen me or not?”
“Yes.”
“When? When do you meet with him?”
“At sunrise. On the docks, pier 9.”
Ries made sure Chris had the information written down and then he sat back again. “So, what shall we do with you?”
“I’m really sorry, Sir.” The boy squirmed, showing his youthfulness.
Nine. Maybe ten. Ries thought.
“I’m sure you are. Chris, have someone from the security team take this young man home and impress upon his parents that if he doesn’t lie low until this is over, we’re going to press charges.”
Chris nodded, taking the boy by his elbow and led him from the room. Ries waited until they were gone before gesturing Stephanie to return to the penthouse apartment.
Protected By Him (The Greek Brothers Book 4) Page 5