Page 85 of Bastian

I try to ignore how terribly and unfairly handsome he looks tonight, with his jet-black hair brushed back away from his face and a bit of stubble. Before, he was always clean-shaven. I have to admit it makes him look older and more distinguished. He’s also wearing an indigo blue shirt that matches his eyes, with his sleeves rolled to his elbows, accentuating his strong arms. I used to know every inch of his skin, and now, it’s like he’s a stranger to me.

Sighing, I pull my glass up, signaling the waiter for another. I’ve been drinking the same thing all night. He knows by now.

If I must endure the agony of sitting right across from the man that not only haunts my past but my present and most likely my future, then I sure as hell will be drinking more than water.

* * *

BASTIAN

I try with all my power to hold in the chuckle that threatens to spill from my lips as I watch Arianna, in the most adorable of ways, ignore my existence by focusing really hard on that glass of alcohol in front of her as if she finds the glass more interesting than me, which I don’t have a doubt in mind she does, but since I am a man who values his life, I won’t.

“You really are a menace, Sebastian.” Her words come out a little slurred, but not so much that lets me know she’s hammered. This is a new side of her, and as much as seeing her in turmoil perturbs me to no end, it gladdens me that she chose to stay with me here at this moment. At least that’s a win for now.

Ellaiza is not here, nor did I use her to get Arianna to stay. This is all on her.

Leaning back, I look at her face and take every inch of her like a starving man.

Every second, minute, and hour of every day, I’m starving for her. For her love. For her smiles. For her. “And you are a thing of beauty, Arianna.”

“If you start with your corny ass lines and bullshit flirtatious act, I am leaving.” The stunning grump mumbles and then takes another sip of her glass.

“Very well,” Clearing my throat, I disguise the hurt that takes over me every time she rejects any advance, no matter how innocent, because I know I deserve it. Therefore, I swallow the hurt, and change the topic to something I’ve been thinking about since I arrived in Greece. Since I saw how the moonlight shone, reflecting her skin and making her look like a goddess. The word falls short when describing my Arianna.

I honestly believe there is no correct word to describe her beauty.

I’ve seen every side of her, and all of them I love, but tonight she’s glowing in a way that’s making it difficult for me to find my next breath.

Perhaps, it’s the fact that her usual wavy golden hair is now falling in soft curls, framing her face. Curls as in my daughter’s ringlets. Making her look less straight-laced and business-like and more carefree. Jovial.

Stunning.

Fucking perfect.

Her skin looks sun-kissed even at night, and her face also has a tan. It’s also free of any makeup, not that she needs it. She looks beautiful, with or without it.

She’s flawless either way.

My eyes roam down her face to her neck, where a delicate chain hangs from it with a small letter E pendant. E for Ellaiza, I presume.

Guilt chokes me, but I do my best to push it down and focus on the enchanting siren in front of me.

My woman, even when she’s fighting me tooth and nail.

Clearing my throat, I break the silence by asking her. “Do you know the tale of Hero and Leander, Arianna?” Her eyes narrow, but they also flash with something that looks a lot like curiosity. Arianna always had an inquisitive mind, and that’s one of the many reasons I fell in love with her. What attracted me to her. She genuinely loves learning about new places, people, and things. She loves challenges as much as I do. Ironically, she has proven to be my most difficult challenge.

“No, but I am sure you will tell me.” She says in a tired tone and adverts her eyes from mine, looking back down at her glass with a blue liquid in it.

It still amazes me how the world seems to fade away whenever she is near. My men, most of them, are sitting down at the tables that surround us while others are surrounding the area to make sure no threat reaches us, or even the press. The press as of twelve hours ago, caught wind that I am here on a three-day vacation. I need my men to keep them away from us for the rest of our time here/

Looking at Arianna and Arianna only, I begin to tell her the story my mother told me once when I was a young boy. The forbidden and tragic love story of two star-crossed lovers. “Hero was a priestess of Aphrodite. As such, she was forbidden to have affairs with men. Other versions of the story say that she was simply a virgin.” Arianna intrigued with the tale, raises her head and looks me in the eyes, causing my skin to burn just from her gaze. She always had that effect on me. “Hero lived in a tower on the Greek side of the narrow Hellespont straights. Leander was a young man from Abydos, living on the other side of the Hellespont. From the moment he first saw Hero, he fell madly and irrevocably in love.” Leaning forward I find myself trying to get closer to Arianna, even if the table between us is in the way. I notice how she doesn’t look away from me or tell me to stop. She just remains quiet, urging me with her eyes to continue, but besides that, she gives me nothing. Not a smile. Nothing, not that I thought she would. But she has given me something, though. Her time and attention, and that I value more than all the material things I own. “Hero, with his soft-spoken words and devotion, soon inspired the same love in Hero.” Arianna’s nostrils flare, and her eyes narrow that bratty way of hers that drives me wild. It shouldn’t, but it does.

“What happens next?” She asks.

So curious, my darling. “Each night, she would light a lamp, which guided Leander to swim across the Hellespont and spend time with her.”

“Huh. Then what? I assume there’s no happy ending, so get to it, Sebastian.”

Smiling softly, I do as she says, wanting to share what happens next with the lovers. “One night, however, the wind was too strong and blew out the lamp while Leander was still swimming. The waves were too high due to the wind, and Leander lost his way and drowned.”

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