Page 28 of About Love and Revenge

I've watched many movies that are set there.

Where will I live?

Will I adapt?

Maybe, finally, I can live a little bit.

The anticipation is frightening, but at the same time it stirs emotions inside me.

What if he's not telling the truth? If it's just a way he’s found to get to my father? What if he just wants to get me out of Greece and then leave me alone in a strange country?

I heard my parents talking last night. Leandros still owes Odin a lot of money. Even though he has already lost the island and all its possessions, he's still in Lykaios's hands.

If I had listened to the entire conversation, I might have known they intended to run away and leave me behind.

On the other hand, what good would that have done? I would never have begged them to take me. I will never beg anyone.

“You can hire whomever you want, so why me? I'm not a professional. The parties I’ve organized were family-friendly, even though we always had a lot of guests. What if I do something wrong?”

“I'll put a team at your disposal. I have to host several receptions at least once a month, and I also organize fundraising dinners. I know you're used to doing that here. Your father's parties were always talked about in high society.”

I don't even try to ask how he knows that. I have a feeling that Odin knows everything about our lives. To disguise my nervousness, I look for an alternative route. “What do you work with?”

“Computer programs, among other things,” he replies vaguely.

“Why, Odin? Why are you trying to help me when you destroyed my father in front of everyone last night?”

“My problem with your father has nothing to do with you. I won't argue with you about it.”

“But you’re enemies,” I say, just as a matter of fact, because I already know it’s true. I could feel the hatred between the two yesterday, and now I know that my father did not spontaneously give up the space for Odin to build on the island. He lost his land to the bank.

“I'll have to leave Greece in two or three days. That should be enough time to organize your departure, if you accept it. However, if you want to stay here, I will wash my hands of your safety. You’ll have to face the fury of Naim alone.”

I hold my breath, wondering how I could get past the sheik's attack again and survive.

“Think about it, Elina. What's left for you here in Greece? Don't you feel like trying something different?"His voice is like a siren's song. He's tempting me and he knows it.

“Where am I going to live? I’ve never left my country. I don't even have a passport.” Against my will, I feel my cheeks heating up. This is just another way for him to know how dependent I still am on my parents.

“I'll accommodate you in an apartment. I have several.”

“I don't want any favors. If you're going to give me a job, I can pay rent.”

He shrugs. “We'll talk about that later. These are mere details. As for the passport, I can get one in twenty-four hours.”

I get up again and, for the first time, take the initiative to approach him. I stop a few steps away. “I want your word that our agreement does not include sexual favors. I'm not going to trade my virginity for a job.”

He looks at me as if a third eye has burst out of my forehead. What did I say wrong?

Greek high society knows that all my sisters married as virgins. There would be no other possibility. My father would have killed us if we’d had a lover before marriage. I've had several suitors since I was eighteen, but I've never been interested in any of them.

“If you can't give your word, I won't go,” I insist, and to my surprise, he laughs.

“I'm not going to lie and say I don't want you. I want you. I want totaste your mouth and every bit of your body, and judging by your reaction every time we're close, you feel the same way, but I don't need to offer a woman a job to take her to bed. I have ways of persuading you to do so. Much more pleasurable means." He lets his gaze roam over my body, and strangely, I don't feel insulted.

On the contrary, it excites me to know that he wants me.

“I have a hunch about the two of us, Elina." His voice is hoarse, unlike what it has been so far. “No, in fact, I'm sure that if we decide to indulge our desires, it will be delicious."

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