Page 39 of Seduced By Contract

"He's not a young man . . . um . . . he's a man. Zeus Kostanidis."

She laughs as if I've made a joke, but when she sees that I'm not teasing her, her eyes widen. "Your employer is fromthatKostanidis family? The Greek billionaires?"

"Yes. Ares Kostanidis owns the nightclub I work at. And my . . . um . . .” I stop, unable to repeat the lie. "The man I'm seeing is Zeus, the older brother."

"Older by how much?"

"I don't know yet—I didn't ask—but definitely over thirty."

"Madison! Rich, handsome, and much older is not a good combination, child."

She has no idea that handsome doesn't even begin to describe my Greek god.

"Just a moment. I need to answer." I unlock my phone.

"You took a long time to answer."

"I was talking to my mom. I'll be down shortly. Two minutes. Bye." I put my phone in my bag as I say,"Mom, he's downstairs. He's going to give me a ride before my shift at the nightclub to see a house he thinks might be suitable for us to move into, but then . . .” I feel my face burning. "I won't be home tonight. In fact, I'll only be back on Sunday to go to the hospital."

"Madison, you don't need to be ashamed to talk about these things with me. You're young, beautiful, and healthy. My concern isn't about hypocritical morals but about your heart."

"My heart is well-guarded, Mom." I grab my bag, kiss the babies' heads, and then hug her. "There's no chance I'll fall in love with him."

"Oh, really? How can you be so sure?"

"Because I'm a smart girl. Only a fool would believe in a fairy tale with a man like that. Princes don't exist."

I rush downstairs, telling myself that my anxiety is due to my OCD, which doesn't like it when I'm late, but my traitorous heart contradicts me in the blink of an eye because as soon as I see Zeus getting out of the car, it feels like it's about to have an attack, racing very fast.

"Do you make a habit of being late?" he asks without even saying hello, guiding me into the car.

The neighbors don't even bother hiding their curiosity when they see us, but the line of bodyguards keeps them from getting too close.

I get in without paying any attention to his grumpy tone, and he follows. Just like last time, he leans over me to fasten my seatbelt, but before he can do it, I hold his face and kiss him.

"Hi. Good afternoon, Zeus. I'm fine, and how are you?"

Instead of playing along, he grabs me by the back of my neck and kisses me so intensely that a jolt shoots to the center of my thighs. "Much better now, you bold thing," he says when he finally pulls away, but not without finishing fastening my seatbelt.

"Sorry for being late. I'm punctual, I keep my word, but my mom—well, she's actually my stepmother, but she raised me—she started asking questions. I don't ever spend the night away from home, and I only get home late from work, so I had to tell a lie."

"A lie?"

I look outside, suddenly embarrassed. "I said you're my boyfriend."

He doesn't say anything, and I turn to look at him, checking whether he's annoyed that I've given us such a serious label.

His face is expressionless, but his eyes watch me as if trying to decipher my soul.

"Look, it's not like I told her we're engaged," I try to joke, but he doesn't smile. "I just couldn't stay away from home without a reason. I've never done that before."

"Never?"

"No. Like I told you, I'm not good at trusting, and it's not just men but anyone."

"I don't see any problem in telling your mom that we're dating."

"Even if we're not?"

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