Page 52 of Undercover Billionaire

On rubbery legs, Kelsey followed Ari into the room. It was gorgeous in the way of so many places in Venice that had been built several hundred years ago and had undergone a variety of different internal refits since. The bones were made of stone and marble and exquisite decorative plastering, which somehow managed to blend with fittings and furnishings from Louis XVI through to Art Deco.

The bed was huge in the centre of the room, covered with a rich brocade quilt in autumnal shades of gold and auburn, and Kelsey tried not to be distracted by how many times they might be able to roll over in it as Ari led her to the light flooding in through high windows and the sheer white curtain fluttering in the breeze.

‘The balcony overlooks the canal,’ he said.

The curtains covered a set of French doors and they stepped out onto a narrow wrought-iron balcony awash in sunshine. There was a small square table against the wall with two chairs and maybe another foot in front of it before the curved wrought-iron balustrades.

It was very Romeo and Juliet.

The sights and the sounds of Venice engulfed Kelsey as she looked down. The canal was busy with water traffic – gondolas and water taxis and vaporetto all chugging along beside each other. The thoroughfares and bridges were teeming with people. Bakeries and restaurants and bars were crammed in beside tourist shops selling Carnival masks and blown glass from Murano. English and Italian and smatterings of other languages drifted on the warm air.

It was a delightful riot of colour and life and humanity.

‘I love Venice,’ she said, sighing happily. ‘There’s just something about it that makes my soul sing.’

‘Yeah,’ he said, smiling at her. ‘Me too.’

Kelsey’s heart fluttered as everything faded to black. All the noise and colour disappearing until it was just the two of them. ‘Thank you for inviting me.’

‘Thank you for accepting.’ He lifted his hand, brushing the backs of his fingers along her cheekbone, down the side of her face and neck to play with the necklace he’d bought her. ‘This looks good on you. I bet it looks even better when it’s the only thing you’re wearing.’

His gaze flicked to hers and there was a heat and rawness there lighting the fuse on the desire that had been smouldering since he’d kissed her at the door. ‘It does.’

Hurrying inside, they were at the bed in seconds. Kelsey wanted Ari so badly she was shaking with the immensity of it.

She lifted to kiss him, but her lips didn’t quite reach their target before he placed two fingers against her mouth and said, ‘I need to talk to you about something first.’

Kelsey frowned as she lowered her heels to the ground. He looked very serious, very suddenly. ‘Is everything okay?’

‘Yes, it’s fine.’ He smiled and sat on the bed, one leg crossed up under him, the other still grounded. He patted the space in front of him and Kelsey joined him, mimicking his pose so they were facing each other.

He reached for her hands and held them loosely in his grip. ‘I have a confession to make.’

Oh God. ‘Okay.’

Except it wasn’t okay. This wasn’t Kelsey’s first rodeo with a guy who was hiding stuff from her, so her brain automatically went into catastrophe mode. He was married. To multiple women. With multiple children. He was a cult leader/escaped prisoner/hitman. He was on the witness protection programme/a spy/dying.

Her brain was melting down with the possibilities.

‘My name is not Ari George.’

There was a long pause while Kelsey let that sink in. ‘You’re name’s not… Aristotle?’

She’d loved that his name was Aristotle. It suited him, so noble and masculine and—Oh, for fuck’s sake,woman.Concentrate. But it was hard to concentrate with a melting brain. Right now all she was capable of was grabbing random stray thoughts.

He shook his head. ‘No, itisAristotle.’ He took a deep measured breath. ‘Aristotle Callisthenes.’

Kelsey blinked at the immediately familiar name. ‘TheAristotle Callisthenes?’

‘Yes.’

‘The Aristotle Callisthenes whose family owns the Oceanós shipping line and are gazillionaires?’

‘Yes.’

The Aristotle Callisthenes who was essentially her employer. And she’d been… Kelsey snatched her hands out of his. ‘Oh God…’

She’d slept with the boss.Crap.

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