Doukas by Demetra Georgiou

Chapter 10

 

“This place is enormous,” I remark as we ascend yet another vast staircase. “Is there a map? What if I get lost?”

Doukas chuckles. “Well, you can always yell, and someone will come to your aid. We’re never far away.”

“You’re making fun of me.”

“Maybe a little.”

Holding hands, we head for the kitchen. Doukas told me that his older brother, Victoras, usually cooks breakfast for them all.

That reminds me. “Did you give your baby sister the presents I got her?”

Doukas nods. “I did, but she said she’d only open them with you.”

“That shows remarkable restraint for a child.”

“Yeah, we were all surprised.”

The voices become louder as we wade through the labyrinth that is his house.

“I’m not hungry. Stop pressuring me,” a female voice whines.

We’re somewhat concealed from the small gathering at the kitchen island since everyone has their backs to us.

Doukas stops me and hugs me from behind. “This is one of the most entertaining times of my morning, baby. Look,” he whispers in my ear. “Victoras is cooking as usual, but Harmonia doesn’t eat much, so she sits next to Alcaeus, and every chance she gets, she puts her food on his plate.”

True enough, the girl with the longest hair I’ve ever seen places a piece of bacon on Alcaeus’s plate.

“Is that your sister? I thought you said she was a child.”

“She is.”

I turn to him and move him a few steps backward, just out of earshot. “Doukas, that girl is old enough to vote.”

“Yes, but for me, she’s still a baby. I was nine when she was born, and after dad’s death, nine years later, we all felt responsible for her, trying to shelter her as much as we could.”

“Exactly how old are you?” I ask puzzled. He seems older than me, possibly in his late twenties.

“Twenty-seven.”

“I’m twenty-four,” I offer, thinking I should have known at least this before having sex with him.

“I know, I had you checked out.”

“What? And you’re just admitting it like that?”

I don’t know if I should feel affronted, violated, or touched that he’s once again so brutally frank. In a way, I’m all of the above.

“I didn’t want you to be stressed out about your taverna and got my hands on every document I could find. I was trying to help.”

“And what did you find?” I ask, even though I know what answers I’ll get.

“Plenty of stuff. We’ll talk later,” he promises and takes my hand, leading me to the kitchen.

“Because I’ll become a model, and I have to keep my figure,” Harmonia says as she stands up.

“No sister of mine will ever become a model,” Alcaeus growls, and the others nod in agreement, including Victoras by the stove.

“That’s it. I disown you all,” the girl says and turns to us. Harmonia is very pretty, and if I’m not mistaken, she shares her brothers’ blue eyes.

With her plate in hand, she comes and stands in front of us. “Good morning, you must be Ria,” she assumes. “I’m Harmonia. I’m sorry I didn’t come to your taverna the other night, but when they told me they were going out, I was having a Harry Potter marathon. If they’d mentioned you, I would have come.”

I take her hand and smile at her. That girl is bursting with energy. There’s something about her that makes it hard not to like her.

“Pleased to meet you, Harmonia.”

“I’m sorry about your accident,” she offers, and I’m glad that Doukas shelters her from the ugliness of those people. “Fanaris is a proper asshole.”

Perhaps not that sheltered after all.

“You know?”

“Of course I know. What beats me is why the Royals keep him around.”

Doukas chuckles. “Here we go again.”

“Say whatever you want, Doukas but just wait and see. One day I’ll march up to their house and tell Rigas Pechlivanos and his brothers how things should be and what I think about them overworking you.”

“I’d pay good money to see that,” Icarus says as he comes to us.

“Come on, let’s sit.” Doukas puts his hand on the small of my back, leading me to the kitchen island next to Giorgos, who smiles brightly at me.

Soon enough, Victoras puts a plate in front of me, and it’s so full that I’m tempted to feed Alcaeus myself. I don’t know what to pick first, eggs, bacon, toast, or tomatoes.

“How do you take your coffee?” Harmonia asks.

“Latte, no sugar, please.”

As Harmonia carries a cup of steaming coffee, Alcaeus puts a piece of apple pie in front of me while Icarus brings me a glass of orange juice.

It’s not easy to explain, but suddenly I feel part of the group, like they genuinely care about me.

I lower my head, hoping to get out what I want to say. “Thank you for last night. You really saved my life. And from what Doukas told me, thanks to all of you, I have a taverna to get back to. Fanaris would have killed me.”

“He wouldn’t have killed you, but your place would have been a distant memory,” Giorgos says, bringing the butter closer to me. I note that the twin Lord isn’t his usual grouchy self, and I bet Harmonia’s performance has something to do with it.

I frown. “He threatened to burn me with my taverna.” I don’t think I’ll ever forget his sick words.

Now it’s the Lords’ turn to frown. I note that they all turn to Alcaeus, who slightly nods his assent. Whatever that means.

“I often wonder,” Harmonia starts as she hops on the counter adjacent to the kitchen island. “How do you make your presence known in situations such as this? Do you have specific lines, or you just improvise?”

“We stand all together, Harmonia. Side-by-side,” Victoras says, handing his sister another plate. She immediately frowns and looks at Alcaeus, but I suspect it’s too late since the whole point is for her to feed him in secret.

“I’m not going to eat that, too.”

“You didn’t eat the first one either. You gave it to Alcaeus like always.”

Cutlery rattles and all eyes turn on Alcaeus. “Shame on you, Victoras,” he comes to the rescue and picks the plate from Harmonia’s hands. “Like I would ever eat my baby sister’s food.” He motions her to follow him, and they both sit down. Harmonia bites on a piece of toast, and Alcaeus nods approvingly.

“This is their thing,” Doukas whispers to my ear. “She might think she’s got her own way when, in fact, she ends up eating at least a good plate.”

That brings a smile to my face, and I lean closer to Doukas to observe them better. Doukas kisses my temple and lifts the fork to my mouth.

“In a few minutes, she’ll find an excuse to get up from the table. Sometimes Victoras chases after her, sometimes not.”

It’s like watching reality television, and I thoroughly enjoy myself. It doesn’t hurt that the food is amazing. If Victoras ever decides to quit being whatever he is, I’d hire him in a heartbeat.

“This is preposterous. I’m eighteen, and you’re counting my bites. I’m out of here. I have a bag full of presents to get to.” With that, Harmonia storms out of the kitchen, her long hair flowing behind her and Victoras hot on her heels.

“Come back here and finish your breakfast. If you get sick again, I’ll lock you in your room and force-feed you five meals a day.”

I can still hear their voices echoing long after they’ve left, even though I can’t make out what they’re saying.

“Those two…can you believe them?” Giorgos asks, refilling my glass of orange juice.

“They’re very amusing, and Victoras is an excellent cook,” I say in earnest.

Icarus picks up my now empty plate, and Doukas puts the pie plate in front of me. Wow! I was hungry after all. “He had a lot of practice, baby. When Victoras came to us, he’d just lost his mother, and Harmonia was only two months old. They immediately hit it off. If he had her in his arms, she’d eat or drink anything he’d give her.”

“That’s so sweet,” I admit because, in a way, it is.

I wonder what he means about Victoras’ mother. I know he has the same last name as the rest of his brothers, but he also has the same pair of striking blue eyes all the Tremes siblings share.

Alcaeus chuckles. “I guess so. Anyway, when Dad died, we somehow missed that she hardly ate until she had a riding accident, and the doctors informed us that she was malnourished. She didn’t have a disorder or anything of the sort. She simply didn’t want to eat.”

“Victoras took it personally,” I assume, and they all nod. “So, it’s got nothing to do with the model comment?”

Giorgos chuckles. “Nah, she’s not serious about that. Anyway, she’s too short to become a model.”

There’s a thud, and we all turn towards the entrance to find Harmonia and Victoras carrying the presents I’ve bought her. Actually, Victoras is still holding them because Harmonia’s lot is on the floor.

“I fucking hope you’ve made a will because you’re a dead man,” Harmonia informs him and lunges at him.

“Man, I wish I had some popcorn,” Alcaeus says on a sigh, and I can’t help but agree.

 

 

When Doukas first invited me for lunch last Sunday, I didn’t expect it to be an all-day event. The weather was sunny enough for the men to grill outside, and after that, we took it to the media room to watch a movie.

Harmonia finally opened the presents, and we shared a good laugh. It was all Doukas’s fault that I bought her board games for a little girl. She seemed excited, but in the end, she decided to donate them.

As we’re contemplating the movie and ice cream choices, Alcaeus’s phone rings, and all the Lords begin to get ready to leave. I follow Doukas to his bedroom and wonder if he could give me a lift or at least cab money.

“Will you be all right, baby?” he asks as he discards his shirt and disappears into the walk-in closet.

My Doukas is very impressive. I note that there’s a big scar on his left shoulder and wonder how he got it. My eyes drift along his torso. What was his question again?

“Ria?”

“Yes, I’ll be fine. Listen, Doukas—”

“Please stay here. I’d like to sleep with you in my arms tonight.”

“How do you do that?” I ask as I move to him and take the tie out of his hands.

“What?”

“You know what I’m about to say before I do. Am I that predictable, or are you that good?”

“You are that magnificent, and I am that good,” Doukas chuckles, and I roll my eyes. “Please, Ria. I need to know you’re safe, and the house is secure.”

Words fail me. Normally, I’d try to question his words and doubt his motives, but I don’t want to. In my heart, it feels right. The way he closes his arms protectively around me, this is something good, totally natural, and I want to bask in it.

“Thank you for everything, Doukas. I’m not used to this level of caring, and I’m really grateful.”

“That means you’re staying?” he asks, and I nod. “Great, I’ll try to get back as soon as I can.”

Doukas has stripped down to his silk boxers and picks up a white shirt. In no time, he’s putting on a blue pair of pants, and I’m left breathless. My heart constricts painfully as I watch him fastening his bulletproof vest, but when he picks up a holster, it’s like a douse of cold water to my senses. Can I be with this man, knowing what he does for a living?

The truth is that I want to be with him, and I’ve come to trust him. Being apart for those seven days is something I don’t want to experience again. A week and everything seemed black and white, bleak, or unimportant.

And even with such strong opinions on what’s right and what’s not, yesterday I took great pleasure when Doukas and his brothers appeared. The bulk of what went down escapes me, but I wouldn’t shed a tear if Fanaris got what he deserved. What does that make me?

“Doukas?” I ask and attract his attention as he’s fixing his hair, parting it on the side as usual. “Will it be dangerous? Where you’re going, I mean.”

“It might,” he says, and for a moment, I wish he’d lie to me.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Anything, Ria.”

“Please come back to me.”