Doukas by Demetra Georgiou

Chapter 9

 

“Don’t try to move too much,” Doukas says next to me, but I can’t bring myself to react.

As of its own volition, my hand jerks, and pain surges through me.

“Easy, baby.”

“Did I hurt my arm?” I ask, even though I’m fairly sure I haven’t.

“No, but you’re severely scratched on your side. The doctor said you’ll be sore for a day or two, but other than that, only your head needed stitching.”

I lift my arm to touch my forehead, but I must’ve fallen asleep on it because it’s numb, and I can’t make it obey. Doukas takes my hand and brings my fingers to my forehead.

Closing my eyes again, I burrow my head deeper into his arms as I get comfortable in the colossal bed.

Wait a minute!

“Where am I?” I ask as I try to get up, even if that means I have to leave Doukas’s arms.

Doukas is lying on top of the blue duvet. Last night’s shirt is wrinkled, and he seems tired as if he hasn’t slept at all.

“You’re in my home. In my bed,” he says in a soft voice. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you who I was, but it’s not something I readily disclose. I apologize for being the one telling you some distressing news about your family.”

This man cannot be real. “I’m sorry I lashed out at you.”

“Now that you know who I am and what I do, do you think you can cope with it?”

“I don’t know, Doukas. I really don’t. I have questions. Are you like Fanaris? Have you ever killed someone? And what happens if we break up? Will I be free to go, or will I have become a liability?”

“Those are all legitimate questions. I can’t know what will happen in the future, but I’m not going to coerce you into doing something you don’t want to. I’m not like Fanaris, I’m above him, and sadly I don’t have a killing ratio to share. I don’t consider myself a naturally violent person, but I won’t hesitate to kill. In any case, the nature of my work is such that I don’t often resort to brutalities. However, if you weren’t there last night, that scum would be dead. I’ll die rather than let anything happen to you.”

I didn’t expect an actual answer to my questions. Doukas is both forthcoming and intriguing.

“And how do you explain Akis?”

“Akis?”

“Yes. Akis Lambrou, my best friend’s brother.”

“What does Akis’s attempt to steal from us have to do with anything?”

“Didn’t you ask him about me and my taverna’s profits?”

“I only asked him who you were. Trust me, he was more than willing to divulge any information about you. You are the reason he’s still breathing, Ria.”

A shiver runs down my spine at his last comment. I really do want to believe Doukas. God knows how I don’t like Akis, but Veta is my best friend, and she’s never lied to me.

“Is there a bathroom I can use?” I ask, deciding to address my more pressing needs.

Doukas springs to his feet and rushes to my side. After moving the duvet, he picks me up. Only now do I note that I’m just wearing a pair of boxers and a T-shirt.

“These are your clothes?”

“Yes, I’ve sent yours to be laundered.”

“Did you undress me?”

“Yes,” he admits without losing a beat. He marches into the ensuite bathroom and then to another room with the toilet.

He puts me on my feet, and I yelp when his fingers reach for the boxers. “Can I have some privacy?”

“What if you fall?”

“I won’t,” I say, but I’m fully aware that I’m in no position to make such promises.

“I’ll be right outside,” he says and strides out of the small room.

I try to finish my business, mindful of the brooding man that may or may not be directly outside. I know that peeing is just a bodily function, but I can’t help but feel somewhat self-conscious.

When I open the door, Doukas is leaning on the counter. “All done,” I smile at him. “Can I ask you a favor?”

“You can ask me anything.”

“Can you take me home? I need to change and go back to the taverna to see if I can salvage anything. Did it rain last night? Fanaris’s men broke nearly every side door and window. I have valuables in there.”

Doukas closes his arms around me and brings my head to his chest. “Everything is taken care of. Your assistant kitchen manager, Electra, gave us the number of the handyman you use, and I called him. He had to order the same window and door panes, but he installed plexiglass and plywood as a temporary solution. Both can last for a short while until he’s got everything he needs on Tuesday.”

“I don’t know what to say.” How could he find someone on a Saturday night? I don’t even want to think about how much something like this will cost me. “Thank you, Doukas. I’ll call him for the invoice.”

Doukas seems like he wants to say something but hesitates. If it’s about paying for the damages, I’m not going to back down. “I should have done a better job of protecting you,” he says eventually.

“Don’t even go there. I was naïve and underestimated Fanaris. In my defense, though, up until yesterday, he’d only sent Timon and Pumbaa. I couldn’t take them seriously when one of them looks like a malnourished rodent.”

Doukas chuckles, and that’s the first time today that I feel him relax. “He sent who?”

“Timon and Pumbaa,” I explain but shake my head. He can’t know what I’m talking about. “It’s a duo from a cartoon, like Dumb and Dumber.”

“Lion King?”

I take a step back and look at him, perplexed. “How on earth do you know that?”

“It’s a rather sad story full of anguish and a small girl’s tears.”

“Are you serious?”

He shakes his head ruefully. “Alcaeus used this movie as a reference to tell our baby sister that dad was dead.”

“Oh, that’s awful.”

“Indeed. Still, it needed to be done.” Doukas places me on the vanity and rifles through the drawers, producing an unused toothbrush. “The doctor said not to wet the stitches for today, but if you want, I can find a plastic cap.”

I take the toothbrush and smile as Doukas squeezes some of the toothpaste on it. True enough, my grin makes my stitches smart a little. Perhaps I can use a washcloth or something.

Doukas waits until I’ve started brushing my teeth before following my lead. We stand here, side-by-side, doing something entirely normal for the first time. When we’re done, he moves to the humongous bathtub.

“I’ve started a bath,” Doukas states the obvious, and I smile at him.

“So, I see.”

“Let me help you in,” he says and lifts the shirt slowly.

Once I’m fully naked, he ushers me inside the tub and kneels just outside of it.

Now I’m confused. “What about you?”

“I’ll have a shower when you’re settled back in bed.” He takes a small cup and pours water on my shoulders before reaching for a washcloth.

Putting my hand on top of his, I stop him. “I’d very much like to have you here with me,” I say, and I can read the indecision on his face. “Please.”

“I’m trying to be a fucking gentleman, Ria.”

“And you’re doing great. Now, if you could hold me into your arms, it’d make me extremely happy.”

Honestly, I don’t know where I find this kind of bravado. It’s like I’ve forgiven him overnight, but in fact, there was nothing to forgive. In my heart of hearts, I knew Doukas isn’t capable of that kind of trickery. I don’t know why Akis lied to his sister, alarming her on my behalf, but I’ll believe Doukas over a lowlife degenerate gambler like Akis any time of day.

Watching Doukas’s naked body is not something I’ll ever get tired of. I love the fact that he seems so much at ease with his nakedness. He knows I’ve been watching him shamelessly, yet his eyes never waver from mine.

When he settles behind me, he lifts me onto his lap, and I feel his erection poking me. My eyes spring to his. I immediately feel a familiar ache.

“No, Ria.”

Darn it! “What if I beg?” I ask, kissing his throat and skimming my hands across his naked chest, inching lower and lower.

Doukas doesn’t allow me to reach my destination, though. Lifting my hand, he puts it on his lips. “Maybe tonight if you’re good.”

“Tonight, I won’t be here.” He can’t think that after what happened last night, I can afford the luxury of lazing about. “I have to go by the taverna and see if I can salvage anything. My cash register is there, my purse and phone.”

“I’m afraid you can’t open yet, baby. The place isn’t fit to operate. I propose you email your staff, but just in case, I have five of my men guarding your taverna. I’ll send someone for your purse.”

“You’ve thought of everything. I need to see your brothers and thank them personally, but I don’t want to impose.”

“Don’t let me hear you say that again. Now that you know who we are and definitely got a taste of how we operate, you must realize that we never do something unless we want to. After all,” he pauses to drop a kiss on my lips. “You owe us all a lunch.”

“I don’t really like to owe.”

“Thought as much. It’s better if we make it a dinner, though, because I don’t want you to exert yourself. You have to sleep some more.”

“I’m okay, Doukas. What time is it, anyway?”

“I believe it’s about nine,” he says, looking outside the glass wall in front of us.

I glance at his hands, but he doesn’t wear a watch. I beam at him. “Did you calculate the time from the position of the sun?”

“Of course. Can’t you do that?”

I bury my head into the crook of his throat and giggle, clutching him to me. My stitches immediately protest, but I don’t care. “Seriously though, how?”

“I checked the time when you used the toilet, and it was just after eight thirty, so there you have it.”

Doukas is unlike anyone I’ve ever met. He’s confusing, enigmatic, and honest. I know that if I ask him a question, he’ll answer.

Taking a deep breath, I snuggle closer to him, reveling in his nearness. His lips rest on my temple as he picks up the sponge and draws leisure circles on my back. By the time he’s finished and stands with me in his arms, I’m so relaxed as if a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

“Such a shame to cover a body like this,” he mutters as he puts a fluffy beige towel on my shoulders and closes me into his embrace.

I hug him back, feeling his taught muscles flexing under my fingers. “I couldn’t agree more.”