The Kalliakis Crown. Michelle Smart

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       CHAPTER FIVE

      DESPITE THE LATENESS of the evening, the café upstairs was busy. Amalie had found a small table against the wall, where she could wait for Talos. Aware of the curious glances being thrown her way she pretended to examine the menu.

      Testosterone abounded in the café. The vast majority of the patrons were male, all of them muscular, a fair few displaying broken noses and scarred faces. But their muscular physiques were dwarfed when Talos entered the room.

      He spotted her immediately, and as he made his way over people stopped him to shake hands or bump fists.

      She was glad his attention was taken, if only for a few moments. She pressed a hand to her chest and inhaled as much air into her tight lungs as she could get. The green sports pants and matching T-shirt she’d taken from the gym’s sports clothing outlet suddenly felt very close against her skin. Constricting.

      He’d changed into a pair of tight-fitting black jeans and a navy blue T-shirt, and had his sports bag slung over his shoulder.

      He was a mountain man, and whatever he wore only emphasised his muscularity. Whether he was in a business suit, workout gear or something casual, she couldn’t shake the feeling that he would be equally at home with nothing but a loin cloth wrapped around his waist.

      ‘I thought subjects were supposed to kneel before royalty,’ she said when he finally joined her.

      A smirk appeared on his lips. ‘If you want to get on your knees before me, I won’t complain.’

      She glared at him.

      He settled his huge frame onto the chair opposite her. ‘You have to admit your comment was an open invitation.’

      ‘Only to someone with a dirty mind...’ she said, but her voice trailed into a mumble as the imagery his comment provoked, startling and vivid, sent a pulse searing through her blood strong enough to make her entire face burn.

      The fresh scent of his shower gel and the woody musk of his aftershave played under her nose, filling her senses. He still hadn’t shaved, his stubble thick and covering his jawline in its entirety.

      Certain she’d handed him another gold-plated open invitation, she cast her eyes down before he had a chance to read what was in them.

      Instead of the expected quip, he asked in an amused tone, ‘What would you like to order?’

      As he spoke, he folded his arms onto the table, his biceps bulging with the motion. She should have stayed looking at his face.

      Since when did blatant machismo testosterone do it for her?

      The male musicians she worked with—especially her fellow violinists—were, on the whole, sensitive creatures physically and emotionally. There were always exceptions to the rule, such as Philippe, one of the Orchestre National de Paris’s trombone players. Philippe was blond, buff and handsome, and he flirted openly with any woman who caught his eye. He was rumoured to have bedded half the female musicians in the orchestra.

      But not Amalie, who found his overt masculinity a complete turn-off. The few boyfriends she’d had had been slight, unthreatening men, with gentle natures and a deep appreciation of music. Their evenings together had been spent discussing all things to do with music and the arts in general, with the bedroom not even an afterthought.

      So why did Talos, whose physique and masculinity were ten times as potent as anything Philippe could even dream of having, make her feel all hot and squidgy just to look at him? None of her boyfriends had made her feel like he did—as if she wanted nothing more than to rip his clothes off.

      ‘I don’t read Greek,’ she answered, dragging her vocal cords into working order. ‘I wouldn’t know what to choose.’

      ‘We don’t serve traditional Greek fare here,’ he said. ‘It’s mostly high-carb and high-protein foods like pasta and steak.’

      ‘Do they have burgers?’

      He grinned.

      ‘What’s so funny?’

      ‘After a hard workout I go for a burger every time.’

      ‘With cheese?’

      ‘It’s not right without the cheese.’

      ‘And chips?’

      ‘It wouldn’t be a complete meal without them.’

      ‘Cheeseburger and chips for me, then, please.’

      ‘Drink?’

      ‘Coke?’

      His sensuous lips widened into a full-blown grin that was as sinful as the food she wanted. ‘Two cheeseburgers and chips, and two Cokes coming up.’

      He got up from his seat, walked to the counter, fist-bumped the teenage boy working there and gave their order.

      ‘It won’t take long,’ he said when he sat back at the table.

      ‘Good. I am starving.’

      ‘I’m not surprised after that workout you did.’

      ‘It doesn’t help that I forgot to have any dinner before we left.’

      ‘How can you forget a meal?’ He looked at her as if she’d confessed to forgetting to put her underwear on.

      She shrugged. ‘It happens. If I’m concentrating and lost in the music it is easy for me to forget.’

      ‘It’s no wonder you’re a slip of thing.’

      ‘I make up for it,’ she said defensively. ‘I might not eat at regular times, but I always eat.’

      He eyed her, his look contemplative. Before he could say whatever was on his mind their food was brought over by yet another teenager.

      ‘That was quick,’ Amalie marvelled. Her famished belly rumbled loudly as she looked at the heaped plate. She didn’t think she’d ever seen so many chips on a plate, or a burger of such epic proportions.

      ‘We run a tight ship here.’

      ‘That’s not the first time you’ve said “we”,’ she said, picking up a thick golden chip that was so hot she dropped it back onto the plate. ‘Are you involved in this place somehow?’

      ‘This is my gym.’

      She gazed at him, trying to stop her face wrinkling in puzzlement. ‘But you have a gym in your villa.’