A Scent of Greek: Out of Olympus by Tina Folsom Read Free Book Online

there was more to him that just his eyes.
    Dio had a presence, an aura that spoke of power and strength, of determination and decisiveness. He knew what he wanted, and whenever he looked at her, she knew he wanted her. It was the most powerful turn-on she’d ever felt.
    Ariadne walked into the Vat Bar where the Happy Hour mob was crowding around the bar. The background music was low, making this place a little easier on the ears than the first bar she’d been to. As she scanned the room with its high tables and barstools and its booths, which lined the outside walls, her heart almost stopped when she saw Dio leaning against one of the tables, drinking from a glass and talking to two girls sitting on the bar stools.
    At the table right behind them, she recognized two middle aged guys conversing over their wine as two of her regular customers. With slightly shaking knees, Ari walked toward Dio, her heart pounding in her chest like a locomotive thundering down a steep mountain. Maybe the two girls were old friends of his, or maybe he worked with them and they were just out for a friendly drink after work.
    The fact that the girls laughed at something Dio said didn’t have to mean that he was flirting with them. Maybe he’d just told them a joke. It could all be very innocent. But the closer she stepped, the more her throat constricted with the knowledge that something wasn’t right.
    Why hadn’t he called? Why would he instead be in a bar, drinking with two entirely too pretty girls who were probably ten years younger and twenty pounds lighter than she? She glanced at their fresh faces. Were they even old enough to drink?
    When Ari was only a couple of feet away from the table, Dio turned his head and stared straight at her. His eyes went wide, and his jaw seemed to stiffen, the laughter instantly wiped off his face. He made no motion to embrace or kiss her.
    Ari felt a cold chill creep up her spine as their gazes locked. A cold clamminess spread on her palms.
    “Oh, hi. I didn’t expect to see you here,” he said no more warmly than if they were mere acquaintances.
    Ari swallowed away the lump in her throat. “You didn’t call.”
    His gaze skidded away. “I didn’t say I would.” Dio took a large sip from his glass.
    “I ... uh ... Do you think we could talk in private?”
    His eyebrows pulled together. “Hmm, listen, Ariadne … maybe …” His words faltered, nervousness disturbing his usual suave attitude. She’d never seen him so uneasy.
    “If this is not a good time,” she started. “Maybe you want to come by my place later ...”
    He cleared his throat. “I wasn’t planning on … I can’t. Really, I just can’t.” He pressed his lips together.
    Ari stared at him, noticing how his face was suddenly a mask of ice, his eyes mimicking the cold blue of a frozen lake. She tore her gaze away and looked past him, catching the looks of her two customers who were clearly listening in on their conversation.
    “But, last night ...” Her voice trailed off. How could she explain to him what she really wanted to say? That she believed that they had something special and that she wanted to be alone with him? This wasn’t the right place to discuss things like that, things so private and intimate.
    “Last night was great. But, it’s not … It won’t go anywhere.” His brutal words felt like a slap in the face.
    Disbelief careened through her. How could he be the same man as last night? The man facing her now was nothing like the tender lover who’d made her scream with pleasure and gazed at her like he loved her. Had she misread him so completely? How could she have been so wrong?
    The room suddenly seemed to spin as if she’d stepped onto a carrousel. Her eyes flitted away from him toward the table behind him where her customers had risen from their chairs. She spun her head toward the door, her gaze briefly locking onto the bar and the person behind it. Gabrielle, the owner was watching her, but Ari