Free A Scent of Greek: Out of Olympus by Tina Folsom Page B

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Seeing him like this when he seemed vulnerable, his arrogance stripped away like dead skin, made her feel almost protective of him. He needed her now that he knew nothing about his old life.
    When Dio stepped into the small bathroom behind her, she felt his presence physically. She busied herself with searching for a first aid kit but found none. Figured. She would just have to do with some clean hand towels and warm water.
    She raised her lids and saw him inspecting his face in the mirror.
    “Shit, I look like crap!”
    She chuckled. “Not all the time.” It was out before she could stop herself. And it was true; Dio was a handsome man, even though his face was in bad shape right now. But underneath lay more beauty than any man should possess.
    He grinned at her admission. “I’m glad to hear that. I’d hate it if you’d merely settled for me when I know you can have any man you want.” He swept an appreciative gaze over her face, and Ari felt her cheeks heat at his hidden compliment. Did he really mean that? But if he did, why had he broken up with her? It made no sense.
    “Go ahead and sit on the toilet there so I can tend to your face.”
    When she turned back to him, a moist towel in her hand, Dio sat there like a good boy and surveyed her expectantly. His legs were spread eagle the way a dominant man sat. It left her no choice but to stand in between his thighs to get close enough to clean up his face.
    Some of the blood was now encrusted along his lips and around his eyes and nose. Ari shelved his chin on one hand and applied the wet edge of the towel to his skin, gently forming circles to remove the blood without putting too much pressure on the cuts and bruises beneath.
    When she wiped away the blood around his bruised eye, he winced and pulled back, but she didn’t let go of his face.
    “Keep still, or it’ll take longer.”
    “Thanks for doing this.”
    “Mmm-hmm.” He had no idea how hard it was for her to touch him. It reminded her of the night before, and she didn’t want to be reminded of that right now, not when her feelings were in such an uproar—when one minute she wanted to hurt him and the next make love to him.
    “What do I normally call you?”
    “What do you mean?” Ari concentrated on the cut next to his right eye.
    “Like ‘sweetheart’ or ‘darling’ or ‘baby’?” he asked.
    At the sound of the endearments, she felt heat course through her. A bittersweet memory surfaced: he’d called her ‘my love’ last night. “You call me Ariadne.”
    His eyebrows rose in surprise. “I think we’re gonna have to change that.”
    “That’s my name, and nobody’s ever complained about it,” she protested, stiffening slightly. Well, maybe Dio hadn’t been stripped of his arrogance by losing his memory. Some character traits definitely remained, amnesia or not.
    Dio suddenly placed his hands on the back of her thighs, startling her. “It’s a beautiful name. But I think I’d like to call you ‘baby’. It feels rights.”
    Ari froze in her movements. He wanted to use an endearment on her? “Why?”
    A confused frown swept over his face. “Does there have to be a reason other than that I obviously love you, considering we’re engaged?”
    “But how would you know that you love me? You’ve lost your memory.”
    “I can feel it.” He lifted one hand from her thighs and took hers, leading it to his chest. Under her palm, his heart beat in a rapid rhythm. “When I’m near you, my heart beats faster.”
    She tried to pull her hand away, but he kept it captured beneath his. “That’s probably because of the trauma you sustained.”
    He shook his head. “No, and you know why I know that’s not the case?”
    Ari held her breath. Had he regained his memory already and was taunting her now? She didn’t dare answer, and a moment later, he guided her hand down his torso until her palm felt the hot pulsing length of his erection. His