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"Feel like having a walk later?" he asked, shifting in his recliner.

When no answer came, he turned his head to look at her, and smiled at the view; the exhaustion of the past two days was catching up with her.

"What're you doing?" she mumbled sleepily when he picked her up.

"Taking you to bed."

She opened her eyes, squinting at him, as if about to protest, then squeezed her lids back shut. "Mmm."

"My thoughts exactly." He smiled, carrying her inside the house.

It felt like he had this stupid grin plastered to his face ever since he woke up, but gods, it had been ages since he felt so… he couldn't name it precisely. Just good. Light. Like things were starting to make sense again.

Taking one last look at her as she rolled to her side with her back to him, his gaze sweeping over the curve of her hip, his lids half-closing at the instant twitch in his groin — he sighed and forced himself out of the room.

There will be time for that later. Now that she was napping, he had time to go to town and buy what he just realized was missing here.

She was going to love it.

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He stood outside the car dealership building, about to finish his cigarette, hesitating.

On the one hand, he had his mind set on a military style Jeep, on the other — any big-wheeled car would do just fine. It wasn't like there were conditions for any serious offroad out here. And it didn't seem like there was much of a choice, anyway.

He stubbed out the half-smoked cigarette and went inside.

"Good day, sir," the middle-aged man greeted him, stumbling up from behind the counter. "How can I help?"

"I need something big that rides well on sand."

"For you?" the man asked distractedly as the entrance door clicked open. "Oh, good day, welcome," the man said, briefly glancing towards the entrance as the door clicked open. "A car for you, sir? Or a family car?

He raised his brows, taken off guard by the question.

"He doesn't really strike me as a family man, if you ask me," the flirty, female voice resounded somewhere to his left. He turned his head and met the narrow-eyed gaze of a skinny, tanned, hippie-looking blonde with a mess of thin, long braids for hair, leaning against the juicy red bonnet of the car that caught his eye in an instant.

"Right back at ya," he countered, swaggering towards her.

The blonde giggled in response, the silly sound of it reminding him of his sister.

He tilted his head, taking in the car. "This one will do." He turned towards the sales clerk. "I'll take it."

"Don't you wanna take it for a ride first?" The blonde gave him a suggestive smile.

"No offense, but — not really," he said, and glanced to the distance behind her, to the tall, baseball-capped guy she came with, "Besides, it would get crowded in the driver's seat, don't you think?"

"Not if you like crowded."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but — that kind of threesome — ain't really my thing."

"Just me and your girlfriend, then?" The blonde raised her eyes at him, wrapping one of the braids around her finger.

He stared into the distance for a moment, the vision of the two women pleasuring each other rendering in his mind in an instant. Funny, how one of his biggest turn-ons now left him unmoved, not in the slightest. He ogled the blonde up and down. Normally, he would've snatched her out of here already. Now — nothing — if anything, the thought of touching her felt almost off-putting. And the thought that a hand or mouth other than his would touch the woman waiting for him at home — all it did was made his fists clench.

"Lemme take a raincheck on that." He threw her one last look, put his card back in his wallet and grabbed the keys from the counter, ignoring her mock-sulky glare on him on his way out.

Godsdamn, he forgot what fun it was to ride big wheels. She was going to love it, he couldn't wait. He reached for his phone to call her.

"The number you have dialed doesn't exist."

Shit. Of course — they both destroyed their old phones and sim cards before coming here; well, hers hadn't quite survived the chat with Gareth, anyway. He always had several extra burners on him so he'd replaced his the moment they landed. She never mentioned she needed one, so he assumed she had extra one of her own. Maybe she just didn't turn it on yet; she'd been a bit distracted ever since they arrived here.

Well, it didn't hurt to get one, just in case.

He pulled over on the side of the road and hit the maps app on the phone to find the nearest store. It would take a detour, but just a little.

The store was a rather small one and didn't have too many options, but they had the exact model he owned, so he reached for it without a second thought. Was she going to like it, though? It was different from the one she used to have. Well, she would get used to it. What the hell did it matter? It was just a phone. He raised his brows, puzzled by the whole chain of thoughts.

But as soon as he drove back home and saw her in the pool, he forgot all about the phone. He snapped his clothes off, leaving just his underwear on, and jumped in; and felt his temperature rise when he swam closer to her and realized she had absolutely nothing on.

"Someone's happy to see me…" She said when he gripped her waist and their hips met.

"It's what I think of your bathing suit."

"Here's what I think of yours." She reached for the waistband of his shorts and rolled them down his thighs, letting out a gasp of approval at what she found underneath; damn, he loved it, that little sound she'd make when she found him hard.

He flicked his fingers, making the garment disappear, leaving nothing between them but water."That better?" He seized her waist and pulled her to him, his pelvic area tightening when their bodies slid against each other, her legs wrapping around his waist.

"Oh, yes." She combed her fingers through his hair, toying with it for a moment, her gaze turning pensive as she kept studying his face.

"What?"

"Nothing." The corner of her lips went up, her brow arching a little, eyes narrowing. "Just looking."

He stifled a grin, a smug retort at the tip of his tongue — and said nothing, some strange emotion disorienting him. What the hell was she doing to him? Never in his life had he spent a single second contemplating, let alone questioning his physical appearance — he was a god, he was perfect at all times, and blessed with a physique that made women swoon — but when she looked at him like that, those merciless blue eyes piercing right through, it was like he was stripped of all of it.

But then he lost the thought as she splashed water in his face and pulled him under. They stayed underwater for a while, him chasing her; and then a flashback hit him. It felt too familiar, the similar scene from their previous life; their fight at the ice pond when, possessed by the Furies, he almost killed her, the moment he thought he did, when he jumped in the icy water, scooped her in his arms and—

He scooped her in his arms and hit the surface, the warm water cascading down his face as he caught his breath through his open mouth, his eyes feverishly seeking hers. "You okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" she raised her brows, wiping the black mane of wet hair off her forehead.

He swallowed, pushing the pesky flashbacks away and searching for something to say that wouldn't sound stupid.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Nothing."

"That's quite a strong reaction for nothing." Of course, she wasn't going to let go. She always read him like an open book and never let anything slide.

He smirked. "You just won't let go, will ya?"

"I drowned, didn't I?" she asked quietly. "In Greece."

"You remember?" he said out of breath.

"I just figured from your reaction."

He drew in a breath and exhaled noisily. "It's a long story. And not a one I like to revisit," he said curtly, shaking off the white and blue vision of that damned ice pond with her lifeless face in it.

He'd tell her, one day. Maybe.

Or, maybe not.

Somehow, those memories from Greece that he had of her, good or bad, even those very few good ones that he used to cling to for years — his grip on them loosened quite much recently, now that he thought of it. Maybe it was time to let them go. That life wasn't coming back.

He didn't want it to. Not anymore.

The life he wanted to live and remember, was the one going on right in front of him.

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