Chapter 42

Sean wanted to ask her why she rejected being kissed by Frank but h loves the atmosphere of being with her and he doesn t want to ruin it by mentioning the name of the man he knows she deeply loves and would do anything for just to honor her late mother s wish. He was sad and angry at this same time, sad that the woman trusted the fool with her daughter and angry that the fool didn t value that mother s trust and then broken that he may have lost his chance of ever being with her.
To avoid from thinking too deep and ruining the night and his mood, he stood up and walked to the stereo, he turned it on and a cool jazz started playing, he knows the song but he didn t bother remembering the artist or the name of the song, they are not the one he wants to think about. He walked back to Athena and placing his tumbler on the desk, he took hers from her and placed beside his, when she looked up at him, he smiled softly, "dance with me."
Athena gulped and let him pull her to her feet; he led her to the centre of the room and pulled her into his arms, his hand settling on the small of her back and the other leading her hand to place on his chest. Feeling the heat that was emanating from his body made her hotter and feeling his muscular chest through his shirt made her gulp again. She looked up and her eyes met his hazel ones, they were darker than usual and seeing her reflection in them, made her heart beat faster.
"Let s celebrate," he whispered.
"What are we celebrating?"
"Your confidence, I love how you spoke and acted tonight, it makes me proud."
Athena smiled shyly and looked away, when she looked up at him again, she said, "well, I have a very good tutor."
Sean chuckled, he loves the shade of her eyes and he loves looking in them, a crazy thought made him wonder if she loves the color of his as well, but he couldn t ask her that. "I love your eyes, it s like chocolate fondue," even if he can t ask her, he has a way of getting her to answer, that s if she wants though.
Athena blushed, taking her eyes away from his view briefly, "thank you," she looked up at him, "yours are beautiful as well, it was the first thing I noticed in you when I first saw you. The shade is gripping and fascinating and it would make any woman listen to you just to look at them a little longer."
Sean smiled, although she didn t come forward in admitting whether she love them or not but he has long come to know that women loves generalizing when speaking. "Thank you."
"You are welcome," she smiled, looking away again momentarily to get rid of the colors on her cheeks.
"I have been meaning to ask," He began and she looked at him, "why didn t you kiss Frank tonight?" he just can t let it go.
"I just didn t want to kiss him," she answered after thinking on her reply.
"Why? I had thought that would make you really happy, considering the fact that you still love him. Or don t you?" He might have asked the question casually but he was really waiting for her answer.
Athena kept his gaze, "indeed but tonight at that moment, I didn t want to kiss him, the thought alone repelled me."
Her answer wasn t straight and it confused him, "don t you want to get back with him?"
Athena didn t know what to answer; the question is what she had been asking herself these past few days, what does she want? Is it Frank or is it him? She is confused and she wasn t ready to share her confusion with anyone so she placed her head on his chest and closed her eyes. "My mother s wish is for me to marry him, if he should ever propose to me, I will say yes."
Sean placed his chin on her head; he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "what if he doesn t?"
"Then I won t be the one that broke my mother s wish."
Sean remained silent for a while and then asked, "Do you even think you can ever give another person a chance, someone that would value you and not trample on you when he thinks you don t befit him anymore, regardless of your mother s wish?"
Athena looked up at him and their eyes met, his face was close to hers that she could feel his breathing on her face and it warmed her but also made her shiver. "I don t know," she whispered, "it depends."
"On?" He whispered, his face was leaning closer to hers and his eyes were on her lips just like hers were on his.
"If he makes me forget about my mother s wish."
What if I can do that? He wanted to ask but he didn t and only claimed her lips with his. She didn t back away, didn t push him away rather she circled her arms on his neck, pulling him closer and opening her mouth for him.
Sean could sense the difference in her compared to the day in the training room, he wrapped his arms on her waist, pulling her deeper into his embrace that they could feel the heat from each other despite their clothes. Her hand went up to his hair, running her fingers through his soft silky hair and pushing herself deeper into his arms, almost like she wants to feel his skin against hers.
Sean was losing control, taking what she was offering and it was only when her fingers reached his shirt buttons and he was close to unzipping her dress did he remembered that they had both had a few to drink and her response might be the work of the alcohol. Grabbing self control from his past life, he detached his lips from hers, his eyes still closed as he fought his desire and urge. He heaved a deep breath, letting it out through the mouth and he opened his eyes to find her looking at him. He smiled and tucked her hair in place, "goodnight Athena."
Athena was hurt when she had that, she offered but at the end, he rejected, she took a step away from him and nodded, "goodnight Sean," she turned and left the room.
Sean would be a liar if he said he didn t see the hurt in her eyes but they are both drunk, even if he knows he truly desire her, alcohol or not, he doesn t know about her and the last thing he want is her concluding another night with him as a mistake, the first already hurts like hell.