Chapter One-Burning gazes.
ARTEMIS'S P.O.V.
“Good evening. What can I get you?” the waitress asks me with a polite smile, and I reciprocate.
“A bottle of Moet and two glasses, please.” She nods politely as she taps my order into the small device.
I am sitting in the VIP area of my new nightclub, APOLLI. I opened it two weeks ago, and so far, it’s going better than I expected.
Not many people know that I’m the owner, though. I don’t like the spotlights, and that’s because of my real job, but I don’t have a problem with standing in the shadows. I love my privacy. Besides, I might be a little bit asocial.
I have only two friends.
Hope lives in France, so we don’t meet often, maybe once or twice a year. Also, all she knows about me is that I am a successful businesswoman who owns two clubs and is involved in real estate.
She came home for the week, so tonight we decided to go out.
My second friend is Knox. He is my right-hand, best friend, and brother, not by blood but by circumstances and actions.
I trust him with my life, and he trusts me with his.
He knows everything about me. Well, except for one thing. One thing that nobody except me knows. Me and him. But I’m planning to take that secret with me to the grave.
I also have a twin sister, Apollinariya.
I know, the name is strange, scarce, and unique, but it suits her, just like my name suits me.
My father was Greek, and when we were born, he said that he named us by how we reacted to the outside world. He was into Greek Mythology and said that we remembered him of the twins of the Greek God, Zeus, and the Titan Goddess, Leto.
Artemis and Apollo.
I was loud, kicking, and screaming, and didn’t stop crying until they put my sister next to me, so he named me Artemis because she was also very protective and took a guardianship role over her brother’s life, and as I grew up, I did the same with my sister.
I often find myself in the real Artemis, not because I think I’m a Goddess like she was, but because of her skills.
Her domains include the moon, the hunt, archery, the wilderness, and wildlife.
I like the calmness of the night, the fresh air that darkness brings, the masterpiece we call the night sky, and the stars that are beautifully aligned in a random way around the stunning moon.
I also like knives.
I’m fascinated by bows and how the arrow flies so elegantly, capable of killing or rescuing. It always captivated me, so I pushed myself until I reached perfection, until I could hit the bullseye with my eyes closed.
And, last but not least, I love to hunt.
Artemis was known for nurturing and helping those in need. She was very protective of her family, just like I am, but she was also vicious. She could bring on plagues, disease, and, my favorite of them all, death.
But I, unlike Artemis, failed to protect my family, my other half, my better half. She has been in a coma for seven years due to a drunk driver who had two previous accidents but was not charged, so I took matters into my own hands. I tortured him for weeks, but... it didn’t wake my sister up.
“Hi, Cherrie. How are you? Did you miss me?” Hope's cheerful voice brings me back to Earth, and I take a deep breath and try to put a smile on my face.
“I picked you up yesterday from the airport and we spent the entire day together,” I say, amused, and she looks at me incredulously, throwing her blonde hair over her shoulder.
“Yes, Artemis, but it seems like forever…” She sighs dramatically, as if she’s reminiscing about something that happened years ago and is experiencing excruciating emotional pain.
She can be extremely dramatic.
I start laughing at her antics, and she chuckles, then comes and gives me a hug and a kiss on the cheek, which I happily reciprocate.
“You are insane.” Hope it’s like a teenager. She tries to see the best in people and believes in love at first sight. She is an incurable romantic, that’s why she moved to France, the country of love.
I, on the other hand… well, let’s say that I’m again, like Artemis, who carefully guarded her chastity, and anyone who attempted even to touch her experienced a violent death.
There is no such thing as love, and there is no way a stranger can love every flaw you have, and God knows I have more than I can count.
“Hey, look over there!” She points her finger behind me, and to shut her up, -because I know she won’t stop until I do it-, I glance briefly.
“Yes, a group of people having fun. Very interesting…” My voice comes out as I wanted. Sarcastic. One of my many talents.
“No, Art! Look at that guy; he doesn’t take his eyes off you. And damnnnn, he’s hot.” I don’t even bother looking again because I’m not interested in any kind of relationship. Not even friends. Two are more than enough.
And, I said, I’m not very social. Even though I see it as an asset, Hope and Knox contradict me.
“Of course… now let’s dance.” Hope rolls her eyes as she sees she can't change my mind.
“If you keep going like this, you’ll die alone.” She says as if it's a bad thing, making me frown.
“And what’s bad about that?” I ask, genuinely confused, and she rolls her eyes again, making me laugh.
I don’t wait for her to say anything else; instead, I stand up and start dancing. It’s a sensual song—one of the tracks from Fifty Shades of Grey, I put a spell on you. Yes, I was bored, so I watched the movie, loved the soundtracks, and ended up uploading all the songs.
I turn around and see the guy, whose eyes are still on me. I can’t see the color, but his gaze is intense, burning through me.
His clean-shaven face accentuates his sharp jawline, so much so that it makes me wonder if I could cut a diamond on it. His hair is thick and combed back, and I don’t know if it’s the dimmed light, but it’s such an intense shade of black that it looks surreal.
As for his body... I can’t see how tall he is, but I would say he’s taller than everyone at his table. He has broad shoulders, and I can see his muscles moving through his white, button-down shirt with elbow sleeves that show his strong as steel forearms, which are covered in tattoos, as he’s pouring himself a glass of whiskey.
Damn.
To be honest, his entire body is screaming Please fuck me. Maybe without the please. Just a command because he doesn't look at all submissive.
I’m a little surprised by my... assessment, or better said, by the fact that I took my time admiring a man, but he has that something that you don’t see very often.
I must admit that my experience in the sex area is not so vast, I had only one boyfriend, and that was because I wanted to see if I was utterly broken due to my past, but him, this dark stranger... his demeanor, it’s like he’s pulling me into some trance, and I wouldn’t mind extending my experience with him. Once. I don't like or need complications.
Without breaking the electric eye contact, I start to move my body in slow, sensual motions, lifting my hands into the air and letting them down slowly, gently brushing my neck with my fingertips, then sliding down to my ribs, lightly touching the sides of my breasts.
He is devouring me and stripping me with his eyes, and I don’t mind stripping for him one bit.