by Mandy Baggot
The warmth of his breath, the taste of the heat in the air, it was overpowering everything. A heady, erotic mix assaulted every inch of her as he drew himself closer still.
She couldn’t hold off any longer. She didn’t want to waste another second in this half-state. She was so close to feeling more than she had ever felt. It wasn’t just arousal from a sexual reaction, it was a call to her soul. Here was her chance to open herself up, with no ulterior motives, just her feelings and a good, kind, gorgeous man reciprocating.
* * *
Yan couldn’t wait. His heart was pulsing hard, the fine hairs on his arms standing to attention. Ellen was there in front of him, her mouth slightly open, her full lips moist and tempting. All sense had left him. He had no choice now. His body was in control but it was much more than just chemistry. Right at that moment it felt like destiny.
He took her mouth with his, hard, assured, nothing like the kiss they’d shared in his room. This time he wanted there to be no doubt. He wanted her to know just how much he longed for her. Her beauty, her simplicity, the goodness in her. She was raw, pure, untainted.
With both hands cradling her face, their mouths connected, he walked her backwards.
* * *
Ellen let out a gasp as her back hit the wall and they came apart for a second. He looked at her, his face only a centimetre from hers, his eyes alive, his breathing ragged. She moved her mouth to his again, pulling him into her, closing the gap and pushing her back against the cool of the wall as the weight of him pressed onto her. She wanted this so much. She wanted to get to know this feeling, believe in it, have faith that it was all for her. It didn’t matter for how long, it just mattered that she experienced it; wanting someone so much, being desired by a man for who she was, not what she had.
He moved his mouth from hers, leaving her feeling suddenly bereft. But as his tongue touched the outside of her neck and his lips travelled across her bare shoulder she coiled up inside. Every inch of her was on the highest alert, each section of skin being set alight by the touch of his lips, the pull of his mouth.
She ran a hand over his shoulder and down his back as far as she could reach, riding over the muscles through his thin shirt, relishing the solidity of his form as the weight of his body moved against hers.
* * *
Ellen’s skin was like the softest caramel, smooth and sweet under his tongue. His thumb trailed a circle down her arm as his mouth followed the path. He wanted to experience every part of her, slowly, gently, making each second count. His eyes were closed but as she reached up and under his shirt he opened them, drawing back slightly, looking at her. He had to be sure this was what she wanted. He did not want to push her to do anything she did not want to do.
Yan opened his mouth to speak but, before he could, she had caught his mouth in another hot kiss. Her lips told him all he needed to know. She wanted this, wanted him.
* * *
The sound of conversation moved him back a little. He looked at Ellen. She was breathing hard, her cheeks hot but she stilled, sensing she should.
It was Dasha, Yan was certain and someone else he couldn’t recognise from voice alone. One of the guests perhaps? There was no way he wanted to be found out like this, with Ellen, but not for all the reasons he usually thought of – his new start, his job. His only thought was for her.
‘Let’s go,’ Ellen said.
Her whispered, anxious tone brought him back to the present and he felt her fingers slip between his.
‘Let’s go,’ she repeated, tugging his arm towards her and away from their precarious position.
The voices started to increase in volume and he looked at her flushed face, her eyes swimming with moisture. Her fingers were still locked with his.
He moved then, tightening his grip on her. With one stoop to pick up the bag of clothes he hurried with her, towards the gate.
26
They’d left the complex behind and Yan had turned them left, the opposite direction to Bo’s Bar. His hand was still in hers with no sign of backing away or retreating this time. It was warm, comfortable there, felt right. But he hadn’t spoken yet. They were just walking, hands locked together, sedately moving along the track.
‘Where are we ...’ she started.
‘The beach,’ he jumped in.
‘But ...’
Before she could argue that this wasn’t the way to the beach, she saw it open up in front of her. The grassland fell away and at the edge of the bank was yet another beautiful beach. Completely deserted, sun loungers stacked in a high pile by an old wooden shack and, overlooking the sand, was a tiny white chapel. Tall trees flanked the sand, their leaves rustling and fluttering like paper fans. The only light was from the moon, creating a silver glow across the water’s edge.
‘Oh, Yan, it’s so...’ She didn’t have any words adequate enough to describe the breathtaking scene.
‘Guests always go to other beach. It is near to hotel more,’ Yan told her.
He was still holding her hand and she squeezed it now, wanting him to realise she was still there, still touching him.
He turned to look at her and smiled. A wide smile, one that looked like it came from the heart of him.
He brought her hand up to his lips and with a feather light touch he skimmed the skin with his mouth. She felt her insides melt like warming chocolate. She didn’t wholly understand what was happening between them but, right now, somehow, explanations just weren’t required.
‘You like to walk on beach?’ he asked her.
She nodded.
* * *
They walked the length of the beach, an easy silence between them, just content with the sound of the gentle waves lapping the shoreline. Then Yan stopped, moving to sit down. Ellen followed his action, lowering herself onto the sand. She smiled up at him and he slipped an arm around her shoulders, drawing her into his body. He felt her warmth seep into him and he ran a hand down her hair, stroking softly.
‘Something is making you worry,’ he stated. ‘That is why you are upset before?’
He felt the immediate tension in her torso in reaction to his words. Maybe it wasn’t his place to ask her these questions so soon.
‘Yes.’
Ellen’s voice had come out one notch above a whisper and emotion was evident. He remained still, his hand moving to gently caress her opposite shoulder. If she wanted to tell him more she would.
‘I had a difficult message from a colleague about one of my cases.’ The voice was stronger now. ‘When I get back home there’s going to be a lot to sort out.’
He nodded even though he didn’t understand. When she got back home. Another reminder that this something between them, would not last, was not meant to last. It was inevitable. Yan nodded again.
‘But that’s then, not now. And I don’t want to talk about it.’ She moved on the sand, turning to face him full on, taking his hands and linking them with hers. ‘Tell me what you like best about here, about Corfu.’
She was smiling at him now, her eyes full and glistening, her expression set with excitement.
‘What I like best about Corfu?’ He paused, tilting his head as if in thought. ‘I like you. When you do not wear the frown face.’ He paused. ‘When you smile.’
She laughed then and her whole face lit up as she rocked forward and swiped at his arm with her hand. ‘I’m not from Corfu. I’m from England.’
‘What do you like from England? Does it rain all of the time?’
‘Most of it. And when the sun does shine everyone complains it’s too hot and they ban hosepipes.’
He furrowed his brow and she reached up and gently pressed the crease between his eyes. ‘We like to water our gardens. Not me, I don’t have a garden. But my dad and all the other English people.’
‘I like nature here,’ he told her. ‘There is a lagoon just there.’ He pointed down the beach and Ellen turned to look.
‘Maybe we could go there ...’ She stopped herself. She didn’t really know
the rules for this holiday flirtation she was having. A night of kisses might be all that was on offer. Just as she was beginning to wonder how she would feel about that he spoke.
‘Maybe tomorrow?’
‘I’d really like that,’ she told him.
* * *
‘You have more family?’ Yan asked her, releasing his fingers from her and shifting his body a little.
They were laying on the beach and more than an hour had passed. The sand was cool against Yan’s back and the only sound, apart from their conversation, was the ebb and flow of the tide and the breeze through the trees that lined the road behind.
‘Just a dad,’ Ellen answered. ‘My mum died when I was young.’
‘After she have your sister?’ he queried.
‘No, she has a different mother. My dad married again.’
He noted her tone. ‘You do not like this woman?’
Ellen sighed. ‘No, I didn’t like her and she didn’t like me. I don’t even think she liked Lacey very much. Still, she’s gone now. They divorced, years ago.’
She tilted her body towards him, reengaging their fingers. She smiled. ‘Say something to me in German.’
‘What?’
‘Please. I like it. Say something.’
‘I don’t know what it is to say.’
‘Anything.’
He smiled then and spoke. ‘Ich bin Ellen. Ich liebe Wasser-Aerobic.’
Ellen squeaked and let his hand go. ‘That isn’t proper German.’
He laughed, enjoying her frustration.
‘I wish I could speak more languages,’ she said.
‘You speak only English?’ he asked, turning on his side to face her.
‘I did a bit of French at school but the only words I remember are croque monsieur and voleur. What does that say about me?’ She laughed.
‘I do not know of French,’ he answered. ‘Only German and a little Russian. I work in café and bar. I pick up what they say in other language. I learn.’
‘That’s so clever to be able to do that.’
Prickles ran up his arm and he felt the now familiar sense of unease dragging at him. He swallowed the bitter taste away. He couldn’t say much more. ‘When you want to not work in meat factory you use everything you can to stop it.’
‘I would learn Russian if it meant escaping the meat factory. It sounds horrid.’
‘Sshh.’ He held still, listening, then sat bolt upright.
* * *
Ellen pulled herself up too, holding on to his hand as he turned his head towards the entrance to the beach. ‘What is it?’
‘Sshh.’
She heard it then too. Voices, a little way off, but still audible and getting closer.
‘What should we do?’
Yan pursed his lips as if preparing to ‘sshh’ her again. But before he could, every hair on her body rose up at the sound of female laughter.
‘Oh my God,’ she whispered. ‘It’s Lacey.’
Yan turned away from the approaching couple and back to her. ‘With Sergei.’
She didn’t know what to do. Should she do anything? What was she more worried about? Lacey being alone on an almost deserted beach with Sergei, or her being discovered with Yan? At that precise moment she wasn’t certain.
‘They can’t see us,’ she said quietly.
‘No, is dark.’
‘No, I mean I don’t want them to find us.’
‘No,’ he agreed.
* * *
Yan wasn’t sure how he felt about her statement. She must know that he couldn’t be seen with a hotel resident. Or was it she was just ashamed to be found with him?
Yan turned his head, watching Lacey and Sergei moving along the beach behind them. They were arm in arm, chatting excitedly, laughing too loudly, uncaring as to who saw them, like they were the only two people in existence.
‘Where are they going?’ Ellen asked.
‘Ellen ...’
‘Is there another bar or something near here?’ She stopped before continuing. ‘Or just the lagoon?’
The worry in her voice was evident and he didn’t know what he should say. He knew how Sergei operated but telling Ellen would serve no purpose but to concern her more. He also did not want her to think that he and Sergei were the same. He had never brought someone here before, had never had that intention in mind.
‘No,’ he stated. ‘No bar. Just more beach and mountains.’
He watched her nod her head as if expecting the answer he’d given.
‘What do I do?’ she asked, turning to him, her eyes wide and questioning.
* * *
Ellen put a hand to her head, rubbing the skin over her brow, as if it would help her find an answer.
‘She does not want to get married?’ Yan asked.
Ellen let out a non-committal sound pitching somewhere between a sigh and a snort. ‘I don’t know what she wants.’
‘Sergei. He has someone back in Bulgaria. A girlfriend. He talk to me of this.’
She had thought as much. Lacey was throwing her relationship with Mark away on a meaningless fling. Should she try and stop her making a fool of herself? Here was her golden opportunity to wade in, tell her the Zumba instructor was attached, embarrass them both with some home truths.
‘You want to meet with them?’ Yan asked.
She didn’t know what to do. Whichever way she chose threw up dilemmas.
Another high-pitched shriek of a laugh from her sister made up her mind.
She looked up at Yan. ‘Will you walk me back to my room?’
* * *
Yan loved the hotel at night. Everything was subtly lit up by the glow of the lantern-style lamps dotted around the hotel grounds. It was perfectly peaceful apart from the hum and buzz of the night time bugs.
The air was warm but a slight breeze shifted the humidity, riding over them. He saw Ellen shiver.
‘You are OK?’
She nodded, rubbing her arms to stave off the chill.
He should put his arm around her. He wanted to but he couldn’t. He’d already taken one risk that night and if they wanted to spend more time together there would be others. But here, in the complex, out in the open. It was too risky.
They continued to walk but it wasn’t far. The women had one of the gold star suites facing the sea and the mountains at least a ten minute walk from his room.
‘So, here we are,’ Ellen said. She’d stopped outside the door to the room, slotted the key in the lock and edged it open. He watched her hug her arms to her body.
Here they were, the night over. It seemed too soon.
He desperately wanted to pull her towards him, hold her against him, feel her hair between his fingers ...
Then she spoke. ‘Do you want to come in?’
* * *
It felt awkward. Both of them standing on the balcony walkway, neither knowing what to do. She didn’t really want him to go yet. They’d not had long enough, but she couldn’t have stayed on the beach knowing what Lacey and Sergei were doing.
Yan shook his head then and a flutter of disappointment manifested inside her. She shouldn’t feel that way. What exactly was she inviting him in for anyway? More of the red-hot kisses he’d given her or something else? Not that it mattered because the shake of his head had already turned her down.
‘I would like this ... very much but. ..’ he started.
‘It’s OK. You don’t need to explain.’
‘Ellen, I am not like Sergei. Please, you have to believe this.’
Yan caught hold of her hand then and massaged her fingers.
‘You shouldn’t. Someone could see. And I don’t want to get you into trouble.’ She tried to let go but he held on and stepped forward, backing her into the room.
‘Yes, but this is important also,’ he insisted.
‘I understand.’
‘Sergei has many girls, Ellen.’ He looked at her, sincere. ‘I tell you I do not.’
Her heart warmed
at the statement but straightaway she checked herself. They only had three more nights. It was temporary.
They were in the room now and he pushed the door closed. ‘I do not say this right.’ Yan sighed.
‘No, you’re saying everything fine.’ She nodded, toying with his fingers as he clasped her hand.
He reached up with his free hand and swept her hair back from her face. As his fingers made contact with her cheek she closed her eyes, letting the feeling wrap her up. His lips found hers and she widened her mouth to let him in deeper. A sigh escaped as he moved a hand to her chest.
He wanted to touch her, go further, let her realise just what her presence did to him. Was it too much? Was it too soon? He moved away, but the second they were disconnected she took hold of his hand and replaced it, tracing a path, encouraging.
His mouth left hers and his fingers reached for the hem of her top. All the while he fixed his eyes on her, wanting to see her reaction, wanting to know this was what she wanted too. Tentatively he hitched up the material, exposing her midriff and the edge of her bra. A tiny noise came from her and the sound sent a shard of white hot heat through him. He couldn’t hold off, couldn’t think straight. He pulled the material over her head, discarding it.
* * *
Ellen watched her top fall to the marble floor. She’d lost all breath, together with every scrap of sensible she’d stored up. His gaze was penetrating. The way he was drinking her in was like he could see right through the cotton and lace to the arousal beneath.
And she was aroused, squirming with it, her back rigid, the rest of her liquefying under his scrutiny.
Yan wasted no more time, reaching around her back and unclasping her bra, pulling the material away from her and dropping it to the floor.
A gasp flew from her when he dropped his head and his hot mouth found her nipple. Turning her body slightly, she braced herself against the table, anchoring one hand on top of a chair. She drew his head further, guiding him deeper. She didn’t recognise herself or the responses she was giving. It was almost unchartered territory. She wanted more, wanted to get high on the buzz she was experiencing. Life could be exciting. She had a right to feel this way.