So who do I choose?
First there’s Alander; the man I was supposed to spend my holiday with. He’s controlling, domineering, temperamental and dangerous. But there’s no denying we understand one another and I know I can spend time with him—wonderful time—and will be able to leave without a backward glance.
Then there’s Nicolai; I want him with a passion that takes my breath away but, he’s so young. Worse than our age difference is the fact that he makes me want to be someone I’m not. In many ways he’s more dangerous than Alander.
Then there’s the matter of the guesthouse. If I go with Alander, he said he’d buy it and Nicolai would be able to go to school, he’d be able to find himself. If Alander doesn’t buy it, I’m afraid I’ll do something rash in order to secure Nicolai’s future.
I find a bench flanked by pine trees and sit. Closing my eyes, I rub my temples, waiting for divine intervention. Fates, if you’re out there now’s the time to say something because, personally? I don’t know what to do.
I don’t even know what I want.
There is only one thing I know, I must make a decision and it must be made before five a.m.
It’s getting late. Too late for a woman to be wandering about on her own in an unfamiliar city. I may have made some idiotic decisions in the last forty-eight hours but I don’t need to add to them by getting mugged. I return to my hotel room, no closer to having made a decision.
Of course there is a third option, perhaps the most rational one of all and it prods me like a poker to the gut until I give it voice. I can simply avoid both men and catch my flight to Athens tomorrow as I’d originally planned.
Shit.
With a heavy heart, I unzip the top pocket of my suitcase, where I store my toiletries. Once open, I stare at the contents of my bag in shock. Two books sit on top of my clothes. Love Songs of Sappho and Daphnis and Chloe. I’m sure I didn’t pack them. Nicolai must have put them there. I take them out and stare at them as a myriad of emotions and memories take me by storm.
That’s when the book, Daphnis and Chloe, falls open to a section that has been earmarked and underlined.
...as before they spent their nights without sleep, and with remembrance of what was done and with complaint of what was not.
We have kissed one another and are never the better.
We have fondled and embraced and that’s as good as nothing too.
Therefore, to lie together naked is the only remaining remedy of Love.
There is another part that is marked. It’s the passage where Lycaenion teaches Daphnis the Art of Love. The similarity between the story and ours makes me catch my breath. Are there such things as Fates? Are the ancient gods still active in this place, playing mortals like chess pieces from on high?
It sure as hell feels like it.
Dammit.
I take a deep breath and exhale slowly. Okay. Decision time. It’s nearly three in the morning and I need to figure out what I’m going to do.
But I need help. Man oh man, do I need help. From the gods, from The Fates, from whomever. What should I do? What the hell should I do?
Meet Nicolai at the castle at 5am.
Meet Alander at the dock at 9am.
Catch my flight to Athens as planned.
Chapter Twenty-Three- Nicolai
It’s weird. I don’t make the decision, not consciously, anyway. But at four-seventeen, I get up, shower, put on some fresh makeup and get dressed. I’m out the door by four-forty. Like the moon on the tides and the needle on a compass, I’m pulled as if by forces larger than me. The streets are dead. Not another soul is out. At least, none that I can see. The click of my shoes echo on the deserted cobblestones and though it could be creepy, it’s not. The solitude is a blessing and the empty streets help to clear my muddled mind.
I quicken my pace and in the process, end up doing a little skipping step. It’s light-hearted. I’m light-hearted. Giddy. I want to take off my shoes and run barefoot through the empty street. So...that’s what I do.
I’m sure if someone were to see me, they’d think I was drunk, but of course I’m not. I’m a little slap happy from lack of sleep...maybe. But I no longer have any doubts about what I’m doing. None whatsoever. I may be breaking all my rules, but I don’t care. I’m doing the right thing. I can feel it in my bones, in my gut and...between my thighs.
It’s not yet five when I reach the fortress gates but Nicolai is there already. He’s standing against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest, staring out at the dark copse of trees across from him. He hasn’t seen me yet and I watch him for a minute before coming any closer. Just the sight of him has my heart pounding hard and fast, and though I stopped running ten minutes ago, I’m out of breath. He looks so wonderfully serious and strong and warm and desirable. It’s only been a day, but I feel like I haven’t seen him in weeks.
I move forward, not consciously, but simply finding myself moving in his direction as if once again being pulled by an unknown source. At the crunch of gravel on the path, his head snaps up. He doesn’t say anything. He only watches me approach. When I get close enough, I can hear that he’s breathing just as unsteadily as I am.
“Hi,” I say.
“You came.”
I nod.
“I didn’t think you’d come.”
I don’t tell him that it’s the passages from the books he must have placed in my suitcase that convinced me to come. Instead I say, “I’ve always wanted to see this castle.” It’s such a lame thing to say. Particularly because I’m not even looking at the castle, I’m looking at Nicolai.
“Good. Because you’re about to get a private showing. Come on.” He takes my hand as if it’s the most natural thing in the world and pulls me toward the locked gate. Except it isn’t locked.
“Hey, is this legal?”
He turns toward me and I can just make out his features in the darkness. He’s got one brow raised and a barely suppressed smile. “The guard will be back in an hour.”
“You paid him off?”
“I paid an entrance fee. That’s all.” He tugs me past the gate and in between the walls of the fortress. It’s even darker in here.
I stop. “You’re bad,” I whisper.
He bends close to me and says, “No, I’m good. I’m very, very good.”
Oh man. He’s bad and he’s good and I love it!
We walk hand in hand between the double fortifications until we come to the open space of the ruins. My first impression is disappointment. The fortification is huge but there are few buildings left standing inside. There is very little left of the actual castle, just a few crumbling buildings, one of which Nicolai is leading me towards.
There are signs in Greek and English telling people to stay out. The area is also cordoned off by ropes but Nicolai ignores those as well and steps right over.
“You’re a regular rule breaker this morning.”
“Rules have their place.” He glances at me. “But not today.” He extends his hand to help me across. “Wouldn’t you agree, Ms. Savage?”
I give him a look. “Rules are important, Mr. Kinellis. For safety and to maintain control.”
Once I’m over the rope, he leans down. “And every now and then it’s good to lose control.”
He’s so close I can feel his breath on my cheek. My heart does this little stutter-step behind my breastbone and I think he’s going to kiss me, but he doesn’t. He turns and walks through the crumbling entrance to the ancient structure. It has arched doorways and no roof. “What is this? Do you know?”
“It was once probably the sleeping quarters but the Turks converted it to a Mosque.”
He starts up some unsafe looking stone steps, the kind that are stuck into the wall on one side and left open-air on the other. The steps are spaced widely and there are at least two missing. Definitely a hazard. If that’s not bad enough, the decrepit stairs lead up to the unstable-looking second level.
“Nicolai. This isn’t a
good idea.”
He grins. I can see it because the sky has lightened. When did that happen? It was so gradual, so imperceptible I didn’t even notice it was happening.
“Tessa, these stones have stood here for hundreds of years. Some of them thousands. It’s fine. Come quick or we’re going to miss it.”
I give my head a shake but follow him up anyway. Irrational. Nicolai makes me irrational. I need to start taking my own advice. No emotional/irrational decisions. But it’s too late, I’m already climbing the top stair and hoisting myself up to the second level. Glancing back the way I came, I’m afraid the way down is going to be worse.
“Over here,” Nicolai calls. “Step carefully.”
Step carefully? Seriously? Thank goodness the sky is brighter so at least I can see where I’m putting my feet. The structure is rectangular in shape and I follow him around the loose rubble until we reach the opposite side. Then he disappears through a curved archway. I’m holding onto the crumbling stone wall as I move and when I reach the archway, I see Nicolai standing on a small, open platform, facing east. Where the sky meets the sea everything is golden.
“Just in time,” he says softly, pulling me into the circle of his arms in front of him.
I should be watching the sunrise, but I’m not. I close my eyes and lean back into Nicolai’s broad chest. I feel, rather than see, the rays of the sun on my face as it peeks over the horizon. I swear I can smell it too—citrus and spice. Or is that Nicolai? It doesn’t matter. From this day forward, the scent will always make me think of sunrise and Nicolai.
“My mother brought me here once,” Nicolai says softly into my hair. “It was the only time she spoke of my father.”
Shifting in the circle of Nicolai’s arms, I glance up at his face. The low rays of the sun have turned him golden, particularly his eyes—lion’s eyes—breathtaking. My heart swells and my fingers itch to touch. But he’s staring off into the distance and I turn back around, snuggling deeper into his embrace, waiting for him to continue.
“She said he came from there.” His hand stretches out in front of me as he points to the open sea. “From across the water.”
I want to say, that’s not very specific. Every place in the world is across the water. But I don’t, I let him continue in his own time.
“He was a tourist. Probably American, though she never said. But she loved everything American. American music, American movies, American television. Her English was pretty good too.”
His hands are clasped around my middle. I take them and squeeze them.
“I love this island, but half of me is out there, part of me belongs somewhere else. Somewhere I don’t even know.”
Nicolai is speaking in an expressionless voice, but I feel his emotions swirling inside of me like a dust devil that picks up out of nowhere and takes my breath away. Should I tell him I know how he feels? Exactly how he feels? Growing up in foster homes meant I always felt out of place and I didn’t know where I belonged. Is our similar lack of parentage the reason we share such a strong connection?
He turns me in his arms so that we’re facing one another. My golden Adonis gazes down at me with a look of such incredible tenderness I can’t breathe.
“When I’m with you, I forget that missing piece of me.”
“Nic...” I begin but he silences me with a soft, chaste kiss.
“I’m not asking you to stay with me, I know you’re going to leave. It’s okay.” He kisses me again, just as softly, just as sweetly. “But I am going to make love to you before you leave.” He cups my cheek. “Okay?”
“Okay,” I whisper.
He doesn’t smile. He doesn’t blink. He simply kisses me again, this time not so chastely. It’s quite miraculous, the change in him over the last week. His kiss is skilled and confident if not a little wild. His lips slant over mine, not following but leading. I part my lips so I can taste the inside of his mouth, but he moves first, stroking my tongue with his before sweeping the inside of my mouth.
His kisses feel so good, so right, my body responds instantly with a hot flush blanketing my skin. I need to remove my clothes, otherwise I’m going to combust. I’m sure of it. In seconds I’ve undone my shirt and pulled his shirttails free of his pants.
“Whoa,” he says. “As tempting as it is, I’m not making love to you here.” He does my buttons back up. “It’s romantic and everything but...for what I have in mind for you...”
I swoon but he holds me up, grinning.
“Your hotel or mine?”
“I don’t care,” I say breathlessly, running my hands up the inside of his shirt. “Whichever is closer.”
Chapter Twenty-Four- Nicolai
I’ve just gotten off the phone with the realtor and I’m standing on the balcony waiting for Nicolai to return. You’d think I’d be having second thoughts, now that it’s daytime, now that Nicolai is out of pheromone range. But I don’t. Being here with him feels...I don’t know. It just feels right.
Nicolai took off twenty minutes ago, saying he had to pick something up, condoms, maybe? A smile sneaks across my face as I imagine how many packages he picks up this time.
It’s only a few minutes later that I see him on the street below carrying a brown paper bag and two paper cups. Oooo, I bet that’s coffee. Sweet man! But what’s in the bag? It’s too large for condoms, unless he bought the whole shelf. The thought of a year’s supply of condoms makes me laugh.
Within minutes I hear the key turning in the lock and the muscles of my thighs tighten. He opens the door and smiles like he’s relieved, like he wasn’t sure I was still going to be here when he got back.
“Hey,” he says in that incredible deep, accented voice of his. He sets the bag on the small round table and hands me the paper cup.
It is indeed coffee and I take a glorious sip. “Ahhh,” I sigh. “Maybe that’s all I needed. Coffee.”
He gently takes the cup from my hand. “That is not all you need.” He sets both our coffees down on the table.
“Says who?”
“Me.”
Then he tilts my face up and kisses me. “Mmm,” he says. “You and coffee taste good together.”
“Thanks. Take off your clothes.”
He smiles and backs away from me. Bastard!
“Let’s eat first.”
Okay, what game is he playing? We should be naked by now. We should have had sex at least twice by now. What’s going on? Unless...
“Nicolai?” I watch as he pulls yogurt, fruit and pastry out of the bag. “You aren’t getting cold feet are you?”
He looks at me, puzzled. “Cold feet?”
“You know. Nervous.”
Crossing his arms over his chest, he looks confused for a moment before bursting out laughing. “Nervous?”
“Yes. Is that why you keep putting me off?”
“Putting you off?” He glances at his watch. “It’s only been half an hour. I’m hungry and I’ll bet you are too.”
My stomach rumbles in response and he arches a knowing brow to say he heard that.
“Fine, I’ll eat,” I say. “But then we’re getting naked.”
“Yes.”
“No stopping?”
“No stopping.”
“No interruptions?”
“No interruptions.”
With reluctance I sit and watch him pull some flaky, chocolaty, oblong pastry from the bag. He holds it up to my lips. “Take a bite.”
I meet his gaze over the chocolate coating on the pastry. It’s wicked and seductive and I know he’s not putting me off, he’s simply enjoying himself. God, I taught him well. Too well.
As if reading my mind, he says, “I love watching you eat.”
I open my mouth and make as if I’m going to eat the pastry in one bite. As intended, he groans as he watches me swirl my tongue around it. Cupping my hand beneath his, I draw the pastry closer, before shutting my eyes and letting my imagination loose, pretending the oblong treat is that most delicious p
art of him, I lick it and deep throat it until it literally melts in my mouth.
“You are a very wicked woman, Tessa Savage.”
“Mmm,” I can’t speak because my mouth is full of flaky deliciousness mixed with the lightest cream and the sweetest chocolate. When I finally open my eyes, I see him watching me intensely across the small table. It’s as if his eyes absorbed the sunrise because they are glowing, tawny and fierce.
My, my. I swallow with effort and then lick the corner of my lips.
“Allow me,” he says as he leans across the table, grasps my chin and tilts my face up to him. His tongue catches the corner of my lips, smearing the cream and chocolate even more. I’m pretty sure he did it on purpose because now he moves in and licks with more authority. The corner of my mouth, the seam of my lips, the inside of my mouth.
Delicious.
“So sweet. So, fucking sweet,” he murmurs as he finishes off my leftovers.
I go to kiss him but he pulls away, wiping the corner of my mouth with his thumb.
“Hey,” I say. “You said no more stopping. Get your face back over here.”
With a smile that tells me he’s not done teasing me, he pulls the lid off the container of yogurt and dips a spoon in and then holds it out to me.
I take the spoon out of his hands and pop it in my mouth, sucking the cool yogurt down my throat. “I can feed myself.”
“I know. But I want to do it.”
“Why?”
He takes the spoon back and has another full spoon suspended before my mouth in seconds. “Because it’s fucking sexy.”
I force a frown. “You’re saying ‘fuck’ an awful lot today.” I open my mouth and allow him to place the spoon on my tongue. Mmmm. God that’s good. Greek yogurt is so rich and creamy and delicious, with about ten times the fat of American yogurt.
“It’s on my mind.” He takes the spoon out of my mouth and then licks the remnants off it before dipping it in the container again. “Watching you eat...” He places the spoon in my mouth, “...is almost like watching you orgasm.”
My eyes open wide as I finish sucking the yogurt off the spoon.
“Sensual.”
Seduction in the Sun: Adult Romance Box Set (9 Sizzling Tales with BBW, Billionaires, Bad Boys, and Alpha Males) Page 57