by Sara Craven
As the Jeep went past, people called smiling greetings to Alexis, who waved in acknowledgement.
Like a royal progress, Selena thought with faint amusement.
‘Do you always get this kind of reception?’ she asked.
He shrugged. ‘Only when I have been away for a while. Many of those who live here regard the world outside Rhymnos as a dangerous place and are glad to see I have returned safely, and that all is as it should be again.’ He shot her a swift glance. ‘You find that strange?’
‘I find everything about this situation strange,’ she returned tautly.
‘Yet you will soon accustom yourself, I promise.’
But I don’t want to become used to this place—this way of life, she thought, her throat tightening. I can’t afford that.
They reached a dilapidated warehouse, hardly more than a shack, its doors standing open. Deftly, Alexis slotted the Jeep between two trucks on the other side of the road, and switched off the engine.
‘Adoni sleeps here sometimes when he is not on his boat,’ he said. ‘Wait here while I see if he is sober enough to talk.’
‘I want to come with you,’ Selena protested.
‘But I wish you to stay where you are,’ he said softly. ‘I have my reasons.’
Which of course take precedence, she thought resentfully watching his tall figure stride across the road and disappear into the dark interior of the building.
Unless she was there, how could she be sure he’d ask the right questions?
On the other hand, she had no real wish to encounter a Greek fisherman with a hangover.
There was a haze over the sea and the heat was building steadily. It was going to be a scorching day, she thought, pulling off her broad-brimmed cotton sunhat and using it languidly to fan herself.
Her thin tunic was already clinging to her damp skin, and she was just hoping that Alexis’s interrogation would not take too long or she might melt, when he emerged from the shack accompanied by another man, stout, bearded and clad only in a pair of sagging shorts.
Some Adonis, she thought critically.
However, he appeared to be doing all the talking, and was smiling at the same time, which might be a good sign, while Alexis stood, head bent, listening.
As she watched, she suddenly realised that she, too, was under scrutiny. That Adoni had spotted her and was staring openly, his smile broadening into a grin as he made some comment to Alexis.
Then they both laughed, clapped each other on the shoulder, and Alexis walked back to the Jeep.
As he swung himself into the driving seat, he turned to her, shrugging and spreading his hands almost ruefully.
‘Look disappointed, Selene mou,’ he whispered urgently. ‘Pout a little.’
‘Disappointed?’ she echoed, staring at him appalled.
Had Adoni refused to help—pleaded ignorance? Had they come so soon to a dead end?
As her thoughts rampaged, Alexis reached out a hand and clasped the nape of her neck, his fingers lightly stroking the silky skin under the pale blonde braid.
Taken totally by surprise, she felt her pulses leap and the quivering ache of an unfamiliar tremor along her senses. In sudden panic, she tried to push him away, but she was too late. He was already drawing her towards him, pulling her against him, imprisoning her hands between their bodies, holding her helpless, while his mouth took her parted, outraged lips in a long and very thorough kiss.
A kiss for which nothing in her life so far could possibly have prepared her.
She was conquered, consumed by the pressure of his mouth moving on her, enjoying her, by his clean breath sighing into hers and the heated intimate glide of his tongue against her own.
Half drugged by the heat of the sun, its golden clamour against her closed eyelids and the warm, male scent of his skin, she found herself prey to feelings—to needs she had not known existed until that moment.
She thought dazedly: I have to make him stop.
And then: I never want him to stop.
Because something—some sensation was uncurling deep inside her, sending out little tendrils of pleasure that were beginning to bloom and grow and which, instinct warned her, could easily overwhelm her.
And then suddenly, with a shock as brutal as a slap across the face, she was free, and Alexis was sitting back at a decorous distance watching her, his expression unfathomable.
He said coolly, ‘I hope I have not caused permanent damage to your hat, agapi mou.’
Numbly, she looked down at it, crushed in her hand, and suddenly her predominant emotion was shame that she’d allowed him to—maul her in full view of anyone who cared to look. And although he had certainly not been brutal, her mouth felt hot. Swollen.
‘You.’ Her voice almost choked as her hands clenched into belated fists. ‘How dare you...’
‘Be calm.’ He held her wrists, fending her off with the utmost ease. There was a note of laughter in his voice. ‘As I thought I made clear, I want Adoni to see you disappointed, Selene mou, not dangerous.’
‘You wanted him to watch that—that disgusting performance?’
‘I wanted him to watch you being consoled for the loss of our romantic trip together in the seclusion of his boat.’
‘But—the boat is supposed to be missing.’
‘Why, yes,’ he said. ‘As he explained when I suggested hiring it for the day. I was too late, he told me. A friend had already borrowed it—for his honeymoon.’
‘Honeymoon,’ Selena repeated dazedly. ‘You mean that Kostas and Millie are married?’
He sighed. ‘No, I merely changed the words he really used in order to spare your blushes.’
‘Oh,’ Selena said and began to smooth the creases out of her hat, her fingers all thumbs. She swallowed. ‘And you let him think that you—that I...’
‘Wished to share the same delight,’ he supplied courteously as she stumbled to a halt.
‘Did he actually say it was Kostas who’d borrowed his boat?’ She jumped to safer ground.
‘No,’ he said. ‘Because he knows that Kostas should be working at the hotel not off somewhere enjoying his new lover, and assumes that his absence has not been reported to me. A real beauty, he told me. Such golden hair, such eyes. A hot little English honey.’
‘Oh.’ Selena bent her head, covering her face with her hands. ‘Oh, God.’
He said, ‘If you are going to weep, Selene mou, can you wait until we have more privacy? I do not want the whole of Rhymnos to think I ill-treat you.’
She straightened defiantly, glaring at him. ‘I have no intention of crying. I’m too angry. How do you think it makes me feel—hearing that Millie’s been discussed—leered over like that—when she doesn’t deserve it?’ She took a breath. ‘Because whatever Daisy and Fiona may have done, she wouldn’t have been involved. I know it.’
He was silent for a moment, then he said quite gently, ‘You are at university, ne? And in the vacations, you work.’
‘Most students do.’ She was defensive.
‘So you have not always been there to see, perhaps, that she has changed. That maybe she is no longer the little sister—the child of the family. That she has grown up—spread her wings.’
Selena gasped. ‘What are you saying?’ she demanded. ‘That she chased Kostas—not the other way round? That she’s the one to blame for all this?’
He sighed. ‘No, Selene mou. That is not what I mean. Just that the situation may not be as clear-cut as you believe.’ He started the engine. ‘But first we must find them, and do so quickly. Adoni tells me there is going to be a storm.’
And as she glanced up incredulously at the cloudless sky, he added drily, ‘And where the weather is concerned, at least, he is never wrong.’
Almost as soon as the harbour was left behind, the road became little more than a rutted track, with the sea on one side and a scatter of small single storey houses on the other, their gardens neatly tended, with chickens pecking in the dust and the occasio
nal goat tethered on the verge.
And behind them, stretching away towards the grey and amethyst rocks crowning the hills in the centre of the island, the ancient twisted trunks of olive trees, their leaves shimmering like silver in the sunlight.
‘Don’t the locals complain about this surface?’ Selena asked, grabbing the side of the Jeep after one particularly severe jolt.
‘Not that I have heard. Besides their transport is accustomed to it,’ he added, indicating two donkeys peacefully browsing in the shade of a tree.
She said in a hollow voice, ‘Oh, I see.’
‘I think you are beginning to.’ There was faint amusement in his voice, and she flushed.
‘I can’t help it if things seem strange. I haven’t been abroad before.’
‘And even now it is business, not pleasure, that brings you—and alone.’ He paused pointedly. ‘To me, that is strange.’
‘But hardly my choice,’ she returned coolly. And let him make what he would of that.
‘So,’ she went on, ‘where are we going?’
‘To look for Adoni’s boat. Where else?’
‘But it could be anywhere.’
‘I think not. It is hardly a luxury yacht,’ he added drily. ‘Nor is it equipped for a long voyage. So it is probable they have moored where they can have access to a beach and some form of shelter, and on Rhymnos such places are few.’
He shot her a swift sideways glance. ‘Try to relax, Selene mou. We will find them, and soon, I promise you.’
She nodded. She said in a stifled voice, ‘I keep thinking this is all a bad dream and that, in a minute, I’m going to wake up back in Haylesford with Millie asleep in the next room.’
‘Truly? Is this place where you live so dear to you?’
No, she thought. And it never will be. But right now it represents a kind of security.
She said quickly, ‘Of course. It’s my home.’ And paused. ‘You must feel the same about Rhymnos.’
There was an odd silence, then he said almost harshly, ‘Yes, I do.’
She looked at him, startled at his tone, then by the sudden starkness she saw in his face and the grim set of his mouth.
Was shocked to find herself wanting to put her hand on his arm. To say, Tell me what’s wrong. What’s troubling you...?
And thought that she must be going crazy, because, in reality, that was the last thing in the world that she needed to do.
Keep your distance, she warned herself urgently. Be polite now, grateful when you get Millie back, and leave it at that.
She turned slightly, staring at the sea, noticing that it had become smoother, like a sheet of glass, and that a ridge of pale cloud seemed to be building on the horizon.
It looked as if Adoni’s prediction about the weather was coming true after all, she thought uneasily, transferring her attention to the olive groves clustering on the other side of the track.
She said, trying to sound like an interested tourist, ‘People must use a lot of olive oil.’
‘They use what they need,’ he said. ‘Most of it now goes for export.’
‘From a tiny place like this?’ She was astounded.
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘Until quite recently, each household gathered and pressed its own olives and stored the oil. But it was felt they deserved a wider market, so the islanders were persuaded to join a co-operative and now their olives are collected and processed at a new, modern plant on the other side of the island and sold worldwide under the Rhymnos label.’
Selena’s eyes widened. ‘I think it’s on sale in the supermarket near the university. Do the bottles have a picture of three stone columns?’
He smiled faintly. ‘The pillars of Apollo, all, sadly, that remains of his ancient temple.’ He paused. ‘I shall be happy to show it to you.’
‘I’m afraid there won’t be time,’ she said quickly. ‘Millie and I have to return to the UK on the first available flight.’
‘Of course,’ he said. ‘In the pleasure of your company, Selene mou, I had almost forgotten.’
She reverted hastily to the safer topic of olive oil. ‘Was it you who persuaded the islanders to join this co-operative, by any chance?’
‘I was not alone,’ he said. ‘Our priest, Father Stephanos, supported the scheme, and most of the headmen of the villages, who knew fishing and tourism would not make Rhymnos self-sufficient. And fortunately, I had contacts in the States in advertising, as well as marketing and distribution, which I could offer as an incentive.’
His smile was rueful. ‘But it was not easy. The idea of a co-operative held little appeal at first. Now they can take pride in its success.’
And they’re grateful, too, Selena thought. It explains the royal progress earlier. And maybe it means that I can trust him, that it’s good to have him on my side, even if his main concern is the good name of his hotel rather than Millie.
The journey proceeded in silence, Alexis driving steadily, scanning the sea as they went. It now looked like burnished steel, she saw uneasily, and the sky had almost disappeared behind a grey veil, through which the sun’s disc burned with a sullen orange.
At the same time, she realised that the Jeep was slowing. Alexis pulled over on to the rough grass at the side of the track and parked in the shade of yet another olive tree.
She craned her neck to look past it. ‘Have you seen the boat?’
He looked at her, frowning slightly. ‘No, but this is the only other place where they could have come ashore, and there is a good, dry cave. If they are using it, they may intend to return. There may be signs of this, so I am going down to check.’
Selena scrambled out. ‘I’ll come with you.’
His frown deepened. ‘You would do better to stay here,’ he advised brusquely. ‘The path is difficult.’
‘Do you think I care?’ She confronted him, chin lifted. ‘If there’s anything in that cave, I—I want to see it.’
There was a brief, taut pause, then he said quietly, ‘Whatever horrors you are imagining, agapi mou, put them out of your head. The most I expect to see is water—the remains of food—perhaps a blanket.’
‘It makes no difference. I want to look for myself.’
When she saw how steep the route to the beach really was, she began to regret her intransigence, and when Alexis paused at the edge of the cliff and silently extended his hand, she took it without demur.
Their descent was slow and wary, and she found it was better to concentrate on the loose stones threatening to roll away under her feet than to look down at the beach.
When they finally reached the foot of the cliff, she realised she’d been holding her breath and, as she released it with a gasp, wondered if that was due to the gradient or more to the firm clasp of his fingers round hers.
Releasing herself, she said quickly, ‘I don’t see any cave.’
He pointed to a huge boulder. ‘The entrance is behind there.’
He strode off across the beach, and she followed more awkwardly, her feet sinking in the coarse, gritty sand. An apprehensive look upwards told her that the overcast of cloud had now blotted out the sun completely.
It had become very still, as if the world around them was waiting. Gathering itself. That she and Alexis were all that moved in a silent landscape, and she suddenly remembered the saying, ‘The calm before the storm.’
As she reached the rock, she paused as she saw the narrow entrance it was guarding and the darkness beyond.
She’d never experienced even mild claustrophobia, but there had to be a first time for everything, and in spite of the oppressive heat, she felt a quick shiver run down her spine.
At the same moment, she glimpsed a jagged flash over the sea, followed by a sullen rumble of thunder and the first few heavy drops of rain, sharp and cold against her skin.
Alexis was gesturing at her impatiently from the opening to the cave. ‘Come quickly,’ he called. ‘Run.’
As she reached him, he took her by the shoulders, turned her
sideways and thrust her through the gap, following immediately behind her as outside the rain was gathering to a deluge.
It was dim in the cave, but, as her eyes adjusted, she realised that after the cramped entrance had been negotiated, it opened out quite astonishingly, its roof well over six feet high at the front, allowing Alexis to stand upright, but tapering down to less than four feet at the rear. However, it was also completely empty.
Her voice shook with disappointment. ‘They haven’t been here.’
Another jagged flash tore at the sky outside, bathing the cave for an instant in a strange green light.
Alexis said something under his breath and bent to the sandy floor. When he straightened, a short length of heavy silver links was dangling from his fingers.
He said, ‘Someone has—and not so long ago, or this would have been hidden by the sand.’ He looked at her. ‘You know this?’
Selena stared at the broken chain, her throat tightening. She said huskily, ‘It’s the bracelet I bought Millie for Christmas,’ flinching as another crack of thunder echoed around them.
As it died away, he said, ‘Then you had better take it,’ and dropped it into her hand.
She pushed it into her pants pocket. ‘So she was here—with him. Oh, where are they? What has he done with her?’
There was another violent flash of eerie green light and then, almost at once and right above their heads, an ominous rumble building slowly and inexorably to a roaring, deafening crash as if the entire cliff was collapsing on top of them.
Selena cried out, her voice lost in the uproar, and stumbled forward, her hands reaching out to Alexis, who caught her and held her, wrapped closely in his arms, his hand stroking her hair, until the last terrifying echoes of the thunder died away, and all she could hear was the tumultuous thud of her own heartbeat.
And, beneath her cheek, his—like the relentless rhythm of a drum.
He lifted his head and stood for a long moment, unmoving, giving her the odd sensation that the entire world had suddenly shrunk to the circle of his arms and that, once again, it was waiting in breathless anticipation.
That she herself was poised—on the edge of some momentous discovery, her whole being suffused by a warm and unfamiliar languor.