“Go away,” she tried again, this time sounding a little more convincing.
“Or else?”
“Or else I’ll…I’ll…”
“You’ll scream and alert the entire guest list, including your groom?”
She tried to move past him. He knew instant fear that he might never stand this close to her again. The feeling was so engulfing, so shocking, that he kicked into what he could only call instinct mode and grasped her arm.
“Let me go.”
Ari grinned at her, a plan unraveling in his mind.
In one smooth move, he scooped her up, one arm behind her shoulders, the other under her knees. She gasped, grabbing on to him to keep from falling.
“Let me down!”
“Happy to oblige.” He lifted her out over the rail and did exactly as she asked.
ELENA’S MOUTH and throat filled with water as she swam for the surface. He’d thrown her overboard! She broke the surface and sputtered, coughing as she kicked in her high heels, her dress weighing her down. She searched for a point of reference in the dim light from the moon, finding herself next to the yacht, the first deck railing a good twenty feet above her.
“Make way!”Elena gasped as Ari landed in the water next to her. She swirled one way, then other, searching for him. He popped up behind her, instantly curving an arm around her ribcage.
“What do you think you’re doing?” She tried to wriggle free of his grasp.
“Why, I’m saving you, of course.”
“Saving me? You’re the one who threw me into the damn water to begin with!”
“No, I didn’t. Hold still.”
“Hold still for what?”
“So I can save you.”
“Will you stop saying that. It’s thanks to you that I’m in here at all.” She tried to pry his fingers from her waist. “Let…me…go.”
She clamped her mouth shut, realizing those very words had gotten her into trouble in the first place. She needed to be very careful what she said to Mr. Ari Metaxas. She could seal her fate without ever realizing she’d done so.
Even as she protested, she couldn’t help reacting to his damp closeness. His body heat burned as hot as any fire, seeping through her wet clothes. She also felt a certain other body part pressing into her backside, a fact that wasn’t altogether unpleasant.
Unpleasant? The thought that he was turned on by current events both enraged and excited her. The water was cool, but not uncomfortably so. The taste of the salt on her lips ignited a hunger that dinner a short time ago had been unable to accomplish.
“Oh, God,” she said.
“What? Are you all right?”
“I can’t go back like this.” She’d gone to such great pains to make herself attractive tonight. What did she say when they swam around the back, guests looking on as she climbed from the water looking like a drowned rat, her hair a matted mess, her makeup smeared and running, her dress in ruins?
“Well, good thing we’re not going back, then.”
“What?” She realized she was helping him swim and stopped.
“Didn’t you just say that you couldn’t go back like this?”
“Yes, but—”
“I’ve already adjusted for the possibility.”
She noticed the yacht was getting farther away, not nearer, as Ari held on to her with one strong arm, and stroked water with the other.
“Where are you taking me?” She knew alarm. They could easily get lost in the inky darkness and drown. She opened her mouth to scream, praying someone would hear her over the music on the yacht, but found herself being pulled under water when she tried.
She spat out the liquid that filled her mouth.
“Sorry,” Ari murmured in her ear.
She hit at his arm. “You are not sorry! You’re kidnapping me.”
“Hmm. I hadn’t thought about it that way, but I guess I am.”
“Let…me…go.” She renewed her struggle against him.
He couldn’t kidnap her! She was getting married tomorrow.
“Stop or you’ll drown us both,” he warned ominously, spitting out a mouthful of water.
Elena stopped struggling. He was right. Whatever he had planned, she could deal with it when they were in safer territory. The middle of the Aegean at night was not the place to wage war.
The problem was, that if she wasn’t fighting him, it was all too easy to lean into him. And she absolutely, positively refused to do that. While she might be suffering from a major case of cold feet, she still had a pretty good idea where she wanted those feet to be. And it wasn’t wherever Ari’s were.
“Here. Let me help you up.”
She blinked as he guided her hands to grip something solid. It was the sailboat she’d seen him on earlier. Surely there was a crew on board? And definitely a satellite phone. She could use either one to find her way back to familiar territory.
She felt his hand curve under her bottom, and he boosted her up onto the ladder. Once on deck, she turned and considered kicking him back overboard. If only that would keep him from climbing up again.
“You’re insane,” she said when he stood next to her, dripping water from his tux shirt and pants. She realized he must have shrugged out of his jacket at some point. Before or after he’d joined her in the sea? She didn’t know.
What she did know was that she was cold.
“Come here.”
She hugged herself tightly and refused to look at him.
“Fine then. Be stubborn.”
He came up from behind her and draped a thick, dry towel around her shoulders. Elena clutched it in relief. Was she really still wearing her heels? Shit, she should have gone ahead and kicked him while he was on the ladder. Maybe she’d have done some damage.
She reached down and slid each ruined designer shoe off until she stood in her bare feet.
“How much are you going to ask for?” she asked, running the towel over her hair and trying to gauge how far away the yacht was. So close, yet so far. She could make out the tinny strains of the orchestra. Was that really “Strangers in the Night”? She shook her head, wondering if anyone had missed her yet. How long would it take them to figure out she wasn’t on board?
She stalked toward the cabin steps. Before she’d moved two feet, Ari stopped her with a hand on her upper arm.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“To ask the crew for help.”
“There is no crew.”
She glared at him.
“They’re all on shore for the night.”
“Liar.”
He released her. “Go and check for yourself.”
She did.
She went belowdecks, the recessed lighting making her progress swift as she checked four sleeping quarters, all empty.
Of course. The crew wouldn’t be where they could mingle with the guests.
She emerged onto the deck and made her way to the stern. Sure enough, there was another set of stairs. Only the additional four cabins and galley she found there were also empty.
She leaned against the counter and closed her eyes. What was she going to do?
Phone. A satellite phone.
She crouched and began looking through the cabinets, and then moved to what looked like a small navigational room. They had to have a satellite phone somewhere for backup in case a storm kicked up.
She emerged onto the deck again and made her way to the bow. Bingo. A radio. Surely she could raise someone on it. The crew on The Spartan Queen would be ideal.
She picked up the handset and began flicking buttons.
“Mayday, mayday,” she said into the mouthpiece, unsure if she was broadcasting as she continued to press, pull and flick.
The tail of the phone cord hit her hip. She picked it up to find it wasn’t plugged in.
Or, rather, someone had just unplugged it.
She turned to find Ari leaning against the foremast, considering her. He’d taken off his shirt and shoes and
his dark eyes glistened amusingly and somewhat dangerously.
“Do you really want to see me arrested?” he asked.
She squinted at him. “Are you serious?”
“Deathly. Have you ever seen Midnight Express?”
She gave an eye roll at his mention of the film in which an American student is sent to a Turkish prison for trying to smuggle drugs. “That was Turkey. Not Greece.”
“And the difference?”
She was sure there was some, but was also equally sure that the prisons here would probably make the ones back home look like luxury resorts.
She put the handset back where it belonged and crossed her arms. “I’ll make you a deal—you get me back to shore and no one has to know about…well, the fact that you’ve kidnapped me.” She made a face. “How much of a ransom were you planning to ask for, anyway?”
He chuckled, the sound echoing on the waves. He pushed away from the mast and came to stand in front of her, using a corner of the towel around her to wipe her cheeks. Elena knew she should stop him, step away, anything but allow the intimate gesture, but she was glued to the spot, watching him.
“Money isn’t everything, my dear Elena,” he murmured, his gaze on her mouth. “In fact, there are things of much greater value to be had.”
Her throat tightened to the point of pain. “Such as?”
He leaned in and kissed her. “This…”
6
ARI SLID HIS MOUTH over hers, kissing her lightly, lingeringly. She tasted of the sea and pure temptation. He lifted his fingers to her cheek and then reached behind her head to tug at the pearl pins there until the dark cloud of her hair floated around her shoulders in wet ringlets.
She made a soft sound of pleasure, making him realize that if he wanted to, he could take her right then and there. Slide his hand up her dress and stroke her to the point of sheer neediness. And, oh, how he wanted to do just that. But he knew that the instant the heat of their passion cooled, she’d be at the same place she was five minutes ago, desperately trying to escape him and running back to a well-planned life with Manolis Philippidis.He didn’t want that. He wanted her to be moved by their joining. To inspire her to gaze at the alternate future stretching ahead of her. One that hopefully included him.
The thoughts should have surprised him. And in a distant way, they did. But since their alleyway exchange, he’d burned with a desire to not only know her carnally, but in every way it was possible for a man to know a woman. And that was well before he knew of her engagement.
Ari ended the kiss and drew a deep breath. “Why do I get the feeling you’re going to be the end of me?”
She restlessly licked her lips as if hoping he would continue. Which is exactly where he wanted her to be. For now.
“I have a proposition to make.”
She stared at him for a long moment and then began to move away.
“No, no, hear me out before you pass judgment.”
The sound of the thick click of her swallow was stolen by the light breeze. “Please, don’t let me stop you,” she said. “I certainly haven’t been able to stop you from doing anything you’ve wanted so far.”
He groaned. This is not where he wanted her to be. “Granted, the kidnapping part might not have been such a great idea…”
She moved a step back and crossed her arms. “That’s putting it mildly.”
“But even you have to admit that there’s…something between us, Elena. Something elemental. Powerful.”
She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth.
“We’re not teenagers, so this isn’t a crush. Or a holiday fling type of thing…”
Her eyes widened. Had she been considering the same explanations he had? Trying to make sense out of what was happening between them?
“My request is this—give us one night. Tonight. If this is only about sex, then we’ll both wake up in the morning and continue on with our lives as if it never happened.”
“And my life will be ruined. And so, quite plausibly, will yours.”
He flashed her a grin. “Nobody ever has to know. Admit it. You won’t be missed on the yacht. Not tonight. The men had already retired to do their best Masters of the Universe impressions, so I assume Manolis had already said good-night.”
She looked off in the distance.
“And the rest of the guests will assume that you’re busy elsewhere.”
“My mother…”
“It will be easy to convince your mother that you weren’t feeling well and went back to the island early, to prepare for tomorrow’s activities.” She looked at him. “Yes, I heard your conversation.”
This appeared to upset her. Why, he wondered? Because he had overheard a private conversation? Or because she had expressed doubt about marrying a man twice her age?
Either way, he steered the subject back to calmer waters.
“And if we wake up in the morning to discover it isn’t strictly about the sex…?”
Ari rubbed his chin with his index finger. “Well, that’s something we owe it to ourselves to find out, isn’t it? But we can’t do that unless we actually…have sex.”
There. There it was. He’d placed his cards on the table. It was up to her to decide whether or not he held a winning hand.
He watched as she paced one way and then the other, appearing to consider his proposition.
“Is that it?” she asked.
“I’m sorry? I’m not sure I know what you mean.”
“That’s the best you can do?”
Ari winced inwardly. He’d been called out. And he had no idea how to respond.
“Okay.”
He blinked. “What?”
Her smile was wide and bright. “I said, ‘okay.’” She looked around. “Where can I shower?”
ELENA HAD ABSOLUTELY no idea what she was doing. But it didn’t look like she was going to be getting off this boat anytime soon. And there was that little matter of the desire pulsing in her veins. It wasn’t such a bad idea to see what, if anything, would happen, if she just this once gave herself over to pure human impulse rather than rational thought.
She finished drying off from her shower and stood in front of the steam-covered mirror, considering her reflection. It seemed appropriate somehow that her image was blurry. She felt blurry. Unsure of the daring woman staring back at her. She had no makeup, she had no sexy lingerie, but that didn’t matter. She looked around the small bathroom and found a man’s white shirt hanging on the back of the door. She smelled the sleeve, detecting the scent of Ari’s cologne. Sandalwood and lime. She shrugged into the shirt and did up the buttons, and then undid them again, leaving only two barely holding the material together at her midsection.She took a deep breath and leaned against the door. What was she doing? To invite this man into her life was nothing short of insane. But that hadn’t stopped her from acting like a hungry wanton earlier that day. What made that person different from the one she was now? Very little. Except that she was that much closer to exchanging vows with another man.
But she wasn’t married yet, a small, insistent voice whispered.
And if she went through with this night, she might never marry.
She refused to think about that now. She’d made up her mind and nothing was going to change it.
She quickly pulled open the door, startling Ari where he stood on the other side. Behind him, the cabin’s double bed had been turned down, the pillows fluffed.
She fought a smile.
“Uh, hi,” he said.
Was it her, or did he appear nervous?
Strange. He’d spent so much of the past hour trying to convince her to sleep with him, and now that she’d agreed, it seemed that he didn’t know what to do.
It was wonderfully appealing.
She stepped into the cabin and noted the other things he’d done: the brighter lights had been switched off, leaving one small mounted lamp above the headboard to create a golden circle on the wall.
She stepped forwar
d.
Ari stepped back.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
She was taken aback. “Pardon me?”
He ran his hand through his dark hair. “It’s just that I noticed you hadn’t eaten much earlier and I thought you might be hungry. I could, um, fix us an omelet or something light…”
Elena moved closer to him…and he moved back.
She nearly laughed at the ridiculousness of it all. If only it wasn’t so empowering to know that she had this kind of effect on him.
She’d never been the type of girl construction workers whistled at. Or the kind that high school boys stuttered around. Is this what it felt like? Maybe she should have worn tighter tops, brighter colors. Because this was nice.
More than nice, it was a turn-on unlike anything she’d ever experienced.
“Actually, I am hungry,” she murmured, stepping even closer, until his legs hit the bed, leaving him nowhere else to go. Elena rubbed the tip of her nose against the glorious line of his jaw and inhaled deeply. “But it’s not food I’m craving.”
He chuckled, minus his usual bravado. “Funny. That’s funny.”
She met his gaze, their faces mere inches apart. “I’m not laughing.”
He cleared his throat. “No, you’re not, are you?”
“Uh-uh.” She slowly shook her head.
Ari’s pupils widened as he eyed her mouth. “So, um, what do we do now?”
Elena raised her hands to his bare chest. He was hot. Literally. His skin felt like heated satin over titanium. She allowed herself a few brief moments of indulged touching, and then shoved him to the bed.
“How about we start here and see what happens…”
IT WAS SO NOT THE WAY he saw this going down.
Ari wasn’t sure what had happened, but in the time Elena had taken showering, he’d started to doubt himself.Was it possible that he never expected her to accept the terms of his offer? That he’d seen a fight coming instead of his fantasy of having this hungry cat climbing onto the bed, placing her bare knees on either side of his hips, her dark eyes glistening.
Maybe it was performance anxiety. Not that he’d know what that felt like, because it had certainly never happened to him before. But considering who Elena was, and how much he’d built up his own prowess, could he be, on some blasted subconscious level, afraid he couldn’t live up to his own hype?
Blazing Bedtime Stories, Volume III Page 4