Runaway Sister

by Ann Jennings

  Valerie dragged him over. “She’s been taking wonderful care of me, Adam,” she said. “She’s exactly like you said she was.”

  Suddenly things began to click into place, as Samantha realized that Valerie had assumed, wrongly, that Samantha had known who her brother was all along, and that it had been Adam, not Miss MacKenzie, who had told Valerie about her. She tried to think back. Valerie had not given her any clue, but then why should she when she had thought Samantha had known she was talking about Adam all along?

  Forcing a smile to her lips, Samantha extended her hand. “Your sister is in excellent health,” she said, “but you’ll be glad to know that I’m insisting that she keeps to a strict antenatal régime.”

  Valerie laughed, linking her arm through that of her brother. “Yes,” she said, “she’s an absolute dragon when it comes to the subject of rest, she insists I have my eight hours, if not more.”

  “Quite right too,” replied Adam, looking down at Valerie with affection shining from his grey eyes. “I knew she would, that was why I insisted you should have her and no one else.”

  Briefly his eyes met Samantha’s, she glared back, only to look hurriedly away when she saw his eyes were dancing with amusement at her discomfiture. During the drive back to the villa Samantha said as little as possible and left all the talking to Valerie and Adam. They all sat together under the umbrella on the terrace and had a light lunch. Samantha had never felt less like eating, although she usually thoroughly enjoyed all Greek food. Today, however, she only ate a little taramasalata and pita bread and had a tiny sip of wine. Valerie and Adam were still catching up with family gossip, and at the end of lunch Samantha excused herself, saying she would leave them in peace.

  Adam made no attempt to stop her as she left, and she couldn’t help wondering why he had deliberately set out to deceive her. Was it because he had wanted to see more of her, or was it simply that he knew she was a good midwife and recommended her because his sister needed one? After all, hadn’t Valerie said that it was her brother who had insisted she have a nurse to look after her?

  Pondering over all these possibilities, Samantha slipped out of the back of the villa and made her way down a little used path to the beach. Once there, she slid into the clear blue water and lazily paddled her way out into the bay. Her attention was caught by a shoal of brightly colored fish darting in and out between the rocks that lay deep on the floor of the bay. The water was so clear that although it was very deep, everything was clearly visible, even the smallest pebble.

  “Don’t you know it’s a stupid thing to do, to go swimming straight after lunch?” enquired a deep voice at her side.

  Startled, Samantha raised her head; so intent had she been on the shoal of fish that she hadn’t heard Adam paddling the boat towards her.

  “Get in,” he said, leaning over the side of the boat and offering her his arm.

  “No, thanks,” said Samantha shortly, “I prefer swimming.”

  “Get in,” repeated Adam, “or I’ll come and get you.”

  From the tone of his voice she knew he meant exactly what he said, so reluctantly she grasped hold of his proffered arm and let him haul her into the boat.

  Adam looked magnificent in his swimming trunks, although Samantha tried hard not to notice the sinewy muscles rippling across his chest, the strength of his lean masculine thighs. As he pulled her into the boat her dripping body brushed against his, and the brief physical contact almost caused her heart to stop beating.

  Defensively she pulled herself away from him and sat at the other end of the boat, glaring at him. He had a self-satisfied expression on his face; he was plainly enjoying the fact that he had surprised her by turning up as Valerie’s brother.

  “Surprised to see me?” he asked.

  “Annoyed would be a more appropriate word,” snapped Samantha. “I don’t like being made a fool of.”

  “You haven’t been made a fool of,” he returned quickly. “You wanted a job abroad, I needed someone for my sister. You got what you wanted, I got what I wanted for my sister.”

  Put like that it sounded very reasonable, and Samantha felt stupid for flaring back at him. All the same, she was still annoyed. “You could have told me it was your sister,” she said, “instead of pretending you didn’t know where I was going—and don’t say you didn’t deliberately mislead me there,” she added as he opened his mouth to reply.

  Adam raised his hands in a mock gesture of apology. “All right, I admit that,” he said. “But be honest, would you have agreed to take this post if you had known it was my sister?”

  “No,” admitted Samantha.

  “There you are, then,” he said quickly. “I needed somebody good, somebody I could trust in an emergency, and you needed to get away. It seemed the perfect solution to both our problems.”

  Samantha sat in the boat, seawater glistening in drops on her tanned skin. She trailed her hand in the silky turquoise water, looking down at the rocks below. He was right, of course, but he didn’t know how she felt about him. She thought about the last time she had seen him in her office, when he had kissed her so briefly on the mouth before he left.

  Almost as if he could read her thoughts he suddenly reached across and took her hand. “I’m sorry if I took advantage of your heartbreak,” he said.

  Samantha said nothing. Her behavior was impossible to explain, even to herself. She was not normally the type to go falling into men’s arms at the first opportunity. She shuddered with a feeling of shame again at the knowledge that she would almost certainly have let him make love to her without a second thought, if it hadn’t been for that black negligee laying on the chair.

  Adam misinterpreted her silence. “I hadn’t realized, until Miss MacKenzie told me, that you’d taken your broken engagement very badly. I didn’t know either that he’d been your only boyfriend.” He tipped her face up to his and said softly, “Or your only lover?”

  Samantha felt her face flushing and twisted away. He had so very nearly been her lover, her face grew even hotter at the thought.

  “Miss MacKenzie didn’t tell me that, of course,” continued Adam softly, “that was an educated guess on my part. I was right, wasn’t I?”

  “Yes, you’re right, he was my only boyfriend,” said Samantha quickly, then before she could stop herself she blurted out, “I don’t know what came over me that night of the Ball, I…”

  Adam put his finger to her lips. “No need to say anything,” he said, smiling. “I think we both were a little mad. How about forgiving me and starting our friendship over again?”

  Samantha looked at him, not sure of herself or of him. Not sure of anything where he was concerned. He smiled at her, his grey eyes reflecting the sunlight from the blue water.

  “How about me teaching you to water-ski for starters?” he said. “Valerie says you’re dying to have a go.”

  Samantha smiled back at him, her blue eyes reflecting the same light as his grey ones. Suddenly it seemed a wonderful day—the sun was shining, the sea was clear and inviting and she was sitting in a boat with Adam Shaw. She wondered what Jennie would say if she could see her now!

  “That sounds like a very good idea,” she replied, “but you’ll have to be patient with me. I shall probably fall off, quite often.”

  Adam laughed. “Everybody does to start with,” he said, turning the boat back to the jetty. “Come on, let’s get the skis on you.”

  They spent the rest of the afternoon water-skiing, and by the end of the afternoon Samantha found to her surprise that she was quite adept at it, but very tired. So when Adam suggested that they stop water-skiing and take the boat so that he could show her some of the beaches and caves that could only be reached by sea, she readily agreed.

  The coastline around Paleokastritsa was rugged and honeycombed with small coves, each with its little beach of white sand mixed with large pebble
s. Adam steered the little boat in and out of the coves and finally stopped the engine and dropped the anchor over in one surrounded by high towering cliffs. Samantha leaned over the side watching the anchor as it slid down through the clear water and lay glistening on the bottom. Even though the water was so deep, the sunlight still glinted on the metal of the anchor.

  “The water is so still here,” she said, “you can see everything.”

  “Yes,” agreed Adam, “it’s perfect for diving and snorkeling, although you do have to be careful. Every now and then a swell will come in and if you’re not careful you can get swept up against those rocks.” He indicated some jagged-looking rocks at the foot of the cliffs.

  Then he stood up, his lightly tanned body glistening in the late afternoon sunlight. “I’m going to have a swim,” he said as he dived in. “Coming to join me?”

  Although Samantha’s arms and legs were feeling tired from being pulled along when she was skiing she dived into the smooth blue water. Adam swam underwater in amongst the rocks at the bottom, but Samantha stayed on the surface, floating on her back enjoying the sun on her face and the warm water lapping over her body. She was quite unprepared for the sudden surge as a huge wave swept into the cove. She felt herself being swept towards the rocks Adam had previously pointed out, and desperately tried to swim through the wave away from the dangerous points. Adam must have seen her being swept along, because suddenly he was there, his strong arms around her as he pulled her away from danger.

  Roughly he hauled her with him into the boat, while she clung on to him, gasping for breath, the force of the wave having knocked it out of her.

  Adam looked down at her. “Just as well I was there,” he commented. As Samantha raised her eyes to look at him she saw his eyes darken with desire and desperately tried to quell the rising tide of emotion his closeness brought to her. But she was powerless to move as he pulled her closer, crushing her breasts against his chest until she could hardly breathe at all. It seemed like a lifetime to Samantha, she felt herself drowning in his passionate gaze, but when his mouth descended at last on hers he was gentle.

  He dominated her, his mouth moving gently, persuasively over hers, consuming her pliant softness as he pulled her closer and closer. Samantha pushed at him, but it was only a token gesture, she didn’t want him to stop. She let her hands rest on his chest, running her fingers through the curling wiry hair on his torso.

  At last Adam drew back his head. “I didn’t mean to do that,” he said. “In fact, I’d made up my mind that I wouldn’t be tempted by you.”

  Samantha smiled and shyly laid her head against his shoulder in a gesture of mute surrender.

  “You’re not angry?” he asked. “And you’re not kissing me, pretending it’s Steve?”

  Samantha raised her head and looked at him. “I’m not angry, and I’m certainly not kissing you pretending it’s Steve. I’ve got over Steve now, but…” she hesitated.

  “But what?” prompted Adam.

  “But I’m not going to let you make love to me,” blurted out Samantha quickly. She couldn’t forget that he was almost certainly still involved with Sophie, but she couldn’t bring herself to mention that fact.

  Abruptly Adam released her. “In that case,” he said, kissing the tip of her nose, “we’d better go back, or I might be persuaded to attempt to make love to you right now.” His laughing eyes took any sting out of the words.

  When they had tied up the boat to the jetty and were walking up the path back to the villa he pulled her towards him and kissed her gently again, but this time without the consuming passion of before.

  “If you should ever change your mind,” he said, “about letting me make love to you, don’t forget to let me know.” Then before Samantha could reply he grabbed hold of her hand and ran up the path, pulling her protesting at the speed behind him.

  Valerie leaned on the carved stone balustrade at the edge of the terrace watching them. “He’s an absolute brute,” she said, laughing. “Has he exhausted you with all that water-skiing? You look awfully flushed.”

  “Yes,” said Samantha, glad of an excuse to account for her flushed face, “I do feel exhausted.”

  “Not too exhausted to go out to dinner tonight, I hope,” said Adam. Then turning to Valerie he said, “You don’t mind, do you, if I steal your nurse for tonight?”

  Valerie laughed. “Of course not! Dennis should be back any moment now, the flight came in from Athens about half an hour ago. We’ll spend a quiet evening together, and you two go off and see a bit of nightlife.”

  That having been agreed upon, Samantha spent the next half hour rifling through her wardrobe trying to decide what to wear. Adam hadn’t given her any indication at all about the kind of place he would be taking her to, and the evening was very hot, so anything too elaborate was out of the question.

  Eventually she decided on a simple dark blue cheesecloth dress with bootlace shoulder straps. The flimsy material clung to the shape of her figure, making her look even more slender than she actually was. She brushed her blonde hair, now streaked even fairer by the sun, back casually onto her shoulders, and completed the outfit with a pair of flimsy leather thonged sandals that were comfortable and cool.

  Dennis had arrived by the time she joined Adam and Valerie on the terrace, and they all turned as she walked towards them.

  “Oh,” said Valerie, looking at Samantha’s slender figure enviously, “how I long to get back into shape!”

  Dennis hugged his wife. “I think you look absolutely beautiful the way you are,” he said, kissing the top of her head.

  “Anyway, one day Samantha will look like that too,” said Adam.

  Valerie laughed. “Oh, Adam,” she said, “you are rotten—look, you’ve made Samantha blush.” It was true, Samantha’s face was stained pink at Adam’s embarrassing remark.

  “Sorry,” he said, “I didn’t think. I just meant you’ll be married one day and no doubt have a family.”

  “I doubt it,” returned Samantha shortly, not wishing to prolong the conversation. “I’m a career girl, and not likely to get married now.”

  Adam raised his eyebrows quizzically but let the remark go unchallenged. They said their goodbyes to Dennis and Valerie and made their way to the car.

  As they bumped their way painfully up the stony track to the main road Adam asked casually, “Did you mean it about being a career girl?”

  “Yes,” said Samantha, with more certainty than she felt.

  Chapter Seven

  They drove in silence from the villa, through the winding mountain roads from Paleokastritsa towards Corfu Town, but it was comfortable silence, and Samantha felt strangely relaxed and happy. She stole a sideways glance at Adam’s profile as he concentrated on the driving, and the rugged sculpture of his dominant face caught at her throat. She wanted to reach out her hand and run her fingers along that strong jawline.

  He must have sensed that she was looking at him, for he turned his head and gave her a lazy smile that was almost like a physical caress. His smile played havoc with her heartbeat, it pounded so loudly in her ears that she felt its thumping must surely be heard by Adam echoing round inside the car.

  “I should have told you before,” he said, “that you look very lovely tonight.”

  Her long lashes swept down over her high cheekbones, his words and look arousing an almost shocking feeling of delight in her. She tried not to show the inner agitation by lowering her eyelashes demurely. “Thank you,” she answered, hardly knowing what to say.

  “But then,” Adam continued, “I’ve noticed that you always look lovely when you’re dressed up. You should always dress like that. When you’re in the delivery suite, the theatre gown and cap you wear does absolutely nothing for you!”

  Samantha laughed. “You can hardly expect me to dress like this to deliver a baby,” she said. “I can just imagine the
stir it would cause in hospital!”

  “It would cause quite a stir among the men too, I can tell you that much.” Adam’s glance slid down to the folds of her dress, revealing the gentle swell of her breasts.

  Samantha was glad that the purple dusk had crept amongst the olive groves, as she hoped it would disguise the pink flush his glance brought to her cheeks.

  “It would also cause a considerable stir among the Nursing Officers,” she said, trying to keep the conversation flippant.

  Adam laughed but didn’t reply, and the conversation lapsed once more. This time, however, Samantha was acutely conscious of the warmth transmitted by his body, which was so close to hers. The car they were using was a small Fiat, and Samantha was aware of the pleasant tingle the pressure of Adam’s thighs against her own was causing. She could have tried to move away, but it would have been very noticeable, and anyway, she had to admit to herself, she was enjoying the closeness of his presence.

  They parked the car near the harbor, which as usual was a hive of activity. A large cruise liner had come in and was anchored just a little way out in the deep water, the passengers being ferried ashore in a motorboat. They leaned together on the ancient stone wall of the harbor, watching the scene, the large white boat, lights sparkling in every porthole and fairy lights strung up along her decks.

  “It looks so lovely,” said Samantha, staring at the white outline of the ship against the wine dark blue of the sea. “So romantic too.”

  “What on earth is romantic about it?” demanded Adam. “It’s just a ship with lights on.”

  Samantha laughed. “You’re typically male,” she said turning to him, “so practical and unromantic.”

  “I wouldn’t say that,” said Adam softly, putting an arm lightly around her shoulders. “I don’t think the ship is particularly romantic, but I do think standing here with you is.”