Nicholas laughed heartily. “Welcome to the chest-beating Neanderthals, my friend. Did she agree?”
Macland nodded proudly. “Yes, she did. I’ve already told her that this is the wave of the future. Either she behaves or she’s in for another ass beating.”
Nicholas handed Macland a cigar. “I’m glad you got your balls back, my friend.”
* * * * *
Allie turned in a circle. She was wearing a turquoise T-shirt, her new, well-fitting, size negative two jeans and her pink sparkling light shoes. “Am I girly enough?”
Nicholas smiled. “You are perfection.” The hoyden was gone, and in her place was a petite woman who glowed with pride in her appearance. Alexandria now paid attention to her hair, very much liking her new style, and was even attempting to use a little make-up on her eyes and lips. She looked like a young lady, except for the silly shoes that made her so happy.
They had walked to marina and, once aboard his boat, Nicholas buckled her into a life vest. “This does not come off until we dock, understood?”
Allie agreed. She was a little afraid of going on Nicholas’ boat. She’d taken a motion sickness pill just in case, but she knew she didn’t travel well. She could fly on large planes, but small planes made her sick. She’d never been on a boat before because of her fear of water. She didn’t know how two hours on a boat was going to turn out. They were going to a festival on the mainland in a seaside village. Macland was participating in a regatta and afterwards he would meet up with them for lunch.
Allie stuck close to Nicholas, even when he took over the bridge and was steering the big boat. He told her to watch the horizon and not the rolling swells and that might help. She was almost sick, but then the nausea receded and she got what Nicholas called her sea legs. It wasn’t too bad after that. There were a lot of boats in the sea, all heading for the festival, and they were beautiful, but she was really glad when Nicholas literally handed her over to a man on the dock and she was set on her feet. At least the dock wasn’t rocking and solid ground was even better.
The streets were filled with festival activities. There were vendors of everything imaginable - flowers, fruits, vegetables, live animals, and fish markets. There were pistachios everywhere. He bought some almond and cherry cookies to eat as they walked. There were artists displaying their paintings, pots and ceramics, handmade jewelry, woodcarvings, and more. Poets were reciting their verses, musicians were playing, and people were dropping money into their hats. Mini concerts were on every corner. It was bizarre and Allie loved it.
The streets were so full of people it was hard to move around. Nicholas kept a tight grip on Allie’s hand, leading her through the crowds. There were policemen on horses patrolling the piazza with the festival set up on three streets intersecting, the fourth side was dominated by a large church with its wide 50 foot stairway leading upward to the beautiful domed cathedral. In the center of the piazza was a statue and fountain.
Nicholas and Allie wandered the festival looking, tasting, touching. He bought her a small spun glass statue of a unicorn.
At half-past noon, Nicholas led them to the docks where they watched the regatta of boats enter the harbor and they waited nearly an hour for Macland to join them for lunch. To Allie’s surprise, Regina came with him.
Macland and Regina made a handsome couple, she with her blond hair and willowy figure, and he with his good looks and dark skin. The couple was dressed in matching white and blue sailing gear to match his boat.
Regina flushed immediately, looked at Macland, and swallowed. “Nicholas I’d like to apologize for my behavior at your dinner party. I was being a… well I was rude and I’m sorry.”
“Thank you and it’s accepted,” Nicholas said warmly. “Eukleides is holding a table for us in the taverna at two, which, I am sure, is not easy with these crowds. Shall we go?”
“Why don’t you and Macland go and secure the table,” Regina said. “If you don’t mind I’d like to speak to Allie in private.”
Allie looked up to Nicholas and his face was stern. A glance at Macland and she was surprised that his gaze was on Regina and his was the same.
“All right,” Allie agreed and the two men went inside.
Allie followed a nervous Regina over to a quiet spot by a wall.
“Don’t mind Nicholas, he tends to be overprotective, like a bear,” Allie said.
“More like a saber-toothed tiger, when it comes to you,” Regina said honestly. “I do want to apologize. Mac and I had been fighting a lot and… you probably don’t want to know about all that because it has nothing to do with you. I can’t even make a decent apology without making excuses. I do apologize sincerely. When I have too much wine, I get bitchy, and then I get silly. Could we start over?”
Allie waved it off. “Sure, we all have those days. It’s forgotten.”
“Maybe we can have girl’s day out sometime,” Regina suggested.
“I’d like that,” Allie agreed, a little surprised at the offer and her acceptance. She’d never had what she would consider a girlfriend before.
After lunch, Regina did have to leave for her hospital shift, so Macland left with her but he promised to return.
Allie sat down on the wall around of the fountain. She was tired. They had been at the festival all day and were now waiting for the fireworks to start. The crowds had thinned out a bit. The school groups were gone and there didn’t seem to be as many of the tour groups around. Nicholas and Macland were talking to the mayor of the town. She’d been introduced in English but then they’d switched to Greek so she had no idea what they were talking about. The mayor was walking and pointing out buildings. Nicholas was doing a lot of gesturing and shaking his head.
“Hello, missy,”
Allie jerked back from a large man, leaning over toward her. By his accent, he was Australian, by his uniform he was in the Navy. He smelled strongly of Ouzo. She scooted away from him.
“Ack, don’t be like that,” the man said swaying in her direction, “I just want me a little kiss. You want to give me a little kiss, Missy?”
“No, please, leave me alone,” Allie snapped.
The Australian stepped back and Allie moved to get away from him, but he grabbed her.
Nicholas shouted angrily, but he and Macland were at least a hundred feet away. They both started running.
When the Australian grabbed her Allie pushed forward. When he leaned backward, she leaped up and kicked him in the chest. He fell backwards like a downed tree and hit the cobblestones, spread-eagled and unconscious.
Allie landed on her feet but went down on her knees and picked up her little shopping bag and pulled out her unicorn. It was shattered.
Nicholas and Macland both stopped in front of the unconscious man on the pavement. They looked each other in surprise.
Macland bent to check out the man’s injuries.
Nicholas went to one knee in front of Alexandria and pulled her into his arms. She had tears in her eyes. “Did he hurt you, kardia mou? Are you all right?”
“He didn’t hurt me, I probably hurt him more. He stinks of Ouzo.” She shrugged dismissively. “He’s drunk and probably didn’t mean anything, but he broke my unicorn. You picked it out special, and he broke it.”
“You are safe that is all that matters. I am sorry he broke your keepsake. Do you want another?”
Allie shook her head. “No, replacements are never the same. I loved it because you picked it out for me. He ruined it.”
Nicholas helped her to feet. Macland was helping the Australian to his feet and arguing with a policeman. The policeman was pointing at her and angrily saying something. Macland was arguing back.
Nicholas joined the verbal argument, loudly.
The Australian man said something about assault, as he got to his feet with a lot of difficulty. He was slurring his words and swaying. Macland turned on him furiously. “You’ve got to be kidding. Do you really want to charge a five-foot, hundred-pound girl with assaul
ting you and admit to your shipmates that she kicked the shit out of you? You’d be laughed off your ship!”
The Australian swore again, and limped off, but the argument between Nicholas and the policeman continued until the policeman finally mounted his horse, pointed to her and had a last angry verbal blast for Nicholas.
Macland looked over Allie. “Did he hurt you? I saw him grab you, was it hard enough to cause bruises?”
Allie shook her head. “I think he’s just drunk and acting stupid.”
“What was that kicking thing you did?” Macland asked.
“Karate. A standard front kick. I was mugged once and thought I should be able to protect myself, so I joined a class. I never really enjoyed it, but I went as far as getting a brown belt.”
“Thank God,” Nicholas said overhearing the last statement. “Idiot! Come, we will watch the fireworks from the boat deck.”
“I’m off,” Macland said with a grin. “I’m sailing up the coast for the next part of the regatta. So far, I’m in second place.”
“Come, Alexandria,” Nicholas said his voice snapping, still full of anger.
Allie dug in her heels and refused to be moved, because she generally resisted when Nicholas barked out orders and commands. “Are you angry with me, the drunk, or the policeman?”
Nicholas stopped, closed his eyes and when he opened them he was much calmer. “How could I be angry with you, Alexandria? It was my fault you were accosted. I walked away from you and left you unprotected. I am angry with myself. You should never have had to handle that on your own. I am very glad you did. That idiot policeman will not have a job tomorrow. He wanted to charge you with assault!”
Allie decided to defuse the situation and put his mind on other matters. “Nicholas,” she said quietly.
“Yes, my love,”
“I could use a hug.”
Nicholas smiled and drew her into his arms.
“I’ve had a really, really good day.” Allie whispered as he tucked her head under his chin. “I’ve decided something. I’ve realized that I need to learn the Greek language. I want to submerge myself with Greek everything until I understand the culture, so I’ll be in research mode for a while. There is one thing that you can help me with though.”
“Anything, my love.”
Allie looked up straight into his eyes. “I knew you would help. Do you have time to teach me something about Greek Style tonight?”
Nicholas eyes went dark and Allie would have sworn the air sizzled around him. “Are you sure?”
“Very sure,” Allie said and she nipped his lower lip—mission accomplished. He was distracted and thinking about something entirely different. Maybe this seduction thing worked both ways.
Chapter 11
Allie was walking down the hall to Nicholas’ bedroom, wearing a particularly short and skimpy chemise and nothing else as she had not yet dressed for the day. Suddenly, she was facing two very large identical men coming down the hallway. She froze, while they eyed her with a slow smoldering interest. She did an about face, grabbing the hem of her chemise and pulling it down on both sides, ran back to her suite and slammed the door.
In all the time she’d been living in the villa she’d never run into anyone on the third floor except the maids and the housekeeper and Nicholas seemed to know exactly when they would be around. Since she and Nicholas had become sexual partners, they used whichever bedroom suite suited their needs. If they wanted to use the Jacuzzi, they usually slept in Nicholas’ bed. If they ate a late dinner on her balcony, they used hers.
The two men were obviously related to Nicholas. They had the same body type, same height, same smoldering eyes, and other similar facial features. Brothers. Nicholas had eight brothers, and he was the sole bachelor of the bunch.
Allie got dressed, deciding on a knee length sundress of pale green from her ever-growing closet of clothes. She thought Nicholas was becoming addicted to on-line shopping, as packages were delivered nearly daily. She took extra care with her hair and even put on a little bit of lip gloss. Usually, she didn’t bother, but she didn’t want Nicholas to be embarrassed by her. That was something new too, because before - she’d never cared.
There was a knock on the door and Nicholas entered. “Good, you are dressed. Two of my brothers are here and I’d like to you to meet them.”
Allie slipped into a pair of flip-flops.
Both men stood when Allie entered Nicholas’ office.
“Alexandria, these are my brothers Galen and Heracles. This is Alexandria Mason. She has been my guest on the island for a while.”
Both men greeted her cordially but with a hint of disapproval.
Allie could feel tension in the room and she didn’t feel comfortable with it, so she turned to Nicholas. “I’ll let you have some private time with your brothers, so I’m going for a walk.”
Nicholas felt the tension himself and walked her to the door. “If you don’t have a particular destination in mind, would you walk down to the village? It’s about time for the launch to arrive. I’m expecting something in the mail.”
She nodded and left. Nicholas wanted her out of the house. There was no need for her to pick up the mail, a boy from village delivered it every day.
Nicholas returned to his upstairs office and he went on the attack.
“Why have you invaded my home without so much as the courtesy of a phone call? And why have you been rude to my guest?
“Is she the reason you have been shirking your duties to the family? To the firm?” Heracles fired back.
“Business is running as usual,” Nicholas snapped.
“You have your assistants handling the business deals,” Heracles said gruffly. “Our business associates expect a Dyonysus, not an underling to handle our business.”
“I have four assistants that are well paid and well-trained,” Nicholas snapped. “Not one deal has been lost. Let them do what they are paid to do. They represent me.”
“That is not how we run business!” Heracles said angrily. “Pateras is concerned. He wants to know why. Are we supposed to tell him, you can’t do your job because you have a little piece of fluff on the side that is distracting you from your duties?”
Nicholas turned on his brother with pure fury. “Do not dare to disrespect Alexandria.”
“Nick,” Galen said, the voice of contrition and with a single glance told his twin not to go any further. “Nick,” Galen repeated. “What is going on? For four-and-a-half months, you have barely spoken to the family. You have not visited, not even for the birthdays of your nieces and nephews. Mitera is becoming frantic and Pateras is worried. You’ve locked yourself away on this island, apparently with a young woman. This is not like you. Tell us what is going on.”
Nicholas turned his back on his brothers, stared out the window and turned back to face them. “I am not ready to explain. Tell Mitera and Pateras that I am fine, more than fine. If the firm, if the family, is dissatisfied with the way I am running my share of the business, then reassign it to someone else. I am doing the best I can. If it does not satisfy, I will give it up altogether. What I am doing is more important than business.”
“For her?” Heracles exclaimed. “She is a child!”
“What do you know?” Nicholas shouted furiously. “You met her for ten seconds and dismissed her! Do not judge Alexandria on her diminutive stature. She is thirty-one years old, and she is a brilliant, successful, woman! Make no mistake, brothers. This is my life, and I will do what I must do. Alexandria is what is important. Take your leave and do not come back until you are invited. I must do what I must do. Communicate your decisions about the business to me. I will accept whatever you decide.”
Heracles looked angry and ready to go to battle, but Galen caught his twins’ gaze and shook his head and they bid their farewell to Nicholas.
“What the hell does he think he’s doing? We take our time to come here to discuss business with him and he throws us out! We are family and yet he thr
ows us out after five minutes.” Heracles scowled angrily as they descended the staircase.
“Leave it be, brother,” Galen advised. “No business has been lost and he is doing his share. Nicholas has always done more than his share of the work. He is working on another problem.”
“What is more important than business?” Heracles demanded sarcastically.
Galen looked over at his twin seriously. “For me, it is Cleo and my sons, for you it is Naida and your daughter. I suspect for Nicholas, it is that girl, Alexandria. I suspect our brother has at long last, been speared in the heart by love. He has always seemed immune to love, but I think at long last his heart has been captured.”
* * * * *
“Alexandria, come to me,” Nicholas said firmly.
Allie was clinging to the edge of the swimming pool. This was her sixth swimming lesson and she had hated every second of every lesson. Her teeth were chattering and she was shaking with fear.
Nicholas couldn’t do it anymore. He went to her and lifted her out of the pool. “This is not working, my bubus. I will hire a professional instructor if you wish, but I cannot force you to do this any longer.”
“I’ve lived this long without swimming,” Allie said, still shaking. “I don’t want to swim. I see no reason to learn. I will never voluntarily go into water.”
“All right,” Nicholas soothed, knowing full well that learning to swim was not a negotiable so long as they lived on an island. He would revisit this issue later and lay down the law.
He led her over to the small room that enclosed a Jacuzzi. “Come in, this will warm you up.” Nicholas removed his swimsuit, and pulled the ties on Allie’s bikini. “This is more like it,” he said nuzzling her.
The Awakening of Alexandria Page 10