“Sir, the boarding gate is on the other side,” an airport worker said to him.
“I’m not leaving,” he said smiling as he walked. He could not wait to see the look on Erica’s face when she saw him. It was going to be the surprise of a lifetime. What he didn’t know was what had happened to Erica when he walked away…
Chapter 6
Erica was looking at the back of Daniel’s body as he walked away. She was fighting to keep from running after him. It might have been romantic in the movies but in real life it was downright awkward and sad. And stupid. She gave him a little wave with her fingers when she saw him waving at her. She waited until he was through security before she looked around and wondered if she could get something to eat. She noticed a coffee shop on one corner and walked towards it. She had already made up her mind about what she wanted to do. She walked up to the counter and looked at the array of decadent cakes on display. She wanted everything.
“Can I help you miss?” a young lady behind the counter asked in a heavy Greek accent.
“Yeah. I want something frosty, sweet and fattening,” she said. The woman looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “My boyfriend just left,” she said.
“Oh so you ended relationship?” the woman asked.
Erica smiled and shook her head.
“No, it’s nothing like that. He had to go and take care of some business and I have to stay here and wait. So I want to eat my feelings,” she said as she looked at the cakes on display.
“Ah, you’re American,” the woman smiled.
Erica looked up and shrugged.
“Yeah. I guess we are pretty well known when it comes to confectioneries and deep fried food,” she said. The woman smiled and pointed to some cupcakes. “Oh my God, are those red velvet?” she asked.
The woman smiled at her and nodded.
“You want those?” she asked.
“Yes please. I’ll have two and oh…that blueberry forest looks perfect. So I’ll have a slice of that too,” Erica said with a smile. She was salivating as she watched the attendant pack her order. She could not wait to get back to the hotel and just dive in. “Or I could just get started in the car. Hell, it’s a rental,” she thought as she pulled out a bill from her pocket. “Will this cover it?” she asked as she handed the woman the bill.
“More than enough,” the woman said as she put two boxes on the counter.
“Thank you so much,” Erica said as she took the change and boxes from the woman. She was struggling to balance the two boxes in her small hands as she walked to the parking lot. She had a spring in her step as she walked and she hated that it was all about cake and nothing to do with Daniel. “Well, that’s what happens when you leave a woman alone in a strange country,” she thought as she walked.
“Erica,” she heard a familiar voice call out. She felt a chill run down her spine when she heard her name called out. She knew that voice, a little too well. She wanted to turn around and see who it was but something told her that she had to keep walking. She quickened her pace as she walked. “Erica,” she heard again making her stop in her tracks. Her heart was beating hard in her chest as she turned around to come face to face with her worst nightmare. It was Eli, standing right in front of her. As she looked at him, she had such a mixture of emotions. She wanted to scream at him and slap him and probably even shoot him right between the eyes but as she stood there, she was numb. She could not talk, she could not walk. She could not do anything. “Hi,” Eli said smiling at her.
She took a long deep breath and shrugged.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she asked.
“I needed to see to you,” he said as he looked at her.
“Well, there are so many ways of doing that without actually stalking me. Facebook, Instagram and if you manage to get through to me, Skype,” she said.
“You blocked me on Skype,” Eli said as he looked at her.
“Do you blame me?” she asked. He looked at her and took a step forward. “Stay away from me,” she said taking a step back.
He shook his head and put his hands up.
“I’m sorry. I just want us to have a grown up conversation,” he said.
She shook her head and rolled her eyes.
“What the hell are you even doing here?” she asked again.
“I told you, I need to talk to you,” he said.
“No, I mean here in Athens. Why are you here?” she asked as she looked at him.
“I was on a business trip and I ran into your sister. She told me you were here,” he said.
Erica raised an eyebrow.
“So you thought, I’ll just go all the way to Greece and track her down? Gee, Eli. Psycho much?” she asked as she walked to the parking lot with Eli following close. “Stay away from me, Eli. If you know what’s good for you, you are going to leave me alone,” she said as she walked towards the white rental Buick. She opened the door and put the two boxes on the passenger seat before she walked round to the driver’s seat.
“So I come all this way and you don’t even want to talk to me?” Eli asked.
She sighed, her hand on the door handle and looked at him.
“I didn’t tell you to come all this way now, did I?” she asked as she opened the door. Eli put his hand on the door and slammed it back shut. “What the fuck…” she started saying before she looked at Eli.
“You have to hear me out,” Eli said.
Erica forced out a laugh.
“I have to hear you out?” she asked as she looked at him. “Why? Does listening to you give me more time on earth or something like that? I don’t think so,” she said as she climbed into the seat. She pulled the seatbelt and buckled herself in. She was angry and really getting worked up.
“Erica, please,” he said in a soft voice.
She shook her head and put the key in the ignition.
“The time for me listening to you is over, jackass,” she said as she turned the car on. She was breathing hard and heavy as she backed out of the parking lot. In her rearview mirror, she saw Eli run off to some other side. She breathed a sigh of relief as she began driving back to the hotel. She reached for one of the boxes and got one of the cupcakes. She sighed loudly when she bit into the rich cream cheese frosting. It was perfect. The lady at the cake shop had not lied when she suggested the cupcakes. Somehow, the drive back seemed longer. She switched the radio on and hummed along as she turned the last corner to the hotel. She climbed out of the car slowly and handed the key to the valet as she balanced the two boxes in her hand. She was just about to walk into the hotel when she heard Eli’s voice towering over people’s murmurs and the engines of the cars speeding off. She took a long deep breath and turned around. “You have now graduated from idiot to psycho Eli. You better stay away from me or I swear I will call the cops on your ass,” she said. Eli quickly walked up to where she was and held her hand.
“Hear me out. That’s all I want, for you to hear me out,” he said as he looked at her.
She shook her head and pulled her hand away. She did not want to hear anything from him. There was no good that would ever come from listening to him. Her heart was beating harder and faster than ever. Without knowing it, she was shaking as she looked at him.
“I have nothing to say to you and you…you know where I…” her voice trailed off as she looked around. She would have to move to another hotel before Daniel came back. She never, ever wanted to have this conversation.
“Bumblebee,” Eli started. She shook her head.
“Don’t call me that. You lost your right to call me that a long time ago and for the love of God, I moved on, Eli. You should too,” she said as she looked at him. He held her hand again and she tried yanking it off but this time round, she couldn’t. He was holding her a little tighter than he had before. “Let me go,” she said in a soft voice.
“No, you have to hear me out,” he said. He was now pulling her into the shadows. With everything that was going on, it became hard f
or the doorman and the valets to notice what was happening with Eli and Erica. She didn’t know why, but she was weak around him. She had lost all will power to just walk off for some reason. “You were always working. You were always busy and I had needs…I had to feel like there was more to me than…” his words trailed off. She could not believe he was saying this to her, at this time. That was no excuse. He had his days too when he worked hard and long hours.
“So cheating on me was the only way you saw out?” she asked as she shook her head sadly.
“Bumblebee, it was a mistake. I loved you. I still do,” he said. Suddenly, all the anger she felt, all the emotion she had kept bundled up since she caught him cheating on her was bubbling to the surface. She looked at him and there were tears in her eyes.
“Well, I don’t. I’m in love with someone else now,” she said. He held her face in her hands but she pushed him off. “No!” she said as she took a step back.
“Bumblebee,” he started but she stepped back again.
“Go, Eli. Just leave before I call the cops,” she said. He shook his head and held her shoulders.
“I won’t. Not without you,” he said as he looked into her eyes. Even in the dim light, he could see her beautiful brown tearful eyes.
She shook her head.
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” she said as she pulled away from him again and turned around. She was walking to the entrance when he held her hand again, holding her back. She dropped one of her boxes and gasped loudly. It was more of a cry than a gasp really.
“Is everything alright here?” she heard a familiar voice. She looked up and as if this was some fairy tale or chick flick, Daniel was standing right in front of her. Her knight in shining armor. Eli’s grip loosened on Erica’s wrist and she half walked half ran into Daniel’s waiting arms. He held her tightly, stroking her hair as she sobbed on his shoulder. “Are you okay?” he asked as he looked at Eli. The look in his eyes was cold and hard and God knows he wanted to beat the living hell out of Eli. She nodded and he pulled away from her. He looked at her and used his thumbs to brush off her tears. “Yeah? You sure you’re okay baby?” he asked as he looked at her. She nodded. She was sure that whatever cake she had in her hand was already ruined but at that moment, she didn’t really care. Daniel put his arm around her and looked at Eli. “Who are you?” he asked as he looked at him.
“Eli Morrow,” Eli said extending his hand. Daniel took a long look at his hand before he finally stretched out his to shake it.
“Daniel Reese,” he said. “What is going on here? It looks like you were trying to force my girlfriend into something she didn’t want,” he said as he took a step towards Eli.
“Girlfriend?” Eli asked as he looked at Erica. “This is my replacement?”
“Ah, so you are the unfaithful ex. We finally meet,” Daniel said.
“I guess it was bound to happen at some point,” Eli shrugged.
“And why is that, is that because you kind of have some twisted idea of getting back with her or something?” Daniel asked. Erica knew where this was going. She held Daniel’s hand.
“Baby, let’s just go,” she said in a whisper.
Eli looked at her and sighed. “I meant what I said earlier, Bumblebee. I miss you.”
Daniel forced out a laugh and shook his head.
“You are a piece of work, aren’t you?” he said as he looked at Eli. “What the hell is wrong with you? You had your time with her and guess what, you screwed it up. So do us all a favor and crawl back to whatever hole you crawled out of,” he added.
“Look man, I don’t want any trouble. I just came out here to talk to my woman,” Eli said.
“Correction, she is my woman,” Daniel said. Erica looked at the two of them and tugged at Daniel’s hand. Daniel looked at her and slipped an arm around her shoulders before he turned around and began walking with her towards the hotel’s entrance.
“I’ll stick around in case you change your mind. I still love you,” Eli called out making Daniel stop in his tracks.
“Baby, just let it go,” Erica said. But Daniel was not taking any of this. He pulled his hand away from her and turned around to look at Eli.
“Why don’t you just accept that she has moved on?” Daniel asked.
“I love her,” he said. He was looking at Erica as he said it. “And there is nothing you can do about that.”
“Come on, don’t embarrass yourself,” Daniel said walking towards him.
“Embarrass myself? You are the one who took advantage of a vulnerable woman,” Eli said pushing Daniel off. Daniel looked at his shoulder where Eli had pushed him and then looked at Eli.
“You don’t want to do that,” Daniel said.
“What the hell are you going to do, jerk?” Eli was shoving him again. Daniel looked at Erica and then at Eli and shook his head.
“You’re not worth it,” he said. Erica covered her mouth with her hand when Eli suddenly took a swing at Daniel and that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. She watched as Daniel ducked and then Eli threw another punch but Daniel blocked it. He suddenly executed three swift moves that left Eli writhing on the ground. By this time, the hotel’s security was already walking towards the two.
“Mr. Reese? Everything alright?” the head of hotel security asked. Daniel looked at Eli who was squirming on the floor.
“It is now,” Daniel said. “Keep hat man away from this place,” he told security as he walked up the steps and secured an arm around Erica’s waist. She was shaking as they walked to the elevator. “I’m sorry about that,” Daniel said in a low voice.
“I think it’s okay,” she said as they rode up to their floor.
“I think this is a good time as any to tell you that I have been taking MMA for six years,” he said without looking at her.
“MMA?” she asked.
“Mixed martial arts,” he said as the elevator came to a stop.
“So Eli…” she started before he shrugged.
“He’ll live but he will be in a hell of a lot of pain for the next few days and I will be canoodling with you in Belize,” he added in a soft voice.
She looked at him and followed him to their suite. She was not sure whether she was scared or turned on at that moment.
As soon as the two of them walked into the room, Daniel pulled her to himself and pinned her against the door. She looked at him, her heart pounding hard in her chest. Daniel slowly pulled his hands from her waist and placed them on either side of her on the wall. She was trapped in between his hands and she had never wanted him more. He looked at her and ran his thumb and index finger across her face, pulling down her lip when he got to her mouth. As she looked up at him, she couldn’t help but feel weak. His lips were so distracting. She wanted to feel them on her so bad. As her chest heaved up and down with each breath she took, he was looking into her eyes, his own eyes intense and dark with his wanting. She felt her mouth go dry as he flashed her a slow sexy smile. It was the kind of smile that let her know that he had so much in store for her. It was the look that told her he wanted to try to lick her dry.
“You are mine, Erica Hayes,” he said in a soft voice. “All mine,” he added as his head hovered over her cheek. She felt his hot breath on her cheek making her panties wet. She closed her eyes and waited to feel his mouth on hers but he kept holding back, teasing her. She exhaled loudly into his mouth when he finally kissed her softly. She was breathing hard and panting. He was not touching her but given what she was feeling, he might as well have been touching her.
“I want to take you in every single way possible, on every surface of this suite,” he said in a soft voice. It was like he was speaking directly to the area below her waist. She was getting wet and anxious. “Do you want me to do that?” he asked before brushing his lips against hers.
“Yeah, I’d like that,” she said. She sounded almost breathless, desperate even. He leaned in and she thought, this was it. He was going to claim her lips. But he
didn’t. She opened her eyes to find him staring at her. She could not figure out what he was thinking. She opened her mouth to speak but he pressed his index finger to her lips, silencing her. With his free hand, he took her own and led her out of the living room. He was gently rubbing her knuckles with his fingers and even though it was just a simple gesture, it was driving her crazy. He was leading her out of the room fast, too fast that the heel of her shoe got caught in the rug making her trip. She gasped and he turned around to catch her just in time. She looked into his eyes and kicked her shoes off.
“You know what? Screw the bed,” he said in a whisper as he lowered his lips to meet hers in a long kiss that left her almost breathless.
The two sunk down to the floor and he hovered over her body as he kissed her again. She was aching to have his hands on her, his lips on other parts of her body and his fingers and his cock inside her. She moaned her displeasure when he pulled away from her. She looked at him as he unbuttoned her jeggings and then brought his hands up to untie the halter closure of her top behind her neck. He took her hands in his and raised them up above her head before pulling off the top. She was looking at him as his eyes traveled over her torso. She closed her eyes and sighed in pleasure as she felt him running his hands down her sides, brushing against the sides of her breasts. She was shivering, partly from the cold air propagated by the air conditioning and partly from desire. She wanted more of him. She wanted him to take her. She raised her hands to hold him but he pinned them at her sides and shook his head.
“Not yet,” he said in a whisper.
“Why are you torturing me, baby?” she asked, her eyes still closed.
“How am I torturing you, Erica?” he asked as he ran his hands down her side, making her shiver a little.
“I think you know,” she whispered back as he caressed her. She looked up at him and she could see the desire in his eyes. She did not understand why he had so much desire yet he chose to tease her.
Passion Overseas: A Billionaire BWWM Holiday Romance Page 5