CHAPTER 21
________
EVA
Almost before I’d begun to be thrilled by the idea of a cruise around the Greek islands for a few days, Maria nearly threw a wrench in the works. She was nowhere near mobile enough to go on a boat trip, she said, and she’d much rather keep both her feet on solid ground, thank you very much. I was a little disappointed when she declared that she wouldn’t be going. After all, my sole purpose was to look after her, and if she wasn’t going, then neither was I.
But she wouldn’t hear of that, either. “Anna is perfectly capable of looking after me,” she said. “You go, and take some time off. You deserve a break yourself.”
I wasn’t sure this was true. Of course, I worked with her every day, for several hours at a time, but in such beautiful surroundings, it had rarely felt like work. In no other job I’d ever taken, had I been able to go down to the beach and read whenever I had a break, and nowhere else did I have my meals cooked for me three times a day. As far as employment went, this was by far the best I’d ever had.
I’d quickly learned that Santorini, despite its sheer beauty and peaceful surroundings, was still relatively far removed from the rest of the world. The internet signal was pretty weak, and if Lily was downloading a movie, I could forget about video calling my parents. No online shopping site would deliver to the island, and even general mail took a little while to arrive. Despite that, I managed to track down a company that would deliver a machine from Athens, and once it came, I felt a lot better about leaving Maria.
The CPM machine is a godsend to many physical therapists, especially those who are looking after people who have recently had knee operations. CPM stands for Continuous Passive Motion, and its title is pretty self-explanatory. Strapping Maria’s right leg into it and switching it on, I was able to ensure that her leg would flex and extend several times per minute, giving her the movement that she needed without her even having to leave the chair.
“This doesn’t mean you don’t need to walk,” I reminded her. “You still need to do your exercises as normal. But this means that you get to move the knee without having to leave the chair as much.”
She seemed satisfied with this, and yet I was nervous to leave her. It didn’t seem right for me to abandon my patient to go off on an excursion. But Maria was insistent. I wondered whether she had the same idea up her sleeve that she’d had at Sofia’s wedding: that of getting Nick and me alone together.
For once, though, I didn’t mind her meddling. And as much as I was concerned about leaving her, a not-so-little part of me was thrilled at the idea of being alone on the boat with just Nick and Lily. Since he came home, I hadn’t seen much of him. He told us at dinner that he was trying to get as much work done on his latest book as possible, so that he didn’t have to think about work while we were away.
We packed enough to last us the week. On Sunday morning Maria waved us off as Nick, Lily and I headed to the harbor at the north of the island. Lily’s case was mainly full of books. I’d had to encourage her to at least pack a few bathing suits as well. At the suggestion that she might even get to be in the water at the same time as dolphins, she’d quickly agreed.
At the harbor, Nick got out and asked me to take the car around to the lot where it would be picked up by a company who’d take it back to the house for him. I never ceased to be amazed at the way Nick was treated like a celebrity on the island. It was as though nobody could do enough for him. He was a hero. Even as Nick pulled into the lot and turned off the engine, there was a friendly face there to greet us and to take our luggage to the harbor. The only thing left for Lily and me to do, was to walk down to the boat. But I was pretty sure that if I’d asked someone to carry me there, they would have done so without batting an eyelid.
I was astonished to see the boat we were taking for the week. “Are you kidding?” I asked Nick as I stood, stunned, on the walkway. Ahead of us, sitting serenely in the water ahead of me, was a beautiful, sleek black yacht with white pinstripe trim all along the side. It looked pristine. I’d been expecting a little sailboat where we’d sleep under the stars on the deck at night, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Nick grinned at me. “You didn’t think I’d take you on a crappy sailboat, did you?” he asked, and I didn’t dare nod my head. He guided Lily and me up the gangway and onto the yacht and told us to explore while he finished off the paperwork. I walked around in somewhat of a daze, but Lily skipped ahead of me, as though she’d done this a thousand times before.
After a few minutes, Nick joined us on deck. “Home sweet home,” he declared. “So, what do you think?”
“It’s incredible,” I breathed. “But shouldn’t there be a captain here with us?”
“I’ve been sailing since I was old enough to walk,” Nick said, laughing at my concerned face. “I can handle a sixty-footer, don’t worry!”
Of course, he could handle a sixty-footer. I was beginning to believe he could handle anything. He showed me to one of three double cabins. “I’ll give you this one because it’s the quietest,” he said. It was beautifully decorated in navy and white, with an en-suite bathroom which contained a shower and even a bathtub. Lily took the room next to mine, and Nick the one furthest down the small corridor. I stayed in my room for a few minutes, unpacking and putting my clothes into drawers while Nick started up the engines. And before I knew it, we were off.
I hadn’t even felt the boat moving, save for the mild bobbing up and down on the surface, but as I looked out of one of the portholes, I saw the harbor slowly disappearing behind us. I hurried out of my room and up onto the deck. Lily was already there, kneeling on the cushioned bench around the side, her arms over the rails as she gazed out. When she heard me behind her, she turned around and beamed.
“Come up here, Eva!” she cried. “Help me watch for dolphins!”
I turned towards the helm to see Nick waving at us. I waved back and then returned to look out over the sea. It was so peaceful to be on the ocean as the yacht effortlessly cut through the water.
“Come on,” I said to Lily, as I reached into my beach bag. “Let’s put some sunscreen on you.”
That afternoon, we sailed north-east toward a small island named Anydros. Nick told me it was uninhabited and currently for sale. We moored up just off its coast, and I looked over at the small, barren island.
“Are you thinking of buying it?” I asked, jokingly, but he shrugged, as though he might actually be considering it.
“I need to look at getting a boat first,” he said. “Just being back on the water has made me realize how much I miss it.”
“What about this one? Isn’t it for sale?”
“I think Aris would be willing to sell it to me for a good price,” he said. “But I don’t know. I think there’s something special about having my own boat. You know, having it built from scratch. Just for me.”
“What would you call it?”
“I don’t know,” he said. With the anchor firmly holding the vessel steady, Nick was free to relax with a beer in hand. The fridge was well stocked, and he’d brought me a glass of chilled white wine to sip.
“What do you think I should call it?”
“No idea,” I said.
“How about Long Beach?” he asked me, and I found myself giving him a small smile, feeling my cheeks reddening.
“Sounds nice,” I said. I couldn’t tell whether I liked the way he teased me like this. It felt as if he was flirting, but he always seemed to stop himself, just in time, as though making himself hold back.
I was careful not to be out in the sun for too long. I put on a hat and sat in the shade of the overhang of the boat while Lily and Nick stripped down to their bathing suits and were soon diving head-first into the water. I leaned over the side, anxious for them, but I needn’t have worried. Both looked as lithe and confident as fish. They both came back onboard, dripping wet, and Nick chased Lily around a little until she squealed and dove back into the water. He followed her, pushing off with his strong, bronzed legs. With my sunglasses on, it wasn’t difficult for me to spend time looking at him while pretending to read.
He looked amazing. Sailing clearly suited him. He seemed to have cast off the stress of the previous week’s work, and he seemed to be invigorated. He and Lily played in the water for a long while, until an exhausted little girl pulled herself up the ladder and sprawled out on the couch.
“No more!” she cried.
Nick joined her, and the two were panting, utterly exhausted. “I think I might take a nap,” Nick yawned. “How about you, Lils?”
“I want to read in my room for a bit and then take a nap,” she said, and wrapped a towel around herself and toddled off.
I turned my attention back to my book as Nick came to sit beside me.
“What are you reading?” he asked, and instead of casually telling him about the imaginary romance I was devouring, I pulled the e-reader away from him, horrified at the thought that he might discover I was already on the third of his detective novels.
“Oh, it’s like that, is it?” he asked me, amused. “Reading something a little racy out on the deck?”
“Of course not,” I said, blushing again.
“Why won’t you let me see?” he asked. He reached for the e-reader, and I pulled it from his grasp, standing up, but he came after me, wrapping his arms around my waist, soaking me with his dripping wet skin.
“No!” I said, wriggling helplessly from his grasp, while at the same time relishing the feeling of his body tightly pressed against mine.
“Come on,” he said softly in my ear, and he reached for the tablet once more. This time, I sighed and gave in. When he glanced at the words and recognized them, a broad smile spread across his face.
“Well, I wasn’t expecting that.” His eyes narrowed in concentration. “This is the third one,” he said. “Why didn’t you start with the first?”
I sighed. “I read those last week,” I said.
He grinned widely and slid his arms around my waist again, this time tossing the tablet onto the couch first. “And? What do you think?”
“I think I like Fabian very much,” I teased. “He’s dark and brooding. I like that look.”
“Oh,” he said, softly. “So bronzed and blond doesn’t do it for you?”
“No, not in the least,” I said, looking up at him smugly.
“Liar,” his whispered, and tilted my chin up before pressing his lips to mine, kissing me every so softly.
I hadn’t meant for this to happen. Certainly not only hours after leaving the port. But I’d be damned if I could resist him. He felt too good. I moved my arms a little, and he took hold of them, pulling them up and around his neck.
“Hold on,” he whispered against my mouth as he started to walk, pushing me back towards the cabins.
“Lily!” I whispered.
“We’ll be quiet,” he murmured, and he quickly ducked his head inside to check whether the coast was clear. Then he turned and scooped me up, taking me into his bedroom, which was similar to mine only a little longer. He set me down on the bed and turned to shut the door. Then he was next to me, kissing me like a long-lost lover. His lips were salty, his hair still wet and droplets of water dripped onto my body, but I didn’t care. I wanted him so much that nothing else mattered.
Having to keep the volume down only made our lovemaking more exciting. He tore off my bikini top and sucked on my breasts with vigor as I climbed onto his lap. He tugged at my bikini bottoms, wrenching them away as he released his cock from his swimming trunks. He didn’t even bother to take them off before entering me, pushing inside deep and fast, and the only way for me to cope with the unexpected pleasure was to give a low groan into his mouth.
He sat on the edge of the bed, and I sat astride him. He pulled me up and down on his cock, so I was riding him with quick, desperate thrusts of my hips. I’d craved him so much while he was away, when I’d been sure I’d never have the chance to feel him inside me again. Now, I had to keep him there as long as I could, hold on to every second, because I didn’t know if I’d ever have the chance again.
Lifting me up, he pinned me against the far wall while still inside me. He groaned, and I had to clamp my hand over his mouth in an attempt to stifle the sound. I bit into his shoulder to stifle my own cries.
“Jesus Christ,” he whispered loudly. “You drive me fucking crazy.”
I held his face and sucked on his lips, catching the bottom one between my teeth. He moaned, pressed me against the wall and came inside me, hot and quick. Then he took me to the bed and knelt between my legs, inserting two fingers inside my wetness, fucking me with his hand while his mouth adored my clit. His teeth grazed against me as he sucked me, and his tongue flicked quickly around my core.
I lasted barely thirty seconds before reaching for a pillow and holding it over my face as I came. I bucked against his mouth, holding the pillow over me with one hand while with the other I held onto his hair, begging him wordlessly to keep going. He’d already made me come but I wasn’t done yet, and with a glorious shock, I realized I was peaking again. Two delicious orgasms within thirty seconds of each other flooded my body with what felt like liquid gold, until I couldn’t take any more and had to push him away.
He leaned over me and kissed my mouth, hard, and I could taste a combination of the two of us and the salt of the seawater on his lips. Then, before we were caught, I had to dress again and tiptoe down to my own room.
My body was still shaking when I sat down on my bed. God, it was the hottest sex I’d ever had. The whole thing had taken less than ten minutes, but we both knew there wasn’t any other way. We’d needed each other too much.
Now that it was over, I wondered whether that was it for the week. Another itch that had merely been scratched. And as I showered, I felt tears welling up and spilling out onto my cheeks. I knew it was because I wanted him in so many other ways than just sexually. But I’d been the one to ruin everything the first time around, and I was sure that he wasn’t going to give me another chance.