A Wanderer's Safe Haven

by Maggie Kane

  “Emma,” he said softly, tipping her chin up, so she looked at him, “tell me what happened in town earlier.”

  Emma’s heart sank. She hadn’t decided what she was going to tell him, other than that she couldn’t tell him the truth. She bit her lip, trying to find words that would set his mind at ease. This is why I should leave, she thought. He deserved the truth, yet she couldn’t put him in danger by telling him. She let out a long, sad sigh and pushed back so she could face him. She pulled the towel tight around her shoulders and looked out into the night for courage.

  “I can’t tell you, Nikos.” She held up a hand to silence his immediate objection. “I will tell you that I can’t let anyone know I am here. I…” Her voice trailed off as she groped for what to say. “If certain people find out I am here, it would be dangerous for you and Abigail. I can promise you that I have done nothing wrong. I am not a drug dealer or embezzler or ax murderer.” She paused again, trying to read his face. He had a hard look in his eyes, and his mouth was drawn into a disapproving frown. She pulled in a deep breath and tried to find her center. Her body trembled, not from cold, but from emotion and fear of what she had to say next. “That is all I can tell you, for now. If that isn’t enough, I’ll leave tonight.”

  “It’s not enough, Emma. I can help you if you will let me.” Nikos’ anger flared. He had had enough of secrets. “Just tell me, and we’ll deal with it. Whatever it is, I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

  “I knew you would say that,” she said and sadly touched his face. Her heart slowly ripped in half as she stood and looked down at him. He looked like a furious god with his olive skin, muscular body, and striking features. “Can you give me a ride to town? I hear there are feral dogs in the area,” she added, trying for a touch of levity.

  “You aren’t going anywhere.” Nikos ground out the words between clenched teeth.

  “I won’t tell you anything more. Do you plan to torture me? Been there, and didn’t work then either.” Emma glared at him, fury suddenly flaring in her chest. How dare he say I can’t leave, she thought angrily.

  Her words brought him up short. Someone had tortured her, Nikos thought, and his blood ran cold. He would kill them. Someday, she would tell him, and he would hunt the bastards down and kill them. Whatever she was hiding was bigger than he had originally guessed. Not for the first time, he questioned whether he could trust her. She was more smoke and mirrors than anything, but he sensed that she had told him the truth when she said she was innocent of any crime.

  “Emma, lígo kléftis mou, don’t go.” He reached out a gentle hand to stroke her face. “Promise me this- when the time is right, you will tell me.”

  Her anger dissipated so quickly that it left a void inside her that made her breath catch. Relief surged in and filled her with profound gratitude and joy. She launched herself into his arm and wrapped herself around him. Then she was kissing him with a fierce passion and felt her body respond to his answering intensity. They sunk back down to the chaise and began to erase the tension of the last several minutes. Neither of them noticed the dark figure retreating from behind the fence, taking her usual nightly route around the house before bed.

  Chapter 21

  Emma wasn’t sure that a family outing to the beach was a good idea. The weather had been rainy for days, and their ‘family’ was more than a little on the dysfunctional side. Gretchen actually agreed with her for once, but they were no match for the combined will of Abigail and Nikos. They all loaded into the Rover and headed out the next morning.

  Emma’s nerves were ragged by the time they arrived at the remote beach an hour and a half later. Gretchen refused to speak in English, even though she was actually quite fluent when she wanted to be. Nikos tried to talk to Emma, but Gretchen had kept a separate conversation going with him that kept him distracted and irritable. Abigail had tried to help by translating some of Gretchen’s sharper comments about Emma’s appearance or presence earning both Gretchen’s and Nikos’ disapproval. In the end, everyone had just sat in stony silence.

  Abigail piled out of the back and took off at top speed, as usual, Gretchen hard on her heels shouting at her in Greek. Nikos and Emma grabbed the beach gear from the rear of the Rover. Laden with a picnic basket, beach chairs, blankets, and toys, they trudged toward the sand.

  “Well, I hope we can find a spot,” Emma said sarcastically. The beach was deserted, despite the mild day and bright sunshine.

  Nikos smiled at her. “Of course it is empty. It is private property. I own it.”

  “Really? You own a beach. That’s actually pretty cool,” she said giving him a playful shove with her elbow.

  The fingernail shaped beach was just over 3 kilometers long with a private beach house on the south side. Nikos pointed out over the water and named several of the large rocks that jutted from the surface of the water. It was a truly lovely spot. Emma’s shoulders relaxed a bit as she dropped into a beach chair. Gretchen and Abigail were well down the beach splashing in the surf, so there were no snide comments or scathing looks.

  Nikos watched Emma as she arranged herself in the lounge chair and started slathering on sunblock. He never had to bother with sunblock thanks to his natural olive complexion. He sighed and settled back to listen to the waves. Her hand slipped into his, and their fingers laced together. He smiled and closed his eyes feeling contentment wash over him.

  “Emma! Come play!” Abigail’s voice penetrated Emma’s dozing mind. She forced her eyes open just in time to see the little girl rocketing toward her. She braced for the impact a split second before Abigail’s tiny body pounced on her. “Wake up! You and Papa have been sleeping forever!”

  Nikos groaned and reached out to rescue Emma from his daughter’s attack. He pulled Abigail to him and wrapped her up in a huge bear hug. “Alright, you little torment, we will come play. Shall we build a sand castle?”

  “Not you, Papa! Emma!” Abigail wiggled out of his embrace and began pulling on Emma’s hand. Nikos grinned, and Emma raised her eyebrows in surprise as she allowed herself to be towed down the beach.

  The sand castle leaned badly to the left, and one of the turrets was half the size of the other, thanks to Abigail’s foot. Emma had declared it finished, and they were munching on snacks while admiring their work. Gretchen had taken Emma’s vacated chair when Abigail had brought Emma down to build the castle. That had suited Emma just fine since she could only imagine the old woman’s critical comments on their castle building skills- or lack thereof.

  Emma buried her feet in the sand and built up a small mound covering up to her ankles. Abigail watched her intently, and with her juice box in one hand and sand shovel in the other, began adding sand to Emma’s rapidly growing pile. Soon her legs were covered up to mid-calf and then to her knees. Nikos wandered over about the time the sand was up to her waist. Chuckling, he helped his daughter finish burying her up to her shoulders.

  Abigail shrieked with laughter and ran around and around. She brought shells and decorated the top of the mound while Nikos sat close to her head and absently stroked her hair and watched his daughter. Emma’s heart overflowed with happiness in the simple moment. Even Gretchen didn’t say anything to ruin it when she joined the group and announced it was time for Abigail’s nap. She took the protesting child by her hand and led her toward the Rover. They would go to the beach house to get Abigail cleaned up and lie down for a nap.

  Emma looked at Nikos. “Did you arrange that?”

  “Me? Arrange to have some alone time with a beautiful woman on a private beach? Why would I do that?” He lowered his mouth to hers in a tender kiss that promised much more. Slowly he began to clear the sand from her body. He unearthed her shoulders and down to her breast, taking extra care to squeeze and caress as he cleared the sand.

  Emma smirked as he made a big show of making sure all the sand was gone off her breasts. “Get this stuff off me. I’m starting to itch like crazy,” she said as she started to shift and squirm in her sand
prison.

  “I like having you at my mercy,” Nikos said but started clearing the sand with large sweeps of his arm. He stood and grabbed her hand to pull her to her feet. He generously helped her to brush the sand from her skin, running his hands all over her body. His hand slipped between her legs, and he cupped her mound in his large hand. He massaged and squeezed making her sigh with sudden desire.

  Emma’s body responded instantly to his touch, but her skin itched with maddening distraction. Even as he pulled her to him and lowered his mouth to kiss her, she squirmed and couldn’t stop her hands from scratching down her arm.

  Nikos pulled up short in the middle of the kiss. He looked down at her as her hands constantly in motion trying to brush off sand and scratch at the same time. “Go rinse off in the water. Just be careful, the surf is a little rough. I’ll get you a towel.” He turned and headed up the beach. “You’ll probably want to take that suit off to make sure you get it all off,” he said over his shoulder with a wink.

  Emma stuck her tongue out at him and eyed the rolling waves with suspicion. The ocean intimidated her with its immenseness and never ceasing motion. Gingerly, she stepped in and was surprised to feel how warm the water was. Gradually, she waded out further until she was waist deep. She splashed water over her upper body, and the itching gradually decreased. Nikos had been right about sand in her suit. Even though she knew they were alone, she looked around cautiously before removing her top. She bent her knees to submerge up to her neck. The warm water moved around her, and she massaged her breasts and nipples in anticipation of Nikos’ touch. A glance at the shore confirmed he was watching her. She stood so he could see her naked breasts and stretched her arms over her head to give him a good view. Her head was itching like crazy. She was going to have to rinse her hair, though she didn’t like the thought of going under water.

  Nikos’ smiled at her and took off his own shirt in response. He kicked off his sandals and then remembered he had been heading to get a towel. He turned back to the beach bag and grabbed two towels. When he turned back to the water, Emma was nowhere to be seen.

  Chapter 22

  Emma didn’t even have a chance to scream. She had taken a couple of steps into deeper water so she could dunk her head when it felt like a great hand grabbed her feet out from under her. She never saw the wall of water that crashed over the top of her.

  She was underwater and being pulled by an almighty force inexorably further down. She flailed and fought as she tumbled through the water. She didn’t know where the surface was and a cold fear gripped her heart. Her lungs were screaming for air, and still, this unseen force pulled at her. She clawed and kicked at the water and tried to keep her mouth tightly shut. I’m going to die, she thought and was shocked to feel a small amount of relief in the situation. The greater part of her rallied against the notion, and her brain told her to keep fighting. She kicked hard and tried to swim against the pull. Her leg connected with something hard, and she was suddenly being pulled in a whole new direction.

  Nikos had hesitated for only a heartbeat to see if she would resurface. She just dipped under to rinse her hair, he thought as he scanned the area that she had been standing. He grabbed the life vest he always kept in the beach gear and sprinted for water. Riptide, his mind said as he frantically began to swim out. He saw Emma’s head pop up in the water 50 feet away from him before she disappeared again a split second later. He swam with strong, fast strokes toward her. He had been raised around the ocean and was a strong swimmer. He closed the distance quickly and almost cried in relief when Emma’s leg connected with his hip.

  He hauled on her leg. They were close to the end of the current, and its strength was dissipating. He pulled again and managed to pull her further away from the dangerous current. She was struggling and fighting. Nikos let her go so she could right herself. He knew she would drown them both if he let her grab him in her panic.

  Emma felt the water break from her face, and she tried to suck in a breath. She gagged, sputtered, and swallowed half the ocean as a wave crashed over her face. She was free of the pull at the moment, but she couldn’t breathe. Frantically, her arms flailed, and she kicked wildly. Dimly, she could hear Nikos shouting her name and tried to find him. Water streamed down her face making everything a blurry mess, but her face was above the surface for the moment. She sucked in breaths and managed to get her arms and legs working together to keep herself afloat.

  Nikos shoved the life vest into Emma’s hands. She was holding her own now. “Grab it, Emma! Just hold onto it. That’s it. Hold on, baby,” he shouted and almost cried when she followed his instructions. He kicked and swam towing her behind him. Soon, his feet touched the sand. He took several powerful strides forward, pulling Emma along. When the water reached just below his waist, he scooped her up and waded out of the surf onto the beach.

  Nikos’ dropped to his knees in relief and fatigue when he staggered onto the beach. He clutched Emma to his chest, half afraid to look at her. She pushed at his chest and twisted away from him as she started to vomit up sea water. He helped her to her hands and knees and held her shoulders as she retched. Her body trembled as she heaved, cried, and choked. Nikos stroked her back and spoke softly to her while he wrestled with the lump in his throat.

  Emma thought her chest was going to explode as she crawled away from where she had been sick. Her ears were full of water though they seemed to echo with a dull roar. Nikos’ voice sounded muffled and far away. Her limbs shook as she tried to put some distance between her and the deadly water. Her strength failed her, and she collapsed face first into the sand. Strong arms pulled her up and flipped her onto her back. Nikos, I love you, she thought as the blackness rose around her and pulled her under.

  “Emma!” Nikos pulled her out of the sand and laid her on his lap. He desperately felt for a pulse. When she murmured his name and something else he couldn’t make out, he felt his own heart start to beat again. He sat there with her rocking back and forth in the sand.

  Chapter 23

  Gretchen sent Abigail back to the car when she saw Nikos sitting in the sand holding Emma. The little girl protested, but her sharp command sent her scampering. She called out, hoping they would stop playing with each other long enough to acknowledge her so she wouldn’t have to see anymore. As she closed the distance, she noticed that Nikos was rocking and saw his shoulders shaking. Slowly, she realized that something was very wrong, and she began to run.

  Nikos pushed the older woman’s hands away as she tried to pry Emma from his grasp. Gretchen’s slap was hard on his face, but he stopped rocking and looked at her. She spoke rapidly in Greek as she pulled Emma’s limp form from his arms. He looked blankly at Gretchen as she put her face close to Emma’s and placed her hand on her chest. She rocked back on her heels and reached out to tenderly cup his face.

  “She lives,” Gretchen said in English. “Wake up, child,” she said to Emma in a commanding tone and patted her cheek. “Emma, you wake now.” This time she pinched her arm and rubbed hard on her chest. Emma moaned and pushed at Gretchen’s hands.

  Nikos grabbed Emma’s small hand and squeezed it. He rubbed his hand roughly up and down her arm, cursing himself for a fool to just have been sitting there when he felt how cold she was. He pushed to his feet and ran to grab the blanket. Gretchen continued to try to rouse her, and as he returned, he was relieved to see Emma’s eyes open, but still unfocused.

  Gretchen put her arm under Emma’s slender shoulders and helped her sit up. Nikos worked to get the blanket wrapped around her. He knelt beside her. When her eyes met his, and she gave a weak smile, his eyes filled with tears. He smiled back and leaned in to kiss her gently. “Oh God, Emma. I thought…” He couldn’t finish the sentence through the emotions that choked him.

  Emma worked hard against the fog in her head. Nikos’ voice sounded so far away, but she felt herself being moved and wrapped in something warm. Gretchen’s voice was gentle, and Emma dimly thought that there must be somet
hing very wrong if Gretchen was being nice to her. Nikos’ handsome face finally swam into focus. When his lips brushed hers, she decided that she was going to live.

  The car ride home was torture. Emma had refused with all of her strength going to the hospital. She had gotten so upset over it, that Nikos had finally agreed to drop the subject. After several pit-stops on the way home so Emma wouldn’t throw up, they finally pulled up to the villa.

  Gretchen whisked Abigail off to her room with rapid instructions to Nikos in Greek. Nikos rolled his eyes at her behind her back as he carried Emma to her room.

  “Coward,” Emma whispered. “You wouldn’t do that if she could see you.”

  “I can see him. I just don’t have time to deal with his childishness,” Gretchen said, without turning around.

  Emma and Nikos looked at each other and burst into laughter. After the heavy emotions of the afternoon, it felt so good to laugh. Nikos stopped and leaned on against the wall as he caught his breath.

  “I can walk, you know. I almost drowned. I didn’t break my legs,” Emma said as she squirmed in his arms. In truth, she didn’t want him to let her go, but she felt ridiculous being carried everywhere.