by Joanne Walsh
“Not now,” he grated. “This is all about your pleasure.”
His eyes were filled with that same raw intensity she’d seen just now on the beach, and she felt a light-headed sense of power because she realized she’d brought him to this point, and he was fighting to hold himself back. But, at the same time, the way he held her now, she was his to play with however he chose. Shifting beneath him, she parted her legs, silently willing him to relieve the force gathering at their apex. Keeping her held fast with one hand, he obliged, moving to caress her swelling sex with his other. Stroking, circling and probing, his fingers coaxed her further and further, higher and higher, until she felt a hard clench. She bucked and the pressure released, pulsing through her and bringing blissful relief.
“And here was I thinking I’d be showing you how,” he said softly, “but you don’t need me to teach you anything. You’re a natural.” Releasing her hands, he pulled her close and squeezed her tight.
She nuzzled into him, every nerve ending still glowing, while the tide lapped gently around them and the sun warmed their skin. “I could stay here forever,” she murmured after a while.
“But there’s a picnic waiting for us over there,” he whispered back, “and I would hate to miss out on Alison’s infamously delicious feta cheese and pepper tart.”
With an effort, she raised her head. “So, I’ve just had the biggest climax of my life, and all you can think about is your stomach?”
“If I understand correctly, so far, you’ve had two big climaxes. Although there are plenty more in store.” Gently, he tweaked her nipple. “As long as you let me go eat.”
Her head falling back, she started laughing. “Oh, I see, it’s blackmail now.”
“Come on, race you!” He was already on his feet.
They charged back up the beach, Dimitri beating her by yards. Grabbing her towel, she rubbed over her hair, while he set about unpacking their small feast.
“Red or white,” he queried, holding up two bottles he’d extracted from a chill bag.
They ate in the shadow cast by the rock wall, Dimitri showing her how to make a sandwich out of ham and sliced peach. “This was a particular favourite with Manos and me when we were boys,” he mused. “During school vacations, his father would give us the bread, meat and fruit from the store, and then we’d spend the whole day roaming around the beaches or the hills above the village.”
“Manos could be great fun when I first knew him.” Tilting her head to one side, she smiled ruefully. “Just lately, I’ve started remembering that.”
“When you do something as bad as Manos did, that becomes the one thing people remember you for. But you’re right. Once upon a time, there was a boy who was brave and fiercely loyal to those he cared about.” Dimitri’s gaze became unfocused as he stared out to sea. “I owed him a good deal when we were younger. When I first started school, I was painfully shy and awkward and a target for bullies until he befriended me. When other kids gave me trouble, he was always there ready to defend me.”
“He never said. What happened to him, Dimitri? Where did that boy go?”
Leaning back against the rocks, he rubbed the heel of his palm against his chest reflectively. “You know, that’s something I have wondered about a lot, especially since I found out about his gambling. I think he never wanted to be the loser. When we got to adolescence, something shifted. I’d become more confident by then, and our friendship took on an element of rivalry.” He shook his head. “With hindsight, he was always trying to best me. In school soccer games, and when we used to race one another along the coast on our scooters. Also, when it came to getting the girl.” His gaze came back to hers. “Especially when it came to getting the girl. And maybe it wasn’t such a huge leap for him to turn to betting to keep on feeling like he was winning once things weren’t going his way.”
“But, ultimately, he was the loser, he didn’t get the girl,” she said softly, breaking eye contact then leaning to trail a finger through the sand beyond her edge of the rug. “Thank you,” she added after a short silence, throwing him a glance from under her lashes.
He looked surprised. “What for?”
“For helping me to move on, be free again. What we did just now…last night. It was never like that with him.” Withdrawing her finger from its sandy exploration, she drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, sighing. “I shouldn’t be talking like this, about him. It’s mean—”
“Or perhaps it’s the truth and you need to share it. It doesn’t take Einstein to work out that things between you and him weren’t good in the bedroom.”
“No, they weren’t…” She faltered. “Okay, the truth is, the sex never gelled from the start.” A shiver ran through her as she thought of how, whenever it’d happened, she’d gone to a place in her head where she pretended it was Dimitri who was making love to her. “About a year into our marriage, he stopped coming to me. It was only after he’d passed away that I discovered one of the side effects of the heart medication he’d been taking was impotence. But at the time, I thought he’d lost interest and it was my fault.”
“But now you know that’s not true.”
Turning to gaze at him, she managed a half smile. “Since you and I got back together again, the attraction we have is so powerful…well, I realize what the problem was. There was simply never much of a spark between him or me. Plus, of course, I was a virgin when I married him so I had no real experience.”
Something intense flickered in his eyes. “Of course,” he echoed. “So, you blamed yourself instead. Is that why you stayed with him?”
“Oh.” His direct question threw her for a few moments. “I stayed because I was too proud. I had nowhere else to call home.”
“I don’t follow.”
“I guess you’ve forgotten I was a bit of a waif and stray when I came to Kathos. Manos’s family were warm and welcoming, the polar opposite of my mother, who, once my dad died, made it very clear she didn’t want me around.” She hugged her knees closer. “I thought I’d found the home with Manos I didn’t have.”
“But it wasn’t a happy home.”
“Not for me. I soon realised he didn’t care that deeply for me, and there was no possibility of real intimacy between us, although that part was a relief. I’d made a huge mistake, but I couldn’t admit it because where else would I have gone?” She sighed. “So, I stubbornly clung to the bits that were bearable. Threw my energies into the shop, looking after our house, and Agia Kalamros is a friendly, beautiful place—”
“I should have fought for you, not let you go to him—”
“Dimitri, it’s fine. That the marriage wasn’t good is on Manos. He didn’t love me when he married me, just wanted to steal me from you, and then he was sucked into the gambling. But it’s on me too, because I didn’t love him either and kept secrets—”
“Secrets?”
“I didn’t love him because, back then, I was still confused about you.”
His mouth quirked. “Perhaps he knew that?”
“Perhaps he did.” She shrugged. “I just feel so sad for him, and for me, that we hurt each other a lot with our bad choices.”
“Are you still angry with him?”
“I’m not sure—” She smiled. “You know, apart from having to literally pay for his sins, I’m dwelling on him less and less. I’ve other, better things to think about now. Maybe I’ve reached a place where I can let it go.”
Chapter Twenty
“Phew!” Frankie sank back into her chair and pushed herself away from her desk, the breeze from the spinning fan next to her blowing wisps of her hair across her cheeks. “Thank God it’s Friday, and another long, hot week at Ionian Villas is over.”
“But a very busy and successful, long, hot week,” Hannah pronounced. She grabbed a tissue from the box next to her computer and swiped at her cleavage. “Although today is a bit too hot for my liking.”
“Certainly is.” Frankie rose from her seat. �
�Time for all of us to wrap up, I think. When I get home, I’m going to get in the pool and enjoy a gin and tonic with tons of ice.”
Lifting her gaze from her computer, Sally chuckled at her friends’ banter. Part-time at Ionian Villas and pressing on with getting the store reopened meant her weeks were jam-packed right now, but it was always entertaining working alongside these two.
“Don’t stay too late,” Frankie said, picking up her purse. “Right, I’m away. Have lovely weekends, both of you. Hannah, I’ll see you Monday, and Sally, Tuesday. Bye.”
“Bye!” Hannah waited until their boss had exited the office, then came over to Sally’s desk. “You okay?” she queried. “You’ve been very quiet today.”
Sally clicked on the minimize button, closing down what she’d been browsing. “Yeah. Lots to get through.”
Hannah fiddled with her engagement ring. “You sure it’s just that?” She jerked her chin at the screen. “Do you mind me asking what you were looking at?”
“Oh, just a quick bit of online research. My old laptop died on me a couple of days ago,” she said truthfully, “and Hector’s waiting on a decision about panelling in the store.” Which was not so truthful. “I’ve got to decide on solar panels, wooden wall panels and underfloor heating,” she recited, hoping Hannah would put the guilty flush pinking her cheeks down to the heat.
“You’re all panelled out, eh? And everything is okay with Dimitri?”
She gave a bashful smile. “It’s still early days, but so far, things are going really well. We’re having lots of fun.”
“Hey, that’s brilliant!” Hannah checked her phone. “Look, I don’t have to go home straightaway. Do you fancy ice cream at Constantine’s and you can bring me up to speed?”
Sally hesitated. She loved Hannah’s company, but she wanted to get on with her special research while she had the chance. “Can I take a rain check on the ice cream? I must deal with Hector.”
Pausing, Hannah nodded. “That’s fine. Another time.” Returning to her own workstation, she gathered her things. “See you next week then. Have a good one.”
“Bye.” Waiting until she’d shut the office door behind her, Sally reopened what she’d really been looking at: Sass ‘n’ Sexy, a site for young women that covered a multitude of topics about sex and relationships. She was probably a wee bit older than the target demographic, but this page on tips for pleasuring one’s man was a revelation—
“Sal—”
“Uh!” Almost leaping out of her skin, she swivelled around to find Hannah coming towards her again.
“Just after I left, I remembered Sergei’s got a spare laptop he could loan you…” She ground to a halt as she caught sight of Sally’s screen. “Wow, that guy looks happy. Is that because he’s found the panels of his dreams?”
Sally hadn’t had time to shut down the page, on which there was a shot of a handsome, naked male model reclined on artfully rumpled sheets and closing his eyes in apparent ecstasy. “Er, no,” she admitted sheepishly, her hand hovering over her mouse.
Hannah peered over her shoulder. “A Gal’s Guide to Giving Oral Pleasure,” she read out slowly. “Goodness me, Sally Campbell!”
Rapidly shutting the page down, Sally turned to face her friend’s amused grin. “If you must know, I was getting tips.”
“Tips? Ah, for you and Dimitri?” Hannah clapped her hands delightedly. “Oh my, you really are having fun!”
“Well, not like that. Not yet.” If her face had been flushed before, now it was bright red.
For a couple of seconds, Hannah gazed at her. “Sal, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. I just assumed—”
“It’s fine.” An awkward silence swirled around them.
“Okay, see you Tuesday.” Hannah started stepping backwards.
“Han, wait.” She couldn’t leave it like this. The other girl was embarrassed, and what if she told Frankie she’d been searching for sex tips on an office device? She’d hate her boss to think she’d been abusing her trust. “Um, will you be telling Frankie about this?”
Hannah halted her shuffle towards the exit. “Not unless you rat on me about doing internet clothes shopping when I think she’s not looking.”
Her shoulders dropping with relief, Sally started laughing. “No, of course not. Although I wasn’t aware you were until you confessed!”
Tapping the side of her nose with her finger, Hannah moved back to her side. “Your secret is my secret. Every girl needs a bit of online relief to get her through her working day.” Her eyes sparkled. “So, you’ve been looking for bedroom advice, eh? Is there anything that your auntie Hannah can assist you with? Over an ice cream?”
Sally smiled at her petite colleague. She’d never discussed intimate matters with anybody besides Dimitri. But Hannah was great fun, and even though she was ten years Sally’s junior, might even know a thing or two. “Oh, go on then.”
“Yay!”
A few minutes later, they were settled outside Constantine’s, enjoying sipping melon cordials through paper straws.
“So, come on,” Hannah urged, “what is that you need to know?”
“Alright.” Sally took a deep inhale. “I’m kind of new to this dating thing, having been married for ages and then widowed, of course. But things are moving quickly between me and Dimitri, getting more intimate, and I—”
“You want to make sure when the earth moves, it’s an earthquake of magnitude ten?” Hannah grinned.
“Well, it already kind of has.” She broke into a shy smile. “Moved, that is. Although we’re still at the fooling around stage, if you know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I’m getting you, sister.” Hannah grinned. “So, what’s the problem?”
“You know his history with women?”
“You mean, when he was Dimitri the Serial Dater?”
Sally nodded. “So, he’s used to women who are way more experienced than I am—”
“Okay,” Hannah jumped in, frowning and pressing her fingers against her temples, “let me get this right. The earth has already moved, indeed an earthquake has happened, but you’re worried you’re not matching up to his previous girlfriends?”
“I know it sounds crazy, and Dimitri has told me not to compare myself.” She fiddled with her straw. “But when it happens…you know…I want to be able to hold my own.”
“You feel you need a few moves up your sleeve. That’s understandable.” Hannah pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Sal, when I first met Sergei, I was convinced he would never want a girl as green as me. That I would never compare to all the beautiful, glossy women he’d dated before. You see, I’d had issues in the, er, sex department previously.”
Sally’s eyes widened. “Oh? I had no idea—”
“It wasn’t easy. I found it hard to relax, and when it seemed like things were going wrong all over again, I panicked, pushed him away. I was convinced I had to reject him before he rejected me.”
“But it worked out for you in the end.” Sally glanced at Hannah’s ring. “You’re getting married in October!”
“Yup. What I really want to say to you is that the turning point for me was making myself trust him. Once I did that, everything fell into place. You know what I think? Forget the bedroom tricks. Put your trust in Dimitri that he’s with you because he wants to be, and then take control.” Her mouth curved upwards in a mischievous smile. “I think he would like that.”
Her hand stilling on her glass, Sally blinked. “Take control? What do you mean?”
“You do the seducing.”
She sank back in her chair. “I don’t know—”
“Sal.” Hannah sucked in a gulp of cordial and leaned forward. “Here’s one thing I do know about men. They like being in command of things overall, but they also get tired of having to make all the moves in bed. They love when a girl takes over.”
“They do?”
“Yeah. Just think of the picture of the panel guy on that web page you were sneakily peeking at. He was lyi
ng back and having a ball. Literally.”
“Panel guy? Oh, right.” Sally grinned. Images of that hot, hot day at Katala beach and how she’d followed her instinct flickered through her mind. “Dimitri and I talked about taking things at my pace, and he said I was in control—”
“Well, there you go!” Interrupting, Hannah slapped her palm on the table. “It’s code.”
“Code for what?”
“For, ‘I’m an alpha male who needs taming. I want you to conquer me.’”
The way she delivered this, in a deep, growly voice, had Sally collapsing into a fit of giggles. “I’m not sure about that,” she spluttered. “But I do kind of like the thought of telling him what to do.”
“And what you want,” Hannah insisted. “When are you next seeing him?”
“This evening. He’s cooking me supper again.”
“Perfect. How do you feel about striking while the iron’s hot and giving it a try tonight? I’m sure you’ll be sharing a bottle or two of Skalos wine, feeling mellow…”
“Tonight? I’m not sure. I haven’t had time to finish my research—”
“You don’t need that. Just be brave and follow your instincts.” Hannah waggled her eyebrows. “Wear some sexy lingerie and use a firm tone.”
“I haven’t got any remotely exciting underwear,” Sally shrugged, “and when you say a firm tone—?”
“You give the orders, for example, ‘undo your trousers’ and ‘lie down,’ or whatever you feel like doing. The lingerie is not essential if you make up for it with attitude.” Hannah held up a finger. “Now, I believe I may have something else which could help you with your mission.” Reaching under the table, she brought up the large tote bag she took everywhere with her, and after placing it on her lap, rummaged around in it before drawing out a small coloured-glass bottle. “Perfume that Sergei brought back for me from France.” Pulling off the pretty crystal stopper, she sprayed the air. “It smells yummy; kind of sweet and fruity, yet musky and sensuous. A few squirts in the right places and I reckon you’ll have Dimitri eating out of your hand!”
