by Sotia Lazu
* * * *
The hotel clerk at checkout was a bouncy girl in her early twenties, who gave off happy vibes and didn’t charge them extra for being half an hour late. Bull held Elina’s hand and tangled their fingers together as they made their way outside. He held on while they crossed the street to hail a cab.
The third taxi they signaled pulled over, and though the driver grimaced when he heard Syntagma, he motioned for Bull to get in.
“Just a sec, buddy,” Bull told the guy. Then he wrapped an arm around Elina’s waist and dipped her back for a kiss that left her wondering if she could make it to her car without her knees buckling. “Do you maybe have a card or something? I could call you, if…” He trailed off.
She appreciated the effort to make this look like more than a one-time thing, but there was no use pretending. She shrugged. “You said yourself we won’t have time to meet again. You’re busy, and then I’m busy, and then you’re leaving.”
He caressed her cheek. “Yeah, but I’ll—”
“Coming or not?” the cabbie asked.
Elina glared at him. “You’d better go,” she told Bull. She gave him a last peck on the lips and closed the taxi door once he sunk into the seat.
When she got to her car, she saw his cowboy hat on the passenger seat.
And then she sat behind the wheel to think of her life and her choices.
This morning, she had a job and was possibly on the way to becoming a virgin again. Now she was jobless, it was almost eight in the evening, and she’d spent the day having sex with a real-life cowboy. For hours. In a hotel room. Of the by-the-hour variety.
The laugh that burbled up her throat caught her unaware.
Marianna wouldn’t believe this in a million years.
Not that Elina planned on telling her. Or anyone.
Chapter Five
Elina was in the middle of a lovely dream involving her ex boss and violence, when a voice drew her to full consciousness.
Her belly tingled with anticipation. Bull?
No, this was a woman and speaking Greek.
And ordering Elina to get her ass out of bed.
Marianna pulled the sheets off Elina’s body. “Get up, sleepy head. The girls are waiting for us.”
Elina flopped on her belly and hid her face in the pillow. “What time is it?” she asked.
“Eleven thirty. Kostas says good morning. Boy, you sleep in when you take the day off.”
Elina sneaked a glance at her sister.
Marianna paced by the foot of Elina’s bed in her bright-yellow bikini, a sarong wrapped around her round hips, and her cell phone at her ear. “I miss you too, baby.” Marianna made a kissing sound at the receiver. “Just two more days, and then we’ll be together for the rest of our lives.” She was spending the week before the wedding at the family summer place with Elina and their parents, so she would go to church pure. As if she and Kostas hadn’t been living together for two years.
Weird customs.
Elina didn’t get the whole big-wedding thing. You found the perfect person? Good for you. Start a family, make it official at the city hall to be covered in legal matters, and if you want to share your happiness with friends and family, have a party. No reason to draw the celebration out for days, wasting money you could instead spend on building a life. Definitely no reason to rope in everyone you know and assign them chores like organizing your bachelorette party.
At least the running around, meeting with caterers and florists and seeing venues, as well as the over-the-top yelling at the wedding-dress designer because the lace seemed less frilly than it should be, were all behind them now, and they’d spend today relaxing at a nearby resort hotel. It might make up for the late-night partying Marianna’s koumbara, Xenia, arranged despite Elina’s protests that they’d need their beauty sleep before the big day.
Elina rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands, before begrudgingly getting out of bed. She dug into her hold-all for her swimsuit. When she felt the telltale synthetic material against her fingertips, she pulled out what she expected to be her black one-piece, but instead found herself staring at the red bikini she’d bought on a whim and never expected to wear in public.
But maybe today…
“I’ll behave tonight. Promise,” Marianna told Kostas. “You do too, if you know what’s good for you.”
Right. ’Cause there was a chance Kostas would look at another woman. Maybe in a million years.
“Let the man enjoy his last night of freedom,” Elina said.
“You mind your own business.” Marianna went back to cooing and smooching with her soon-to-be husband. Soon, her laugh turned throaty. Her voice deepened. She and Kostas were no longer being cute.
Elina had heard enough. She needed to splash some water on her face and get ready. “I need to shower. Tell the girls we’ll leave here in five.”
“I’ll say fifteen.” Marianna let out that sultry laugh again and closed the door after Elina. Whatever she had in mind, she’d better not do it in Elina’s bed.
Until yesterday, Elina envied her sister’s easy sexuality. Marianna was always flirting with her surroundings—with the air itself. She was bubbly and alluring and enjoyed herself.
Before Bull, Elina didn’t know how to enjoy herself.
Now she might be a bit of an addict. Last night she stayed up late, to watch TV, when everyone else went to bed. She ended up with her hand inside her panties, trying to emulate Bull’s touch. Her fingers weren’t thick enough. Long enough. Calloused enough. She was out of practice.
It took her longer than it took him, but she came against her palm, biting her moans into a cushion.
This morning was more of the same, only the shower did a better job than her fingers, and it didn’t take forever for her body to shiver and tremble under the warm jet.
Her orgasms were refreshing and invigorating, but nothing like she felt yesterday morning. And noon. And afternoon.
And thinking about that wasn’t helping with the getting ready. She pulled on the bikini bottoms and fixed her breasts in the confining bra, then opened the door to unfog the mirror, and took in her reflection. Not bad.
She closed her eyes and brought Bull’s voice to mind. His melodious drawl. The way he watched her, up until her eyelids drifted shut and she couldn’t see him anymore. His smile, boyish and wicked at the same time.
Was she swooning over someone she barely knew?
She should have gotten his stupid number. They could squeeze in a quick coffee—yeah, right.
“What’s different about you?” Marianna sounded way too close.
Elina opened her eyes and saw her sister scrutinizing her, her face inches away. “Different?” Elina’s cheeks burned.
“Yeah.” Marianna narrowed her eyes. “You’re glowing, and you’re in a bikini. A red one. Spill.”
Elina could spill a little bit. “I quit. That job was going nowhere, and—”
“Finally.” Marianna gave her a full-body hug, the kind that hit all of Elina’s red lines about personal space, especially with this much bare skin involved.
Elina’s first instinct was to pull away, but for once, she melted against Marianna. “Thanks. It feels amazing, and at the same time, I’m terrified. What if I don’t—”
“You will. Of course you will.”
“Can you maybe let me finish a sentence once in a while?” Elina laughed and withdrew from the embrace. “What if I don’t find another job? You know the job market is crap.”
“Then you’ll move where it’s better. Or improve the existing infrastructure. If anyone can, it’s you. You can do anything you want. You can be the fucking Prime Minister—God knows it’ll be an improvement.”
“Barney the Dinosaur would be an improvement.” Elina snorted, but Marianna’s words made her feel warm inside. Enough to share more than she meant to. “I also got laid yesterday.” She scrunched her nose. “Like, a lot.”
“That’s what the glowing is all about.
” Marianna grimaced. “Nobody at work, though, right? ’Cause if you had sex with Leon or Marinos…” She faked a shudder.
“No. You don’t know him.”
Marianna arched an eyebrow.
“I don’t know him either. Met him yesterday. He was”—not a stripper—“here on vacation. He bought me breakfast.”
“A gentleman.”
Elina laughed. “In bed. Between rounds.”
“And was it good? Not the breakfast. Well… the breakfast too, but I’m really asking about the fucking.”
“Ugh.” Elina threw back her head. “It was amazing. I’ve never felt so alive before. He was down for anything, as long as it pleased me. I felt like the center of the universe, Marianna.”
The squeal that left Marianna’s lips was pure joy. “I’m so happy for you. You needed this. Are you seeing him again?”
Elina’s good mood evaporated. “No. He’s leaving on Sunday.”
“You can meet up with him tonight. Invite him to the party. The girls won’t mind—I sure don’t.”
Snort. “With our ilk? No, thanks.” Last thing she needed was sexy Bull around a bunch of drunk hornballs.
Marianna clapped her hands together. “I got it. How about tomorrow? He can be your plus one.”
“I don’t have a plus one.”
“You do now.”
Elina allowed herself a brief mental visual of Bull in a tux, his muscular torso and arms wrapped in fine Italian silk. Burgundy would look amazing on him. Then smack—reality. “I don’t have his number. Didn’t get it.”
“Gamoto.” Marianna grimaced.
Fuck indeed.
Chapter Six
Mimosas during their massage and facials turned to wine with lunch and then to margaritas with meze—because tequila totally went with Greek finger food.
Stretched out on a beach chair by the seawater pool, Elina let alcohol soak her decision to keep details about Bull to herself. By the time the sun melted into the sea, she’d regaled Marianna, Sofia, and Xenia with his smooth approach, sexy flirting, and decathlon-worthy performance.
“I need a man like that. I need my world rocked.” Xenia took the nicotine gum out of her mouth, licked salt off the rim of her glass, gulped the last of her drink, and grimaced.
“What about mystery guy?” Marianna meant the guy Xenia had been seeing for the past year. The rest of them still didn’t know his name, and they believed he was either famous or married.
Xenia huffed. “He’s away for the next couple weeks. And can the next round of these be strawberry? Please? It’s bad enough that I’m not smoking; I need my sugar.” She popped the gum back in and chewed like her life depended on it.
“I’m good either way.” Sofia shrugged. She lay back on her beach chair and swirled her glass, looking up at the darkening sky. “Your guy sounds dreamy, boss.”
Elina tried not to envy her flat tummy. “I’m not your boss anymore.” And Bull wasn’t Elina’s guy, either.
“Yeah, well, neither is Leon. I submitted my resignation at the end of the day. Better leave the ship before it hits the iceberg.”
“You quit? For me?” Elina didn’t expect that level of loyalty. It warmed her up inside more than the alcohol did.
Sofia shrugged liked it wasn’t a big deal. “Can’t bother training a new supervisor. Plus, Marinos lost the BENE account, anyway, and they’d have to downsize soon. All the work you did on the presentation somehow got misplaced.” She batted her eyelashes—real ones today—full of innocence.
Elina knew better. It was easy to forget, but behind Sofia’s Barbie-like appearance, was a shrewd intellect. And the woman was made for marketing.
“You deleted the folder?” Elina asked.
“Would I do that? It’s in a flash drive, coming with you and me to wherever we go next. The BENE people said we have three weeks. But that’s a concern for another day.” Sofia took a sip of her drink. “Here’s to our sexy bodies.”
Xenia mimicked her. “And our balls.”
Elina wanted to squeal and grab Sofia and give her a big sloppy kiss on each cheek, but that would be too emotional, and she wasn’t the emotional kind. She settled for a huge grin and raised her glass with a trembling hand. A frozen drop sloshed over the side and slid down her inner arm. She shivered. “To freedom.”
Sofia and Xenia echoed her.
“Gee, thanks.” Marianna gave them an exaggerated scowl.
Elina blew her a kiss. “To my kickass baby sis and her amazing husband to be.”
“Excuse me, koritsia.” A tanned guy in his mid-twenties leaned over Xenia with a smirk. “I heard you need a man. I’m offering.”
Xenia snorted. “Offering to what? Find me one?” She arched a brow, her lips a thin line of disapproval.
The guy shrugged in a fuck-it-I-tried manner and returned to his buddies, who were hooting a few feet away.
“That makes… What?” Sofia counted on her fingers.
“Seven,” Elina supplied. All of them well built and shirtless, and yet none of them made her wanna lick the salty water from his bare chest.
“Maybe the eighth will be a win.” Xenia waved at the female server and ordered another round. “Sweet this time. And if you see a mysterious sexy stranger, point him our way.” With her petite but toned frame and short dark hair, she seemed younger than her twenty-nine years, but her bossy air let nobody forget she was in charge. Of everything. Ever.
Elina laughed. She’d had drinks with the same people two nights ago, but it wasn’t half as much fun. Because she wasn’t fun, because she was afraid of opening up, because what if she wasn’t as on top of things as she convinced herself she was?
Alcohol made her ramble inside her head, too.
“There has to be a way to find your guy,” Sofia said. “We can call the hotels and clubs in the area. See which had a strip show Wednesday night.”
Elina shook her head. It would be incredible to feel his body against hers once more, but it wouldn’t change the fact that they were from different worlds and Bull would return to his on Sunday. “Let it go. It was a perfect day, and it was enough.”
Sunset brought with it a light breeze, and soon their little group was the last one remaining by the pool. The lull in the conversation stretched long enough for Elina to wonder if the others fell asleep. She pulled her phone out of her beach bag and checked the time. “It’s half past ten. If we’re going clubbing, we should stop drinking, sober up, and go change.” She looked at Xenia, hoping against hope she’d call it a night.
Xenia smirked. “Don’t worry, ladies. We’re not going anywhere. I’ve booked us a suite here, so we can drink till we pass out and have a properly greasy breakfast in the morning.”
Sofia sucked in her non-existent stomach. “I shouldn’t eat again for a month.”
“Skinny bitches don’t get a vote.” Elina gave her the finger, but she was smiling.
Marianna’s yawn acted as the signal for them to gather their stuff and follow Xenia to the main hotel building. The breeze helped clear Elina’s mind, but her thoughts didn’t steer far from her cowboy—stripper—and his magic touch that brought every inch of her body to life.
Xenia slid the keycard in the slot, turned the handle, and pushed the door open. “Ta-dah.”
The lights were on inside.
“Maybe we have the wrong—” Elina wanted to say number, but her tongue froze in her mouth when music kicked on and a man came out of the inner rooms, pumping his hips to the rhythm. He wore black leather chaps and briefs, with a matching vest, and held a black cowboy hat in front of his face, but there was no mistaking his muscular thighs and arms, the marks she’d left with her nails on his shoulders, or the blond hair escaping his ponytail.
“Ladies,” he said in that smooth, dangerously sexy voice of his, “I hope you’re ready to grab the bull by the horns.”
He tossed the hat on the floor. And saw her.
But he kept dancing. Didn’t he remember her?
No—Elina heard the hitch in his breath; saw the tiny pause in his sensual undulations; noticed the flaring of his nostrils. He remembered her, and he did his job.
“Sit down, make yourselves comfortable, and enjoy the ride,” Bull drawled. He made a sweeping gesture at the white sofa and armchairs, and Elina noticed an ice bucket with two champagne bottles next to half a dozen champagne glasses on a table by the door.
Xenia popped one of the champagnes and poured four glasses, but none of the other three reached for a drink. “She’s the bride.” She pointed at Marianna and popped another nicotine gum into her mouth. “Gamoto, I need a smoke.”
“Spit out that crap. I got you.” Sofia passed her a Marlboro light.
Elina did a double take. “You smoke?”
“Only after sex. Or when I’m super horny.”
If it helped with sexual frustration, maybe Elina should give it a try, because her hips ached to join Bull’s dance.
Marianna hurried to the couch facing Bull and sunk on the cushions, pulling Elina after her.
Xenia polished her bubbly in one long sip. “I know how to pick them, no?” She beamed as she perched on the edge of the armchair. She lit her cigarette and drew a long puff, devouring Bull with her eyes.
Sofia nodded and half-sat, half-leaned on the arm of the sofa, between her and Elina. “He’s built like a statue. Of a god.”
“But bigger,” Marianna said.
Elina was grateful Bull didn’t speak Greek, though she shouldn’t care about him feeling embarrassed. He didn’t seem to give a damn about her feelings when he took off his vest and threw it at her sister.
“Take it off. All off.” Marianna’s tipsy English was heavily accented, but her wolf-whistle was perfect.
“All in good time, darling.” He skated his splayed palms down his oiled torso and past his belt, to frame his cock.
That cock… Elina choked on a guttural moan.
Bull swayed and arched and bounced. He rippled his abs and flexed his pecs and pumped his hips. Elina squirmed in her seat, all too aware of her nipples hardening under the thin cover of her bikini top. She was glad she had her sarong around her waist, or he might see the arousal pooling between her legs.
