All The Way

by Tricia Jones

  “I can’t imagine what you’ve been through.” Her breath hitched as he brushed his thumbs across her cheeks. “God. Then I come along and accuse you of… How you must have hated me.”

  “I never hated you, milaya mou. Such a thing is impossible.”

  Milaya mou. My sweet.

  He said it so softly, reverently, with no hint of the sarcasm that more often slipped into his tone when using the endearment. Grace dared to hope, just a tiny glimmer, but it settled easily in her chest and made her heart stutter. Could they release past hurt, suspicion, distrust? Maybe make something solid from the choices of the past?

  He drew her in for a soft, lingering kiss and Grace had the feeling the tables had turned and he was now comforting her. When he drew back, he kissed the tip of her nose, her forehead. “Let’s continue our walk before your tears soak into the sand.”

  She managed a watery smile as she touched her fingers to his cheek. “I’m so sorry, Niko. For everything.”

  “Enough.” He slipped her hand into the crook of his arm. “We’ll talk of it no more.”

  They didn’t, but talked only of innocuous things, everyday things as they walked along the pretty coastal path, strolling hand in hand like two lovers without a care in the world. Considering the heart-wrenching conversation they had shared, it seemed weirdly incongruous. Yet Grace felt closer to him than she had ever done, she felt a link that sharpened, deepened that glimmer of hope. She had neither the willpower nor the desire to deny herself the heady anticipation that they had somehow turned an emotional corner.

  At odd moments, Grace wondered if due to his obvious guilt over what happened to Elena, Niko had waited too long to bring Pavel to task over the man’s treachery against Niko’s company. Heaven knew what harm Pavel had done to Niko’s business dealings.

  Despite his openness, the way he had shared what had happened to his family, to Viktor and Elena, Grace knew that still Niko kept things from her and that it would always be so. She would have to learn to deal with that.

  Then there was Leah. Did she tell Leah what she now knew about Pavel? Would she blame Grace for siding with Niko, for deliberately working with Niko to bring Pavel to justice? Since it was only a matter of time before she would have her answer, Grace tried to put such concerns from her mind as they got back to the house.

  There was no sign of Gabrielle and Vadim and, because neither of them wanted to go out to a restaurant, Niko surprised her by producing a home cooked pasta dish. For the first time in ages, her mouth watered and her stomach rumbled, which seemed to please him.

  They ate on the terrace overlooking the cerulean sea. “You never cease to amaze me,” Grace confessed as she watched Niko lavish pasta onto her plate.

  “That I can cook?” He glanced at her, smiled as he continued to heap. “You haven’t tasted it yet.”

  “If it tastes anything like it smells, it’s no doubt another talent you can add to your repertoire. And if you don’t stop with the helpings I’m not going to fit into any of my clothes.”

  “Then you can stay naked. Always a good option from my viewpoint.”

  She laughed, watching him as he continue to heap. He looked sun kissed from their walk in the afternoon sun, his hair cropped close to his head, his dark eyes glowing, no sign of the despair she’d seen earlier that day as he’d told her of his family and the man he’d killed to avenge them.

  Although she didn’t want to spoil the mood, she couldn’t stop herself from asking what had been on her mind since they’d arrived back at the house. “Knowing what you do about Pavel, and how he holds you responsible for Elena, why did you let him work for you? Even when you knew what he was up to.”

  “I felt I owed him. I also thought it best to keep him close, to watch what he was doing.”

  “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?”

  “Exactly.”

  Grace wound pasta around her fork. “I don’t think I’m doing my relationship with Leah any favors. Seeing as I haven’t heard from her since Athens, despite what she promised, it looks as if she doesn’t forgive me for coming after her. Hence no answers to my messages. I suppose that’s teenagers for you and, God, don’t I sound like an old woman.”

  Niko smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Grace imagined he was still raw from raking up the past and reliving all those dreadful memories.

  “Well, seeing as you cooked, I’ll make the coffee.” Grace cleared their plates and went back into the kitchen. When she returned with the coffeepot and cups, she noticed Niko frowning down as he read from his cell phone.

  “Something wrong?” The speed with which he shut the phone and tucked it in his pocket, was all the answer Grace needed. “Niko?”

  “Business.” He drew in a breath, smiled at her as she placed the coffee on the patio table, then drew his eyebrows together noticing the wrap she’d pulled across her shoulders. “Are you cold? We can go inside.”

  “No. It’s lovely here.” She sat opposite him at the small wooden table, trying to resign herself to being kept in the dark over certain matters. “I should take a leaf out of your book and call my colleagues. Keep them posted as to when I hope to be back.”

  Grace didn’t want to think about leaving Niko, nor did she welcome the hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach, which came with the thought, but as soon as she’d convinced Leah to return to London with her, there would be no further reason to stay.

  “I’ll have the devil of a job getting Leah to focus on her exams. I’d hoped she’d want to go to university, that she’d want a career, but she doesn’t seem interested in anything right now. Except Pavel. I can only hope she’ll soon grow out of this infatuation. If only there was a way to convince her that he’s not right for her.”

  He picked up his cell phone and got to his feet. “Why don’t you pour our coffee before it gets cold? I have a quick call to make.”

  Surprise, surprise, she thought as she watched him walk away. Business as usual. She could be forgiven for thinking they’d had that heart-to-heart, but then that was who Niko was. Business, first, last and in between. Was she being unreasonable? Most men, she thought as she poured coffee, didn’t apprise their lovers of their business dealings, why should Niko be any different? And that’s all she was. His lover. His temporary lover. In a day or two she would go home—hopefully with Leah in tow—and despite their growing closeness they hadn’t discussed the future, about sharing any kind of life together. So perhaps she should simply enjoy the little time she had left with him and stop wishing for anything else.

  She took her coffee to the railing and was sipping her second cup when he eventually returned. “I’ll make you some fresh,” she said as he joined her. “This is cold now.”

  He looked down at the cup she held. “I think I’d prefer brandy.”

  He turned and again disappeared back into the house. Grace found him in the huge sitting room at the front of the house, standing by the bar and staring contemplatively into a crystal glass.

  “I wish you’d tell me what’s wrong. Even if I don’t understand the intricacies of your business, it might help to talk.”

  He looked up, hesitated, then shook his head. “It’s all under control.”

  Resigned, she went to him and took the glass from his hand before placing it down on the bar counter. Moving in, she reached up her arms and slid them around his neck. “I ate far too much of that pasta. It was the second helping that did it for me.”

  He smiled as she’d hoped, curled his arms around her waist and pulled her tight against him. “The house has an indoor pool in the basement. Maybe a swim will help.”

  “Uh-uh.” She shook her head slowly. “That’s not the most efficient way to burn off calories.”

  “It’s not?”

  His smile spread, smoothing out the shadows beneath his eyes. She drew her fingers across the base of his skull, then slid her hands along the collar of his shirt. Slowly, she flicked open the buttons, revealing silky dark hair.
“Apparently, unfastening buttons burns up about five calories an hour.”

  “I’m learning something new every day.” Obviously enjoying the game, he slipped his hands from her hips to her waist. “What about tugging T-shirts from skirts? Or throwing said T-shirts across the room?”

  She laughed as the tee landed on the floor several feet away. “Wow. That’s like double the calories.”

  She drew the shirt from his shoulders, tugged it from his trousers and threw it to land near her tee. “And triple.”

  “What about unclasping a bra?” His fingers got busy at her back. “How many there?”

  “Hmm, the same as unzipping a fly.”

  He sucked in a breath, his eyes half hooded as she drew down his zipper and slid her hand inside his trousers to find him hard and ready.

  He let her work him for a few seconds, his breath hitching, deepening as his eyes grew hooded.

  “We’re well on the way to working off the first course by now.” His voice was rich and husky as he reached down and eased her hand away. “A few more adjustments should do it.” He made short work of her skirt, pushing the fabric down until it pooled at her feet. His thumbs dipped into the lacy waistband of her panties and they joined her skirt. As she stood before him naked, he grabbed her backside and yanked her close.

  “What about Gabrielle and Vadim?”

  “They’ll have to worry about their own calorie burning.”

  She giggled, actually giggled, and it felt so good after everything that had happened. “I mean what if they come back?”

  “Well, they’re not joining us.”

  She slapped him playfully on the shoulder. “You know what I mean.”

  The air whipped out of her lungs as he lifted her. Instinctively, she wrapped her legs around his waist, clinging to his neck as he carried her out of the sitting room and up the staircase.

  “Niko. Our clothes…”

  “Shh.”

  In their room, he lowered her to the huge bed facing the French windows. The gauzy curtains fluttered in the gentle evening breeze, mimicking the way Grace’s heart did the same as she gazed into rich blue eyes as Niko stood over her.

  He watched her, his fingers tracing lightly over her breasts, his thumb brushing across her nipple making it stand out hard and aching. “So beautiful,” he said huskily. “You were mine from the start, angel. Always mine.”

  Yes, she thought as her heart burst at the tenderness of his words. Always yours.

  His mouth descended, his lips brushing hers with such gentle coaxing that she opened willingly to him. He settled between her legs, his erection pressing against her soft folds. She opened her legs for him, just as she opened her heart.

  The kiss stayed tender, gentle, until Grace wanted to cry with the beauty of it. “Niko,” she said softly as he dropped a kiss to her jaw, along her neck. She closed her eyes, her fingers running slowly along the line of his shoulders, gently over the scar whose origin he had so intimately, painfully, shared with her. His skin felt hot, smooth and she loved the way his body covered hers. Almost a possession, an ownership. One that she willingly offered.

  His mouth covered her breast, his tongue licking sensuously along her skin. Each time his tongue flicked across her hardened nipple, she gasped, arching up to him in a silent urging for him to take her.

  He seemed in no hurry as he moved across to her other breast, offering the same delicious torture. Beneath him, Grace moved and whimpered. What he could do to her. How he could make her feel. Make her want.

  He moved down, pressing open mouthed kisses along her waist until her stomach muscles clenched in need. He ran his tongue around her navel, across her lower abdomen. She raised her arms over her head and stretched sinuously as he moved down her body. His fingers were hard, determined as he pressed them to her thighs and parted her legs. The strength in his hands belied the slow easy movements, the slow torturous way he used his mouth on her body. He stretched her more, opening her to him.

  Grace closed her eyes, jerking as his mouth covered the place where heat pulsated and soared. He used his mouth, his tongue, his teeth and seconds later she couldn’t help herself, couldn’t stop herself from flying. She reached back, her hands flailing to find purchase, desperate for something to grasp to stop herself spiraling to a place from which she might never return.

  Even as she came down, he pushed her up again, his ruthless and relentless mouth refusing to let her off the hook. She brought her arms down and pushed up onto her elbows. His name left her lips on a moan, her head dropping back as sensation pushed her to peak again. “Niko,” she pleaded. “I want you. Now.”

  His eyes were so dark, so hooded, it made her stomach clench even more. He pushed her knees up, opening her shamelessly to his gaze, then drove into her. He watched her as he thrust, the restraint evident in his face, in his ragged breathing. He kept the pace slow, his thrusts long and deep. When he dropped a kiss to her mouth, his tongue imitated those same slow thrusts.

  Grace could barely breath. Her gasps came faster, her lungs almost bursting with the effort to grab enough air. Niko’s chest heaved, his jaw tight as he came close to his own release.

  “Come with me.” He grated out the words as he thrust harder, faster, deeper. “With me, Grace.”

  Her whole body vibrant with sensation, she gave him what he wanted. Climaxing even as she dug her fingers into his back, trying to get him closer, closer…

  Moments later, they collapsed together. His chest heaved against hers, as their ragged breathing slipped into a deeper, slower rhythm.

  After a few minutes, during which Grace felt her eyes grow heavy, Niko rolled a little to the side and leaned up on one elbow. His free hand slipped to her waist and slowly he traced a line from left to right. She smiled as the sensation made little chills burst out on her naked flesh.

  “So,” he said lazily. “How many calories have we burned off, do you suppose?”

  She laughed. “Who cares?” His fingers slowly circled her navel. “We should think about getting our clothes from the living room. If Gabrielle and Vadim came home and saw them strewn across the floor...”

  “Grace,” he said mildly. “They know we have sex.”

  “Funny.” She felt heat push into her cheeks. “But we don’t have to provide them with visual evidence on the living room carpet.”

  She got out of bed and yelped as he slapped her lightly on the bottom. When she turned back, rubbing her cheek in mock offence, she found him lying back against the crisp white cotton sheet, a seductive grin on his face. “Hurry back, milaya. The bed is already cold.”

  She returned his grin, levered her chin into the air. “Perhaps I’ll get dressed while I’m down there. Watch a little TV.”

  He folded his arms behind his head. “I’ll only come and get you. Make you pay for such disobedience.”

  “Huh. Like that would worry me.”

  She tried not to laugh as she padded naked down the stairs, but it was so nice to be like this with him. Easy. Relaxed. It had never been so carefree between them. Never so…intimate. The realization came abruptly, stopping Grace in the middle of the living room. They’d made love so many times and yet she’d never felt this close, this connected with him.

  With the thought dancing in her brain, she scooped up their clothes from the floor of the living room, then headed back upstairs at a virtual run.

  He lay in the same position, gloriously naked. His eyes were closed but the smile had gone. She hated when he looked as if he had the world on his shoulders. Unceremoniously, she dumped their clothes on a nearby chair, then slid into bed beside him. Snuggling against him, she smiled as his arm came around her.

  “There was nothing much on TV, so I thought I might as well come back upstairs.”

  He grunted, pulled her closer. “Wise decision.”

  Grace closed her eyes, loving the warmth of him, the scent of him. She could stay like this forever and it would still not be long enough.

  “St
ay with me, Grace.”

  She froze, hardly daring to breathe. Slowly, she opened her eyes, as if the action might break the magic of the moment. Had she heard him right? Had he really said what she thought he’d said?

  Her body tensed even as her heart swelled. “Do you mean tonight?”

  He stroked a leisurely hand over her back. “I mean every night. I want you in my bed.”

  The heart that had been poised to soar, dipped. As his lover, he meant. Nothing else. “It’s not possible. I have a job.”

  “Come and work for me. I need someone I can trust to run my charities. I want you there when I come home at night.”

  Hurt pushed its last talon through the happiness bubble, forcing her sharply back to reality. “I told you I won’t be your mistress again. I have a job, home, responsibilities. You don’t even live in London anymore.”

  When she shivered, he reached down and tugged up the duvet, then pulled her into his arms until she was straddled across his lap. He took her chin between his fingers and turned her to face him.

  “Always suspicion in your eyes. Why won’t you accept that I’ll always take care of you? I’ll always do right by you?”

  “Your way of taking care of me is to treat me like an idiot. Keeping things from me, so I don’t know up from down.”

  “Some things you don’t need to know. Why worry you when most matters resolve themselves with time?”

  “It’s called sharing, but you’ll never get that. You refuse to get that.” She wrapped her fingers around his wrist and drew his hand from her face. When she tried to get up, he held her back, wrapping his arms tight around her waist. “I’m cold. I want to get dressed.”

  In answer, he pulled the duvet tighter around her.

  She huffed, shifted on his lap as she tried to release herself from his grasp. He only held her closer. “You haven’t changed at all,” she complained, turning away so he wouldn’t see the hurt in her eyes. “You’re still arrogant, conceited, bullish. If we don’t have an equal relationship, don’t you see how that diminishes me? How it makes me feel that I’m not important enough in your life that you want to include me in it?”