Under a Greek Moon

by Carol Kirkwood

  She woke to Demetrios’s lazy feline smile. ‘Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty.’ It reminded her of the first time she’d met him, and she lay looking up at him, willing him to close the distance between them and kiss her. She wanted his mouth on hers and there was a dull ache in her heart.

  ‘Come on, one last swim and then we ought to go back.’ Demetrios jumped up and ran down into the sea. Surprised by his sudden burst of speed, she scrambled to her feet and laughing ran after him into the water. By the time she neared the water’s edge he’d already swum out into the bay, his powerful crawl eating up the distance as if he were trying to escape something. Not being a strong swimmer, she paddled in the shallows watching tiny silver streaks of fish dart this way and that.

  When he finally waded out of the sea towards her, she simply stared at him as the water droplets sparkled on his skin in the sunshine. He was simply gorgeous and the yearning to touch him was stronger than ever.

  He came closer to her, and in that moment she knew what she was about to say; she couldn’t have resisted her body even if she wanted to. ‘Demetrios,’ she asked, her voice full of desire, ‘have I done something wrong?’

  ‘Oh, Shauna,’ he said. ‘You have no idea what you are doing to me. Being in your company and trying to be a saint is quite a burden.’

  She narrowed her eyes. ‘I didn’t ask you to be a saint.’ She stepped forward, and gently touched her lips to his, desire shooting through her. He responded with a groan, pulling away.

  ‘Shauna,’ he pleaded, ‘I’m not made of stone.’

  ‘Who says I want you to be?’ She softened her mouth, whispering her lips over his and pressing her body against his. It was almost a relief after the constant longing to feel his body against hers, the heat of his skin next to hers and to finally give in to the desire that had been plaguing her for days.

  He pulled away and with one tender hand cupped her cheek, his eyes boring into hers with an intensity that sent her senses into high alert. ‘I’ve been wanting you too …’

  The touch of his fingers stroking her skin sent tingles racing down her spine, stirring heat between her thighs and bringing an unfulfilled ache to her breasts. In that moment she realized she loved him with a depth of passion she hadn’t know she was capable of.

  ‘Shauna,’ he murmured, bending to kiss her, placing a chain of tiny kisses across her cheeks, ‘my heart is lost to you.’

  Her whole body sighed and softened, relief and joy mingled with excitement and anticipation.

  When their kiss spiralled out of control, this time she embraced the storm, her body eager and her desire desperate. He picked her up, his lips caressing her face, then her breasts, as he carried her to the shade of the parasol. When they tumbled on to the velvety towels, her hands were as keen to know his body as to feel his on hers.

  Demetrios laid a hand on top of hers where curiosity had her tracing the dark hair above his waistband. ‘Shauna, we have to stop.’

  Both of them were breathing heavily and she rejoiced in the effect that she was having on him.

  ‘Do we?’ she asked, empowerment and desire thrumming through her veins. Leaning down, she kissed his mouth with slow reverence, revelling in the fierce burst of power that shot through her. ‘What if I don’t want to stop?’

  ‘Dear Shauna.’ His hands raked through her hair, holding her at a distance. ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Very sure.’ Even though her body felt shaky with need, her voice was resolute. And then they needed no more words.

  Afterwards, their arms and legs entangled, Shauna lay for a moment savouring the delicious feeling of excitement and euphoria. Demetrios, with infinite care and tenderness, had made her feel the most precious woman in the world and now she felt wonderful. Turning her head, she could scarcely believe he was there lying next to her, both of them naked under the sun, it was intoxicating.

  Almost shyly, they had helped each other get dressed, packed up their things and clambered back into the boat, Demetrios had kissed her longingly and passionately and she had felt his desire stir again, arousing her own. Her hand moved down to caress him.

  ‘If you keep doing that, we’ll end up never leaving here,’ he said.

  ‘What makes you think I want to?’

  When they arrived back at the harbour, twilight had fallen and Shauna felt a little apprehensive. Would this be another dream that she’d have to awake from, her bubble burst again by reality? She wished the day would never end. However, instead of steering the boat into the jetty where he had picked her up, he tethered the boat to the St Helena.

  ‘Why have you brought us back here?’

  ‘I’m not ready to say goodnight.’ He pulled her close. ‘I want to say good morning to you instead.’

  ‘What do you mean? We can’t stay here tonight.’

  ‘Why not? The ship is almost empty, everyone is on shore leave save a few who won’t notice us – besides, this is my boat and I can do what I like.’ He grinned at her like a Cheshire Cat.

  ‘That certainly has its advantages.’

  As they climbed up the ladder that hung over the side, he pulled her up and on to the deck, drawing her towards him.

  ‘O lover, with your skin so white, the purest alabaster. Delicate as the whitest lily that only opens its petals at night,’ he whispered in her ear.

  ‘That’s beautiful, what is it?’

  ‘Sappho. I didn’t put all that expensive education to waste, you know.’

  ‘You’re teasing again.’

  ‘Not tonight, Beauty. Tonight, I want you more than ever.’ He took her to his suite and Shauna thought of nothing but Demetrios until she fell asleep in his arms.

  The next day, as the sun streamed in through the window, Shauna realized she had no experience of waking up with a naked man in a bed that wasn’t her own. For a moment she wasn’t sure what she should do. Thankfully, Demetrios snaked a hand around her waist and pulled towards him before putting one thigh between hers, claiming one naked breast with his hand and kissing the last of her breath away and rendering her incapable of thinking any more for the next half hour.

  The last of her shyness vanished when he insisted on showering with her. It seemed that he had no inhibitions as he walked around naked without a qualm. She wasn’t quite that bold and wrapped herself in one of the robes as they went down to the empty galley to forage for breakfast. There were slim pickings, but Shauna made them black coffee and Demetrios lounged on the bench watching her.

  ‘What would you like to do today?’ he asked.

  She looked back at the craggy hills that rose beyond the harbour. ‘I’d like to see more of the island. Find out what living here is really like.’

  ‘That can be arranged. I’ve got a jeep which is perfect for the local driving conditions. Some of the roads up in the hills are little more than tracks. There’s a monastery that sits on a promontory on the other side of the island which has a stunning view, and there’s a pretty fishing village at the head of a deep inlet which is home to the local stonemasons.’

  She tidied up, making the bed, all the while smiling to herself at the memories of unmaking it last night.

  When she was done, she looked around with satisfaction. There was little sign they’d ever been there, which for some strange reason suited Shauna. She wanted to keep their love a delicious secret for a while; it made her nervous to think that anyone might suspect she’d been here with Demetrios – but where did that leave her when everyone came back?

  ‘Hi. All set?’

  ‘Yes, I’m ready.’

  ‘Unless you want to go back to bed for another couple of hours?’ He slid his hand up the inside of her thigh and she felt a tingle of pleasure.

  ‘Demetrios Theodosis, you are incorrigible.’

  ‘Yes,’ he swept her into his arms and swung her around, ‘but you love me.’

  As his hands came to rest on her waist she looked up into his face. ‘Yes, I do.’

  Chapter 11

&nbs
p; Demetrios woke from another disturbed night and turned to see the empty space beside him in the bed. Yet another dream that he couldn’t remember, but as always it had left him with a sense that storm clouds were gathering. Then he remembered – he was due to see his mother and father today. They had returned from Athens and there would be no avoiding them.

  He stretched out a hand to brush across the empty space, wishing Shauna had woken with him in the sun-filled stateroom instead of slipping silently back to her cabin sometime in the night. A week ago the crew had come back to the boat and Shauna had insisted on returning to work and keeping their relationship to themselves. In truth, that suited him too, much as he wished that they could go back to the week when they’d had the yacht to themselves. Shauna could be very stubborn when she wanted to be, but they had spent as much time as they could together.

  Now that he was back in Ithos, his time was taken up with running the business, meeting his father’s financiers and looking at plans for the future. The company was struggling financially; his father’s investments had not been doing well recently, with stock markets in turmoil and a glut of crude oil bringing volatility to the shipping industry. Demetrios knew that today would be a day of reckoning; his father had been vacillating about handing over the reins of the business for some time. His health had been poor of late, but it was hard for him to give up the thing that was his life blood.

  These last few weeks, Demetrios had been struggling with the knowledge that the family juggernaut was bearing down on him. The time he and Shauna had spent together exploring the island and the yacht had been a magical interlude, an interlude he wished could go on for ever. A smile curved his lips as he thought of the way they’d explored each other’s bodies and how, much to his surprise and pleasure, Shauna had embraced her sensuality, learning to tease and taunt him with seductive confidence. She had reawakened something in him. Maybe her innocence had played a part in that, but there was something else too: she gave him new purpose.

  With a grunt of irritation, he rolled off the bed, and then remembered with even more frustration that she wouldn’t be waiting up on the sun deck for him today. It was her day off and she’d said she had errands to run. He’d wanted to meet her somewhere for lunch, but she was adamant that she had things to do. And now he had to wait until this evening to see her. Another delay, and it didn’t suit him to wait. He crossed the cabin and opened a drawer in his dresser. The envelope nestled there among his T-shirts. Two return tickets from Heathrow to New York. He’d already booked a suite at the Waldorf Astoria. Anticipation danced in the pit of his stomach. He couldn’t wait to get there and show his favourite city to the woman he loved – to show her around and watch those big eyes of hers go wide with surprise and delight.

  He pulled on his clothes quickly, leaving the envelope on top of the dresser. The thought of having to wait any longer was unbearable, especially for a man who was used to getting what he wanted. Did that make him spoiled, he wondered, or resolute and focused? He knew his own mind, there was no crime in that. It was time for him to move on to the next stage of his life, to fulfil the promise he had made to himself, and he needed the right woman beside him to do that. He had made up his mind.

  Usually, after a few days enduring the flippant chatter and indolent lifestyle of the Ivankas, Tamaras or Normandies – they were, he realized, quite interchangeable – he would be driven to seek refuge in his office, craving the mental relief of work. Now he could see how his life could, or should be.

  Demetrios had always known that one day he’d have to fully commit to the family business, but he’d been delaying it as long as possible. A showdown was looming, and Shauna had helped him reconcile himself to the idea. Her sharp observations and clever insight made him realize that the work could actually be interesting. She’d opened his eyes to the world in more ways than one. He looked at his Rolex. He was due to be at the family home at twelve; perhaps he could find a moment first to talk to Shauna. It was time she knew what he wanted to do. What was expected. He hoped that she would be strong and understand.

  The Theodosis family home on Ithos was a large white villa that had been in the family for generations. While each firstborn son who had inherited the Theodosis home had put their own stamp on it, some things never changed, like the breathtaking views from the hilltop groves overlooking the sea. Its grandeur dwarfed the smaller villas with their shuttered windows and colourful awnings lining the narrow winding streets down to the small harbour town.

  As he approached the villa in his Porsche, Demetrios saw his mother, Elana, sitting out on the balcony overlooking the sea. Her dark hair was flecked with a few strands of grey, but she was still beautiful, and while the soft features of her girlhood had gone, her striking cheekbones, hourglass figure and mane of perfectly coiffed hair gave her the appearance of someone much younger.

  After parking between a Ferrari and a Mercedes in the ample driveway, Demetrios bounded up the stairs and greeted his mother at the entrance with an embrace and kiss on each cheek.

  ‘Where is Papa?’

  ‘He is in his office, shouting at his lawyers again.’

  ‘What is going on?’

  ‘I will let him tell you. It is not good.’

  Demetrios ascended the marble staircase that ran though the centre of the main hallway. The ground floor was where the family entertained guests: vast rooms filled with luxurious white leather sofas and discreetly expensive antique furniture from Sotheby’s and Christie’s, along with tastefully modernist art on the walls.

  His father, Aristotle, was upstairs in his study, sitting behind a large mahogany desk, a Cuban cigar smouldering in the enormous crystal ashtray in front of him.

  ‘Where the hell have you been? Have you any idea what has been going on – I expected you back here ages ago!’

  ‘Calm down, Father, you will give yourself a heart attack.’

  ‘A heart attack, he says!’ His father threw up his hands. ‘You know what’s going to give me a coronary? You. Fooling around with the hired help when you should be here attending to your responsibilities.’

  Demetrios narrowed his eyes. ‘Jeremy has been doing your spying again, I see?’

  ‘Never mind.’ Aristotle waved a hand dismissively. ‘We have bigger problems. To put it bluntly: we’re in the shit.’

  Elana had entered the room behind her son. She went to her husband’s side and placed her hand on his shoulder, then said, soothingly, ‘Demetrios is right, we must be calm. Pour me a drink, Demi. And put that cigar out, Ari, it’s getting in my eyes.’

  As her son poured her a Campari and soda from the small bar in the corner, she perched herself on the edge of her husband’s ample leather desk chair. Aristotle was as plump as his wife was slim, his thinning hair was slicked back and he wore a pair of black heavy-rimmed glasses through which shrewd eyes glared out at his only son.

  Demetrios handed the drink to his mother and she sipped it calmly. ‘The business is in serious trouble,’ she told him.

  ‘We invested heavily in oil production and now there’s a glut,’ his father explained, crushing out his cigar. ‘The markets are volatile and the banks are foreclosing. Over the years we have run up considerable debts, and now they want their money back. Either we do something to pump some major equity in, or we lose everything.’

  Demetrios was shocked. ‘Those lousy lawyers who’ve been advising you have been trying to embezzle—’

  His father threw his hands up. ‘We’re losing millions of dollars right, left and centre. Every bastard is out to get us.’

  ‘We have to take immediate action and consolidate the business before it is too late,’ Elana put in.

  ‘Lukas Constantis wants our companies to merge. He’s prepared to bail us out, provided he gets a controlling share of the company in return.’

  ‘Never!’ Demetrios said. ‘Over my dead body, I’d rather lose everything.’

  ‘Demetrios, you foolish, foolish boy,’ Elana snapped, her voic
e dripping disdain. ‘This is not about you, it is about the family. We have considered all the options open to us, and this is the only way.’

  ‘I will never give control of the business to him. He is a snake and will take the whole business from under your nose if you give him an inch.’

  ‘There will be nothing left of the business if we do not agree to this.’

  Demetrios paced the room. ‘He has always wanted our business. He’d like nothing better than to be sitting in your chair now, Papa.’

  ‘You think I don’t know this? But there is no other way to save the business.’

  His mother stood and walked to the enormous window that looked over the Bay of Ithos. Aside from the bay, there were few places for safe harbour on the island, which was why the community had sprung up here. She looked out, her eyes focused not on the spectacular view but on her family’s future. ‘There is one thing we have to offer.’

  ‘What is that?’ Aristotle asked.

  ‘He loves that daughter Sofía of his more than anything, and has always wanted to build a dynasty through her.’

  ‘Oh, yes, that crazy daughter who always gets what she wants,’ Aristotle sneered.

  ‘Mother, you are playing a dangerous game here,’ Demetrios warned her.

  ‘How so? It is our duty – the duty of every one of us – to put the family first. Sofía will make the perfect wife for you and give you sons.’

  ‘No, Mother, you ask too much.’

  ‘We must all make sacrifices. You want to save the business, do you not?’

  ‘It is for the good of the family, my boy,’ his father chimed in.