As a landscape gardener Beth was in her element. She didn’t know where to look first.
“It’s so beautiful Jason. Thank-you so much for bringing me here. The plants are inspirational and I’m brimming with ideas for your gardens.”
“I thought this would please you.”
It was a Greek oasis where they could escape from the summer heat.
The sprawling park offered them ample scope to select their choice of plants.
Jason took her to talk to the head-gardener and she arranged for some plants specimens and shrubs to be shipped to the island through a dealership the National Gardens used.
He stood back and listened to his Beth debating the finer points of one sort of flower against another. The head gardener seemed very impressed and Jason felt a swell of pride when he was told, “Miss Ashton is very knowledgeable sir. She certainly knows what she is talking about.”
Together Beth and Jason wandered the busy city streets on foot. There were plenty of outdoor sidewalk cafés and at one point they sat down to relax, drinking steaming shots of espresso beneath the shade of a parasol.
Beth had truly seen another side of Jason this afternoon.
He had been considerate, attentive and caring for her needs totally unlike his usual dominating overbearing manner.
“I think it’s about time we went back to the hotel. Don’t you?” she asked him concerned.
They had been on the go since early morning and Jason must be feeling as if his day had been twice as long.
Not only had he had the strain of an unexpected hospital check-up, he also had the added pressure of readjusting to the light and being able to see again.
“I’ll take you back to the hotel if you like and we can have some dinner and you can change before we go out this evening,” he said.
There was no arguing with him.
Today Jason was determined to do what he wanted.
“Out . . . out where? I thought you’d be tired and would need an early night.”
“Whilst we’re in Athens I thought I’d booked seats for a concert at the Megaron. But if it’s an early night and bed you’re wanting . . .”
“Jason . . .” she felt her temper was about to explode and she wasn’t going to tolerate any of his suggestive innuendos, “I said I would stay with you on my terms and my condition does not include . . . your bed Jason Andre.”
“Then it’s back to the hotel and out because if we stay in, there’s no guarantee you’ll be safe. But before we head for the hotel there’s one last place we have to go. It’s not far from here so we’ll walk and the limo can pick us up when we’re ready.”
Jason paid the café bill and steered her along one of the shopping boulevards with exclusive designer shops on each side of the street.
“A dress,” he insisted emphatically, “You’ll need a dress for this evening.”
He wasn’t taking no for an answer.
She didn’t have a chance to object because they had arrived at the dress shop and the doorman who was standing outside the shop held the door open for them to entre.
Jason ushered her inside.
Her sandals sank into the deep pile of carpet beneath her feet as Jason guided her towards the evening gowns and shoes department.
An assistant approached and from that moment on, everything was taken out of Beth’s hands.
Jason explained they had left the island earlier that morning and they hadn’t had time to pack suitable clothing for their stay in Athens.
They had come away with only a basic change of clothing.
Speaking to the assistant and totally ignoring Beth he said, “I’ll leave you to see Miss Ashton has everything she will needs.”
“May I ask if there anything in particular you wish to see madam wearing?”
“We’ll probably be here about a week. It could be longer. So we’ll need some day dresses, but for tonight we’re looking for a gown to wear at a concert at the Megaron.”
“I understand completely Sir?”
“But I don’t,” protested Beth, “I don’t need new clothes and I’m not going anywhere with you this evening. Anyway I can buy my own clothes and I don’t want you to buy them for me.”
“Beth . . . you’re here because of me, so no more talk about who’s buying. I’ll be back soon. I shouldn’t be too long.”
“Why? Where are you going? You can’t go and leave me on my own.”
She was going to tell Jason that he was blind and that he couldn’t see, but that would have been a lie.
He could see perfectly well. At least well enough to make his way about the shop.
One moment he was there beside her and the next he was gone.
Reluctantly Beth began trying on the elegant clothes and shoes and it was left to her to convince the eager shop assistant that she didn’t need anything.
Gradually there was a mounting pile of boxes and parcels growing behind the sales counter. Items were being packed in readiness to send back to the hotel. Stopping the shopping spree which Jason had ordered was an impossible task.
* * * * *
The evening’s concert Jason had organised at the Megaron was wonderful, and on the way home Beth felt her eyelids drooping from sheer exhaustion as she sat in the warmth and luxury of the limousine.
The day had been a long one.
The early morning flight in the chopper to the hospital, the sight-seeing and the shopping in the afternoon, followed by the evening’s concert was beginning to have an effect.
Once out of the hotel lift, she leant tiredly against the door jab to their suite whilst Jason busily turned the key in the lock and opened the door.
She let out a sleepy yawn.
Entering their sitting room, she kicked off the shoes she’d been wearing that evening and stood on the thick woollen carpet in her bare stocking feet.
“My new shoes are rubbing. You’ve walked me miles today Jason and my feet hurt,” she complained.
“Then you’ll not walk another step tonight . . . my love.”
And before she realised what he was doing he had swept her off her feet, kicked the door shut and was carrying her without hesitation towards his bedroom.
Her arms went around his neck and she held on tightly thinking he might stumble. But he didn’t.
The room was still in darkness but he didn’t falter.
He made his way unerringly and with precision towards the bedroom and his big double bed.
Only the warm glow of a single table lamp lit the room.
“Jason, put me down. Stop it. We agreed we wouldn’t . . .” she whispering pleadingly in his ear and then she cried out in anguish, whimpering with desire, wanting him as much as he wanted her.
“We agreed no such thing my love,” he murmured softly against her ear, “You were setting the rules . . . not I.”
“We can’t do this.”
“I want you in my bed again,” he said passionately, “Tonight I want to be able to see you. I want to see what I’ve been missing all these months.”
He gently lowered her down until she was standing on shaky legs beside his bed.
She buried her head shyly against him.
Slowly he began to peel the shimmering diamante evening gown from her shoulders. She shivered with delight at his touch and the gown slipped slowly from her body onto the floor.
Stretching her arms up and around his neck she returned kiss for kiss, matching his urgency with her own and she felt him plundering her soft yielding lips with his mouth.
He released the clasp on her bra taking the full weight of her breasts into his hands. With his every touch, his every caress, he made her feel all women and beautiful.
Pulling his shirt away from his trousers and undoing the buttons she ran her hands across his bared chest.
She felt the ripple of his muscles where she touched him and heard his gasp of pleasure as she caressed.
Jason’s slowly began to peel away the remainder of hers garments un
til she stood naked before him.
They had shared many intimate moments of ardour, but this was the first time he’d seen her uncovered and exposed before his seeing eyes.
Then he smiled a slow unexpected smile and she melted into his arms.
There was no way she could resist him. She went into his arms willingly.
He was dusting kisses across her shoulders.
Then the moist flick of his tongue descended and had reached one of her nipples and he was pulling, sucking the tender tip into his wet mouth.
She held his head to her and she met his gaze. He made her senses reel and she threw back her head in agonising pleasure.
Her skin burned at his touch and together they fell back onto his bed and she was completely compliant and completely open to his wishes.
She helped him as he tore off his shirt.
The heat of his body next to her was like fire.
Leaning on one arm he reached down.
His hand grappled impatient at the zip of his trousers and then they were open releasing the taut stiffness of his confined manhood.
And then he pushed her thighs apart and held her down with possessive hands.
“I don’t want to want you,” she told him weakly. She was frightened of the desire and feelings he aroused in her.
But he ignored her feeble protests.
“And you said there is no us,” he whispered against her lips before he had taken . . . and taken . . . again and again what he wanted from her.
They climaxed over and over and their bodies arched in pain and delight.
Their love making was hot and electrifying. Sparks flew between them and they didn’t stop until the early hours when they fell into a deep exhausted slumber in each other’s arms.
* * * * *
Beth woke late one morning to the sound of Jason on the phone. She was lying in bed and she could hear the sound of his voice.
They were back on the island and Jason was back in control.
He was always in control, but with his sight returning to normal . . . this was control big time.
Nearly two weeks had passed without the sound of the phone or someone on line wanting to talk business. Their days were spent lounging on the beach and swimming in the sea and generally took time off to get to know each other.
Their nights were another matter; they were anything but relaxing. More often than not it wouldn’t be until the early hours of the morning that they would fall into a deep sleep, entwined and entangled in the dishevelled mess of the silken bed sheets.
Then gradually the everyday routine of their responsibilities began to creep back into their day and it was back to their usual schedule.
Beth and Jason had taken over the completed east wing of the villa whilst Stephan and the builders finished off the remainder of the build.
The shipment of fixtures and furniture had been delivered and it had been Jason who had overseen the installation of the furnishings to their rightful places.
But with the arrival and planting of Beth’s garden flowers and shrubs, the pool and patio areas were nearly finished; which meant her job was almost done and it would soon be time for her to go.
She had told Jason she wouldn’t live with him and she wouldn’t marry him and she’d meant those words.
And she still meant them.
Even after all the time she had shared with him in and out of bed, she knew she still couldn’t stay with him. She had to leave.
There were too many obstacles to keep them apart.
She wasn’t of his world.
His wealth was so vast she had no idea where it began or where it ended. She would never fit into his way of life.
She was just starting out with her own landscaping business and he was at the top of his profession and still climbing.
No . . . they could never be together.
Jason never kept his women for long. But for now that didn’t matter.
All that mattered for now was that he could see again and his sight was returning. He was nearly fully recovered and things were going well for him and soon she would be able to leave him . . . but not just yet. She wanted a few more days . . . a few more weeks of his time.
Jason was outside on the bedroom veranda, sat in a wicker chair.
It was one of the many chairs she had chosen for him when they were in Athens.
His legs were stretched out in front and he seemed relaxed. Really, truly relax for the first time in weeks.
Beth was lying on her side and she had only a thin silk sheet covering her. Propped on one elbow she was watching him secretively.
Without his knowing, she was awake and she was listening to him talking on the phone.
The sun was shining through the thin spider web curtains. They were blowing gently in the cool breeze that was coming in from the sea.
She watched him silently and she thought how handsome he was. He was so beautiful that sometimes it was too painful look and it could even hurt to look at him.
The scars from the plane crash had nearly faded and the dark deep suntan he had acquired hid the jagged line across his jaw. But his eyes . . . his eyes had a black depth to them . . . and suddenly they were looking at her. He was looking deep into her soul.
He stood, tossing the phone carelessly to one side as he headed for the bed where she lay.
“I want you . . .” he said roughly, “I can never get enough of you . . .”
But for how long she thought.
And then she smiled her soft secret smile as he reached urgently for her and came into her warm yielding welcoming body.
* * * * *
Beth was catching up with a back log of administrative work. She was down stair in Jason’s new pristine kitchen, surfing the internet on her laptop and answering her emails. She’d had plenty of time to think about things this week, and she’d decided it was about time she got in touch with the garden centre to see how they were coping whilst she had been away.
Paul, her business partner and his girlfriend Clair had been looking after Evergreen Farm Garden Centre whilst she’d flown out to Greece to be with Jason.
Her team of gardeners were still getting on with the contract work. For an established garden service like Ashton Landscaping all it meant was that someone had to keep an eye on thing and keep the business ticking over during her absence.
She loved her farm cottage and she liked nothing better than sitting in front of a roaring fire roasting her toes in the middle of winter with the snow piled high around the door.
If she was in England now she would be wearing two warm woolly cardigans. But in Greece in her shorts and a skimpy t-shirt, she felt very much like a laid-back bohemian. She had too much time on her hands.
There were no meetings to rush to and no agenda to follow.
Her time was her own, or it was, until she fell into bed at night with Jason. Then she wasn’t her own mistress. She was all his.
“Ah . . . just the girl I’m looking for,” said Stephan. Stephan was Jason’s friend and site manager and Beth had come to know him quite well since she’d been working on the villa’s gardens and grounds.
Stephan was standing leaning nonchalantly against the kitchen door watching whilst she worked on her lap-top.
He had walked into the house with full workman’s gear on, safety boots and hard hat and he was looking for Jason. He only found Beth and she was working on her laptop at the kitchen breakfast bar.
“Where’s the man?” he said casually, and tipped his hard hat back off his head. She could see his face more clearly.
“If you mean Jason, then he’s taken the motor launch and he’s gone over to the main island. He went to see about the landing strip and a hanger for his jet.”
Beth couldn’t get used to the idea of Jason having a jet.
“So the little lady is on her own?”
“No I’m not. I’ve got Cassandra here with me.”
Cassandra was the woman who looked after the goat herde
r’s croft and she now came to White Island Villa every day to clean and cook for them.
“Ah . . . the mighty Cassandra. Jason has obviously left his prized possession well protected.”
Cassandra was in her late sixties and weighed all of fifty-kilos if that, but she was heavy weight when it came to organising the housekeeping.
“Who do you think would dare burgle this place and what would they take?” she asked Stephan surprised he should think such a thing.
“If it was me . . . I’d kidnap you. Unprotected as you are.”
“No you wouldn’t and I’m not unprotected. There are at least ten men on the other side of that wall,” she told him pointing to the kitchen’s vast picturesque window.
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