by Kat Mizera
“What does that say?”
“Pink dragon, in ancient Greek, a language once used by parts of my country, but not used by anyone anymore.”
“So even if someone captured you, they’d have to work hard to translate it and somehow connect it to me.”
He smiled faintly. “Yes.”
For a long time I just looked at him, my emotions screaming with conflict. It would be so easy to let him get close, because he was still my everything. I felt a stirring deep inside me that had been missing for a very long time, and I wanted him right now more than I’d ever wanted anything in my life.
“What are you thinking?” he whispered.
“That I want you,” I whispered back. “That even now I remember every detail of the way it feels when you touch me.”
“I plan to refresh your memory all night,” he said, running gentle fingers along the curve of my hip.
“I’m so scared,” I whispered. “I feel so much when I’m with you and the idea of going without it again is more than I can stand. I just, I mean, I need—”
He silenced me with a soft, lingering kiss. “I know, baby.” Everything about him was so familiar and so different at the same time. For one night he could take away all the hurt, the pain, and the years of longing for the man I couldn’t have. Still.
“What are you thinking?” I asked, watching a play of emotions dance across his face.
“That I can’t believe we’re here, together. It’s like we’ve stepped out of reality and into our own little world.”
“It’s wonderful,” I breathed, turning my head so my mouth was just inches from his.
“What about your ribs?”
“I’ll be fine as long as you’re touching me.”
He kissed me then, his mouth fastening on mine greedily, as if he hadn’t kissed a woman in his entire life. My lips opened for him and I let out a tiny whimper of pleasure. He adjusted our positions then, sliding me down to the edge of the bed. He took my face in his hands and kissed me again, slowly and thoroughly, his tongue lighting a fire that I thought had gone out long ago.
“I love you,” he whispered, his body moving against mine.
I let the words sink right into my soul, like balm on an exposed wound, and for a time, nothing else in the world mattered. For one night, I felt young and in love again, like I had once before, a long time ago. More than anything I ached for that time and place, that man, that love. But that could never be, so I would take this, something I had right now, and would close off everything else for as long as possible.
“I don’t have a condom,” he said quietly.
“I had my tubes tied,” I whispered. “We’re good.”
“This isn’t as romantic as I’d like,” he said, getting to his feet and moving between my legs, “but it’s the only way I won’t hurt you.”
“I don’t care how we do it,” I said. “I just need you inside of me.”
He stood at the edge of the bed and put a pillow under my ass before wrapping my legs around his waist. I was flat on my back, looking up at him as he slid into me, and right then I would have sworn under oath that every single thing in my life was suddenly perfect. He moved slowly, with purpose, but mindful of my sore body, eyes never leaving mine.
“I’m not going to last long,” he said, panting out a breath. “It’s been so damn long.”
“Oh, please not yet,” I pleaded, my eyes falling shut.
He plunged deep and then didn’t move, one finger moving to my clit, circling slowly, his touch bringing me right to the brink of orgasm. I didn’t want it to end this soon, but my body had a mind of its own, and a familiar coiling in my belly told me it wouldn’t be long. I shifted, arching into him and rocking my hips to draw him even deeper.
“Baby, I can’t…”
“Me either.” My breath caught as an orgasm exploded out of me, a cry of pleasure leaving my throat. He growled out his own release before our eyes met once again and we smiled. Damn, nothing had changed and it was still the most exquisite feeling in the world.
We made love all through the night, the passion between us numbing the aching of my body. When he was inside of me, nothing else mattered, and I couldn’t imagine letting him walk out of my life again. Somehow, I had to find a way to keep him close, no matter the danger.
12
Erik
I woke up early, barely six o’clock, and turned to look at the beautiful woman sleeping beside me. I couldn’t hold her as we slept because it was too hard on her ribs and shoulder, and even now she looked uncomfortable. She was propped up on several pillows, but had refused to take anything, and I saw the pain etched into her face, even as she shifted in her sleep. It hurt me to see her in pain and I wished I could ease it for her.
She was still the most beautiful woman I knew, even with ugly bruises all over her abdomen from the accident and no makeup. Even twelve years after I’d fallen in love with her. She was thirty-four now, but I didn’t see much difference. She’d matured a little, but she took good care of herself and everything about her was flawless to me. For some reason I’d been expecting big changes, but I wasn’t sure why. I’d thought two pregnancies would have to have changed her body, but with the exception of a few faded stretchmarks on her hips that I found sexy, she was exactly the same. It was like time had stood still, waiting for us to be together again, and after last night, I understood what she meant about not being able to be apart again. I just didn’t know how the hell to make that happen without putting ourselves and everyone close to us in danger.
“Why are you watching me sleep?” she murmured, her big blue eyes fluttering open.
“Because you’re so beautiful I can’t help myself.” I rolled to my side and cupped one of her beautiful breasts. “You don’t look comfortable, sweetheart. What can I do?”
“Nothing.”
“I wish you’d take a pain pill and rest.”
“I can rest when the kids get here.” She smiled. “But I know you’re leaving soon and I don’t want to sleep through even one second of it.”
“I’m not going to leave while you’re sleeping,” I said gently.
“I’m okay. Really.” She sat up and winced. “Can you get me my sling?”
“Of course.” I got up and grabbed her clothes, helping her dress and put the sling back on. “Are you supposed to sleep with that?”
“Yes.” She smiled. “But I was kind of busy last night.”
I leaned in, kissing her. “You don’t want to do anything to make it worse, you know?”
“I know.” We padded into the bathroom together, freshening up before heading to the kitchen.
“What do you want to do today?” she asked me.
“Literally anything you want, as long as we’re together. But we probably have to talk about things because I’m sure Liz is going to call at some point.”
“And Sandor.”
“And my father.”
“And your father.” We spoke the last two statements at the same time and laughed.
“My housekeeper usually comes by to say hello. How do you want to handle that?”
“As long as she doesn’t take any pictures that she’ll show people, I doubt she’ll recognize me, although you’re going to have to explain why you already have a new boy toy when you’re still married.”
“I don’t have to explain anything to anyone,” she responded firmly. “But you don’t have to be a boy toy… Go mess up the guest room bed so she thinks you slept in it and that’ll be that. You’re an old friend.”
“Let me go do that before we forget and then we’ll have breakfast. Don’t do anything, I want you to rest.”
“I’m not an invalid,” she called after me.
I rolled around on the bed in one of the guest rooms, sat on the pillow for a minute, kicked the covers back and then hurried back to the kitchen. She was making coffee and I moved behind her, nuzzling her neck.
“You’re beautiful in the morning,” I said.<
br />
“You’re hot all the time,” she responded, leaning back against me. We stood that way for a few seconds, my hand resting on her hip, before I finally nudged her toward the kitchen table.
“Are scrambled eggs with feta still your favorite?”
“Yup.” She nodded, taking her coffee and moving to the table. She’d opened the shutters and sunlight streamed through the window. It was gorgeous here, and there was no doubt why she’d bought this house, but there were people lingering on the beach that made me nervous. They had a media vibe, which meant we would have no privacy.
There was a brief knock on the door and Xander stuck his head in. “Good morning.”
“Come on in,” Casey called to him. “I hope you weren’t up all night.”
He shook his head. “My colleague takes overnights.”
“Coffee?”
“Thank you.” He came in and shut the door. “I wanted to let you know the press is camped out on the beach. I can call the police, have them removed, but they’ll just come back because all beaches in Greece are public. How do you want to handle this? They can’t come onto your property, which extends about ten feet from the bottom of the deck, but that’s still really close for comfort.”
“This has never happened before,” she sighed. “Well, no worries. I’m not doing anything wrong and I’m not hiding. We’ll stay in the house today, but I’m opening the blinds and letting the sunlight in. If they want to take pictures through the glass of me and a friend talking and having coffee and such, they can do what they want.”
“I’ll go find a baseball cap,” I muttered, leaving the room in annoyance. I wanted to be alone with her, so I could cherish what precious time we might have together. I didn’t know what was going to happen going forward, but I only had her to myself for a few days at the most. Once the kids got here, I had to leave, and I had no idea when we would see each other again. If ever.
Ever.
The thought made me shudder. Being together again had been too easy. For the first time in a long time I felt like myself again, strong and powerful and ready to take on the world. She did that for me. We did that for each other. She’d succeeded professionally without me, but it had taken a toll on her personally. I’d faded into the role of stay-at-home dad, with no professional life to speak of since I didn’t consider what I did for Liz at the hotel anything of my own doing. I hadn’t let my alienation impact me as much emotionally, probably because I was a guy and did a good job of compartmentalizing. Leni needed me? Got this. Emergency in the hotel? On it. Reports from Limaj to interpret? I’ll be up all night. There was no time for emotions. But being with her again made me want to take on the world and that was a part of me I hadn’t felt in a long time.
I found the baseball cap I’d abandoned on the deck last night and smacked it on my head while keeping my head down so no one could get a picture of my face. This was ridiculous, already having to hide my identity, but I planned to drop out of sight soon and I didn’t need to be plastered all over the tabloids.
The three of us had breakfast and then Xander disappeared as I put dishes in the dishwasher.
“I know we have all kinds of things to talk about,” I told her, “but what I’d really like is to hear every single thing Luke has done since the day he was born.”
She laughed. “Well, I can tell you some of it and I can show you a little, but I don’t keep all the videos on my phone because I wouldn’t have any memory left. This video is one of my favorites because it shows you exactly who he is as a person.” She fiddled with her phone and finally pulled up a video. “This was Christmas Eve, at our house. My mom and Nick’s uncle Matt were there, your parents, along with Jay’s mom, Jay and all the kids, our housekeeper and her husband, and of course Sandor.” She hit the play button.
“Play ‘Silent Night,’” one of the twins was saying. I couldn’t tell them apart.
“Only if you play with us,” Jay said to her.
“Okay.” The little girl ran out of the room as Casey sat down with an acoustic guitar and Jay sat at a baby grand piano. A moment later, the twin came back carrying a saxophone and she sat on a stool next to her mother. Jay started the melody and began to sing. Casey joined him with the guitar and I had to admit it was beautiful. I wondered what it would be like to have that much talent sitting in my living room during the holidays, singing Christmas carols. Liz, Leni and I were usually alone, showering Leni with gifts while Liz and I lamented our inability to share the holidays with family since my identity had to remain a secret. Liz had taken Leni to the U.S. this past year, spending Christmas in Long Island with her mother and friends and then joining Jayson, his family and a group of cousins for a ski trip. Casey was supposed to go too, but she’d been in Greece for Antoni’s funeral and then back home dealing with Sasha’s crisis.
My mind drifted back to the video and I realized the twin with the saxophone wasn’t playing, a sour look on her face as she sat next to Casey. Casey glanced at her a few times but the girl shook her head and eventually put the saxophone down. Just before the end of the song, Luke crawled over to the twin with the saxophone and whispered something in her ear. She gave him a funny look so he shrugged and took the sax from her, holding it to his mouth. The girl’s eyes widened and she smacked his arm, tugging the sax away from him. Then she put it in her mouth and started to play. Beautifully, I might add.
Casey turned off the video. “Joss is the only one of my four children who shows any talent or interest in music, but she has terrible stage fright. Even at home with just the family she’ll freeze right up. Luke knows how talented she is, and he’s the only one who can get her out of that frozen state once she’s in it. Sometimes he talks to her and makes her laugh, but in the middle of a song, he knew the biggest threat was for him to play because I’m fairly certain he’s tone-deaf, and everyone knows it. But he doesn’t care, he just wanted to help her through the moment. And that is your son, in a nutshell.”
My heart swelled. “You’ve done a good job with him,” I said quietly.
“I’ve had a lot of help. Nick is his father in every sense of the word. Your parents are equally involved, especially your dad, because Luke has four grandmothers but Nicky isn’t the touchy-feely type.”
“Four?” I asked.
“My mother, Nick’s mother, your mother and Jayson’s mother. There’s plenty of love to go around, you know? And of course, though no one outside of our inner circle knows it, Luke is very special to your parents.”
“Of course.”
“Oh. And wait until I tell you this.” She told me about how Luke had figured out who his father was.
“Wait, you told him he was right?” I stared at her. “He’s only eleven! He can’t be trusted not to talk or—”
“Hang on,” she interrupted. “He’s a bright, mature eleven, and yes, he understands. We made it very clear how evil Anwar is and Nick has been on top of it too. I plan to spend a lot of time with him when he gets here.”
“Why didn’t the kids come now?”
“They’re in the middle of finals but I couldn’t wait. I had to get out of there.” She glanced at me. “And I’m kind of glad I did.”
“Me too.” I leaned over and kissed her, tenderly, taking pull after pull of her tongue right here in the kitchen. I could do this all day.
“Do you want to make out or talk about Luke?”
“Can we alternate?”
She chuckled. “Sure.” She reached for her phone again. “This is a video of his very first T-ball game about six or seven years ago. I think he was four. I keep it on my phone because it’s the cutest thing ever.” She handed it to me and I watched, grinning like an idiot. There was my kid, all maybe fifty pounds of him, lifting a bat and swinging wildly. Casey whispered that they got five swings before they were called out per league rules, and Luke missed the first four times, spinning in circles and once even sitting down in frustration. Then the coach was there, whispering something in his ear. Luke go
t up and grinned, saying loud enough to pick up on the video, “I got this, Coach!” He swung like his life depended on it, hitting the ball and sending it soaring in the outfield. And he ran like the devil, his little legs pumping as he rounded first.
The outfield, of course, consisted of more confused four-year-olds, who didn’t know who to throw to, paused to pick something off their shirts and spun in circles as the ball rolled past them, forgotten. Meanwhile, Luke was running out of steam as he rounded third, starting to walk even as the coaches yelled at him to keep going. The third baseman finally got the ball and started running in his direction, urging Luke into action. He took off again, throwing himself face-first onto home plate, even though the kid chasing him had given up and was sitting in the dirt crying.
I laughed and hit replay so I could watch it again.
“Will you send this to me?” I asked her. “I’d like to have it. I have lots of pictures of him, courtesy of Liz and Sandor and my father, but this is my favorite.”
“Mine too.” She picked up her phone. “I don’t have a phone number for you.”
I took her phone and keyed in my number. “Can we make out now?”
“I was thinking it’s naptime,” she said, faking a yawn.
“I could use a nap,” I said, taking her hand.
13
Casey
We made love and then fell asleep for a few hours. I’d told Penelope not to come today and was glad because when we woke up it was after five. We were starving and made our way into the kitchen, looking for food.
“There isn’t much in the way of food to cook,” I told Erik. “There’s stuff like fresh bread, cheese, some salami… What are you hungry for?”
“I don’t care,” he said, wrapping his arms around me from behind. “All I can think about is you.”
“We have to eat, though.”
“Bread and water are all I need as long as you’re with me.”
