by Marie Kelly
Lee could see his eyes shining with pride
“I had always sworn that I would get that back” he had said with determination “and then my father died”. Suddenly his voice became sad, as the memory returned to him as she slipped her hand into his and squeezed it gently. Lifting his head he had smiled down at her soft expression
“I kept going, and before I knew it mine was the largest company in Europe, then the world” He had sighed wistfully
Lee had looked at him gently
“And yet you don’t look happy Yanis” she said softly, as he had frowned at her
“Who of us really are” he had asked her with a small edge to his tone
“My mother and father were, and despite everything so where your mother and father” she had replied her eyes looking so deeply into his
For a moment he had looked as though he wanted to say something, before he had once more sighed and looked back at the pier they were approaching
“Well that kind of happiness seems to destroy everything around it” he had said softly “and I for one never want to have to deal with it”
Lee had felt her heart break at these words, not really sure what she had expected. The realisation finally dawning on her that she could never be anything more to him than a mistress and that he would move from one woman to another never letting any one woman have his heart. She had felt like crying at this realisation, but as they had now berthed he had helped her climb out onto the wooden pier, the island exuding a serenity which stilled the tears in her eyes.
With a soft sigh she had walked beside him as he had led her towards the small car which was to take them to the house at the very heart of the island.
As they drove up the windy road, Lee was amazed at the breathtaking greenery of the place. It was a wild place, and she imagined him growing up running through the vegetation growing as wild as the island itself. She could feel the connection between the two, both as untamed as the other.
“It’s beautiful” she had breathed, as he had smiled beside her
“Yes, I love this place more than anywhere else in the world” he had said softly “yet I find that I seem to come here less and less”
Lee had heard the sadness in his voice as he told her this, wondering what it was about this place which affected him so. At this point they had turned a bend and she had opened her mouth with wonder at the villa which they drove up to.
It was the perfect Mediterranean villa. Large with white washed walls and terracotta tiles it had large windows which looked out over the hillside on one side and the sea from the other as it perched near the edge of the cliff.
Lee had sat completely stunned, as he had watched her reaction, not understanding the need in him for her to love it as much as him. As they had moved into the cool interior she had admired the tiles and Greek architecture, updated with beautiful furnishings. He had led her up the grand stairs which swept up before splitting to branch off at different areas within the upstairs hallway.
As he had led her into one of the rooms, she had moaned with pleasure on seeing the large balcony on which she could look out to sea, closing her eyes to take in the sounds of the gulls noisily fighting overhead, while the sea swished against the rocks gently, the sound musical to her ears. She could feel the wind on her face and the smell of the salt, enjoying the cocktail of sensations which filled her.
With shining eyes she had looked over at him, as he stood so still watching her
“It is the most beautiful place I have ever seen” she had finally said, her whole body mirroring her words. With a smile he had moved over to wrap his arms around her, her head tucked neatly under his chin, as he had breathed in the island, his body relaxing as it always did when he came there.
“Apparently this was where I was conceived” he had smiled softly, as she had laughed back.
“Well I can see why” she smiled gently
“This must have been a wonderful place to grow up”
She had felt his head nodding, as the memories of his mother being there came flooding back. Memories he had pushed to the back of his mind for so many years. Suddenly, he was pointing out different landmarks, each with a story, as she had
Lee had never felt so happy, for the first time knowing that she was seeing the real Yanis, the man that had life not knocked the ability to love from him, he might one day have become. This thought causing a small feeling of sadness to wash over her.
Finally they had moved back down the stairs, where they were met by the housekeeper and maid, who lived there all year, often alone, as nobody ever came to the island anymore. Lee had once more felt a sensation of sadness that this island was now so unloved.
Leading her outside he had shown her the pool area in which they had sat and enjoyed some cocktails which he had made from the well stoked freezer in the bar. Lee had laughed at his ability to flip the cocktail shaker, discovering that he had made extra money as a young man by doing the same in some of the mainland bars for the many tourists who had flocked there in the summer.
He had grinned at her with a small wink
“Don’t tell anybody” he had said “Technically I was only 16 at the time…really shouldn’t have been doing it” he had added with a small chuckle
As the light had slowly disappeared, with the sound of the insects filling the air they had sat at one of the large balconies to enjoy a traditional Greek meal, which Lee had eaten hungrily, suddenly ravenous as a result of the fresh
sea air. The food and local wine had been delicious and the candle light had added to the romantic ambiance of the place.
Looking at Yanis, dressed so casually in long shorts and a tea shirt, which softened his whole appearance, Lee had felt the love in her chest straining so hard to escape and envelop him. He had smiled over at her
“I told you I would bring you here” he said softly as she had frowned softly
“Is that a precursor for your throwing me out” she asked gently, noticing a strange look pass through his eyes as he had dropped them to his food with a small frown
“I wish you hadn’t been the one who broke Jim’s heart” he had finally said looking back up at her
With a sad look at him she shook her head sadly.
“Jim is making good progress Yanis, I really believe that in a few days he will be awake, and then you will know that I’m not lying”
He had looked back at her, some of the old coldness returning
“Or he will just confirm what we all know”
With a sigh she had put down her fork
“Why do you wish I hadn’t been the one who broke his heart” she finally asked sadly seeing him frown
“Because who knows Lee, perhaps if we had gone for coffee we could have become friends”
Lee had looked at him her eyes full of sorrow
“Ah, that’s right you find it really easy to separate sex and friendship don’t you Yanis… as I recall the two are very different animals to you”
Yanis had watched her eyes grow so sad
“The thing is Yanis that I truly would never have gone out with you. After David the last thing I ever wanted to do was become involved with some rich, arrogant man who believes that the world should jump to their command, and believe me Jim had kept me well informed about the way you lived your life…..the sad thing is I really think he was jealous of you” she had said with a mirthless laugh “imagine that”
Yanis had looked deeply into her eyes, his brows drawn together thoughtfully
“Well perhaps fate stepped in then” he had said softly
Lee had suddenly felt incredibly tired
“I think I’ll go to bed” she had said quietly beginning to rise. However, he had moved his hand to place it on her wrist, his fingers gently stroking the soft underside, as she tried to hide the effect his touch was having on her.
“Don’t go Lee” he had said softly as she had looked at him her eyes haunted
“Let’s go for a walk” he said risi
Lee had allowed him to lead her as they both moved together silently. As they moved round a bend the beach opened up with the sea below them. With a gasp she could see the moon so large and low in the sky shining so brightly as she looked at it with eyes wide full of wonder
“It..it’s amazing” she breathed in awe as he had turned her around to face him. His hands holding hers as he had looked deeply into her eyes before cupping her face with his hands and moving his mouth so slowly to take hers as she had groaned, moving in against him. His kiss had been so soft to start becoming more demanding and passionate as they had sank into the sand together as they lost themselves in the need to hold each other, bringing each other to such wondrous heights before leaving each other shuddering in each others arms.
As the two of them has lain looking into each others eyes, they had not spoken just looked deeply at each other, neither willing nor able to talk.
Finally he had raised himself from her, pulling her up into his arms before the two had walked back to the villa, his arm around her shoulder, her arm around his waist. When they had arrived back at their room they had showered together, not making love but kissing and holding each other so sensually before laying on the bed and falling asleep wrapped in each others arms.
The next morning Lee had awoke still being held in his arms. She had watched his face, her heart breaking seeing the relaxed look. She longed to reach across and kiss those lips, but instead she had moved out of his hold moving to the shower before silently dressing and creeping out of the room. She had to get away from him, before she told him how she felt, before the words of love held so tightly within her could no longer be contained.
As he had woken up, he had looked around quickly for her frowning at not having her beside him. He had pulled on his clothes leaving the room in search of her. He had not found her anywhere in the house and as panic had began to clutch at him he had moved outside, moving towards the edge of the cliff and along the headway before spotting her.
Yanis had gasped in surprise at where she sat, sitting with her legs pulled up under her chin while sitting with her back against the large tree which clung to the edge of the cliff side as she stared out towards the sea, the breeze blowing her hair around her body.
As he had joined her, she had jumped slightly, smiling at him.
“I didn’t want to wake you” she said gently “but I needed some air” Yanis had swallowed hard sitting down beside her
“This was my mother’s favourite place to come and think” he said so softly looking at her thoughtfully
“I didn’t know” she said “I didn’t mean to upset you” she had added with a sigh
He had shaken his head, “No, I had forgotten until I saw you there” he said
“She always said that it helped to clear her mind, helped her make choices”
Lee nodded
“She sounds like a wonderful person” she had said gently, as he had nodded
“She really was” he said the memory of her suddenly filling him as he felt something deep within him tearing away. Taking her hand in his he had helped her once more to her feet
“Breakfast?” he asked, as she had laughed, smiling “I’m famished, are you cooking” she said as he led her back to the villa.
“Hell no” he had laughed “I don’t think either of us could handle that” Lee had smiled “shame… I would really like to see that” she had giggled flashing him one of her warm smiles, which lit up her face.
Later that afternoon they had swam in the aqua clear water before sitting on the wooden pier fishing.
Lee had smiled as she had looked over at him “Don’t you need hooks on the end of these if you want to catch fish” she had laughed as he had shaken his head
“Now Lee, you really haven’t understood the philosophy of fishing…. It’s not about catching fish… in fact if you catch a fish that’s when it gets messy” he had said, his face serious as he held back the laugh which had escaped her.
“My mistake, wise one” she giggled, enjoying seeing the fun playful side of his nature.
They had sat in silence a little while longer, both enjoying their peaceful surroundings, before he had turned to her a serious look on his face
“So what are you plans for the future Lee” he asked, as she had looked ahead before softly answering him
“Working with the kids at the orphanage reminded me of what I really wanted to do” she had said
“I guess that I would like to open that dance studio that I couldn’t when I was younger”
Lee had looked over at him
“What about you Yanis.. Do you have everything you ever wanted, or is their something still missing from your life”
Yanis had looked at her with a small frown on his face
“There is one thing I miss”, he said softly
Lee had raised her eyebrow in surprise “I thought you could buy anything”
“Not children” he had said so softly that Lee thought that she had imagined it.
He had looked across at her
“Don’t you ever think about settling down?”
Lee had tried hard to hide the hurt in her eyes, suddenly feeling the need to not have that talk with him as she had risen to her feet
“Well you know us gold diggers, Yanis” she said “When the right deal comes along I’ll think about it”
As she had started to walk away he had quickly caught up with her
“What the hell is that supposed to mean” he had asked her with a controlled anger in his voice
She had looked at him wearily
“It’s what you think isn’t it Yanis” she said her eyes looking into his, seeing how he had looked away, a thoughtful expression on his face. As he had turned back to her the sound of an engine on the water could suddenly be heard.
Looking over he had smiled
“Alexis and Diona” he had smiled looking out to sea as a speed boat had quickly moved into sight, the driver coming in fast
“Come” he said grabbing her hand as they made their way to the end of the pier to which the driver was securing his boat. Yanis had moved over to the tall handsome man and the two had embraced smiling widely at each other. As the woman had jumped from the boat Yanis had pulled her into his arms, spinning with her as he lifted her of her feet as she laughed happily. Lee had watched as he had dropped a kiss onto her lips, feeling a strange cold jealousy rip through her.
The three had laughed together, talking Greek animatedly, before he had pulled her forward introducing her to the other two
“Lee, I would like you to meet my good friends Alexis and his sister Diona” he said as Lee had smiled shyly at them. As they smiled back giving each other a strange look, Lee had looked closely at Diona, her heart sinking at just how lovely the woman was. Tall, incredibly beautiful, with long black hair which fell down her back she had smiled at Lee with her large blue eyes, which held nothing but warmth.
“It is lovely to meet you” she had said extending her hand, which Lee had taken with a smile. Alexis however had pulled her into his arms giving her a peck on both cheeks
“We heard you were back Yanis” he had said after releasing Lee with a small wink at her
“and Diona insisted we come over” he had grinned falling back into Greek as they had laughed together.
Lee had felt left out, until Yanis had insisted that they only talk in English, and the others had apologised quickly reverting back, as they had walked together to the car. On arriving at the villa, the four had then moved to sit around the pool, with Yanis once more making good his skills as a cocktail waiter. Lee had found herself quickly relaxing in the brother and sisters company laughing and joking easily with them as she was fed story after story of Yanis’s childhood, as he had begged them to stop.
“Please you are killing me here” he had cried, his eyes laughing into hers
CHAPTER NINE
After an hour food had suddenly appeared, and they had moved to the table under one of the many open balconies which covered the ground floor of the villa. She had enjoyed the evening finding herself looking over at Yanis often, confused at the completely different person he seemed to be on the island. At home he was controlling, serious and very much the business man, whereas here he was relaxed and playful, showing a side of his nature she had only glimpsed previously.
Finally Alexis had stood
“Well Yanis, we must go, hopefully it will not be so long till we see you again” he had said with a small laugh, before taking Lees hand and kissing her fingers gently
“I hope also to see you again Lee” he had said with warmth in his eyes which make her smile back.
Yanis nodded “It has been too long Alexis…far too long” he had said a thoughtful note to his voice
“I will get Maria to drive you back to the pier….I don’t think any of us should attempt it” he had smiled as he moved into the house. Diona had followed him
“I will come with you Yanis” she said softly, as the two had moved off together. After several minutes in which they had still not returned Lee had excused herself and moved into the house to find them. Hearing a sound from one of the other balconies she had moved over to investigate. As she had stood in the shadows of the door, hidden from those outside she had felt her whole world collapse around her. Standing in the balcony Yanis held Diona, his arms wrapped around her as hers were to him, as they embraced each other.
Lee had held back the sob which came rushing to her mouth as her heart fell to the floor shattered into a thousand pieces. Quickly she had turned away brushing away the tears which came to her eyes with shaky hands. Standing still to calm herself she had stood silently with her whole world in tatters. Hearing them break apart, she had moved quickly back out to meet with Alexis, forcing a smile on her face which hid the complete heartache she felt inside. As the two had rejoined them Lee noticed how each had smiled at the other with happiness, her heart sinking even lower than she could ever have thought possible. At that point the car had arrived and the two had noisily jumped in waving good bye before disappearing out of sight.
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