Husband By Request

by Rebecca Winters

  “My wife went to a psychiatrist after she left me. She got therapy to understand herself better. You have eyes and you can see what’s happened to her. She’s blossomed into the woman who was always there, but was insecure. You could benefit from therapy, Olympia. You’re a lovely-looking woman who has insecurities too. Theo left you with enough money to pay for some professional counseling. If I were you I’d seek it, starting tomorrow. Not only for yourself, but for the son you’re raising.”

  “You talk as if I’m mentally ill.”

  “There’s something wrong with a woman who claims to have been raped.”

  Her features froze.

  “I have proof it never happened, Olympia.”

  “How do you dare say that to me?”

  “This week my attorney went to a judge, who subpoenaed your hospital records. You were never admitted to the emergency room at Acropolis Hospital to be examined, as you claimed. There was no such record because you made up the whole story.”

  “I didn’t go to that hospital. I went to a private clinic to keep things secret.”

  “You know that’s not true. Your lies just keep compounding. I found that out when I phoned Theo.”

  “He hates you. He would never talk to you.”

  “You’re wrong. We were friends before you two met. I had a long talk with him about you. I learned firsthand about the hell you put him through. He never physically or emotionally abused you. It was the opposite in fact. For nine months you tormented him by telling him Ari was my baby. You were the one who drove him to charge us with adultery. There’s something wrong with a wife who lies to her husband about the paternity of the child he has every right to believe is his.”

  “He got his wish.”

  “Only after you extinguished any love he might have had for you. Something else I find unconscionable is the way you destroyed any hope of Paul and Maris getting together. He told me that clear back in high school you made certain the two of them never got together. All because you were sick with jealousy and frustration.”

  Her teeth clenched. “I hated Paul for always hanging around you. He knew how I felt about you. I could tell he tried to keep us apart.”

  “As I told you earlier, the chemistry wasn’t there, Olympia. Paul didn’t have anything to do with it, yet you hurt two people I loved very much. You knew Maris was crazy about him. How cruel was it to feed her lies, making her think Paul didn’t care for her?”

  “He wasn’t good enough for her.”

  “You can’t play with people’s lives like that and hope to get away with it forever. When you started to tangle with Dominique, you really got yourself into trouble. I’d say there’s a lot wrong with you for purposely and vindictively trying to undermine her confidence. How would you have liked to be twenty-two years old when you heard a diagnosis like hers? How would you have liked being told you needed a mastectomy immediately or you would die?

  “Have you ever tried to imagine how she feels when she wakes up every day, wondering if her cancer has come back? Every month she has to take a test, never knowing if it’ll turn up positive. Her bravery is something you don’t know anything about.”

  He got to his feet and reached for a nearby towel to wipe himself off. “With professional help you might just be able to approach Theo again and start trying to work things out. No matter what you say, there was a spark there, or Ari wouldn’t have been born. He’s a wonderful boy. Straighten yourself out before it’s too late. You think you’re in pain now, but if Ari grows up estranged from you you’ll never recover from the pain.”

  Andreas turned to leave.

  “No—please—I love you. You can’t go!” She threw herself at him and clung to him. “What will Ari do without you? You’re the only man he knows and loves.”

  “Children are resilient. He’ll grow to love someone else. But if you truly love your son you’ll do the right thing and get help, so he can at least be united with Theo.”

  Andreas had to use force to physically remove her before he could leave her apartment. The second he pulled the door closed he heard something crash against it, then came her sobs.

  He headed for the limo waiting out in front of the apartment. His pilot was standing by at the airport. Andreas couldn’t get back to Zakynthos and his wife fast enough.

  It was after midnight when he raced through the villa to their bedroom. She wasn’t there.

  “Dominique?”

  When there was no answer, he ran out to the pool.

  “Dominique?”

  There was no sign of her. At the thought of her leaving him again, he broke out in a cold sweat.

  “Dominique!”

  “Kyrie Stamatakis?” He jerked around to discover Eleni, running toward him in her bathrobe. “After lunch she took the estate car and said she was going for a drive. I haven’t seen her since.”

  His heart almost failed him.

  With eighty plus miles of coastline, she could be anywhere. She might even have decided to take a commercial chopper back to Athens. He knew she hadn’t called his own pilot or he would have been told.

  He pulled out his cellphone and called hers. It rang and rang. He left a message, begging her to call him back immediately.

  “I’m going to look for her in my car. If by any chance she should call the house or come home, tell her to stay put!”

  “I will.”

  As he drove out onto the main road from the estate, he made a decision to cross over to the eastern side of the island. She’d probably gone to one of the small resort towns along the coast and decided to spend the night at a local hotel.

  He passed through Alikanas and Tsilivi, looking for signs of the car in front of every tourist accommodation. When nothing turned up he assumed she’d driven all the way to the town of Zakynthos.

  It was a large, bustling place that didn’t have the charm it had once had before an earthquake destroyed part of it. But it would be a good place to shop, if that had been her plan.

  Or to take a public chopper back to Athens.

  After learning from the man in charge of the heliport that she hadn’t been a passenger, he breathed more easily and began searching the parking areas of the most reputable hotels—with no success.

  After a while he realized it was a lost cause. The only thing to do was make a full circle of the island and then go back to the villa and wait for her to call, or for her to show up in the morning.

  Andreas groaned, because it was an exceptionally beautiful night. He ached for his wife. Tonight he had vital news for her.

  As the car ate up the miles, he marveled at the full moon bathing the water in light. He was reminded of nights years ago, when he and Paul used to hang out at Laganas, the next town coming up on his left.

  Its beach was one of the world’s main nesting grounds for endangered Loggerhead sea turtles. The sight brought thousands of tourists to the island, though he, like other environmentalists, hated the influx.

  At certain times of the year the turtles climbed onto the beach at night to lay their eggs a foot deep in the sand. Later, when they hatched, the fledglings needed to find their way to the water. The moon lit up the waves to help direct them toward it.

  Unfortunately, in the past, lights from cafés and discos had confused the turtles, and many had died of dehydration after moving in the direction of the town.

  Andreas had used his influence to help protect the turtles by establishing strict rules to prevent civilization from encroaching on their territory. As a result there was a no-lights curfew, no umbrellas permitted in the sand, no digging, no dogs, no boats, and no talking to disturb nature’s precious system for preserving the species.

  The tourists who flocked here at this time of year to see the babies hatching were now forced to observe the fascinating phenomenon from the place where the wild grass met the sand. Thus the fledglings wouldn’t be startled or tormented, unless it was by seabirds on the hunt for food.

  He’d always intended to bring D
ominique here. But she’d left Greece before that could happen, plunging him into a black void of despair. “At the next full moon,” he’d promised her.

  As the words left his lips, he felt the hairs prickle on the back of his neck. Something told him he might find her here.

  She had to be here. He couldn’t think beyond that.

  At the bend in the road he slowed down and cruised by the designated parking area. Relief washed over him when he discovered the estate car among the others. He pulled into the first free place and got out.

  After walking a few yards he spotted her, lying at the edge of the grass on her stomach. She’d separated herself from everyone else.

  He hadn’t needed to worry that it would take him time to spot her, not with her glorious silvery-gold mane illuminated by the moonlight. Talk about heavenly foxfire.

  CHAPTER TEN

  DOMINIQUE did what the other tourists were doing and lay on her stomach. Signs had been posted everywhere, warning the tourists to stay invisible. She tried not to move while she waited to see signs of turtle activity along the beach.

  If she hadn’t heard some people talking about the full moon tonight she would have been on the next plane to Kefalonia. From there she would have taken another plane to Athens, before booking through to Sarajevo as her final destination.

  But this was a sight she’d always wanted to see. What was another six hours before she left Greece? With Ari in the hospital, it might be another day before Andreas felt he could leave.

  For now she pushed that pain to the nethermost region of her heart and concentrated on a phenomenon of nature that could only be viewed here and at a few other rare spots on earth.

  She’d been lying there several hours, anticipating the moment when she would see movement. Maybe there wouldn’t be any. Some of the tourists had already given up their vigil.

  A few more minutes and she detected footfall behind her. She looked around. Her body quickened when she discovered who was staring down at her.

  Andreas put a finger to his lips to stop her from making any noise. In the next instant he’d stretched himself out next to her and slid his arm around her shoulders.

  For the moment they had to refrain from communicating with words. It was just as well. She couldn’t deal with any more pain right now. Besides, his nearness had caused her heart to thud so hard and fast she was afraid the baby turtles would sense the vibration through the tons of sand.

  While she kept her eyes trained on the beach, she could feel Andreas’s gaze studying her profile. She didn’t dare look at him. Her emotions were in far too much turmoil.

  Another ten minutes passed. Suddenly he applied a little pressure to her shoulder, alerting her that he’d noticed something. He was staring across the sand to the left.

  She followed his gaze. Sure enough, about ten feet off, she saw two little turtles no bigger than fifty cent pieces surface and start making their way toward the foam.

  It was a magical moment.

  Her eyes filled with tears. She held her breath, hoping they would make it to the water without incident. The danger from predators was great, and a large percentage of them perished.

  Andreas had once told her that scientists believed the magnetic field of the earth got imprinted in their brains during their struggle across the beach. That imprint enabled them to find their way back here in twenty years to lay their own eggs.

  She found the whole experience indescribably moving.

  At the end of an hour, the little babies had reached the water. Other fish and crabs were probably waiting for them now they’d disappeared in the ocean, but she was so relieved they’d made it that far she wanted to cry for joy.

  Unable to help herself, she turned her head to look at her husband. She discovered moist black eyes fastened on her.

  No matter what the future held, she was thankful he’d found her in time to witness something that had become a spiritual experience for both of them.

  In one lithe movement, he got to his feet and pulled her up with him. Without a sound passing between them, they quietly made their way back to the parking area.

  After helping her into the estate car he whispered in his deep male voice, “Follow me.”

  She waited until he’d driven out to the road, then stayed right behind him. He drove another two minutes before entering a marina, where there was a speedboat rental shop. She pulled in next to him and got out of the car.

  Though it was the middle of the night, her husband showed no hesitation in knocking at the door of the cabin next to the office to waken the owner.

  The older man who answered in a bathrobe greeted Andreas with a clap on the shoulder and a hearty welcome. They spoke in Greek. While she waited outside, they went into his office.

  In a few minutes the owner came out with a set of keys. Andreas trailed, carrying a cooler. He’d obviously planned an outing for them. Her reward for being a good wife while he’d been gone to help Olympia with her son?

  Pain pierced her heart, robbing her of the joy he wanted to give her. Not willing to make a scene, she walked behind them and climbed in the boat. Andreas placed the cooler on the floor before handing her a life jacket to put on.

  The proprietor untied the ropes, giving Andreas the signal to start the motor. They reversed before heading out into the bay. The owner waved them off with a smile, unaware of Dominique’s turmoil.

  To him it probably looked romantic. A couple out for a moonlight picnic.

  Her husband flashed her a covert glance. “The ocean’s calm tonight. Lie back against the seat and enjoy the view.”

  His nearness created havoc with her senses. “Are we going far?”

  “Let me surprise you.”

  She had to admit the next hour was one of enchantment. They followed the coastline up the northwest side of the island. The panorama changed from lush fertile land to towering cliffs. He brought the boat in close, to see them at their greatest advantage. They were so steep she got dizzy when she looked all the way up their sheer walls.

  Here and there she glimpsed secret coves and impossibly white beaches that appeared untouched by humans. The powerfully built man at the helm, with his disheveled black hair and penetrating eyes, might well be a descendant of the ancient Achaean pirates, stealing her away to a lonely grotto only he knew about.

  Something in his demeanor sent a delicious shiver through her body. He was the same man she’d married, yet he wasn’t. Few words had passed between them, making her the slightest bit nervous in an exciting, breathless kind of way.

  She’d thought she knew everything about her husband, but the possessiveness in the curl of his hard mouth added a new dimension that made the blood sing in her veins.

  The boat cleaved through the water faster and faster. He had a definite destination in mind. A few more minutes and she let out a gasp to see Shipwreck Beach before them. Andreas’s backyard.

  The pristine beach was hemmed in on three sides by tall, gigantic cliffs. It was a difficult place to reach. You could take a footpath after parking your car way back on the road. But the best way to visit it was by water.

  She’d been down here with him once before, but only during the day, when boatloads of tourists stopped for a brief look on their tour of the island. An old rusted hull of a ship, stranded in a storm years earlier, lay in the middle of the sand.

  Tonight they had the whole place to themselves beneath a full moon that made the oceanscape surreal. Not a soul was in sight. They could be the last two people on earth.

  She saw fire glint in the black depths of his eyes. He wanted to make love to her here in this paradise he’d loved from boyhood. She sensed his excitement at being here alone with her, away from the world.

  The palpable sensual tension had been building between them since they’d lain together on the grass watching the turtles.

  Dominique was furious with herself for feeling this weakness around him. Earlier tonight she’d been on the verge of leaving for Sarajevo.
Yet here she was, full of desire for her husband.

  If she gave in to her longings now, it meant something was wrong with her. It would be clear to Andreas that she was willing to put up with Olympia in their lives because she couldn’t give him up.

  “No, don’t—” she cried when he cut the engine.

  Shadows darkened his features. “What do you mean, don’t?”

  “I—I want to go back to our cars.”

  “It’s too late,” he said in a grating voice.

  In front of her astonished gaze he walked to the back of the boat and jumped into the water in order to push them up on the sand. Before she could blink, he swam around to her side and lifted her bodily from the boat, with her life jacket still on.

  He was big and moved like an athlete. Carrying her in a fireman’s hold, he walked up the beach with her as if she weighed no more than a couple of cotton balls.

  “Wait here.” His lips grazed hers before he went back to the boat for the cooler. When he returned a second time, with blankets he’d no doubt pulled from one of the lockers beneath the padded bench, her fingers still covered lips that hadn’t stopped tingling from the electrifying contact.

  He spread out one blanket on the sand. When he removed his shirt, he looked like a statue of a Greek god come to life. In the moonlight she felt bewitched by him.

  Frightened of his power over her, she averted her eyes. “I can’t do this.”

  “Can’t do what? Love me like you did when you came back to try and make our marriage work?”

  “I—I made that request before I realized some marriages aren’t fixable.”

  “I agree with that statement—if the husband and wife aren’t both fighting for it with every breath in their bodies.”

  “Sometimes not even that is enough.”

  He closed the distance between them and removed her life jacket. “Look at me.”

  She shook her head. “It’s no use, Andreas.”

  As she struggled to pull away he said, “Tonight I made certain Olympia is out of our lives forever.”

  “I’d like to believe that.” Her voice trembled. “But we bo—”