If there was any way she could be of value in getting Jasmine back safely I was all for it. Plus, I trusted Brock's judgment. If he agreed with her that she should come, then I would have to assume he had his reasons. I knew those reasons had nothing to do with sex or this new-found relationship. He told her to be ready when the car came for her and hung up. I turned to him with some concern.
"Does Janie know about The Project?" He looked over to our team, waiting patiently for us to return. So much more was at stake here then one girl's life, no matter how precious that life was to me. Could we do this? Could we keep The Project on track and still be able to rescue my Jasmine from whoever had set this trap? Because I knew this was a trap, meant to lure us to Greece and the danger that my home country has for both of us.
"No, I wasn't ready to bring her in although I was planning to soon. I will tell her on the way over, she should know what she is walking into." I balked at the idea of telling her so early in the plan. "She is a journalist Brock, are you sure you can trust her to not reveal everything before we are ready for others to know?" I knew that timing was everything in this venture. One wrong word at the wrong time could cost everyone involved millions and many people their lives.
He looked at me and I saw there was no going back on his decision. Brock can be stubborn at times, and it his greatest weakness while at the same time his biggest strength. I understand a stubborn nature, having a reputation for one myself. "Okay," I said, "let's get this team coordinated for remote instructions before we leave."
We turned and began to address our assembled team members, knowing we would have to be thinking of our ways to rescue Jasmine while we shifted our plans for The Project into high gear and remote control. Once completed, we headed out to pick up Janie and meet my plane that was refueled and ready to head out. It is a good thing I always require my pilots to get rested and my techs to have the plane refueled and serviced the moment we land in any airport. I have found that being prepared for the unexpected has its payoffs and this was one of them.
We were airborne by the time another hour had passed. I worried about Jasmine. She may be one of the smartest, toughest and most beautiful women I had met in years, but she was only human. On the other hand she was no victim, so I knew that the moment she saw the lay of the land she would be creating a way out. But still I worried because I knew that with people like this, things have a way of ending badly. I know because I have dealt with their like before and paid the price. But not this time, I swear.
Jasmine
I may have been in a state of worry about Antonio when I left Janie that note; that soon changed once I was on board the plane. Mind you, finding a flight to Athens on a moment's notice was tough, but Brock's name can do wonders. The message had propelled me into action and I was surprised at how fiercely protective I was of Antonio. After all, we had just met each other a week ago, though I knew of him through my boss Brock. Like Brock, he had made his billions through smart choices and hard work, not because of some rich daddy to get him started.
Antonio's family had owned a manufacturing plant that was destroyed during World War II and so he had to rebuild the family fortune brick by brick. At least, that is the way he loved to explain it to me. He is charming in that old fashion way that only the Greeks can do. But he is also almost old enough to be my father, and I still found him enormously sexy. He exudes a manly and down to earth manner that is refreshing after all the young turks I deal with every day at Principle Records. I had yet to find out if that manly sexiness extended to the bedroom. But my mother always told me all good things come to those who wait, so I was more than willing to give the relationship time to build.
It is this macho ability to handle whatever life threw him that was my first clue that all was not what it seemed in that text that supposedly came from Antonio. This is not a man that asks for help lightly, and if he did need help I could see him asking Brock for it before he would ask me. Not that he is any kind of a male chauvinist; he is too practical for that. Women yield plenty of power in Greece where he grew up and he has a healthy respect for that. But he is also a self-made man who would not have used the language I saw in that text. That is why I knew this was a setup once I was sitting in my seat on the plane, heading out to Greece. The question was, why me? And what did they hope to gain?
Brock and Antonio had been in a series of high-power meetings for the last few months. The meetings had taken place at Principle Records after hours, on planes between meetings in far flung capitals and in hotel rooms in places I had to look up to identify. I didn't know exactly what they were up to, and neither of them took me into their confidence. I was miffed at first, of course. I was used to always knowing what Brock was up to, no matter if it was pursuing a new act for the label or acquiring a new off shore source of wealth for his dozens of other businesses.
As for Antonio, the relationship was new but he knew I was used to handling all kinds of confidential business for Brock. I figured I would bide my time and they would tell me when they were ready and needed me to help. My mastery of languages, spiderweb of connections through my years of assisting Brock in every aspect of his business and ability to see the best approach for organization had earned me my place at the top of Brock's team of assistants.
Antonio knew this, and understood I was no pretty accessory from the first time we met. It was his appreciation for what I could accomplish and not just for my body that led me to accept that first date. The last month had been a whirlwind of amazing evenings, each one topping the next. But still, it had taken him two dates to actually kiss me. My mom was right, good things do come to those who wait because that first kiss was enough to knock my socks off. Experience counts in more than just running a business!
But Antonio does run several big businesses, some of them involved in providing for the military in Europe. I was guessing that it might be this business that prompted this latest escapade where someone was obviously trying to lure me to Greece in order to blackmail Antonio. I sent Janie a text from the plane, letting her know what flight I was on and what I was thinking. She let me know that she was on her way to meet me, along with Brock and Antonio. If they were in his private jet they would beat my big lumbering commercial airliner even with their later takeoff.
Whoever was waiting for me at the airport was going to get a big surprise when Antonio's private security force found them. I didn't feel any pity for them at all. I also looked forward to seeing my big sexy Greek in his home territory. I knew that if he seemed larger than life in LA, he would really be in his element and almost overpoweringly sexy in Greece. I shivered in delight as I contemplated this, while I waited for our circling plane to land at Athens airport.
Antonio
The text Jasmine sent to Janie while we were airborne was reassuring, though it shouldn't have been surprising. Jasmine was no fool; I should have known she would see through this cloak and dagger routine once she gave it any thought. Still, the idea that anyone would even consider threatening her in order to get to me had me angry. They would pay.
I had talked with and emailed Jasmine plenty of times over the last few years, ever since she became Brock's right hand person. I knew from those exchanges that she was brilliant and more than capable of keeping even a handful such as Brock in line. What I hadn't expected was to find she was so breathtakingly beautiful she stopped me in my tracks the first time we met face to face.
The woman I had come to admire from a distance could have been a model for any poster advertising Southern California. Tall, tan and willowy, she had a cascade of blonde wavy hair that descended to her trim waist and big blue eyes the color of the Pacific Ocean on a sunny day. I could well understand why the rock and rollers that hovered around her desk had a hard time to not salivate when she walked by.
But they were all children as far as I was concerned and not worthy of her attention. She tended to agree with me and dismissed them all with a wave of her hand, no matter where their records wer
e in the charts. She admitted that when she first began working at Principle Records she had dreams of being swept off her feet by one of that crowd. But the more she got to know them, the less she respected them. Some became friends, a few short term lovers but never anything serious. It was that element of respect that seemed to always be missing.
Respect is important to her, I soon learned. Her family had been immigrants and life was tough when she was a kid. Her looks may have gotten her the job, but it was her brains and Brock's respect for her hard work that moved her up the ladder. His respect for her was what had me interested in meeting her in the first place. It was hard to believe that the amazing mind I had talked with over emails was a part of that incredible body. A body I fully intended to explore in detail as soon as this latest escapade was over. If anything, this latest threat helped me to realize that she had become much more than "arm candy" for my outings in the last few weeks. My only question was what she thought of me. Our one kiss had been a scorcher, but I never trusted such things to last.
Of course, the other big question was whether to take Jasmine and Janie into our confidence about The Project. I was pretty sure that an attempt to railroad it was behind this texting routine that had put Jasmine in danger. There were plenty of people out there who might have gotten wind of our plans and had decided that they needed to put a stop to it right away. But I would not let them do that, nor would Brock. It was too important.
I looked at Brock and I could tell he was thinking the same thing. It was time to take her into our confidence. "Janie," he began, "we need to tell you what this is all about. But I need to know that you will keep quiet about this project that Antonio and I have going. There is much more at stake here than simply money. Can I trust you to trust us?"
She looked at Brock and then at me. She put her phone down and gave us her full attention. "Of course you can Brock. I can't help if I don't know the whole story. I had a feeling there was more going on here than just another business merger. What are you two up to and why does it involve Jasmine?"
He looked at me and I nodded for him to take the lead. She was his lover, and he knew how that clever journalist mind worked. He would know the best approach to this. In the end her writing could be an asset to this rather than a hindrance, if he approached her correctly.
"You know that Greece has become a focal point for the mass migrations coming out of Syria these days. So many European counties that at first seemed willing to take these people in are now closing their borders, afraid that the sheer numbers will leave their social services overwhelmed and the countries bankrupt. But Antonio and I, along with a few others like us who had the finances and the business stake in Europe, have come up with a solution. We are creating a sort of underground railway, much like the one formed for the slaves to escape the South to Canada in the days before the Civil War."
She looked from Brock to me with a new light in her eyes, one that seemed to see where he was going with this. I felt encouraged. "We have homes ready for them," he continued, "businesses created for them to work and schools ready to take their children in to continue their education. It's an enormous project, one that will take billions of dollars and man-hours to accomplish. It is also something that initially has to be done in secret, until everything is in place. It is the only way to turn this catastrophe into a positive development for Europe. But we cannot reveal it until the time is right."
She turned to Brock, a smile playing across her lips. "What can I do to help?" I knew we had made the right decision. Now I just had to get my beloved Jasmine out of harm's way and into my arms. The plane began to make its decent into Athens airport. We had radioed ahead and the commercial plane, scheduled to come in about 15 minutes after us would taxi to a spot near us so Jasmine could be off the plane before they even came to their arrivals gate. It didn't hurt that I owned the airline and that my connections into the Greek government included being able to detour her outside of normal security channels. Power has its uses. The elements who had tried to harm her would be easy to identify as soon as the passengers had arrived, as we had a decoy all set up to lure them. Now all I had to do was curb my impatience until I had Jasmine safe and sound. Not an easy task.
Jasmine
The sight of Antonio waiting for me as I was helped down from the plane was a welcome relief. He crushed me to him and I couldn't help but bury my head into his broad strong chest, inhaling the scent of his leathery after shave and his favorite big cigars. His arms encircling me felt so right, so safe. I was soon aware that in many ways I didn't want to leave that safe place. But all too soon Janie and Brock were there and we were all talking together of plans while in Athens, Brock and Antonio exchanging little glances from time to time.
We climbed into the waiting limo destined for Athens. As we headed into the ancient city, Antonio began to explain The Project to me. I had known for some time that this was so much more than just another of their business deals, but I hadn't realized how important it was. "Whoever it was that sent that text will stop at nothing to derail you plans." I commented."The question is who could it be and how much do they know?" Antonio kissed my hand. "Don't worry, we are already on it." With their kind of money and power both Antonio and Brock were already assigning experts to track the texts, take the men waiting at the airport into custody and get to the bottom of this.
Antonio has always been the kind of man that touches others as he talks, but today he couldn't seem to stop touching me as if to reassure himself I was here and okay. The devotion he showed me filled me with such warmth; it was more intoxicating then any rock and rollers "sweet baby" that I dealt with every day at work. Perhaps because it showed me more than anything that he really cared for me the way I did for him.
"We will find these men my Jasmine," he whispered to me as if we were in a world of our own. I snuggled up to him, and reached for his rugged lips. The kiss was just as electric as I remembered the first time we kissed. His mouth was demanding, but at the same time gentle. Everything I knew about him, his close-knit family and enormous wealth, his many sorrows and joys, seemed rolled up in his kiss.
Like everything about him, it was larger than life, giving as well as receiving and held in it a promise of so much more. It was that promise that kept getting stronger every time we were around each other. As we looked into each other's eyes, I knew that soon we would need to go beyond these exotic kisses. But there was also something in him that was holding back and it had me worried. Was there something lacking in me, was I enough woman for such a man?
Antonio
While Brock and Janie headed into town, I had made other arrangements for my Jasmine and I. At first I just wanted to take her to all my favorite places in the city where I had grown up. But the longer we wandered arm in arm through the crowded streets, the more I knew I wanted the two of us alone, not amongst a crowd of strangers. Plus, there was no way to know if she was truly safe, even with the two unobtrusive guards that shadowed us along the way. We stood in the sunny streets of Athens, looking deep into each other's eyes, and I saw the same need in her that I felt.
My little flower looked like the goddess of love herself with her golden hair sweeping around her in the light summer breeze and the soft cotton shirt outlining her magnificent breasts. How I longed to taste those breasts against my tongue, to feel my hands smooth against her hips and trace to that soft inner skin of the thigh. That body could drive a man crazy, and I was quickly reaching the boiling point.
We had been wandering through the marketplace and I presented her with a bouquet of fragrance lavender from a nearby vendor. She buried her face in it and looked up at me through those enormous lashes, almost making my heart stop. "How do you feel about getting out of the city for a while with me?" I asked her. Her smile froze as she looked around us."Is something wrong? Did they follow us here?" I could have kicked myself for spoiling her pleasure. "No, I just would love to share with you my favorite place in all of Greece, or Europe for that matter. I
t isn't far from here and we can take a helicopter out to it quite quickly."
I had already called when she was chatting up a local vendor earlier, certain she would agree. She won my heart all over again when she answered in my native Greek "Wherever you go beloved, is my favorite place." It is a line from an ancient Greek play that we had once discussed over the phone. That was before I had actually met her and found her taking my heart by storm. How could I resist? I covered her with little kisses right there in the marketplace. We ignored the teasing cries of joy from the locals as we lost ourselves in each other.
Soon we were soaring over the city and past it into the countryside. Every time she asked, "Where are we going?" I would just smile and say, "You will see my little flower." She smiled and looked down at her bouquet of lavender, the scent of it filling our little cockpit. Soon we were over the Aegean Sea and looking down on Skorpios, my island home away from home. The lush green hills, white sand beaches and clear blue waters spun below us as we came in to land.
We strolled through the hills down to the beach, enjoying the peace and quiet of the island. "Is this your own island?" she asked, but I knew she knew the answer. As we stood on the beach, looking out on the sunlit waters, I took her in my arms and we kissed again. This time the kiss was more demanding, more hungry and she answered with her own needs fully expressed. My hands reached to the top of her shirtdress and unbuttoned it, slowly.
As each button opened it revealed to my questing eyes more of that soft velvety skin, sun kissed and so very inviting. My tongue tasted the salt of her skin with each longing kiss as one by one her shirtdress was unbuttoned until finally it fell to the beach, forgotten. The little strip of lace she wore beneath her dress was quickly removed, and my hungry tongue found her nipples, already hardened and warmed by the Greek sun. Her hands were busy as well, reaching into my shirt to caress my skin as I kissed her with greater and greater passion.
VAMPIRE:Vampire Guardian Series: Paranormal Mystery Vampire Alpha Male Romance (New Adult Contemporary Paranormal Royalty Fantasy Romance Collection)) Page 22
