A Wanderer's Safe Haven: An International Billionaire Romance (Summer Flame Series Book 1)

by Maggie Kane

  Emma pulled her knees up and rested her forehead on them. He had opened the door, could she go through it? Could they find her in the middle of nowhere Greece? Would she be safe here? Could she risk bringing the danger that haunted her into this family? The questions swirled around like leaves in a brisk fall wind. She had no answers, but as she stood and looked at the cream and rose colored bed in which she had known such pleasure, she knew what she was going to do.

  Chapter 11

  Nikos looked up as she walked into the kitchen with her backpack slung over one shoulder. His heart dropped. How could she leave after last night? After what they had shared this morning? He kept cutting fruit for their breakfast but resolved not to let her go without a fight.

  He put the yogurt, fruit, granola, a wedge of cheese and the rest of the bread on a platter and carried it to the table.

  “Do you want coffee,” he asked with his back to her.

  “No. You know, I had better just get going. The longer I stay…” Emma trailed off. She had no idea what to say, and tears were dangerously close to the surface.

  Nikos slowly turned to face her. His temper was simmering. He was beyond frustrated with her. “You are just going to leave? After that?” he said with a gesture toward the bedroom. His voice was hard with emotion he was trying to keep under control. He blew out a harsh sigh and pulled his hand through his hair.

  For a heartbeat and then two, Nikos just stood looking at her. She looked like a scared rabbit ready to bolt for its hole. No way, he thought and closed the distance between them. He pulled her roughly toward him into a demanding kiss. His mouth was hot and insistent on hers. Despite her initial resistance, she melted against him and answered his passion. “After this? You are going to walk away from this?” He murmured the words against her mouth. He pulled her to his chest and held her there. “Stay, Emma.”

  Emma’s eyes couldn’t hold the tears anymore, and they leaked out, clinging to her lashes and spilling onto her cheeks. She told her feet to move. She knew he wouldn’t hold her if she really wanted to go. But she couldn’t do it. Her body refused to obey her because her heart had already decided it was staying.

  Nikos felt her surrender, as Emma let the backpack slide from her shoulders and threw her arms around his neck. He caught her up in his arms and held her tightly against him. After a few moments, she sucked in a few deep breaths and disengaged herself. She stepped away from him and sat down at the table, motioning for him to join her. He dropped into the chair opposite her and immediately pushed it back to rock on the rear legs. Emma shook her head. Every man in her family was over 6 foot tall, and they all did that the instant their ass hit a chair.

  “What,” Nikos asked as he tore off a chunk of bread and popped it in his mouth.

  “Nothing. It’s just that I recognized that chair thing you just did. My dad and all my uncles do the same thing. My grandmother snaps her dishtowel at them.” Emma could see her grandmother’s kitchen with its yellow walls and sunflower curtains. A painful lump settled in her chest, and she had to wait a moment before she could speak without worrying about bursting into tears. If she was going to stay, she had to make double sure not to share things about herself. He could never learn who she really was.

  “Anyway,” she continued, brushing the memory aside, “You said something about a job last night?”

  Nikos lounged a moment, rocking in his chair and tried to read her. She had just slammed the door on any personal inquiries he was about to make regarding her past. He decided to let it ride for the moment. However, one day, she would tell him everything.

  “Yes. Gretchen’s mother is old and frail, and she needs help with a lot of things now. I offered to move Yaya here,” he said using the Greek address for grandmother. “But she is stubborn and wants to stay in her home. So Gretchen goes back and forth. Abigail goes with her happily. Yaya is the grandmother in her life, but it is an extra strain on Gretchen. I would like you to help with some of Gretchen’s duties here and keep Abigail a couple of days a week. Is that something you could do?”

  Emma considered. She had no experience with children. She was an only child and never had been much into babysitting. Housekeeping was also something that she would not include on her resume as a strength. How hard could it be? She thought. I can mop floors and keep a 4 year old entertained. Besides, it is only temporary. A couple of weeks at the most.

  With a smile and a slight shrug of her shoulder, Emma said “Sure. Why not? What do you pay?”

  They discussed salary over breakfast and Emma could tell that Nikos was surprised by her ability to negotiate. She was happy with the final agreement and felt like she could hold up her end of the bargain. She cleaned the breakfast dishes after refusing his help and reminding him that he had just hired her to do the job. Afterward, he gave her a tour of the mansion.

  Emma’s initial impression of luxury, comfort and the overall good taste was confirmed as they wandered floor to floor through room after room. The family mainly stayed on the west side of the house while the east side held a dozen or so guest rooms and a huge library. She had been very excited when he showed it to her. There were books in many languages and a computer that he said she was welcome to use. Emma knew she had just found her sanctuary.

  As they concluded the tour, they heard the crunch of tires in the driveway. A few moments later, the door burst open, and a little girl in pigtails with a stuffed unicorn under one arm and a doll in the other came flying through the kitchen. Nikos scooped her up and swung her around as she spoke rapidly in Greek. A woman with a lovely face and dark black hair with a sprinkle of silver followed the little girl in. She paused in the doorway and smiled fondly at father and daughter before she noticed Emma standing a little ways off. She looked her up and down slowly before regarding Nikos with a frown.

  In rapid, stern Greek, Gretchen issued orders, and Nikos put Abigail down so she could carry them out. The little girl left at a run, her apparent speed of choice, and disappeared presumably to put up her toys in her room. Gretchen then cocked a finger at Nikos and walked from the room past Emma without as much as a hello.

  Nikos rolled his eyes and gave Emma a quick peck on the cheek as he walked by. “Just give me a few moments to get her filled in. She’s going to be thrilled to have some help.” He patted her ass as he walked off.

  Emma shook her head at his naivety. Gretchen was most obviously unhappy at having her here, and she didn’t think anything Nikos could say would change that. This might be a shorter stay than I thought, Emma mused and was surprised just how sad the thought made her.

  Chapter 12

  Emma sat on her bed with her backpack beside her. She was waiting for Nikos to tell her that the deal was off and that he would take her to town. The muffled voices had risen and fallen as the argument had raged. Abigail had poked her head in the door and looked at Emma with open interest. When Emma had invited her in, she had run off at top speed. Exactly what I should have done this morning, Emma thought as her spirits sunk another notch lower.

  She was brooding gloomily when Nikos had appeared in the doorway with a smile. Emma raised her eyebrows in question. “Come and meet Gretchen.” He held out his hand to her waiting.

  Emma just stared at him. World War III had been raging for the better part of an hour, and now everything was just well? Nikos saw the doubt on her face. “I’m sorry,” he said coming in and kneeling in front of her. “That didn’t go as I had planned. I guess I didn’t think it all the way through. But Gretchen is ok with it now. She sees that you can be a help.”

  “Maybe it would be best if I just go, Nikos. I don’t want to stay where I am not wanted.”

  “I want you here. Gretchen forgets this is my house.” His response was immediate, and it surprised Emma with its intensity. More gently he added, “It is a good thing for everyone involved, even you.” With that, he kissed her on the nose and stood, pulling her up with him. “Now, come and meet my daughter and the formidable Gretchen.”
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br />   It was an awkward introduction, but in the end, Gretchen had said in halting English that she would be glad for the help. Emma had answered with a smile and said she would do her best. The tension broke with Abigail crashing through at top speed demanding to be picked up by her father.

  The evening was no less uncomfortable. Emma had tried to help Gretchen with dinner, but after the older woman had almost tripped over her for the fourth time, she had ordered Emma out of the kitchen. After the meal, Emma had insisted that she clean up, and Gretchen had insisted that she supervise. Every time Emma put up a dish or moved anything, Gretchen would go behind her and adjust it the slightest bit. Emma’s temper was close to boiling when she was rescued by Abigail spilling her juice down her front and requiring a bath. As Gretchen whisked the child off to be cleaned up, Emma finished the kitchen at warp speed and went to find Nikos.

  “This isn’t going to work,” Emma announced as she walked into the library. “Nothing I do is right. I can’t even put the glasses in the cupboard the right way without her coming behind me and moving them a millimeter to the left.” She dropped into a big leather chair with a grumpy sigh.

  Nikos frowned up from the computer screen. He had squirreled himself away in the library to give the women room to work out their differences. “I’ll talk to her. She just needs time to adjust. This is all a bit of a shock. Gretchen sees this as her kingdom.”

  “Well, I don’t like being Cinderella- an incompetent Cinderella at that.” Emma snapped, though her anger was quickly fading.

  “Cinderella got the prince, in the end, didn’t she?”

  “Stupid princes are more work than they are worth,” Emma groused. “I’ll give a few days and see how it goes.”

  “That’s better. I have some emails to answer and some accounts to look over. I’ll likely be stuck in here until quite late.”

  “No worries. I think I am going to take a bath and go to bed. Didn’t get much sleep last night,” Emma replied with a grin. She took a book at Nikos’ urging and then slipped out the door.

  Nikos watched her go and had to fight an almost irresistible urge to go after her and slide into that bath with her. The computer dinged notifying him of an email and pulled him back to his task at hand. Many hours later, Nikos shut down the laptop. He had kissed Abigail good night several hours before and exchanged a strained conversation with Gretchen about giving Emma a chance. He still felt that he had made the right decision in asking her to stay. He stopped in front of her closed door. He wanted her- again. He wanted her underneath him and on top of him. He wanted her on her knees in front of him with her mouth on him. He was getting hard as he stood looking at the closed door with erotic visions of Emma playing through his mind.

  A door opened down the hall, and he knew it was Gretchen on her nightly prowl to make sure everything was locked up. Quickly, he spun on his heel and walked 3 doors down to his own room.

  A shower didn’t help. Nikos lay on his bed, naked, feeling like a teenager with an aching, half hard cock. His father had been old-fashioned, and when Nikos had brought a girlfriend home from college, his father had insisted on separate bedrooms. He had snuck into her room from the patio and fucked her all night right next door to his sleeping parents.

  Without bothering to dress and feeling only slightly foolish, Nikos stepped out on his patio and hopped over the stone rail. He could just go through her bedroom door. It was his house, after all, but he didn’t want to see the knowing look on Gretchen’s face. She had accused him of bringing Emma in to be his mistress and had not been convinced when Nikos had denied it. He decided to fight that battle another day and padded over the manicured lawn with its intricately carved hedges and roses until he could see the other patio. Only two rooms had private patios- his and the guest room that he had given to Emma.

  Nikos slipped over the stone rail that was more for decoration than for any real function. The doors were standing open to the warm night air. The room was dark as he silently crossed to the bed. He could make out Emma’s body as she lay on her stomach with the covers half kicked off. A slender leg lay bare, and as his eyes adjusted further, he could see that she was naked under the covers.

  Nikos slid his hand up the bare flesh of her leg. He was unprepared for the kick that caught him on the shoulder as Emma jerked awake and flung herself off the bed. She was halfway to the door before he caught her. He held her by her arms and gave her a little shake. “Emma! It’s just me. Take it easy,” he hissed, trying to get her to focus. At the sound of his voice, her eyes snapped to his, and she stopped fighting.

  “God, Nikos! Don’t ever do that again.” Emma twisted out of his grasp and took several steps back. She was shaking uncontrollably and pulled her arms around herself.

  Nikos didn’t know what had just happened, but Emma looked like she was going to shake apart. He grabbed the throw off a plump armchair and held it out to her. She took it with a shaking hand and slung it over her shoulders. After a moment he asked, “Are you better?”

  Silently, she nodded. He approached her as if she were a wild thing, and gently pulled her to his chest. Emma thought her heart would burst as she felt the tender way he held her and stroked her back. He should be running for the hills after that. “Sorry about that,” she whispered against his chest.

  “No big thing. You don’t like to have your beauty sleep interrupted. Duly noted.” He tipped her face up and brushed a kiss on her lips. “I never thought it would scare you like that.”

  “Yeah. I guess I am a bit jumpy when I sleep,” Emma said in an effort to shrug it off. “Why were you sneaking around, naked, in the middle of the night?”

  “I wanted you.”

  Chapter 13

  Emma felt a powerful surge through her in response to his simple statement. “Oh,” was all she managed to say before his mouth covered hers. His words rang in her ears as she slid her arms around his neck and let the blanket fall from her shoulders. He maneuvered her backward and lay her back on the overstuffed chaise.

  Kneeling beside the chaise, Nikos began to explore her body. He tasted her lips and her throat. His hands roamed, finding her breasts and hips. His cock throbbed. All he wanted was to be buried inside her, but first, he needed to drive any fear or worries from her mind. He pulled her down to the edge of the seat and knelt between her legs. Her beautiful pussy was being served to him. He inhaled deeply, enjoying her musky scent of arousal. Slowly, he planted kisses on her thighs and ran his tongue lightly up and down her lips.

  Emma moaned at his light teasing, and when he suddenly plunged his tongue deep and hard over her clit, she gasped and hissed his name. He spread her lips wide and blew his hot breath over her sensitive nub while he slid his finger in and out. Gently, he added another finger and curled them inside her.

  “Oh, fuck,” Emma panted and clenched down around his fingers hard. Desperately, she reached out and tried to pull his face to her. “Please. Oh, Nikos, Please,” she begged as he rocked back out of her reach.

  Nikos continued the motion with his fingers and watched her writhe with pleasure. Her pleading had his cock thrumming with need, and his heart was hammering in his ears. It was so fucking hot how she got lost in the experience and the pleasure. Her hips worked his hand and small whimpers of ‘please’ and ‘more’ and ‘don’t stop’ escaped her lips. When he couldn’t wait any longer, he lowered his mouth.

  Emma’s back arched the minute his hot tongue touched her. The heat and the firm stroke of his tongue sent her into a frenzy. She buried her hands in his hair and pulled him against her ruthlessly. She ground herself against his mouth. His fingers slammed into her over and over. Sensations poured over her, and pure bliss ripped through her. She managed to remember they were not the only ones in the house and bit her lip to contain her cries.

  Nikos kept his mouth and fingers working, stroking, and coaxing every last jerk, moan, and spasm from her. He loved her taste. He never thought he would get enough of it. “Open your eyes, Emma,” he com
manded quietly.

  Emma’s lids flickered up and watched him as he pulled his fingers out of her and coated his hard cock with her juices before licking his fingers clean. “Turn around and get on your knees. Brace yourself on the back of the chaise.” His voice was soft, but there was an edge of steel underlying the words. Her stomach flipped at the command, and she felt a rush of heat to her already dripping pussy.

  Nimbly, she arranged herself to his satisfaction and looked over her shoulder to see him standing there, looking at her with her ass and pussy spread wide for him. He stroked himself slowly. She felt goosebumps breakout all over her body as she watched him, transfixed on his motion. Slowly, he moved to her and placed the head of his rock hard cock at her wet waiting pussy.