‘Arianna.’ It was his turn now, and he was working slowly and steadily down the buttons at the front of her dress. He lifted her to her feet, slipping the fabric from her shoulders and running his fingers over the lace edges of her panties and bra.
His grin told her that he liked what he saw, very much. And when he reached for her, running his hands along the curve of her waist, she began to tremble.
‘Ben... Now...’
He leaned forward, kissing her forehead. ‘Soon.’
He was tender, but she knew he could be passionate. And right now Arianna wanted passion. She reached forward, grasping the open front of his shirt. ‘Now, Ben. Don’t hold back on me now.’
He pulled her close again, and she coiled her arms around his neck. When he lifted her, she wound her legs around his waist and he carried her to her bedroom, a delicious friction zinging between them as he moved.
He laid her down on the bed, and she watched him undress. Beautiful. Pale golden skin, smooth and touched by the sun. The kind of body that a woman could worship, slim hips and long limbs, knitted together by the hard ripple of muscle. And he was looking at her as if she were the most desirable woman in the world.
When he joined her on the bed she goaded him, whispering in his ear to tell him exactly what she wanted from him. Warmth bloomed in his pale eyes and he pulled back for a moment, slipping her panties off. The condom took only a moment and then he leaned in again, kissing her mouth.
Passion fired between them. One hand curled around her leg, pulling it upwards so that he could sink deeper inside. The other slid behind her back, hooking around her shoulder so that there was no escaping the almost unbearable joy of each thrust of his hips. She saw him grit his teeth, making an effort to stay in control as the wild passion in his eyes built. And then she saw nothing, her eyes squeezed shut against the rolling, spreading pleasure as her body surrendered to his.
‘Open your eyes. Please...’ As the wild pulse of desire began to subside, she felt him nuzzle against her shoulder, whispering in his ear. When she looked up at him, taut muscle and tendon showed that he was near breaking point. Arianna wrapped her legs around him, feeling sharp aftershocks of pleasure pulse through her body as he reached his own climax.
They were both too breathless for words, hearts beating against each other’s chest. He kissed her, taking her with him as he rolled over onto his back. She felt him reach around her, unhooking her bra, so that she could slip it off and there was nothing to stop his skin from touching hers. Arianna began to doze, knowing that tonight was very far from over.
Then she felt his hand, smoothing her curls away from her face. ‘That was...beyond anything, Arianna.’
‘Yes, it was.’ He’d demanded a response that she hadn’t even known she was capable of. And the knowledge that it had shaken him too, that he couldn’t truly put the force of their passion into words either, warmed her. She kissed his cheek, and he smiled lazily.
‘Do you want to sleep now?’ The light in Ben’s eyes told her that he already knew the answer.
‘No.’
‘You want to play, then?’
Ben’s idea of play was scintillating. Hushed voices, talking and laughing together. Watching the strong lines of his body in the soft light from the lamp beside the bedside, as the arms of the ceiling fan revolved slowly. Letting him find out exactly what her body could do, and exploring his. And when finally he tipped her onto her back, and they were joined in the most satisfying way possible, it was just the beginning of a slow, delicious climb back into mindless passion.
‘Do you always like to be on top?’ she teased him as they lay curled together on the bed. Their own little world, lit by the tender glow of lamplight.
‘I’d like to watch you on top of me...’ He kissed her tenderly.
‘Mm. I’d like that too. Or standing up. Sitting down...’
He chuckled. ‘On our sides, so I can touch every part of you. Sixty-nine different things.’
‘It’s a lot to get through.’ Arianna snuggled against him. ‘You think a week will be enough?’
‘We have time management skills.’ He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her. ‘Now’s the time for sleep, sweetheart.’
She snuggled against him, falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.
* * *
It seemed as if Ben had lived his whole life here. He was getting to know the people in the village and understood a few Greek words now. He knew the best places to shop for food, and when the fishing boats returned with their cargo. And the last four nights had been indescribable. They’d thrown themselves into making the best of what little time they had, and there had been times when Ben had actually thought it was possible to pass out from an overload of pleasure.
He walked up to the health centre to meet Arianna from work. She was sitting in the reception area alone, her face glowing.
‘What?’ He let go of Jonas’s hand, and the boy ran over to Arianna for a hug.
‘I... I called my father.’
‘You did?’
There was no need to ask whether Arianna’s call to her father had gone well. It was written all over her face.
‘I called at lunchtime. He was in a meeting but I left a message and he called me straight back, about two minutes later.’
Just what Ben would have done if it had been his child calling him. Jonas ran over to the toy box in the corner, which was his usual port of call when they came here, and Ben sat down to listen to Arianna.
‘We talked a bit. A lot, actually, we were on the phone for nearly an hour. He told me all about his plans for the hotel on Kantos.’
‘Nothing else?’
She grinned. ‘You don’t know my father. He always keeps his business interests very close to his chest. Going into details is quite something for him.’
‘Okay. Whatever works. Did you tell him all about your work? Your latest brilliant diagnosis?’
‘No. I told him about the trees we’d planted. He said he thought it was a really good way of involving everyone.’
Ben had felt it was rather more a labour of love. But Arianna seemed pleased, and that was all that mattered.
‘So...you’re going to talk again?’ That was the main thing. That Arianna’s initiative wouldn’t be lost, and that she could make her peace with her father.
‘Yes, he’s going to call me a week on Sunday. He’s put it in his diary. Not because he might forget, but to ring-fence that time. For me.’
Ben would be gone by then. But maybe he’d hear all about that conversation as well. It seemed impossible that he and Arianna could just drift away from each other.
‘I’m so glad for you. I know it was a difficult step to take...’ He broke off as the phone rang. That was one of the downsides of island life. There was only one doctor, and if this was someone needing Arianna’s attention, their evening together would have to wait a while.
Arianna picked up the phone, speaking in Greek. As she listened, her face became troubled.
‘What’s the matter?’ he asked as soon as she ended the call.
‘Remember that guy, Jem Colyer? The family was going home today and when they were boarding the ferry there was some kind of scuffle. I don’t know if anyone’s been hurt, but the police are there.’
‘You’re going down there?’ Ben didn’t really need to ask.
‘Yes. I don’t know how long I’ll be...’ She flashed him a querying look. Arianna didn’t need to ask either.
‘Is Andreas around?’
‘Yes, he can hold the fort here. He can look after Jonas too, if you want to come.’
Andreas appeared, greeting Jonas like an old friend. Ben waved to his son, telling him he’d be back soon, and then followed Arianna down to the ferry terminus.
They were both breathless when they arrived, and Arianna pushed through
the people who’d been taken off the ferry, stopping at the police tape to speak to a uniformed officer then turning to Ben to relay the gist of their conversation.
‘No one quite knows what caused it all. He was in the bar; apparently someone bumped into Kriss and spilled his drink on her and Eloise. Jem just snapped, and started throwing punches and then grabbed a knife from behind the bar.’
The officer spoke again in Greek and Arianna listened, nodding.
‘Someone pulled Kriss away and got her and Eloise out of there, but Jem’s still in the bar, threatening anyone that comes near him.’
‘He’s got nothing to lose now, has he?’ Kriss seemed to be the stabilising factor in Jem’s life, but now that the police were keeping them apart, he might do anything.
Arianna shook her head. ‘No, he hasn’t. The police are hoping that Kriss may be able to talk him down a bit, but there’s no way they’ll let her back in there while he has a knife. There aren’t too many good options left, Ben. Someone’s going to get hurt.’
‘We need to get in there. At least we have some idea of what’s driving him.’
Arianna nodded. ‘I agree. The police will escort me on, and I’ll—’
‘You’re not going to do anything. I’m coming with you.’
She seemed about to argue with him, but then she flashed him a tight smile. ‘I don’t know why I even bothered to think you might not.’
They were given vests to wear, and a young policewoman checked that they were fitted properly then led them up the gangway and onto the ferry. It looked as if every policeman on the island had congregated on deck, but that still might not be enough to contain Jem without hurting him, particularly if he was in an uncontrollable rage.
He saw Kriss, holding Eloise. They were out of Jem’s line of sight from the windows of the bar, sitting with a policewoman. The usual bustle and chatter of the ferry had given way to an almost eerie quiet. Arianna walked straight towards the officer in charge, talking to him briefly before coming back to Ben.
‘I told him that we’ve dealt with Kriss and Jem before. He seems to think that we might have a better chance of getting through to him, he may see us as being on his side a little more than the police.’
Ben nodded. That made sense, but there was one thing he definitely wouldn’t allow. ‘I’ll try to talk to him. I want you to stay back.’
Arianna flushed a little. ‘I don’t need to tell you that this is my practice, do I?’
‘No, you don’t. And I don’t need to tell you that if Jem loses it completely I’ve got a better chance of fending him off than you do.’
She shook her head. ‘I don’t like it.’
‘No, I know you don’t. But if you could think of a reason why it shouldn’t be me, you would have told me by now.’ He didn’t give Arianna the chance to reply, because there was always the possibility that she might get creative and come up with something. ‘We should speak with Kriss first.’
She nodded, and Ben walked over to where Kriss was sitting. She was holding it together, no bewildered tears, just a grim look on her face.
‘Talk to me, Kriss.’ He sat down beside her.
‘There’s nothing you don’t know already. Jem doesn’t mean it. I told them that if they backed off and left him alone...’
‘They can’t, Kriss. He has a knife. The officer told us that it all started when someone spilled a drink.’
‘Yes. It was nothing really, but Jem just blew up. I legged it with Eloise, just to get her out of the way of the scrum.’
‘Is there anything else we should know, Kriss? Drink or drugs...?’
Kriss shook her head emphatically. ‘No.’
‘You’re sure?’ Arianna broke in, a worried look on her face. ‘Anything he takes on prescription?’
‘No, he hasn’t been to the doctor in ages. He says that doctors didn’t do his gran much good, which isn’t entirely fair. But he likes you, Dr Marsh.’
‘Really?’ Ben was pretty sure he hadn’t done anything to deserve that.
‘He respects people who are up-front with him.’
This was only telling Ben what he already knew, that the situation was complex and that there was no one clear answer. He made no apologies for Jem, but right now his aim was to get him out of this situation in one piece. The rights and wrongs of the situation were for someone else to judge.
He questioned Kriss a little more, but she couldn’t tell them anything beyond what Ben and Arianna already knew. Jem was volatile, and unpredictable. Ben walked back to the knot of police officers with Arianna.
‘This isn’t going to be easy.’
‘And I was just thinking it would be a walk in the park.’ Arianna turned the corners of her mouth down.
There was more preparation; his vest was checked again, and Arianna relayed instructions from the officer in charge of the scene. Jem was pacing up and down inside the bar, obviously becoming more agitated, and Ben had to go now if he was going to have any chance of calming Jem down.
His hand found Arianna’s and he gave it a squeeze. Her whispered, ‘Be safe,’ carried him through the line of policemen, and away from her. Knowing that she was watching him allowed Ben to believe that, however hopeless the situation seemed, he could succeed.
He walked to the door of the bar. Jem had stopped pacing and had returned to the bar, reaching behind it to grab a bottle and pour himself a drink. Not a good sign. He had blood on the side of his face, obviously from the fracas over the spilt drink, and he was holding a long chef’s knife.
Ben knocked cautiously on the door, keeping his hands in clear sight through the glazing. Jem twitched the knife in his direction, motioning for him to come in, and Ben cautiously opened the door, stepping inside.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
WHOEVER WOULD HAVE thought that your heart could be in your mouth? Or sinking to your boots. Or inhabiting any other part of your body that it wasn’t supposed to. Arianna’s heart was in the same place that it had been when she was six years old and watched Ben being carried away from her on the tide. With him.
He seemed to be doing everything right, and when she looked up at the officer in charge he was nodding imperceptibly, his eyes fixed on the scene unfolding inside the bar area. Ben appeared relaxed, although the slight twitch of his fingertips showed stress. He was keeping his distance from Jem and moving slowly. Never turning his back, and concentrating all of his attention on him.
He seemed to be encouraging Jem to talk as well. At first, Ben was doing all the talking, with just nods or gestures with the knife coming from Jem. But after a while Jem started to reply to him, although Arianna had no idea what he might be saying. Ben worked his way around to the bar, perching on one of the high stools. Out of Jem’s reach, and with his feet still planted firmly on the floor and ready to move, but close enough to feign some sort of connection. Arianna felt sweat trickle down her spine.
‘This is taking too long.’ The officer looked at his watch. It had been twenty minutes since Ben had gone into the bar, and Arianna’s legs were aching with tension.
‘He’s still talking...’ Arianna wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing or not. Jem had already drained the glass at his elbow and had picked up the bottle on the bar to refill it, although Ben had clearly dissuaded him from doing so and he’d put the bottle back down again. Still talking meant that Ben was still in harm’s way. Still a target.
Ten minutes more. A small patch of sweat had appeared on the back of Ben’s shirt, between his shoulder blades. She loved the scent of him. Fresh sweat, hers and his, mingling with the cool smells of the night. She shouldn’t think about that right now, but wasn’t it always the possibility of loss that made memories so much more agonisingly clear?
A burst of static made her jump and the officer standing next to her grabbed his radio, quietening the noise and speaking in a whisper to whoev
er was at the other end. The hostage negotiators would be here soon, and they’d pull Ben out of there. Good for Ben, not so good for Jem, because if Ben couldn’t talk him down then Arianna wasn’t sure that anyone else could. Right now, she’d take good for Ben. She’d known he would go in there, but she didn’t have to like it.
She heard Kriss start to sob. She’d been holding it together up till now, probably for Eloise’s sake, but now the policewoman sitting next to them was trying to calm both mother and child. The officer in charge moved swiftly over, bending down in front of them and listening for a moment before guiding Kriss gently to her feet and directing two officers to go with her.
‘It’s best for her to go,’ he responded to Arianna’s questioning look. ‘The child shouldn’t see her father in this situation.’
A situation that could escalate at any moment. With Ben right in the thick of it. Arianna swallowed down her panic. It seemed that the police now thought that this wasn’t going to end peacefully, despite all of Ben’s efforts, and it was best if Kriss and Eloise didn’t see what was going to happen next.
But the move wasn’t without consequences. The gangway onto the ferry was visible from the bar, and Jem had looked up just at the moment that his wife ducked around the officers shielding her, trying to look back. His hand tightened around the handle of the knife and he seemed to be shouting, beating his forehead with the heel of his other hand. Ben moved, getting slowly to his feet, tension showing in his back and thighs. He was still talking, still trying to calm Jem, even though Jem was having none of it, his body coiled with aggression and his face twisted in anger. Arianna willed Ben to just get out of there. Forget about Jem and look out for himself.
Too late. Too late... Batons appeared as the police in attendance stood at the ready and Arianna heard the click of a weapon. Jem must have seen the sudden movement and he jumped to his feet, rushing towards the door.
Greek Island Fling to Forever Page 13
