Chapter 13

“I can’t believe youdon’t know how to swim,” Olivia said with a delightful giggle.

“I can float,” Nikos responded. “That’s pretty much the same thing.”

“That is so not the same thing!”

“Why not?” Nikos asked as he stood waist-deep in the water.

“Because you can’t do this,” Olivia declared, showcasing her swimming skills by effortlessly swimming laps around him. She moved through the water with grace and confidence, well aware of how intently Nikos was watching her. And, maybe, she might have been showing off a little bit.

“Okay, that was impressive,” Nikos said when she came back up for air. He pulled her to him so they were standing chest to chest. “You are impressive.”

“I can teach you,” she said, not sure what to say to that.

Not for the first time, she wondered what the hell was happening between the two of them. Ever since the night they went out to the beach, he’s been... affectionate. He randomly gave her hugs and kisses and even made her food. Every morning, before he’d left to run his business, he’d made her breakfast and waited until she woke up and finished eating before he left. A few times, she’d intentionally been late to breakfast to see what he would do, and every time, he had waited for her.

“Or we can do this.” He then leaned down and kissed her.

His kiss was slow and sensual. He kissed her like he was savoring the moment, his arms wrapping more around her as he pulled her body flash to his.

The sun had dipped lower on the horizon and they were the only ones crazy enough to still be out in the sea. However, this afforded them the privacy that made it feel like it was just the two of them around, notwithstanding the other guests at the hotel.

Nikos’ body was warm and hard muscles against her soft curves. Not even the chilly breeze brought on by the sea penetrated the warmth she found herself cocooned between his hands.

A tiny moan left Olivia when Nikos bit her lip, making her press harder into him and pull him lower. He responded by lifting her until her legs wrapped around his waist. At this angle, their kiss went even harder and got deeper until Olivia pulled back to take in some much-needed air.

Nikos didn’t stop, though. His lips moved down, caressing her neck and gently kissing the sensitive area where her neck met her shoulders. A shudder rocked her body as her head fell back. He held her hair to hold her head in place and then bit down, sucking at the spot he had been kissing.

Olivia groaned as she ground herself on Nikos’ hard warm body, wanting to feel everything he could give her, but, in the back of her mind, was a nagging thought. What were they doing?

Sure, it felt good that she badly wanted it to be real, but they had yet to talk about whatever was developing between them. He made her feel things she hadn’t felt with anyone before, and it scared her a little.

Okay... it was a lot more than a little, but she refused to acknowledge it, otherwise, she might overthink.

Maybe her thoughts translated into her body language because Nikos pulled back and asked, “What’s wrong?” He searched her face, a frown marring his face.

“Nothing,” Olivia said as she shook herself off, then pulled away from him, jumping back into the water. “It’s getting cold. We should get back.”

“Wait,” he grabbed at her before she swam away. “Talk to me.” The words were right at the tip of her tongue, but how to say them without sounding like a whiny, clingy little girl with her first crush? “Is it something I did?”

“Do you think this, what’s happening between us, is just a comfort thing?” She decided to just throw it out there because she didn’t want this to spiral. It was best to find out now where they stand rather than later.

“What?” Nikos asked as she finally turned back to look at him.

“This,” she gestured between them. “It started because we both needed an escape. And I can’t help but think that it’s going to fizzle out as fast as it started.”

“Yes, it started out as a comfort thing,” he said, and her stomach tightened. “But it’s a lot more than that for me now.” Really? She wanted to say but didn’t. She instead searched his eyes, trying to tell if he was speaking the truth or not. Olivia held her breath, waiting for him to continue. And the way everything else but them faded away made it feel like everything around them was also holding its breath as she waited for his next words. “I like you, Olivia. I have for a while.”

There was a softness in his gaze that had her releasing the breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. The sincerity in his words resonated in the gentle breeze by the beach as the world around them picked up once again.

“This, what’s happening between us, is quite new to me. I find you intriguing and you challenge me, Olivia,” he continued. “You’ve helped in the past few days in more ways than you will ever know. But, it’s a lot more than just helping me. I want to explore this. To explore us and who we are outside the problems that brought us together.”

“I like you too,” Olivia confessed. “I just...”

“Wish we had met under different circumstances?” he asked as he searched her face.

“Yes.” That’s exactly what she was thinking. How easy would it have been if they had met on a date versus at a runaway hotel where she was hiding like the little coward she was?

“True connections aren’t bound by circumstances.”

“What?”

“That’s something my dad told me once,” Nikos said as he smiled. “He was a firm believer that everything that happened to us and that everyone we met was by design, no matter the circumstances that made it happen.”

“Do you believe the same?” she challenged.

“I believe I needed your help to make the right decision about the Atlantis.” She gave him a skeptical look. “No, think about it,” he let out a short laugh. “If you hadn’t been living with me, we wouldn’t have had the chance to meet. It’s only because we met, we went out that night, and you were vulnerable with me. After that, I was vulnerable enough to open up about the hotel. If I didn’t tell you, you wouldn’t have taken me on that tour and reminded me why I loved it. And I certainly would have messed up my relationship with Papous. So, you see, Liv, me and you, we were exactly where we needed to be when we found each other.”

“Our destiny, huh?” It sounded absurd, and yet, the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. She certainly would have still been drowning in pity if it wasn’t for Nikos, as she had been more than happy to hide away in the hotel and away from everyone.

“I think it’s beautiful how we met. I wouldn’t change it for anything else.” He took her hand. “This is a lot more than just a comfort thing. And I really, really want to explore this with you. Will you allow me? Allow us?”

“Take me on a date first, then we’ll see,” Olivia joked, not knowing what to say.

“Done!” Nikos responded without hesitation, surprising her.

* * *

“Are you going to getout of the car?” Nikos asked as he tapped on the window.

True to his words, he had taken her on a date. That very night, when she had asked him. Within two hours, they were at some place Nikos said she would love.

“I was waiting for you to open my door,” Olivia said, hoping her voice was light enough to cover up the nerves that suddenly assaulted her.

It was one thing to think about going on a date; it was another for Nikos to actually take her. She tried to remember the last time she had gone on a date and all that came up were memories of dates set up by her father and the PR team as a publicity stunt. They always made sure she had a script, knew what to say, and how to act.

Here, she was on a date with Nikos with no idea of how to do either. It’s why she had not opened her door, because all her dates were scripted for the man to open her door and treat her as much as a princess as possible. The absence of the script now left her at a loss as she grappled with the unfamiliarity of the situation.

She badly wanted to make a good impression on Nikos since they were officially on their first date, but not knowing how to act made her feel well out of her element—even though she tried to act otherwise. However, the clamminess in her hands and the air in her stomach betrayed the nerves that danced beneath the calm exterior she was projecting.

“Of course,” Nikos said as he opened the door and extended his hand out to her. “Can I have your hand, princess?”

Of course, he meant it as a joke because he couldn’t have known the internal monologue going on with her, but it slighted her just a little bit that he called her princess. It tapped into the insecurities that this short moment had unveiled.

She had to brush it off though, intent on having a good night on her unofficial first date, so with a gracious award-winning smile, she gave him her hand as he helped her out.

“Thank you,” she said, making her tone light as she tapped into her vast experience of faking it till you make it. She was an actress, after all.

They were seated as soon as they entered. The way people around them rushed and fussed around Nikos reminded her he was. indeed. A well-known individual on the island. She had noticed it every time they were around people, but Nikos seemed oblivious to it, mostly because he usually had all his attention on her.

They sat in a quiet part of the restaurant, hidden away from the main area enough to give privacy, but not so much that it was isolated. A soft ambient glow illuminated the room, coming from strategically placed pendant lights suspended from the exposed wooden beams above them. Bathed in a warm, intimate atmosphere that added a touch of romance to the place. Soft music came from somewhere, but she wasn’t bothered enough to find out.

“You look beautiful tonight.” She turned around to find Nikos giving her such an intense look that she had to look away. Her flaming face was the only indicator the unexpected compliment affected her.

“Liv,” he said, his fingers gently turning her face until she was looking at him again, “you look beautiful.”

His voice was gentle and his fingers rubbed her face with feather-like touches, and yet, they left a zing of electricity that traveled all across her body, leaving her feeling very much awake.

“Thank you,” she whispered as the heat in her face traveled to the back of her head and down her chest. She might look as bright as a tomato right now, and her red hair did nothing to help. That was just embarrassing.

Thankfully, the server chose that moment to interrupt them and ask for their orders. The intrusion gave her a brief respite from the intense gaze Nikos had been directing toward her.

Once again, Olivia was reminded that she didn’t have the script she always depended on to tell her what she should get. A moment of panic seized her as she scanned the menu, the unfamiliarity of the menu items making her feel a bit adrift.

“We’ll have the chef’s special, plus a bottle of your finest wine,” Nikos said when Olivia did not respond to the numerous questions the server asked her. And now she couldn’t look at Nikos. She couldn’t bear the idea that she’d look up and see disgust at her incompetence to function like a normal person would. It was days like this one when she was reminded just how much control her father had taken over her life when she could barely function in social gatherings without being told what to do. “Are you okay?” Nikos asked her as he tried to get her to look at him.

“Peachy,” she responded, fidgeting with the tablecloth, folding and unfolding it.

“I can’t help if you don’t tell me what the problem is,” he insisted as he grabbed her hands so she had no excuse but to look up at him.

Olivia had always prided herself on honesty and, immediately, she decided it was best to tell him the issue now before things went further for them. So, she confessed about how her previous dates had always been scripted for her, from what she would say and eat, right down to the clothes she wore and how she smelled.

Saying it out loud made her feel very juvenile and like she was a child. As if she were admitting to a habit, she should have outgrown.

She braced herself for Nikos’ reaction, unsure of how he would perceive this glimpse into the very restricted life. “Is that why it took you almost an hour to decide what dress to wear?” he asked instead, surprising her.

Olivia blinked up at him in confusion, before a small smile that mirrored his own tugged at the corner of her lips. “Well, yes. I had to find just the perfect dress.” And then insecurity rolled in. “Is it not good?”

She ended up wearing a little black strapless dress that hugged her in all the right places. She would have loved to wear heels with it to accentuate her legs, but settled for the white sneakers she had when she landed. They were the only decent pair of shoes she’d brought with her. Her dress was barely decent, but it wasn’t pajamas or a sundress, so it had to do.

Maybe she should have gone shopping first?

“It’s perfect,” Nikos responded, effectively pausing her inner rumblings.

She was still waiting for him to judge her based on what she’d revealed, but he brushed it off like it was not something to worry about. “Why?” she asked him, unable to help herself.

“Why is your dress perfect?” He frowned as he looked down at the parts of the dress he could see over the table. “Well, I guess—”

“Why are you not freaking out about what I said about my scripted life?” She cut him off. The air she’d had in her stomach had made a steady return.

Nikos leaned back in his chair, studying her for a moment, and a soft smile gracing his lips. “Liv, I can’t claim to know anything about your life or even how Hollywood runs. All I know is that you shared something intimate with me, which shows that you trust me enough to let your guard down around me. I appreciate that more than you know. And as for the scripted life, all I know is that this,” he gestured between them, “is unscripted. The real you is sitting across from me right now, and that’s the woman I want to get to know. We’ll deal with everything else later, when it comes up.”

Olivia didn’t know what to say to that. Once their food arrived, she didn’t have to because Nikos excitedly invited her to dig in as he told her about what she was eating and challenged her to tell him the ingredients she was tasting for the different plates of food he had ordered.

By the time their food was done, she had forgotten her worries about what to say and do as Nikos’ enthusiasm and charisma invited her to do and say whatever felt right. Like a gentleman, he helped her off her chair when it was time to go home, and then into and out of the car.

However, unlike a gentleman, right after kissing her good night and “ending” their first date, Nikos got on his knees in front of her and pulled her to him until he stood right between her opened thighs.

“Nikos!” She gasped at the sudden movements, pushing her hands out so she could catch herself on his shoulders.

“I’ve wanted to do this since we went swimming,” he mumbled, and without warning, he pulled her panties off and went straight for her clit, rolling it between his warm lips.

A strong shudder racked Olivia’s body as she fell back, releasing a rough moan. The door thankfully held her in place and Nikos’ powerful hold on her thighs. He shifted them so she was straddling his face completely, leaving her at his mercy, and then dove into her center with gusto, sucking and licking her like it was the last thing he’ll ever do.

“Fuck Nikos,” Olivia trembled. Her limbs were feeling as light as they were tight to a point where she couldn’t feel anything more than the lips that were licking up her wetness and giving her the most intense pleasure. Her nipples stood at attention, and she had an incredible urge to pinch them to release some pressure. But, she couldn’t find it in herself to let go of the hold she had on Nikos’ face as she ground herself on him.

He chose that moment to stand but didn’t dislodge them, so now Olivia was suspended in the air, on his shoulders. It was incredibly hot.

She chanced a look down at him to find Nikos already looking up at her. What made the scene hotter was the view of his tongue moving up and down as he licked her senseless.

“Mind your head,” he mumbled. Then, they were moving, and his tongue was right back where she needed it.

The next time she was aware of her surroundings, Olivia was lying on the bed and Nikos was ripping the little dress off her body. He threw it somewhere behind him, his eyes never leaving her body. “Magnificent,” he rasped, his voice many octaves deeper than it usually was. He shed his clothes at lightning speed and then he was over her once again. “I’m going to go very fast,” Nikos warned as he lined his length right where she needed him. “And then, when we’ve both come and I’ve taken the edge off, I’ll make love to you. Is that okay?”

She had barely moaned out a yes before Nikos was inside and moving so fast that they started moving up the bed. “Oh, baby, you feel so good,” Nikos said as he leaned down so their bodies molded together.

He took her head in his hands and kissed her, then moved so his legs were under her ass. This position gave him leverage to hold her in place as he went in even deeper.

“Nikos, I can’t hold off,” Olivia moaned, her insides clenching at an oncoming orgasm.

“Cum for me, baby,” he demanded as his pace increased even more. When his hand snaked between them and started rubbing her clit, Olivia couldn’t back anymore. Her orgasm was so intense that she blacked out for a hot minute with pleasure, so intense that it was painful and racked her body. The only thing that penetrated her haze was the sound of Nikos cumming and the tightness she felt as his fingers dug into her sides. By the time she was fully aware of her surroundings, he had her in the bathroom and was slowly washing her body. “There she is.” Nikos smiled down at her.

“That was... intense,” Olivia said as her body sagged. It was more from the intense orgasm than being tired.

“Our night had just begun,” he whispered in her ear before running his hands through her hair and washing it out.

And it was true, if his hard length rubbing her back as he washed her was anything to go by. By the end of the night, Olivia was riding such a high that she felt like she was on drugs.

This high took her into the next morning, but it quickly came crashing down when she found her dad and brothers in her kitchen, helping themselves to the coffee she had come down to make.

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