Chapter 27
Several weeks later…
Stephanie breathed in the salty air. She was sure she would never know more happiness than she knew now. Ries and she had been married for several weeks now, and her life was nearly perfect.
After a beautiful honeymoon, Ries had taken her home to Cyprus and she’d seen all of the places he’d told her about in the stories of his childhood.
Ries had even suggested taking her back to the States so that she could do the same thing, but Stephanie had refused, saying now her home was wherever he was. Stephanie knew he’d only been trying to do something nice for her, and she thanked him nicely but declined his offer.
“What are you thinking about?” Ries asked as he joined her, sliding onto the reclining bench behind her and pulling her back against his chest.
“How lucky I am,” she told him. “That sunset is amazing. Look at all of the colors.”
“There’s nothing like a Grecian sunset.”
“Or a Grecian husband,” she turned in his arms and kissed him. “Hi.”
“Hi, yourself.” He settled back against the pillows and they watched the sunset together.
Stephanie felt so cherished. Since returning from their honeymoon, Ries had been a devoted husband, an active participant in the family business, and he’d even tried to involve himself to some extent in the local community.
As for Stephanie, he treated her like a queen. He’d made sure she never had to worry about cooking or cleaning or doing the laundry by hiring more than adequate help. It had been refreshing to be waited on, but she was now getting bored. She needed something to do.
“You’re thinking again,” he murmured. “Do I need to distract you?”
Stephanie chuckled, “You’re constantly distracting me.”
“I’m good at it,” he told her. Ries pulled her up and over his thigh, lying her down on her back and then raising himself up on an elbow at her side. “Besides, you kind of like my form of distraction.”
“I can’t argue with that,” she told him.
“Good. There’s something else I’m hoping you won’t argue with me about. I want to open an art museum – the Kafatos Art Museum, to be precise.”
Stephanie’s eyes grew wide. She knew how much opening a museum would cost. “Have you talked to your brothers about this?”
“I have and they are all in agreement with me. We want to preserve our cultural heritage. And we think you should be the curator.”
“Me?!” Stephanie was aghast.
Ries nodded, “It was a unanimous decision. Now, don’t start making plans yet. There is the little matter of finding the right plot of land for it.”
“I’m sure you’ll find what you’re looking for.” Stephanie’s brain was still processing this information.
“I know we will. I want you to help me look, and I want to dedicate it to the memory of my mother. She was a huge patron of the arts and would be very happy to see her name used thusly.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do.” It still did not quite seem real to her.
“Thank you. So, what did you do today?”
Stephanie actually laughed at this mundane question, following such a tremendous announcement. “You’re looking at it. I was just sitting here thinking about the future.”
“Did you come to any conclusions?” Ries asked.
“Yes. I want to become the mother to the first Kafatos heir.”
“That’s an ambitious goal.” Ries smiled conspiratorially at her and then brushed his hands down over her dress. “You think you’re up to the task?”
“Not without some help. I thought maybe we could take advantage of the fact that you’re here and we have this entire beach to ourselves.”
Ries smiled at her and then tipped her chin up, “I think we should take advantage of that fact, don’t you?” He punctuated each word with a kiss, devouring her mouth with hungry kisses, kissing his way across her cheeks and then moving back to her mouth.
Stephanie unbuttoned his shirt and then brushed the sides open, moaning when she encountered the warmth of his flesh.
He closed his eyes as she ran her hands up and down his pe cks, and when she leaned up and sucked one of his nipples into her mouth, he almost came in his pants like a schoolboy.
He was on a razor’s edge today and needed her. Now.
Ries rolled from the bed, nodding at her and her remaining attire. “Take the rest of your clothing off.”
He did the same, sliding his boxer shorts off and rejoining her on the bed. He used his hands to skim up and down her sides, finally moving them between her thighs and making room for himself between them. “This is my favorite place in the world.”
Stephanie chuckled, “You should probably keep that to yourself.”
Ries murmured, pulling her close to his body before releasing her and pushing himself back up to rest on his knees between her spread thighs.
He used his hands and small touches to drive her crazy, not stopping until she was writhing upon the bed and had clasped her hands to stop their constant movement.
“Please…”
“Tell me. What do you need, Stephanie?”
“You. Just you.” Stephanie was near begging and when Ries didn’t act fast enough, she pushed up, rolling him over to his back and straddling his thighs.
She skimmed her hands down his sides, leaning forward to once again suck one nipple into her mouth. She grinned at him when he groaned and tightened his hands on her hips.
“Take me inside you,” he murmured, lifting her up and helping her slide down on his length.
Stephanie closed her eyes at the exquisite pressure and then Ries rolled them, changing their positions and Stephanie could only smile at his prowess.
When he captured her hands and pinned them above her head, she didn’t get upset this time. She’d discovered that she enjoyed this side of him.
Ries laved, suckled, and placed small nipping bites at her breasts until she was panting and could no longer lay still. “What do you need?”
“I need you to move,” she told him. Her hands sculpted his shoulders and her legs lifted, wrapping her thighs around his waist and driving him even further into her wet heat. “Please…move.”
Ries slowly withdrew from her entrance and then just as slowly moved back inside. “Let’s make a baby.”
“We might need to practice more than once,” Stephanie told him, ending on a moan when he buried himself deep inside of her.
“Well…if you insist,” Ries whispered next to her ear. He pushed up, changing the angle of his penetration, grinning when her voice changed once again.
Stephanie felt her body begin to tighten around him and she gasped in pleasure with each thrust. “Ries, I love you,” she called out at the same time he threw his head back and arched his neck.
“I second that,” Ries told her, out of breath. Together, they complimented one another, working together to find the pleasure that could only be found between soul mates.
It wasn’t just a meeting of two bodies, but a blending of two spirits and two people who were completely devoted to one another.
It was the epitome of “making love” and neither one of them cared if they had to repeat the exercise a thousand times before they felt they had gotten it right.
Neither of them would mind.