Page 17 of Marcel

In between that, shewould stare out of the window, and with the glass wound down, shesnapped pictures of the quaint buildings, thrilled at the windingroads and the view of the deep blue sea that seemed too lovely to bereal.

She was a city girlat heart, but the place was so captivating that she could not helpbut fall in love. The white villa where they would be staying wasperched on the edge of rocks with the sea directly below them.

The driver broughttheir cases and left them in the cool, inviting foyer. It was halfpast six in Greece, but Nikki did not feel tired. She had slept mostof the time on the plane and was raring to dive into that beautifulwater.

A plump woman withglossy black hair secured tightly at the nape of her neck cameforward with a beaming look on her dark face.

Nikki heard herhusband greet the woman in fluent Greek and gesture toward her.

“This is DaphneStavros; she takes care of the place and prepares it. She speaks alittle English, but not much.”

“Very nice.”Daphne held out a hand. “Kyria Hadley. Much pleasure.”

Nikki smiled at herwarmly. “It’s nice to meet you too. I am in love withyour town.”

The woman looked atMarcel in confusion, and he effortlessly interpreted what Nikki hadsaid. The woman beamed at her, moving past them, picked up theircases, and said something in Greek to Marcel.

“She wantsto know if you would like something to eat. She prepared some fruitsand yogurts.”

Nikki shook her head.“I want to change and go to the beach. Will you be joiningme?”

“I need to liedown for a bit, but you go right ahead,” he said courteously.The warmth and camaraderie they had shared were now gone, and she hadno idea how to get it back.

Mentally shrugging,she followed him and the housekeeper into the bedroom. The room waslarge, with a queen-size bed in the center of the board floor. Aglass partition led to an expansive patio, showing an unrestrictedview of the beautiful dark blue waves crashing against rocks.

Daphne had put theirbags by the closet and discreetly left the room, closing the doorbehind her.

Without a word, hermoody husband toed off his shoes and went straight to the bed, wherehe stretched out full-length, his hands stacked behind his head.

“Sure, youdon’t want to come?” She asked as she went to pick up hercase.

“Maybelater.” He said in a noncommittal voice.

With a shrug, sheopened her case and rummaged through until she found a pair of skimpyred swimsuits. She contemplated stripping in front of him but decidedshe had already taken more than enough rejection for one day.

Walking into thequaint bathroom with the claw-footed bath, she hurriedly took off herclothes and donned her swimsuit. Bunching her hair curls to one side,she twisted the strands into one big plait to hang past her leftbreast.

Returning to thebedroom, she searched for a pair of soft shoes to wear on the sandand noticed him staring at her. His eyes wandered over the swell offlesh over the skimpy top before going to her flat stomach.

“Be careful.The waves can be powerful,” he warned, his voice a littlehoarse.

Grabbing a towel, shegave him a jaunty wave before leaving the room.

He stayed where hewas until she had reached part of the way. He found himself wonderingif she could swim. Sitting up against the pillows, he stared afterher disappearing form with a frown. She was not stupid, but herealized he barely knew anything about the woman he had married.

Other than the factthat she was exquisite…smart… sexy as hell… andvery witty. The stories of her childhood had captivated him, and hehad felt himself being drawn in, fascinated with her ability to makehim into a captive audience. He had forgotten why they were marriedfor the few minutes spent on the bed.

Until she wasreminded how manipulative she was. He watched as she dropped thetowel on the shore and walked to the water's edge. A smile tugged athis lips when she dipped a toe in as if testing the temperature.

Within a few seconds,admiration flooded his body as she dove cleanly in, her slender armsscissoring rapidly as she swam further and further out.

What the hell was shedoing? He thought with a frown. Swinging his legs off the bed, hestrode to the glass doors and stepped onto the patio. Where was she?Damn her! He was about to shed his clothes and go in to find her whenhe saw her head bobbing on the surface.

Relief had him weakbefore anger shook through his body. Hissing out a breath, he marchedback in and went to find the housekeeper.

*****

Nikki lay back on thetowel, allowing the rising sun's heat to soak through her swimwearand touch her skin. The swim was invigorating, and she could feel theintense burning in her arms and legs.

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