Page 147 of Koroleva

"Of making love to you?" he asked bluntly. "Never." I laughed hoarsely.

"Maybe there will come a day when you're not in the mood."

"Maybe pigs will fly." I laughed again.

"I know of one that already does."

"Speaking of flying... It’s not that I was eavesdropping, it's just that you were right in front of me and I can't help but listen to everything that comes out of your mouth. About your sister..."

"Don’t tell me you see it as a bad thing." I stopped the movement of my fingers.

"On the contrary, you handled it brilliantly. Being on her own will give her the push she needs. It will be good for her to shed some shyness and sort out her mind. The overprotection she's surely been subjected to isn’t good for anyone."

"In a world like ours, it’s hard not to tend towards extreme protection. We ourselves, by coming here alone, have been a bit reckless."

"Do you regret it?"

"Not at all. I also think we needed a few days like this. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have agreed. In the case of my sister," I continued, "there’s more to it. It's true she’s shier than us, but she's usually a clear-headed and very responsible girl, in that way she reminds me of myself. Plus, she'll be fine with Olga, her father is a teacher at the school they attend. There might not be an adult woman in the house, but I don't think they need one. And it’s perfectly understandable that she wants to finish the school year with her friends."

"You’re absolutely right and you know you have my vote." His agreement brought another smile to my face.

"I could get used to you being this agreeable with me."

"Well, if you propose something I agree with, I have no reason to contradict you."

Our conversation was interrupted by a plate of sweets. I took one to my mouth and almost melted from the pleasure; it was incredible. Romeo couldn’t stop watching me and squirming at the sounds escaping my throat.

"Aren’t you going to have one?" I asked as I licked my fingers.

"I prefer to watch you. You have the same expression as when you’re with me in bed. I think I’m going to ask the chef for a tray so that tonight you can taste them off my body."

"Not a bad idea, although I prefer to taste you without anything else."

My phone vibrated, and I saw a WhatsApp message that made me smile. I showed the screen to R along with a victory sign. It was a message from my mother with a screenshot of two tickets to St. Petersburg for tomorrow. All she wrote was a "you'll be pleased," followed by an emoji with steam coming out of its nose.

"My sincerest congratulations, Mrs. Koroleva, it seems you've gotten your way, and so has your sister."

"Yes, this calls for a celebration. My sister will be over the moon. I'm going to call Andrey for a moment to tell him to leave one of the guys in charge of Aleksa. I need him to keep an eye on my affairs in St. Petersburg, and I estimate he'll be out for a week."

"First, finish your dessert. We have the excursion in a while, and there will be time for calls later."

"Fair exchange," I conceded, taking another piece to my mouth.

I had never laughed so much and for so long. My jaw was dislocated, and my abs hurt.

Romeo had the brilliant idea to ride a donkey. Yes, a donkey, because there were three options to ascend from the port, where we had dined, to the capital of Fira.

The first was walking, which would have been the most sensible after our calorie fest. We weren’t too keen on that because there were a lot of stairs, and the sun was blazing.

The second, and most popular, was the cable car. It was the tourists' favorite method, especially because it took just three measly minutes to reach the destination, and you didn’t have to endure the heat on days when the sun was particularly harsh.

But, of course, that was too easy for two born adventurers like us, so my beloved husband decided to be whimsical and emulate the Virgin Mary on the way to Bethlehem; not taking into account that he was not Saint Joseph, nor was I possessed by the Holy Spirit.

Regardless, I found myself mounted on the back of that animal, covered with a striped blanket and a brown leather saddle where I comfortably sat.

Our group consisted of five more people plus the guide. The others were a married couple with their teenage son, who kept recording videos to upload on YouTube. They were Sicilian and quickly hit it off with Romeo.

The guide warned us that the donkeys were very docile, that we should not stray, and to keep to the left to allow other tourists who decided to make the journey on foot on the same stairs.

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