Page 10 of Love on the Rocks
“You’re coming with me,” said Yiannis in a fierce whisper, interrupting my brief fantasy. I followed him to where she stood next to two enormous suitcases. She flicked her eyes to them like she expected us to pick them up for her, which like an obedientpuppy, Yiannis did. I chose to ignore the other one, which earned me another dirty look.
Yiannis gestured toward the group of donkeys at the end of the dock and her mouth dropped open. “Am I supposed to ride one of those?”
“Sorry, no cars on the island. You can walk or ride a boat or a donkey.”
Or me, I thought.
“I’ll walk,” she said, sniffing in disgust at the poor donkey. Then she lifted her suitcase and set out on those ridiculous heels. I almost suggested she change her shoes but stopped myself. So far, she hadn’t said a word to me. She no doubt thought I was an illiterate islander, and I wasn’t about to let on that I spoke English.
As we climbed the steep stone stairs toward the top of the hill, the urge to grab her damn suitcase became harder to ignore. It wasn’t in my nature to let someone—let alone a woman—struggle while I ignored them. But there was no going back now; the plan was in play. The more she struggled, the sooner she’d give up and go running back home.
Chapter 4
She was the sort of woman who turned heads everywhere she went, Angelos mused as he watched her cross the ballroom, her round hips rolling with every cat-like step of her high-heeled feet. Her silky auburn hair flowing in waves over high, pert breasts. Her mouth was plump and shining under dark red lip gloss like the ripe grapes that lined the dinner tables. No other woman here could hold a candle to her sensual beauty. Not even the stars in the sky shone as brightly as she did. Who was she and why had he never seen her before?
- One Week with the Greek
CALLIE
This was much worse than I had expected.
Gaz had warned me that the locals weren’t happy with the idea of the resort, but I hadn’t anticipated a welcoming committee composed of a group of macho assholes who clearly wanted to ship me out on the next ferry.
Their leader most of all. Yeah, I knew how to recognize the leader of a pack when I saw one, and this one had been trying to intimidate me since I stepped off the boat. Slumped in his chair, tattooed biceps on display, hard chiseled jaw clenched under a five-o’clock shadow, staring at me with those dark eyes like he was sizing me up. He was clearly the kingpin of this operation.I’d ignored those annoying butterflies that had taken flight in my gut and channeled my inner goddess.
I would not let some smug small-town hotshot intimidate me. Not when I’d stood down some of the most powerful chefs in Europe, the kind that would rip you a new asshole if your plate wasn’t warm enough.
So no, he didn’t scare me. But he did make my pulse race in the most aggravating way.
I twisted my lips into a disdainful scowl and glared at those enormous shoulders. The muscles of his back were visible through his thin, sweat stained T-shirt, and his faded jeans hugged his slim hips and powerful legs.
“Get it together,” I whispered to my tingling body as I climbed the hundredth step.
“Pardon?” said Yiannis. With his floppy brown hair and large doe eyes, he was clearly the only nice one of the bunch. He, at least, had helped me carry my suitcases. The other one, that dark-eyed god of war, was twenty steps ahead of us, strolling leisurely up the rocks with his tight ass on display as I tried to concentrate on not tumbling backward into the rocky abyss.
Why had I worn my new Gucci heels? And why had I packed so goddamn much in my “self-care” suitcase? Right now, I was tempted to hurl it over the cliff.
I should have taken a donkey. Donkeys! Here I’d thought I’d call an Uber from the port. Right, Cal, a car service on an island of three hundred people. The donkeyisthe Uber here.
“Oh, shut up,” I mumbled at the voice in my head that sounded strangely like Levi.
Frustrated and out of breath, I dropped my suitcase at my feet. I needed to catch my breath. The sun was blazing down on my freckle-prone skin like it had a personal vendetta against me. “Can we stop for a minute?”
“Of course,” said Yiannis, who also looked relieved to set the other suitcase down. “I can carry that for you, if you are too tired.”
The other one deigned to look back down at us from the crest of the hill where he stood like the Colossus of Rhodes blocking out the sun. He was doing things to my insides that I just wasn’t okay with. I couldn’t stand looking at him, so I turned around to survey my new, temporary home.
The port seemed miles away now, the donkeys and the old men like little ants below. I had found it all vaguely charming as the ferry pulled in, even the rundown houses with their salt-battered shutters. Okay, Santorini it was not, but it did have its own rustic charm.
But now it just seemed alien and hostile. I couldn’t even appreciate the sun reflecting off the turquoise sea.
“How much farther is it?” I panted, picking up my suitcase.
“A few more minutes only.” Yiannis smiled, but I heard the apprehension in his voice. It was as if he was trying to hide something.
“Let’s go then.” I breezed past him, waving him off when he reached for my suitcase. We got farther and farther away from the main town, passing an old windmill, a couple of horses, some rusty barrels, and several decaying houses, their white clay walls baked and cracking in the sun. Then we reached a flat plateau, where goats were grazing on dried, brown scrub. In the distance, perched on an even higher cliff, there was an ancient-looking ruin like you’d find on Delphi. It was both spooky and intriguing.
“What’s that?” I nodded toward the imposing stone columns.
