died,” she whispered. “My parents, my grandparents, my baby sister—Charlie. They all perished on the church grounds.”
It was awful saying the words out loud, and the silence afterward was painful and heavy.
“What are the nightmares?” he asked after a moment.
She blinked hard, determined to stay calm. “I’m there and I’m supposed to save them. And I can’t.” She looked up at him. He was leaning against one of the kitchen counters, his arms braced against the countertop, and he looked so big, so sure of himself, and she envied him then. Envied his size and strength. Envied his fierceness and vitality. The nightmares always made her feel so small and helpless. Vulnerable. She hated it, and she worked hard to keep from ever feeling weak.
“Is that what you dreamed tonight?”
“More or less.”
“Tell me about tonight’s dream.”
She made a soft, rough sound. “It’s too sad.”
“Maybe talking will help.”
She lifted her head and gave him a hard look. “Does talking about the accident that burned you ever help?”
“No.”
She lifted her cup and sipped the tea. It was hot and almost burned her tongue. Again tears started to sting her eyes. She blinked hard, determined not to cry.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Tea is too hot.”
“That’s not why you’re upset.”
Nikos was far too perceptive. “I just wish I hadn’t told you about the attack—”
“If it’s any consolation, you didn’t say much. You didn’t say how it happened. You didn’t tell me who did it, or if they were ever caught.”
“I hate discussing it.”
“Is that why the information wasn’t part of your donor file?”
“There’s no reason for people to know. Savannah tends to be a bit more open about it. I can’t stand talking about it. I get too angry.”
“Angry...why?”
“My parents knew their work was dangerous. They knew what they were doing was risky, and it’s one thing to put their own lives in jeopardy, but to put my sisters in danger? Charlie was just twelve. She shouldn’t have been there. She should have been protected.”
“And you said you weren’t maternal.”
Georgia’s eyes felt hot and gritty, and impatiently she shook her head, regretting sharing. “I think I’ll take my tea back to my room. If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to fall back asleep.” She rose and gathered her things, china cup and pot clinking as she accidentally knocked them together.
Nikos crossed the floor. He took the dishes from her, placed them on the table and then took her hands. “You’re shaking.”
“I miss them.” And just like that tears filled her eyes. She turned her face away, trying to hide the tears.
“You loved them.”
“So much.”
She didn’t know how it happened, didn’t know what happened, but suddenly her face was tipped up and his head dipped and his lips covered hers.
It was impossible to know what his intentions were, impossible to know if the kiss had meant to comfort, because the moment his mouth touched hers, Georgia jolted as if she’d stumbled into a live wire. Sensation rushed through her in electric waves, making her shudder.
Nikos deepened the kiss, his lips parting hers, and she shuddered again at the pleasure of his tongue stroking the inside of her sensitive lower lip and then finding her upper lip.
It’d been ages since she’d kissed anyone. She couldn’t even remember her last kiss, and Nikos was in total control, drawing her close, his hard body pressed to the length of her as lips and tongue made her melt.
She felt hot and explosive, her blood humming in her veins. She shivered as his hand moved beneath her long hair to cup her nape and then down her neck, stirring every nerve ending in her skin.
She couldn’t remember ever feeling so much. Hunger gnawed at her, and her nipples ached, pebbled tight and pressed to his chest.
His tongue swept the inside of her mouth, teasing her, making her grow warmer, making her feel wet.
She shouldn’t want this or like it. She should push him back, break free, and yet a small, scientific part of her mind was amazed.
This was unlike any kiss she’d ever known.
This was shockingly electric.
Chemistry.
His hands were on her waist, and then sliding up to cup her breasts, and she whimpered against his mouth. She felt wild with need, starved for sensation. Georgia pressed her chest against him, trying to assuage the ache.
And then just as fast as the kiss happened, it was over, with Nikos breaking it off and stepping back, muttering in Greek.
She’d bet a thousand dollars he was cursing again.
She looked up at him, and he looked grim as anything. Clearly he was regretting the kiss.
She fled. It was that or collapse in a puddle on the kitchen floor.
In her room, she locked the door and leaned against it, legs still shaking.
What just happened?
She’d never felt anything so consuming...pleasure and hunger and something else, something so intense that it continued to ripple through her in hot, dizzying waves.
Desire. Lust. Need.
Georgia exhaled slowly, trying to get control, needing to clear her head, and yet all she could feel was the pressure of Nikos’s body against hers and the feel of his mouth...as well as his taste.
He tasted like heat and honey and licorice.
She’d never tasted anything like it. And God help her, she wanted more.
* * *
Nikos headed out at dawn to run his mountain. It was what he did when he wasn’t calm, and couldn’t think.
He put on running shoes and forced himself to run up his mountain to the top, where he’d put in the landing strip for his planes, and then at the top, he did wind sprints across the tarmac, letting the Cyclades northwesterly wind buffet him.
By the time he was finished, he was exhausted. The beast had been subjugated. He could return to the house without fearing for Georgia’s safety.
He couldn’t hurt her. He couldn’t scare her. He must not
