My Greek SEAL (17 page)

I tread water and kiss him back, elated to feel his warm lips again. After the terror of nearly drowning and fearing that Eros had been lost, being in the safe refuge of his arms feels amazing. “You wouldn’t have left that boy out here to drown. Is that man you saved Helena’s husband?”

“Yes. It took quite a while to get to him because he took refuge in a small storage room off of the main cabin once he realized he couldn’t escape the sinking boat. He was breathing from an air pocket trapped in there.”

“I was so worried. It seemed like you were down there forever.”

“I will have to say it was one of the longest periods I’ve been underwater without air.”

Petros crawls across the mattress and speaks to Eros in a low, serious voice.

Eros clenches his jaw and gazes at the man who nearly drowned me. He’s floating in the water several feet away from us, still clinging to the lifejacket. He mutters something I don’t understand under his breath and then gives me a piercing stare. “The boy Petros tells me that man almost drowned you. Would you be able to do what I ask this time?”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Can you kick Petros and Helena’s husband to shore while I deal with that...that man?” His voice sounds stern and angry.

“You’re not going to hurt him are you? I’m sure he didn’t mean to hurt me. He was just scared.”

“I know you’re right. But I am still angry. The man nearly drowned you. But I will take him to shore and to his family. Now please be careful.” He kisses me gently on the forehead and then swims away.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

As I swim the mattress toward shore, Petros waves his hands and shouts. Helena’s husband groans and tries to push himself up. Petros fidgets impatiently, and I make frantic gestures, hoping he’ll get that I want him to calm down. Of course he doesn’t understand.

A small crowd of curious onlookers watches us from the shoreline. The little dog that followed us down to the water is still there, wagging its tail. I hear cries and shouts. Helena calls out to her husband in Greek and then rushes into the water. A young woman with the same bright dark eyes as Petros covers her face with her hands and dashes into the water behind Helena.

Petros claps his hands happily and cries out to the young woman. Helena’s husband moans in pain. His thin, weathered face must have been deeply tanned from so many days at sea. Now his face lacks color and a bloody scratch mars one of his cheeks. Eros swims on his side, easily ferrying the injured man who nearly drowned me to shore. He leaves the man on the shore and swims with athletic ease toward me.

“I’m here to help you now,” he says.

“Thank God you’re here. I didn’t think we’d ever make it.” Petros is so hyper, I was worried he’d tip the mattress over. If Helena’s husband had fallen off, he might have latched onto me and pulled me under like the other man did.

“You were doing very well.” His brows draw inward when Petros bounces again on the mattress. He reprimands him in Greek and the excited boy pouts in response. He’s obviously so excited he doesn’t even realize the trouble he’s causing for everyone else...

By now, the water is shallow enough to touch bottom. Eros helps me push the mattress up so that one side of it’s resting on dry land. Helena and the young woman splash their ways toward us through knee-deep water.

I pick up Petros and hand him to his mother. She nuzzles his face with her nose and hugs him to her chest and speaks to him in a loving tone of voice. Eros grips Helena’s husband by both arms and helps get him up. Before he’s even had a chance to step off the mattress, Helena throws herself into his arms. Sobbing, she says words that sound both worried and affectionate. Her husband touches her face and says words comforting enough that the worry lines disappear from Helena’s brow.

Watching this older couple express their love for each other makes me feel warm inside. It’s obvious they have a long history together. I wonder where they first met, how many children they have raised, and how long they’ve been married.

Once the initial excitement of the reunions passes, the two women turn toward us to give us teary hugs and thank yous. Eros translates every word and even Petros’ “Thank you, American lady Super hero,” which makes me laugh.

“Helena and her husband, Mihalis have invited us to stay with them until we are able to secure a boat or bus mainland.”

“Please tell her that is very kind.”

“Why don’t you tell her yourself. The word thank you is ef charisto.”

“Oh, okay.” I clear my throat. “Ef charisto?”

“That is very good, Maya. I am sure you will learn Greek very fast.”

“I’m not sure about that, but I will try.” I turn toward Helena and Mihalis and sputter out my first Greek words, hoping my pronunciation isn’t too laughable. They smile and nod and Helena winks at Eros, which makes me feel uncomfortable. Foreigners are always curious about Americans. Has Helena asked him anything about me? If so, what did he say? Did he say I was a tourist? His friend? Or did he say I was his girlfriend or, God forbid, lover or something awkward like that?

As we walk back to the couples’ house, Eros slings his arm around my shoulder and slows his pace so that we fall behind the reunited couple.

“Why are you walking so slow? Don’t they expect us to keep up?”

“No, I explained we had things to talk about and that we would be arriving at their house soon.”

“Okay.” What was so urgent that it couldn’t wait?

“This has been a difficult day and you have helped people in very desperate need. I was upset with you for going after the boy, but that was only because I was worried you might get hurt. You are a strong woman, Maya, and you have a good heart.”

I glow listening to his praise. The walk up the steep stone street seems like a breeze. Is it normal to want someone’s approval this much? “You were right to be worried. I’ve never been so scared. I thought for sure I was going to die when that man pulled me under.”

“How did you escape?”

“I hit him over and over. I hurt him pretty badly, too. He was bleeding.”

A smile curls up the corners of his lips. “I wondered how he got so beat up. You are a tough one that’s for sure. But don’t feel bad about what you did. Fighting very hard was the only way for you to save yourself.”

“Yes, I know, but I’m still glad I didn’t kill him.”

“No you didn’t. And even after all that, you went back to help him.” He pauses and draws his hand toward his mouth, sliding his index finger over his lower lip. “I am going to ask you something.”

My heart slams inside my chest. This talk thing is starting to scare me. Do I want to hear what he has to say? I know I’m in love with him, but I’m not sure I’m ready for him to take me to Athens and introduce me to a hundred relatives. “Okay.”

“You look so worried. Maybe I shouldn’t be saying this...”

“No, please. Go ahead.”

He takes my hand and swings me toward him, gripping both of my arms and holding me back far enough that we can look at each other. “I love you, Maya. I have been thinking a lot about our situation. Your country and your family are very far from here. And as much as I want to be with you, I could never leave this place. Did you mean what you said earlier, about wanting to stay in Greece?”

“Yes, Eros, staying here’s the change I need right now.”

“That is very good, because I want very much for you to stay here in Greece.”

Without hesitation, I leap into his arms. I’m too happy to care about the hundreds of relatives I might have to meet and pretend to understand. “Yes, Eros. I will stay here with you.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

There is only one bedroom in Helena and Mihalis house and no sofas, so we spend a restless night sleeping on their tile floor. I awaken, stiff and sore, but release a content sigh when I open my eyes and see Eros is stretched out beside me on our haphazard nest of pillows and blankets. He’s looking at me with a contented expression. All the worried lines I saw on his face yesterday are gone. And his eyelids hang heavy from sleep. Like me, he’s wearing borrowed clothing instead of a wet swimsuit.

“I wondered when you were going to wake up, beautiful. You must have been very tired.”

“Yeah, a little.” I don’t tell him I was awake half the night or that I’ve never slept on a floor in my entire life. “What time is it?”

“Almost nine o’clock.”

I push myself up to a sitting position and rub my eyes. “Really? I can’t believe I slept so long. Where are Helena and Mihalis?”

“They walked down the street to a neighbor’s house. They say the man has a shop in town and may have enough food and supplies to get them through the week. I told them that after you awakened, we would leave to look for Dmitri and the others.”

“I like that plan. I want to know what happened to them. I miss Maryann the most. I hope she and the rest of them are safe somewhere. Did you tell Helena and Mihalis we would come back tonight?”

“I told them I wasn’t sure, but that if we didn’t return, we would be back in touch with them very soon.”

His use of the work we brings a smile to my face. “Let me wash my face and use the bathroom real quick. It will only take a minute.”

“Relax, Maya. Helena left food out for us. Come to the table for a cup of tea and some bread and cheese. I waited for you. We can eat together.”

“Waited? You were laying beside me when I woke up.”

He kisses me gently on the lips before reaching for my hand and lifting me to my feet. “After Helena and Mihalis left, I couldn’t resist getting close to you again.”

We sit at the small table where Helena has placed a pot of tea, two cups, two plates and a serving platter piled high with bread and cheese. “That was nice of her to leave all this food for us.”

“It was. I tried to tell her we could get by with less, but she wouldn’t accept that.” Eros pours me a cup of tea and places it in front of me. “How are you feeling this morning?”

I reach for a triangle of bread and stab a hunk of cheese with a fork. I push the cheese into my mouth. It tastes salty and delicious. I bite into the hard crust of the bread and find the inside to be fluffy and flavorful. “I can’t believe how hungry I am.”

“There’s plenty. Eat some more. We will need energy for our search.”

“But I feel guilty for eating this huge breakfast when the others might be stranded somewhere.”

“We will be more help if we are prepared.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“I can carry whatever we don’t eat. We’ll also take two liters of water.”

“Okay.” I wonder if Maryann and the others were washed away and drowned or had to walk barefoot up that limestone and are sitting on some hillside nursing deep cuts and dying of thirst.

“Please don’t look so worried. We will find them. Dmitri is a very skilled boatman and so is Libby. I know they would have fought very hard to keep all the swimmers safe.”

I pile cheese on another slice of bread. “You’re right. But this is a pretty big island. Do you have a plan for our search?”

Eros stands up and takes a swallow of tea to wash down the bite of food in his mouth. “We can ask the locals. I am hopeful that someone will have seen them. If not, it will be necessary to traverse the more deserted parts of the island.”

I swallow the last bite of bread and cheese, stand up and clap my hands together. “I’m ready whenever you are.”

He pushes back his chair, stands up and gives me a mischievous look before turning toward the front door. “As I have told you before, I am always ready.”

I give him an affectionate swat on the shoulder. “Oh, stop that.”

“But first, let me pack up the water and our swimming gear. We may have to swim to get to some of the remote parts of the island.”

Outside, I am greeted by hot sun and stifling heat. There’s no breeze this far from the sea. We walk down the steep road to the shoreline and see only one lone woman. She’s standing outside what’s left of her home, examining the damage. Eros speaks to her and inquires about Dmitri and the tourists on the boat, but the woman merely frowns and shakes her head and gives me a curious look.

Once I have a view of the shoreline, I see that most of the flooding in the main part of town has subsided. Dozens of ruined boats and buildings lay exposed. The white mud covering them is baking in the sun. Two men amble away from the shore, carrying a body.

“Oh, no. How awful.”

“Yes, Maya, it is. I could have left you back at the house if you didn’t want to come.”

“No, I want to be with you.”

Eros approaches two men squatting in the rubble, examining the damaged hull of their overturned sailboat. He questions them, but they shake their heads and exchange a few more words with Eros before returning to their task at hand.

“They haven’t seen Dmitri or his boat. They know him well since he often brings the tourists to this town for lunch. If he had been in this town, these locals would have known about it.”

“What are we going to do now?”

“I want to swim around the perimeter of the island. That would be easier than walking across this rough terrain. The place where we last saw the boat would be a good place to start. It is about two kilometers from here.”

“Okay. I need to find someplace out of sight where I can put on my swimsuit.”

“Yes, of course.” Eros leads me to a grove of mud-covered trees. He unzips the over-the-shoulder duffel bag he borrowed from Helena and tosses me my swimsuit. “I will look the other way so I am able to stay focused on finding our friends instead of wanting to make love to you.”

I blush and wait for him to turn his back before I slip into my suit. But I cheat and turn to watch him while he undresses. The muscles on the sides of his buttocks flex as he pulls off his pants and underwear. He really is a god. My heart beats faster. I want him so bad, but I know it’s a terrible time to let my hormones run away with me. Peoples’ lives are at stake. I turn away from him and draw in a deep breath. I wait until I no longer hear the shuffling of clothes and then turn toward him. “Are you almost ready, Mister Always Ready?”