Tall Dark Handsome Lycan

Sam couldn’t wait for the
next two weeks to be over.  She parked her car and stepped out into the morning warmth of the sun as she stared up at her shop’s red and gold sign,
The Crystal Ball
.  An immediate flare of tension ran up her back as she unlocked her front door and went inside.  She braved a look around the mess the freak electrical fire had created last week, and she pursed her lips as she glanced at her antique lace shawls, old books, and scrolls containing magic spells, destroyed by the fire.

She just had to be patient for two weeks
until all the renovations were done and then her quiet, neat little life would be back to normal.

Sighing,
she went to the counter and lowered herself in front of her safe.  As she turned the dial, the front door chimes jingled.

“
’Morning, Sam.  Good news!  I can get you a discounted flight for tomorrow morning.”

Sam rose to see Toni depositing her purse on the counter.  “I already told you yesterday,
I’m not going to spend two weeks in your summer home in Greece. Look around you.  My shop’s in the middle of renovations.  Besides, I’m not exactly your family’s favourite person.”

“
You hired me to work here as your assistant. And that’s what I’m going to do—assist you.” Toni paused, frowning. “Leo won’t be there, if that’s what you’re worried about.  He’s in New York.”

Sam froze.
Leonidis Stefanos, Toni’s brother, was the last person she wanted to see.

“
You’re not still thinking about the phone conversation you had with him, are you?”  Toni asked.  “I’m sure he’s forgotten it by now.”

Sam attempted a
look of indifference, but she knew the rising heat on her cheeks told a different story. “Why would I think about a three minute conversation I had with a man two months ago?” She couldn’t hold her friend’s gaze as an immediate rush of guilt assaulted her senses. She had just lied to Toni.

The truth was she’d been
thinking often about her conversation with Leo the past two months.  Worse, every time she had sat down to do a reading on him, she had come empty.  Her Tarot cards had revealed zilch. 

“For one,”
Toni continued, interrupting Sam’s train of thought, “you called my brother a selfish, controlling jerk.”

“You seem to
forget why I said those things.”

Toni’s grin sobered.
“I haven’t forgotten and I’ll never forgive myself for allowing you to take the call. I should have faced my brother myself.”

“Maybe so,” Sam replied
.  She couldn’t shake the picture of Leo she’d seen in a photograph in Toni’s apartment.

She recalled dark, sooty
eyes staring at her from a tanned, handsome face, and a mouth that hinted arrogance and an abundance of sensual promise.

“Who am I kidding?” Toni
continued. “If I had taken the call that day, I don’t think I would have ever gone through with the wedding. My family could be very imposing.”  Her face fell. “I’m a newlywed and I should be happy, but I miss them.  Did I tell you Leo invited John and me to visit next month?  I’m worried it’s going to be a disaster.”

Just the mere mention of
Leo’s name again made Sam’s nerves jump. “Everything will turn out fine.”

Toni looked uncomfortable. 
“You don’t know my family, Sam.  There are things…I haven’t told you.  Things I…can’t talk about.” 

“
You and John love each other.  That’s all that matters.”
            Sam saw a slow, wry smile form above Toni’s mouth.  “Wait a minute.  We were discussing your vacation.  How did we get off the subject, anyway?  Oh yeah, we were talking about my esteemed brother.”

Silently, Sam cursed the telltale flush on her cheeks and tried
to stop thinking about that day in Toni’s apartment two months ago. She failed miserably as the memory of Leo’s deep voice penetrated her mind.  Once he had realized it was Sam who’d answered, he had proceeded to blast her through the phone line, his fury and contempt evident with each cutting word. It had been the first and only time Sam had spoken to him and although Leo had never met her, he had assumed the worst, calling her and John conniving opportunists bent on ruining Toni’s life.

Sam
had matched his anger with a lashing one of her own, her protective instincts surging forth to defend John’s honour, and yet, she hadn’t been able to deny the thrilling effect his rich, deep voice had had on her.

“Do you know your brother actually
growled
on the phone when he spoke to me,” she said.  She watched Toni’s expression crumble for a split second.  The brief look of fear she’d witnessed on her friend’s face was so fleeting, Sam wondered if she imagined it.

“It’s no use, Sam.  I’ll pester you until I’m blue in the face.  You’re going on vacation!”

                                            * * * *

T
he next afternoon, Sam was flying over Greece. Was there ever any doubt?  Toni was a force to be reckoned with when her mind was made up.  Sam smiled wryly as she settled back in her seat.  In any case, she trusted Toni would take care of things back home and have the shop restored back to its original self.

S
am peered out of her window and her breath caught at the vast beauty below.  The coastline along the Ionian Sea was striking, with immense stretches of sandy beaches and emerald waters. Picturesque coves and rocky inlets drew her fascinated gaze.  The seatbelt light went on and the plane descended. Within the hour she landed in Athens international airport and took a connecting flight to Corfu. She went through customs and collected her luggage.

“Maria, our housekeeper, will pick you up.  She’ll hold a sign up with your name on it,” Toni had explained.

Sam frowned as she glanced around.  Maria wasn’t there.  She bit back a disappointed sigh,
wishing she had tied her hair up in a ponytail.  God, it was so hot!  Her snug jeans and T-shirt didn’t help either.  Why didn’t she wear shorts and a tank top?

A
trickle of sweat ran down the side of her face and she swiped a hand along her cheek. Her makeup had long since evaporated, her feet had swelled up, and her stomach was beginning to make all sorts of objectionable noises, urging her to fill it with food. Now, she regretted turning down the airplane meal.

S
he scanned the crowds again, when a startling sound behind her made her jump.  It was a low, deep growl.

“We finally meet, Miss Hope.”

The voice was all too familiar and for a split second Sam stopped breathing. Slowly, she turned around and stared up at Leonidis Stefanos.

H
is energy hit her like a ton of bricks.  Powerful.  Confident.  Commanding.  He was six feet three inches, towering over her, making her five feet six inches seem insignificant and small. Sam stared at his black silk shirt and slowly raised her gaze past the strong, tanned column of his throat up to his face.

Her breath caught.

His picture hadn’t done him justice.
He looked more ruthless than handsome with dark hair curled a little past his collar, his nose, straight and long, flared slightly, and his mouth was curled into a sardonic smile.

Sam released the small breath she was holding
and looked up at his eyes.  She nearly drew back at the full impact of his dark, unwavering gaze. All she could see in them was contempt.

“I’ve waited a long time to finally meet the woman who called me a
jerk.”

A bucket of cold water over her head couldn’t have been more effective
.  Immediately, she snapped out of her daze and flashed him her haughtiest look.

“I didn’t travel twelve hours
for a confrontation.”

He raised a dubious brow.
“If it was kindness you were expecting, perhaps you should have thought about that before you insulted my family two months ago.”

Sam
tensed, recalling their telephone conversation. “You were being unreasonable trying to call off Toni’s wedding.”

Another trickle of sweat ran down the side of her face and she brushed it away
.  Dressed in a black shirt and trousers, he stood tall, proud, and completely dry as though the heat dare not affect him.

He flicked a derisive
look over her. “Americans have no tolerance for our weather. Come,” he ordered suddenly. “The car is air-conditioned. You look like you’re ready to drop.”

“You don’t need to concern yourself over me, Mr. Stefanos.”
Sam watched him bend toward her luggage. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

Leo
lifted a mocking brow as he straightened with a bag in each hand. “You don’t have a choice.”

She tore her
gaze away from his and searched the crowds for Maria. “I already have a lift.  She’s running late.”

“That is an understatement,” he said dryly.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

His expression darkened with impatience.
“Your lift is not showing up. I am your lift,” he replied with an arrogant curl on his lips.  “Maria notifies me whenever someone will be staying at the house and as I have some work in this part of the country, I decided to pick you up myself and stay at the house until I’ve concluded my business—which should, incidentally, take about two weeks.  The length of your stay,” he added with deliberate ease.

Sam
’s stomach lurched. There was no way she was going to spend two weeks with him. “No… I mean… I don’t want…to impose, Mr. Stefanos.”

“Leo, please,” he supplied in a cool, measured tone
, his smile showing a perfect set of white teeth, a startling contrast to his tanned face. His smile, Sam noticed, did not reach his eyes.  She tensed.

“
Leo,” she began.  “Perhaps it would be best if I remained here and took the next available flight back. I…Toni said no one would be… I don’t want to impose myself on you,” she said, watching his expression harden as she spoke.

“Ah, but you
have already imposed yourself on me, haven’t you, Miss Hope?   When my sister married your American John, you indirectly broke the agreement between my family and the Forresters.”

A rise of
indignation welled in her throat and she bristled under his haughty glare. “I can’t believe you condone arranged marriages. Toni didn’t love William, or did you already know that and just didn’t care?”