The Cancun Trilogy, An Erotic Beach Romance (12 page)

She took a deep breath and nested the
side of her face against the back of Nik’s neck, her arms wrapped
around his chest.

The wind blew Nik’s hair back. She
looked up and could see the side of his face. As she squeezed her
arms tighter, she saw his cheek stretch up, and knew he was
smiling.

Cancún
Wedding

Chapter 1

Terra lifted the window visor and squinted, looking over the
tops of the clouds. She tried to find a gap, anxious to see if they
were over land or water. Her view went white as they passed through
a cloud, as if a pillowcase had been pulled over the plane. She sat
back and tried to relax. They weren’t scheduled to land in Cancún
for hours yet.

Vicky climbed back into her seat.
“Those bathrooms are made for little people. I swear, they make
planes smaller and smaller these days.” She buckled back up. “I had
to pass the food cart on the way back up the aisle. There’s no
room. I had to practically crawl on some guy’s lap to let the cart
pass. Not that I’m complaining. And all the stewardesses are thin
as sticks. You notice that? You do
not
see no fat stewardess
these days. Maybe I should apply for a job, have them turn me down,
then sue their asses.” Vicky had lost over twenty pounds in
preparation for Terra’s wedding, and was forever fishing for
acknowledgement. She did look great, trimming down but managing to
keep her curves.

“Stop it, Vik. You couldn’t sue
because they’d hire you. You’re one of them now, thin as a
stick.”

“Now, I don’t know about
that
.
Lost some of them extra LBs, but I ain’t no stick.” She seemed
satisfied. Vicky had fretted about the wedding more than Terra had,
far exceeding her role of Maid of Honor and becoming downright
maternal in her devotion to every detail. She seemed to know that
Terra would miss her mother now more than ever, and was quietly
filling the role where she could. Terra was more grateful than she
could ever express.

The stewardess pulled the food cart up
and leaned over them, dropping napkins on their trays. “Chicken
piccata or vegetarian lasagna?” she asked, with the kind of
plastered-on smile you knew would quickly disappear if you failed
to answer right away.

“I’ll brave the chicken,” Vicky said.
The stewardess looked at Terra, her eyebrows lifting higher than
seemed possible. “Nothing for me,” Terra said.

“She’ll have the lasagna,” Vicky said.
“And two margaritas.” The Stewardess’ smile dropped. “Just kidding,
love. But we’ll have a couple of those cute little bottles of
chardonnay.”

Terra pushed her food around and
sipped wine. Vicky went on and on about the details of the wedding
as she ate. It had become something of a nervous habit. It was the
same stuff Terra had heard a number of times before, but it was her
job to nod and say “Uh huh” in the right places.

“It will be great having all the men
in loose khaki suits and barefoot. Casual, but classy. I mean, if
you’re getting married on the beach, what’s the point of shoes? For
the men, I mean. But a woman needs a good pair of heels, even if
she’s gettin’ married on the moon. You’ll be standing on those wood
planks, so not to worry about navigating sand. I got it all
planned.” She was on autopilot.

“Uh huh.”

“And I’m just taking your word for it
that this guy Soren is good enough to take pictures. I know you
said he’s an amateur photographer, but I have my doubts. He’s the
lady killer you told me about, right?”

“Uh huh.”

“So he’s got other priorities. Not a
good sign. Weddings are prime hunting grounds for men looking for a
quick fling. At least I’m hoping so.”

Terra’s thoughts began to drift away.
Everything seemed to be moving both fast and slow at the same time.
She found herself needing to mentally go back and relive many of
the things that had happened in the last year, afraid that if she
didn’t, they would be lost forever. She wanted to bottle all the
precious moments, before they faded away, like footprints at low
tide.

It was usually the memory of Nik’s
voice that would trigger it. As Vicky went on and on, talking about
how the food was to be laid out, Terra could hear Nik’s voice
saying,
Terra, this is my mother, Maia
. Terra closed her
eyes, getting lost in the memory. It was almost exactly one year
ago, she realized.

They had taken a taxi from the airport
to Nik’s
parents’
house in Voula, a
wealthy area on the coast, south of Athens, Greece. By the time
they arrived, Terra felt like a walking disaster—dirty, tired, and
nervous. The last shower she had was from an irrigation hose on the
side of the road back in Cancún. The house—palace was more like
it—was not at all what she expected. Nik talked about his family,
but never mentioned anything about them being wealthy.

The house was spread out over the side
of a hill, overlooking the Aegean Sea. The cab stopped on the wide
circular driveway that arched across the front. When Terra got out,
she turned in a circle, mouth agape. The house, made of whitewashed
stone, was three stories high. The manicured grounds it sat on were
as large as a college campus. Terra squinted in the sunlight,
stunned.

“Your parents live here?” she asked.
It never even occurred to her that Nik came from a wealthy family.
As far as she knew, the only things he owned were books, diving
equipment, and a motorcycle.

“Yeah,” he said, pulling her backpack
from the trunk of the cab. “This is the house I grew up in.” He
took her hand and pulled her toward the entrance. The tall double
doors mysteriously opened for them, revealing a servant dressed in
a black kimono, who greeted Nik with a formal nod. “Nikolaos,” he
said.

Inside, the entry way was white
marble, with a wide, sweeping staircase that curved gracefully to
the floor above. The ceiling was so high it reminded Terra of a
museum. Beyond the entry way was a large archway that revealed a
sunken living room with plush white carpet. Terra could see a high
wall of windows beyond that overlooked the shimmering ocean, the
water so vibrant it was nearly purple.

Having just come in from the bright
sunlight, Terra’s eyes were still adjusting. There was someone
standing in the archway—a figure, tall and elegant, in a blue and
gold wrap dress. She was slowly coming into focus.

Nik guided Terra closer to the figure,
her tennis shoes squeaking on the marble floor. She felt so dirty
from their travels that she thought she might be leaving a trail.
Her hair was a mess. She still had traces of mud on her from their
long trip out of Cancún, which now felt like a world
away.

Feeling like road kill, Terra looked
at the still figure and tried to compose herself. The statuesque
woman had cold green eyes and black, lacquered hair, pulled back in
a tight bun. She looked at Terra like she was something that needed
to be disposed of as quickly as possible.

“Terra, this is my mother, Maia,” Nik
said. Terra withered under the woman’s hard gaze, but managed to
put her hand out. “It’s nice to meet you,” she said. Maia placed
her fingertips in Terra’s outstretched hand like she was testing
cold water. Before Maia said anything, a voice boomed, “
Nikky
Nikky Nikky Nik!”

A large man barreled in and scooped
Nik up in a bear hug. Nik and the large man began an excited
exchange in Greek, talking rapidly and laughing. They both turned
to Terra, Nik’s face beaming. “This is Terra,” Nik said. “Terra,
this is my brother, Arteus.” The man looked at her, wild-eyed and
excited, then scooped her up in a crushing, sweaty hug.
“Terra
Terra Terra Terra!”
he exclaimed, spinning her in a circle
before setting her down.

More brothers and sisters rushed in,
like a small flood. Next came cousins, uncles and family friends.
Nik’s family seemed to go on and on. They were all anxious to meet
Terra, looking at her with excited faces and broad smiles. All
except Maia, who kept her cold stare, easing to the periphery as
the others crowded Terra, but never taking her calculating eyes off
her.

Terra was unnerved by Nik’s mother,
and by all the attention that was suddenly being thrust upon her.
She did her best, putting on a brave face, shaking hands and trying
to remember names, even though she was exhausted and felt
self-conscious. She really wished Nik had given her a moment to
clean up before meeting everyone, but she braved it, seeing how
happy he was.

With the introductions finally over,
people began to drift out of the room. An older man had his arm
around Nik’s shoulder—his father? He was leading Nik out of the
room as he spoke to him in hushed tones. The man glanced over his
shoulder at Terra once.

The others left, talking to each other
in Greek, until only Terra was left, standing in the middle of the
large entry way. She saw Maia, standing near the far wall,
statue-like, still staring at her.

Terra noticed Maia had something in
her hand. The medallion. Nik’s medallion. The one he’d given to
her, and that she had given back to him. Maybe it was a different
one. Maybe they each had one, Terra thought. No, she could see the
dent on the ridge of it. It was Nik's.

Maia held it, absently rubbing the
face of it as she looked at Terra with the same cold expression.
Finally, she turned without a sound, the medallion winking in the
light, and drifted out of the room like a wisp of smoke.

Chapter 2

Terra was jolted out of her reverie. The plane was going
through turbulence. She had a sour taste in her mouth—from the
wine, she realized. The fasten seatbelt sign went on with a ding.
Vicky was sound asleep, her head tilted back and her mouth wide
open.

Terra checked her watch. At least
another hour until they landed. The image of Nik’s mother was still
fresh in her head. She sunk lower in her seat, frowning.

I’m blessed,
she reminded
herself.
I’m on my way to marry the love of my life. It’s all
been a dream come true. So stop moping,
she reprimanded
herself.
It’s all perfect. It couldn’t be more perfect.
Except…

Except for Nik’s mother. It was the
only sour note. Try as she might, Terra couldn’t seem to fix it.
The woman was convinced that Terra wanted to marry Nik for all the
wrong reasons, and no amount of convincing seemed to sway her.
Terra had lost a lot of sleep over the last year, trying to figure
out a way to show Maia that she was wrong about her.

The plane smoothed out, making its way
out of the turbulence. Terra took a deep breath and closed her eyes
again. She didn’t want to think about Maia. She wanted to remember
her favorite part of the last year—the proposal. She smiled at the
thought.
Umm, the proposal…

Chapter 3

“You can’t do that to me again,” Terra said, drying her hair
with a towel.

“Okay.” Nik, sitting on the edge of
the bed, looked at the ground like a scolded puppy.

“I don’t know anybody here. You can’t
just leave me standing there alone like that.”

“I won’t do it again. I’m
sorry.”

“I mean it.”

“I know you do.” Nik looked up at her.
She was mad. He’d only seen her mad a couple times before, and
never directed at him. He kept his expression serious, but the
truth was that seeing her like this was, well, exciting.

It had been days since they’d had sex.
They had both grown accustomed to their everyday routine—sometimes
twice a day. One day they did it four times. It had become like a
form of nourishment they both needed. But now it had been, what,
five days? He couldn’t remember exactly as he looked at her, in her
panties and bra, one hand on her cocked hip.

“You just left me there. With your
mother staring at me.” Her eyes glowered at him under a furrowed
brow.

“I know. Don’t be mad.”

“Well, I
am
mad.”

“I know, but don’t be.”

“Why? I can’t be mad?”

“Of course you can. But you shouldn’t
be.”

“Why?”

“Because… Because, it’s turning me on.
I shouldn’t say that, maybe you be more mad. I don’t know. But it’s
true. So if you keep being mad, looking like that, I may not be
able to control myself. And we’re supposed to go downstairs in a
minute. My brother Arteus is waiting for us.”

“Me being mad turns you on?” Terra
squinted at him, not sure if this was a ploy.

“Yes. I didn’t know it would. I never
see you mad. I mean, like this.”

“Well… that’s okay.” She dropped the
towel from her hair and walked closer to him.

“So, it’s not my fault.” He looked at
her lean, tan body. All the diving and physical work she’d been
doing had left her torso and abs defined with long, graceful
muscles.

“Yes, it is.” She straddled his leg,
letting her crotch graze his thigh. She could tell he was turned
on. Not just by the strain in his pants, but by his eyes. She knew
his green eyes looked subtly different when he was excited, taking
on a misty quality. They were like that now.

“It
is
your fault,” she teased
him. “It’s
all
your fault.” She slid forward on his leg.
“And another thing—” His hands went to her hips and began to slide
up. “Why do we have to sleep in separate rooms?” He pulled her
closer to kiss her. “It seems rather childish. I’m very, very mad
about that,” she teased, as his lips met hers.