The Cancun Trilogy, An Erotic Beach Romance (13 page)

When his hands cupped her breasts, the
effect was immediate. The anger she felt just a moment ago morphed
into desire. She reached down and undid his belt buckle as his
hands moved up and cupped her face. Her wet hair fell around his
face. He kissed her, his mouth opening to hers, making those
breathy sounds he did when he was turned on.

She reached in his pants, sliding her
hand inside his underwear and wrapping him with her hand. He really
was turned on—his rigid excitement made her more eager. She moved
up, sliding her leg over his hips, straddling him. He kissed her
neck, working his way down to her cleavage as she arched back. His
hands cupped her breasts, clawing her bra to the side to kiss her
nipples. Her hand went to the back of his head. She moved up on
him, getting into position, pulling her panties to the side for
access. His hand reached behind her to unhook her bra—

“Hey Nikky-Nik! Where you at?!”
Arteus bound into the room without warning, the door flying open
and smacking the wall.

Terra screamed, launching herself over
Nik, doing a quick roll on the bed as she pulled the bedspread over
her. Arteus, munching on a roll of bread, hardly noticed. “I wait
for you downstairs. Why you no come?” Nik had asked his family to
speak English around Terra, as a courtesy. Apparently their
courtesy didn’t extend to knocking before barging into a
room.

“Yeah, we’ll be right there,” Nik
said, fastening his pants like nothing happened.

“Sheesh
, I wait and I wait. You
say you come, you no come.” Arteus turned to go with a sigh. When
he was gone, Terra let out a long, exasperated moan into the
pillow.

“I know. We’re a close family. Nobody
knocks. We better go.”

Downstairs, Nik and Arteus began an
animated conversation in Greek. They were joined by more of Nik’s
siblings, all talking excitedly. Terra felt left out again. She
kept looking for Nik’s sister, Anna. They were here for her
graduation after all, but Terra hadn’t even seen her since they
arrived.

“Okay, come,” Nik said, taking Terra’s
arm and leading her away.

“What? Where are we going? Where’s
Anna? I haven’t even seen her yet.”

“We have to get ready.”

“Ready for what?”

“You’ll see.”

“See what? What’s going on? We just
came downstairs. Why are we going back up?”

Nik lead her back to her room without
answering. When they got there, one of Nik’s sisters—or cousins,
Terra wasn’t sure which—was sitting on the bed. Terra let out a
sigh, reminding herself to stay calm and be positive. She liked
Nik’s family, they were very nice, but they were just…
everywhere
. The house was enormous, but they seemed to
always crowd into the same area.

She hoped they could pick up where
they left off—once her sexual energy had started up, Terra found it
difficult to turn off. It didn’t look like that was going to happen
now, leaving Terra with an itch she couldn’t scratch.

“Terra, this is my cousin, Bacilla.
She’s going to help you,” Nik said.

Terra smiled at the woman, then turned
to Nik. “I’m sorry Nik, but help me
what
?” She was trying,
she really was, but frustration was setting in.

“You’ll see,” Nik said.

Bacilla stood and took Terra’s hand,
leading her out of the room and down the hall. More of Nik’s family
were in the hallway, watching them, smiling.
Okay
, Terra
thought.
Just go with it. Whatever the hell’s going on, just...
go with it.

Bacilla led Terra into a large room
filled with scented candles and fresh cut flowers. One wall of the
room was floor to ceiling glass, overlooking the ocean. The water
was so close that Terra could see seals on the rocks below. The sun
was descending into the darkening Aegean Sea, lighting the horizon
in vivid orange and brilliant yellow.

In the center of the room was a large
bed with a dozen colorful dresses laid out. Terra could tell the
dresses were made of expensive material. They looked hand made.
Bacilla motioned Terra over as she picked up one of the dresses.
She held it in front of Terra, assessing it. Terra realized Bacilla
was about the same size as her. These must be her
dresses.

“This is beautiful,” Bacilla said in a
quiet voice, surprising Terra with her perfect English. “But this
one would bring out your eyes more.” She took the dress away and
held up another. She got behind Terra and turned her toward the
mirror. “Or this one,” Bacilla said, pulling the dress away and
replacing it with another.

Terra’s hand touched the material. It
was real silk, caressing her hand like a soft whisper. She looked
at herself in the mirror. It was breathtaking. She’d never seen
such a beautiful dress. She realized it was probably worth more
than all the clothes she’d ever owned in her life.

Terra turned toward Bacilla. “I don’t
know what you’re dressing me for.”

“I know. You’re not supposed to,”
whispered Bacilla with a sly smile. Terra found her presence
calming. It was easy to trust her. “We’ll do it all. You just
relax.”

“We?”

Three other women came into the room.
Terra looked at Bacilla and started to say something, but Bacilla
put her finger to her lips.
Shhh.

As Terra stood there, Bacilla
undressed her, down to her underwear, then slipped a robe on her
and sat her on a chair. One of the other women sat on the floor in
front of Terra and began to give her a foot massage and pedicure.
Another sat next to her and worked on her nails. The third woman
massaged Terra’s neck and shoulders.

Bacilla put on some dreamy classical
music. It was a completely new experience for Terra, who had never
been to a spa or had a massage. She’d never gotten anything more
than a haircut. She found it relaxing and sensuous, being at the
center of all that feminine attention, and being touched by so many
hands.

For the next hour, the women pampered
and prepared Terra, doing her hair and makeup. None of them spoke,
except Bacilla, with her calm, assuring voice. Terra looked out at
the sea most of the time, listening to Bacilla, watching the sun
slide into the horizon. Bacilla told her how people from all over
the world came to see the sun set in the Aegean. Terra felt so
relaxed it was like she was slipping into a dream.

The dress fit her as if every stitch
was custom sewn to her exact size. It both clung to and slid over
her body like a gentle summer breeze. Bacilla put her in low heels
with high straps that wrapped her ankles. The final accent was a
thin necklace of turquoise and sapphire. Terra didn’t look at
herself until they were finished.

She stood in front of the mirror.
Bacilla stood next to her. The other women sat on the edge of the
bed. They were all watching her. Terra looked at herself. Tears
welled in her eyes. One of the women quickly handed Bacilla a
tissue. She dabbed Terra’s eyes.

“I’ve never… I’ve never seen myself
like this,” was all Terra could say. Aside from a miserable high
school prom, she’d never really dressed up before. It was like
looking at a different version of herself. She’d never thought of
herself as beautiful. Attractive maybe. Or, as her mother used to
tell her when she was a little girl, ‘pretty enough for all normal
purposes’. But looking at herself now, she saw herself as… no, she
felt
, truly beautiful.

Bacilla moved behind her, looking over
Terra’s shoulder at her reflection. “You are absolutely stunning,”
she said, whispering it in Terra’s ear. Terra turned to her, fresh
tears welling in her eyes. “Thank you.”

Bacilla led her back out into the
hallway. The end of the hallway was lit from the windows in the far
room. Framed by the archway at the end of the hall, lit in
silhouette, stood Nik. He was looking in her direction, awaiting
her arrival.

Bacilla stood back as Terra walked
toward Nik. As she got closer, she could see he was wearing a dark
blue suit over a crisp white, collared shirt. He was clean-shaven,
scrubbed and polished. Even his hair had been trimmed.

His beauty caught her breath. On her
last step, as he took her hand, she faltered slightly. She wasn’t
sure if she’d wobbled on her heel or if her knees gave out. His
eyes roamed over her. “My God,” he said in a hushed tone. “My
Aglaia.” Terra remembered from her Greek mythology class that
Aglaia was the Greek goddess of beauty and magnificence.

Nik lead her outside, where a
limousine was waiting for them with the back door open. Once
inside, the car sped off. Terra turned to Nik. “Where are we
going?”

“I lied to you.”

“What? When did you lie?”

“We’re not here for Anna’s graduation.
She graduated last year.”

“Oh. So—then, what?”

He looked at her, his lips pursed. “I
can’t say. Yet.”

“Alright.”

“You trust me?” he asked.

“Yes. Completely.”

He looked slightly relieved, but Terra
could tell he was nervous. As they drove, Nik looked out the window
at the passing ocean. She held his hand, squeezing it, hoping to
get him to turn back to her.

They were just south of Athens. As the
road turned inland, Nik lost the view of the ocean. As if losing
his lifeline, he turned from the window and looked at Terra. He had
that look she’d seen before, like he had something important on his
mind, and was gathering the courage to say it.

The road banked and the view of the
ocean opened up again. Nik turned away from her, again looking out
at the sea.

A source of strength,
Terra
thought as she looked at the back of Nik’s head, and the ocean
beyond.
Nik got his strength from the ocean. It was his source
of courage. Maybe he was drawing on it now.

She held Nik’s hand firmly. His palms
were sweaty.

Terra thought about the last few
days—their quick departure from Cancún, the hasty plans, the false
pretense about Anna’s graduation. His family—everyone so excited,
like they were all in on something. And Nik’s mother, looking at
her like she knew something. Like she had already judged her.
Like…

A source of
strength—

“OH GOD!”
Her hand went to her
mouth as it hit her. Nik turned to her quickly. The limo driver
lurched the car. “Oh, my
God!
” She grabbed Nik’s arm. “Oh
Nik, I know. I’ve figured it out. You’re going to—”

“Shhh
.” He rapped on the glass
partition and motioned to the limo driver to keep
driving.

Convulsive tears came to her eyes.
“Oh, God. You’re going to—you’re going to—you’re going to ask me
to—”

“Shhh
, stop it,” he said
firmly. “You’re not supposed to know.”

A flood of emotions overcame her. “But
I, but I—”

He shook his head. “Don’t say
anything. My whole family is in on this. You can’t let on that you
know anything. It’s important to them. Please.”

“Okay. Okay, I can do that. Oh, God.
Nik.” She held his face. “Nik, I love you.”

Relief flooded his face even as tears
welled up in his eyes. “You do? I mean, don’t say anything
yet.”

Terra just nodded her head as tears
streamed down her face. She held his face and moved half onto his
lap as she kissed him. His hands slid behind her as they fell into
a deep kiss. She moved all the way onto his lap, straddling him,
her silk dress sliding up to her hips. She cupped his chin in her
hand as her tongue moved over his.

“Oh, Nik,” she whispered between
kisses. “Oh, my love.”

They were both half laughing and half
crying, even as desire quickly consumed them, overpowering
everything else. Their kissing became hurried and ravenous. Terra
tilted her head back as he kissed her throat. She grabbed the back
of his head, holding a fist full of hair. She lifted herself off
his lap as he undid his belt. She reached below, feeling herself
slippery wet. Desperate now, he pulled himself out as she
maneuvered herself into position. She felt him pressed to her
opening and began to push down.

The limo came to a heaving stop,
throwing her off his lap.

“Shit,” Nik said, as Terra landed in a
heap on the floorboard. “Are you okay?” He leaned down to reach for
her.

“Ouch.
I mean,
yes
. I’m
okay.” The car's engine stopped. She heard the driver open his
door.

“Damn, we’re here,” Nik said as he
hoisted Terra back up. The driver opened their door just as she
sat, pulling her dress back down and trying to compose herself as
her heart beat out of her chest. “Okay, good then,” she said,
flustered.

The driver stood next to the open door
like a sentry as Nik got out and reached back in for Terra’s
hand.

When they were both out of the limo,
the driver whispered something to Nik. “Oh,” Nik said, glancing
down and zipping up his pants.

They were at a boat marina, nestled in
a bay. The bay was rimmed with warm lights from colorful waterfront
homes that scattered the waterline like jewels on a necklace.
Everything from sport boats to yachts were lined up in neat rows,
spread out in a fan over the water. The limo driver guided them
down to the docks where one of Nik’s brothers took over, escorting
them to the step-ramp of a luxury yacht. The opulent boat looked
big enough for a hundred people, but only a few other people were
on board.