The Enigmatic Greek (10 page)

Eleanor grinned. ‘Anyway—’ She was just about to assure him she was perfectly fine when more flashes and bangs cut her off. ‘Wow,’ she said shakily when she could be heard. ‘The storms are mega-noisy in these parts.’

‘But you are safe here, Eleanor. I regret that I must leave you to go down to check on Sofia and give Theo a hand with the generator. I can’t use the lift, obviously, but I’ll be as quick as I can. Will you be all right alone?’

‘Of course.’ What else could she say?

‘I’ll leave you a torch.’

‘Thank you.’ Eleanor winced as the room was lit up by lightning, but this time the thunder was less immediate. ‘There,’ she said brightly. ‘Farther away already.’

Alex laughed and startled her by bending to plant a kiss on her mouth. ‘I’ll be back as soon as I can.’

Eleanor listened to his footsteps as he raced along the hall to the stairs, then took in a deep breath and returned to her work. But the storm made concentration impossible. Alex’s kiss hadn’t helped, either. Those lips of his tasted as good as they looked. She closed the laptop and went back to the sofa with the torch alight on the table beside her, passing the time by counting the seconds between each flash and crack of thunder. She surprised herself by actually chuckling when some of the cracks and flashes still came together. Her childhood method didn’t apply to Greek storms; Poseidon ruled in these parts.

The lights finally came on after a wait so long the storm had retreated to other parts of the Aegean and stars were blazing in a clear sky. Eleanor turned from the windows in relief when she heard someone in the hall and ran to the door with a smile, which faded abruptly when she saw no sign of Alex. Nor of anyone else. She spun round to collect her laptop and flew along the hall, the creaks and groans of the ancient building rocketing her in a headlong rush to her room. She locked the door behind her and switched on the light, laughing at herself when she had her breath back. Who was she keeping out, for heaven’s sake? It took a few deep, even breaths before she calmed down, only to jump yards as the phone Alex had given her rang in her bag.

‘Hello?’ she said breathlessly.

‘Sorry to be so long, Eleanor, are you all right?’

‘Now the storm’s moved away, yes.’

‘Good. I’m just finishing up here. Sofia says dinner will be ready in half an hour or so, which gives me time to clean up.’

The news that Alex was on his way was hugely welcome. Eleanor frowned. But if he was still down below,
whose footsteps had she heard? This might be a very modern apartment, but alone up here she was very conscious of the antiquity of the rest of the building. It would hardly be surprising if there were ghosts. Hoping any in residence were the benevolent kind, she tidied up, collected her book and left her room as Alex emerged from the lift.

‘I’m filthy,’ he told her, grinning like a schoolboy. ‘Sofia wanted me to wash in her kitchen, but I need to stand under a very hot shower. Will you wait for me in the tower room?’

‘Of course, take your time. Something wrong with the generator?’

He nodded. ‘But we put it right—eventually.’

Eleanor went back to the tower room, feeling a lot happier, even able to laugh at herself for scurrying along the hall earlier like a scared rabbit. Not something she would share with Alex. She doubted he was scared of anything. She crossed the beautiful, uncluttered room to look out at the view of moonlight reflected on the now flat calm of the sea. It was easy to picture Jason, back in the mists of time, passing by out there in the
Argo
on his quest for the golden fleece. She stiffened at the sound of footsteps, but this time it was the solidly real Sofia arriving with a tray of olives and nuts.

‘Are you well,
kyria
?’ she asked anxiously. ‘I was worried for you alone up here in the storm, but I cannot manage the old steps in the dark. I thank the good God—and
kyrie
Alexei—for the blessing of the lift.’

Having understood about half of that, Eleanor nodded, smiling. ‘I’m fine.’ It was true enough now that the lights were on and Alex was close at hand.

‘Dinner very soon,’ Sofia promised, and went hurrying off to exchange a word with Alex in the hall.

Eleanor made no attempt to hide how glad she was to see him. His thin shirt clung to him as if he’d put it on while
his skin was damp, revealing musculature so impressive she was seized with an overwhelming desire to run her hands over his chest and whipped them behind her back to avoid temptation.

‘Sorry to be so long,’ Alex smiled with sympathy. ‘It must have been quite an ordeal up here on your own in the storm. Did you work to pass the time?’

‘I tried but I couldn’t concentrate so I reverted to counting the seconds between the lightning strikes instead.’

‘Then you must need a drink as much as I do.’ He filled two glasses and handed one to her.

Eleanor settled down in a corner of the sofa with a sigh of pleasure. ‘Is power failure a regular occurrence here?’

‘Yes.’ He joined her and touched his glass to hers. ‘But tonight there was a problem with the generator.’ He grinned. ‘I rather enjoy the challenge of mastering the thing.’

She laughed. ‘You mean you were having fun down there?’

‘Not this time. I was concerned about you up here on your own.’

‘It’s a bit daunting in the dark,’ Eleanor admitted, and smiled as Sofia came in with a dish of savouries. ‘No Yannis tonight?’

‘His friend Markos is spending the night with him,’ said his mother, looking anxious. ‘They were out in the rain to secure boats and needed a hot bath.’ She put a platter of small savoury pies on the table in front of them. ‘Eat now while they are warm; I will be back soon with your dinner.’

Alex smiled at her affectionately. ‘
Efcharisto
, Sofia. Did the power cut affect the meal?’

‘No,
kyrie
, it is slow-cooked lamb and kept its heat,’ she assured him as she hurried out.

‘Thank God for that,’ said Alex devoutly and pushed the platter of pastries towards Eleanor. ‘These are my mother’s
favourites, so you’re honoured. Sofia rarely makes them for anyone else, except for the festival, where they sell like—’

‘Hot cakes?’ Eleanor grinned and sampled one, enjoying the taste of cheese and herbs so much she finished it before saying a word. ‘Wow. You’d better make a start or I might eat the lot.’

He looked amused. ‘Instead you shall share the rest with me before any more accidents prevent us.’

‘If the lights go again, I’ll come with you to help.’ Eleanor’s eyes sparkled as they sat down together. ‘I’m pretty handy with a screw driver.’

‘Then I should have taken you with me tonight.’ He toasted her with his glass. ‘To a lady of many talents.’

She shook her head. ‘Not really. I pride myself on being good at my job, and I can cook a bit, but I can’t sing or play a musical instrument.’

‘But you have a talent for friendship.’

Eleanor sighed. ‘I shouldn’t have boasted to you about that.’

‘You had no need. I know just how good a friend you can be.’

She turned on him. ‘How, exactly?’

‘Because you flew to my mother’s aid without a thought for your own safety.’ He frowned. ‘Your eyes are giving off angry sparks again. You dislike the label of good friend?’

‘By some people, no.’

‘But others you object to?’

‘Just one, really—a man who once told me beddable women were two a penny, but I was that rarity, a woman he valued as the perfect friend.’ Eleanor turned away. ‘Not what I wanted to hear. I’d fondly imagined he wanted me as a lover.’

‘He was the stupid one if he did not.’ Alex turned her face to his. ‘You are a very desirable woman, Eleanor Markham.’

‘Thank you.’

‘It’s the simple truth,’ he assured her.

Face hot, Eleanor changed the subject. ‘I hope Yannis won’t have caught cold.’

‘He won’t care as long as he secured his boat—which is the love of his life. He takes it over to Karpyros with Markos at weekends to hang out with friends there.’

‘You bought it for him?’

‘I bought it for his use, yes. My own is powered by a bigger engine. Yannis is forbidden to go near it.’

‘By you?’

‘By his mother. His father drowned in a storm while fishing, so it took much persuasion for her to let Yannis out in a boat at all at first. But, because life without one is difficult here, she eventually gave in.’ Alex eyed the empty plate in rueful surprise. ‘I’ve devoured the lot. My apologies, Eleanor.’

‘None needed. Dinner’s on its way.’

‘So it is. You have very sharp ears!’

‘Not always a blessing. I sometimes hear things I’d rather not.’ Or weren’t even real, like phantom footsteps in the hall. She got up as Sofia trundled the trolley into the room, and with a smile began transferring dishes of vegetables to the table while Sofia removed parchment from a joint of meat to release a mouth-watering aroma into the room.

‘Lamb,’ Sofia informed her. ‘You like it?’

Thankful it wasn’t goat, Eleanor nodded fervently. ‘I love it.’

‘I will be back later to clear. Eat well.’

Alex got to work with a carving knife while Eleanor served the vegetables, and silence reigned for a while as they fell on the food with hunger fuelled by hard labour on Alex’s part and post-storm euphoria on his guest’s.

‘This is just wonderful,’ she told him after a while.

He nodded. ‘Sofia is a skilled cook. We were lucky she prepared a dish which survived the power cut.’

‘Very lucky!’ She hesitated. ‘Is there any news about who hired Spiro Baris?’

‘No, but my people are working on it,’ Alex said grimly. ‘When I find out I will report to my father, as he demanded. And then the man responsible will curse the day he thought of kidnapping my mother.’ His laugh was short and mirthless. ‘Because my parents are divorced, the idiot was unaware he risked Milo Drakos’ revenge as well as mine.’

‘Would an enormous ransom have been demanded?’

‘Probably. I would have given all I possess to get my mother back. And, to be fair, so would my father.’ Alex smiled. ‘But due to your bravery, Eleanor, my mother and my bank balance survived unharmed—and so, thank God, did you. I owe you more than I can ever repay.’

She shook her head. ‘The interview was reward enough.’

‘Yet it benefited your editor more than you.’

‘But it gave me enormous satisfaction. I don’t believe Ross McLean thought for a moment that I would actually persuade you to talk to me.’ Eleanor’s eyes sparkled. ‘It’s a personal triumph to prove him wrong.’

‘You don’t like him?’

‘Actually, I do. He’s very good at his job, and I’ve learned a lot from him. Ross just has this thing about college graduates because he’s had to rely on experience and hard graft to achieve his success in the profession, and never tires of saying so.’ She got to her feet. ‘Sofia’s on her way so I’ll just stack these things in the trolley, ready for her.’

‘You really do have extraordinary hearing,’ said Alex, amused when Sofia arrived as Eleanor put the last of the plates away.

‘How is Yannis, Sofia?’ she asked.

The woman looked anxious. ‘Very hot, and he is coughing,
but he won’t let me send Markos home.’ She shrugged. ‘It is company for him.’

Alex smiled in reassurance. ‘In the morning, if he’s not better I’ll get him to a doctor.’

Eleanor searched through her bag for some painkillers and handed them to Sofia. ‘Would this help?’

Alex eyed her with respect as he translated the instructions on the medication for Sofia, who responded with a flood of gratitude for the
kyria
and went hurrying off with the trolley.

‘It was just four pills, enough for tonight and in the morning,’ said Eleanor. ‘So he won’t come to any harm.’

‘How did we all survive on Kyrkiros before you arrived?’ said Alex, and took her by the shoulders, shaking her slightly when her eyes flashed fire at him. ‘I was joking. I’m sincerely grateful to you, Eleanor.’

‘I don’t need your gratitude,’ she retorted, trying to get free, but he held her fast, his eyes filled with sudden heat.

‘So what
do
you need?’ His hands tightened. ‘You’ve had the interview as your reward. Now,
kyria
journalist, I’ll take mine.’ He bent his head and kissed her, then kissed her again with heat that made her head reel, the meeting of tongue with tongue a match applied to kindling. He pulled her up on her toes, shaping every inch of her against his aroused body as his mouth seduced hers into such helpless response they were both breathing like long-distance runners when he raised his head at last. Very slowly he slackened his hold until she was standing square on her feet again, but he held her fast when she tried to move away. ‘Are you so desperate to get away from me?’ he demanded hoarsely.

Since it was obvious that her body was deliriously happy where it was, she didn’t bother to lie. ‘No,’ she blurted. ‘But I should be.’

‘Why? Because my body is telling you I want to be your lover?’

Eleanor heaved in as deep a breath as she could; held so close to his chest. ‘You mean you want to sleep with me tonight?’ she demanded.

‘Not sleep.’ The note in his voice made her knees tremble. ‘I want to make love to you—and not just tonight but every moment possible before you leave.’

And there it was. She sighed as the adrenaline drained away. ‘This may sound coy and unbelievable to you,’ she said into his chest, ‘But the word “leave” is the clincher. I don’t do holiday romances.’

He tipped her face up, his dark eyes locked on hers for an instant; then the heavy lids came down like shutters as he let her go to put space between them. ‘But you do much damage to this famous hubris of mine, Eleanor Markham.’ He shrugged, suddenly nonchalant. ‘Ah well, if you won’t sleep with me let us have coffee and go off to our separate beds.’

His about-turn was so deflating Eleanor had to force a smile. ‘I’ll pass on the coffee, thanks. Sofia’s brought some mineral water. I’ll take that with me instead.’ She paused on her way to the door to look up into the sculpted, handsome face, now blank as a mask bar the nerve throbbing at the corner of the mouth that had just kissed her into a response new in her life. ‘Goodnight. And, by the way, thank you.’