Danger and passion collide on the Greek island of Mykonos

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Danger and passion collide on the Greek island of Mykonos

HELENA SQUEEZED THE WOODEN SHIP railing until herknuckles whitened.Trying to control the turmoil of her emotions, she took a deep breath of fresh, salty air and let it outslowly. Her heart still thundered in her chest. Am I really going through with this?

Aneerie feeling washed over her, making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. She scanned hersurroundings uneasily. The ship deckwas full of people—mostly families. Whatabout him? she wondered, andreleasing the railing, turned on her heel. A tall, slim man dressed in black, standing on the other side of the deck,stared at her intensely with piercingeyes. Helena swallowed hard. Pushing back the fear, she stared right back at him. Being among so manypeople gave her a sense of security. The man hesitated for a moment andthen walked away.

Stopbeing paranoid! shereprimanded herself. There’s nothing toworryabout… Then again, what was that last night? She shivered, thinking of the night before when someone accidentally bumped into her on the pavement in front of her hotel and pushed her right infront of a speeding car.If the hotel concierge hadn’t pulled meback at the very last minute… Closing her eyes, she shook her head to clear her gloomy thoughts. Everythingis going to be all right. I need to do this for my father.

A little girl’s laughter brought her back to reality. Sheturned and looked at thehappy, little face. I could have beenhappy like that if only…

Closing her eyes, she leaned her head back and stoodstill, enjoying thecaress of the warm sunlight on her face and the revitalizing sea breeze blowing softly through her hair. What an amazing sensation! Sheopened her eyes and let the captivating scenery fill her vision. It took herbreath away. This is how Dad must havefelt every time he stood on the bridge of his ship. Leaning against therailing, she was mesmerized by themagnificent view of the crystal clear, sapphire waters of the Aegean Sea.Her thoughts flew back to cherished memories of her childhood, and she wasoverwhelmed. She could hardly wait…

Feeling restless, she looked around her, wondering howmuch longerit would take them to get there. Mykonos was only a few hours trip fromAthens, but it seemed like ages to her.

It had been thirteen years since she last saw the amazing,blue watersof the Aegean and the beautiful island where she was born. She was only eight years old when her father was declareddead, and her heartbroken mother took her to England.

Since then, the shadows of the past kept her mother awayfrom the islandshe used to adore. Only after her mother’s death had Helena decided to come back to meet her only livingrelatives, and to try to unravel the mystery surrounding her father’sdeath.

Now, as the ship approached the shores of Mykonos, Helenaclosed hereyes and saw her mother’s pale face, staring at her with eyes wide open from anxiety and fear. Don’t go back! Don’t ever go back! I want you to promise me… Helena could still hear her soft, tremblingvoice whispering while she was squeezing her hand tightly.

Her heart fluttering like a little bird, she swallowedhard. I have nothing to worry about, she tried to reassure herself. All she needed were some answers, and after that, she would head back to Englandand go on withher life. However, deep down inside, she knew it wasn’t going to be that simple. She had this eerie feeling that destiny was waiting just around the corner for her…

***

Thinking back, she could vividly remember her happychildhood. Theyused to live in a big, white house on top of a cliff, overlooking the Aegean. She would wake up in the morning and runto her balcony to enjoy the breathtaking view.

Her parents were so happy back then. The main offices ofher father’s shippingcompany were in Piraeus—the harbor of Athens—but he ran the businessmainly from the island, in order to spend as much time as possible with hermother and her.

Mykonoswas a beautiful island that took her mother’s breath away when she stepped footon it as a young bride, twenty-two years ago.The beauty of the land and the kindness of the people kept her captivefor a long time. Erin, Helena’s mother, was hopelessly in love with her husband, Captain Angelos Sistakis,and never regretted following him to his homeland, or leaving London with its cloudy days behind.

The sunshine in Greece warmed people’s hearts; somethingabout all these islands spread across theAegean captivated their souls, and they never wanted to leave.

That’s precisely the way Helena felt when her mother toldher they wereleaving. She’d cried and pleaded to stay, but her mother’s decision was final. Her father’s mysterious disappearance had broken her mother’s heart, and the place had lost its magic touch. Erin justwanted to get out of there as soon aspossible and leave the memories behind.

However, her mother never forgot the love she and Angelosshared andthe happy moments at their house on the island. She spent the rest of her life bitter and miserable. And two yearsago, she became sick. As Erin slowlyfaded away, Helena wondered if she even tried to recover.

For the last thirteen years, her mother hadn’t been thesame cheerful andlively woman she used to be. She never got over her husband’s tragic death,but deep down inside, Helena knew it was a lot more than that… Her motherfeared for her little girl’s life. She was convinced Angelos’ death wasn’t an accident, and that Helenawas in grave danger, as well.

***

The beauty in front of her interrupted her thoughts. Shetook a deep breath, staring at the shores of Mykonos with the scenic coves andthe golden sand beaches. Welcome home, Helena… Her heartbeataccelerated, and anticipation washedover her like a cold wave. Tears filled her eyes, seeing her homeland…the land of her adorablefather. She was finally home—the home she’d been deprived of for so long.

She wiped the tears with the back of a shaky hand. It wasso unfair tolose her father at such a tender age and to be deprived of everything and everyone she ever knew. Helena, however, knewher mother was scared to death. Shelived the rest of her life with a threathovering over her, every step of the way. Wasit real? Helena wondered, and thescene of the previous night’s near miss flashed before her eyes. Was any of itreal? She had thought about it a million times. The only thing she was sure about was that the threat felt real to her mother.

And what aboutGrandma’s diary? According to hermother, Eleana—Angelos’ mother—had a gift of foreseeing future events and had writtenthem down in her diary. A lot of important things that affected their lives were written down in there,years before they happened. If only I could find that diary, Helenainwardly wished. She needed to find it,not only to get some answers but to verify it actually existed. Sometimes, she was worried about her mother’sstate of mind. Maybe the pain and years ofbitterness had affected her and made herimagine things. Finding the diary would prove Erin wasn’t hallucinating. And this was essential toHelena since her mother had been thecenter of her world since they left Greece. And now, she was gone, too.

***

As the ship came around a peninsula, Helena held herbreath, looking at the cube-shaped, whitehouses of Chora—as the town of Mykonos wascommonly known—glowing in the sunlight. Picturesque windmills and countless churches were scatteredhigher up on the hill, composing a breathtaking picture.

The port was overflowing with life. Numerous ships andcolorful fishing boats were anchored everywherewhile dozens of shops were scattered allover the waterfront. People strolled along the dock, enjoying thebeautiful, sunny day.

The ship moved closer, and Helena’s heartbeataccelerated. Overwhelmed by conflictingemotions of excitement and worry, she felt asif she were floating loose in time and space…

She could hardly wait forthe ship to dock. Squeezing her way throughthe numerous passengers, she managed to be among the first ones to walkoff.

Once she stepped foot on the ground, she felt lost with somany peoplearound—passengers disembarking the ship and workers running back andforth, carrying luggage and boxes.

Sittingat tables outside the cafes in the shade of pergolas people were lazilydrinking their afternoon coffee while kids attacked their ice creams, piled to the top with fruits and nuts.

Standing undecided, Helena let her eyes wander over thecolorful surroundingsand listened to people talking in Greek. It was fascinating and so differentthan speaking Greek at school.

She’d been bilingual since birth. After they had moved toEngland, hermother had sent her to a Greek school in the afternoons, so she continued her education in the Greek language, aswell. Speaking Greek helped her remainconnected to her late father and the life she was forced to leavebehind.

Suddenly,she realized people were staring at her—admiration mixed with curiosity intheir glances. Helena had inherited her mother’s tall and slim figure alongwith her long, silky blonde hair andexpressive blue eyes. Among the dark-haired Greeks with the bronzed bythe sun bodies, her pale complexion left her out of place.

Where is my ride?By now, they knew she was coming. She hadn’t writtenfrom England as she wasn’t sure she was going through with this. When she arrived in Athens, however, she calledher Aunt Sophie and told her she was on herway to the island.

Sophie Sistakiswas her father’s younger sister, and Helena rememberedher kind face with the warm, brown eyes framedby long, black hair. Her aunt was only eight years older than her andused to take her for walks on the beach,play games with her, and read her stories. She felt ashamed she hadn’ttalked to her aunt in all these years.

Hearing Helena’s voice, Sophie was thrilled and told her to catch the next ferry home.

“Miss Sistakis?”

Helena was startled by a deep, sensual voice with a thickGreek accent.

Turning around, she faced a suntanned stranger with ahandsome face and a body to die for. He was at least five inches taller than she, and at five feet seveninches, she was no shrimp. His jet-black hair was shining in the sun while hiscaptivating dark brown eyes made her feel small and vulnerable.

Helena hadn’t realized she was staring until she saw theamusement inhis eyes and a smile appearing on his inviting lips.

“Yes,I’m Helena Sistakis. And who are you?” she said in English, her voice nothingmore than a whisper.

The man hesitated for a moment, searching her face. “I’mDimitris,” he replied finally. His namestruck a chord somewhere deep insideher. Bewildered, she studied him for a minute. No, she thought. If wehad met before, I would definitely remember such a hunk.

As his gaze roamed over her, Helena felt butterfliesin her stomach. Nervously, she licked her lips and dug her nails into herpalms.

“Has my aunt sent you to take me home?” she asked, straightening herback and trying to steady her trembling voice.

“Yes. I’m ready to go when youare. My car is just around the corner,”he replied in Greek, obviously aware she spoke it fluently.

Reaching for her suitcase her hand froze on the handle.The man from theship stood a few feet away, staring at her, totally unaffected byeverything going on around him. Helena noticed the round face with the small, piercing eyes that reminded her of a snake.Her blood turned to ice. “What on earth?”

“Iseverything all right?” Dimitris asked.

Absorbed by the hostile expression onthe stranger’s face, Helena didn’t respond.

“Helena…” Dimitris’ voice and his warm hand on herarm brought her back to reality.

She glanced at him, puzzled. Dimitris’ eyes were fixed onher, searching her face. Then he peered atthe other man.

“Who’sthat? Do you know him?” he asked.

“No,” she whispered. “First time I saw him was on theship. He seemed to be watching me…”

“Waithere!” Dimitris said and strode towards him.

The man turned on hisheel and rushed towards the street. Dimitrisswiftly took off right after him,like a panther going after his prey. He was closing in on him when a black Mercedes appeared speeding out of nowhere.As the brakes of the car squeakedright in front of the man, he opened the back door and jumped inside. Hehad barely closed the door when the car launched forward. Dimitris arrived at the street right at the moment the Mercedeswas disappearing around a corner.

Helena took a deep breath, unable to move. What was that all about? Who was he? What didhe want?

Immobilized,she watched Dimitris reaching in his pocket and gettingout his cell phone. He spoke on the phone ashe was heading back towards her.

“Iseverything all right, Captain?”

Helena glanced at a young sailor who was rushing towards Dimitris.

“Yes,everything is under control,” Dimitris replied, glancing at the street.

The sailor gave Helena a polite smileand walked away.

“We should be going,” Dimitris said, arriving next to her.

Picking up her suitcase, he ledHelena on the whitewashed cobbled pavement towards the street.

As they came around the corner of a cafe, she stoppeddead in her tracks.An impressive Porsche Cayenne Jeep was parked right behind the building, its black color shining in thesummer sun like onyx. Helena took a deep breath, staring at her dreamcar.

Her thoughts were interrupted as he had already put hersuitcase in the vehicle and was holding the doorfor her to get in. She blushed as their eyesmet, and hastily climbed inside. Sinking into the soft leather seat, she admired the luxurious interiorand the impressive dashboard. A thrill washed over her. Riding in a Jeeplike this was a dream come true. She drew adeep breath and watched Dimitris walk around the vehicle and get in onthe driver’s side.

The powerful engine came to life, and the car took off.Helena had to holdon to her seat as he was driving way too fast for these narrow roads.She glanced over at him, trying hard to control her accelerated heartbeat. His eyes were set on the road, and shehad a chance to admire the intriguingprofile and the broad shoulders. Her gaze moved to the powerful handswith the long fingers holding steadily onto the wheel. A jolt of desire shot right through her. What would it feel like having those hands touching me…caressing me?

Bewildered, Helena snapped out of it, wondering where those thoughtscame from. She hardly knew the man. Taking a deep breath, she letit out slowly, flexing her hands to release some of the tension. What isthe matter with me? It’s probably due to the adrenaline rush caused byfear. It just can’t be him.

Turning her gaze to the road ahead of them, she tookanother deep breath,trying to clear the wild thoughts whirling around in her mind.

She sensed his eyes on her. It took all the strength shecould muster to keep from staring back at him. Theproximity in the confined area of the car wasbad enough; she couldn’t handle getting lost in those gorgeous,dark-brown eyes of his again.

Helenakept silent, and so did he.

Trying to draw her attention from his powerful presence,she started noticingthe surroundings. They were going up a hill, and things began to seemfamiliar. She had forgotten how beautiful this place was.

The road was curving around, and she had a great view ofthe port andChora with its little white houses built amphitheatrically, overlooking the water. Over to the side, Helena saw a GreekOrthodox Church built on the edge of the hill, dominating the area.

Something about the Cycladic Islands—a group ofthirty-three islands in the Aegean, forming a circlearound the sacred island of Delos—madepeople feel as if they were in a dreamland…sandy beaches, architecture in white and blue, and narrow roads leadinguphill to windmills and churches, standing there for hundreds of years,dominating people and nature.

Helena always liked Greek Orthodox churches with theirByzantine paintings,their gold and marble decorations, their vitro windows, and the strongsmell of incense in the air.

When she finally saw the house at the top of the hill,she felt restless, and her heart pounded faster. Justas beautiful as she remembered, it stooddrowned in red, pink, and white rosebushes while a bougainvillea climbed all the way to the second-floor windows. She remembered the exquisite aromaof the flowers and couldn’t wait to get closer.

Overwhelmed by emotions, she glanced at theman next to her. He was watching her, hispenetrating gaze reaching all the way to her soul. Helena drew a deep breath tocalm down and instinctively licked her lips. What is he thinking about? He wasn’t the typical Greek; theyusually were so open-hearted and friendly.

As the Jeep pulled into thedriveway, the front door swung open, and a beautiful young woman with long black hair came outside. She stood at the topof the marble staircase leading to theveranda in front of the house. Helena felt the urge to jump out of the car and run into her arms. Instead,she climbed out slowly and hesitated,staring at her aunt for a few seconds. Astonished, she saw her aunt launching down the steps andtaking her into her arms.

Feelinglike a little girl coming home after a long trip, she couldn’t help but glance towards Dimitris. He was staring at her intensely,his gaze burning into her skin.

Helena turned back to her aunt. In her crimson red dressand matching sandals,Sophie was more beautiful than she remembered. Her long shiny hair fell in loose, soft waves onto her shoulders,and her skin was tanned. Admiring her aunt, Helena realized for one moretime how pale her own skin was.

Her aunt released her hug and took a step back to take abetter look at her. Her sparkling eyes gave awayhow happy she was to see her.

“Welcome home, Helena,” she said excited and turned toDimitris, who was waiting patiently by the car.“Isn’t she beautiful? She looks just like an angel.”

Helena’sbreath caught in her throat as she heard him agreeing with her aunt. She didn’thave time to say anything as her aunt went on.“You look just the way I thought you would. I always knew the cute littlegirl with the sweet blue eyes and the long blonde braid would turn into agorgeous young woman.”

Helenafelt her cheeks growing warm, and she spoke quickly so that her aunt wouldn’thave a chance to go on appraising her. “It’s so good to see you again, AuntSophie. I’ve missed you so much.”

“Thenwhy did it take you so long to come back?” the man asked in a low tone ofvoice, sounding somewhat sarcastic.

Helenawas taken aback by his intervention and gavehim a hard look. How dare he get involvedin family matters like this?

Her retort died on her lips when Sophie said, “Dimitris,leave her alone. You know itwasn’t her fault.” Then, smiling warmly, she turnedto Helena. “You have to forgive Dimitris.He’s been with us for so long that he gets very protective of thefamily.”

Helena couldn’t get over her aggravation. Feeling badenough for not having contacted Sophie allthose years, she didn’t appreciate astranger interfering in a sensitive matter like this. She wantedto set him straight but decided to leave the matter alone for now.

Withoutgiving him another look, she followed her aunt into the house. Going through the mahogany doors, she shivered, feeling hisintense gaze burning into her back.

Only after she heard the powerful engine coming to life,she realized she was holding her breath. I never even thanked him for picking me upat the port… Never mind. It serves him right for interfering like this.

***

Dimitris drove too fast for the narrow roads of theisland. He had to release some tension. Being so close to her after all thoseyears and tryingto act totally unaffected were more than he could handle. She had turned out just as amazing as he had imagined. Shewas breathtaking… And she didn’t rememberhim.