Page 27 of Tangled Threads Of Fate

Back when you were a stupid teenager, did you ever sit on a couch, drinking at some house party, feeling invincible because you’d downed three shots of your best friend’s uncle’s authentic Mexican tequila and felt nothing?

The obvious answer was that you were immune to alcohol, and being able to down shots like water would be your superpower forevermore. All the while, a little part of your brain was whispering that this fuzzy, happy, invincible feeling was a trap, but you were just too buzzed to care.

Later, when you stood up, you’d realize that maybe, just maybe, you should’ve listened to that little voice in your head, as you tipped forward, landed on your face and chipped a tooth on your friend’s tiled floor?

No? Just me?

The point of this story was that when I stepped off the plane at Heraklion Airport and breathed in that warm Mediterranean air, something inside me relaxed. I felt content, warm and invincible. And I couldn’t help but wonder if that was a trap.

The crushing fear that had been plaguing me for weeks disappeared almost instantly as I walked out into the warm airof Heraklion. The streaks that had plagued my vision in Boston were less intense in the golden light of the Mediterranean.

I couldbreathe. My ankles were as big as baked hams, but not even that could ruin the good vibes that this place was giving me.

So I ignored that negative little voice whispering that perhaps this was a trap.

This had to be the right decision. While the fear was gone, it had been replaced by an almost dragging feeling, invisible fingers pulling at me. The sensation wasn’t bad; it was more like a sense of rightness. Like a little voice in my head was playing the hotter-colder game, and I was firmly in the warmer direction. I turned south,knowingthat was where we had to go.

But not right now. I was exhausted. I needed a moment and a really long nap.

After collecting our luggage, we headed straight to the car hire place outside the airport. My feet ached way more than they should, considering I’d spent half a day with them up, but I gritted my teeth and pushed through. This was my idea. I wasn’t going to start complaining now.

The lady behind the desk at the car hire place took one look at my pregnant belly and began to gush, coming around to rub it like I was Buddha. I stood there, eyes wide. No one had rubbed my stomach yet. Maybe Boston folks were just more aware of personal boundaries? She kept speaking in rapidfire Greek, which I had no chance of understanding.

“I’m sorry. I don’t speak Greek,” I squeaked out, and Nate wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me closer to his side protectively. He didn’t growl at the woman, but his face was distinctly unfriendly.

“We’d like to collect our car,” he grumbled, irritation clear.

The woman blinked at him and stepped back behind the desk, her smile never dropping. “Of course. Yes. Sign hereand here.” She thrust a sheaf of paper at him as she scanned his passport and an international driver’s license that Clio had somehow obtained on short notice.

Soon enough, Nate had me loaded into a car that was at least twenty years old, but had been well maintained. It was one of those mini SUVs, but still, Nate barely fit inside until he put the top down.

We drove in silence as I took in the ocean here for the first time. It was… beautiful. The clear blue sky made the water look even more like a glittering jewel, endless and shining. The smell of salt water in the air filled my lungs, healing something I didn’t even know was wounded.

The soft voice of the GPS guided us along the well-worn roads of the town, but it barely distracted me from taking in the whitewashed buildings with broad, flat roofs, the golden grass, and the tanned people, all so different from home. The view of the beach on one side and a mountainous outcropping on the other was breathtaking.

Finally, Nate pulled through a large set of wrought-iron gates, with a huge resort rising up in front of us. “Holy shit, Nate. We can’t afford this.”

He just grunted as he pulled into a parking space. “I can. There’s no way I’m sleeping in some shithole filled with bed bugs.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. He just met my gaze and held it. He didn’t blink. Didn’t look ashamed. He just challenged me to be mad about it with his eyes.Asshole.

I huffed and opened my door. “I’m paying you back.”

“If that’s what you need to do,” was all he said as he came around and held the door for me while I wedged my body out of the car.

I let Nate take care of checking us in as I stood in the lobby, looking around like a country bumpkin in the big city. Ienvied his ability to look like he belonged everywhere. Not only belonged, but his presence was so commanding that people were drawn to him. Sometimes just their gazes, but other times, I spotted people moving toward him like they were magnetized. Could people tell he wasn’t human? Was that why they were attracted to him? Was that whyIwas attracted to him?

I snorted. Nah, my attraction had a lot more to do with the fact he had thighs bigger than my waist and tattoos that I wanted to trace with my tongue.

He grabbed up the bags, our room keys in his hand, with the phone number of the concierge written across the top of the little welcome pamphlet.

I couldn’t even blame her. Well, no, I could, because the fuck? Who did that? But I got that he was compelling. He was the kind of guy you dreamed about for years. The kind of man who went in the spank bank to be pulled out for decades as a “what if?” The kind of guy you’d build up the courage to shoot your shot with, just in case.

As we walked into his ground-floor room, we had a clear view over a manicured lawn and the sparkling seafoam green of the ocean. “It’s beautiful,” I breathed.

He hummed his agreement, flopping down on the bed. I looked over my shoulder, trying not to stare at the small strip of his lower stomach on display. Heat pooled in my belly. “Is my room next door?” I choked out. I was going to need some alone time to unpack everything that had happened on the plane.

He pushed himself up onto his elbows, his shirt stretching across his chest and making my mouth water. “I only got one room. I can’t protect you in a second room.”

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