Page 98 of Dagger in the Sea

Back at the hotel,we ate at the table on my veranda overlooking the inky dark sea. A fluffy, steamy, pita bread stuffed with grilled spicy meat and creamy, garlickytzatzíkiyogurt sauce, along with paper thin slices of red onion, tomato, grated carrot, parsley, and a few french fries. Just what we needed.

“This is good dirty,” he said.

“It’s very good. I’m glad you like it.” I let out a laugh, swiping a napkin along the edge of my mouth.

“What’s so funny?” he asked, chewing.

I tightened the juicy pita roll in preparation for my next bite. “Because I’m sure about now Alessio, Luca, and Gennaro are consuming a three hundred euro lobster and pasta dish along with a few bottles of Cristal. Throw in dessert platters—”

“With one of everything,” he added.

“Of course. Add their favorite Cuban cigars, more liquor—their bill will probably be upwards of ten thousand. This cost us about ten euros and it’s so much more satisfying to me right now.” I took the final bite of my luscioussouvláki.

“You’re aware of the prices?” he said, drinking his beer.

I crumpled my napkin and tucked it in the bag. “I may come from money, Turo, but I’ve always been acutely aware of the difference between outrageous indulgence and mere expensive, for one.” My voice came out sharper than I wanted it to and he looked up at me.

“Dammit, woman, now I’m truly impressed with you.”

“It’s not impressive, Turo. It’s reality.” I drained my beer bottle.

“It is.”

We cleaned up, washed up, and returned to the veranda where he’d lit all the candles in the lanterns. I kicked off my sandals, and Turo his shoes, both of us laying down on the divan, looking up at the dark sparkling sky, listening to the waves sloshing and crashing on the rock below us. His heat, the traces of his scent, vied for my attention along with the jasmine from the blooming vine around a column of the villa. These were the scents of our island night.

I fingered his thin bracelet, and his warm hand closed over mine. Curling into him, I dragged my fingers through his hair, behind an ear. I didn’t want him to go. I wanted to fall asleep here under the stars in his arms, my head on his chest.

“Don’t go back to your room,” I whispered. “Let’s sleep out here together.”

He wiped the hair from my face, his hand moving down to my chin, and he kissed me.

Oh, that was a good reply.

He pulled back, his eyes on my lips. My hands slid down his chest and around his warm torso, pulling him closer, and I kissed him right back, my mouth opening fully to his, inviting. I twisted a leg around his, pulling him against my body.

His fingers crept under my top, caressing my skin, and I let out a sigh, my lips trailing down his warm throat. I licked at the throb of his pulse, and an animal-like growl escaped his throat. He pushed up the fabric and raw molten need surged inside me, the urge to feel his skin against mine making me lightheaded. I gasped for air as his mouth planted searing kisses down my flesh to the wide waistband of my trousers, edging them down slowly.

Do this, yes, do this. You want this. You want him.

I raised my hips to help him, and he easily tugged them off.

His eyes caught mine, eyes that glimmered in the flickering candlelight, and my breath burned in my chest. I had no idea what he’d do next, but I knew that Turo would take me on a journey only he could.

Leaning over me, he stroked my center with the hard edge of his nose, and I cried out, my back arching. He sucked on the damp fabric of my knickers taking in my most sensitive flesh over the silk and a low moan escaped me, my body shuddering in his tight grip.

He tugged the fabric down my legs, hands stroking the inside of my thighs, spreading them open. I was bare to him, to the stars, to the night, to this raging desire that brewed between us. Brewed from the first moment we’d laid eyes on each other.

“Adri,” his voice a raw whisper that simmered in my veins.

His hands swept up my body, and his fingertips found my scar, lingering there in its discovery. My pulse jolted and I twisted, taking that hand in mine, away from my scar. Away from allthat.

Those fingers slid between my legs. I moaned out at the flare of pleasure, my hips arching off the cushion. A hand cuffed both my wrists, pinning me down. He had me where he wanted me.

“Turo…”

Those lips brushed my mouth, and my tongue met his in a languid dance. He took his time, savoring me, us. We had all the time in the world, didn’t we? And he was going to take it.

His thumb grazed my clit, and he murmured something against my throat which I didn’t understand. His touch grew insistent, his breathing louder. Heat flushed my skin, and his mouth crushed mine again, our kiss turning fierce. The hunger between us roared. Wild, deep, streaked with red, red and dark blues. We were underwater in our own sea, the current powerful.

---