Two

THERA’S boyfriend was one of the most gorgeous men she had ever met – and in her career, she had met many.

But her memories of him didn’t give him justice now.

The man she knew was a force of pure sexual energy—and he is more of a punch now than ever before. Everything she remembered was amplified. His magnetism was so strong she could feel its heat push at her and choke her as he rolled himself back to her life.

It wasn’t only her.

As before, people stopped to check him out as if they felt they recognized him like a celebrity. If they ever figured he wasn’t one, they continued to watch his graceful and powerful movement, even if it was only a casual walk across the floor toward them.

There was a time when she thought he was a god.

But now, he was a walking Zeus.

She needed a slap, she reckoned, so she would stop this stupid Tom Sawyer addiction.

And dammit, what was Tom Sawyer doing here, anyway?!

“He doesn’t speak a word of Greek so we’ll speak English in front of him, okay?” Thera whispered as Jake halted the stroller in front of them and stood by, displaying a smoking hot grin.

Behind her glasses, Carla recovered enough sense to act calm outwardly even as her heart raced like a lunatic inside her body.

He was taller than she remembered, easily towering over Thera and her even when she was in her killer heels. He was at six feet seven inches… thereabouts. Could be about, if not over, six feet tall. It gave him a lean look despite his muscular body. He was wearing a t-shirt, jeans, and short boots—hardly the get-up of a wealthy man. But he had the kind that gave clothes power, whatever he wore. He had given worn and faded capris an expensive look. That, as well, was amplified, as she could see and feel. His hair was thick, brown, and curly… looking so soft you’d want to thrust your fingers on them. She formed her hands into claws because she already had found out a long time ago it felt better than it looks.

Most of all, he had that familiar child’s grin on his face. Naughty.

Striking.

Cocky.

That grin.

Those eyes, the way they simmered as he looked her over.

And then, as Thera reverted to her composed self, he winked at her.

Tom Sawyer winked at her.

He knew.

She didn’t know if he knew before they arrived, but he definitely remembered her. Knew who she was.

So why the hell is he here with Thera?

Thera was doing introductions in English and she forced herself to attend to her.

“Jake, I’d like you to meet Carla, my best friend in the world! Girlfriend, this is Jake,” she said in almost an intimate tone. “My boss.”

Jake’s smile had turned rueful and friendly. He stretched his hand to her. His eyes still had that intense, blue color. She remembered those. How could she forget? She’d woken several times with those eyes heating her face as he watched her sleep. She’d closed her eyes to moan as those eyes watched her feverishly while he made love to her. The first time she ever had an orgasm, her eyes and those eyes were holding each other.

“Hey, Carla. Nice meeting you at last. Thera just wouldn’t stop talking about you.”

His voice was still that low baritone, full and sensuous. Bedroom voice. She gave him her hand but as soon as their fingers touched, she felt electrical current traveling up her arm, creating goosebumps. She wanted to pull back at once, but he held her a second longer than necessary.

Dammit. He is teasing me! Her face felt flushed as he watched her closely, his smile a bit frozen on his lips. His eyes seemed to punish her.

“Let’s get the car. You must be exhausted from the flight,” she mumbled and hugged Thera again as she turned her back to him.

It all felt so awkward, and Thera was looking closely at her face, worried.

But she smiled at her friend. She would rather die than have Thera know that her secret lover was the very same man who was paid to get rid of her virginity years earlier.

They all started walking down the airport’s exit.

As they exited the airport and headed to the parking lot, four women stood on the sidewalk, in their early 40s, clothed in conservative attire that shouted businesswomen.

They were all looking at Tom like school girls crushing on a quarterback, cheeks flushed with color as they exchanged knowing glances that screamed HOT, unashamedly watching until they had gotten inside the car.

They were not the only ones. Aside from other women who stopped and stared and flushed with sexual tension, there was this adorable-looking grandma who pinched him as he passed her, while grandpa stood gawking at his wife by her side, at the same moment she glanced around to check if he was alright.

Thera giggled at her side.

And Carla was thinking… it was Mykonos all over again!

JAKE watched tall, lithe Carla walked in front of him, side-by-side with Thera, her hips swaying in that very sexy, very feminine way he remembered, her shoulders elegant and gracefully squared, and her long, soft hair swinging in rhythm with her walk.

And he thought… It is Mykonos all over again.

Mykonos left him dead. On the inside, at least. It brought him to life and then killed him after she’d left without any indication of where he might find her.

But it wasn’t Mykonos… it was her all along because seeing her now after confirming that the woman he fell in love with in Mykonos was Thera’s friend was bringing him back to life again.

Blood rushed in his veins as his heart jumped and raced like a foolish teenager the moment he saw her face from across the terminal after they exited from the ramp.

He hadn’t felt this excited for a long time, and he was barely managing to contain it all inside.

She was already a beauty then, shy and exquisite, and she blossomed under the touch of his hands.

But now… she was stunning.

And for a moment, he basked in relief because he saw her again. He thought it would never happen.

Yet he was here. And it was really her. Awkward as fuck, quite a shock… but she seemed to be handling it well now.

Did she really think she could get away with just leaving him like that?

Not after the words they had exchanged.

No way, kiddo.

A few weeks ago, Thera showed him a picture of childhood friends that she often talked about in the past. He’s been spending more time in the office than in his virtual one due to some projects he needed to be physically present to run.

After working for him for years, they had become quite familiar with each other so that she could talk about friends and family… and suddenly she was talking about being in Greece the first years of her life, something he didn’t know until then.

He started to ask more questions, interested to know if she might just be connected to anyone who knew this woman he’d been looking for five years ago.

He was thinking, at the same time, that no way was Carla using her real name in Mykonos, because of the situation of their arrangement then.

But when he saw the photo of her friends on her desktop's monitor and instantly recognized her, his world unraveled like a fucking jigsaw puzzle.

Pieces finally fit together.

He must see her again.

He dropped a plan about visiting Greece in a month-long vacation he had been planning for a while. That if Thera was amenable to it, she could take a break and visit her friends.

Carla was ecstatic. It was all-expense paid, not to mention that she could assist him on the business trip to Taiwan. Somewhere in her family line, she had Chinese ancestors but she never had a chance to meet any of them. Her great-grandfather migrated alone to Australia after losing his whole family after a cruel winter, and it was where he established himself as a tailor. Sometimes, she liked checking out the culture.

And now he was here.

And seeing her was still breathtaking as fuck.