Kristo“What?”“I mean, so when our families come to visit, they don’t get suspicious about me sleeping in another room,” she pointed out calmly. “Maybe I could move some of my stuff in there when I get home from work tonight. Or you can move it into my room.”“I think I could live with that.” I nodded, trying to play it as cool as I could. I wanted to ask if this meant she would be sleeping there more often, too, or if this was all for appearances, but I held back.“I guess I should think about getting ready for work.” She got to her feet, taking a last bite of her breakfast and flashing me a smile. As she brushed by me, she let her hand trail over my back, and she planted another kiss on my cheek. She smelled so sweet, so good, and I closed my eyes for a moment to savor the feeling of her close to me.“I’ll make dinner tonight,” I called to her. She paused in the doorway of the kitchen and shot me a look over her shoulder, a slightly cheeky smile on her pretty face.“You better,” sh
AmayaMy eyes fluttered open, and I found myself buried in a wall of chest, pressed so close to my husband that I wasn’t sure if the two of us would ever unwind from each other.I inhaled deeply, filling myself with his scent, and tried to remember falling asleep in the first place. I recalled slipping into bed next to him, curling up close to him, and then dozing off, his arms wrapped tight around me. I glanced at the clock. It was just before six, and I didn’t have to get up for a couple of hours yet. I had to get Jolene soon for the day ahead with his nonna, but that wasn’t for a while.I squirmed against him, listening to the steady rise and fall of his breath, letting it calm me. I propped myself up on his chest and looked at him, eyeing him. He looked so peaceful when he was sleeping, like all the stresses that weight down on him during the day had all but slipped away. But I didn’t want him sleeping. No, I wanted something else entirely.Maybe it was just waking up right next t
Amaya“You look good like that,” he murmured, and he sat up so he could loop an arm around my waist and thrust up into me, his mouth on my neck. I loved when he took control, moving fast and confident, letting me know that no matter how much I thought this was my idea, he was the one in charge. I hooked my arms around his shoulders and let my nails drag over his bare back. How could one man feel so good? Every part of him seemed as though it had been built to fit alongside mine, his body sweet and sure beneath me as he moved up into me in slow, deep movements.“You feel good like this,” I threw back, a little nervous. I had never been much one for dirty talk, but he just seemed to guide it out of me, making it come naturally. I felt him smile against my skin, his teeth baring and sending a shiver down my spine, and the pleasure that had been brewing and building inside of me took a sharp tick upward, my skin prickling from head to toe and my mouth dropping open. I could smell the swee
KristoAs soon as Amaya was out the door, I rolled out of bed and started taking care of everything that needed to be done for the day ahead. I had so much to get ready and what seemed like such little time to do it in. No matter how much work I put in, this place was never going to be up to standard for my nonna, and even if I scrubbed this place down on my hands and knees for the rest of the day, she would still sweep in and find something wrong with it in the first five minutes.That reminded me, I had to call her. I had told her that Jolene was going to be here today, but I had a feeling it might have slipped her mind, and I didn’t want her to turn up to that kind of a surprise.“Nonna?” I greeted her as soon as she picked up the phone. At once, she started rambling away to me.“Are you going to cancel on me?” she demanded. “I thought you would. When you told me to come to your place, I was sure you were—”“I’m not canceling on you,” I cut her off calmly. I had somewhat expected t
Kristo“Hey,” I greeted Amaya and Jolene with a grin as Amaya walked out of the elevator with her sister and moved toward the door. I went over to give them a hand, but she waved me away.“I can manage, don’t worry,” she assured me, a slight grimace on her face as she pushed her sister the last few inches toward me. Jolene grinned at me, rolling her eyes as she jerked her head in the direction of her older sister.“Sorry about her,” she announced playfully. “I didn’t realize she’d be trying to play the hero all day.”“I’m not,” Amaya protested weakly. “I just want to do it myself, that’s all.”“And what exactly do you have a big, strong husband for if not to help you with stuff like this?” Jolene demanded, and I cocked my head at Amaya playfully.“I’m on her side, you know,” I told her, and I helped hitch Jolene over the threshold and into the apartment. “There. All done.”“Oh my god, this place is incredible,” Jolene gasped as she looked around, Amaya closing the door behind her. I g
Amaya“So, you’re happy to go for us again?” Indina, my manager, looked over her glasses at me. I nodded.“More than happy,” I assured her. “I really enjoyed the gala. I’m sure that this will be fun too.”“Good.” She nodded and then leaned in close as though sharing a secret with me. “I hate these kinds of things. Reason I got into library work was so I didn’t have to worry about fancy parties all the time, but it seems like it comes as part of the territory.I laughed and leaned back, touching the necklace around my throat. Kristo had given it to me a couple of days ago, a thank-you for Sunday. It was pale, delicate silver with a single pearl pressed into a small claw at the center, and I thought it was about the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.“Well, I’ve got you covered,” I promised her. “Don’t you worry. I’ll be there.”“Wonderful.” She nodded. “That’s all I needed you for. Thanks.”I headed back to work and bit my lip as I imagined going to another one of those big, fancy p
AmayaKristo seemed to sense my quietness and changed the subject.“So, this gala,” he went on casually. “Who’s going to be there?”“No one who’s going to be much use to your business,” I admitted. “It’s probably just going to be people who want to think they’re fancy and cultured schmoozing near a library. Not much.”“I’m looking forward to it.” He grinned, cocking his head at me. “And seeing you in a new dress.”“My wardrobe’s going to be twice the size by the end of this year,” I remarked breezily, but some part of me wanted to remind both him and me that this had an expiration date, no matter how endless it seemed right now.“That’s the plan,” he replied with a glance at me. I relaxed and found myself enjoying our date. We didn’t talk about anything in particular and certainly nothing regarding the future of our relationship or what would happen at the end of the year. I was just a woman, out with a man who seemed determined to charm the panties off her every chance he got. He le
KristoI crossed my arms and drummed my finger against my elbows, waiting for her to come out of the library. I was ready for tonight. Everything was in place, and I was going to show her a seriously good time.I knew she hadn’t meant anything by it when she’d made that offhand comment about us not going out enough, but it had been playing at the back of my mind ever since. She had tried to convince me it was nothing more than a remark, that she hadn’t meant anything by it, but she was right. We didn’t go out enough. There had been that trip with the helicopter a few weeks ago now, and since then, the only times we’d done anything were when we headed up to see her family or mine. She deserved better than that, no doubt. She deserved to be swept off her feet every chance I got, and that was precisely what I was planning to do this evening. Every time she expressed even the remotest dissatisfaction about anything, I found myself leaping to fix things up, not wanting her to leave again.
KristoI went to the window and stretched, running my hand through my hair and grinning. I couldn’t believe we were actually in Greece. We were supposed to be arriving right about now, but I couldn’t wait that long to get her alone and was glad I’d incurred the extra expense to fly us out here at the last minute. It was worth it, so we could just be together after the hectic chaos of the wedding.I had called Cleo when we’d arrived, and she’d told me everyone had an amazing time. Nonna had a little too much to drink that night and had held court with stories about her young adulthood in Greece. Everyone had found it hilarious. And it seemed like Cleo and Darla were officially together, judging by the fact that I could hear Amaya’s friend in the background of the call long after they’d gone to bed.Amaya wasn’t awake yet, and I was glad for that. I still needed a little time to come to terms with the fact that I was actually married to the woman fast asleep in the bed behind me. My rin
AmayaOnce I had changed into something more party-worthy, the reception began, and at last, I could really relax and enjoy myself. Jolene and I spent a good hour dancing together before Kristo cut in to get his hands on me, holding me close and swaying with me as the band played a slow song. He kissed my neck softly, and I felt that burning desire for my husband pick up intensity. I couldn’t wait to get him alone, but we weren’t leaving for our honeymoon to Greece until the next day, so I had a while to wait yet.The food was amazing. There was even baklava, which Nonna had insisted on making herself. It wasn’t quite as good as Kristo’s, but I didn’t say a word of that to her. She would never let me hear the end of it. I ate and drank nonalcoholic cocktails, danced, and watched my guests do the same. I couldn’t believe how perfect this was. Darla and Cleo spent the night basically glued to each other’s sides, and I couldn’t help but coo internally over how cute they were.When I fina
AmayaI couldn’t even put into words how nervous I’d been that entire morning. My mind was taken up with questions about whether everything was going to go right. In my head, I was certain something was going to happen, that Kristo’s dad was going to squirm out of it at the last second and let us down, that the flowers weren’t going to arrive, that the dress wasn’t going to fit, that something was going to throw off this whole perfect day we had put so much time and effort into putting together.Then, I was sitting there in the room they had set up for me to get ready in, and I was staring at myself in the mirror, wearing the dress I had fallen in love with from the moment I’d laid eyes on it the week before. Jolene had picked well. She knew blue was my favorite color, and when I had slipped into the dress, even though it barely fit, I’d known this was the one for me. Sitting in front of the mirror, it was hard to believe this was really me, and this was really happening. How long had
KristoDarla, who had stepped in last-minute as a bridesmaid, followed her a minute later. She was wearing a dress in a delicate mint shade, and I could feel Cleo shift next to me when she emerged from the house.“Easy, tiger,” I murmured to her, and she nudged me playfully and straightened up again. I had a smile on my face, and I was beginning to relax. Then, I saw my bride walking toward me down the aisle, and I could hardly keep the tension out of my body.She looked incredible. No doubt about that. She’d told me she had only really looked at one dress, and I could see why. She looked unbelievable in it. It was cut to just below her knees, a flowing skirt that faded from cream to a pale blue color. The bodice hugged her body perfectly, and she was wearing the sweetest veil that covered her face as she made her way toward me. Even through the fabric, I could see the huge smile on her face, as though she couldn’t believe this was really happening. I knew exactly how she felt.It see
KristoI stared at myself in the mirror, wearing the tuxedo Amaya had picked out for me. I had seen myself in it before, of course, in the hurried fitting earlier in the week, but I felt as though I was looking at myself in it for the very first time. I stared at myself in the mirror for a long moment and pressed my lips together. Why the fuck was I even nervous? I had done this all before with Amaya. And yet, here I was on my wedding day, scared a little bit shitless.There was a knock at the door, and I spun around at once. In my head, I was sure that somehow this was all going to go wrong, that Amaya was going to back out of it before I got her up the aisle, that the speed this had all happened was going to scare her off in the end. Instead, my lawyer entered, and I rolled my eyes.“What is it?” I demanded. He stood there in the door wringing his hands with a panicked look on his face and wearing a slightly rumpled suit.“I just wanted to let you know there’s still time to get a pr
AmayaBefore he could say a word more to me, I leaned forward and took him into my mouth. He tasted so good, even better than normal, the sweetness of the gel lingering on his body. I could taste that hint of vanilla, just a touch, making him taste like the pastry he had spent all day baking. Guiding him as far into my mouth as I could manage, I wrapped my hand around his base and began to stroke him, taking him deep into my mouth and listening to those appreciative little noises he kept on coming out with. I slipped a hand around his thigh, gripping him tightly, letting him know I would have made him come right here and now if he wanted to. I sank my nails into his skin, wanting to leave marks on his body, to remind him who he belonged to and who belonged to him.I wasn’t sure how long I was there on my knees in front of him, the water running over my body and down my back. I could have stayed there all day, but after a while, it became clear he didn’t want to come like that. He want
AmayaWhen I arrived back at the house, I caught the scent of heaven floating through the room at once. I closed my eyes as I stepped through the door, inhaling deeply—cinnamon, sweetness, a little sharpness. Whatever it was, even if it made me sick, I had to have it right there and then.“Hey, where are you guys?” I called into the house, looking around for Jolene or her nurse. She had arrived today, and Kristo had offered to help her settle in, which I was glad for, as I wanted to get as far ahead on my work at the library as I possibly could before the baby came along.“In the kitchen,” Jolene called back, and I crossed the room to the kitchen. All three of them were there, and Kristo was carefully cutting up some pastries that were still in a steaming-hot pan.“We made baklava!” Jolene exclaimed excitedly, pointing to the pan Kristo was maneuvering his knife around.“I can see that.” I inhaled deeply again and smiled my greeting at Pamela. “And what exactly is that?”“It’s a Greek
KristoI took a deep breath, planted my hands on the desk, and tried to center myself. There was no point getting upset about this. At the end of the day, either he was going to make the effort and come to my wedding or he wasn’t, and there was very little I could do to change his mind if he didn’t want to. Short of flying out to Greece and dragging him by his collar back to Nonna’s house to be there for the ceremony, if he wanted to skip it, he would. And I had a feeling he was going to. Amaya wouldn’t want this to be a stressful time for me. She wanted our wedding to be full of joy, peace, happiness, not me yelling into a phone to my father from half a globe away.I focused on the voices outside the room. Well, they weren’t saying anything, but they were laughing, and that was enough to get me feeling a little better. After a slight delay, Jolene’s nurse Pamela had arrived this morning, and the two of them were getting to know each other. I had offered to stay at home that day to wo
Kristo“Malaka,” I muttered to myself, forgetting for a moment that my dad was the one on the other end of the line, and he could well understand I had just called him an—“Did you just call me an asshole?” he snapped at me. I rolled my eyes, tempted to point out that the word didn’t have a specific English translation, but playing the smart-ass was only going to land me in a heap more trouble. As if it wasn’t bad enough as it was.“No,” I lied swiftly. “Look, are you sure you can’t get back sooner than that? You need to be here, Dad. It’s my wedding.”“I know,” he replied tersely. “You think I don’t know that? I’m as annoyed about it as you are.”“Then why won’t you just make the effort and actually come back home?” I pointed out. “This is ridiculous, Dad. Even you must be able to see that.”“I didn’t plan it this way,” he snapped back, but I didn’t believe him. I knew my dad well enough to know he had everything in his life carefully planned out. If he was stuck in Greece right now,