him uncertainly. She expected him to be uncomfortable or turn
her confession into a thing of humour to make her feel better, but
there was none of that in his eyes. He looked completely
absorbed in what she had just said.
Just as it looked as if Max was going to answer her, Nikos
stood on a chair and tapped his glass with a spoon announcing
that he wanted to make a toast to his father.
Lily couldn‘t think of a worse time to torture her. She had
just told Max how she felt and now her confidence was slipping
tremendously by every passing minute that Nikos stood up there
and told stories of his father, She felt Max squeeze her hand and
she brought her head up to look at him and what was in his eyes
wasn‘t laughter or disappointment. It was the same look he gave
her when he kissed her in the bedroom the day before. Somehow
he knew how insecure she was feeling and let her know that he
desired her too. He always seemed to know what she was
thinking. Then he gave a subtle indication with his head toward
the exit as he tightened his hand around her waist and slowly
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moved out of the crowd as Nikos finished his speech followed by
loud applause and cheers.
Max had barely gotten the door of their stateroom closed
when he pushed her up against the wall and crushed his mouth
against hers. He already knew he was going to have to replace
the dress as he tore it off her shoulders. A small price to pay for
what lay underneath.
CHAPTER FIVE
The next morning he woke with Lily‘s face buried in his
neck and her soft body up against his with her arm strewn across
his chest. His actions came flooding back like a typhoon, ―Oh
hell.‖ He groaned sliding out from under her and sitting on the
side of the bed with his head in his hands. Luke is going to kill
him! He turned and looked at the thoroughly sated woman
sleeping in the bed and felt another wave of anguish. He couldn‘t
possibly fix this.
He stood up and went to the shower. He couldn‘t think
straight with her naked next to him.
Turning on the taps he stepped in and allowed the water
to pour over his body as he ducked his head and allowed it to
stream down his back. Why didn‘t he stop it before he went too
far? He knew the answer to that already. He couldn‘t stop.
Maybe it was the romantic ambiance of the evening and the two
glasses of scotch he had before she showed up. It didn‘t help that
she‘d been drinking either, but it wasn‘t a very good excuse.
Regardless it seemed to strip away his common sense when he
saw her in that dress. From that point on, nothing else existed
but Lily.
He tipped his face up to the pouring water. He had to tell
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Luke. He betrayed his best friend and regardless of the pleasure
he had last night, the guilt washed it away. After they got back to
Chicago, he would have to cool things with her for awhile. Luke
wanted her to finish school and Max agreed with him. She was
too young to marry him now. There was a twelve year difference
in their ages and he‘d promise Luke he‘d wait another four years.
If it was up to him, he would have married her when she turned
eighteen. To him, the age difference was nothing compared to
what he felt about her, but she needed to be mature enough to
make some choices on her own.
Getting out of the shower he reached for a towel and
swore to himself. Lily didn‘t deserve this, but it had to be done.
He‘d take the ring back and thank her for the best weekend of his
life and tell her to carry on with hers. It was going to rip his
heart out, but he had to do it.
Lily awoke alone and felt her cheeks heat up with the
images flooding back in her mind from the night before. She
never realized that a man and a woman could share such
pleasure. Turning her head, she wished he was still with her as
she surveyed the empty area beside her. Why did he feel the
need to leave before she woke each morning?
Climbing out of bed she headed for the shower. Most
likely he was up on deck taking in the glorious Grecian sun and
breakfast with Nikos. According to her view from the porthole
they must‘ve docked sometime in the night, and that would mean
they‘d be heading home in a few hours. Something she didn‘t
look forward to. For some reason she knew that the fairytale
would end.
She finished showering and chose a pink blouse, white
cotton shorts and sandals. Then she spent some extra time on
her hair and makeup.
About an hour later she found Nikos and Max on the deck
of the bow talking and they both stood as she approached. She
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gave them both a glorious smile, but only Nikos returned it. Max