Welcome To Crete Chapter 52

They met Pedros and Michaelis at the Marina and followed them the short distance towards the magnificent forty-foot yacht. As they neared it Sal squealed with delight and chatted away excitedly to Fay who held onto her excitement but felt flutters in her stomach all the same. Pedros led Tom and Adam ahead of the girls and spoke discretely to them, stressing the importance of approaching Michaelis about the mysterious incidents that had been happening lately out of earshot of the girls.

"I understand what you are saying but since Fay has been caught in the middle of all of this, she will want to be involved," Adam pointed out.

"I know, that is why I am relying on you to convince her to stay with Sally. Eh, they are women right, they can sunbathe on the deck while us men talk, but Michaelis will not discuss these things with Fay there. Better to protect her, the less she knows the better," Pedros added.

Adam was not sure if he agreed with him on that. If she was more informed then she would be more aware of the dangers. On the other hand, he also wanted the input and support of Michaelis. He decided to go along with Pedros and Michaelis for the time being and speak to Fay afterwards if he found out anything significant.

They boarded the yacht over the aft and moved into the cockpit where they were introduced to the crewmember, Gregoris, who was stood next to the wheel. The sail could be seen overhead, furled onto the boom, and there were all number of ropes on runners to the side of them. Michaelis and Gregoris gestured for them to take a seat and soon they dropped the lines, moving out of the marina using the engine. It wasn't long before they were clear of the marina and they had the opportunity to raise the sails. Fay and Sal looked up in awe as the yacht moved with the wind, and they sat in the cockpit for some time just enjoying the new and exciting experience. After a while Michaelis asked Gregoris to take the helm and he invited them down the steps to the saloon for some champagne.

Bloody hell, this man had style, and a hell of a lot of money too!

They took their trainers off before they descended the steps and marvelled at the stunning interior with the polished wooden walls, white carpets and white leather seating. Michaelis handed them a glass of champagne each and turned to Fay and Sal.

"Girls, if you want to change you can use the forward cabin through there," he suggested, pointing further down the yacht. "The sun is good on the fore deck."

Fay and Sal looked quizzically at Michaelis, wondering where exactly the fore deck was.

Michaelis laughed. "It's at the front of the yacht."

"Oh," they said in unison, feeling foolish for not knowing, and heading out of the saloon to the forward cabin.

As soon as they were behind closed doors they turned to each other and paused for a second before grabbing each other's hands and jumping up and down with excitement.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!"

Back in the saloon the men were just taking their seats when they heard the cries coming from the cabin and laughed loudly at the girls' excitement.

When they had eventually calmed down, Fay and Sal changed into their bikinis and covered up with wraps around their bikini bottoms. Grabbing their sunglasses and MP3 players, they emerged timidly and went back through the saloon, where the men were chatting about sailing, and up the steps again to look for the fore deck. The men turned to glance at them when they passed through, and Adam's eyes followed Fay as she moved behind him and climbed the steps. She turned to look back at him over her shoulder before stepping back into the cockpit and he gave her a wink, making her feel even more lightheaded and carefree.

Downstairs the men's conversation moved on to more serious matters as Adam described the mysterious events that had occurred over the last week or so.

"This is most definitely the work of 'The Group'," Michaelis frowned, catching Pedros's eye and nodding. "There is a group of men in Creta who want the island to be for Cretan people only. If they had a choice they would break from the rest of Greece also, like in the old days. But these people are extremists and they are destroying the island, trying to force tourist companies like your own to close. They will break the economy and put Creta back into the dark ages if we can't stop them. But there is an opposing group of businessmen who rely on tourism, like ourselves, and we are fighting back. This is a war, it has come to that now," Michaelis whispered, stressing the seriousness of the situation. "These cowards hide in the mountains and move secretly among us like spies but we will catch them out in the end. There is one man in particular who is very dangerous, he will stop at nothing to succeed in their plans and it is this man that we want most of all. We believe that situations will improve without him behind 'The Group'. It will be this man who is causing your troubles. You are a new business; you will bring in more tourists and encourage more companies to invest here if you succeed. That is why this man wants to stop you and he will get to you through the people you love most, like Fay maybe eh?" he gave Adam a questioning look.

Adam nodded. "Tom here has come to help me, he has a lot of influence in the UK and in Europe too. If there is anything we can do to help we will," Adam offered.

"At the moment we need details from you about the men who approached Fay, what they said exactly, descriptions et cetera. You must speak with her and then meet with Pedros, he is always in contact with me," Michaelis explained.

"Of course, that's no problem. I just want to stop all of this and run an honest business."

Michaelis smiled. "And now we can have a drink together. The people of Creta are welcoming people, not like these men, and we want to be a part of the modern world. So let us drink as friends," he said, pouring some raki shots, handing them out and clinking with the men.

As the conversation became more lighearted, Adam's head buzzed with the information that Michaelis had supplied them with. The situation seemed to be a lot more serious than he had expected and, although he was relieved to have the support of men from the inside, he was also more concerned about Fay now. What could he do though? Even if he considered closing the business down and returning to England, there was one thing that he was certain of, Fay would not move off the island anyway. After finishing his drink he excused himself, explaining that he was going up to check on the girls.

He headed up the stairs to the decks above and made his way to the front of the yacht where Fay and Sal were sunbathing, each in their own little worlds with music playing in their ears. He crept up to them and tapped Sal on the shoulder, putting his finger to his lips when she opened her eyes.

He bent to whisper in her ear," How about you go and get some more drinks for us?"

She turned to look at Fay who had her eyes closed behind her sunglasses and Adam put his finger to his lips again to indicate for Sal not to disturb her. Sal grinned and slowly rose off her towel, creeping away back down the yacht.

He stood over Fay for a while with a soft smile on his face as his eyes ran up and down her body. He itched to remove the remains of her clothing, to have her naked in his arms and to show her how wonderful he knew it could be between them. She looked so relaxed and beautiful lying there in the warmth of the sun but he knew that when she became aware of his presence she would tense up and, although he could make her lose herself in the moment, at some point there would always be that wary look in her face. He wished that he knew why.

He lowered himself to the deck and lay beside her, propped up on one elbow. Then he did what had become so natural to him, he leant over and kissed her. She jumped slightly and removed her earphones when she felt his lips on hers but she knew immediately that it was him, and his kiss was so gentle and filled with warmth that she kept her eyes closed and revelled in the moment.

"You're so beautiful sweetheart, have I told you that?"

She slowly opened her eyes and simply smiled at him. He took away her sunglasses to look into her eyes and it was a moment that he would return to in the turbulent weeks to come, taking comfort from the warmth and affection in her expression. He put his free arm over her shoulder and down her back, lifting her towards him to renew the kiss. She felt so exhilarated that she returned his kiss willingly and she opened her eyes in surprise when he stopped. She moved back slightly and propped herself next to him, tilting her head as she tried to read the expression in his face. He smiled at her, wriggling closer and placing one arm around her waist.

"Hello you," he said, putting his forehead against hers and gazing down into her eyes.

"Hello back," she laughed.

His expression became mischievous then as his hand moved from her waist up to the back of her neck where he tugged at the strings of her bikini top.

There was the wary look.

"Let me see you Fay. Go on, I dare you," he challenged.

"Adam, someone could see," she whispered.

"No they won't, we can stop if we hear someone coming and besides I'm hiding you," he reasoned.

She glanced nervously over his shoulder down the side of the yacht but saw no evidence of anyone approaching.

Oh god, was she going to let him do this?

She closed her eyes and sighed, opening them again to focus skywards while he loosened the tie of her bikini and the strings fell away from her neck.

Oh lord, stay in control Fay, calm down!

His fingers caught the strings and held them as his hands moved downwards, bringing the rest of the bikini top with them. She kept her eyes averted, terrified that if she registered anything of what was happening she would lose any remaining willpower she had. He stared down at her for a few long moments, drinking in the sight of her exposed body with his eyes, his face reddening with desire. Then he suddenly moved his gaze upwards to her with a puzzled look as he noticed that her eyes were not on him.

"What's wrong? Why won't you look?" he asked.

She had a pained expression and avoided eye contact with him.

"You have such an incredibly beautiful body Fay, surely to god you aren't ashamed of it!"

"No, I'm just trying my hardest not to get too carried away!" she admitted with a laugh.

He grinned. "But I want you to get carried away."

"Yes, but Adam you don't choose the best of moments," she said, wondering when someone was going to appear from the rooms below.

He laughed. "No, but I don't actually have a plan. I'm just going with the moment."

He shook his head in disbelief as he watched her struggle to keep her eyes away from him. Determined to get her attention, he reached towards her and caressed the soft skin of her breast, running his thumb over the most sensitive part. She closed her eyes then in torment as his hands sent heat flooding through her body.

"Fay," he whispered, "for god sake look down. I want you to see my hands on you."

She breathed in deeply and slowly lowered her eyes to his face.

Oh god, she couldn't do this. It was too intense!

"Yes you can," he smiled, as if he had read her mind.

Her eyes appealed to him but he simply lowered his gaze to focus on his hands and she reluctantly followed the path of his eyes. The sight of his hands touching her so intimately sent her senses reeling, as she knew it would, and his own desire increased alarmingly at the arousal that he saw in her face. He bent his head and replaced his hand with his mouth and tongue, making her groan and arch towards him. Her head and body were so dazed and clouded with desire at that point that if he had taken her there and then, she doubted that she would have been able to stop him. When he finally lifted his head she realized that he was breathing as heavily as she was and it made her feel like throwing caution to the wind.

"When are we going to end this torture?" he asked huskily.

She gazed into his eyes, unsure of how to reply, but then they heard a noise from further down the yacht and both of them were brought abruptly back to reality. Fay grabbed for the ties on her bikini top and placed them hurriedly around her neck, trying to knot them with trembling hands. He took them off her and tied them securely, glancing behind him to see who was approaching. He saw no one however and turned back to Fay to find her staring at him with a pained expression.

"What's wrong?" he frowned.

She hesitated, as though unsure if she wanted to say what was in her head. "I need to tell you something Adam," she began, biting her lip.

"Why do I get the feeling that I'm not going to like this," he said, waiting for her to continue.

She sighed, and then the words came out in a rush. "I have to go back to England for three weeks, and soon."