Free Mikalo's Fate (The Mikalo Chronicles) by Syndra K. Shaw

into the restaurant, the group of older strangers briefly holding my attention, Mikalo spoke.
    "This is a favorite spot of mine. They have a wonderful sardine dish that is wonderful, one I really enjoy, and there are times when those men, the ones talking now, will bring their instruments and play, people, those who live here, those visiting, sometimes tourists, dancing and laughing. It makes my heart very happy."
    "There are tourists?" I asked.
    He nodded.
    "Of course, yes. We are not adverse to having visitors. They stay on this side where those who live here will benefit from their company, show them the few sites, help them down the rocks to the water. Even take them out on their boats for a few coins.
    "They just do not come to the house, of course."
    Of course.
    Taking a breath, my hand in his as we left the square and started on a path toward the water, he returned to the subject of Nona.
    "This I know," he began. "I know you shared words and I know it did not go as nice as you and she had hoped."
    She had hoped it would go well?, I felt like asking. Instead I stayed silent, allowing him to continue.
    "She and I, we speak," he explained, "and there is a great desire to see me with someone who is Greek, who is like me. This you now know. She wants what she believes is best for me, my Grace. And her ears will not hear that you are the one I love, the one who is best for me.
    "So we will marry and have a life separate from her ... "
    He raised his head as we stopped, the sparkling blue of the water now in sight.
    "And from this," he continued, his eyes fixed on the rolling waves.
    Damn, this was breaking my heart. But what was I supposed to do? If Nona was unwilling to listen to reason, consider the possibility of Mikalo and I together, what was I supposed to do? As much as Mikalo breaking from his family was hurting me, as much as he and I, as a couple, having little to nothing to do with Greece or his family here, was breaking my heart, my hands were tied.
    The only thing that'd make these people happy would be if I were to go away and disappear.
    And that was simply not going to happen.
    Ever.
    "Do we need anything at the store?" I found my asking, bizarrely.
    I don't know. I just felt the need to speak, to say something, and that was the only thing I could think of.
    Bizarre.
    Thank goodness he laughed.
    "No," he finally said. "We have what we need."
    Yes, I realized as I looked up at him, his eyes behind his dark glasses fixed on the sea, the breeze lifting the locks of his hair from his forehead, his hand still in mine. He was right.
    I pulled close, nuzzling into him, his arm at once around my waist, holding me tight.
    We have what we need. That's what really mattered.
     
     
     
     

Chapter Nineteen
     
    Nothing else mattered.
    His lips on mine, his body pressed to my naked flesh, his hardness slowly inching deeper as he wrapped his fingers in my hair, nothing could interrupt the exquisite perfection of this moment.
    The hot sun burning my skin. The dry grass crushed underneath our bodies. Even the bugs zipping and zooming around us, their buzzing in my ear, their little winged bodies tempted by the sweat in the air, none of that was important.
    There was only Mikalo on top of me, his breath catching in his throat as he gasped, our union now complete as he stopped, his length buried in me.
    We had been driving back over the hill, my thoughts still trapped in the quiet nightmare of Nona and the Delis clan's hatred of me, when he had suddenly swerved from the road, the Jeep bouncing precariously as we headed into the brush, the low-lying branches of the trees, the rocks littering the earth.
    I had gripped the door, thankful the seat belt was holding me tight.
    Had he lost his fucking mind?, I thought.
    I glanced over to find him with a small grin on his face, his eyes watching the non-existent road from beneath his shades.
    Oh please, don't let this be another surprise. We were still coming out of the last one, the