Page 70 of The Little Greek Guesthouse

He shook his head. His eyes, staring deep into hers, were a storm of intensity. She stepped into his arms and he pulled her close, holding her to him as though he would never let her go again. She looked up at him and he leaned down, his lips soft against her own.

Nina returned his gentle kiss, and their bodies were soon pressed together, their kisses becoming more passionate. She snaked her arms around his neck, lost in this feeling, aware only of his full lips on hers, the warmth of his taut body, the racing of her heart.

At last they broke off, and he still held her to him. He didn’t let go as they gathered their things and made their way to the car, always holding her hand or stroking her arm or resting his palm in the small of her back. They held on to each other all the drive home.

George drove with one hand on the steering wheel, the other resting in hers, as much as he could. When he had to change gears, he placed her hand on his thigh.

He glanced at her, still looking concerned. ‘How’re you feeling? I still think we should take you to the hospital.’

Nina shook her head. She was sore and shaken, but not seriously hurt. ‘I’m okay. I just want to go home.’

He nodded, giving her fingers a squeeze. ‘Thank god you’re all right.’ He was pale, his freckles stark against the sickly pallor of his skin.

Nina rested her head against the window. She tried closing her eyes, but the movement of the car made her nauseous, and she was immediately assaulted by a sensation of being back there, dangling from the rope, the ground and George far below.

‘Are you sleepy?’ he asked gently. ‘I’m worried you’ve got concussion.’

‘Couldn’t sleep if I tried,’ she groaned. ‘It wasn’t really my head that got hit, it was more here.’ Gingerly, she pressed her fingers to her shoulder, where her skin smarted. ‘Ouch.’

George gave her a sympathetic look.

It wasn’t long before he was pulling up outside the house, helping her from the car and keeping his arm around her waist as they walked to the front door. She leaned in to him, not because she needed to, but because there was nowhere she’d rather be than pressed against his strong body, breathing in the smell of coconut.

Theo and Heather were sitting at the kitchen table as they came in, drinking coffee and picking at a large bowl of Greek salad. As their eyes fell on George’s arm around Nina’s waist, Theo’s eyebrows shot up and Heather smirked.

‘You’re back early, I thought . . .’ Theo trailed off as he caught sight of Nina’s pale face, and the sombre expression both she and George wore. He leapt to his feet.

‘What’s happened?’ Heather asked.

Nina allowed Theo to take her from George’s arms and usher her to the table, where she gratefully sank into a chair. George waited a beat and, when it became clear that she wasn’t up to explaining the situation, he told them the story.

‘She was amazing,’ he finished up, his voice shaking a little. ‘So brave. Incredible.’

Theo’s face had paled, and his hands shook as he grasped Nina’s across the table. ‘And what about you, what were you doing while she’s dangling like this from the cliffs, eh? Useless boy! You can’t keep her safe with all this stupid climbing ideas, you leave my house. Now. Go!’

He was practically snarling as he leapt to his feet and grabbed George by the shoulders, trying to manhandle him out of the house.

‘Baba, no!’ Nina cried. ‘He helped me. He saved me! Leave him alone.’

Theo stopped, letting George go and standing still, rubbing his hands over his face. ‘Sorry,’ he muttered. ‘Sorry, young man.’ He patted George on the shoulder and slumped back to the table, looking defeated. ‘This is my daughter, you know? My precious daughter. If anything happens to her then I –’ His voice shook, and he broke off. Nina reached for his hand again.

‘I know,’ George said.

Heather, who had quietly been making tea, put steaming mugs in front of Nina and George, and began spooning sugar in. Nina didn’t take sugar in tea, and she was pretty sure George didn’t drink it at all, but they both gulped gratefully at the hot, sweet liquid.

‘Are you okay?’ she asked. ‘Nothing broken or anything?’

Nina shook her head.

‘I thought we should maybe go to the hospital, but Nina didn’t want to.’ George said, his eyes on her again. She could stay in his gaze forever.

Theo snorted. ‘Stubborn.’

George ignored him, still focused on Nina, as though she was the only person in the room. ‘Just – if you feel worse, you should probably get checked out. Promise me.’

‘I will.’

Theo and Heather exchanged a glance, eyebrows raised. Nina didn’t care.