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He removed the hand that had spread warmth through her body. “Like your father, I’ve had my share.”
“But so far you’ve stopped short of marriage.”
“Yes.”
“That yes sounded emphatic,” she observed. “With a last name like yours, I guess you can’t be too careful.”
“Your perceptiveness must be a gift you were born with.”
“I think it’s the influence of my rather cynical father.”
“So he does have one flaw...” His response sounded almost playful. “I was beginning to worry.”
“Why?”
“A perfect father is hard to live up to.”
“Are we talking about mine?”
She was waiting for his answer when she heard a faint noise. Andrea supposed it could be a rodent running around, but she hoped it was Darren and jumped to her feet. In the process, her body collided with Stavros, who was also standing, and he wrapped her in his strong arms.
“Don’t make a sound.” This time his lips brushed her cheek while he whispered. Instantly rivulets of desire coursed through her bloodstream.
While she stood there locked against his well-honed frame, there was more noise, a little louder than before. Whatever made the sound was getting closer to them. Stavros must have been holding his flashlight because he turned it on in time to see a ferret scurry away.
Andrea relaxed against him, but Stavros still held on to her. No longer whispering, he said, “It’s past eleven o’clock. If Darren had planned to come here tonight, he would have arrived by now, don’t you think?”
She eased out of his arms and turned on her flashlight so he couldn’t tell how much his nearness had turned her body to mush.
“I do.” Until she got herself under control, Andrea wasn’t capable of saying anything else.
“Since the lieutenant hasn’t phoned me with news yet, that means Darren’s still out there, but I doubt he’ll do any more hiking before first light.” He scooped up the blanket and folded it. “Since he’s not here, it’s possible he took the trail leading away from the quarry that eventually goes down the mountain. There are firebreaks that crisscross it. We’ll take one, then another. Hopefully we’ll locate him.”
“That sounds like a good plan.” Together they left and made their way back to the Jeep. The slightly warmer air outside the dank cave felt good, but she kept the parka on. Once they’d climbed inside, he started it up and they took off at a clip. He turned on his brights to help them in their search. Andrea drank some of her water, thankful he knew where to drive.
“Are you hungry, Stavros?”
“Another gyro sounds good.”
She turned around and got another one out of the hamper and handed it to him. He’d also packed some plums, so she took one for herself and settled back to eat. “Seeing Thassos Island in the dazzling light of day isn’t anything like driving through this forest at night.”
“Not so benign, is it?”
A shiver passed through her. “No. Wherever our runaway is, he couldn’t be feeling as comfortable about his pl
an right now. My boss checked with the American consulate. Darren has never been issued a passport before. Since this is his first trip to Europe, it’s amazing he’d be willing to run away from the tour in a place so foreign to him. He has to be desperate.”
“Or adventurous and headstrong,” Stavros suggested, “and too spoiled to realize how hard this has to be on his parents or anyone who cares about him.”
She had a hunch he was talking about his younger self. “We have to find him before the press turns his disappearance into an international incident.”
“You took the words out of my mouth.” His voice sounded an octave lower and resonated to the marrow of her bones.
At the first crossroads they came to, he braked and turned right. “While I drive slowly, shine the big flashlight into the trees. We’ll take turns calling out his name. If he’s hurt and needs help, he might show himself.”
“That’s a good idea, but if he wants to stay hidden—”
“Then the sound of our voices will make him nervous that people are looking for him,” Stavros supplied. “Hopefully he’ll try to run and in the process give himself away.”
