LITMIR.BIZ

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      “Thank you for today. It’s been a treat,” she said.

      “I’m pleased you’ve enjoyed it.”

      “In Spain they have siesta after lunch. Eating makes me sleepy,” she commented, finishing the last of the food on her plate. Maybe she’d return to the ship and lounge on the aft deck, dozing a bit.

      “In half an hour, you could swim again. Care to join me on a short swim? I have some diving equipment on board.”

      “I thought you said swimming near docks wasn’t a good idea.”

      “The yacht has a small runabout. We’ll go out into the sea a distance, away from the shore.”

      Once again Nikos had surprised her. Warily she examined the pros and cons of another swim. The pros would obviously be the joy of swimming in the sea. And maybe getting more information from the man. Opposed to that was the proximity to Nikos. She was drawn to him each time they were together. The last thing she wanted was some kind of connection that would hinder her goal. She had nothing in common with the man. In fact, she wasn’t sure she even liked him. But her body seemed to have other ideas.

      “Very well, I’ll go swimming. I’m not sure about the diving,” she said at last. And hoped she wasn’t making a mistake. But she was only in Greece for a short time. Why not make the most of unexpected chances?

      Two hours later Sara and Nikos had changed, commandeered the small runabout from the yacht and set out. He’d convinced her to try diving. After donning the cumbersome scuba gear, Nikos and Sara slipped into the sea. The water was like silk against her skin. The sun sparkled on the surface like a million diamonds. Sara was treading water, feeling awkward with the air tanks strapped to her back, while Nikos once again explained the rudimentary aspects of scuba diving. She pulled down the face mask and stuck the mouthpiece in her mouth. Taking a breath, she found the air was cool and a bit dry, but she filled her lungs, excited about this adventure. It struck her as a bit odd that the man she was using to find her grandmother was willing to teach her how to dive. To even spend time with her. She would not look a gift horse in the mouth.

      His hand grabbed hers. “Once we’re under the water, if you feel any discomfort or become nervous, squeeze my hand and we’ll surface immediately. We are not going deep.”

      She nodded. He put his mouthpiece in and motioned with his free hand to begin.

      She took a deep breath and held it as they slipped beneath the water. She’d done a little snorkeling on a vacation in Spain a couple of years ago, so expected the crystal clarity of the sea. A moment later she let her breath escape and breathed again. It was magical, being beneath the water’s surface and still breathing. She felt an affinity with the fish.

      Nikos began swimming slowly, his hand tugging her along. She kicked her flippers and soon was swimming beside him. His fingers linked with hers and he matched his own pace to hers so they were in sync. Sara kept her eyes forward, resisting the urge to watch Nikos swimming. His body was honed from exercise and swimming. His broad shoulders and tight stomach muscles made her own heart flip over. She’d much rather watch him than look for any fish, but peripheral vision was severely limited with the face mask and it would be too obvious if she turned her head.

      Nikos swam in a large circle, not wanting to be beneath the water too long on Sara’s first time. She seemed like a natural. Surfacing at one point, he asked her how she was doing.

      “This is the greatest thing in the world,” she said once she removed her mouthpiece.

      “Good.” He released her hand. “Try it on your own.”

      She nodded, her eyes sparkling behind the glass. She repositioned her mouthpiece and dove beneath the water. He remembered that first rush when he’d started many years ago. Lately he’d been too busy to go diving. Maybe he’d take a few days at the island. There were several coves where colorful fish proliferated. Maybe Sara would like to see them.

      He trod water for another moment. When he went to the island, he wouldn’t need Sara. She could resume her work at the resort restaurant. He’d have only the captain, the mate and Stefano as minimum crew for the short distance between the resort and island.

      Unless he decided differently. Replacing his own mouthpiece, he dove after her.

      She wasn’t where he expected. He swam faster. Had she run into trouble? Then he felt a tug on his ankle. Flipping over, he bumped into Sara. From the laughter in her eyes, he knew she was all right and playing. She kicked away, on her back, watching him as she moved through the water. He surged after her.

      Suddenly she was gasping. He caught her under her arms and swam swiftly to the surface. Pulling the mouthpiece from her mouth, he held her above the water while she coughed.

      She pushed back the face mask and gasped for air. A moment later she looked at him ruefully.

      “First rule of scuba diving—don’t laugh,” she said. She coughed again and drew in a deep breath.

      “Is that what caused this?”

      She nodded, her hand resting on his shoulder. “You looked so surprised when you saw me, I couldn’t help it. I forgot about being underwater. When I laughed, water came in my mouth. Thanks for the rescue.”

      “Enough for today.”

      She looked around. The small boat they’d used to get away from the dock and Cassandra bobbed several hundred feet away.

      “I can swim back. I’m fine now that I have my breath back.” Without volition, her fingers began rubbing small patterns on his smooth skin. She could feel the muscles contract beneath her as he kept them both above water. Did she have her breath back? Being so close to Nikos was robbing her of air again. Her legs tangled with his as they lazily kicked to keep upright. Her left side was pressed against him.

      He swept back his own face mask and gazed into her eyes, his gaze then dropping to her lips. Sara licked them. Salty. She wrinkled her nose.

      Nikos’s eyes took on a distinctive gleam. “You look delectable,” he said in that low, sexy voice.

      “You’ve got to be kidding,” she said. “My hair is hanging in strings. I have no makeup on and I’m covered in salt water.”

      He leaned forward the scant inches separating them and kissed her.

      CHAPTER FOUR

      SARA kissed him back. Her tongue met his. His slow kicking kept them upright while the kiss went on and on. She hugged him, her hand brushing against the top of his tanks, the breathing hose and straps separating her from his skin. She wanted to be closer, impatient to drop the tanks and have nothing between them.

      Then reason returned. Slowly she pulled back, her eyes wide as she gazed at him. He looked at her lips again, then into her eyes.

      “This is so not a good idea,” she said. For a gazillion reasons. Yet she couldn’t move.

      “Why is that?” he asked.

      “Relationships between boss and employee always end badly—usually for the employee.” It was not her first reason, but one that would suffice.

      He released her and swam back a foot or so. “This was merely a kiss. You are correct, relationships between working people don’t end well.”

      Sara sank to her chin, turning to swim toward the runabout. He’d shown pity on a lonesome crew member and with his free afternoon offered to show her how to dive. He’d probably wanted to go alone. She was not reading anything into their afternoon. Not even the kiss. People kissed others for various reasons.

      She refused to explore why she’d kissed him back. Enough to have enjoyed the afternoon. She didn’t need anything further from Nikos Konstantinos.

      The kiss had surprised her. But she’d not been able to help herself and had returned the kiss. Magical—like the entire cruise. The sooner she had her wits about

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