Surrender: The Greek Affair Series Book One Read Online Free PDF Page B

star with his short hair that is a “look”, and not a soldier’s haircut. And he is watching her. Wow! What a rush! She has had a couple of drinks, maximum. Hope is a total amateur at drinking, but these drinks have done wonders to release her from her usual inhibitions, and suddenly she realises that she is showing off.
    “Bugger, bugger, am I making a fool of myself?”
    She pulls herself together and goes to sit down. Enough!! Slightly tipsy, she is feeling elated to be here, away from reality, amongst people that she sees only during the good times, where no one talks about the bad times.
    It’s a Greek summer on a Greek Island, (her island), her place of refuge, and she is flattered that there is a young, gorgeous man looking at her. But it’s time to go, back to her white home by the sea, and the dolphins. Time to sleep; she is not good at having all-nighters. She says goodnight to whomever is nearby, picks up her clutch bag, and goes outside, away from the noise, to ring for a taxi. As she stands waiting for the taxi she is startled by a husky voice and she jumps slightly.
    “Going already?”
    She jumps and lets out a small yelp.
    “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
    She laughs a nervous giggle. “It’s ok. I was absent-minded. You just took me by surprise. Yes, I’ve had enough. Time for some sleep.”
    “Can I give you a lift?”
    She looks into his gorgeous face and is tempted to accept, but she knows she should not. She is determined that she does not want any kind of encounter with this man.
    “Thank you, but the taxi will be here in a few minutes.”
    “As you wish, but it’s not a problem for me”
    She looks at him and smiles and thanks him again, but declines his offer. “I’ll be ok”
    As she looks into his god like face she is momentarily tempted, but she thinks better of it.

Chapter Five

    Hope wakes up after an alcohol induced sleep. It is about 10 am. Crap! She has lost the morning. Really pissed off with herself, but then she realises she had not got in till about 3am. She makes herself a strong double Greek coffee, puts some smooth Greek yogurt in a small bowl topped with the thyme honey that this island produces in abundance. (It is the best yogurt in the world, with the best honey for the best breakfast ambrosia, after a late night.) She takes it and settles on her verandah to recover from her sleepy state.
    As she sits and takes in the beauty of the sea, the sky and the landscape with the fortress on her left, the sea in front of her and more sea on her right, she takes a deep breath and wonders at the beauty of this place; a beauty that is a visual wonder and tugs at her heart strings. In fact, it makes her drunk in a way that alcohol never can. She wishes she could physically hug this environment. She could taste it, smell it and even feel it with her body. It is one of the most erotic feelings she has experienced outside a physical orgasm, and with that she chastises herself as to why she feels so guilty for sleeping in. She has this innate, built-in guilt about all things pleasurable, but has no affiliation with any religion that would make her feel such guilt. It is strange. She is not a practising Greek Orthodox either, but even if she were, Greek culture had embraced so much from its pagan heritage that there is very little room for guilt intellectually, as it has not embraced the “original sin” as such. She suspects the guilt is just hers – related to the need to control her surroundings, to keep order in a life that never had any order.
    She watches the sea with the morning sun sparkling on it, making the blue sea look silver. A yacht is sailing in the distance, about to disappear behind the hill that housed the fortress on its way to the port, and she savours the peace and tells herself to simply enjoy! To sleep in, to relax, to detoxify emotionally, loosen up and try and be happy – a concept that has thus far eluded her!
    She thinks of Jason and feels