Of The Drakos Kind ~ Book 2

“Billie, I am going to walk down to the market. If calculated it right on my last go, it will take me about ten minutes there, ten minutes back and a few to shop. About a half an hour. Is that good for your culinary timetable?” Rayne asked musingly. “That is perfect.  I am preboiling pasta and will dice up what I have here, to be ready. Can you make sure you get some more peppers; tomatoes and we need cheese. Oh! Oh! and something to drink!” she said smiling and swaying her hips in seductive dance moves to the music playing on her cell phone. “When is your first interview? Tomorrow?” Rayne asked. They had just arrived the night before and she wanted to sit in silence and relax while looking at the view. “Yes ma’am, tomorrow in the morning and they said it will be a hands-on interview so I will likely be gone most of the day. What are you going to do with yourself?” Rayne pointed out the double glass doors to the small patio. It was a small twelve by twelve covered patio that looked out over the hills and valley below and as far as the eye could see there was the bluest ocean Rayne had ever seen. She was going to make coffee and sit in her tank and pajama pants for hours and just take in the sight. Possibly read a book, possibly not. Whatever she decided, relaxing on the small veranda was definitely part of the picture. “Ok, I am headed out. Be back shortly.” Rayne walked out of the villa and headed down the road. They had both been through a lot of tough times over the last six years. Rayne of course lost Darius to a plane crash and Dimitri to grief, or assholism… because he definitely had acted like an asshole. But regardless the best thing that came out of her love of the two brothers and the near year they spent together, and that was Zane Ryker Drakos. Darius and Dimitri’s mini me. The pregnancy had been fairly easy until the last months when her womb started to tear before Zane was ready to be born. A few months of bed rest and utter boredom sufficed bringing Rayne the most precious thing she had ever thought possible. Her son.  After everything that had happened Rayne quit her job at PMMI as it was majority owned by Drakos Shipping International now. The last thing she needed was a daily reminder of the loves she lost too quickly. Starting her own consulting firm had been challenging and rough. After a year and half and the help of her bestie paying more bills than she should have, Rayne and her lil man were finally able to stand on their own. The help of Kristo buying a house and letting her pay it back over time was also largely contributing to her success. Kristo had remained a brother to her since the night they met and his marriage and daughter, her Goddaughter, only sweetened the pact.  Rayne’s keen ability to for see the future success or decline of a business financially and administratively started to be discussed in the business world and she found many clients knocking on her door for help. It was blessing and curse to be sure but she didn’t protest because it helped stand on her own for her son. It was one of the reasons she was able to save and afford this trip to beautiful Crete, Greece. And it was definitely beautiful! The villa they rented was part of a larger estate. The rented country style house was about an acre of a multimillion-dollar 30-acre estate on the island of Crete. The larger more lavish estate was nearly 20 acres away. She deduced this was either the original home of the land they rented out for extra income. It suited her and Billee just fine. It was slightly over two thousand square feet, had three bedrooms, kitchen, two bath, patio with small garden area and a sitting room that was nearly empty holding only a mirror, settee and two chairs.  Overall the feel of the cottage was traditional Greek and furnished minimally in a more rustic style.  The perks with it being part of a larger estate was the swimming pool, sauna and larger garden complete with swing and small maze were theirs to utilize during the stay as long as they gave 24-hour notice via email to the owners. It was just a basic rentedvilla30a@ymail.com email but it was always answered near immediately and they had been a dream to work with thus far. The walk to town was not too far but very steep and winding as they were about two thirds of the way up the hill. They had a motor scooter that came with the villa for use but Rayne preferred to walk. Weather this time of year was a crisp sixty something degrees in the morning and evenings but merely reaching about seventy in the high afternoon. The only thing about this trip that truly sucked was if Billee took the job she would be thousands of miles away from someone who was there from fifteen on and had never let Rayne down. She knew it was going to happen. Billee was sought after in her field for her ingenious way of looking at an illness and dissecting it in a different way offering solutions not readily thought of previous. She wasn’t a savant but damn close. The breeze was a bit exhilarating that afternoon. Rayne was thankful she had chosen blue jean capris with a V-neck long sleeve plum shirt. Her hair was still dark with purple highlights throughout, so she constantly, still, chose shades of purple to wear. The long sleeves were a gamble but with the shirt being thinner it was perfect for the weather at hand. She could definitely get used to this type of weather compared to the extreme humidity of her home state. If she were home, likely a tank top and shorts would be the only bearable clothing on a day at this time of year. Reaching the bottom of the hill, the market was just around the corner. There were several other patrons in the establishment speaking and laughing in Greek with the owner who was ringing up the orders. Grabbing a bag, Rayne hand selected the veggies needed to complete the meal Billee was creating. She felt her back pocket vibrate and pulled it out to see a video call from Zane. What the hell is he calling me after 11 pm for? She was eight hours ahead of her home and it was nearly 3:30 p.m. in Greece right now. Holding up the phone so she could see, she swiped to answer. “Mommy? What are you doing?” “Zane Ryker, what are YOU doing up this late?” “I couldn’t sleep because I was thinking about something.” Rayne tried not to roll her eyes in laughter. “What is it you are thinking Z?” “Well, if you can work anywhere in the world and we want to be close to Unca Kris and Aunt Miranda so I can have Arianna as my best friend of all time in all the world, ever…. We should all move in together somewhere new.” Closing her eyes for a moment she smiled opening them again. “Well Kris and Miranda love their home and I am sure they don’t want to move.” “Actually I heard Miranda hollering how she hated California and wanted to go somewhere more better for Arianna. Maybe we could all go somewhere together. I love having family with me mommy. I love you but you are kinda boring sometimes.” She snickered and gave him the “really” look. He smiled brightly into his tablet so she could see the deep green eyes twinkling. “Tell you what, you go to sleep and be extra good while with Kris and Miranda, I will have a conversation with them when I come get you. How does that sound?” “That is a winner mommy. You are the best. And mommy?” “Yes Zane…” “You aren’t bad boring just girl boring and I love you the mostest.” “Not possible, I love you the mostest.” She said blowing him a kiss. He giggled and hung up. Her heart was full. That son was something she never thought deserved or possible and there he was, in all his cuteness. She resumed her search for cheese and some really good wine inside the market. Placing her phone back into her pocket. Looking around she loved the ambiance of this quaint little store. It was still obvious this was once a small kitchen and living room turned market. It was probable the owners lived upstairs on the other two floors. This is a life she could live for sure. Maybe she should move here with Billee. The thought was enticing. There was a plethora of items for sale and everything looked fresh to the day. The bright colors of the fruits was so enticing she walked around an extra minute seeing if anything caught her fancy. The apples smelled sweet just by getting close and she was feeling some pomegranate so she chose several of each carefully. Pulling a third pomegranate from the pile, two hit the floor rolling past her foot. Bending down to retrieve the escaping fruit, she accidently bumped her ass into someone close by.  Embarrassed and shocked someone was that close she stood and turned to apologize. The world stopped. She had no words. It was as if God himself had hit the pause button and the only one conscious was Rayne. She was quite shirt her face had lost all color and her expression was twisted between shock, panic and non-belief. There he stood, in all his six-foot five masculinity. Dark tanned Mediterranean skin tone, sun kissed chestnut hair and piercing dark green eyes. She knew him right away as if no time had even passed. Blinking several times her heart was beating loudly in anxious anxiety. It took longer than it should for something coherent to come out of her mouth. “Dimitri….?” It truly wasn’t a question or a statement just a name without belief in the possibility it was actually him standing there. He looked down at her with an expression of many emotions. Uncertainty, pain and exhilaration all rolled into one manifestation. Raising his right eyebrow, Dimitri looked Rayne up and down. You could feel the interrogation inside his own mind if she were truly standing before him at that moment. Her modest but form hugging outfit afforded Dimitri a hearty look at what she had grown into. While proportionately she was still the same height and size as before the curves were womanlier and more sensuous in repose. With more than a minute passing as he tried to ascertain the next course, in classic Dimitri assertiveness he spoke. “What the f**k are you doing here?” his accent a bit heavier than she remembered. Taken aback by such a rude statement in question, Rayne’s face contorted in displeasure and returned his question in equal measure. “Rude.  Buying things at a market. What the f**k are you doing here?” “Well I live in Greece in case you forgot.” He didn’t say anything else just stood there towering over her, glaring. She wasn’t able to read him as easily as the past and wasn’t really sure she wanted to. Had so much time passed that the connection they felt immediately formerly was completely dead? No. He was just a rude asshole made worse by years passed. She glanced to his hand nonchalantly and noticed no ring. No surprise. “Well then… good talk Dimitri. Ummmm, Bye.” And with that Rayne headed to the counter and paid for her items. Glancing stealthily as she exited, he was still standing in the same spot, unmoved. Not sure if she should in that moment run or turn back, as the wave of emotions so long locked away hit hard. Her mind wouldn’t let his vision go as she trucked up the hill quickly. The feel of his chest under her fingertips, the lips that hungrily kissed her and the heartbeat that she listed too time and again while falling asleep after a night of pleasure, was all she could think of in that moment. His smell hadn’t changed. Still musky, manly, enticing to the core. The internal struggle was all too real in that moment. So many thoughts running through Rayne’s mind as she practically sprinted up the hill to the villa. Leaping onto is waist and kissing him deeply was one thought. Another was telling him how mad she was for the way he acted six years ago and punching him hard in the gut. Lastly, most importantly, telling him he had a son that looked like his mini clone. Tears started to well up in her eyes. She was unable to stop and by the time she reached the cottage, her makeup was running and her breath was very dense from the intense uphill sprint. Billee looked up from her cooking frenzy and dropped everything. “Rayne? What the hell happened? Are you hurt?” Panting like she got no physical exercise, ever, Rayne tried to catch a breath. She put her hands on her head and continued to try and take deep inhalations. As soon as the thoughts calmed, her mind shifted to Darius and how she never got closure. Everything had ended so abruptly and she had no time to close the rift between pain, loss and ending. Plopping down in a chair at the table she buried her face on her hands. “Dimitri…”  Was all she could manage to get out. “What the hell made you bring up that ass…. oh s**t… No! No way. He was at the market?” Rayne looked up from her hands and straight to Billee’s eyes. “Yes, and I don’t know how to process it all. I mean what the f**k universe… Really?” Billee didn’t know what to say. This was a one in a billion chance. Rayne stood and walked to the wine she just bought. Opening it quickly, without the etiquette of a glass, she proceeded to take a few healthy gulps. ~~~ Staying with Angelos wasn’t too bad. While Dimitri’s home was getting new floors installed, Angelos decided it better for him to stay there. Dimitri loved his home and his company. The last several years had been endless work and parties. The women were plentiful but boring. Dimitri had found solace in flying around the world for his clients and building the business more than it was before.  Profits were up about 25% more this year than three years prior. He had focused on the clients that asked for special shipments and more unique services to bide his time. The death of his brother six years ago was something he had never gotten over. He thought of him each and every day. His solitude seemed to be infinite and his satiation was never all-embracing. He tried very hard to find someone to fill the space that kept his soul so dark and wanting. At this point, he was so convinced there was no female meant for him, he hadn't been out on a date or had a woman in his bed for over 8 months. Angelo said he would be home about an hour late and asked if Dimitri would run down to the market and pick up a few things from the list on the fridge.  The walk didn't take very long and Dimitri thought stretching his legs would be a good idea. The weather was absolutely beautiful about a brisk 61 degrees. He truly missed being in the states but being home in Greece gave him at least a little more peace. On his walk he thought about all the things that he had left behind and even her. He couldn't lie to himself and say that he didn't think of her often but he didn't admit to himself how often it really was. There had never been another one like her and he was pretty sure there would never be. The market seemed to be fairly busy and there were quite a few patrons inside and out. Grabbing a few veggies from the stand outside in a bag, Dimitri headed inside to see if he could find the other things on the list. Not looking where he was going, he ended up standing very close to someone bent over picking up pomegranates off the floor. Something in his soul stirred, something in his brain screamed. For the first time in years his breath was baited and his pants got tight. The sight of her rounded ass bent over and the fullness of her hips and thighs did something to Dimitri he hadn't experienced in quite some time. The only thought filling his brain was to place his hands on her hips and pull her back into his hardening c**k. The urge to then bend her over the fruit stands and make her scream in ecstasy was embodying. In that moment, the devilishly, dirty side of him decided she would be coming home with him this evening no matter what. As the woman bent over stood up and looked at him, every fear he’d had since six years ago, came to life. Standing before him was the only woman who ever encompassed his entire being. He could have sworn his breathing stopped and possibly his heart as well. How could this be real? How could she be here? Six solid years have passed and not an uttered word about her but there she stood, plain as day, in front of him. Her hair was a bit longer in the same Bob cut, longer in the front and shorter in the back. Still beautifully dark with hints of purple highlights throughout. Her eyes were deep blue oceans and her body, if possible, was even more curved and womanly then when he had first laid eyes on her in the bathroom so long ago. The pit of his stomach ached grievously. He wasn't sure whether to grab her or walk away. Every emotion possible was running through his head at that moment. And then it happened. The one thing that he really wished wouldn't have, she said his name out loud and his soul howled for her. “Dimitri….?” She said in a tone he didn’t recognize. What the hell is he supposed to say to her? He could barely even think an audible response that might be somewhat comprehensible. The need to take her was evident and the desire to walk away was just as strong.  He argued with himself in his own mind for a while as to why he really wanted to walk away. Some of it was guilt some of it was seeing her reminded him more of his brother as he said it would and some of it was the fear of rejection. “What the f**k are you doing here?” In a tone he really didn't mean to be as harsh as it was What came out of his mouth. Fight or flight mode had connected with his brain. She spoke to him so plainly, so direct. Dimitri stood there and watched her walk away, walk out of his life for the second time. And for the second time he let it happen.