Chapter 40: Information to PonderBella's breath caught in her chest. She couldn't think. This man, with his rugged good looks, strong arms, irresistible smile, the man she knew she had fallen in love with, just said that he was in love with her. But…but what? She felt so torn.She gazed into his eyes and knew that he was being unfailingly honest. And she knew that she trusted him beyond anyone she had ever known. She felt the first tear roll down her face and reached up to wipe it."Oh, baby girl," Luke murmured, and he took her in his arms, cradling her in his lap. "What's wrong?"She took a breath and gathered herself. "I just…I don't know what to think.""Ask me anything. I'll be completely open with you, tell you anything you want to know."Bella moved off his lap and sat on the coffee table so she could face him. "This Dominant business—are all your relationships that way?""No, not all. But my marriage was. My significant relationships have been. But not all," he an
Chapter 41: More Than Vanilla, Maybe"Well, well, m'lady, good morning to you!" Luke smiled. Bella smiled back at him, blinking away tears. "Are you still crying?" he asked, concerned.She sniffed. "Oh, I'm great. I loved your song," she told him.He smiled again. "I thought you might. Are you hungry? Breakfast should be here soon. I didn't want to wake you, but I'm glad you're up."When their food arrived, they sat at the table nibbling on fresh sesame seeded koulouri with graviera cheese, Greek yogurt with Greek thyme honey, and hot herbal tea. Bella ate quietly, nonplussed that she'd blurted out those three shocking words."I, um, didn't mean to be forward," she began. "I was caught up in my emotions.""Are you saying you don't love me?" Luke asked."God, no!" Bella replied. "I just…I don't mean to put you on the spot. 'I love you' is different from 'I'm in love with you' and, well, not that I don't mean it, I just don't want you to think that I'm expecting for you to sa
Chapter 42: Decision MadeAt the port, Luke quickly bargained a reasonable price for the afternoon with a local charter captain. He also made arrangements for the next day, when they would go diving on one of the popular local reefs. He stood looking over the water, cigar in hand, and wondered how Bella was doing. He was reasonably certain she could use a little time to herself to process the events of the last day.As if on cue, his phone rang. "Howdy, m'lady, how's it going? Do we have a shoot this afternoon?" he asked."We do," she confirmed. "Can we get to Delos by 1:00?"Luke checked his watch. "We can if you meet me here at the port. Want to take a cab?"Bella met up with Luke at the pier where the Argyra was docked. The mid-sized dive boat would take them the two miles to the island of Delos where they were meeting Professor Thanos Alexopoulos for a tour of the archaeological sites there. Luke introduced Bella to Captain Filippo Kakos, who was instantly quite taken wit
Chapter 43: And So It BeginsOn the cab ride from the port back to the hotel, he could sense her tension, and he had some of his own. Before they could even think about moving forward, there was something he had to do."We're going out for dinner," he announced as they arrived back in their suite. "But first, there's something I need to show you."He took her hand and led her to the couch where they sat. On the laptop, he cued up the footage of her from the Edinburgh airport. Softly, he said, "I shot this, and forgot about it, actually. But do you remember that night, the first night we made love? I came rushing back to the hotel?""When you acted like the hounds of hell were after you? I vaguely remember something like that," Bella answered with irony, aiming for confident and carefree but falling slightly short."I was afraid you'd see this and think I was some kind of perv. I wanted to be able to explain. But then you hadn't seen it, and we got sort of distracted, and…" He
Chapter 44: Second Thoughts?Bella stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright.The sour voice of her father spoke up. What the hell are you doing? Are you really going to let this man tell you what to do? You are nothing but a stupid whore.Cheeky self weighed in. Shut up and mind your own business! We're going to have ourselves an adventure!Out loud she said, "Both of you fuck off! I'm calling the shots here."She locked herself in one of the stalls and removed her panties, feeling mortified when she realized that they were wet. She knew the conversation had aroused her. She was aware that her nipples announced the fact to the world. But there was nothing she could do. She wadded the panties as small as possible in her fist. Maybe I can hurry up and slip them into my purse when I get back to the table. Taking one last glance at herself in the mirror, she felt wanton and sexy and empowered. She gave herself a dark smile.Returning t
Chapter 45: KneelLuke leaned in and whispered into her ear, "Now, baby girl, kneel."Bella did as she was told and knelt at his feet. She bowed her head and waited."No, lift your head. When you kneel I want to see your eyes." She raised her head and looked at him. "This is your ready position. When I tell you to get ready, you will kneel like this, sitting on your heels with your hands, palms up, resting on your thighs. You will be nude unless I tell you otherwise. Do you understand this?""Yes, Sir," Bella answered."While you wait for me, try to clear your mind. Try to relax and just be. Don't anticipate, don't worry, this is your time to let go of everything," he continued. "Do you understand this?""Yes, Sir," she whispered."Good girl," he murmured, gently stroking her hair. They stayed that way for several minutes, neither one speaking.He was waiting for her. It was subtle when it happened. She simply rested her head gently against his leg and let out a sigh, tens
Chapter 46: A Lot to Talk AboutShe stretched lazily and opened her eyes. They'd slept late, she was alarmed to see. They had an appointment with the dive boat at…what time? She knew she should feel stressed but just couldn't work it up. Images and impressions from last night were swirling around in her mind.She looked over at Luke and he smiled at her. "Good morning, Cowboy. How long have you been awake?" she asked, smiling back."Not long," he replied. "I was just enjoying the view."She reached to stroke his face and he took her hand, kissing her palm. "How are you feeling about last night?" he asked quietly.She smiled and flushed a little. "I feel really good about last night.""We need to talk about it, what went well, what didn't. You know, debrief," he said. "We can do that in a while. We should get ready for the day."Over breakfast they discussed their plans for diving today and possible locations for finishing filming the next day. "I'd really like to get over
Chapter 47: Next AssignmentThey arose early the following morning, ready to get down to business. They needed to finish up with Mykonos today, get the intro and the tag done, and touch base with Charlie to find out where their next adventure would take them.They took a taxi to a beach near a group of several of the island's centuries-old windmills. Luke made sure to get as many of them as possible into the shot. As he clipped Bella's mic to her bra, he fixed her with an intense gaze, taking the opportunity to caress her breast gently as he did. She felt a ripple that radiated from her sex to her head and toes. She flushed and tried to catch her breath, suddenly feeling damp…there.After a deep breath, she began. "Three, two, one…Welcome to Two Streets Over. I'm Bella Grant, and this is beautiful Mykonos, Greece. Mykonos is part of the Cyclades islands located in the South Aegean Sea. Its population is about 10,000, but every year thousands of travelers add to that number."