The Awakening of Alexandria Read online

  “Rough day of dealing with men,” Allie asked with a smile.

  “Very bad,” Regina agreed. “I had a run-in with my supervisor. He was on some kind of power trip or something this morning and I had to threaten to go over his head. My field missions with the Flying Doctors are very important to me and my taking the job at the hospital hinged on the fact that I be allowed to go on these mission at least three times a year. The hospital actually uses my involvement in their advertisements as good public relations. He had no business jumping on me for what he called my absences. Then, I had a run-in with my father, and then it was Macland. Men! I’ve had enough of them today. Do you ever feel like hitting Nicholas over the head with a lamp?”

  “Nearly every day since I meet him,” Allie said wryly. “Sometimes, several times a day.”

  “Mac is being impossible!” Regina wailed not really listening and needing to rant with another woman. “When we work together, he as a surgeon, and I as his surgical assistant, we’re like a ballet. Each of us knows exactly what we’re doing and what the next step will be, it’s perfection. In our personal lives, he’s impossible! Unfortunately, our missions only take up about a third of his time. The rest of it—we fight.”

  “If you need personal relationship advice, I’m the wrong person to ask. I don’t know where my own is going from one moment to the next.”

  “Really?” Regina questioned with a sigh. “You and Nicholas seem to be well-suited although you’re not his usual type at all.”

  “What’s his usual type?” Allie asked.

  “Tall, perfect, and oh-so-connected to the European and Mediterranean social sets. My father is wealthy, but he’s not at the Dyonysus level.” Regina gave a dismissive wave. “Sorry. I’ve just had a really bad day. My father thinks it’s time I married. My mother has been after me for a while, but now my father has started. I think Macland put him up to it. Macland wants to get married!”

  “And, you don’t?” Allie said.

  “I do!” Regina exclaimed. “I don’t want to marry a man who has no ambition, who plays around most of the time!”

  “With other women?” Allie blurted out confused.

  “No!” Regina exclaimed impatiently. “Macland is an absolute miracle worker with what he does in reconstructive surgery, but he doesn’t do it full-time. When he works on his missions, he’s incredible. When he’s not, all he wants to do is play on his boat, race in regattas, and sail. It’s so frustrating that he doesn’t want to use his skills!”

  “It takes a very long time to become a doctor and even longer to become a specialist. Macland had to have had ambition to get those skills. In addition to that, most young doctors are in debt up to their eyeballs by the time they’re ready to actually practice medicine. Not to be crude, but if Nicholas finances his missions, how does Macland afford not to work and play the rest of the time?” Allie asked.

  Regina starred at her for a moment. “I thought everyone knew. It’s certainly common knowledge. Macland won one of the largest lotteries ever drawn in the United States. He was set on his path and working in the Children’s Hospital in Baltimore when he won. Mac nearly gave the whole thing away. He has a good heart. Having that much money land in your lap suddenly can be overwhelming. It was for him, until Nicholas and his family stepped in, and helped him get away from all the pressures of sudden wealth. They connected him with the right kind of financial mentors. After he settled down, Nicholas hooked him up with the Flying Doctors organization.”

  “It’s a great thing.”

  “I know,” Regina agreed. “I work in the program too! I understand his need to de-stress after the missions. I’ve been doing this for three years with him now, and it’s the same each time. We work side-by-side together for weeks, and it’s wonderful. Then, we return home and we start fighting. He claims I’m a spoiled heiress, although I’m the one with the job that I come back too after the missions. He accuses me of being spoiled and I yell at him for being an overgrown adolescence always wanting to go off on the next adventure!”

  “Again, I don’t know what to say,” Allie said ruefully, feeling uncomfortable having received a major load of information on two people she really didn’t know.

  Regina emptied her glass. “Well, we women have to stick together!”

  Allie noticed the men walking in their direction. “I think they’re looking for us.”

  “Of course, at his convenience,” Regina said allowing her temper to show.

  Dessert and drinks were served in the library. Conversation continued about mission details, sports and then turned to local affairs. Since Allie wasn’t part of any of the subjects she sat back and enjoyed watching Nicholas relax. He was so much more casual around Macland than he was most of the time. It was a part of him she liked very much. He was always kind to her, but on the phone with his business dealings, he always seemed abrupt, demanding, and hard.

  Nicholas, being a good host noticed that Regina’s wine glass was empty and picked up the bottle.

  Mac shook his head at his friend but his girlfriend was instantly infuriated.

  Regina glared at Macland but she spoke to Nicholas. “I’ll have another glass, thank you!”

  Nicholas looked to his friend who just shrugged, so he poured her another half glass. “Will you two be coming to the festival next month?”

  “I’ll be there,” Macland said but Regina shook her head. “I’m scheduled to work that weekend. Some of us do have to work. We can’t all be like Mac and play most of the time.”

  Macland, for the first time, looked angry. “If you can’t hold your wine, Regina, you need to learn to stop drinking before you embarrass yourself.”

  “I’m not embarrassing myself,” Regina snapped. “I’m not the overgrown man-child that refuses to live up to his potential! Allie agrees with me!’

  “Whoa, time-out!” Allie exclaimed. “Don’t drag me into this, I never agreed to anything!’

  “Fine, everyone takes wonderful Mac’s side,” Regina said her words slurring. “Wonderful. Perfect. Macland.”

  “You’ve had enough,” Macland said getting to his feet and taking Regina’s arm. “We’ll be leaving now. Thanks for dinner, Nick. It was really good to meet you, Allie. I look forward to our next chance to get together.”

  “Do you want me to call for some coffee first? Or, I can get a cart to take you to the marina?” Nicholas offered

  “No, fresh air and all that,” Macland said testily leading Regina off toward the marina. “I’ll see you next week Nick! Again, it was nice to meet you, Allie.”

  Nicholas and Allie watched as Macland took Regina’s arm firmly and led her across the courtyard.

  “That ended well,” Allie exclaimed. “Is she always so…”

  Nicholas gave a slight nod of his head. “Yes. Mac says she’s the best assistant and surgical nurse he’s ever worked with, but in their personal relationship, she tends to be pushy. Her father’s family is into oil, although for two generations they’ve lived in Valencia. Macland thinks she’s a spoiled rotten.”

  “According to him,” Allie said dryly.

  “That’s my only source,” Nicholas said with a grin.

  “Well, I sort of heard a little bit the other side of the situation, but I didn’t take a position on anything or offer any advice.”

  “Good, because it’s best to stay out of it.”

  “She sure went over her limit in a hurry,” Allie said.

  “I don’t generally monitor what my guests are drinking, but she’ll be staying on Mac’s boat tonight so she won’t come to any harm. Would you like a moonlight stroll?”

  “I would,” Allie said linking her arm to his. “How much did you have to drink?”

  Nicholas grinned. “Not enough to impair anything.”

  “That’s good to know.”

  Chapter 8

  Allie wiggled out from under Nicholas’ hold and slid out of bed, and padded to the bathroom. She tingled all over and looked into the m
irror. Nicholas said she was glowing from having multiple orgasms. She didn’t see it really, but maybe her skin tone was a little bit pinker. Oh, what that man could do with his tongue. She and Nicholas slept together every night but he hadn’t had intercourse with her yet. So far, he was seducing her with foreplay but he had made no move to go further. Part of her was a little frightened of taking that step, but another part of her just wanted him to get it over. Her virginity was a much bigger deal to Nicholas than it was to her.

  Allie pushed her hair out of her eyes and started looking through the drawers in the vanity looking for scissors. All she could come up with was manicure scissors, but she could work with them. She had been a carrot-top redhead her entire life. Her hair had been a source of torment as a child, but her Pippi Longstocking days were long behind her. She’d kept it short for years. Whatever was easy, was good.

  Nicholas stretched and opened his eyes when he didn’t find Alexandria. She was such a mixture of innocence and wild abandonment. He delighted in making her come, with his fingers, and tongue. His release, he could take care of on his own at the moment. He could not move too fast with her. Alexandria’s seduction was paramount. He could join her in the shower and teach her other ways to make a man respond.

  “No!” Nicholas shouted and he moved across the bathroom quickly and removed a pair of tiny scissors from Allie’s hand. He inspected her head looking for missing hair and didn’t find any. “You will not cut your hair!”

  “Excuse me! It’s my hair and it’s in my eyes,” Allie said slowly to make sure he got the point that he’d overstepped. “It’s grown a lot and it’s shaggy and it needs to be cut!”

  Nicholas took a deep breath realizing that he’d shouted at her. He knew she disliked him issuing command but he wasn’t concerned with that.

  “I am sorry, Alexandria, I did not mean to shout. If you need to have your hair cut, I will arrange for a professional to cut it. Please, no more of this hacking at it with scissors. All right?”

  “Okay,” Allie nodded slowly wondering why it mattered so much to him.

  “Good, do you want to go off island or for me to bring a hairdresser here?” Nicholas asked.

  Nicholas had never offered to take her off island before, so Allie considered it. “How long will it take if we go off island?”

  “It is a four hour round trip, plus the time to go to a salon.”

  That stopped her speculation. “No, I’m too busy, if I did that I’d lose a days’ editing. Bring a barber here.”

  Nicholas growled. “It will not be a barber!”

  “Was that a test?” Allie asked. “To see if I’d try to leave?”

  Nicholas shook his head. “If you want to go off island all you have to do is ask. You would not be asking my permission. You have to ask, because I would have to make the arrangements for the hair appointment and then for the ferry, since you do not speak Greek. You are free to do most anything you wish to do.”

  “I wouldn’t have run,” Allie said honestly. “What would I have to ask permission for?”

  Nicholas lifted her chemise over her head and dropped it on the floor, slowly peeling off her underwear as he backed her toward the shower. “I’m sure given enough time I can come up with something.” He turned on all the water jets, dropped his pajama bottoms, and led her into the shower.

  Allie was very good that morning, mostly because she was in a very good mood. She wiggled a little remembering their activities in the shower. She was very much liking Nicholas’ seduction techniques, she just wished he’d hurry move it up a bit faster. Reading and research were a lot different from experiencing it. . She put on a pair of her new jeans, and looked at herself in the mirror. Who knew clothing came in negative sizes? All her life, she’d never found clothing that fit properly, except in the little girls or boys department. The reason she didn’t buy her clothes in the girls department was because she wasn’t fond of ruffles, bows and cutesy things stuck on her clothing. Boy’s jeans, shirts, and jackets were plain. She liked plain and unadorned. Now she had jeans that fit perfectly. Nicholas had ordered two different sizes and she was keeping the ones that fit. She was a negative two. Who knew? She put on her pink flashing sneakers, which still tickled her every time she wore them, and went to find Nicholas.

  “I’m going for a walk,” Allie announced in Nicholas’ office.

  “Turn around,” Nicholas said grinning.

  Allie turned completely around and turned pink at his wolf whistle.

  Nicholas laughed. “Nice. Do you want to walk alone or would you like some company?”

  “I’d like your company,” Allie said smiling.

  When they left the villa, Allie turned in the opposite direction from where they usually walked. She followed a graveled golf cart path, and making no comment on her choice, and Nicholas followed her lead.

  The path led them to the edge of a cliff and below was a small village and a boat marina of about thirty boats. Allie looked over her shoulder at Nicholas. “I figured there had to be boats, maybe a town. Are they all yours?”

  Nicholas pointed. “No. That cruiser is mine. The large sailing vessel next to it belongs to Macland. There is a launch that is used as a ferry that runs once a day to the mainland and back for supplies and transport that I provide. Most of the boats belong to fishermen who live in the village. The island has two sources of income, men are fishermen or they work in the vineyards, and there are a few shop owners.”

  “What about the women? What do they do?” Allie asked.

  “Mostly they do as their mothers did and their mothers before them, they marry, have babies, and serve their husbands. If you are looking for the feminist movement, it hasn’t arrived here yet. For the most part, these people are traditionalists. We have a lot of tradition, a lot of history that makes up what is Greek.”

  “Can we go down there? Look around?”

  “Yes. If we take the track for the golf carts, it is much longer distance. If we take the walking path, it’s much shorter. Hold my hand, please. Sometimes the path is rough.” Nicholas led Allie down a switchback path that twisted and turned around occasional small buildings. They had just turned a corner when they got a full view of a nearly naked young man’s back. He had a woman bent over a window ledge and was having anal sex with her.

  Nicholas put his hands over Allie’s mouth and eyes, and pulled her back out of sight before the couple could notice them. He led her back up the path again away from the lovers.

  “We obviously can’t go that way, and there are no carts available. Perhaps we can make this trip another day,” Nicholas said. “I will speak to Kristofer about being more discrete.”

  “That’s the man who was spanking Larissa that day?” Allie said remembering.

  “Yes, obviously, they are getting along again.”

  “These people are traditionalists but they are participating in premarital sex? I’m shocked,” Allie said in pretend horror, but Nicholas took her quite seriously.

  He motioned for her to sit down on a flat rock. “I’m wondering how I can explain this. Our traditions are based on our religion. The further we live from the large cities the more the traditional values still hold true. We are very old-fashioned. We believe in one marriage, no divorce. It is part of our heritage for a man to be a strong head of his household. A father still must give his permission for his daughter to marry. Once a couple is betrothed, it is very much like being married. Although the girl remains at home with her parents, she comes under the guidance and stewardship of her betrothed. From the time that the commitment is made, and blessed, until the marriage date, certain male sexual rights are expected. It is a time to play, to experiment. Just about everything is permitted, on the sly of course, except that a man cannot have vaginal sex with his betrothed. A woman’s virginity is sacred until she marries.”

  “Is that why anal sex is called the Greek style?” Allie asked.

  Nicholas grinned. “You know that, uh? Was that another item of i
nterest in your research? Mediterranean men do have a reputation for being virile and fertile. Anal sex is one way to get around the virgin issue and the possibility of a premature pregnancy.”

  “Haven’t these people ever heard of birth control?” Allie asked.

  “I’m sure they have, just as I am sure that the majority of young people ignore the old traditions.”

  “In other words, Kristofer and Larissa might have done it that way, just because they like doing that way.” Allie laughed.

  Nicholas grinned and took her hand. “Most likely, but it is not something that we should have witnessed. Were you shocked?”

  Allie kissed him. “Nicholas, you know I’m inexperienced, but that doesn’t mean I’m ignorant of what goes on between men and women. I do write sex scenes. You’re a man of world. Obviously, you’re sexually experienced, so I’m assuming you’ve probably had lots of women and lots of sex. What I’d like to know is if I’m willing, why aren’t we having sex? Does my being a virgin put you off that much?”

  “Alexandria, I want nothing more than to make love to you. You are an innocent. I don’t want to push, or frighten you.”

  Allie kissed him. “Make a notation on your calendar. Take Allie’s virginity tonight!”

  “Dear God,” Nicholas said hanging his head and giving her a slap on her backside. “I will not do any such thing. I will seduce you at my own pace. I will control our sex life.”

  “Nicholas!” Allie complained.

  He swatted her again and kissed her, then kissed her again taking his time and making both their blood pressures rise. “Although I might move my timetable up a bit.”

  * * * * *

  The hair stylist arrived right in the middle of Allie’s morning computer session and she wasn’t willing to sacrifice her time for a stupid haircut. Nicholas had to concede an extra two hours in the afternoon to get her cooperation.