Tessa and Meridio spoke briefly, and Casey let her mind wander. She didn't recognize any of the names or understand a thing they were discussing, so she retreated within herself, hearing their conversation from a distance. Casey was getting an idea.

Once the other two were finished with their conversation, Casey took a shot at her plan.

0.

*"I'm going to Athens for the weekend," she said abruptly in her father's direction.

Tessa raised an eyebrow and looked in Meridio's direction.

"I have a couple of meetings set up with the museum curators.

We have to get together before the dig begins."

"Ca.s.sandra..." Meridio began.

"Pappa," Casey interrupted, recognizing that tone. "I only have another two weeks of vacation, then I'll have to constantly be back and forth between Mkonos and Athens. I'll have to get an apartment there at least for a little while. This is my job we're talking about."

Meridio gave an exasperated sigh and nodded. "But Tessa goes with you."

"I do not need a babysitter," Casey complained.

"She's not a babysitter," Meridio countered, getting aggravated by the situation. "She'll go with you and help you find an apartment. Do you have a problem with that, Tessa?"

"No, sir. As a matter of fact, I have a meeting in Athens day after tomorrow, it would work out well."

"Fine." Meridio wanted the conversation to end. "Take Alex if you need him, too."

"Excellent idea, Mr. Meridio," Tessa said, wondering how they were going to get out of bringing Alex along.

"Pappa, please. One babysitter is bad enough, please don't make me go with two," Casey grumbled.

"Oh, all right. But Tessa absolutely goes. And please, young lady, stop calling Tessa a babysitter." Meridio swallowed the last of his coffee and rose to leave. "When will you go?"

"This afternoon, I should think," Casey said.

"Come say goodbye before you leave." Meridio kissed the top of Casey's head. "Tessa, I'd like to meet with you also before you leave," he said before he walked away.

Waiting until the man was out of sight, Tessa turned to Casey, a smug smile of victory displayed on Casey's face.

"Oh, you're good," Tessa said.

Chapter 12.

"Hey, I thought we were staying at the Grande Bretagne?"

Casey asked when Tessa sped past the Plateia Syntagmatos.

"We are. Well, according to the hotel register, we are." Tessa smiled at the surprised woman. "I have an old acquaintance who just so happens to be the concierge there. He owes me a favor, and he's very trustworthy. You said you needed an apartment, right?

Was that for real or just part of your plan?"

"Well, I will need an apartment to live in when I work over here, and I thought...it could be somewhere we could get away..."

Casey trailed off uncertainly.

"We won't be able to do that," Tessa said.

Tessa turned to look at Casey and immediately noticed the wounded look on her face.

"Hey." Tessa put a hand on Casey's cheek. "I didn't mean it like that. I do have a place in mind for you to get an apartment, but it wouldn't be smart for me to be seen there. If I know your father, he'll have someone keep an eye on you when I'm not around. We can't risk getting caught together like that."

"Oh." Casey saw all her plans of romantic getaways dissipating quickly. "So what do we do, don't we ever get to be alone?"

"Of course we do, baby," Tessa said, shifting gears as they climbed a steep hill. "Just sit back and all will be made clear in a few minutes. Trust me?" She grinned at the frowning blonde.

Casey thought about that question, but it didn't take her long.

*She had known this woman all of a week, yet she knew she would trust her with her life.

"Of course I do." Casey slid her hand within Tessa's grasp and squeezed gently.

Tessa squeezed the smaller hand in return and as always, thanked whomever was responsible for the happiness she was experiencing. She sat in wonder at the optimistic woman. Tessa had never felt this kind of unconditional trust from a lover before, and it made her feel safe.

"Welcome to your second home." Tessa stopped the car in front of a two-story wood and brick building that was nestled back among a grove of olive trees, partially hidden from the road.

Tessa opened the pa.s.senger side door, took Casey's hand, and led her to a side gate that was securely held shut. Tessa punched a series of numbers into the computer console on the wall, and the iron security gate clicked open. Tessa still held Casey's hand and they walked to a back patio that surrounded a beautiful swimming pool with a cascading natural rock fountain at one end.

"Who lives here?" Casey asked, turning around and taking in the beauty of the place.

"I do...and you, I mean, if you'd like." Tessa added the last part softly. She couldn't believe her own ears. Here she was, determined not to add any complications to the already confused puzzle of her life, and she just asked the most dangerous piece in this chess game to move in with her.

"You own this?" Casey seemed confused.

"I didn't always work for your father. I was a successful businesswoman before I became the Meridio Kare. And even I need a place more private than the guesthouse. Look around, see the cliffs up there?" She pointed above them. "And that area over there, how it's surrounded by trees? No one can see the estate without me seeing them first. Besides that, the entire place is wired with a security system of my own design."

Tessa crossed the patio to the sliding gla.s.s doors and pushed another series of b.u.t.tons. "Lastly, I have two bodyguards. Stand still," Tessa commanded.

Casey wouldn't have dreamed of disobeying Tessa's command *when she saw two large Dobermans heading for the patio at a full run, nearly knocking Casey over in their attempt to get to Tessa.

She wrestled with the two huge animals for a few moments, then commanded they sit with a gesture of her hand. Both dogs obediently sat, never taking their eyes off their mistress.

"My two bodyguards. They're better than anyone you could possibly hire," Tessa said. "Watch. Heads up."

Both dogs immediately took a position in front of Tessa, barking and baring their teeth at some unknown foe. Casey jumped back at the sudden intensity in the animals.

"Down!" Tessa said, and the dogs instantly obeyed, backing off and lying down.

"Wow. That would sure make me think twice," Casey said a little shakily.

"I'm sorry, honey...I didn't mean to scare you, but I want you to know what these girls are capable of. They're extremely intelligent. Come here." Tessa held out her hand and Casey came closer.

"That big girl over there is Mahogany, and this is Cinnamon."

Tessa dropped to one knee and encouraged Casey to do the same. "She's a good girl. Aren't you, Cinny? Here, she likes to be scratched under her chin, right here." Tessa demonstrated and soon Casey was playing with the dog, which seemed more like a happy puppy now.

Tessa leaned over and kissed Casey's neck, working her way down to her shoulder, pushing aside her dress to kiss the bare skin. "I want her to see how close we are," Tessa murmured against Casey's tanned skin.

"Mmm, another thirty seconds of that, and she's going to get a good look at how close we are." Casey moaned in reply.

Tessa chuckled and pulled Cinnamon closer. "See, Cinny?

Heads up, okay?" She repeated her directions a few more times while pointing the dog's head in Casey's direction.

Tessa stood and pulled Casey up alongside her, stopping to kiss her pa.s.sionately. Then she pulled away and moved toward the house.

*"Oh, Nikki, you're not going to kiss me like that and stop, are you?"

Tessa smiled in return. "There's more where that came from, I promise you, but I need to test this out first. I want to make sure you'll always be safe here if you're alone. Okay, they're going to bark again, are you ready?"

Casey scrunched her face up in preparation, causing Tessa to laugh out loud. "Didn't you have any dogs when you were a kid?""Yes, but I had a golden retriever. He was cute and fluffy."

"Well, these two ladies are cute and tough."

Casey giggled. "Kind of like their owner, huh?"

Tessa winked. "Okay, here goes. Heads up," she commanded.

Again, the dogs jumped to their feet instantly. This time, Mahogany stood her ground in front of Tessa, while Cinnamon pressed herself against Casey's legs, determined to fend off the imaginary threat.

"You give them the command to back off," Tessa said loudly over the barking.

"Down!" Casey shouted. The dogs obeyed Casey at once, coming to lie at her feet as if she had always been their mistress.

"Wow," Casey exclaimed and praised the animals that lapped up the attention that was being lavished on them.

Tessa watched and emotion tugged at her heart. Casey would be the only woman these animals would treat like this, other than their owner. She didn't know why, but somehow she was certain of it."Hey, what about me? I did train them." Tessa stood directly in front of Casey.

"Oh, did you want your tummy rubbed, too?" Casey teased.

"No," Tessa said in a throaty voice, pulling Casey against her body and wrapping her arms around the slim waist. "I have something else you can rub, though."

Tessa reached around and unzipped Casey's dress, the zipper stopping just above her shapely backside. She pulled Casey against her hips and let her tongue run along the outside of Casey's ear.

*"Would you like to take a swim?" Tessa whispered in invitation.

"You know," Casey was finding it difficult to control her breathing, "I spent two hundred dollars on this dress, and you haven't said a word about how it looks."

"Mmm, baby, you look wonderful in it," Tessa murmured against Casey's skin, pulling the dress off each shoulder. "But I think you would look positively beautiful out of it."

Casey's eyes closed and she allowed Tessa to slide the dress down her body. "You're very different out here."

Tessa sucked hard on the skin at Casey's neck, not caring about the mark it would leave. "I guess I'm just more in my own element. I feel more comfortable in my own home."

"Then I think we should come here often." Casey whimpered softly against Tessa's shoulder.

The two women sat on a rug in the living area clad only in their bath towels, sipping white wine. They'd spent all of the late afternoon in the pool, playing like teenagers one moment, pa.s.sionately caressing each other the next. They eventually made their way into the bedroom, both towels ending up in a heap at their feet.

Tessa allowed Casey to take her by the shoulders, pressing her down to the bed and onto her back. Casey captured Tessa's lips in a kiss Tessa was becoming accustomed to. Her muscles quivered helplessly, and she was glad they were lying down. Tessa became a prisoner to those lips, then that tongue. Soon, Casey's whole body was expertly teasing Tessa's overloaded senses. My G.o.d, how in the world does she do this to me?

"Casey? Baby?" Tessa murmured between kisses.

"Yes, love?"

"I...oh, yeah...I was wondering...ugh, G.o.d, you are such a talented lover," Tessa finally blurted out.

Casey stopped her caresses and looked into Tessa's face. "Are you asking me how I became that way?"

Suddenly, Tessa realized how that sounded. Okay, this is why you should just keep your mouth shut. "Oh, no, I-I didn't mean it *like that. It's just I haven't come across that many women who enjoy the same...I don't know, who have the same, um... appet.i.tes as I do."

A smile crossed Casey's face. "So you're asking me if I sleep around or what?"

"Oh, no. I'm sorry, G.o.d, this was stupid to even bring up."

Casey settled on her side and rested her head in the palm of her hand. She continued to stroke Tessa's dark skin, running a teasing finger around a brown nipple.

"Can I tell you something without you laughing at me?"

Casey asked, a serious expression on her face.

"Of course," Tessa said with an equally sober expression.

"I've never been this way with anyone. Not that I didn't want to be. I had my fantasies, but that's all they were. I never felt comfortable enough with anyone to tell them what I wanted or even take what I desired. I've certainly never felt relaxed enough with a lover to use a...well, to try s.e.x different ways. Everything you and I do feels so d.a.m.n natural. It's like I'm not afraid to experience any kind of pleasure with you. I guess I'm not afraid to be myself around you."

Casey finished, but she hadn't yet looked up into the blue eyes that watched her with deliberate scrutiny. The blue gaze softened, and Tessa found herself unable to hold back. She took hold of Casey, rolled them both over, and eased her body carefully over Casey's frame.

"I wouldn't change one thing about you. Not one thing."

She leaned in and pressed her lips to the waiting mouth that parted quickly for her thrusting tongue. Tessa made sure there wasn't a portion of Casey's body that didn't feel the touch of her lips or caress of her tongue.

Casey spread her legs and Tessa was enveloped in a heat that spread through her body. Tessa teased Casey's aching nipples with only the tip of her tongue. After what seemed like an eternity of torture to Casey, Tessa sucked each tight nub of flesh into her warm and inviting mouth.