"I'm not saying that I haven't learned that killing is a stupid senseless business, but it takes more guts to kill a man when he can see it coming than behind his back. To walk up to a man and look in his eyes, to see his sweat and to know what his fear smells like." Tessa created the shape of a gun with her fingers and placed her index finger softly against Casey's temple.

"Then while you're looking in his face and he's begging and crying for his own life, pop." Tessa pressed her finger harder *against the side of Casey's head, and Casey shuddered at the realism in the simulation.

"You put a bullet in his brain. I'm not saying it's smart," she looked out onto the water, "but it's a h.e.l.l of a lot harder to do."

Long moments of silence pa.s.sed as each woman floated along, lost in her own thoughts. Casey's mind raced with all the information she'd just been given and the implication behind Tessa's words. It frightened Casey when she realized how different their worlds were. Casey would have no more a clue as to what it felt like to kill a man up close as she would to know what it felt like to be the queen of England. Her real concern came from the underlying feeling that Tessa indeed knew what it felt like to take a man's life. Casey wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knees, stealing glances over at the beautiful, dark woman at her side.

Tessa sat and waited for Casey to process all she'd been told.

She's a smart girl; she'll figure it out. There was no other way to explain her anger to Casey, and Tessa cursed herself for revealing too much. No matter how much she might want or need this woman in her life, she had to see to her vow first. It won't matter much. Once it comes to fruition, she won't want you.

Tessa felt the weight of Casey's stare and remained gazing out onto the vista before her as the sun was still an hour away from setting. Her blue eyes reflected the horizon, and she antic.i.p.ated the next question that was sure to come. Now that Casey had time to think about it, surely she would put two and two together and see the reality of their situation.

Casey watched Tessa even as she realized that Tessa knew she was being watched. The light fluttering in Casey's stomach was familiar to her, but it had been a very long time since she felt it and certainly longer since she'd done anything about it. It became clear to Casey that if Tessa were to tell her right now that she was a ma.s.s murderer or that she'd never harmed another person in her entire life, Casey would believe her. Whether it was good or bad, Casey knew she would believe anything this beautiful, mysterious woman told her. She rolled the words around in her head and had no doubt about their verity. Right or wrong, good *or bad, dangerous or not, it didn't matter. The concerns couldn't change the way her heart felt. She had quickly fallen in love with the enigmatic Tessa Nikolaidis.

"Tessa?"

Again, Tessa tried to steel herself for the question that would come next and even now wondered how she could be anything but honest with the woman who was wrapping herself around her dark heart.

"Yes?" Tessa turned her head and brushed her wind-blown hair from her eyes.

"What do your friends call you?"

Tessa's brow furrowed, and she wondered if Casey was making fun of her. "What?"

"A nickname that your friends call you. Does everyone call you Tessa?"

"I don't have any friends," Tessa said, still staring at Casey in amazement.

"Can I be your friend?"

Tessa tried hard not to let the words affect her, but she knew she wasn't succeeding. Hot tears threatened as she remembered when a pretty blonde five-year-old with eyes the color of the hillside at Filermos asked her the same thing.

"I think I'd like that," Tessa said softly.

Both women turned to watch the sun as it slowly descended below the horizon. Goose b.u.mps broke out over Casey's arms as the Meltemi blew in from the north, bringing a cooler breeze with it. Tessa jumped up and returned swiftly with her own jacket, Casey's jacket, and a soft blanket.

They sat, shoulders touching, leaning against the thick mast, and watching as a golden glow lit the sky for the longest time before the sun gave the appearance that it was sinking into the sea. No words were spoken for a long time. Suddenly, Tessa was drawn from her introspection to the feel of a small body leaning more heavily against hers.

The wine and the sun took its toll on Casey, and her head bobbed as she struggled to stay awake for the length of the long sunset for which Greece was notorious. She was losing the battle *fast, and Tessa did what she would never have done had she not had a bottle of wine and had she not been at sea with a most beautiful woman. She repositioned her body and pulled Casey in front of her, between her legs, Casey's weight resting on Tessa's chest. Casey mumbled something in her sleep and surprised Tessa by snuggling into the strong woman's warm embrace.

Tessa could do no more than smile at her good fortune. She remembered that it was less than a week earlier when she wished she had this very thing, to be on her boat, a woman in her arms, and a sunset to share. Perhaps the Greek G.o.ds of old heard her wishes and decided to take pity on her. Perhaps it was merely a coincidence, but whatever the reason, Tessa wouldn't take her wishes back now for all the drachmas in the world. She held Casey close to her until only a thin slice of the sun could still be seen.

The quiet bundle in her arms stirred.

"I'm not sleeping," she murmured drowsily.

"Yes, you are." Tessa chuckled in her ear.

"No, I'm lovin' every minute of the sunset." Casey desperately tried to get her bearings. Am I lying in Tessa's arms?

"Well then, you're the first person to ever snore while she's awake."

"I do not snore." Casey pulled away and turned to look in the woman's face behind her.

"Yes, you do," Tessa drawled. She couldn't resist teasing Casey. "It's this cute little puppy dog kind of snore."

"Oh, you." Casey slapped Tessa's arm and laughed once she realized she was being teased.

"You about ready to head back?" Tessa asked reluctantly.

"Mmm, no," Casey said, not wanting to extricate herself from the warmth of Tessa's embrace. "But I guess we don't have much choice."

For both women, the spell was broken, but as they sailed back into Mkonos harbor, their hearts felt full of feelings neither one of them could express easily in words.

0.

Chapter 6.

By the time Casey pulled herself from her bed the next morning and cleaned up, Tessa and her father were already on the patio, drinking coffee and conducting business.

"Kalimera. " Casey smiled as she approached the table.

She was greeted in the same manner by the two as she kissed her father's cheek.

"Thank you," Casey said to the strong cup of Greek coffee Tessa poured for her.

"Well, Mahtia Mou, I have business on Lesvos. Would you like to spend the weekend with us?" Andreas Meridio asked.

When her father indicated that the us she would be joining would be he and Tessa, Casey didn't have to think twice.

"What time do we leave?" She smiled.

Tessa never looked up from her paper, and she kept her face frozen in the same neutral expression as always, but inside, she was grinning from ear to ear.

"We leave at ten o'clock, can you be packed by then?" Meridio asked.

"For a weekend? Sure, Pappa."

"I think I better handle a few items of business and get packed myself. If you'll excuse me, Mr. Meridio, Ms. Meridio?" Tessa said, rising from the table.

"Of course," father and daughter said in unison.

*Casey watched Tessa walk toward the guesthouse. Initially feeling a little hurt at Tessa's business as usual demeanor around her, she was soon to realize that this was probably a wise move on Tessa's part. Casey observed her father staring after Tessa also.

"I'm glad you're able to get on with my Kare, " Andreas began, turning back to Casey. "Tessa is a very competent woman, and I feel better having someone with her abilities around you.

Ca.s.sandra, I need to ask you...Has Tessa ever acted, well, has she ever made any advances toward you, any conduct that could be thought of as improper?" he asked hesitantly.

"Wha-?"

"Now before you go getting all upset, I ask for a good reason.

I know you young people think everyone and everything is just fine nowadays, but this is Greece, not America, and our ways can still be very Old World. Tessa does not make it a secret among our people that she is mia lesveea and-"

"Pappa," Casey interrupted, "Tessa has never treated me with anything but respect and thoughtfulness."

"All right, I understand." Meridio held up his hand. He felt he was about to receive a lecture, and the worst thing he could think of was to be lectured by a woman, even if the woman was his daughter. "I just wanted you to know about her, in case it would bother you in any way."

"Pappa, I think you should know something about me-"

A large crashing sound came from behind them, causing Casey to jump. Olympia had been carrying a tray, and the contents of the platter were now on the patio in hundreds of pieces.

"Mrs. Karoubas, are you all right...Do you need help?"

Meridio asked, rising from his chair.

"No, no, Mr. Meridio. Anna will help me clean it up." Olympia indicated a young girl who came running to a.s.sist.

"What were you saying, Mahtia Mou?"

Casey looked up, but she caught Olympia's gaze throwing daggers in her direction. Olympia was facing her father's back, and as Casey glanced up at the woman, she saw Olympia shake her head slightly. Casey looked in her father's face, now uncertain as to what to do. She was about to tell him of her own s.e.xual *preference, but it was obvious that Olympia didn't think it was the right thing to do.

"I...I was about to say...that it feels good to be back home,"

Casey finished and knew she'd gotten it right when Olympia smiled and nodded.

"It's good to finally have you home again . Now go and get packed."

Casey made a point of walking through the kitchen to go upstairs and stopped when she saw Olympia. Picking up a piece of the broken china, she grinned slightly at Olympia.

"I take it this was your idea of a subtle hint?"

"Miss Mer-Ca.s.sandra, there are many ways here that are different from what you're used to in America. If you told your father that you were mia lesveea, do you think he would allow Tessa to accompany you anywhere? I fear he might even discharge her . "Olympia chose her words carefully. She had no idea how far the relationship between Casey and Tessa had gone, but she wanted Casey to realize that she was in Greece, a county run by men. How well Olympia knew that men held all the power in her homeland. She also used the word discharge when even she knew that would be the kindest thing that would happen to the attractive Kare. "Olympia, how did you know about me?" Casey asked in a low voice.

"I have been the cook in this house for nearly thirty years. I was here on the day you were born, for your first communion, and on your sixteenth birthday. There is very little I don't know about you." Olympia took Casey's chin in her fingers.

"How would I have ever gotten along without you?" Casey smiled at the woman who had been like a second mother to her all these years.

"Go on now. You don't want to keep your father and Tessa waiting."

Casey kissed Olympia's cheek and rushed up the stairs to her room. Olympia stood in place for a few moments lost in past memories. Shaking her head, she moved around the large kitchen.

*Their private plane landed at an airport about eight kilometers south of Mytilini, on the island of Lesvos. A limousine sat waiting for their arrival, and the drive to the villa where they were to stay was short and uneventful. The Laureate, a restored villa, was situated on Vareia beach. A public hotel most of the time, but as Casey was soon to discover, when her father stayed there, it became his own private villa. Casey hadn't been to this particular villa before but thought it breathtaking. Set amidst a beautiful garden, it was surrounded by avenues of bay trees and giant pines.

Even though Andreas Meridio bought out every room in the villa for his personal use, the entire hotel staff stayed to work, and they were courteous and helpful to Casey. She was shown to a large suite of rooms and enjoyed the fact that Tessa had the rooms next to hers.

The three lunched together, but Andreas Meridio seemed somewhat preoccupied. Casey hated the way her father's bodyguard hovered in the shadows, but she tried to think of the silent man's role as an important one and kept her mouth closed about it. In the meantime, Tessa seemed to enjoy the information Casey knew about the island and its history from an archaeological standpoint. Meridio abruptly stood and motioned to Peter.

"I'm going to the elaiotriveio, Mahtia Mou. I'll be there all afternoon. Tessa, you are to bring Ca.s.sandra along when you're finished here." Then he brusquely kissed Casey and left.

Casey groaned and grabbed the bottle of wine, pouring herself a generous gla.s.s.

"What's that sound for? You don't like the olive mill?" Tessa asked in confusion.

"Whenever my father says I'm to meet him at the elaiotriveio, it means only one thing. He wants to test me. He likes to make sure I know everything about olives." Casey moaned.

"And do you?" Tessa chuckled.

"I know absolutely everything there is to know about olives.

When you eat them, when you press them, when you harvest them...The list goes on and on."

*"They're only olives. How hard could it be?" Tessa asked as Casey groaned her displeasure once again.

"So tell me what you know about olives," Tessa said loudly to be heard above the convertible sports car's engine and the wind that whipped past.

Casey always enjoyed the drive up the hillside to the olive mill outside of Plomari. Since they were staying at Vareia, they had to drive around the Kolpos Geras bay. One thing Casey learned quickly was that Tessa loved speed, and Tessa drove like most of the locals, full out at breakneck speed.

"Well, let's see. The olive groves that belong to the Meridios date back to 700 B.C. However, there was a frost that wiped them out and they were replanted with new in the eighteenth century.

Olive oil used to be the big export commodity of ancient Greece.

Did you know that they would ma.s.sage great warriors with olive oil, then sc.r.a.pe it off them and put it into jars to sell? Something about it being an aphrodisiac, I think."

"Oh, that sounds disgusting."

"You're telling me. Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah, Lesvos and Crete are in compet.i.tion over who makes the most and the best oil. We have over eleven million trees here on Lesvos, but some say Crete produces more and a better quality of oil, mostly the people who farm on Crete. This island, however, uses every part of the olive, rather than just pressing for oil alone. We use the fruit for eating, of course, and it's pressed for oil, but we also grind up what remains after the oil is pressed out and use it for soaps. After they use all they can for the soaps, they take what's remaining for fertilizer."

"Ca.s.sandra?" Tessa stopped Casey's informative lecture.

"Yes?"

"Is all this true?" Tessa frowned. She had been born and spent most of her life in Greece and didn't know half of what Casey did about their main export.

"Absolutely. This stuff has been drilled into me every summer since I was little. You watch, the first thing my father wil do is bring a plate of olives out and see if I remember my old lessons."

*"And will you?" Tessa laughed.

"Geez, I hope so." Casey laughed in return.