The next morning, Diona awoke feeling refreshed, her eyes looking around with confusion, frowning as she took in the opulence of her surroundings, before the memory of the previous day came crashing down on her. With a small groan, she threw back the sheet before moving into the luxurious en-suite bathroom. Stood under the largest shower she had ever seen she enjoyed the feel of the water as it moved down her, sighing with pleasure as the power shower gently massaged her body. Once showered and dried, she quickly dressed, pulling her hair into a neat prim knot before moving back down the stairs. Once there Diona stood at the foot of the staircase looking around, not sure where to go next as she bit nervously on her bottom lip. As she had refused the offer of dinner the previous night, she had not had a chance to familiarise herself with the layout of the house, and she could feel her stomach complain at not having eaten much in over a day.
Standing unsure of what to do next, she heard the sound of footsteps moving down the stairs towards her. Looking back, she felt her whole stomach give a lurch as she saw the unmistakable figure of Nikias Dranias moving towards her, his eyes looking surprised to see her up so early. “Good morning Diona”, he said pleasantly, as he came level with her, making her once more so aware of his physique as he looked down upon her. “Sleep well?” His voice was sensual as it washed over her, making her shiver slightly with the strange sensations it caused to ripple up and then back down her spine.
With a frown on her lovely face she looked up at him, as he towered at least a head above her. “Fine”, she answered primly, struggling to keep her voice steady at his closeness and the way it was inexplicably interfering with her entire being. “Is there something I can get for you?”, he asked politely, looking down on her with a strange look in his eyes.
Smiling sweetly Diona looked back at him. “A phone or a boat would be nice”, she said quickly as he chuckled. “Hmm maybe not, how about some breakfast instead?”, he returned, flashing her one of the most dazzling smiles she had ever seen, causing her to hold in the sudden gasp which jumped to her lips.
About to refuse anything from him, her stomach rumbled painfully, reminding her that she had not eaten for so long, and with a sigh she conceded, “Thank you” He then led her into a large kitchen, with a honey pine table in the centre of the room. Nikias began looking through the fridge, much to Diona’s surprise, as she expected to find breakfast being served in the large dining room by the housekeeper she briefly met the night before.
“Are you going to cook?”, she asked, her voice full of surprise as he looked over at her with a small almost boyish grin. “I’m going to try”, he answered with a smile. “My housekeeper has the morning off, and the alternate doesn’t start for another half hour, so it’s help yourself or starve till she arrives” Looking nervously at him, Diona moved forward to pluck the eggs and bacon from his fingers before moving to the large cooker and placing things under the grill and gently poaching the eggs. Nikias watched her, a mocking look in his eyes. “Don’t you trust me Diona?”, he asked with a small chuckle in his voice, as she flashed him a disbelieving look. “About as far as I could throw you”, she replied.
He once more laughed, the sound of the deeply masculine rumbling causing Diona to feel her knees shake. He moved over to another cupboard to pull out plates and cutlery, setting the table in time for her to serve up the food and place hot steaming mugs of coffee before them both.
“If you don’t like coffee then tough”, she said as she sat down opposite him. He looked over at her with a grin. “Thank you Diona”, rolling her name on his tongue. “Diona…do you know that that is a Greek name?”, watching her as she nodded her head gently. “My grandmother was Greek and I was named after her”, she said softly, seeing the face of the woman who had been one of the few people she could turn to while growing up, before her death five years previously.
As she watched him intently, eating the delicious food she prepared, he suddenly looked over at her, catching her staring at him and smiling with an almost knowing mocking look. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with Alexis, care to tell me where he is?”, he asked her softly, his eyes holding hers, now with a purposeful look in them.