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 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 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 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."

Chapter 49: A Change in PlansAs soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. She worried about what he thought. They'd known each other for such a short time. Sure, they were in love. But spring the whole fam-damily on him?She thought about the townhouse in Birmingham. She'd love to take him there, walk the block to Pale Eddie's for cocktails, return to enjoy the fireplace, make love to him in that huge featherbed… She sighed. Except it's not a vacation. It's not even work, which has been like a vacation. We go to Birmingham, shit gets real.Still deep in thought, she said, "We would just put in an appearance. Visiting hours are probably very restricted. It would be great to see Bubba, even Cornelia. Okay, maybe not Cornelia so much, but T-Nathan will probably come home from school. I haven't seen him since…" She looked at Luke and wondered what he'd think of them, and she sighed again."Well, Cowboy, are you scared off yet?" She laughed halfheartedly, afraid