Spellbound in His Arms (4 page)

“No!” she replied abruptly. Seeing the surprised look on
his face, she tried to smooth things over, “I’m here on vacation,” she lied,
“and I don’t want my family to get worried.”

Michael looked at her for a few seconds, clearly not
buying her story.

Jackie silently cursed herself for not coming up with a
better excuse. She was furious this stranger had the ability to so easily tear
down her defenses. She just couldn’t believe that even with his face all
scratched up and his tight fitting jeans and T-shirt torn and dirty, he still
looked so handsome and inviting.

Suddenly, she realized something. “Am I under arrest?”
she asked.

He seemed to be thinking about it for a couple of
seconds. “That really depends on you,” he finally said enigmatically.

Jackie looked at him puzzled. “What’s that supposed to
mean?” she asked and felt her stomach tightening.

“We’ll talk about this later,” he said and left it at
that. “For now, the important thing is for you to get out of here.”

“That’s exactly my point,” she agreed and tried to get
out of bed, even though she was suffering.

“Wait a minute, young lady!” he yelled and gently but
steadily pushed her back on the bed. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I’m leaving,” she said. “I can’t stay here a minute
longer. I have a million things to do.”

“I thought being on vacation meant taking it easy and
doing nothing,” he pointed out with an ironic look on his face.

Jackie bit her lower lip. Right from the very first
moment, she had realized he was going to be trouble. Unfortunately, she was
right.

“Look,” she started. “I need your help.”

“Now, that’s better,” he said. “If you’re honest with
me, then maybe I can help you out.”

“I’m being honest,” she rebutted.

“Then what do you mean you need my help?”

“I need your help to get out of here today,” she
explained, and from his reaction, she could tell that he was losing his
patience with her.
Well, let him be angry
, she decided. She wasn’t here
to please him. After all, she was only going to stay on the island for a few
days. And then, she would probably never see him again. She was astonished to
realize this last thought made her feel sad.

He looked at her, hesitating for a moment and then
turned swiftly, ready to walk out the door. “Stay here. I’ll be right back,” he
said and then, he was gone.

Jackie watched Michael leave the room, and it took all
the strength she could manage to sit back and wait until he came back.

“Everything is settled,” he said. “The nurse will be
here in a minute to help you get dressed.”

“Thank you,” Jackie said and breathed a sigh of relief.

Half an hour later, Michael helped her out of the
hospital and towards his car. He watched her bite her lower lip to keep from
moaning and could tell she was in terrible pain. He knew it would get worse
when the pain killers wore off. She was the most stubborn person he’d ever met,
and that made him furious. On the other hand, he couldn’t help but admire the
way she endured the pain.

He helped her in the car, tormented whether he should go
ahead and take her with him or turn around and take her right back inside the
hospital. The doctor, however, had reassured him she was perfectly fine, and
the CT scan had shown nothing to worry about. Still, he was instructed to keep
an eye on her for the next few days and to take her right back to the hospital
if she felt dizzy or nauseated.

He closed Jackie’ door and walked around the black
Mercedes. He opened the driver’s side door and sunk into the soft leather
driver’s seat. He started the engine, fully aware she was watching him. Trying
to keep his eyes on the road and not make any sudden moves that would cause her
more pain, he carefully navigated the car out of the hospital’s parking lot.

Out on the main road he was able to relax, as there wasn’t
much traffic and he didn’t have to worry about sudden turns and maneuvers.
Jackie leaned back against the headrest, closed her eyes, and kept silent.

Michael glanced at her and kept silent, as well. His
mind kept going back to everything that had happened in these last few months
and especially in the last twenty-four hours. He needed answers, and he needed
them right now. And the last thing he’d expected when he came out here was to
find a beauty like this breaking into the Demiris mansion.

Who is she?
And if
she’s telling the truth about being a relative of Constantinos, why break in?
His
logic told him she couldn’t be trusted—after all she had already escaped from
him once—while his instinct told him otherwise. But was it really his instinct?
Or, was it the fact that she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in
his life? His thoughts flew back to the very first moment he laid eyes on her.
He was taken aback by the lovely face with the beautiful eyes and the sensuous
lips. And then his gaze had moved to the soft golden-brown hair barely touching
her shoulders and the sexy body with the womanly curves that were so obvious
underneath her jeans and blouse, which hugged her body like a glove.

Trying to control his thoughts from whirling into
forbidden territory, he suddenly realized she’d opened her eyes and was staring
at him. “So, where did you learn Greek?” he asked, still astonished having
heard her thanking the doctors and the nurses in perfect Greek.

Jackie looked at him sideways, biting her lower lip.

“It’s not a trick question!” he burst out, getting tired
of her constantly defensive attitude.

“I’m sorry…” she apologized. “The last twenty-four hours
have been really bad.”

“I know,” he admitted. “They were rough for me too.”

Silence stretched in the car and Michael struggled to
keep his eyes on the road.

“I remember,” she whispered, and Michael turned to meet
her gaze.

“I remember what happened last night,” she continued and
her lips pressed into a thin line. “I remember the car going off the cliff. How
come I didn’t die?”

“You were a very lucky young lady,” he said softly. “The
car was stopped by a small tree, and I pulled you out just before your vehicle
plunged into the sea.”

Jackie lowered her eyes and pressed her lips together.
“You know…I never thanked you for saving my life,” she said in an awestruck
whisper.

He turned and looked at her—so adorable and so
vulnerable at that very moment.

“Thank you, detective,” she whispered.

“Michael,” he corrected her and swallowed hard, trying
to control the turmoil of his emotions as he saw desire burning in her eyes.

Hearing her sensuous lips repeat his name, a hot wave of
passion shot right through his body and all he could think about was how he
longed to take her in his arms and make passionate love to her.

What is the matter with me?
He clenched his fists on the steering wheel frustrated.
I can’t
do my job like this. I have to keep my distance
. But taking another look at
her, he knew that wasn’t going to be easy.

“Where are you staying?” he asked suddenly, realizing
that he was driving towards his hotel.

He wasn’t surprised to hear they were staying at the
same hotel. It was the closest one to the harbor and that only convinced him
even more that she wasn’t here on vacation.

She had a specific purpose and so did he.

***

Later that evening, he went back to his hotel room after
escorting Jackie to hers. He had left word at the reception desk to notify him
immediately if she tried to leave the hotel.

He sat down at the small desk by the window and called
his partner.

“So, did you find anything?” Michael asked his partner
impatiently. He took notes of everything his partner told him on the phone.

A few minutes later, he laid his cell phone on the desk
and sat there looking at his notebook thoughtfully. Most of the stuff he
already knew. But there were some very interesting new complications. He looked
at the names written down and frowned, Constantinos Demiris, Alexandra Demiris,
Maria Demiris. After a moment’s hesitation, he added the name of Andreas Demiris
on the list.

When some years back, Andreas Demiris fell off the cliff
on his property on the Greek island of Corfu—the same cliff that Jackie’s car
had run off—nobody gave it a second thought. Andreas was an old man and
couldn’t see very well. And after all, accidents do happen. But now, Michael
wasn’t so sure anymore that his death had been an accident after all. He needed
to look into it.

And what about Jackie? Where does she fit into all
these?
His partner had told him she is an
investigative reporter who came from Atlanta two days ago and spent one day in Athens, visiting the office of a local newspaper. Maria Demiris was from Atlanta also, he
noted. His partner was going to contact the Atlanta Police Headquarters and
request some background information on Jackie and Maria as well.

***

Jackie stood underneath the hot water in the shower. She
let it hit her body hard making sure that she didn’t get the bandages on her
head wet. She needed to relax her tense muscles and clear her head. With eyes
closed, she could still see Michael’s blue eyes staring into hers and felt her
pulse accelerating.

He’s an unexpected complication,
but I’m a professional and I know exactly how to handle
him...who am I trying to fool? I have no idea how to handle him
. She’d never
met anyone like him before. He was smart, strong, and fearless, while at the
same time thoughtful and kind—not to mention the fact that he was the most
gorgeous man she’d ever seen in her life. He seemed almost perfect and if she
wanted to be honest—which she didn’t—she would have to admit that every time he
was around, she would lose her mind and forget all about her assignment.

Her assignment…. She suddenly felt guilty. She turned
off the water, grabbed a towel and rushed to the bedroom to grab her cell
phone. Her sudden moves made her ache all over, but she wouldn’t allow the pain
to stop her.

She was so grateful she hadn’t carried her big purse
with her last night, but a small one that hung from her belt. Fortunately, her
passport and cell phone survived last night’s ordeal.

The face of little, innocent Aphrodite came to her mind
and Jackie let out a deep breath.
I have to do this
, she told herself
firmly. She anxiously picked up the cell phone and pressed the speed dial.

A few minutes later, she placed the cell phone down on
the dresser in her bedroom and smiled, thinking of Michael’s surprise when he
would wake up tomorrow morning.

“Mr. Apostolou!”

He suddenly heard the man’s voice loud and clear and the
knocking became even louder. Still a little disoriented, Michael jumped out of
bed. He shook his head to clear his mind from the awful nightmare that had been
haunting him night after night, ever since his father’s death.

“Who is it?” he asked abruptly, unlocking the door.

“She’s gone sir,” the man replied, looking timid.

“What do you mean, she’s gone?” Michael burst out,
giving the man a murderous look.

“Miss Alexander is gone,” the man repeated and looked at
the detective guiltily. “I left my position for only a few minutes, and the
girl that relieved me wasn’t aware of your instructions.”

Michael wasn’t listening anymore. “Call the police
department and the Coast Guard,” he yelled over his shoulder while grabbing his
clothes. “Don’t let her leave the island!”

***

Leaving the attorney’s office which was located in a
beautifully restored Venetian architecture building on the waterfront, Jackie
smiled utterly satisfied. She stepped out onto the pavement and took a deep
breath, inwardly thanking Stephanos for coming through once again. She knew
without his interference it would have been impossible to rent another car,
since the one she rented a couple of days ago was now sitting at the bottom of
the sea.

She stopped for a moment and took a quick look around,
to make sure no one was watching her. Even though there were a lot of people
going by, nobody seemed particularly interested in her.

Feeling a little less edgy, Jackie let her eyes wander
along the beach boulevard with the beautifully maintained buildings on one side
and the magnificent body of crystal blue waters of the Ionian Sea on the other.
The impressive old Venetian fortress could be seen further down
on a rocky peninsula that jutted into the sea. Jackie was mesmerized
by the beauty of this place and wished she had come here under different
circumstances. This beautiful and elegant town of Corfu, where centuries of
Greek tradition coexisted harmoniously with European influences, took her
breath away with its impeccable beauty.

Suddenly, she realized two men standing on the other
side of the boulevard were staring at her. Alarmed, she turned and walked
hastily to her newly-rented car, squeezing the keys in her hand.

Getting inside, she locked the door, even though it was
in the middle of the day and there were a lot of people around. She was aware
that whoever those men where, they wouldn’t be able to try something right then
and there.

Jackie took a deep breath and tried to calm her
accelerated heart rate. Looking in the rearview mirror, she noticed that the
two men had turned in the other direction and were lazily walking away.

Reprimanding herself for being so foolish, she started
the car engine. She should have known there was probably nothing more to it
than two guys looking at a pretty girl.

After all, she was aware of her good looks and how men looked
at her every place she went. But under these unusual circumstances, Jackie
would pay attention to everything, even things she would normally ignore.

She took a deep breath and stepped on the gas petal. She
couldn’t believe that she was going back to the mansion again. But after all,
it was the best she could do right now. She needed to examine the documents in
the safe.

Having accomplished this first step of her new
plan—getting another rented car and the keys to mansion—she decided the next
thing she had to do was to get some supplies.

And then, she was off to the mansion….

***

It was already late in the afternoon by the time Jackie
left the beach boulevard and turned into the private driveway of the Demiris
estate, but there was still enough light to have a better look of the
surroundings. The other night it had been pretty dark and she hadn’t seen much.

The paved driveway was well maintained. It was shaded by
rows of majestic eucalyptus and cypress trees on both sides. The trees were
extremely tall creating a breathtaking canopy over the driveway. Thick foliage
and flowering shrubbery in all shades hugged the edges of the property. White,
pink and red oleander bushes were scattered between the trees, creating an
astonishing picture that looked as if it belonged in a painter’s canvas.
Further back, beautiful pine, kumquat and olive trees reached all the way down,
to the shimmering turquoise waters of the Ionian Sea.

Jackie was mesmerized by the magnificent view of the
amazing Corfiot countryside in all its glory. Driving along, she reached a
small creek that ran through the thick woods of the estate. A beautiful wooden
bridge was built to unite the two sides, giving the location a mysterious look.

“What a lovely place!”
Jackie exclaimed out loud,
wondering whether she had taken a wrong turn somewhere up the road. She
couldn’t believe that all this beauty surrounding her was the exact place where
she had experienced her dreadful nightmare. The thought of the other night’s
events gave Jackie a chill and she uneasily scanned her surroundings.

Crossing over the wooden bridge, she had a feeling of
experiencing a leap in time. It was as if she was leaving her past behind and
was moving on to a new chapter in her life.
What a strange feeling?
She
shivered and shook her head, trying to break the spell and clear her thoughts.

She followed the winding alley for a little while
longer, until the mansion came into clear view.

She stopped the car and let her eyes wander over the
breathtaking, two-story colonial mansion, dominating the area and overlooking a
small pond in the back. Magnificent white pillars stood in the front as
faithful knights, giving the building a striking depiction of a medieval
gallantry. Beautiful rose bushes, jasmine, and bougainvillea climbed the walls
of the mansion, reaching the window shutters of the second floor. A huge
veranda surrounded the ground floor and a smaller one on the second floor
overlooked the entrance. It was quite impressive, considering that it weathered
the storms of over two centuries.

A little further to her right, she noticed a gazebo
smothered in jasmine and red bougainvillea. Rows of carved clay pots filled
with gardenias hugged the edges of the small path leading from the mansion to
the gazebo.

Jackie opened the car window and drew a deep breath of
the summer fresh air, sucking in the seductive aroma of the gardenias mixed
with the alluring sea breeze. Impulsively, she leaned back against the headrest
and closed her eyes. This was heaven.

Startled by the fluttering of a bird, she was brought
back to reality and decided she should get going. She slowly approached the
circular driveway leading up to the front steps of the mansion, driving around
an enormous marble fountain with a mermaid resting in the center.

She parked the car near the front entrance, and took a
careful look around to make sure she was alone.
Someone is taking care of
this place
. The bushes were trimmed, and the lawn manicured. She looked far
into the horizon and drew a deep breath, as her eyes wandered along the
magnificent view of the gardens and the woods surrounding the estate.

She was carried away by all this beauty, when she
suddenly noticed the heavy clouds that were gathering up in the sky right above
the area. A storm was brewing in the distance, making her suddenly feel very
uneasy and somewhat threatened.

She realized that it would be dark soon, and she had a
lot of things to take care off. She hurried out of the car and climbed the
white marble steps to the veranda surrounding the house. She tried the large
brass handle of the huge mahogany front door. This time it was locked.

The attorney probably came by and locked it up
. She contemplated this thought, as she had no idea whether anybody
else had keys to the mansion. Thinking about it now, she realized she should
have asked the attorney. It would be better to be prepared, just in case
someone else showed up.

She took the keys out of her pocket and unlocked the
front door. Walking inside the huge foyer, she couldn’t help but admire the
stunning black and white, checkered marble floor and the beautiful marble
staircase leading to the second floor. Looking up, she was impressed by the
high ceiling with the beautiful trimmings and the huge crystal chandelier
hanging in the center of the space. Two huge arches led to other rooms on
either side of the foyer and a smaller arch, half-hidden behind the staircase,
led to the back of the house.

How come I missed all this the other night
?

Suddenly, she felt a shiver racing up her spine,
thinking about the other night’s events. She shook her head trying to clear her
thoughts and even though there was still plenty of light, she turned the
chandelier on. Somehow, it made her feel a little better. Then she rushed back
to the car and started hastily carrying her supplies inside.

It took her some time to carry everything from the car.
Even though she wasn’t planning to stay more than a couple of days, she still wanted
to be prepared and have everything she might need, since the mansion was so far
from town.

After she had finished, she locked up the car, went
inside and locked the front door behind her. She put part of the food supplies
in the refrigerator and the rest in the cabinets of the kitchen. Then she
decided to take a quick look around and make sure that everything was locked.
Walking to the living room, she saw the broken window had been replaced. The
attorney had informed her about that, but seeing it with her own eyes made her
feel a lot better.

Carefully, she checked every door and window on the
first floor. By the time she reached the second floor, it was getting dark. She
tried the light switch of the hallway with no luck. Having enough light from
the chandelier in the foyer, she moved on and opened the first door to her
right. Trying the light switch there with no luck again, she realized there
must be something wrong with the lights on the second floor.

Going back downstairs, she took her flashlight from her
purse which she had left on the round table in the center of the foyer and went
back upstairs to check the rest of the rooms. Everything was locked up there, as
well.

Now that everything was secured, she could take the time
to have a better look around.

The mansion was quite big with a beautiful, huge living
room on one side of the foyer and a just as large dining room on the other
side. They both overlooked the front yard through tall windows, and there was
access to the veranda through French doors.

A wide corridor started below the massive staircase,
leading all the way to the back of the mansion. Halfway down the corridor on
the same side as the living room, there was a large bathroom with elaborate
wall mirrors and plenty of cabinets. The spacious, well-equipped kitchen was on
the other side of the corridor adjacent to the dining room.

At the end of the corridor, there was a big study on the
same side as the kitchen and a guest bedroom with French doors leading to the
veranda on the opposite side. The bedroom had a marble ensuite bathroom with a
round, marble Jacuzzi tub and a corner shower.

Jackie had taken a glimpse of the rooms on the second
floor when she was checking the window locks earlier and she knew that they
were just as spacious as the ones downstairs. She planned to examine them
better in the morning. She had no intention of wandering upstairs with her
flashlight tonight.

The mansion was furnished with beautiful, antique pieces
of mahogany and cherry wood furniture, as well as art objects, such as marble
statues and exquisite paintings which were mostly beautiful nature scenery.

Even though the mansion was well taken care of, the fact
that no one lived there anymore made Jackie feel sad. She could imagine it
being full of life and laughter with children running all over the place.

Jackie was surprised by how fast the storm hit. She was
standing in the foyer when the wind started blowing hard. Rain banged against
the wooden shutters, sending an awful noise throughout the old mansion.

Jackie looked around uneasily. The fact that she was out
here all alone made her feel very uncomfortable. And now the storm made things
even worse. All of a sudden, she had this weird sensation of being watched.

She turned abruptly and looked towards the top of the
stairs. There was no one there, as far as the chandelier’s light could reach.
However, the rest of the area further back was in absolute darkness, giving her
an eerie feeling.

What if someone was up there? What if she didn’t search
thoroughly enough earlier and she missed someone hiding in the dark? The
thought gave her goose bumps. But Jackie was determined to finish what she had
come for and letting her imagination run wild would only make matters worse.

Anxiously, she looked at the phone that was placed on a
small mahogany table against the wall next to the stairs. She walked over and
picked up the receiver, but there was no dial tone.