He gave an elegant shrug of his shoulders. “This is your home. You can do whatever you like. When I was in town this morning, I bought some English speaking films on disk, which you can watch in the lounge. I won’t set the security alarm until we’re ready for bed.”
“Thank you,” she said to his retreating back.
After drinking some water from the galley, Stephanie went up on deck to take in the wonder of the night. She’d always lived by the water, but no place in her experience lived up to the beauty of these isolated islands set like glittering jewels on dark velvet.
Time passed, but Nikos still didn’t join her. She had assumed that, in marrying her, he intended to sleep with her. She didn’t know and he hadn’t spelled out a detail like that, but without love on his part, she wouldn’t be able to respond.
The problem was this was their wedding night. The kisses he’d given her at the restaurant had felt like a prelude to making love, but maybe they’d been for show. For the photographs.
Deciding not to wait for him any longer, she went below. There was no sign of him in the lounge. She could go down the hall and knock on his door. Was he waiting for her to come to him? Stephanie had no idea what to do. When they’d been together on the island, he’d never left her alone.
But they weren’t married then, and he’d never intended to propose to her. They’d found intense pleasure together, but in his mind it had been temporary until he returned to his unit and ultimately to Natasa Lander.
Even leaving the other woman out of it, the more Stephanie thought about the situation, the more she understood that if he still didn’t believe she was carrying his child, he wouldn’t want to sleep with her. Maybe the thought was distasteful, even repugnant to him. Shivering at the possibility, she made up her mind never to expect a physical relationship with him.
After brushing her teeth, she took a pill and turned out the light. But once she was under the covers another thought came to her, with such force she let out a small cry and sat up. She didn’t know why she hadn’t considered it before. Since he was sterile, it was more than possible he was impotent, too.
Nikos...
If that was the case, then her heart grieved for him. He was such a proud man, it was only natural that since the explosion he wouldn’t want to marry Natasa or any woman.
But he’d trusted Stephanie enough to marry her in order to give their child a father. In the process he’d become her husband in name only, to make it legitimate while he waited to find out the results of the DNA test. The dots were lining up.
No wonder he hadn’t wanted his family to be a part of today’s nuptials. Everything was based on whether or not he was the father. She fell back and buried her face in the pillow to stifle her tears until oblivion took over.
CHAPTER SEVEN
THERE WAS AN animal suffering in the darkness. Stephanie kept looking for it, but couldn’t find it. The whimpering turned into moans, torturing her. If only she could do something to help it. When it let out a piercing cry, the sound brought her awake.
All this time she’d been dreaming!
Trembling, she shot out of bed, incredulous that her mind had conjured anything so terrible. Something she’d eaten at the restaurant must not have agreed with her. Maybe a drink of water would help. She hurried to the bathroom. When she reached for a cup, her watch said 3:30.
After draining it, she went back to bed, but before she could fall asleep again she heard another bloodcurdling cry. This time she wasn’t dreaming. Without hesitation she threw on her robe and ran down the hall to Nikos’s room. Though she knocked several times, he didn’t respond. That was odd.
She knocked again before turning the door handle, hoping he wouldn’t mind the intrusion. One glance inside the room told her he hadn’t been to bed. It was still made. Had he gone to town?
Again she heard a moan, louder this time. It was coming from the deck. An animal had to be trapped there. Maybe a cat or a dog, but she hadn’t heard the security alarm go off. Needing something to protect her, she grabbed a fluffy bath towel from the bathroom and gingerly went up the stairs.
Once she was on deck the cry sounded like human sobbing. It was coming from the area of the transom. She walked toward it, then stopped dead in her tracks. There, crouching on the floor, was a man in a pair of sweats and nothing else. A crumpled blanket and sun bed lay nearby. He was on his knees with his head in his hands. As she got closer, she put a palm over her mouth.
Nikos!
Except it wasn’t the man she knew. This version of him wasn’t cognizant of the world right now. In a deep sleep, he was heaving great sobs, and fell over on his side. In the moonlight his tortured features glistened with moisture. Greek words broke from his lips. She couldn’t make out anything except Kon’s name, which he cried over and over again.
He’d been reliving the explosion. She knew about PTSD, but she’d never been with someone who was in the middle of a flashback. Without conscious thought she sank down on the sunbed next to him and put her arms around him.
“Nikos, wake up! This is just a bad dream.” She rocked him for a few minutes, but he was too immersed. At one point he grasped her arm and let out a scream that raised the hairs on the back of her neck.
“It’s all right, Nikos. It’s over. Go back to sleep.”
He twisted and turned, but held on while he sobbed on and off for another half hour. His fingers bit into her skin through the thin material of her robe, with such force she knew she’d have bruises. As terrifying as it was to see him like this, she felt a new closeness to him. His cries let her into his psyche, where he suffered. He’d seen the horrors of war, but the explosion that blew up his friend had traumatized him dramatically, and she was a vicarious witness.
Her gaze flew to Kon’s ring. The reminder of their friendship must have set him off during his sleep. While she kissed Nikos’s face, she put her leg over his to help quiet him, and murmured endearments.
Nothing seemed to help. Not at first. Then slowly, his fingers slid away and he fell quiet. Yannis would know all about this. Tomorrow Stephanie would get him alone and find out the name of Nikos’s doctor. He needed help getting through his nightmares.
She held on to him. He’d said this yacht was home to him now. Had he decided to sleep up here? If so, how often did he do that? A few days ago, when she’d explored the lower deck, she’d noticed his unmade bed. The poor darling had probably suffered these incidents since being hospitalized.
Did he have more than one episode a night? She’d read that a flashback could be triggered by something and come on at any time. While he stayed on this yacht, he could be away from people.
It made perfect sense that he didn’t want to be with family. But what if he hurt himself while up here on deck? What if he walked in his sleep and fell overboard? She’d heard the military wouldn’t take sleepwalkers because they could be a danger to themselves and others.
After a few more minutes she eased away from him and got to her feet. In his trauma, he’d flung his arm around and his elbow had caught the corner of her jaw. Both it and her arm felt sore, but it didn’t matter. She covered him with the blanket, then reached for the towel and sat down in the lounger to watch over him. It was quarter to six. Who knew how long he’d sleep?
Since her arrival, he’d been watching her like a hawk because of the baby. What an irony, since it was his welfare she would be worrying about, along with her own, from here on out! He could injure himself without realizing it. She couldn’t bear it if anything happened to him.
Before this new day was over, she planned to talk to his doctor. Nikos needed watching. One thing was certain: Stephanie wouldn’t let him go to bed without her. Wherever he chose to sleep, that’s where she’d be.
She’d sat there for another half hour when she