Tethered To Your Heart

Chapter-6

"Can you see that island? that's Kafalonia. That's where we are going to stay. " Damien said enthusiastically. Tension between them had evaporated between them and Rosalia could not believe her eyes as she looked down from the chopper. " It's so beautiful! Do you come here often?" "I have not come here in a while." Damien smiled as he looked at the sweet face beside him. God knows how much he missed her , how many times he hallucinated her smiling face. After everything he has finally decided to bury the hatchet between them and forget about her previous marriage as he was happy to do so himself. They were dropped off the coast and now they have to ride the boat to get to his island. Rosalia looked around the beautiful cobalt blue ocean. The sunlight made her caramel blonde hair into a flaming gold and the wind blew a few tendrils in her eyes. Damien brushed it away and tucked them behind her ears. He never really liked the short hairstyles before but Rose's is perfect soft wavy shoulder length hair which highlights her long neck, he took a deep breath to bury his desire to kiss her at the nape of her neck , at the moment she looked so ethereal like a modern day mermaid.

"You look miles away, What are you thinking?" he asked. Rose smiled to herself, so many thoughts are running wild in her mind like how many mistresses he had brought to this island? and did he miss her at all as she had missed him? If he ever loved her a little maybe he would have fought for her and searched for her whereabouts but he didn't and he never loved her. He wanted her, yes but Love? No so she shrugged and asked the safe and casual one she wanted to know. " Is it this island where you wanted to bring me three years ago ?" His expression told her that she took him by surprise with that question. She was about to divert the question but he answered with a single nod and looked away. "Come with me and we can do all the Q\A sessions later, I am starving already." He took her hand in his and led her towards their awaiting ride. Maybe this was her last chance to find the answers to all her unanswered questions over the years she had tried to forget about.

They were greeted by a sweet middle aged woman named Gretchen, she takes care of everything and Lia felt her kindness radiating from her smile as she led her towards her bedroom.
"Damien asked me to prepare this room for you, you can find everything you might need and please don't hesitate to call me if you need anything else. I will bring something to eat on the lounge downstairs."
The ocean view is spectacular and the song of the waves are so soothing that she kept her eyes closed and faced the ocean breeze. It was the most peaceful moment she had felt in a while. Maybe this trip can restore the old Rosalia she had kept hidden in the past years. She quickly took a shower and changed into an overlarge white t-shirt and biker shorts. The t-shirt was perfect for hiding the black and white lace beneath it.
Her feet shod in the light embroidered slippers she'd discovered by the bed, Lia went out to the sun-baked porch. The heat of the day was now ebbing. A great stained glass dome of rich jewelled colours formalised a shaded seating area that was furnished with sumptuous sofas and a marble table already set with fine porcelain and crystal. Offered a drink by Gretchen , she opted for fruit juice and curled up on an opulent cushioned couch to catch up with the book she had begun reading on her flight. 'What are you reading about?' Black hair still spiky from the shower, Damien was strolling towards her in tailored cream chinos and an open-necked striped shirt.
'The year of Magical thinking' by Joan Didion. it's a pulitzer prize winner Biography I started reading during our flight.”   She  saw  his  face  relax,  his mouth  soften  into  a  slow,  happy  smile,  that  she  even  began  to comprehend  how  much  he had that magnetic effect on her. And  then  she wondered  why  he  looked  so  pleased  when  their relationship is nothing like before.  He took a seat next to her and took a gulp of water from the bottle placed on the table. "What is the book about?” he asked her calmly as he slowly took a sip of his coffee. "Since when did you get interested in literature as I remember you used to get mad at me whenever I was  reading a book."  "Rose, you used to start neglecting me because you'd get so engrossed in the books. You forget about everything around you when you read any book. But I never suggested that I hated literature my grandfather was quite a big writer himself and I have read all of his books." Rosalia marveled at the way his eyes lit up when he mentioned about his grandfather. "Okay, fine I'll try to be more attentive while reading." She took a bite of the sandwiches served to her and continued "You were raised by your grandparents most of the time right?" She asked curiously. He gave a nod and spoke with a hint of sadness. "My parents were not very ideal parents one can share the roof with, my mother died when I was six and my dad married again to his old friend's younger sister. Later when my dad got cancer his wife left him for a Young Corporate Banker. " Suddenly Rosalia could not help but sympathize with Damien because she had a wonderful childhood and an Ideal family. "So my dad sent me to live with my grandparents. "
"What about your sister? You never mentioned her."  Lia asked uncertainly.  "Penelope lives with her mother and stepfather in the States.
She's a fashion columnist."
Rosalia pictured a young woman with golden tan and chiselled features like her brother.
"This book is actually quite sad how the author copes after her husband's death and her daughter's illness. I am almost finished with it." Damien frowned upon her choice of book. "Are you trying to cope with something too My sweet Rose?" He asked with tenderness that Rosalia could not help but answer truthfully.  "Not exactly I mean,but when my brother died, my mom had a emotional breakdown and bedridden and I felt lost because even though I was having a hard time with his death I had to be strong for Mom and Dad so..." Tears welled in her when she remembered that horrible day when the news came about her brother. Her mother was completely devastated and her Dad seemed utterly lost and grief stricken. "My sweet Rose you're  so brave and courageous." He pulled her in his arms as she closed her eyes to take a moment to recover herself.
She could hear his heart beating faster His  head  was  bent  towards  hers.  'I  want you to kiss  me,'  he  said,  the direct  demand  almost  snatching  Lia's breath away.
e.  'Only  one kiss,'  she  breathed.  All  knowledge  was  useful,  she  assured  herself wildly.  'And  it  has  to  be  chaste,'  she  added. 'Of  course,'  he  agreed,  his  gaze  once  more  concentrated  on  her mouth  as  his  face  hovered  above  hers. And  the  kiss was  really  quite  chaste,  only  a  seductive  little  graduation  of pressures  which  she  could  respond  to  without  any  heartburn.  Very pleasant.  Definitely  sensitive. Lia wasn't  quite  sure  when  his  mouth  started  to  move  more hungrily  over  hers.  Things  just  seemed  to  escalate  after  the  caressing fingers  moved  their  attention  from  the  nape  of  her  neck  and  worked their  way  up  through  the  thick  mass  of  curls  to  support  her  head. And  he  was  terribly  good  at  what  he  was  doing,  his  tongue  flicking tantalising  little  caresses  over  the  inner  tissues  of  her  lips...  intensely sensual...  exciting...  tempting...  It  was  only  natural  to  respond.... Somehow,  without  actually  meaning  to,  Rosalia lost  control  of  the depth  of  experimentation.  The  explosive  sensation  of  his  tongue  in her  mouth  caused  a  stream  of  fiery  sweetness  to  race  through  her veins.  She  ceased  to  think,  only  feeling,  and  her  own  response  was as  violently  needful  as  his  possessive  invasion.  Lia  forgot  where she  was,  what  she  was  supposed  to  be  doing,  and  who  was  arousing her  to  such  wild  heights  of  urgent  passion.  Any  space  between  them was  crushed  out  of  existence  as  their  bodies  instinctively  sought their  own  satisfaction,  the  softness  of  her  flesh  revelling  in  the hardness  of  his,  both  making  small  shifts,  adjustments, pushing  the  addictive  excitement  of  more  and  more  intimate  contact as  far  as  the  barrier  of  clothes  allowed. And  it  wasn't  just  one  kiss,  although  where  one  ended  and  the  next began  was  not  easy  to  define.  Rather  it  was  one  long,  mad continuity  of  whetting  an  increasingly  greedy  appetite  for  generating more  intense  nuances  of  sensation.  Any  idea  of  self-  censorship  had whirled  off  into  Never-Never  land  and  become  hopelessly  lost among  swimming  senses  and  clamouring  needs. Rosalia actually  made a  bereft  cry  of  protest  when  Damien  pushed  himself  away  from  her. Her  eyes  flew  open,  and  it  came  as  a  somewhat  sobering  shock  to  recognise  the  man  who  was  shaking  his  head  as  if  trying  to  force himself  out  of  a  daze. 'Dear  heaven!'  she  gasped. 'Hell!'  he  groaned.
And  Lia burned  with  the  embarrassed  remembrance  of  just  how aroused  he  had  been.  And  probably  still  was.  In  fact,  it  was  just  as well  his  hands  were  gripping  her  shoulders  so  hard  or  she  might have  melted  on  to  the  floor  herself.  There  seemed  to  be  no  solid substance  left  inside  her  at  all,  and  whatever  there  was  still  quivered with  electric  sensitivity. 'Wow!'  she  breathed,  incredulity  spreading  another  sort  of  glaze through  her  mind. His  eyes  glittered  into  sharp  focus,  but  his  voice  was  still  decidedly ragged  as  he  attempted  to  mitigate  what  had  happened  between them.  'I  didn't  mean  to  do  that,  Rose.  Not  all  of  it,  anyway.'
'I  didn't  exactly  plan  it  myself,'  she  said  in  acknowledgement.
'Right!'  He  nodded  jerkily.  "Just...one  of  those  experiences.  I'm  glad I  had  it.  I  dare  say...it  happens  all  the  time...with  you.  I missed you Rose."
"Me too" she whispered softly.
He gave her a smile of sweet satisfaction. He pulled her closer again "Will you promise to start a new beginning with me? I want to try again and leave our past behind us."
Lia was surprised at his sudden change of heart. She had missed him terribly and the failure of their relationship wasn't entirely his fault either,it was a series of misunderstandings and bad timing before she could do any damage control. "Okay, Damien I promise."
He hugged her tight and planted a kiss on her forehead.
"Finish your breakfast I want to show you something." He said as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
She  had  the  sense  of  embarking  on  a  marvellous  secret  game. They walked behind the Villa hand in hand. Perhaps  it  was  the  element  of  danger  that  made  it  all  so  heady. Whatever...  Lia felt  intensely  alive.  Her  hand  rested  on  Damien's  bare forearm  and  the  soft  hairs  on  his  skin  made  her  skin  prickle  with excitement  at  the  thought  of  being  closer  to  him. He  played  the  guide  with  consummate  ease:  taking  her  through  the cherry-blossom  walkway,  pointing  out  the  wisteria  umbrella  tree, telling  her  the  histories  of  some  of  the  camellia  trees—planted  to commemorate  various  family  anniversaries.  Eventually  they  arrived at  a  high  hedge  and   Damien led  her  to  a  door  in  the  centre  of  it.

"This  was  my  mother's  secret  garden,'  he  explained,  unlocking  the door  and  ushering  Lia  into  the  private  enclosure. "It's inspired by the Kim Sooja Rainbow Room Crystal palace in Madrid, my mother was Spanish and my father was Italian with distant Greek relations this land is a family heirloom."
Down  the  centre  of  the  long  rectangle  surrounded  by  the  hedge  was a  formally  constructed  pond.  Bordering  it  on  either  side  were  row upon  row  of  standard  roses,  all  in  shades  of  pink.  At  the  end  was  a lovely  white  gazebo  over  which  trailed  climbing  roses,  echoing  the pink  once  again.  As  Rosalia stepped  forward,  utterly  entranced  by  the scene  in  front  of  her,  she  saw  a  flash  of  gold  in  the  water.  She moved  closer  to  watch  the  magical  splendour  of  tropical  fish  darting through  the  pond  in  their  brilliant  array  of  colours. Delight  illuminated  her  face  as  she  swung  around  to Damien,  who  had paused  to  close  the  door  behind  them.  'What  a  wonderful  idea!'  she cried.  'What  a  marvellous  retreat  from  the  world!'
'Yes.  Completely  private,My mother first met with my father in that Crystal palace in Madrid, my father built it for her when they got married." He  said  quietly,  a  look  of  supreme satisfaction  on  his  face  as  he  strolled  towards  her. His  intention  was  crystal-clear  to  Lia,  and  she-had  no  wish  to postpone  the  moment  she  had  been  waiting  for  all  afternoon. Excitement  enlivened  her  nerve-ends  as  he  slid  his  arms  around  her waist.  He  held  her  in  a  loose  embrace,  his  desire  kept  deliberately  in check  while  his  eyes  held  hers  in  seductive  challenge. Lia  was  not  about  to  back  down...  or  away.  Her  hands  slithered  up over  the  powerful  muscles  of  his  chest.  It  felt  good.  It  felt  right. 'Do  you  like  it  here?'  His  voice  was  husky,  as  if  her  touch  had strained  his  breathing. Lia  didn't  know  whether  he  meant  being  in  the  garden  or  being  in his  arms.  'Yes,'  she  said. He  nestled  her  closer.  His  cheek  brushed  softly  across  her  temples. A long,  warm  sigh  whispered  through  the  unruly  ringlets  of  her  hair.