Chapter 13: Thirteen

He did a marvellous job with Mrs. Yiannopoulos’ house. Melina didn’t call or knock, she just let herself in and the first thing she noticed was that he had turned the two small rooms into an enormous living room, making the space less cramped and comfortable. Henry also decorated the place with a modern beach touch and a few tapestries and crafts from local people. Very thoughtful of him.

With each step she gave, her heart back flipped. She wanted to know the reason this man messed so much with her feelings. Why did she feel so drawn to him? She never forgot the boy who she talked to back then, but he wasn’t a boy. She talked to a man, and she loved him, but her heart still felt deceived and it was raw in her chest, not to say two years later, he had her parents’ murderer on his shoulders, and that was a blow she never got over. Who would, though?

Melina found him by the kitchen, his back to the door, and busy on the stove. She took the moment to observe him. He was a foot taller than her, with wide shoulders molded by his fitting t-shirt and narrow hips. Flashes of her nails raking those muscles came to her mind unbidden, and she blinked them away. A nice butt framed by those jeans. She remembered feeling them under her palm, flexing them while pounding into her as she cried in ecstasy.

Gosh, now she felt hot, just like that night. His hair was shaggy and unkempt, barely touching his neck, and in her heart she wanted to touch them again, feel their softness while those eyes regarded her with such adoration. Their night together was a blur in the beginning, but with time the fog lifted and the entire episode got clearer in her mind.

“Are you done ogling me, Melina?” He acknowledged her presence the minute she came inside as her perfume advanced throughout the house. “Would you like some tea?” He offered, and his tone was much colder than he intended as he turned to her.

“No, thanks.” The chamomile scent hit her nostrils, and she was already sweltering enough to add the warmth of tea to it. She gave him a funny stare. “You don’t look ‘the tea’ type!” His mundane attitude surprised her.

“It’s a habit I picked up with a dear friend of mine.” He shrugged, not even bothering to look at her, and walked to the table.

“A woman friend?” The question slipped from her lips, and she didn’t have the time to refrain from it. Jealousy hitting her square in the chest. Why would she feel jealous of him? He meant nothing to her. She felt mortified and averted her gaze. She sensed when his eyes narrowed on her.

“Why? Does it bother you?” She could swear she heard amusement in his voice, and also he had a complacent smile behind that mug, but his eyes were cold staring at her.

He sat at the table, leaning back in the chair, and sipping at his tea, studying Melina. She was by the door as if she got scared to be in the same room as him, not that he could blame her, and by the end of their conversation he was sure she would hate his guts. She was freshly showered, her hair falling in waves to her shoulders. He missed the long hair. The strands would fall in curls to the middle of her back, giving her a princess look.

She had crossed her arms under her breasts, squeezing them up, and he couldn’t help himself but to stare at them. They were bigger than he remembered. He caught the awareness in her when she realised where his eyes were dancing and lowered her arms to her side. Her top didn’t help either, snuggling to her curves, and her flared hips were hidden underneath a floaty skirt.

He had to rely on all the discipline he gathered throughout the years not to give into temptation and march to her, sweeping her into his arms and striding with Melina kicking and screaming to his bedroom. His body was ablaze and his cock demanding to get buried in her tight sheath. He needed to disperse those lewd thoughts and focus on more urgent matters.

“You should have woken me up that day and given me the chance to explain myself. You just assumed everything, the worst of me, and left me there. After that day, I tried to give you some space, that was the reason I didn’t approach you, but something bad came up…”

“What? Kidnapping of another stupid girl? Or the killings of families?” As soon as she closed her mouth, Henry rose from his seat, the chair crashing back and the table turned upside down to the force in which was pushed, sending the mug flying to the floor, and he was on top of her the next second, she didn’t have time to run or scream.

He grabbed her by the waist and gripped Melina by the cheeks until her lips puckered, making her meet his eyes. “You don’t know the first thing about me. You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. I’ve never hurt your parents!” The turmoil of emotions in those chocolatey eyes as they widened at his words had him falter for a second. Since they met, he has devoted his life to protect her. She wasn’t aware of that, but every time they met, couldn’t she realise he treated her with care and respect?

Gosh, it would be so easy to give into his body demands, and ravage her mouth until those plump lips get swollen and red from his kisses, to lose himself in the sweet taste of her and forget about everything around him. She was mere inches from him and already in his arms, looking at him with lust. He let go of her when her eyes watered and fear flooded them, turning away from her.

“You don’t know the first thing about me either, Henry.” Melina whispered to him, holding to her strength to keep her tears in check.

It felt right, his name on her lips, but he couldn’t even enjoy it as the situation didn’t allow it, because from his own, the only thing that came out was a bitter laugh. “Keep telling yourself that, kitty cat.” Giving a furious scratch on his scalp, messing even more his hair, he shook his head and walked to the living room. “I sent you a text a few weeks later where I told you I wanted to see you again. I had explained that a serious problem came up and I couldn’t reach you for some time, but what did you do? You disappeared from the face of Earth!”

“I felt so frightened and lonely, I just did what I thought was best for the little life growing inside me. You’ve done despicable things, Henry. I was just a young girl out of college. And you? My stalker!”

“If you had waited for me, if you had told me about the baby, maybe you wouldn’t have gone through all the suffering alone, maybe nothing would have happened and Evangeline would have a normal life today,” he hissed at her, facing Melina and daring her to say otherwise.

Melina’s world crumbled when once more he accused her of causing Eve’s problems. She closed her eyes, taking her hand to her suddenly sour stomach. She wasn’t collapsing in front of him. That wasn’t an option. She wouldn’t give him this pleasure. He was staring at her when she snapped her eyes open.

“Eve has a normal life!” she screamed at him. “It’s so easy to put the blame for our mistakes on someone else’s shoulders, isn’t it?” she said, dripping with sarcasm. “Have you ever thought that maybe everything happened because of you? That I woke up in bed with a stranger to realise he was my kidnapper and stalker? To the one who had smashed my dreams, heart, family and life?” His expression blanched as she spoke and he set his lips in a hard line, but that wasn’t enough to shut her up.

“Melina, measure your words, so you won’t regret them later.” It was his only warning.

“I got the news I was pregnant the same week I received your text. The only thing in my mind was to disappear, to get my baby as far away from you. It was such a fragile life and didn’t deserve a cold-hearted murderer as a father. It didn’t deserve the burden of her mother’s wrong choices, but the stress of moving away, the loneliness even though I had good friends around me.” She sighed, rage building up. *‘The guilt she felt for taking the baby away from him,’* she added, but he didn’t need to know that. “Sent my blood pressure through the roof and I went into labour by the 25th week of my pregnancy! You did that to me!” Melina charged against him, hands into fists, delivering punches on his chest.