to feel fresh air on her body.
Standing in his office , Nikias watched her leave, seeing how she fled, her eyes full of panic. He frowned gently, feeling once again the need for her made more acute by the fact that she had not tied up her hair, and it still hung around her body giving her a sensual look, which caused the blood in his veins to boil so alarmingly. God she was good, he thought, even her hard-to-get innocent act was better than any other he had come across, and he knew that she was trouble with a capital T. However, lifting up the phone he quickly barked out commands in Greek before moving out of the room to find her.
He spotted her moving down the path towards the beach and with a grin he knew that she was still searching for a way off the island, admiring her perseverance in spite of himself, as he quickly caught up with her. Moving as quickly as she was able down the uneven path, Diona heard him calling her name, stopping in her tracks as she looked back, watching intently as he strode towards her. “Will you promise to give up trying to escape?”, he asked, his eyes holding hers. “Absolutely not”, she threw back defiantly, with such determination that he looked heavenwards, muttering something she could not understand, in Greek. “In that case I will have to make sure that you don’t get yourself into any trouble”, he finally said, his expression grim as she glared back at him.
“Do you ride Diona?”, he asked more softly, as she frowned at him in surprise. “A little”, she replied, her voice confused as he placed a hand on her back, instantly causing sensations to travel up and down her body, as he directed her to a path to the side of where she was currently walking. “Then at least let me show you the island, and prove that there is no way off”
With that he led her to an area which opened up into a stable block, where a man already stood with two horses saddled and ready to go. Offering her a hat, which she took and secured on her head, he moved over to talk to the man holding the beautiful animals. Taking the largest, a black thorough-bred stallion, he swung easily onto the animal, sitting so well, controlling the magnificent beast. Shaking her head in thanks at the offer of help, Diona placed her foot into the stirrup of the smaller mare, a magnificent chestnut, quickly pulling herself into the saddle, as she fixed the stirrup to the right length.
“So you ride”, he stated with approval. “Not for years”, she responded, despite herself feeling a sense of exhilaration at once more being on the back of such a wonderful animal. “Daryle and I used to ride before my mother...” Diona stopped, looking away for a moment as he looked at her in surprise, seeing the way her face became suddenly so sad before she once more regained her composure looking at him with her chin raised defiantly. “I can manage”, her tone more in control. With a smile he then led her down towards the beach.
They spent the morning riding around the beautiful lush island. Nikias proved to be an excellent guide as he pointed out different points of interest to her, and she found herself enjoying his company, laughing with him as he seemed to relax in her presence, making small jokes and laughing back at hers. As they galloped across one of the beaches, she held her breath at how perfectly he controlled the large animal which fought so hard to go faster while he kept it level with her. She quickly found everything she learnt as a child came rushing back to her, and she smiled back at him with real joy on her face. She enjoyed the feel of the graceful animal under her and the wind whipping her hair which fell down her back, blowing it around her shoulders as she laughed happily, forgetting for a time why she was there.
At lunchtime they were met on one of the beaches by a young woman holding the hand of a small girl. The two talked to Nikias, who had lithely