Their Marriage Reunited (17 page)

Keeping a close eye on her he drank his first pint in months and then hesitated before raising the second glass to his fallen friend before drinking that too but at a slower pace.

He took his time with the second beer and watched as Alexa moved from table to table with a friendly smile for each customer as she refilled their drinks and chatted for a few minutes to each one.

The only two that gave Cameron concern were the local drunk in the corner who demanded another drink every few minutes and grew more insulting to Alexa with each one and the table of boys who grew more daring with their attentions.

He could see the strain on her face as she gave the drunk each drink and accepted each insult without argument. But it was the boys who made the first move. It was almost closing time and Alexa was clearing their table when one of them grabbed that firm ass of hers and leered at her. His friends cheered him on and Alexa said something to them that had absolutely no effect whatsoever.

“
Poutana!”
the drunk in the corner muttered and Alexa went bright red as she sent the old man a stricken look even as she tried to remove the boy’s hand.

Cameron had seen enough and before they could do anything else he was across the bar. He spun Alexa away from the kid and twisted his arm back until he cried out in pain.

“Hey man,” one of the kid’s friends said and Cameron sent him a dark look that soon shut him up.

“I suggest you leave quietly and don’t bother coming back,” he told them and they didn’t waste another minute as they bolted for the door leaving Cameron to step back and observe Alexa.

He had thought she would be grateful for his interference but instead she was glaring at him as though he had done something unthinkable. Anyone would think he was the one who had grabbed her ass and called her names.

“Are you alright?” he asked as he followed her back to the bar and she spun round so suddenly he had to take a step back to avoid crashing in to her.

“I’m fine and I would have been fine without your help,” she hissed at him and he stared at her in fascination. She was like a spitting kitten and he couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face, which seemed to piss her off even more.

“Come on Aly don’t be like that,” he said using his childhood nickname for her and she froze.

“You remember me,” she breathed softly and he frowned at that.

“Why wouldn’t I remember you?” he asked and she blushed slightly then turned away and began clearing some glasses from the top of the bar.

“It was a long time ago,” she replied quietly and his frown deepened. Did she think him so shallow as to forget all the time he had spent on this Island?

“Seems like yesterday,” he said equally quietly and she turned stunned eyes on him. Yet he spoke only the truth. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt as happy and carefree as when he was here with her.

He might have grown up but the pressures of life had made him act in ways he wouldn’t normally have acted. He had dated women he didn’t really like simply because they were available and it was expected of him by his friends. He had drunk himself in to unconsciousness more than once though he had little recollection of any of those nights. He had simply been living rather than enjoying himself and although at first it had seemed fun he had long since grown bored of the same parties and the same women.

His stomach clenched painfully at the thought of Nikos and how pointless his death had been for both of them and how he himself could have lost his life that night.

“A lots happened since then,” she replied and he shot her a curious look though she ignored him and continued cleaning up the bar.

She had sounded so dejected when she spoke that Cameron frowned at her. Just what had happened to Alexa to make her sound like that? She was only twenty and as far as he knew she had lived on the Island her whole life. What exactly could happen on an Island that was practically paradise for some?

“Ever think of the times we had here?” he asked curiously and she gave him a soft smile that brightened her whole face.

“Nope, never,” she replied and he nearly laughed at that.

“Liar,” he murmured and she rolled her eyes.

“We’re closing Cam. You have to leave,” she informed him and with one last glance her way he did as she asked.

But if she had thought that she was rid of him then she was mistaken.

Alexa smiled to herself as she placed the two beers on a tray and took them over to Cam’s table. For the past month he had been coming in every night and it had started to feel like old times between them. He had even been helping her clear away each night. She knew she was an idiot to let him get so close to her when he would just leave again but she couldn’t resist these few moments that reminded her of fond memories from her childhood.

She put the beers before him and would have walked away but he caught her wrist and bought her back towards him with a grin that made her heart skip a beat.

“So tonight?” he murmured as he rubbed his thumb over her pulse point and she fought the shivers that wanted to spread through her body.

“Tonight?” she repeated in question and his smile deepened.

“Me and you,” he added and she frowned.

“I’m really not getting a complete sentence here,” she informed him with a raised brow and he laughed.

“I thought it was time we spent some proper time together. Like over a meal,” he suggested and she chewed her lip nervously as she glanced over at the corner where the town drunk was well on his way to passing out.

“I don’t know,” she answered uncertainly and he tugged her slightly closer.

“We used to be friends,” he murmured and she let out a pained sigh.

“Fine. After closing,” she confirmed and he finally released her and watched as she strutted back to the bar with her hips gently swaying.

“You need a hand moving him?”

Alexa glanced up from where she was finishing off cleaning up and summoned a smile for her colleague Petros as he pointed to the old drunk in the corner.

“Would you mind taking him home?” she asked and he grinned at her as he ruffled her hair.

“No problem. You shouldn’t have to drag him home again for the fourth night in a row,” he said and she summoned a faint smile.

Normally she would have refused his offer and just dragged him out to the small hut herself but tonight she didn’t want to be late to meet Cam. It was the first night he had left early and she hoped he wasn’t planning on standing her up.

She needn’t have worried for as soon as she stepped out the bar he was there waiting for her and she summoned a genuine smile as she finished locking up and followed him further in to the balmy night air.

“It’s so peaceful up here,” he said as they walked quietly side by side and glanced up at the scattering of stars and bright moon.

“Sometimes,” she murmured in response though it had been a long time since she had felt any peace on the Island and she doubted whether she ever would again.

“What happened to you?” he asked suddenly and Alexa froze mid-step as panic settled in before she could successfully hide it.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m exactly the same,” she said in what was supposed to be a breezy tone but it missed by a mile and she simply sounded weary.

“Are you?” he asked and she forced a laugh as she suddenly realised how pathetic they were. They were young and should be out having fun not walking along in misery wondering where life had already gone wrong for them.

“I guess you just never saw the real me,” she told him with a smile and they continued on but he kept shooting suspicious glances her way.

The evening was nice and Alexa found herself relaxing more than she had in ages though she still didn’t completely lose her tenseness. They shared some wine and some pasta then simply talked. They didn’t touch on any sensitive subjects but rather skirted them for more relaxed conversation. They spoke of old memories that made them laugh and long for the days of childhood.

Before they knew it dawn had approached and Alexa stared in shock as the sun began to lighten the room making her realise how long she had stayed out. Panic surged within her and she tried to hide it as she turned to Cam with a smile.

“I really should go,” she told him firmly and was unprepared for his offer to walk her home. She tried to dissuade him but he refused and she finally accepted that she was going to have to allow him to escort her back to the humble hut that was her home.

She tried to measure her pace but couldn’t help but hurry a little though she hoped that Cam didn’t notice. It was only when they reached her home that wasn’t far from the bar that she slowed to a halt and turned back to face him.

“I enjoyed tonight,” she told him and he curved an arm around her waist and pulled her closer towards his hard, warm body. Before she could say another word his dark head descended and her lips parted eagerly beneath his. Her arm twined around his neck and played with the hair at his nape as she pressed herself more firmly against him. He tugged her so close that she could feel her breasts crushed against his hard chest and she shivered as he moved his mouth from hers to trail his lips gently down her throat. A soft moan emerged from her making Alexa suddenly remember where she was and what she was doing. She pulled away abruptly and tried to put some space between them but Cam kept her within the circle of his arms though he allowed her breathing room.

“I have to see you again,” he said softly as he placed a kiss at her temple and she smiled at him.

“You see me every night at the bar,” she reminded him and Cam sighed.

“There’s something between us Aly and there always has been. I just think we need to see where this could be headed,” he suggested and she chewed nervously on her bottom lip as she glanced from her home and back to him.

“I’ll think about it,” she answered and he decided that he would have to be content with that as he gave her one last kiss then turned and left.

He didn’t see Alexa turn to gaze fearfully at her home and nor did he see her take a deep breath, straighten her shoulders and march in as though she was going in to war.

It was ten minutes later that Cam decided he wanted to see Alexa one last time before he went to sleep and so he turned right back and approached her home. His heart was light and a smile tugged at his lips as he thought of seeing her again. But as he approached the shabby hut that had seen better days he froze at the sound of a scream and smashing sounds.

Entering her home at a run he was stunned to find her cowering in the corner of the small lounge as the drunk guy from the bar lashed out at her and then struck her with a piece of glass on her arm where she had raised it to defend her face.

“
Poutana!
” he kept repeating over and over while Alexa sobbed on the floor.

Anger rushed through Cam and he saw red as he strode forward and caught the old man’s arm in a tight grip. He dragged him back from Alexa and would have knocked the old man out. But suddenly Alexa launched herself from her foetal position on the floor and grabbed Cam’s arm with a pleading expression on her face.

“Don’t,” she begged and Cam hesitated as he stared at her.

“He hurt you,” Cam told her as though that gave him every right and she turned her head away from him with her hair falling over her face in a tousled mess.

“He’s my father,” she admitted at the same time the old man tore away from Cam’s grip and began spouting abuse at both of them in Greek as he gestured wildly in Alexa’s direction.

Cam stood frozen and stunned as he looked between them and realised with a surge of fury that this was why Alexa had been acting so quiet and nervous. She was being abused by her drunken father. It made him sick to his stomach to think of her delicate flesh being bruised by her father’s fists.

“Let’s go Alexa,” he announced furiously and she turned wide eyes on him but before she could answer the old man strode forward to put himself between them.

“You will not go near my daughter,” he said in stilted English and Cam narrowed his eyes on him.

“Just leave, Cam.” Alexa said with her head bowed and Cam didn’t know what to do. There was no way he could leave her here alone with her father but he also couldn’t just force her to go with him when she refused to leave.

“Leave. My daughter should have been a pure untouched bride and now she is ruined,” her father spat at him and Cam’s eyes widened as realisation set in. He had known that some Greek fathers arranged their daughter’s marriages and it was nearly always to fellow Greeks but he hadn’t thought of Alexa in those terms. And suddenly it all made sense to him. He could save Alexa and make amends to himself with just one simple decision.

“Didn’t Alexa tell you our good news?” Cam asked and both of them stared at him suspiciously.

“What news is this daughter?” the old man asked as he swung his harsh gaze on Alexa who froze like a deer in the headlights.

“I…”

“Yes? Spit it out,” he snarled and Cam fought his rising temper.

“I had returned so we could tell you together that we intend to be married,” Cam informed him and both of them stared at him in disbelief.