“GOOD MORNING, CALLA.” Kostas’s voice was light as he slid his stuff into the small locker next to hers.
“Morning, Kostas.” She couldn’t keep the grin off her face. They’d spent the last few nights at The Grotto, watching old movies and silly alien documentaries. While working, they kept things professional, but if anyone walked into the employee lounge at the moment, she bet they’d suspect the truth.
She was happy. Really happy with Kostas. He made her feel seen. Whether it was when they cooked some of the dishes she’d learned at her parents’ side or watching ridiculous documentaries, she never felt like she had to be more than who she was.
After years of agonizing over what she was wearing, how she spoke, how she held herself, it was a joy to just be herself. And made her realize how unhappy she’d been with Liam. Once she finished repaying the loan, she vowed to never think of the man again.
“How did you sleep?” His voice was low. It was a question meant to check in on her and the baby. One that he didn’t want to risk the rest of the office hearing.
She was sleeping better than she’d been before. But last night she’d tossed and turned. Not with worry, though.
No matter what time they got done at The Grotto, he walked her to the top of the trailhead, then watched until she got into the car she’d parked with the others. It was sweet, but she craved more than the kisses he left on her lips.
She wanted him in her bed. Wanted to wake up next to him. To sip coffee with him, even if hers was decaf.
“Not as well as I would have liked.”
He arched a brow. But before she added a suggestive statement, Alexa opened the locker room door.
“Dr. Drakos!” The panic in her voice was unmistakable, and Calla turned to see what was wrong, all thoughts of convincing Kostas to spend the night with her flying away.
“Adrian called. Myra is in labor. She requested a home birth, but Adrian says she’s been laboring for too long. I couldn’t get him to give me more information.”
“This is their first.” Kostas pursed his lips. “But Myra’s mother was a midwife and she helped with dozens of births. She knows what to expect.”
“I think her mother always expected she’d go into medicine, but its numbers that really make her happy,” Alexa added, looking at Calla. “Still, Adrian isn’t usually overly excitable.”
“His wife is having their first baby, but maybe we should go out. If she’s in labor, Calla and I will be there for the home delivery, anyway. I can come back to the clinic if we have any other expectant mothers needing delivery.”
Calla opened the locker and grabbed the backpack she’d dropped into it just a minute before.
The door to Myra and Adrian’s small house opened as Calla raised her hand. Myra looked exhausted and more than a little ticked as she tilted her head, shifting her gaze between Calla and Kostas. “So Adrian’s worried self got you two out here before necessary.” She cringed, grabbed her belly and breathed through the contraction.
Keeping her mouth closed, Calla monitored Myra’s breathing and took stock of the mother’s appearance. She looked tired, but that was to be expected. The contractions were clearly painful, but not debilitating. All good signs.
“You’ve been having contractions since one o’clock.” Adrian’s words carried over his wife, who grunted but either didn’t or couldn’t offer a rebuttal.
One a.m. put Myra at just over nine hours of labor. Not a terribly long time for a first-time mother. Though Myra might feel differently as the person currently experiencing the pains.
The contraction ended, and she threw her head up to the ceiling as she sucked in a long breath. “There was no need to send for anyone yet. As I’ve said repeatedly, Adrian. The contractions are still only six minutes apart. My water is intact—” The words left Myra’s lips and she immediately looked down.
Water pooled under her bare feet as she let out a curse under her breath. Her cheeks flushed as she met Calla’s gaze. “He will never stop talking about this. You know that, right?”
“I do.” Calla nodded. “But now that your water has broken, I guess it’s a good thing we are here.”
Adrian’s grin was brilliant behind his wife, but he wisely kept his mouth shut as she moved to the side to let them in.
“Contractions are six minutes apart?” Kostas asked as he stepped into the small living room.
“They are,” Myra confirmed. “I’m going to change into something less wet.” She waddled off, still not looking at her husband.
“How long do you think she’ll stay mad at me?” Adrian crossed then uncrossed his arms as he looked toward the hallway where his wife had disappeared.
Kostas stepped up beside him and dropped the midwifery bag with all their supplies. Offering Adrian a comforting smile, he shrugged. “Many women are mad at their significant others during labor. There is a reason it’s a standard storyline in comedy shows.”
“I guess. At least her snarls aren’t as deep or cutting as her mother’s.” Adrian let out a laugh before sharing a knowing glance with Kostas.
Clearly, there was a story there Calla missed as an outsider. She raised a brow, and Adrian chuckled. “Leta, my mother-in-law, doesn’t think I’m good enough for her daughter. She’s quieted down about it now, but—”
“She wouldn’t have been happy with anyone,” Myra stated as she rounded the corner.
“Maybe a prince.” Adrian grinned as his pregnant wife came to his side.
“Well, Ioannis is taken, and the rebel prince over here would have gotten an even rougher time than you. Titled or not.” Color invaded her cheeks as she looked at Kostas. “No offense, Dr. Drakos. I...”
Calla opened her mouth, looking for the right words to defend Kostas. To playfully state that the man was as far from that reputation as possible. Hell, it was her putting the brakes on the marriage he’d suggested when she’d found out she was pregnant.
But before she could say anything, Kostas waved it off. “None taken, Myra.” He offered them each a smile. It was only the twitch in his hand that let Calla know the words had landed close to his heart.
Reminded him once more that it wasn’t really him people saw, but a caricature. That, despite the years away from the island, completing med school and then returning when the island needed him, the reputation earned unfairly in his youth still clung to him.
“Do you have the water bath ready?” Calla hoped the question redirected the awkwardness of the room back to the reason they were all there.
“Yes. It’s out here.” Adrian gestured for Kostas to follow him while Calla waited with Myra.
Another contraction started and she breathed through it then started pacing. “I know my mother wasn’t thrilled that I married Adrian. Thought that he was beneath me since I got my master’s degree and he’s a carpenter.” She rubbed her lower back as she walked from one side of the small living room to the other.
Calla didn’t interrupt. She’d heard all sorts of tales since she’d started her career. Something about labor brought out the chattiness in some of her patients. Maybe it was wanting to drop old baggage as new life entered the world. Or perhaps it just passed the time while mothers worked through the long hours it typically took to bring forth new life.
“But he makes me laugh. And he makes the most beautiful furniture.” She sucked in a deep breath.
A tear slipped down her cheek. “I can’t explain it. Maybe on the outside we don’t look like we should click. A mathematician and a carpenter, but he’s my person. It’s just that simple. Adrian is my person. Does that sound ridiculous?”
Kostas stuck his head back in the room. “Everything still okay in here? We’re filling the water bath. In a few minutes, if you want to sit in it, it might give you a bit of relief.”
His eyes flicked just briefly to Calla and her heart swelled with emotion. Her person. Maybe it really was as simple and as uncomplicated as that. Adrian was Myra’s match...and Kostas was hers.
“No, that doesn’t sound ridiculous,” Calla murmured, but Myra was bent over in the throes of another contraction.
“Sorry, what did you say?” Myra wiped the back of her hand across her forehead as the contraction ended. That one was not six minutes apart.
“Nothing.” Calla grinned.
“Are you okay?” Calla’s voice startled him in the quiet dark of their walk back to the clinic. A clinic staffer had picked up all their gear and taken their dirty scrubs while they’d waited with Myra and Adrian for the local pediatrician to check in on the newborn.
It had been a long but wonderful day...mostly.
“Of course.” The words carried through the night, and he wished he felt he could hold her hand. The last two weeks, they’d made time for each other like they’d promised. But it was always at The Grotto, or in the quiet times when they were the only ones at the clinic.
The times when he knew for sure they were alone. It was the right choice, but he envied others. Other couples walked home together, arms linked, head on shoulders. No worries about it making headlines. Just able to enjoy the moments together without realizing what a special gift that actually was.
As if she’d read his mind, Calla reached for him. The pressure of her touch sent calmness floating through him. Then concern as he tracked the empty pathway in front of them.
He squeezed her palm and pulled away. Until she was ready to move into the safety of the palace, until he could fully protect her, he wouldn’t risk anything.
“Adrian and Myra’s baby is adorable.” Her whisper carried in the evening air.
“She is. And Adrian will never let her forget we were there just as her water broke.”
“And Myra will not let him forget that she didn’t deliver for another six hours.” Calla laughed.
The sound sent a thrill through him. He could hear the brilliant smile attached to it. A happy Calla, a safe Calla, was the most important thing to him. He’d had a realization today, though. He understood Adrian’s panic.
Understood why the man had gone against his partner’s wishes to ensure she and their child were safe. Despite all the evidence before him, they were fine.
For years, Kostas had watched nervous partners pace the halls, worry running through their features. Even when labor was progressing normally, the partner not delivering the child carried an anxiety through the entire process. Kostas hadn’t planned on having children...but he’d always prided himself that he knew too much to worry over nothing.
Pride... He mentally scoffed at how little he’d really known. Heck, if Calla would let him ensconce her in the palace for the next several months so he could ensure nothing bad happened to her, he’d order it done tonight.
Six months ago, he’d have assured himself that he knew too much about delivery, understood the risks that needed worry and those that were just part of the process to be concerned if he ever found a life partner.
Now he’d side with Adrian. Rationally, he knew Myra was right. They hadn’t needed to call for a midwife for at least another two hours. But the idea of Calla in pain, walking the halls for hours, cringing in agony, sent shudders through his soul.
The clinic came into view and he slowed his pace, not yet wanting to say goodbye.
“Why don’t you come to my place? We can make dinner...a very late dinner.” Calla bumped his hip with hers.
The refusal hung on his tongue. There were hundreds of reasons to say no. To protect Calla and their child. If anyone saw him at her place...
Before he could say anything, she offered, “I need dinner despite the late hour. You’re hungry too. I heard your stomach growl. Besides, it’s nearly midnight. No one will see you, and you can sneak out early before anyone else is awake.
“Don’t say no.” She grabbed his hands and pulled him to the path up to her apartment. “Come home with me, Kostas.”
He wanted to hesitate—to think through everything. But his feet seemed to have a mind of their own.
“You aren’t the rebel, Kostas.” Calla squeezed his hand as they walked together. “I know that you worry about what happens when people learn about us. You aren’t the stereotype. Myra was joking.”
“She was.” His voice sounded hoarse. He wanted to blame the late hour but...
“But the words still hurt.” Calla pulled the key to her apartment out of her bag with her free hand.
He wished he could say they didn’t. Wished that after all these years, it didn’t bother him. That he’d developed an impenetrable skin. “She didn’t mean anything by them.”
The door to her apartment swung open and Kostas inhaled and let the worries pass him by. “And tonight, or what’s left of it, I just want to enjoy my time with you.”
Kostas dropped a kiss on her lips. She leaned into him, her body molding to his. This was his happy place.
“Calla...” He wanted to take her to bed. To lift her in his arms, carry her to her room, then spend the night lost in her arms. But they needed sustenance.
The clinic wasn’t open on Sunday, so they had the day off. Assuming no mothers went into labor. He had all night. And he’d make sure he was gone before the rest of the world was awake.
“I have leftovers in the fridge.” She kissed his cheek. “Leftovers that we can enjoy cold, so we can go to bed.” The heat in her eyes burned him.
“Sorry, I forgot the other kitchen chair was broken. I meant to tell the landlord, but since it’s only me...” She shrugged as she hopped off the kitchen counter and grabbed his empty plate.
“I think you like sitting on the counter.” Kostas slid behind her at the sink, wrapping his arms around her waist as she ran the warm water over the dishes.
He dropped his lips to the base of her neck and barely contained a moan of need as her butt rubbed into him. The month of distance, the weeks of pent-up need barreled through him as her body moved against him. But he would not rush this.
Calla turned in his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Kostas...”
He drew circles with his fingers lightly on her back as her head tilted up to his. Her lips beckoned and he skimmed his mouth along her jaw, grazing her skin before finally claiming her lips.
She sighed and opened her mouth. His hands slipped to her waist and he pulled her tightly to him as their tongues danced. His senses were nearly overwhelmed as heat consumed him.
Calla pulled back, running her hand along his jaw. “Come to bed?”
“Lead the way.”
Her eyes lit up and she grabbed his hand. The apartment was small, and he was grateful that it took only seconds to work their way to her bedroom. He flicked on the bedside light. After weeks apart, he wanted to see her.
Needed to see her reactions to his touch.
She pulled his shirt over his head, dropping it to the floor. Her fingers trailed along his skin and his body ached for her.
“Calla.” Her name sounded like a prayer as it escaped his lips. “Sweetheart.” He cupped her cheeks with his hands, dropping a light kiss to her lips before slipping his fingers under her light shirt.
He sighed as her shirt dropped to the ground, then grinned as he saw the ponytail holder looping through her buttonhole.
“I know it looks silly—” Calla shrugged “—but it works.”
Laying his hand on her lower belly, he kissed her again. “You’re perfect.” He captured her mouth once more before she could argue with him. She was perfect to him, and he wanted her to hear that so much that she never doubted it.
His fingers unwrapped the makeshift waist extender, and he pushed the pants down her hips. He unclipped her bra and smiled as he rubbed a thumb over one nipple then the other.
She rocked her hips toward him. “My breasts are sensitive.”
“You’ll tell me if it’s too much, promise?” Kostas trailed kisses along the top of her breasts, his body screaming for him to claim her.
“I meant...” Her eyes dilated with pleasure as she looked at him. “I meant I want you to touch me.” Her hand grabbed his, guiding him back to her breasts, showing him exactly how she wanted him to love her.
It was erotic, and he loved ceding to her wishes. However Calla wanted pleasure, he’d give it to her! He circled her nipples with his fingers, watching the need play across her face.
Lowering his head, he suckled each of her nipples then carefully guided her to the bed. Her skin felt velvety under his fingers as he lowered her to the mattress. He quickly stripped off the final pieces of his clothing and lay next to her on the bed, pulling her into his arms.
Her backside rubbed against him, and he nipped at the nape of her neck. “I want you, Calla. So badly. But I won’t rush this.”
Leaning her head back, she kissed him. Her hand stroked his thigh, desperately close to his manhood, and desire nearly overwhelmed him.
Feathering stokes down her body, he touched her heat, loving the moan echoing in the room as he pressed her bud. Wrapping his other arm under her, he grazed his thumb across her nipples, matching the motion of each hand. It was a delicate dance to bring Calla pleasure, and as she arched against him, he trailed his tongue down her beautiful body.
Her hips moved on their own against his fingers. “Kostas...” Her voice cracked as her body shuddered.
There was nothing he’d ever enjoyed more than hearing his name on her lips as he brought her to orgasm.
“Kostas, I need you.” Her heady plea hung in the air as she brought her mouth to his. She seized him as she rolled on top of him.
“All of you.” Her eyes glittered as she held him with her hands.
Kostas barely fought off the urge to drive into her as she slowly lowered her body on his. “Calla!”
“Does it feel good?” She feathered kisses across his jaw as she rose nearly off him again.
“Yes...” he breathed as she started the slow motion again, her eyes watching his every move. He hissed as she rose once more before fully taking him...again.
“Calla...now. Please.”
As soon as the words left his lips, she eased the rest of the way down. He gripped her waist as she rocked them both into oblivion then collapsed against him.
“Nice to know I can make you beg too.” Her words were light as she lay on him.
Kostas wrapped his arms around her. “Never doubt that I want you, sweetheart. So much.”
The alarm he’d set buzzed and Kostas stretched, enjoying the warmth of Calla next to him. He tapped the icon on his phone, glad that he’d remembered to put it under his pillow so he wouldn’t wake her.
He glared at the still dark window. He didn’t want to head out. It was a simple realization with so much power behind it.
He’d suggested marriage when he’d learned she was pregnant. It was the most pragmatic way to protect her. A job he swore he’d do better than his father.
They enjoyed each other’s company. There was passion between them. That was more of a connection than so many royal couples experienced. Despite the modern era, arranged marriages in the aristocracy and wealthy classes were much more common than anyone wanted to admit. It wasn’t confined to the waste bin of history; it just wasn’t talked about.
Kostas had figured that he and Calla would make a good match. But it was more than that. He wanted her next to him every night. He ran a hand along her hip before draping it over her belly. There was a slight bump there. One no one would notice but that hinted at how their life was going to change.
A smile spread on his face as he ran a thumb along where the child rested. Or maybe danced while their parents rested. Soon, Calla would know, and in a few months, Kostas would feel it too.
Kostas couldn’t wait.
He kissed her cheek and she rolled into his arms, leaning her head against his shoulder. Kostas looked at the clock: just after four in the morning. He needed to leave soon, but he could hold her for a few more minutes.