And for that to happen she needed to regain her memory. The sooner that happened and she reverted to her duplicitous nature, the sooner Apollo could get on with his life and forget she’d ever existed.
What he needed to do now was provide every opportunity to nudge her memory in the right direction.
Sasha was trying to avoid looking at Apollo across the breakfast table on the outdoor terrace. She was still raw after that kiss and gritty-eyed after a mostly sleepless night, broken by disturbing dreams she was afraid to analyse.
The impulse to look, though, was too strong and she glanced his way to see him lifting a small coffee
cup to his mouth, his gaze on the paper in his hand. To her intense irritation he looked as if nothing had happened last night. He was as cool and fresh as if he’d enjoyed the sleep of a baby.
He was clean-shaven and the memory of his stubble against her jaw made heat rise up through her body. For a breathless panicky moment she wondered if she’d, in fact, dreamt that kiss, but then he put his paper down and looked at her and the jolt of electricity that went straight to her solar plexus told her that kiss at least hadn’t been a dream. It was of little comfort.
‘We’re going to go to Krisakis for a few days.’
She forced her brain to function. ‘Kris—Where?’
‘It’s the island I own. It’s part of the Cyclades chain of islands. Santorini, Naxos, Paros...’
She’d forgotten that he owned an island.
‘I’m constructing an eco-resort and I need to check progress and meet with some of the designers.’
‘Have I been there before?’
He nodded. ‘I took you there when we first came to Greece.’
Sasha tried to conjure up an image of what the island might be like but her mind stubbornly refused to provide anything.
Right at that moment, after the dreams she’d had last night, she relished the thought of a change of scenery. ‘When do we leave?’
Apollo looked at his watch. ‘In an hour. I’ve instructed Kara to pack some things for you.’
She felt prickly. ‘I can pack my own bag.’
Apollo shrugged. ‘As you wish. I need to make some calls before we go.’ He got up and walked out of the room and Sasha’s breath got stuck in her throat as she watched him go. He was wearing a polo shirt and faded jeans that lovingly hugged his buttocks and thighs.
Rhea bustled into the room and Sasha looked away quickly, mortified to have been caught ogling her husband, but also when she recalled what Apollo had told her about the party she’d hosted.
Taking drugs.
Her conscience wouldn’t let her say nothing, though, and she caught Rhea’s hand before she could clear the plates. The woman looked at her warily. Sasha said, ‘I’m so sorry, Rhea...for what happened. For disrespecting you and this house.’
The older woman’s expression softened. She patted Sasha’s hand awkwardly. ‘Is okay, Kyria Vasilis. Don’t worry.’
She cleared the plates efficiently and left the room. Sasha still felt humiliated but a little lighter.
She stood up to leave the table and on an impulse walked down through the gardens. In spite of the sun, tentacles of those disturbing dreams from last night lingered, making her shiver a little.
The dreams had been shockingly erotic. She’d been on a bed, making love to Apollo. Their naked bodies entwined in the most intimate way possible. He’d held one of her hands over her head, capturing it, and his head had moved down, over her body, his mouth fastening over one nipple, feasting on her tender flesh. She could still feel it now, the delicious pulling, dragging sensation that had gone all the way down to between her legs where he’d pushed them apart with his thigh, opening her up to his body...
But then, abruptly, Sasha had realised that she was no longer in the body on the bed; she was standing apart, looking at him making love to another woman. Not her. But then the woman’s face had been revealed and she’d smiled mockingly at Sasha and Sasha had realised that it was her. But it wasn’t her.
She’d been separated from them by a glass wall. Able to see everything but not feel it. The woman on the bed was an imposter, pretending to be her. And Apollo didn’t realise. She’d watched helplessly as he’d moved his powerful body between the woman’s legs, how she’d opened up for him, and then the moment when he’d thrust deep inside.
The woman’s legs were wrapped around Apollo’s waist and the whole time she’d looked at Sasha and then her mocking smile had turned to nightmarish laughter and that’s when Sasha had woken, sweating and trembling from the force of it, filled with a feeling of doom and betrayal so acrid that she’d felt nauseous.
Sasha shook her head to try and dislodge the images and that horrible feeling of betrayal. But it had felt so real. And it couldn’t be, obviously.
She went back inside, but on her way to the bedroom she passed by her office. She could hear the deep tones of Apollo’s voice through his own office door.