She’d never been more aware of the disparity in their sizes. Everywhere he was broad she was narrow, slender. He was tall, she was short. He was hard, she was soft.
His hands were on her shoulders. He tugged her gently but inexorably towards him. He tipped up her chin and bent his head, hovering mere centimetres from her mouth for a second. Then he said, ‘Do you want this, Sasha?’
There was a tiny flicker of something in her brain at the way he said her name. Like something not fitting quite right. Like when she’d had that curious sense earlier that she hadn’t actually chosen her own clothes. But it was too elusive to try and analyse or pin down.
Apollo was asking her permission to make love to her, when he didn’t even have to. She’d answered him in the pool earlier that day. Her answer was in every cell of her body, in the rush of blood and liquid heat between her legs.
She nodded jerkily. ‘Yes, I want this.’ She put her hands on his chest, the heat of his skin nearly burning her hands through the thin material of his shirt.
His mouth touched hers and Sasha melted. One arm wrapped around her back and his other hand speared through her hair, cupping her head and holding it as he plundered and demolished any last coherent thought with his mouth and tongue.
He swept inside and explored with devastating precision. It was all Sasha could do to accept him and mimic his movements. He’d told her he wouldn’t let her drown earlier in the pool, but she was drowning now, her arms and hands climbing around his neck, arching her body against his in a bid to get even closer.
This felt familiar.
New, but familiar.
She was barely aware of him undoing the zip at the back of the dress, and then peeling the straps of her dress down over her arms. The top of the dress fell down to her waist. He pulled back and looked at her and she could feel her nipples tighten under his gaze. The design of the dress had precluded her wearing a bra. She brought her arms up and crossed them over her chest, suddenly feeling embarrassed.
He stepped forward and pulled them apart. ‘No, agapi mou, let me see you.’
There was a husky tone in his voice that made her feel less self-conscious. Feeling shy now, more than embarrassed, she said, ‘I want to see you too.’
Apollo put down his hands and looked at her. Presenting himself. She reached for his buttons, undoing them one by one, little by little revealing that broad impressive chest with its smattering of dark curly hair.
When it was open he shrugged his shirt off and it fell to the floor. With efficient movements, he undid his belt, opened his trousers and pulled them down and off, taking his underwear with them.
He stood before her, naked. Sasha’s eyes widened as she took in the sight of him. How could she have forgotten this? He was erect, long and thick. The head was glistening with moisture.
‘If you keep looking at me like that, this will be over before we’ve even started.’
Sasha looked up, mortified. There was an echo of a memory now, feeling the same way, gauche. Inexperienced. Out of her depth. But before she could focus on it, Apollo was taking her by the hand again and leading her to the bed.
He sat down on the edge and pulled her in front of him. He slowly pulled the dress down over her hips, leaving her standing before him in just sk
impy lace underwear.
He spanned her waist with his hands and tugged her forward, pressing kisses against her exposed skin, mouth and tongue finding a nipple and sucking it into his mouth. Sasha gasped and clutched his head, losing all sense of reason and sanity at that delicious tugging sensation.
Her legs finally gave way and he caught her, placing her back on the bed, coming over her on two hands. His eyes were glittering.
He claimed her mouth again in a kiss that felt almost desperate. It resonated inside Sasha and she matched him, stroke for stroke, reaching for him.
Apollo’s hands were on her breasts, cupping them, thumbs stroking her sensitive nipples. Tension pulled tight low inside her. She felt empty, hollow. She needed him to obliterate those disturbing dreams. To replace them with reality. To finish what they’d started earlier, exactly as he’d promised.
Ever since she’d woken in the hospital with nothing but blankness in her brain, she’d felt rudderless. Here in Apollo’s arms, his mouth fused with hers, she felt anchored again.
Safe.
He pulled back and Sasha realised how fast her heart was beating.
His mouth trailed across her jaw and down to her neck. She was panting. And her breaths got even faster when his hands expertly dispensed with her underwear.
His torso lay against her belly. Her thighs were spread wide to accommodate his body. His mouth lingered on her breast, teasing. She let out a little moan of distress and he looked up at her. ‘Patience, little flame, patience...’
He dipped down lower, spreading her legs even further apart and he just looked at her there. A moment ago she’d been breathing like she’d run a marathon and now she couldn’t breathe at all.
When Apollo put his mouth on the centre of her body she nearly wept.