Modern Romance May 2020 Books 5-8

Sasha felt cold. ‘This marriage never had a chance.’

Apollo faltered for a moment when he thought of that first night he’d met Sasha. How easily she’d caught him with her fresh-faced beauty. How novel it had been to meet someone unjaded. Open. Joyful. But it hadn’t been real. He forced the memory out. ‘No.’

Sasha looked bewildered. ‘Why did you agree to marry me at all? Why did you believe me?’

Feeling almost defensive now, he said, ‘You had a note from a doctor confirming the pregnancy. And I consulted my legal team. We came to the conclusion that once you agreed to sign a pre-nuptial agreement, marrying you would offer me the best chance of custody and securing my child’s future. There was a clause to say that if anything happened to the pregnancy or if the baby proved not to be mine after a DNA test, you would get nothing. Obviously you’d decided that the risk of marriage was worth it, even though you weren’t pregnant. Hence your attempts to try and seduce me once we were married. Attempts that didn’t work.’

Sasha winced at that. ‘Why did you bring me back here after the accident? Why not just kick me out of your life for good now that you can?’

Why not indeed? mocked a little voice in Apollo’s head. He could have done exactly that. He could have taken advantage of her amnesia to get her to sign the divorce papers and set her up in an apartment in Athens with a small allowance and a nurse to attend to her needs until the divorce was through.

But no matter how much he’d hated her for what she’d done, the way she’d looked after the accident—so pale and defenceless on that hospital bed—it had caught at him. And then she’d woken up and looked at him and it had been as if the previous months had fallen away and all he could remember was that night they’d met.

Her memory loss had only complicated things further. Changing her. Reminding him of that first impression she’d made. Re-igniting his desire.

He said now, ‘I’m not letting you go anywhere until we sign the divorce papers. I don’t trust that you won’t do something to exploit the power you have as my wife.’

He went on, ‘I don’t know why you took the car on the day you disappeared or where you went to...and until you regain your memory and you can tell me, you won’t be going anywhere. For all I know, you took your wedding rings off because you have a lover, perhaps someone you were hoping to turn to because I hadn’t fallen under your spell.’

A memory of that kiss last night blasted into Apollo’s head, mocking him. He was under her spell again whether he liked it or not.

Sasha held up the sheaf of papers. She was pale. They were trembling lightly in her hand and that evidence of her emotions caught at him, making him feel an urge to protect her. He rejected it.

She said, ‘So why don’t we just sign the papers now and be done with it?’

To his disgust, his immediate emotion wasn’t one of relief that she was showing a willingness to put all this behind them and get out of his life. It was something much more ambiguous and disturbing. Reluctance to let her go.

He said, ‘It’s the weekend, my offices won’t be open. And next Monday is a national holiday. In any case I’ve made plans to go and inspect the site on Krisakis. We will stick to this arrangement and sign the papers when we return to Athens in a week. We’ll be out of each other’s lives within a month. And perhaps Krisakis will help jog your memory.’

Sasha felt winded. ‘Once we sign the papers, it can happen that quickly?’ The thought of never seeing Apollo again made her feel panicky. She told herself it was because he was the only familiar thing in her life, not because he’d come to mean anything to her. Clearly there had been little love lost between them.

Apollo’s mouth firmed. ‘Yes, it can happen that quickly. But obviously if your memory still hasn’t returned by then, I’ll make sure you’re set up in a situation and place that feels secure and safe for you.’

Sasha wanted to curl inwards. The thought of Apollo pitying her enough to have to keep an eye on her after their marriage was over was a whole new level of humiliation.

‘I’m sure that won’t be necessary, but thank you.’

CHAPTER SIX

A COUPLE OF hours later, Apollo’s words still reverberated in Sasha’s head.

‘I’ll make sure you’re set up in a situation and place that feels secure and safe for you.’

The perks of a rich man. Able to dissolve marriages and set up inconvenient ex-wives with a minimum of fuss.

The fact that the imminent dissolution of a marriage she’d apparently engineered into being through lies and deceit wasn’t filling her with a sense of relief, only brought about more confusion.

She could remember being stunned by Apollo’s interest in her when they’d first met. Intimidated but excited too. How had she gone from that to wanting to deceive him so heinously?

With a sigh, she let the landscape beneath her distract her from circling thoughts that were going nowhere and not helping.

They were in a helicopter, flying over the Aegean, and she looked down in awe at boats and islands that looked like toys beneath them.

When she’d seen the sleek black machine at the private airfield, she’d balked. Apollo had looked at her. ‘You flew in this when I took you to the island the first time. You loved it.’

‘Did I? Sasha had asked doubtfully. For the whole journey, in spite of her tortured thoughts and the beauty below them, her heart had been in her throat. And even more now as they started descending over an island and the helicopter tipped perilously to the left.

This must be Krisakis. Sasha forced down the fluttering panic and took in the rocky coastline where pockets of brightly coloured flowers flourished along the cliffs. The sea lapped against rocks and then they rounded a headland and an empty white sand beach appeared, like something on a postcard.

Sasha could see steps cut into the rocks, leading up to lush grounds and then up further to a white modern building—a series of buildings laid out like interconnecting cubes. Sunlight glinted off acres of glass. An infinity pool with sun loungers had never looked so inviting.

Apollo was saying into her headset, ‘This is the villa, the first thing I built here. The island was hit by an earthquake about half a century ago, leaving only a small population behind. With the development I’m building on the other side of the island, it’s becoming a thriving community again. People who were born here but who had to leave have returned to live out their last days, bringing their sons and daughters with them to make new lives.’

Sasha couldn’t help thinking it was ironic for a man who’d professed little interest in having a family to be invested in bringing them together like this.

The helicopter was landing now on a helipad a little distance from the villa. When the pilot had touched down, Apollo got out. He opened Sasha’s door and helped her out. Her legs felt like rubber and Apollo’s hand tightened on hers. ‘Okay?’

She locked her knees to stop them wobbling. ‘Yes, fine.’ She took her hand back.

Apollo stepped aside to talk to the pilot for a moment and then once the bags were unloaded he led her over to a safe spot while the helicopter lifted back up into the air before tilting to the right and heading off into the azure-blue sky.

Sasha put the sun hat she’d carried on her head, glad of Kara’s thoughtfulness. Which was even more thoughtful now considering what she’d put them through. Sasha heard a faint sound and turned around to see what looked like a golf cart bouncing across the grounds towards them.

Apollo waved at the person driving who waved back enthusiastically. He said, ‘That’s Spiro—he’s the son of my housekeeper here, helping out before he goes back to college.’

The young man jumped out when he’d come to a stop beside him, a big grin directed at Apollo as he took the bags, stowing them in the back.

Sasha couldn’t help smiling at his cheerful effervescence but when he looked at her his smile faltered. Sasha’s insides plummeted. Not again. Had she been rude to him too? The young man’s eyes grew round and he said something to Apollo, who said something sharp back.

He held out his hand. ‘Kyria Vasilis, nice to meet you again.’

Sasha forced a smile and took his hand, mentally apologising for whatever she’d done.

By the time they reached the stunning villa, she was preparing herself for the same reaction as she’d got from Kara and Rhea when she’d returned to the villa in Athens. Sure enough, Spiro’s mother, Olympia, looked wary but kindly. Maybe Sasha hadn’t behaved too badly on the island. After all, it didn’t seem as if there was much in the way of distraction.

Apollo said something to his housekeeper and then turned to Sasha. ‘Olympia will show you around, and take you to your room. I’ll join you after I’ve made a couple of calls.’

Sasha took in the bright white spaces and minimalist furnishings as she followed the matronly woman through the villa. It oozed modernity and serenity. A contrast to the more traditional villa in Athens. Sasha liked it. She liked the starkness. The lack of fussiness. Its simplicity soothed some of her ragged edges.

Olympia led her down a long corridor and opened a door, standing back. She smiled. ‘Your room, Kyria Vasilis.’

Sasha tried not to be self-conscious about the fact that she obviously had a separate room here too. She forced a polite smile, which promptly slid off her face as she walked into the vast room. Actually, it was a suite of rooms. They flowed into each other, no doors between them.

There was a vast bed with a four-poster frame and muslin drapes pulled back. The bathroom had two types of shower, one outdoor and one indoor, and a bath that was more like a private lap pool.

There was a dressing room and then a lounge, with its own soft comfy couch and media centre, with TV and a sound system. Perhaps, Sasha thought with an edge of hysteria, he was going to lock her in here, and keep her prisoner.

But then Olympia was signalling for her attention and Sasha followed her to the huge windows that were actually sliding doors leading outside to a private terrace, with sunbed and umbrella.

Olympia said in halting English, ‘We will unpack your things while you take tea on the terrace. Follow me, please.’

Sasha smiled, silently trying to communicate her apologies for however she’d behaved before. Olympia led her back through the villa to the main living area again and out to a shaded terrace where a table was laid out with fruit and small cakes and pastries. Tea and coffee were in two pots, or there was sparkling water.

Everything was hushed and very exclusive. Sasha poured herself some tea and could feel herself loosening in spite of herself, as if she couldn’t not, against this breath-taking backdrop. All she could see in the distance was the blue of the sparkling Aegean and the hazy outline of other islands on the horizon.

She didn’t think she’d ever been anywhere so deeply peaceful. But apparently she had been here before, so why wasn’t there even a tiny piece of recognition? Sasha fought off the feeling of frustration. She had to trust that her memory would come back to her sooner or later. It had to. And yet...with that assertion came a little shiver of foreboding.

Apollo stood in the shadows for a moment, watching Sasha where she sat on the terrace. She was wearing pale blue culottes and the white sleeveless shirt tied at the waist. She consistently seemed to choose the very opposite of what she would have gone for before.

He’d never imagined a woman in this place. There was something about the peace and tranquillity of this island that had always soothed a raw part of him and it had felt too personal to share, apart from with the islanders, of course.

He’d never brought a lover here, and he hadn’t counted Sasha as a lover when he’d brought her here nearly three months ago. It had been a strategic decision.

But much as he hated to admit it, this time was very different from that first visit. She looked good here now. As if she belonged. In spite of that pale colouring. Her hair was down and it blew gently in the breeze, the rose-gold strands wavy and untamed. He could almost see her freckles from here. Freckles she’d always seemed obsessed with covering up, apart from that first couple of nights they’d met. He could still remember being fascinated by them on her naked body, the little clusters in secret spots. She’d been embarrassed...until he’d distracted her.

Heat gathered in his groin, making his muscles tight. Hard. He cursed. It was as if she’d had a personality change. He’d seen a film once about a man who had been ruthless and uncaring and who’d lost his memory in a shooting, and how, afterwards, his whole personality had changed.

Could it be something like that? Sasha looked troubled now, as if she was thinking the same thing as he was. He couldn’t imagine what it must be like to know...nothing of yourself. A curious small ache formed in Apollo’s chest. For a moment, he felt a sense of...pity? Concern?

She looked at him then, as if sensing him, and Apollo shoved down the fleeting moment of whatever it was. It wasn’t welcome. He came out onto the terrace, shades hiding his eyes from the sun. And her.

‘How do you like the villa?’ he asked, sitting down.

Sasha sat up. ‘It’s beautiful, stunning. I feel like I’ve never seen anything like it, but apparently I have. And this island...it’s so...’

Apollo took a sip of coffee, ‘Boring?’ he supplied.

She shook her head, looking away. ‘No, not at all, it’s so peaceful.’ Apollo went still, looking at her suspiciously. Her voice was husky, as if she was genuinely moved.

She glanced at him then, her mouth taut. ‘Don’t tell me, I didn’t like it the first time around?’

He shook his head, almost feeling slightly guilty now. ‘No. You looked around and asked when we were leaving. You stayed one night.’

‘Why did you bring me here the first time?’

Apollo’s conscience pricked. He ignored it. ‘I thought it would be somewhere you’d enjoy relaxing.’

‘You mean, somewhere you could hide me away? Your inconvenient wife?’

Sasha stood up suddenly, shocked at how incensed she was. ‘What about now? Is this where you’re planning on hiding me away until the divorce comes through?’

She went to walk off the terrace, her sense of peace shattered, but Apollo stood up and caught her hand. Electricity sizzled up her arm, and she bit her lip against the sensation.

‘No.’ And then, grudgingly, ‘Maybe, the first time. I wasn’t really thinking. I was still in shock that you were pregnant and how that was going to affect my life.’

Sasha looked at him, forgetting for a moment that she hadn’t been pregnant. ‘What about my life?’

She flushed and pulled her hand free, walking a few feet away. This was all so messed up.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Apollo run a hand through his hair. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘we’re here for a few days. I’ve got some business to attend to with the resort they’re building and I’ve been invited to an opening of another resort on Santorini, not far from here, later this week. You’re still recuperating, so take this time to rest and it might help your memory.’

Sasha looked at Apollo. She couldn’t see his eyes behind his shades. Just the hard line of his jaw. That decadent mouth. The width of his shoulders and the breadth of his chest. Her heart beat faster. ‘You’re not leaving me here, then?’

Apollo’s jaw clenched as if her words had affected him. ‘I’m not a gaoler, Sasha. When we leave here, we’ll sign divorce papers and we’ll be able to move on with our lives.’

‘Move on with our lives.’

Whether her memory was back or not. Suddenly the thought of going back into a world she couldn’t remember was beyond intimidating. At that moment she’d never felt so alone.

Sasha looked vulnerable to Apollo, with a tiny frown between her eyes. Pale face. Very slight and slender. Yet he could remember the innate strength of her body as she’d taken him in so deeply he’d seen stars. The press of her breasts against his chest, nipples like bullets.

He took a deep breath, fought for control. He heard himself saying the words before he’d really articulated them to himself. ‘I told you, Sasha, I’ll make sure you’re in a safe and secure environment. You won’t be expected to navigate a world you don’t remember if your memory hasn’t yet returned.’

Something flashed in her eyes, an emotion Apollo couldn’t decipher. ‘Thank you. I appreciate that...after everything...’

She looked away from Apollo and gestured with a hand. ‘This is paradise. Thank you for bringing me here.’

Her expression had turned indecipherable. Her voice and tone as if she were a guest. For a moment Apollo had to battle the urge to take her arms and force her to look at him, force her to reveal the emotion she’d just hidden from him.

Disgust at himself made him say something curt about checking work emails and he strode off the terrace, every cell in his body crying out for another taste of the woman who had torn his life asunder.

During the days following their arrival on Krisakis, Sasha found that with the peace and tranquillity she was finally feeling totally recuperated. And also it gave her mind time to settle too, and absorb all the revelations. The fake pregnancy, the divorce. Her behaviour.

Questions kept niggling at her—what had happened between them when she’d met Apollo and had then pretended to be pregnant? Why would she have done such a thing?

She still couldn’t remember sleeping with Apollo. But she suspected she was remembering in her dreams, which were becoming more and more vivid and erotic. Last night she’d dreamt of him again.

They’d both been naked and he’d been kneeling between her legs, pushing them apart. She’d felt gauche, self-conscious, but all of that had dissolved in a pool of electric heat when he’d lowered his head and pressed kisses up the inside of one thigh.

She’d been shaking, trembling with need. Body dewed with a fine sheen of perspiration. And then he’d hooked her legs over his shoulders and he’d put his mouth to her right there, at the centre of her being. His tongue and mouth had done such things to her—she blushed in the late afternoon heat just thinking about how his tongue had felt, thrusting inside her.

She’d woken up, her nightshirt clinging to her damp body, heart racing, inner muscles clamping around a phantom erection. Mortified, she’d dived into the shower in a bid to bring herself back to reality.

She took a deep shuddering breath and forced her mind away from disturbing dreams. She didn’t know what was worse—inhabiting her body in the dream or watching herself making love to Apollo from a distance. Both were equally disturbing.

She liked this time of the day best, late in the afternoon, when the intense heat of the sun had died down and it was more bearable. She’d found books on the well-stocked shelves of the informal living room and was reading a very unchallenging thriller. What did they call them? A cosy mystery? It was perfect for her exhausted and frayed brain.

She woke late most days, and wondered if she’d always had a habit of sleeping in. She was too scared to ask Apollo when he appeared every evening for their dinners on the terrace for fear of what he’d say.

He’d been gone every day from early, much like he had in Athens—presumably tending to business on the other side of the island.

They were both careful to stick to neutral topics at dinner, but Sasha couldn’t ignore the growing pull she felt towards him. The throbbing undercurrent of electricity that sprang to life as soon as he came near her.

As if on cue, the small hairs stood up on the back of her neck and she heard a movement and looked around to see Apollo walking out to where she sat on a sun lounger near the pool, under an umbrella.

She was glad of the light covering of a kaftan over her swimsuit—the only one she seemed to own—as her body reacted to seeing him. And the memory of that dream. His clothes didn’t help to calm her pulse. He was wearing board shorts and a polo shirt that showcased the bulging biceps of his arms and the hard pectorals of his chest. She saw dark hair curling just above the top open button.

As he came closer she said quickly, ‘I’m wearing sunscreen. Factor fifty.’

Was that the slightest twitch at the corner of his mouth? He sat down on the lounger beside her and Olympia appeared with a tray holding two tall glasses of homemade iced lemonade.

He smiled at Olympia. ‘Efharisto.’

The woman smiled back, looking ridiculously pleased with herself. Sasha couldn’t blame her.

Sasha watched as his Adam’s apple moved up and down as he took a gulp of the drink. Even that movement was sexy. She took such a quick gulp of her own drink to calm her ragged nerves that she coughed and spluttered. Immediately he was beside her, a hand on her back. ‘Are you okay?’

Eyes watering, Sasha could only gasp and try to breathe but all she was aware of was his hand on her back and the tight musculature of his dark naked thigh near hers.

When she could, she got out, ‘I’m fine...fine.’

Thankfully he moved back to his lounger. He’d pushed his glasses up on his head and Sasha spotted something in his hair. Feeling shy, she pointed to his head. He ruffled his hair, dislodging fine dust. He grimaced. ‘I need to take a shower, it’s dust from the site.’

‘Are you actually working on the site, too?’

‘Just a little here and there. I like to be hands on.’

That only made Sasha think of how it had felt to have his hands on her thighs, pushing them apart, in the dream. Without even thinking about what she was saying, she asked, ‘Could I come and see it?’

He lifted his brows in surprise. ‘You want to see a construction site?’

She felt self-conscious now. ‘If it’s not too much trouble?’

His expression was bemused. ‘Sure, if you want. I can take you with me over the next couple of days.’

Sasha smiled tentatively. ‘I’d like to, as long as I won’t be in your way.’

For a second something shimmered between them, a lightness. Then Apollo stood up. ‘I’m going to go for a swim. Cool off.’

He downed the rest of his drink and put his glass down. Before he left he said, ‘I’ll see you at dinner? Unless you want to join me for a swim. I’m going to go down to the sea.’

The thought of swimming in the sea was immediately appealing but then something occurred to Sasha. ‘I don’t even know if I can swim.’

‘Have you been in the water yet?

She shook her head. It had looked inviting but something had held her back. A wariness.

Apollo waited a beat and then he said, ‘Okay, wait here, I’ll be back in a minute.’

Sasha wasn’t sure what he meant by that but it was apparent when he returned in a few minutes, carrying a towel and wearing nothing but short swim shorts. She stopped breathing. They were moulded to his hips and thighs. Their black colour only made his skin seem even darker. He was six feet plus of hard, honed male, not an ounce of spare flesh. He threw the towel down on the lounger and held out a hand.

Sasha averted her gaze from acres of honed olive-skinned flesh and looked at his hand suspiciously. ‘What’s going on?’

‘We’re going to see if you can swim.’

Suddenly reluctant, she said, ‘I don’t know if I want to know.’

‘We’ll go into the pool at the shallow end. You won’t drown, I promise.’

Reluctantly, she stood up and lifted up the kaftan, very aware of the flesh-coloured swimsuit underneath. She avoided Apollo’s eye, self-conscious and more nervous than she liked to admit.

He was still holding out his hand and after a moment’s hesitation she took it, feeling his long fingers close around hers. His touch immediately soothed the nerves that had sprung from nowhere.