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“And the people that own it. Tell me about them.”
This is not a conversation I want to be having right now, and I say with a dismissive shrug, “They are more like family.”
“Would I have heard of them?” She presses and I shake my head. “Who knows?”
I decide to change the subject and fast and smile into her eyes with the intensity of a damaged god.
It takes her breath away because her words are caught up in the moment and she gazes back at me with lustful excitement.
I pull her face to mine and taste forbidden fruit. If I have to kiss her for the entire flight to stem the flow of conversation, I will. If I must lie to protect the real reason I’m taking her there, I will. Anything but the desperate truth. I don’t want to see the light in her eyes die and pain replace desire. I hate that this is out of my control, but I hate my situation more. I am doing this for a reason, and I must never lose sight of that, so I kiss Melissa Remington and know exactly how Judas must have felt.
CHAPTER 22
MELISSA
Apollo is a strange one. One minute he’s hot and the next ice cold. There is something I’m not seeing in the picture before me. I’m aware that he wants me. His body can’t lie and yet when I think he’ll make his move, it’s one away from me.
I’m getting mixed signals and I wonder if it’s because of where we’re going. He is cagey about that which worries me. Is it dangerous? Surely not. Will we stay long? I certainly hope not. More than anything, I want to be alone with him, to see what happens when he peels off that arrogant swagger and exposes more than just his body. I want to strip away the layers of a man who intrigues me, but he won’t let me inside.
So, I must be content with kissing him for hours, stopping only to eat, drink and sleep, curled up on the couch by the window. I try to ignore the unguarded looks of the attendants as they direct pitying glances my way and I try to imagine that this is the beginning of a hot, wild adventure that will end up being the most satisfying experience of my life.
When we finally land, I stare out of the window at another private airfield in a land that is very different from the one we left behind. Blue skies and sunshine on repeat and the heat is already filling the aircraft as we wait to disembark.
I thank the crew, who nod respectfully, and as I take the stairs, I stare at the black car waiting for us on the tarmac.
“Is that here for us?” I say in surprise, and he nods, saying sharply, “Yes. It belongs to the family we’re visiting.”
“How nice of them.” I reply happily, wondering about the place we’re about to visit.
The man holding the door open is hidden behind mirrored sunglasses and doesn’t even crack a smile as he slams the door behind us.
Apollo is quiet and I expect his mind is on business and as the car tears through the light-filled streets, I say nervously, “Will we be staying long?”
He shrugs and sighs heavily. “Look, Melissa, there’s something you should know.”
There is something about his tone of voice that sends a warning to my brain, and I say nervously, “What?”
He grips my hand hard. “The island is the home of a family who are heavily guarded.”
“Guarded?” I don’t like the sound of that, and he says huskily, “You may have guessed my business isn’t your usual kind.”
“What business?” I hold my breath because I am finally getting to peer underneath the first layer of his soul.
“My family is the same as the one we are visiting. It’s built on crime, pain, and violence.”
I say nothing because he is telling me something I had already guessed, and he grips my hand a little harder.
“I won’t try to hide it, baby. The Vieris are mafia and so am I to a degree.”
Mafia. One word that creates so many emotions inside me. I’ve heard of it, of course I have, but if I’m honest, I never really expected that.
He interrupts my thoughts and hisses, “This car, the jets, and the fuck off boat we’re about to head to the island on are all paid for by rotting souls. The men I smashed up operate in the same world, and I hate to admit crushing them was easy. I am an enforcer, a hit man with a career of violence under my belt, and I fucking love my job.”
I can’t take this in as the fear twists my heart, and he turns to face me and grips my face hard and his eyes flash as he hisses, “I’m struggling though because the last thing I wanted to do was to drag you into this shit with me.”
His lips crash against mine as he grips my head hard and his kiss is brutal, not as soft as before, and yet is probably the most intense one of my life. It’s as if he is unleashing years of pent-up emotions onto me and my heart thumps and my pulse races as I sense everything changing between us.
He presses me down on the seat of the car and stares into my eyes with a desperate expression of a man losing control and says huskily, “I need you to be strong, baby. This won’t take long and remember one thing. Nothing you see or learn during this trip is because of you.”
