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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.
She followed him over to the steps that led down into the infinity pool. He tugged her along gently and she stepped in, the water a cold shock against her sun-heated skin.
He led her down until the water reached the tops of her thighs.
‘Take my hands, keep coming.’
Sasha looked at Apollo. She took a breath and put her hands in his. He kept pulling her in until the water lapped up around her chest. She sucked in a breath.
‘Now, come onto your front and just let me pull you along.’
Sasha shook her head, suddenly scared. ‘I’ll sink.’
‘You won’t. I’ll be holding you. Your body is buoyant in the water. Trust me.’
