Chapter Eleven
APOLLO WATCHED ASTRID’S eyes widen as they walked along the streets of St George, now utterly transformed and in full swing for the island’s annual Spicemas celebrations.
Performers in elaborate costumes bustled past them towards the traditional competitions and parties that filled up most of the week ahead in the capital.
Apollo had barely relaxed since he’d collected Astrid from the spa resort half an hour before.
He’d taken one look at her wearing the dress he’d selected and felt his gut tighten with desire.
Astrid had begun to look more relaxed in shorts and tank tops running around the villa, but that was nothing compared to the sultry seductress who now walked alongside him.
Her sun-kissed skin seemed to glow under the warmth of the setting sun, and her short brown hair had been left to dry naturally in delicate waves around her face.
She wore only the barest hint of pink lipstick on her full lips, a rose-petal colour that matched the sleek spectacles she wore, as well as the perfectly polished pink tips of her fingers and toes.
The urge to call off his plans for a fun evening and simply pull her into his arms was strong, but he resisted.
Even now, seeing her obvious pleasure at watching a troupe of soca dancers perform, he spent most of the time looking at her rather than the festivities.
He’d never felt so off-balance in pursuing a woman.
He didn’t want to come all this way only for her to retreat from him once again but, to his surprise, she was already moving towards him.
The scent of vanilla, butter and honey enveloped him as Astrid’s arms moved around his neck and clung.
Hugging him… She was hugging him.
‘Thank you,’ she said simply, the barest hint of emotion in her voice as she pulled back, a little embarrassed. Not willing to allow her to feel even a second’s hesitation at her very welcome embrace, he held onto her wrists, stopping her from retreating from him fully.
‘Believe me, this is my pleasure. Look at you…you’re rejuvenated.’
‘I feel it. I didn’t even collect my phone after the spa.’
‘Good.’ She wouldn’t need it, he added mentally, not if the rest of the evening went how he planned.
Perhaps another man might have booked a private restaurant for fine dining, or even a yacht out on the bay.
But Apollo knew that, to wow someone with great food in St George, take them to a Spicemas barbecue.
The small family-run restaurant had its own private beach, the dining area being rows of picnic tables and grass umbrellas in the open air.
Almost every table was filled with local folk and tourists alike, the mood one of lightness and excitement as platters of food were served amidst the string lights and bright carnival decorations.
‘Named “Spicemas” after our reputation as the Isle of Spice, the carnival embodies the energy and vibe of Grenada. It’s the ultimate celebration of our people and culture,’ he told her.
‘I love all of this. The soca and calypso songs, the sweet steelpan music…’ She sighed.
‘I’ve travelled the world with Elite One, and I’ve always loved traditional masquerades and parades, but this is just magical.
I’m so glad that Luca has had the chance to experience this part of his family’s heritage. ’
Apollo placed his hand over hers as she remained rapt, watching the performers finish up a particularly intricate dance number on the small stage. When couples began to move onto the dance floor and join in, he didn’t hesitate to pull Astrid to her feet.
‘Oh gosh, no. I have two left feet, I—’
‘You sound so utterly buttoned up, it’s delicious unravelling you.
’ He twirled her along his arm with ease, sliding them out into the throng of dancers on the sand.
He’d removed their shoes at the table, accentuating their height difference.
She hadn’t been lying: dancing was most certainly not Astrid Lewis’s forte, to put it lightly.
He laughed as she attempted a weak shimmy to the steelpan music and was rewarded with one of her trademark glares.
But, just as quickly as she narrowed those beautiful emerald eyes, her lips widened into a grin and she shimmied with renewed vigour.
‘You’re jealous of my moves, Accardi!’ she exclaimed breathlessly into his ear, her arms flung around his shoulders as she fell against his side.
He pulled her close, pressing her chest flush against his torso as the music slowed into a more contemplative rhythm.
It wasn’t a slow set by any means, but a brief reprieve.
They swayed in one another’s arms for a long while, until the music sped up again, and he took the opportunity to guide Astrid away from the crowd towards the small pier that led out to a covered gazebo on the water.
‘As far as dates go, how am I doing?’ he asked, tipping her head back slightly to see her face.
‘I wouldn’t know,’ she said shyly. ‘This is the first one I’ve been asked on.’
‘Since Luca?’ he asked.
‘Yes…but also before.’
Her eyes shone with the reflection of hundreds of string lights around them and he knew she wasn’t lying, even as the reality of that statement punched him in the gut. He wanted to know more about her; he wanted to know everything. ‘Why?’
‘My dad was a small-time politician with lofty dreams, my mum played the role of the perfect wife alongside him. I grew up with very clear rules and expectations.’ She shrugged.
‘Casual dating was not allowed. I went off to college in London at eighteen, but somehow my first boyfriend was a guy from my home town. We used to eat noodles together in the canteen, if that counts as a date.’
‘Was it serious?’
‘I had no idea who I was or what I wanted back then. He was pushy and selfish in all aspects of our relationship… Still, I thought it was so romantic when he suggested we get engaged after only a year.’ She rolled her eyes, forcing a smile that Apollo did not return.
‘It didn’t last long,’ she continued more quietly.
‘Not once I found out it was all orchestrated by our fathers to further their political dreams. My father was so angry when I broke it off, he tried to stop me from accepting the internship I’d been offered in Elite One.
I had just turned twenty-one, and I wanted to see the world,’ she continued, smiling sadly.
‘My parents didn’t take my rebellion well.
But that was nothing compared to how they reacted when I returned six months later and told them I was eight weeks’ pregnant and had no idea who the dad was.
They urged me to consider my options, and said it would be better to end the pregnancy so that I could focus on my career.
But, once I knew I was keeping my baby, they disowned me. They’ve never even met Luca.’
‘I wish I’d found you,’ he said. ‘I hate that you endured that alone.’
Her eyes shone with emotion for a brief moment, before she turned her face away from him. ‘I wish you had too. For Luca and for you.’
‘For all of us. I would have done the right thing then, you know. I would have asked you to marry me and made us a family.’
‘You don’t need to say that. It’s in the past.’
‘No. Don’t hide from me, not here. What happened to us…it’s not something either of us caused or can change. But I need you to know that, from now on, you have me. I’m not going anywhere, Astrid.’
His control snapped and he claimed her lips in a kiss filled with all the longing and need her story had unlocked in him.
The past was done but the present was right here: she was here in his arms. She reached up on her tiptoes and kissed him back, her lips slow and explorative at first before she leaned in and forced a groan from him.
His hands roamed down her back, finding the curve of her bottom and pulling her into where he was hard and aching for her.
Apollo drew back with great effort, leaning his forehead against hers.
‘I deliberately opted to bring you here, where there were crowds, so that this wouldn’t happen… Though, I would be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about ways to seduce you back into my bed from the moment we arrived here and you laid down your gauntlet.’
‘Apollo…’
He raised her hand, pressing it against his lips, needing to show her that what they had could be more than just stolen kisses or one night of passion. They could be more. But he still wasn’t sure that wouldn’t make her run.
‘I know what I want, Astrid. I know that I can give you what you need. I can’t stop thinking about you, looking at you, wanting you…
’ He ran his hands upwards along the smooth skin of her shoulders before cupping her jaw delicately.
Another man might think of the way she looked up at him through her lashes as shyness.
But his Astrid was not shy. She was cautious, yes, and perhaps a little prim at times, but she would not shy away from him. Not here. Not tonight.
As if she heard his thoughts and was determined to prove him right, she stepped closer, pressing her ample chest against him and letting out the most delicious little sigh at the contact.
‘Perhaps giving this speech before I got you to our next destination was premature.’ He laughed. ‘This was not my plan.’
‘Plans are overrated, right?’ She smiled, her eyes filled with mischief. ‘Let’s forget the plan, Apollo. You said I should have more fun. Let’s just live in the moment.’
‘You’re sure?’ he murmured. ‘We can go home if you’re worried.’
‘And interrupt the sleepover? I’ll never hear the end of it.’ She paused for a long moment, her eyes searching his. ‘Apollo…what if I don’t want to go back yet? I want to stretch this one night out a little longer…and just be me. Just be us.’
‘One night was never going to be enough. If you haven’t figured that out by now, I think I need to try a little harder.’
And then his lips were on hers again, hard and demanding.
Her hands touched him now with abandon, her pointed little nails scraping up the back of his neck and sending ribbons of fire down along his nerve endings.
This was the Astrid from his memories, the woman who had passionately kissed him in a darkened lift and stolen part of him in the process.
Her hands roamed under his shirt, her fingertips caressing his stomach, then moving lower towards his belt.
Her breath caught as he nipped her lower lip with his teeth, capturing her hands above her head. ‘Is this not against the rules, Astrid? Trying to undress me in the dark again?’
‘I’m thoroughly enjoying being corrupted by your influence.’ She smiled wickedly.
‘You won’t enjoy us being arrested for indecent exposure.’ He raised one brow, reaching out to grab her by the hand. ‘Come on; I have somewhere I’d like to show you.’
Maybe seduction was part of the plan, he rationalised.
He’d meant to wine and dine her, to gradually lead her round to the subject of marriage.
Her revelations from her past had given him pause, but they’d helped him understand why she was so focused on avoiding mistakes and conflict.
He needed to prove to her that marriage to him would not be a mistake.
If she still thought that he simply wanted one night of passion to draw the line under their sexual history, he’d show her why walking away from him was not a possibility.