“Oh.”
Sasha wrapped a towel around herself then went into the bedroom. She sat on the bed and began towelling off her hair. Thomas took the armchair opposite.
“Hard conversation?” Sasha said.
He shook his head. “You have no idea.”
Seeing Thomas sad and vulnerable made Sasha’s heart ache for him. But that wasn’t something she was supposed to feel. It was an emotion she couldn’t reconcile with the sexually liberated woman she was attempting to be. Sex, not affection, that was the new Sasha, wasn’t it?
“She’s agreed to go to rehab,” he said. “As long as we don’t press charges.”
Sasha nodded. “That’s okay.”
“It is?”
She shrugged. “She’s your sister. You love her and have to do what’s best for her.”
Thomas shook his head. “You haven’t been online yet today, have you?”
“No, I haven’t,” Sasha said. “And I don’t intend to. Thomas, I don’t care what people are saying about me. About us. None of it matters.”
“She ruined your life.”
Sasha smiled and picked her towel between her fingers. “My life doesn’t feel that ruined to be honest with you. I get to be here, in this beautiful house, on this beautiful island. I get to fly in private jets and model for magazines and eat lobster and drink mojitos. And I get to fuck you.”
Thomas’s eyebrows drew together. “Is that all that matters to you now? What about your job?”
“What about it?”
“When I met you all you cared about was working.”
“That was before I realized what it felt like to orgasm three times in a row,” Sasha quipped.
But Thomas wasn’t smiling. A moment passed as he looked at her stony face. “I shouldn’t have brought you here,” he said finally.
The abrupt change in the course of the conversation made Sasha’s mouth dropped open. “What?”
“You’re changing. You’ve lost sight of who you are.”
“No,” Sasha contested. “I’m becoming who I was all along. The person I denied myself.”
“You really think that?”
Sasha couldn’t believe how condescending he was being. “I know that, Thomas.”
Thomas sighed and shook his head. “I shouldn’t have done this to you.”
Anger rose through Sasha. “Then why the fuck did you? Because you want sex on tap? Because you knew I just can’t say no?”
Thomas narrowed his eyes with disdain. “Wow. You really don’t think much of me.”
“You haven’t give me much reason to feel differently.”
Thomas ran his hands through his hair. “Sasha, I brought you here because I want you...”
“...For sex,” she interrupted, crying out.
“For more than just sex!” he shouted back.
Silence fell around them. Thomas’s face was red with passion. Sasha panted.
“I want to forgive you,” Thomas said. “Because I want to be with you. Actually with you. For companionship. Friendship. A relationship. Not just for a PR stunt.”
Sasha exhaled her anger. “You can have me,” she whispered. “You always could. The only person holding you back is you.”
Thomas gazed into her eyes. “I know that. It’s just… with what happened with Crystal, with all the women in my life, I’m finding it hard to trust people. My own sister showed my scars to the world.” His face screwed up with anguish. “That’s why I immediately thought the worst when I saw you with that man. Crystal, the media, the way people use you up and spit you out, it’s made me paranoid.”
Sasha felt a twinge of guilt. He wasn’t paranoid to think there was tension between her and Chris. There had been a kiss. But it was meaningless, hardly even reciprocated. Thomas was opening up to her, the last thing she needed to do was confirm all his fears.
“You need to take a leap of faith,” Sasha said. “Or you’ll be stuck in that place forever.”
Thomas stood and paced over to the bed. “You’re beautiful, you know.” Then he kissed her, softly, tenderly.
“What are you doing, Thomas?” she gasped.
“Taking a leap of faith.”
He kept his gaze fixed on her as he reached across and slid his hand through her towel. Her skin was still moist from the shower and she could tell Thomas was turned on by the sensation of her wet breast in his hand. He peeled back the towel like he was opening a gift and swallowed as his eyes took in the sight of her body.
He moved away from the bed and unbuttoned his shirt. He pulled it down over his shoulders, exposing the scarred flesh beneath. Sasha knew not to react to his scars but to keep her eyes locked on his.