Rising swiftly, she went to phone for help when a groan emanated from Alexei. Quick as a flash, she rushed back to his side. He was sitting up, clutching his head.
'Alexei? Are you all right?'
'Billie?' He focused on her with clear difficulty, a dazed aspect to his eyes. 'What happened?'
'You tripped and fell.'
Alexei levered himself upright, brushing down his clothes, and even though he was swaying he began walking back in a wavering line towards the main house.
'You should lie down for a minute.' She hurried ahead of him to open the door he was heading for and rested her hand on his arm before he could pass her. 'Let me call the doctor.'
'The doctor? What are you talking about?' Alexei c
ountered flatly, frowning down at her restraining hand. 'I don't need a doctor.'
'You knocked yourself unconscious for a couple of minutes and it's always advisable to consult a doctor in those circumstances,' Billie pointed out anxiously, withdrawing her hand after the look he had given her. Only minutes ago he might have been sharing a bed with her, but her gesture had clearly struck him as too familiar by far. 'A head-scan might be a good idea as well.'
'Stop fussing, Billie. I'm not in the mood.' Alexei raked the black hair back off his face in a gesture of exasperation. 'My hair's damp and I'm not wearing any socks. I must have gone for a swim. That'll teach me to drink—I don't remember and I might have drowned myself.'
Billie frowned and looked down at her bare feet. He thought he had gone swimming? He didn't remember. 'What's the last thing you recall?'
'Talking to Marina after the funeral,' he breathed tautly. 'I don't want to think about all that right now.'
'I know, but the fact that you can't remember everything means there's something wrong. You're confused,' Billie stated tightly.
'Don't be ridiculous,' Alexei derided. 'I'm not a child and I'm not confused either. I had a few drinks too many and now I'm paying the price for it. No offence intended, Billie, but right now I'd prefer my own company.'
A painful flush washed her heart-shaped face as if he had slapped her. That colour slowly waned to leave her pale as she looked steadily back at him. There was nothing there in his lean, hard-boned visage: no tenderness, intimacy, or even awareness that anything might be lacking. He had forgotten her as easily as one forgot a bad dream or something trivial. And, on a Drakos male's terms, a fleeting sexual episode was of the utmost triviality.
'Goodnight,' she said shakily. 'But I still think you ought to see a doctor.'
Already halfway across the salon, Alexei was no longer listening. For several minutes, Billie simply stood there, barefoot and naked but for a thin wrap. For the space of that time she couldn't believe that he had forgotten her and walked away with no intention of coming back. She imagined following him into his bedroom, telling him that he had made love to her, but what use would that be if he could not even recall the incident? Wouldn't she look pathetic? As if she was chasing after him?
But wasn't it downright dangerous that he was refusing to seek medical attention? He had hit his head hard enough to lose consciousness, however briefly. Obviously he had sustained an injury. It had been early evening when she saw him talking to his great-aunt, Lady Marina. He was suffering from a loss of memory but evidently convinced that, rather than amnesia caused by a head injury, an alcoholic blackout was at fault. Was it all right to leave him alone to go to bed? Anxiety fingered down her taut spine.
Billie knocked on Alexei's bedroom door. She was about to repeat the action when it flew open.
'What?' Alexei demanded curtly.
'Are you sure you're okay? No headache? Nausea? Dizziness?' she prompted.
'Go back to bed and stop fussing round me like a mother hen!' he urged with unhidden impatience.
Tears stinging her eyes at that label, which was about as far removed from sexy or desirable as could be, Billie did as she was told. Tomorrow morning though she would ring the village doctor and tell him about Alexei's fall.
Her bedding carried his scent and she buried her nose in a pillow and cried. Was it ridiculous to wonder if his forgetfulness regarding that crucial few hours could be subconsciously deliberate? Maybe he had forgotten about going to bed with her because he didn't want to remember that it had happened. And maybe fate was giving her a second chance, for what he didn't recall she didn't have to worry about. Now she could just go on as if nothing had happened, with the added comfort of not having to fret about what he thought of her for sleeping with him in the first place. Her job was safe.
But no matter how hard Billie worked at putting a positive spin on his inability to recall their short-lived intimacy, she failed to find solace in the fact. And the fear that he might have suffered a more serious injury than he was willing to consider destroyed her ability to sleep. So great was Billie's concern on that score that she phoned the village doctor as soon as the surgery opened and Dr Melas agreed to come up to the villa and check Alexei out…