I’m still processingthatthought when he leans forward. “If you’re not comfortable—”
My body overrides my still-spinning-out mind. I grab his tie and tug him down, lifting my face to meet his. To his credit, his surprise doesn’t last long. He slips his free hand along my jaw to cup my head. At first, it’s barely a kiss. His lips brush mine, perfectly polite and barely worth noting. Except it’sApolloand he’skissingme.
His grip tightens ever so slightly on my thigh and a shaky exhale ghosts against my lips. For a moment, I think that’s it. He’s kissed me. Everyone watching has seen it. We’ve accomplished what we set out to do.
But it doesn’t stop there.
He only pulls away enough to adjust his angle and then his mouth reclaims mine. I don’t intend to open for him…I don’t think. Everything is a little hazy, my brain misfiring becauseApollo is kissing me. And then his tongue slides against mine and I can’t think of anything at all. He keeps it light, teasing kisses that make my head spin and my body pulse, but nothing so deep that I’m swept away.
I should have known. Apollo is focused and intentional about every single thing he does. Of course he’d bring both those traits to a kiss—to more. I try to keep my thoughts in order, but I’m swept away as he releases my thigh long enough to grip my chair and tug me an inch closer. It plasters us together from knee to hip and I shiver. We’re fully clothed and sitting in the middle of a crowded restaurant, but I’m having trouble remembering why I can’t climb onto his lap.
Just when I’m about to forget myself entirely, he finally lifts his head, breaking the kiss gently. I actually start to lean forward before reality slams into me.
This is pretend. We were putting on a show. Even if it wasn’t, I would rather fling myself into oncoming traffic than give all these assholes even more to gossip about.
A deeply satisfied smile pulls at Apollo’s lips. “Now. I think it’s time for dessert.”
8
Apollo
The day we leave for the house party, I pick up Cassandra on the curb outside her apartment. As I step out of the car, I can’t help looking around with displeasure. We’re a few blocks from the upper warehouse district, and while crime in Olympus isn’t something of overt concern, it doesn’t change the fact that Cassandra lives alone and the door leading up to her apartment doesn’t seem very secure. I frown at it as she comes through, battling two oversize suitcases. “I could kick that down with one blow.”
“If you do that, I’ll lose my deposit, so maybe let’s not.” She shoves one suitcase at me. “Here, take this.”
“I’m not going to kick down your door.” I reach past her and pull it shut firmly enough to hear the lock engage. Then I rattle it. “I wouldn’t even have to kick it. Gods, Cassandra, you should let me set you up somewhere safer.”
“It’s a moot point.”
Because she’s leaving. Right. I blink down at her. I didn’t realize how close we were standing, but I almost have her pinned between me and the door. The memory of our kiss washes over me. I can still taste her on my lips, even though it’s been days. It wasn’t nearly enough. I want her pressed against me. I want my hands all over her. I actually shift a little closer before I register the suitcase she keeps between us like a shield… I give myself a shake. “Sorry.”
“The door is fine.” She brushes past me and heads for the car idling at the curb. “I’ve managed to live here for years without someone kicking it down, so I don’t expect they’re going to do it in the next week.” She flicks her hair off her shoulder. “Not everyone can afford to live in a gilded tower, Apollo.”
“If you’d let me—”
“You don’t pay for Hector’s housing.” She starts to wrestle the suitcase into the trunk, and I have to abandon the one I’m holding to nudge her aside and handle it. Cassandra huffs out a breath. “Honestly, Hector’s been with you longer, and he barely makes more than me.”
Something akin to embarrassment heats the back of my neck, but I keep my expression impassive. “How would you know what Hector makes?”
“I asked him.”
It’s not, strictly speaking, forbidden for employees to talk about wages among themselves, but I wish Hector had been a little less frank. “You’re worth what I pay you.” Truly, she’s worth more. Her insight is priceless when it comes to divining people’s intentions. She’s much better at reading people and situations than I am.
“I’mnot arguing that.” The way she says it makes me thinksomeoneargued it at some point, but she continues before I have a chance to question her further. “But there are plenty of people who already think I’m sleeping with you so you’ll pay my bills, so having you move me somewhere up-city would make that unbearable.”
I understand what she’s saying. I do. But I can’t help arguing as I wrestle her second suitcase into the trunk. “You don’t care what anyone in Olympus thinks of you. Why would you deprive yourself of a safe place to live just because people would talk? They already talk.”
“I don’t expect you to understand.”
I slam the trunk closed and circle around to hold the door for her. She looks lovely today, wearing a sundress with a floral pattern on it. I’ve never been so attracted to flowers in my life.
Cassandra slips into the car and sighs. “Gotta love air-conditioning. It’s hotter than Hades outside.”
“Hades isn’t that hot.” I’m a liar. He’s ridiculously sexy in a broodish sort of way, and he only seems to have gotten more so now that he’s happily married. Every time he looks at his wife, he practically lights up the room, which only increases his overall attractiveness. Not that he’s aware of it.
“Yes, he is, but that’s not what I meant and you know it.”
I do know it. I’m also not going to let her distract me from my earlier question. “Explain what you mean. What don’t I understand?”