I knew this was coming, of course. I just didn’t expect to freeze up at the reality of it. “Um.” Damn it, I can do better than that. I clear my throat. “About tonight, when we go to bed—”
“Hold that thought.” He narrows his eyes and motions toward the bed. “Sit and be silent. Please.”
I jerk back, a sharp reply on my lips, before my brain kicks into gear and makes the jump to what’s going on. He’s not telling me to be quiet. He wants to sweep the room for surveillance. I sit primly on the edge of the bed and watch him dig through his duffel bag for a piece of electronics I don’t recognize. It’s strangely difficult to stay silent as he goes over every inch of the room. The device dings three times. Once in the mirror over the dresser. One in the lampshade on the nightstand, and one tucked cleverly into the doorjamb. A fourth additional one dings from the bathroom.
I make a face. “Ugh.”
“Not done. Checking for cameras.”
I shudder a little. Obviously being watched and listened to was something we’d talked about before this. I’m not surprised when he pulls a tiny camera from the molding at the top of the mirror, but I feel vaguely violated all the same. “Gross.”
“Yes.” He deposits it in the small pile on the dresser and brushes his hands together. “That’s everything. About what we expected. I have a device that Hector can use to hack the system, but I need to be closer to the control room, which means we need to prioritize finding it.”
“Consider it prioritized.”
“Agreed.” He nods. “About the sleeping arrangements…I’ll sleep on the floor.” Apollo hauls my suitcases to a spot near the dresser and sets his on the other side.
“But—”
“Don’t argue.” He doesn’t look at me. “I know you’re not going to insult me by suggesting I’d allowyouto sleep on the floor while I take the bed. And no, we’re not going to switch off. I don’t care about being fair, so that agreement won’t work.”
A little forbidden thrill goes through me at his firm tone. Apollo almost never gets abrupt with me, and certainly never commanding. I can count on one hand how many times it’s happened in the past five years and still have fingers left over. Including just now.
He finally faces me, brows drawn in a forbidding line. The thrill inside me only gets stronger in response. He eyes me. “Do you concede?”
“I was going to suggest the bathtub. It’s got to be massive in a house like this.”
“Absolutely not. You arenotsleeping anywhere but on that bed, Cassandra. Do I make myself clear?”
Yes, sir.
I clamp my mouth shut so fast, I bite my tongue, but I manage to keep the snarky reply internal. Undernocircumstances will I be calling Apollo anything other than his name, and certainly not something in a tone so sexually suggestive.
No matter how melty it makes me feel. In fact, that melty sensation in my core is a very good reason to never admit how he affects me. Ever.
I belatedly realize he’s waiting for a response and clear my throat. “You’re being ridiculous.” I smooth my hands over my dress. “We’re both adults. It’s a big bed. There’s no reason we can’t share.”
His jaw goes slack. “Cassandra—”
“If you’re worried about me wandering in my sleep, I don’t. But there are more than enough pillows to put up a barrier between us to protect your virtue.” The words are a little sharper than I intend, but I don’t like the idea of him sleeping on the floor. I can control the meltiness. I’m not going to throw myself at my boss, no matter how good his fake kisses made me feel.
Apollo runs a hand through his short black hair. “I don’t want to put you in a position where you feel uncomfortable.” He grimaces. “Though I guess I can’t say that any longer because you’re here and I know you’d rather not be.”
There’s not much to say to that, but I can’t just not respond. “For what it’s worth, I know I’m safe with you. That was never the issue.” It’s just everything else that threatens to make this so messy. None of that is Apollo’s fault, though, and I can’t stand the thought of him blaming himself for my shitty attitude. He should know by now that it’s my default.
He gives a wan smile. “Well, with that out of the way, let’s get ready for dinner and see about finding that control room to deal with the cameras.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I say faintly.
10
Apollo
I underestimated what it would be like to be in such close proximity with Cassandra outside the office. The sheer intimacy of sitting on the bed and going through my emails while she stands in the bathroom with wet hair as she puts on her makeup is…strange. Very strange.
I’ve dated several people seriously as an adult, and none of those relationships reached a point when moving in together made sense, but there were intimate moments. Relationships are built of intimate moments. I don’t know why it feels so different with her. I’d be a fool to chase that feeling.
My phone rings as Cassandra finishes doing something to her eyes to give them a sexy, faintly smoky look. I bite back a sigh at the sight of my little brother’s name on the screen. It’s been several weeks since I cut him off, and I don’t trust him not to revert right back to his spoiled self the moment he senses me wavering. Cutting him off wasn’t easy, but it was the right thing to do.