He’s not absurdly carved or anything. But his chest is defined and I kind of want to take a bite out of his biceps. I give myself a shake and drag my eyes to his face. He’s not smirking at the fact that I’m practically drooling on the floor, though.
No, he’s staring at my thighs.
I tense, fighting the urge to cover myself. Not out of shame or discomfort. More like in instinctive need to retreat, to see if he’ll stalk across the distance between us and rip my hand away so he can look his fill.
I lick my lips.Focus.We have to focus. “Apollo.” His name comes out too low, too intimate. I can do better than this. I know I can. I reach for something logical and reasonable to say that isn’t “Take off your pants right now.” I clear my throat. “We can’t just wander around in the dark, obviously casing the place. Do you have a plan?”
“I did have a plan. It was a very good plan, but then you put on those pajamas.” He clears his throat and subtly adjusts his pants. Holy shit, Apollo is hard. Forme. “Now I’m having a hard time remembering what it is.”
Lust clogs my brain, threatening to wash away what’s left of my good intentions. A surge of desire rushes through my body and my nipples pebble. “I can’t think when you look at me like that.”
A flush creeps over his chest and up his neck. “We have a job to do.”
He’s right. I know he’s right. I lick my lips. “What if… We’re dating, right? Or that’s what they believe. If we’re caught, we can just say we’re, uh, exploring the kinky rooms for kinky purposes. Exhibition. That sort of thing.” I can’t believe how normal my voice sounds. As if my heart isn’t trying to beat its way out of my chest and closer to Apollo. As if I’m not about to go to my knees before him and beg for him to touch me.
“We were explicitly told they’re not kinky anymore.”
“Maybe we forgot.” I don’t know what I’m saying. This isn’t furthering the plan to explore the second floor. It’s pure, selfish desire. I stare at the line of his shoulders. I want to trace it with my tongue. “I’m feeling very forgetful right now.”
“Me too.” The words come out lower. Deeper. He holds my gaze. The Apollo I know is there, of course—even when he was yelling at me earlier, he was so purelyApollo—but I’ve never seen this side of him before. He feels almost…dangerous. He seems to force himself to look away, his jaw tight. “Cassandra.”
Oh no. He’s about to do something honorable. “Apollo, I—”
“You don’t have to do this. By inviting me, Minos all but dared me to find out what he’s really about. Once he realizes the cameras are down, he’ll know who’s to blame. If you want to keep things…simple…we can say we’re going to get you a glass of water or something of that nature.”
I should go with that option. It’s a flimsy excuse, but a much safer one for me. My emotions are already compromised, have been compromised since before I agreed to Zeus’s bargain. I’m leaving the city as soon as I possibly can. Giving in to the lust saturating the air between us all but guarantees I’ll be leaving Olympus with a broken heart. I might be able to separate sex and emotions well enough in normal life, but this isApollo.
Fool that I am, I don’t care what pain I’m guaranteeing myself. I want this too badly to say no. It’s supposed to be the kissing and stuff that is designed to excuse the snooping, but right now it feels like the snooping is giving us the excuse we need to do a whole lot more than kiss. I take a step backward, toward the door. “Come on, Apollo. Let’s go see the kinky rooms.”
14
Apollo
I am not one to let my baser desires get the best of me. My brain rarely shuts off, and as a result, I overthink things to a clinical degree. It’s been the reason behind the end of several of my relationships over the years.
Standing here, staring at Cassandra, I’m not thinking of anything at all.
She’s always been beautiful. But in this moment, dressed in that little tease of pajamas that have her breasts straining precariously against their thin straps and have pulled tight across her generous hips? She’sdevastating.
I want to kiss that down-turned mouth. I want to run my hands over her lush body and pull her tight against me. Gods, I want to wrap that braid around my fist and force her to meet my gaze and admit she wants me, too.
I shake my head, trying to think. “Are you sure?”
“For fuck’s sake, Apollo.” She starts for the door.
Oh gods. Ohfuck.
If the sight of her from the front was enough to short out my thoughts, I can barely stay on my feet at the view she presents me with as she opens the door. I have seen her ass in tight skirts and hidden behind flared dresses and—on the very lucky days—on display with tailored pants. I’ve never seen her show so much skin.
Of course not. She’s not in office wear. She’s in her pajamas and you’re panting after her like a creep.
“Apollo.”
I’m moving before I decide to take the first step. I have the disconcerting thought that I’d follow her anywhere as long as she let me look my fill. “Wait.”
She stops in the doorway but doesn’t look back. “What?”
“I told you that no video or photo would get out that would…”