For his part, Apollo is not unaffected. His hard cock against my hip is more than evidence of that. His fingers against my mouth move to grip my jaw lightly, and he shifts back just enough for his mouth to brush mine, a light kiss, both a warning and a tease. The things the man does with his kisses should be illegal. How am I supposed to keep my head on straight when he kisses me as if I’m his favorite dessert? It’s just not fair.
He shifts over to speak directly in my ear. “Be silent. We’re going to get caught.”
I have never, ever considered getting caught in an intimate moment as anything other than something to be avoided. In the last twenty-four hours, Apollo has shown me the error of my ways. My breath hitches and I nod shakily.
“Good girl.” He trails his fingers down my arm to my waist. Teasing me, the bastard. I might make a sound of protest, but he ordered me to be silent. I press my lips together hard, and he rewards me by cupping one breast and playing his thumb over my nipple. It’s as if the thin fabric of my dress and bra don’t exist. He’sscorchingme.
“You want more, don’t you?” His voice is pitched lower than a whisper. It’s barely an exhale against my ear. He touches me as if he’ll never get another chance. As if I am a piece of artwork that he plans on appreciating at every level. As if we’re not tucked into a closet together. The thought might make me laugh if I had the breath for it, but he’s stolen it all. And how could he not?
This man iseverything.
I nod shakily. Of course I want more. I want it all, no matter how ill advised. Apollo is a fire in my blood, and he might burn me alive, but I’ll strike the match happily as long as he doesn’t stop touching me.
He presses his leg higher until he actually lifts me a little. I roll my hips, the delicious friction making me catch my breath. Or, rather, he catches it for me, his mouth claiming mine. This time, the kisses are not teasing, not light, not conveying some hidden message. He’s had his taste and now he wants it all.
I finally remember that I’m able to move and dig my hands into his hair, pulling him closer. In this moment, I don’t care where we are. I don’t care who might overhear or the implications if they do. All I need is Apollo as close to me as possible.
I need everything.
“Cassandra,” he groans against my skin. On his tongue, my name feels like a curse and a promise at the same time. I’ve never felt more intoxicating in my life than I do in this moment. I’ve brought this man, one of the most powerful people in the city, to the breaking point with desire. “Show me where you need me.”
I couldn’t stop now if I wanted to, and I desperately don’t want to. I ease back against the wall and grab the wrist of the hand gripping my chin. I tug his hand up to cover my mouth again. A silent demand for him to keep me quiet because gods know I won’t be able to do it on my own.
Apollo goes perfectly still for a beat, two. On the third, he catches the back of my knee and urges my leg up to curl around his waist. The new position opens me, and he wastes no time taking advantage of it, pressing even closer and hitching me higher against his thigh.
I gasp against his palm, the sound morphing into a muffled moan as he skates his hand up the back of my thigh to grip my ass. “No panties, Cassandra?” He releases a shuddering breath. “You please me. I like knowing I can have you this way at a whim. That you’re wet and ready for me.”
His grip guides me to ride his thigh. The pressure and friction make my thoughts short out. It defies some kind of law that it’s always so good with him. It doesn’t makesense, except it’s Apollo and somehow it was always going to be world-ending with him. I helplessly grind against him, seeking that rising tide inside me. It shouldn’t be this easy, but something about Apollo takesshouldn’tright out of the equation.
“Someone’s going to hear you come all over my thigh.” He drags his mouth down my throat and back up again. “I don’t care. Let them hear. Don’t stop.”
His low words only drive me higher. My breath comes harshly, making me light-headed. I’m so close. I just need…
Apollo sets his teeth to the sensitive spot where my neck meets my shoulder. It’s not quite a bite, more an intense pressure that doesn’t veer across the boundary into pain. It’s perfect.
I orgasm, my moan making it past even his hand covering my mouth.
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
Before I process that Apollo isn’t the one to speak, the door’s thrown open and light spills over us.
I try to jump back, but there’s nowhere to go with the wall behind me, and I bump my head against it. “Ow,” I say against his palm.
“Damn it.” He releases me, only moving back enough to tug my dress down to ensure I’m covered. Apollo sifts his hand through my hair, feeling for a bump. “Are you okay?”
How can he sound so normal when seconds ago I was coming all over his thigh? I’m shaky and light-headed and still trying to process the fact that we were interrupted, but the only evidence in his tone is a slight gruffness that’s not normally present.
That and the impressive hard-on I can still feel pressing against my hip.
“I’m fine,” I manage. I take his wrist and tug it away from my head. “Seriously. I’m good.”
“Okay.”
We turn as one to look at the person standing on the other side of the doors. Ariadne. I frown. How long were we making out that we didn’t notice the other intruder had left the room and someone else had entered?
The sheer level of distraction is worrisome, but there’s no space to let that worry take hold. Not when we currently have some explaining to do. I give a pathetically nervous giggle. “Oh, you caught us. Whoops.”
She plants her hands on her broad hips and gives us an exasperated look. “I understand that a game of adult hide-and-seek is exactly the kind of opportunity to sneak off and bone somewhere, but if you couldnotdo that in my room, I would greatly appreciate it.”