Chapter 17: Chapter 17

“You call off the wedding, and then what?” I glance behind me, shivering as his fingertips feather across my neck.

“Then I am a free man to do whatever I want,” he says, and continues to unbutton my dress.

I turn around fully, feeling the cool air on my neck and back. “That will cause an incredible backlash.” I am making sure he is sane of mind before I begin to trust him.

Apollo runs a hand through his curly hair and takes a deep breath. He looks distant like his mind is in another place. “I am aware of that.”

I frown. “And you are okay with this?”

He glances back to me, and I can see an inner battle going on, like the moments before someone jumps off a cliff into a deep pool of water.

“I find that I don’t give a shit anymore.” He smiles at me and tilts his head.

“God’s teeth, that dress you are wearing is just stunning, I find myself completely mesmerized. I know our dressmakers have never done something so remarkable. Your maid did this?”

I swallow. “Yes, quite the talent she has.”

He nods, his dark gaze seeing too much.

I am nervous all of a sudden. It seems like he is still wary of me.

Which I guess I do not blame him for—the gown really looks like it’s made from magic, let’s be honest. I might have to tell Pierce to tone it down a bit.

I have no idea what Apollo’s intentions are. I thought I did, but now I am second-guessing myself. I feel like he is baiting me or trying to trap me.

Here I thought he wanted a quick lay, but now I am not sure.

“You’re wondering what I’m thinking?” He smiles and leans back against the wall casually.

I bite my lip, trying to ignore how hot he is. “I would say that I am curious.”

He holds up his finger. “One. I want you naked.” He holds up two fingers. “Two. I want you to tell me who the hell you are.”

I stare at him.

“It does not matter in what order.” He grins again.

“I am a princess now, you cannot threaten me like before,” I hiss, and narrow my eyes.

“I can if you want to be my wife.”

That takes me off guard. I think my mouth is hanging open. “Excuse me?”

He looks like he is having a great time. “I want to know what I’m marrying. I think that is understandable.”

“You don’t know if I even want to marry you!” I think my face is red. “You are even more arrogant than I thought!”

~I do want to marry you, but that’s not the point!~

He laughs. “You’re glorious when you’re mad.”

I take a deep breath, a calming breath. “I am not mad. I am just shocked by how sure of yourself you are.”

He raises a brow. “I am very,” he pauses as if thinking for the right word, “observant. You want me, Angel.”

I roll my eyes. “Yes, you are quite handsome—”

“Thank you,” he says, smiling.

“I was not finished,” I say. “I know you’re handsome, but that does not mean I want to marry an overconfident ass.”

~Whoops.~

I clamp my mouth shut.

He looks hurt, in a mocking way. “Well then. What is it that you want in a husband? Please enlighten me.”

“Smart, funny, compassionate.” I pause with a grin. “Humble.”

“You think I’m not humble?”

I pause. “I am actually not sure, but around me, no.”

He walks up to me and lifts my chin. His dark gaze glitters in the dim lighting. “That’s because I’m not.”

I frown.

“Or maybe I just like to see you lose control,” he says with a wink.

“You taunt me then?”

He makes a guilty face. “I will neither confirm nor deny.”

I fight a smile.

He is so charming with this innocent act that my defenses start to fall. He is teasing me in the most addicting way.

“Can we continue our game?”

I laugh. “Why do you want me as a wife?”

Apollo walks over to the couch and sits down, his large frame taking up most of it. “Why do I want you? That’s a loaded question.” He tilts his head as he looks me up and down.

“Because you’re different from the others. Mysterious, passionate, with the most seductive eyes I have ever beheld. I know you have secrets, that there is more to you than you’re letting on, but I still want you as my wife.”

He pauses and smiles. “I always want the best. I am the best at everything, and that will never change. I need a woman to match me in every way.”

“You’re taunting me.”

His eyes are alight with mischief.

I try to glare at him, not wanting to get caught in his snare. “I see.”

He sits up on the couch. “You need help undressing?”

I bite my lip to keep from grinning. “No.”

He groans. “Hurry, woman.”

I sit down on the couch across from him and hike up my sparkling skirts. He watches my hands like I’m defusing a bomb.

I expose my thighs, where my lace stockings show, and I think I hear him say something.

“Higher.”

I raise a brow, my pulse jumping.

“Let me help,” he suggests with a gruff tone.

I think I nod.

Apollo is in front of me before I can even blink my eyes. His large frame is now pushing my legs apart, and he is kneeling between my thighs.

“I think you’re cheating,” I say breathlessly.

His platinum hair is in wild disarray, and mixed with his abnormal eyes, it’s lethal. A dangerous concoction for the female libido.

He is so close I can smell the wild scent of him. The heat from his body is almost burning me. I take a shaky breath, and somewhere in the back of my mind, I know this is checkmate.

I suck in a sharp breath when I feel his lips on my neck, jaw, then down to my cleavage. My head falls back, and I am in a different time and place—a place where only intense bliss is felt.

Apollo grabs the back of my head, and his hot mouth claims mine aggressively. I don’t back down, and I meet every sweep of his tongue in my mouth. He tastes delicious, like dark red wine.

Our mouths mold and move in a seductive dance that has me out of my mind with desire. I hear him groan into my mouth as he pulls me closer to him.

“Shirt!” I pull back and shout before his mouth scorches a trail down my neck. “Take y-your shirt off.”

I hear him laugh. “So bossy,” he whispers. “You owe me a question, Angel,” he breathes into my neck as his tongue swirls around my pulse.

I can barely think, let alone answer a question.

If I didn’t know any better, I would say he’s taking advantage of me.

“Where did you come from?” he whispers into my ear. “Tell me, Angel.” His hand traces up to my thigh and squeezes my butt cheek hard, urging me to answer. “I want the truth.”

“I am the lost princess. Now kiss me,” I moan.

I feel his gaze on me, and I refuse to look at him, or he will see that I’m full of shit. I feel his hand moving, and I gasp when he touches me ~there~. I sigh when I feel his lips back on my neck.

He starts to work me like the man does this for a living. His fingers are deep within me, and again he presses me.

“Tell me where you came from,” he says with force, his harsh breaths burning my skin.

I barely hear him as my body hums with such intense sensations that I think he is using some sort of black magic. No man can be that good with his hands, right? I thought that sort of thing was only in romance books.

“Where are you from?”

I feel the pressure build, and my thoughts are disconnected. At this point, I’m not even sure where I am right now, much less before.

I feel Apollo’s tongue on my neck as his hand works me, and that seems to do the trick. I am going to have an orgasm close to an atomic bomb, ladies and gentlemen. Don’t be jealous.

But then…

He stops.

How dare he!

“Where are you from, Angel?!”

“What does it matter? I’m here now!” I clamp my mouth shut, my breathing still harsh and uneven.

“What does it matter?! I think it matters a lot,” he says, his gaze seeming to change. A wave of fear breaks through the haze of lust.

I try to move, but he holds me in place.

“Answer.”

I lift my chin. “Get away from me.”

He smiles, but it’s cold. “Will you tell me if I do this?”

He leans his blond head down and licks up my calf through my lace hose, lifting my leg. My breathing catches, and I feel his hot tongue caress its way up my leg. I don’t stop him. I can’t.

“I know what you’re doing!” I pant in pleasure. “It won’t work!”

~It might work.~

“We will see,” he breathes into my inner thigh. “You’re exquisite.”

I think I scream when I feel his mouth on my lady bits, and let me tell you, his tongue is better than his fingers, something I didn’t think was possible.

The ABCs are for amateurs, because this man is licking in different ancient languages—lost Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Nope. I’m not lasting long.

This man is going in for the kill this time.

Pleasure explodes inside my body, and I’m transported to a new dimension. Lights and fireworks explode in my belly, and I am left limp as a rag doll.

He is amazing—no denying that he is probably good at everything he does.

“Tell me.”

“I can’t.” I barely move my mouth.

My eyes shoot open. I’m such an idiot. ~Moron!~ I just basically told him I am not what I seem by my idiot response.

~I can’t?! ~Why could I not have said, “~I can’t because there is nothing to tell?”~ But it was the way I said it like I wanted to…but couldn’t.

“You admit you’re hiding something then?” He is staring down at me, his chest rising and falling.

“No, it means I can’t because there is nothing to tell.”

Worth a shot.

“Liar.”

I jerk my legs away, but he grabs me again. He licks his lips and tilts his head. “My little Angel, you’re not going anywhere.”

“You can’t always get what you want, Apollo,” I say, still coming off my high.

He chuckles. “Oh, yes I can.”

“How?”

Not sure why I asked that.

“I will not marry you until you tell me who you are. I must have all honesty, and I think you know why. Or I will be forced to choose another.” He is not smiling anymore.

This is not fair.

I need to talk to Mort.

I don’t think I am able to tell Apollo that I am an agent for Fairy Godmother Inc. And, if I did, I think he would lock me up in a mental institution.

“So I take it that you’re not taking off your shirt?” I say with a pout.

He gives me a look I cannot not read, but his gaze is intense. “If you tell me who you are, I will make it worth it.”

He leans back to show me his insane protruding package through his black pants. I swallow hard~. This is so not fair~. I think I’m getting hot flashes. Early signs of a stroke?

Apollo, naked in all his glory, is ~a lot~.

I think I lose my voice.

He adjusts himself with a smirk. “Tell me, Angel, and I’m yours.”

~I’m yours~, he says.

I feel anger.

I don’t even know what to tell him that won’t get me into trouble. I squeeze my eyes shut and bite my lip, drawing blood. I can taste the copper tinge lacing through my mouth.

I want him so bad it hurts, and there is nothing I can do about it.

I feel his lips on mine, making my eyes snap open. “Don’t draw blood, Angel, just tell me. You can trust me. I want you just as bad as you want me,” he whispers into my mouth.

I sit up, and he laces his arms around my waist, as if scared I will flee.

“I need time,” I whisper.

He is breathing deeply. “You’re scared to tell me?”

I stare at him.

“Are you in trouble?” His tone is turning forceful.

“No.”

“Are you against the House of Garthorn or are you for us?” he asks carefully.

He is really fishing for answers, though I don’t blame him one bit.

“I am not against anyone.”

He frowns. “Then why not tell me?”

I look away. “I just need time, Apollo.”

I feel his energy. He is holding back. “All right. But I will not cancel the engagement until you confide in me. The woman I marry will have zero secrets from me.”

I cringe. ~Don’t marry Laura then~.

“Apollo,” I say. He gets up, and I look up at him. “I am harmless, if that means anything.”

He huffs. “I will be the judge of that, Angel.”

“You’re leaving?”

He walks to the door and glances over his shoulder, adjusting his pants and hair. “If I stay here any longer, I will not be able to keep my warning. Tell your dressmaker to have mercy on me.”

And with that, he leaves.

Well shit. Don’t mind me while I cry myself to sleep tonight.

I sit up and tap my chin. Time to find Mort and figure this backstory out. I need to know my options before I can play my cards.

Apollo will not stop, he will press me for answers again, and I’m not sure if I’m strong enough to withstand his seduction tactics.

Time to put on some big girl panties.

Well, like cute boy shorts that are sexy and strong at the same time. You know, the ones that make your butt cheeks look great without looking too girly.

Maybe, I don’t know, Wonder Woman Marvel comic ones.

Yeah, those ones.