Chapter 32: Chapter 32

I wake to lips on mine.

It is so great.

But the passionate kiss I am currently participating in turns sloppy and wet. It’s aggressive and downright alarming. I sputter awake to find a large dog on top of me, licking my face.

“Ahh!” I scream as the canine jumps off the bed and disappears through an open door to my left. My heart is beating fast as I sit there, trying to piece together my brain.

I was making out with a dog, not Apollo. Think I saw that scenario in a movie once, and I am just fortunate enough to have experienced it in real life. That just happened. I will take that experience to the grave.

I wipe my mouth, cringing.

Glancing next to me, I can see the spot is empty…~empty~. I look around the room and shiver, flashes of last night flickering in my memory.

Legs tangled together, sweat, hot kisses, moaning, nails scratching, my hands pinned above my head, Apollo’s head between my legs.

My face heats.

Placing my hand on my forehead, I fan myself.

That was a night that will go down in history. How many times did we have sex? Four? Five? Apollo was relentless, his stamina overpowering mine.

I picture him now, naked with his golden body over mine. I grin like a schoolgirl, feeling butterflies in the pit of my stomach.

“What are you thinking about?”

I jump, seeing Apollo in the doorway. His hair is wet, dark ringlets combed back from his face, and a towel is hanging low on his hips. ~Holy…mother…of…Mike.~

Dark eyes intense. His tattooed bicep looks sinful. He looks naughty—a man mothers warn their sweet, innocent daughters about.

Apollo after a shower should be outlawed.

I swallow.

~I like—er—want to have sex, my name is girl~, is my intelligent thought.

His gaze lowers to my breasts and I remember I am still naked save for my garters. I pull the crisp sheets up and blush furiously.

I need a mirror. I must look like the girl from ~The Exorcist~—hair tangled, mascara-stained eyes. I curse and shrug, praying I looked halfway decent.

“I was just thinking… Did you see a dog?”

Looking back, Apollo nods. “Yes, he took off with my shirt, not sure how he got in here.”

Smart dog.

I laugh and our eyes clash.

~I did not make out with a dog.~

~He knows nothing.~

Apollo walks over to me and sits on the bed, his large frame dwarfing mine. I can smell the clean scent of him and it’s driving me wild inside. Stay cool. Stay cool.

“We need to talk.”

I sigh and hold the sheet to me, feeling very vulnerable. “Yes, we do.” I look down, not sure how to handle this.

Apollo lifts my chin with his hand, making me look at him. “Who are you, Angel? Let’s start there.”

“How many days until we are back in Garthorn?”

He frowns. “Five.”

“I will tell you in eight days. Please, give me a little more time,” I plead, seeing the flex of his jaw.

He expels a breath. “Are you in trouble? We are dealing with Irena and her witchcraft. She will be on trial next month.”

Relief flashes through me. “Wonderful news. But no, I am no threat, and I do not think I am in trouble.”

~Freaking rules.~

He lifts and sits more in front of me. “Then why can’t you tell me now?”

I squeeze my eyes shut. “You will understand when I tell you. It’s very complicated.” I bite my lip. “So complicated, but you have to just trust me.”

When I open my eyes, Apollo is studying me, seeing right through me. He looks down and sighs. “Eight days and no longer, if that’s my only option.”

He reaches for me and scoots me closer, hands on my thighs. His fingers toy with the garter under the sheet and he looks up at me. “What are these?” His voice lowers.

I take a breath. “Where I’m from,” I say carefully, “men really like them. It’s called a garter.”

“Where you’re from. You’re giving me little hints?”

I blush. “Yes.”

“Men like them, you say? Men saw you in these?” His gaze is unblinking. Serious.

“No. Just in general.”

I can see the muscle in his forearm relax. Apollo does not seem like the sharing type—more of the ~touch-my-woman-and-I’ll-slit-your-throat~ type.

Apollo’s hand is slowly massaging my thigh. “Speaking of other men…you fell in love with Siron.”

“Which was you,” I point out.

“You didn’t know that.”

“Apparently, neither did you,” I say. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” he says. “Which one would you have picked?”

This is really bothering him, I can tell.

I expel a breath. “Both.”

He raises a brow. “It troubles me that you would give your heart to another.”

“Apollo, it was you. If you came to me in different disguises, I would probably fall in love with every single one of them,” I admit. “You are irresistible to me.”

That seems to do the trick.

Apollo pushes me down on the bed and leans over me, his wet hair tickling my shoulder. It seems lighter, like the dye is washing out. The heavy weight of his body makes my skin tingle, his body’s heat engulfing me.

“I know you are not from here. I’ve known that for a long time.” His lips kiss my shoulder.

“I want to care, to be angry, to demand you tell me right now. But I find that I don’t care as I should. I am almost dreading it.”

“You are dreading it?”

“I do not want you to tell me something that will affect how I feel about you,” he admits.

I swallow, praying that he will be understanding, or I will be devastated. For the first time, I am having panicked thoughts that he will not take what I have to say with ease. It scares me.

“Because I have never felt this way about a woman. It’s as if I was struck by lightning when I saw you. I tried to fight it, but I could not.” He looks at me with a devious grin.

“I could not take my eyes from your torn dress that first day. Your skin was wet, and I could see your nipples through the material. I can remember almost forgetting how to talk, which has never happened.

“The rushing in my ears when you gave me your first defiant stare. I wanted to taste that fire.” His tongue swirls on my skin, and he lowers his voice.

“I wanted to fuck you so bad it hurt. I think I’ve dreamed of you every night since, naked in my bed like this. I thought I was losing my sanity. It was so out of character for me.

“It was like you poisoned me, and you were the only cure.” He pauses to suck on my skin. “You didn’t put a spell on me, did you?”

I think he’s really asking, which makes me laugh. “No, I did not.” ~Though my dressmaker is on point~.

My pulse is hammering at the things he is saying. I had no idea. I guess Pierce was right when he said Apollo liked the shipwrecked outfit.

Apollo admitting this to me makes this so real. We both are in this way too deep to have this blow up in our faces. I have so much emotion inside me that it frightens me.

He moves the sheet, and his large hand finds my flat belly, slowly massaging it. I really wish I had a mirror right about now. I’m feeling a little self-conscious.

Though, when he looks at me, it’s like I’m the prettiest woman on the planet.

I feel his hand near the underside of my breast, making me tense, skin tingling.

“I want you, Angel.”

“I want you too,” I barely say.

Apollo tilts his head at me and takes a breath, his muscled chest rising. “I want you as my wife.” He cups my heavy breast, squeezing it.

“Yes,” I moan; it’s all I can get out.

Apollo groans as he pinches my nipple. “You are so gorgeous. Never have I seen a woman swinging on a pole as you did. I want more of it.”

I open my eyes and look at him, breathing hard as he massages my breasts. “Are you sure you can handle it?” I pant.

He squeezes my nipple hard.

I yelp and jump up, laughing, moving to the other side of the bed. “Stay away, I can’t think when you do that.”

Apollo grins and adjusts his towel. “You’re naked. I can’t get that out of my head.”

“You asked me to marry you. Focus,” I say with a laugh.

“I believe you already knew that, Angel. I want to marry you in eight days,” he says.

Fear washes over me.

After I tell him.

Apollo tilts his head. “How does that sound?”

I try to calm my nerves. “Perfect,” I whisper.

“I don’t want to lose you.” He grabs my legs with one reach and yanks me back to him. I gasp when he has me pinned again.

“When I was Siron, I thought I’d lost you to another man. It made me go to dark places. I never want to feel that again.”

“Well,” I say, loving the smell of him, his golden skin so tantalizing, “as long as you do not plan on being someone else again, that should not happen.”

His head leans down and he kisses my neck like he can’t help it.

“Are you going to do something about the sex trade?”

He lifts up and nods. “It’s a heavy process, but when we get back, I will gather our allies and we will take those criminals down.

“Galleon wanted to wage war with us until they found out about Irena’s betrayal of your father. They will want to take out whoever abducted his daughters, you have my word on that.”

I closed my eyes, seeing all those innocent girls. “Thank goodness.”

In one second, the bedsheets are ripped off me, and Apollo covers my body with his.

“Apollo!” I shriek, laughing. My legs are spread, wrapped around his waist. Skin on skin, if you get my meaning. My face heats.

He groans, grinding his hips.

My body ignites.

“I can’t get enough of you. But I have to eat. I’m hungry,” he rasps. “Starving, actually.”

“You’re hungry?” I ask, confused. We were doing some high-energy activities all night with no nourishment. Apollo is a large man.

“Yes, for breakfast.” He leans back and grins. Apollo suddenly grabs my thighs, yanking them over his shoulders. His head is now between my legs as the realization hits me.

I gasp, jolting with pleasure. It seems surreal. My vision swims as I feel his scorching hot mouth devour me.

We are supposed to leave at first light.

I think we might be a little late this morning.