Radiant Sin(36)

“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 purely Apollo—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 is Apollo.

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’s devastating.

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. Oh fuck.

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…”

“Apollo, please. You said that Hector took care of it. If we find out otherwise?” Cassandra looks over her shoulder at me. “Either hack Minos’s systems and delete it—I know you’re capable of it—or I’ll ask Hermes to do it.”

I blink. “Why would Hermes do that for you?”

“We used to date a long time ago.” It’s hard to tell, but I think she’s blushing. “We’re…friends now. I guess I should have mentioned it before.”

I had no idea, because I very intentionally did not look into her past. With Hermes in the mix, I’m not sure there’d be anything to find about this relationship, but I didn’t even look out of respect for Cassandra. The fact that she’s offering up the information now, freely, is a gift. I need to see it as such.

I’m only human.

I can’t help the spike of jealousy that rises in response to realizing that Hermes has dated the woman I… I’m not even sure how to term it. Cassandra is not for me. She can’t be for me. Asking her to stay would be so selfish it makes me feel vaguely ill, and yet the impulse is there all the same. I swallow hard. “I see.”

She steps back into the room and closes the door. “I didn’t say anything before because I wasn’t sure if it was a strange thing to just bring up randomly.” Cassandra tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.

The move brings my attention back to her body. Gods, those pajamas should be illegal. I have no excuse for the words that erupt. “Hermes is kinky.”

“Extremely.” Cassandra doesn’t move, doesn’t seem to breathe. “What are you asking me?”

You dated her.

You’re kinky, too.

“You should have told me you dated her. Her tastes run a certain way, and if yours do as well, that’s something I need to know.” I almost sound normal as I say it.