Page 54 of Radiant Sin

“Sorry.” I actually sound more like myself this time. The desire is burning off, embarrassment waiting in the wings to make me wish the floor would open up and swallow me whole.

Apollo gives the back of my head one last caress, still testing for a bump, before he disengages and steps back. I catch him subtly adjusting the front of his pants and find myself grinning like a fool despite the blush that’s no doubt turned me crimson. I can’t deny that I love how thoroughly he reacts to me. It’s a heady thing. Something to get drunk on later.

Right now, I need to focus.

Her laptop was a good find, but the woman herself might be more so. It still defies belief that she left her door unlocked and a computer sitting around by accident. It’s enough to make me wonder…

I tuck my hair behind my ears and step out of the closet. “We didn’t mean to get carried away.” My voice is still not quite right, but I think I could be excused considering how she just found us. “Is the game already over?”

“Oh, that?” She waves her hand. “No, Theseus is still hunting down the rest of the party guests. I think he’s out in the maze now.” She glances out the door, her brows drawing together. “It wasn’t this… I decided that… I’m not participating in the game right now.”

“It must be a bit of a relief not to be the prize this time.”

She turns to me too quickly. “Right. This time.” Her gaze drops to the floor, which further confirms my suspicions that Minos’s daughter likely didn’t have much say in this whole circus.

It seemed a clumsy move when I first thought about it, but now that I have confirmation from Hermes that something else is going on, I think it’sdesignedto be clumsy to make us underestimate Minos. I still don’t quite understand what he could hope to accomplish by double-crossing the Thirteen. If Minos is facilitating an invasion or whatever else Zeus suspects, surely he realizes he won’t survive the attempt?

But what if he does? What if he succeeds?

Apollo will still be here fighting to protect this city that does not deserve him while I’m off putting this all behind me. Who will watch his back without me here? Not that I’m the greatest protector, but no one else looks out for him. Hector is a great member of the team, but he will understandably put his family first. Same with the rest of the people who answer directly to Apollo. They all have families. More, he would never expect them to put the job before their loved ones.

Zeus uses Apollo as a blunt tool or scalpel by turn. The rest of the Thirteen are too busy engaging in backbiting and bullshit politics to ever care for one another beyond what power their allies can provide. Being anallyis as fraught as being an enemy.

Apollo alone stands apart. If I were Minos, a newcomer to this city who’s obviously looking to make his own grab for power, Apollo is where I would strike. He’s the cornerstone of the alliance that pledges to Zeus. Without him, Zeus would keep Ares and Aphrodite at his side, by virtue of them being his sisters, but would he be able to keep the rest?

I doubt it.

“Are you okay, Cassandra?” Apollo clasps my shoulder gently with a firm hand.

“I’m fine.” I don’t sound convincing, but what can I say? Even if Ariadne wasn’t here, nothing is going to divert Apollo from his mission. He is one of the Thirteen; more than anyone else, he knew the risk when he took the title.

The thought brings a bitter smile to my lips. Even if I lost my mind and begged him to come with me, he’s far too honorable to leave Olympus, let alone when it needs him most.

Ironic that the thing that drew me to him in the first place is the very reason we’ll never be together.

23

Apollo

I can’t deny the surge of satisfaction that goes through me to realize that my kisses and my touch turn Cassandra into this blushing, stammering person. It’s a heady thing to know that I affect her just as deeply as she affects me, but now’s not the time to let myself get distracted. My cock hasn’t quite gotten the memo, not with the memory of her softness imprinted on my body. I clear my throat. What had she just said? She’s fine. Of course she’s fine. She’s never anything butfine.

I press my hand to the small of Cassandra’s back and paint a charming smile on my face as I turn to Ariadne. “You’re not a fan of hide-and-seek?”

She grimaces, the shadow of some remembered pain flashing over her face, gone almost too fast to catch. “No, I don’t like the dark.” Her tone is not quite right for the apparent lightness that she’s striving for, but her fears are not my business. The information she possesses about her father is.

I step out of the closet after Cassandra and start inching toward the door, taking my time. If she thinks we’re attempting to extract information from her, she’ll kick us out. Better to make all the right appearances of leaving and see what I can glean in the precious few seconds available to me. “How are you liking it in Olympus, Ariadne?”

“It’s a lovely city.” There’s a reservation in her that wasn’t present the last time we spoke. I can’t tell if that’s because she’s unhappy that we’ve intruded on her private space or if she knows more than she’s saying. I pulse my fingers against Cassandra’s back and she, smart, savvy woman that she is, fakes a stumble and catches herself on the dresser.

“Oh, sorry,” she says. “I’m just feeling a little dizzy.”

Ariadne, true to my suspicions, is far too nice to ignore someone blatantly in need. “Here, sit down.” She rushes forward and guides Cassandra to perch on the edge of her bed. She doesn’t look particularly pleased about it, but her feelings are less important than the opportunity Cassandra has provided us.

“Olympus is somewhat of an acquired taste,” I offer.

Cassandra snorts. “Acquired, if you have the power for it.” She shakes her head, pressing her fingers to her temples. Even knowing her as well as I do, I would be fooled by the misery on her face if I didn’t know this was all an act. “Some people find Olympus to be exactly what it is, all glitz and glamour covering a rotted core.”

Ariadne gives a faint smile, though her eyes remain serious. “Seems like you don’t have a high opinion of your city.”

---