Page 71 of Apollo

“Your purpose here, Ezra?” he finally charged, hitching an elbow against the door jam.

“Hermes answered a hail from your captain, the corvid named Kaw. I’ve come to relay his message.”

“His messa—” With senses newly abuzz, he pushed back to both feet. “The hell? He couldn’t be bothered to telepath it out himself?”

What the hell, Kleos? What’s going on?

When his mental channel with Kaw returned nothing but mild static, he drilled a tougher look into the herald. Ezra held fast to his placid mien.

“He did attempt the communication, Your Godship, apparently on a number of recent occasions. However—”

“I didn’t pick up.” Because he was busy hoisting other things—namely, a stunning little she-monster—into the most perfect position for his most carnal attention. Not that he’d apologize for that, because he wasn’t one damn bit sorry. “All right, what’s the update?”

*

Two minutes later, he’d dismissed Ezra with an extra blessing and a day pass for his private suite at the Waves day spa, and bolted his way back out to the engawa, where Irowen had arranged herself at an angle to sit and reflect at the rainy tumult.

Reflect. Tumult. The words usually didn’t belong together, but she’d turned them into such an ideal match that he stopped, taking full advantage to just watch her.

Gorgeous, dark sylph.

Wide-eyed, kiss-stung creature.

The monster he hadn’t expected. The mortal under his skin.

Not where she belonged . . .

“Apollo?”

Her probing glance was a welcome whip back to reality.

“What’s going on?”

She must’ve deduced enough of a change across his face that her query bordered on demand. He hated causing the transition.

“Nothing close to the going ons I’d prefer,” he offered, bending to buss her lips with longing tenderness before angling back up to keep his greedy thoughts—and hands—away from temptation. “Because as much as I want to wait out the storm by watching you climax a hundred more times, we’ve got to head to Ama’s room.”

A cute grin lifted the bow of her lips. “Where you can watch me come twice as many times under the idol posters?”

“Where you can select a new outfit and put it on as fast as you can,” he retorted with a censoring scowl. “Kaw’s just sent word. He and the team have found your sister and Ito’s henchman.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

So much for the breathing exercises that’d brought her heart rate back to something half-normal.

Ohhh, Wen. You just had earth-rocking sex with the god of the sun. Were you really expecting rational sinus rhythm any time within the next twenty-four hours?

Not a second to spare for existential contemplation on that. Apollo had her rushing into the guest bedroom, where the Jpop boy love was as wild as he’d promised, to climb into a pair of baggy black jeans and a T-shirt with a Hatsune Miku yelling Sugoi Beatzzz.

As soon as she finished putting on the garments, he scooped her up against him. Within seconds, he revved the fire hurricane travel cone into deafeningly high gear.

Just as fast, similar chaos crashed her thoughts.

Had they hit the fast lane back to the Underworld again? And why? Ito had never actually gotten his hands on Apollo’s string, but who knew what kind of “sneak preview” Reks Byrd, or even Natasha Korra herself, granted the man to sway him.

And if the henchman with Genny had been on that VIP tour . . . and was sly enough to pay attention about getting back into the purgatory maze . . .

Well, shit.