Page 78 of Apollo

“Sweetheart?” he murmured, caressing her cheek again. “What is—”

“Nooo,” Genny cut in. “Call her Little Monster again! Oh em geee, that’s so cute. Right, Hani?”

“Sou desu ne,” Jun chuckled back.

Still wrapped in Apollo’s arms, Irowen ducked her head and gave it a soft shake. “I’m so speechless. Apollo . . . you’re a god, but you’ve been so much more than that. You saved my life, reopened my heart, helped me find Genny . . . ” She rose her head once more, letting him see her teary, beautiful smile. “And helped me find myself. But now . . . ”

His spirit took a nosedive the second new shadows crawled across her face. “But now what?” he snarled, preparing to slay every member of the yakuza for her if needed. Or an army of stalker-y goblins. Anything. Anyone.

At last she soughed out, “Now, I have no idea how to repay you for all of it.”

Ohhh, that.

Sheer, shimmering relief took over his own smile. He couldn’t hold back the dirty thoughts likely morphing it into a rogue’s grin, especially as the woman visibly squirming in her borrowed jeans. Meh. He’d get Ama a new pair. Besides, what good was having the sun on speed dial if a guy couldn’t use it for more advantageous circumstances?

“Oh, I’m sure we’ll find a few ways, Little Monster.”

EPILOGUE

“Wow, Glow Worm. When you said you were going to show me the world . . . ”

Wen flashed a look across the small Ferris wheel bucket, full of as much mischief and sarcasm as she could muster after a massive bowl of gyudon, two melon sodas, a soft ice cream cone, and a pretzel the size of her head. It’d all been delicious, part of a surprise date day at the adorable theme park up the coast from their villa, but she began to second-guess all her menu choices when Apollo pointed to the towering ride that overlooked the place like a kid threatening to throw a tantrum if they didn’t climb aboard after lunch.

Five minutes later, settled against the seat a few feet away in their enclosed capsule, the man had definitely shed his bratty side.

Now, he only looked a little temperamental—but in all the best ways.

The ways that made her want to lick her lips.

Sort of in the way he licked his.

His appraising grays admired her in the souvenir Watashi wa Monster tee he’d bought her yesterday from the gift shop at the Godzilla theme park. Today she paired the souvenir with a comfortable swing skirt, lacy socks, and the trendy new Docs he’d also gotten for her.

“Don’t tell anyone your boyfriend doesn’t go all-out, hm?” he teased in return.

Well, damn it. Their little carriage was air-conditioned, giving her no citable excuse for the jolts of color to her cheeks. All too aware of Apollo’s follow-up hum, blaring how he noted every dot of that pigment, she averted her gaze outside.

“Wow. We’re really high. Look; their Taj Mahal is nearly as stunning as the real thing. The Wat Arun too. I’ve never seen Segovia Castle in person, so getting to at least see th—”

And nope. The chitchat tactic scored a massive Fail for calming her stomach, her thoughts, and her heart during what should have been a relaxing spin in the sky.

“Errr . . . boyfriend?”

The rustle from his side of the cabin had her glancing back over. Bird crap on a Taj Mahal brick, he’d started channeling pure rock star energy. With his shoulders angled against the seat corner, he slid the leather tie free from his hair and secured it around his wrist. Did he keep the appendage free after that, though? Of course not. The man had to start taunting her with small but graceful swirls of his obscenely immortal fingers.

Obscenely . . .

She readjusted her own position. Fought for surcease against the thoughts invading her head.

Visions of what her magnificent lover had done to her with those fingers, from across the bedroom, just last night.

“Does that make you uncomfortable, Irowen?”

He asked it with the same halcyon husk, resting his head in a bracket of his opposite fingers while cocking that elbow atop the seat cushion. He’d dressed for the weather too, so every hump and vein in his bare arm was beautifully contrasted against the cloudless sky and his black tee.

Seriously. Obscene.

So much more resisting a long lick of her lips.