Chapter Thirty-Six
Something passed over Apollo’s face—triumph.
His eyes held hers. In them, she saw desire. There was no easier way to wield her power than telling him to fuck her. It was the only thing that trumped everything else—a few simple words that would bring even the most virtuous man to his knees.
Tem wielded those words now, saying them once more: Fuck me, Apollo. Now.
A slow smile spread over his lips.
There were so many basilisks watching—including Caspen—so many eyes on what was about to happen. They had withheld long enough—two planets in parallel orbit, existing beside one another but never crossing paths. It was finally time to collide.
Apollo raised a hand to her face, gently brushing a curl from her cheek.
The arena disappeared. Time ceased to exist. This was between the two of them now, and Tem had neither the desire nor the ability to focus on anything else.
It was time to see what Apollo had to offer her—to understand him on a carnal level, the way she already understood his brother.
She had fucked ten other basilisks. Now it was Apollo’s turn.
The previous basilisks had left her dripping. Even Rowe had stirred something within her. Apollo leaned back, exposing his cock, which was already hard for her.
Come here, Temperance.
Tem wanted nothing more. She wanted to come to him—to come for him.
Apollo was a familiar face in this long line of strangers, and familiarity was what Tem craved in this moment.
Here, finally, she let herself fully look at him.
Apollo’s body was warm and hard, the ridges of his muscle catching the torchlight.
Tentatively, Tem touched him, pressing her hand to his chest. He let her do this.
After a moment, she trailed her fingers downward, brushing them slowly over the ridges of his abdomen before finally meeting the base of his cock. He drew a breath when she touched it.
Tem had felt this part of him before—she’d rubbed her center along his shaft until she came. But this was different. This time there was a crowd watching, and she sought privacy, speaking a single word into Apollo’s mind.
Hi.
Hi?
It’s the informal version of hello.
I am aware of that. Do you consider this an informal occasion?
It was anything but informal. But if she thought about the implications of this occasion, she would drown in the uncertainty of it. So Tem did the only thing she could think to do, which was lean forward and press her lips to his.
They kissed slowly. Sensually.
Only the blond basilisk had been blessed with the gift of her lips, and now she gave that gift to Apollo.
She wanted him to have this, to know that he was different from the others—to know that he deserved her.
It was a completion of a circle that had started long ago, perhaps before she had even met Caspen.
The two brothers had shared someone before her.
She was not special; she was not unique. And yet, this was special.
This was Apollo.
Immediately, her mind emptied of every thought and worry that had tortured her since yesterday.
All she knew was the feel of his skin against hers, his tongue in her mouth.
She welcomed it, taking his hand and pulling it between her legs, letting him touch her.
There hadn’t been foreplay with any of the others.
She’d simply rode their cocks and moved on.
But Apollo was different. He was better.
He deserved her body, and Tem wanted to give it to him.
His cock was erect, but she made no move to get on it.
This moment belonged to Tem—this decision belonged to her.
Apollo had promised they wouldn’t sleep together until she initiated it.
He was like Leo in that way: both men of their word.
So different from Caspen, who would break his word if it meant keeping Tem safe.
One was not better than the other; they were simply different.
But it was working in Apollo’s favor now.
How long will you make me wait, Temperance?
She liked the way he said her name. Caspen always called her Tem—he was the only basilisk to do so. But Apollo used her full name every time, and somehow she felt like a different person when he said it.
Not long.
She was straddling him now, both hands cupping his jaw as she kissed him. She couldn’t get enough. He tasted like peaches and persimmons and permission. It was finally time to do this—to have their moment together. Apollo’s hands were on her ass, positioning her.
Without waiting another moment, Tem slid down onto his cock.
Kora.
It was all he said, and it was all Tem could think too.
Apollo’s cock was like his father’s—extraordinarily thick at the base—so it wasn’t until he was all the way inside her that she felt the full impact of his shaft.
If she hadn’t already been so wet and willing, it might have strained her.
Instead it was exactly what she needed to satisfy the deep and unavoidable urge in her center—a hunger that demanded to be fed, a craving only Apollo could cure.
Apollo had always been more jagged around the edges than Caspen.
He possessed none of Caspen’s elegance, none of his grace.
His soul was darker and rougher and twisted.
He’d taught her how to kill. It was no small thing.
Tem felt safe with him in a different way than she did with Caspen.
She could tell him any secret, reveal any part of her—no matter how bad—and he would accept her.
There was security in being with someone who would never turn you away.
Nothing Tem could do would ever scare him off.
Apollo did not hold her on the same pedestal that Caspen and Leo did; he did not expect her to be good all the time.
He allowed her to indulge the parts of her that she needed to indulge.
Apollo could sense both things inside Tem: the predator and the prey.
It was a unique thing to experience—a unique thing to be.
Give and take. Ebb and flow. The power in her matched the power in him, and it was a surprise to them both.
Tem’s knees dug into the sand as she rocked her hips. Apollo praised her as she rode him, the words murmured into her mind so only she could hear:
Pretty girl. Beautiful, beautiful girl. You are wasted on my brother.
I cannot believe he gets to wake up next to you and sink his cock into you whenever he wants.
He should fuck you every minute of every day.
If you were mine, I would never stop fucking you.
I would worship your cunt until the day I died. I would—
Tem rode through it all, barely listening, concentrating on nothing but how good he felt inside her. She wanted to come; it had been building in her since the blond basilisk, and it was pouring out at the seams now. Her thrusts were quick and desperate. She was barely holding on.
Tem sent him a vision—a memory of their time in the grotto. Her on her knees, his cock down her throat.
Apollo growled at the sight, his fingernails digging into her so hard they drew blood.
Fuck, Temperance. That was the best night of my life. I will think about it every time my cock is in my hand. I picture you in front of me and it makes me fucking hard. I want you to do that again. I want your mouth on my cock the moment I wake up in the morning and I want it again every night.
They were the only two people in the world.
Tem had no sense of time, no sense of space.
Her body was his, his body was hers. They used each other with reckless abandon, thrusting and squeezing and yanking and pulling.
Apollo knew she wouldn’t break; he knew she could take it.
Her body was malleable and ready for him—eager to be bent.
Look at you on my cock, Temperance. Such a good fit. So fucking wet for me.
His thrusts were harsh and fast, just like him.
It was what Tem wanted—what she needed. She had been waiting for so long and now it was finally here.
He was finally here. Apollo satisfied something in her that neither Caspen nor Leo had ever been able to satisfy.
Tem wanted to lose control—to submit to desire—to let herself be free.
She had to be perfect for Caspen; she had to be good for Leo.
But Apollo didn’t want her like that. He didn’t want her perfect or good or anything that the men she loved expected of her.
There were no rules with Apollo. Tem could do whatever she wanted with him—she could let go.
Do you like that, Temperance? Do you like riding my cock?
Tem did like it. But she couldn’t answer.
She was too distracted by everything that was happening—too caught up in the physicality of sex.
So she answered with her body, showing him how much she liked it—showing him that for this fleeting moment, she was his.
They were evenly matched, her and Apollo.
Each time he held the power, she took it from him.
All she had to do was arch her neck, and he would growl. It was so easy with him.
Nothing she did could hurt him; he was invincible.
Nothing she said would insult him; he had heard far worse.
Apollo had seen it all. He’d had every woman, every man.
It was impossible to have any impact on him whatsoever.
It was freeing to feel like that, to know that nothing could shake him.
It had taken Tem too long to come to this conclusion—to realize that he wasn’t bad for her. That he wasn’t bad at all.
More, she begged.
Apollo smacked his palm flat against her ass—hard. So hard that Tem let out a yelp of surprise and pain.
Too much?
She shook her head. Not enough.
He smacked her again, harder and harder until she was weak on top of him.