The SUV halts with a crunching of tires.
“Here, sir.” The driver points ahead. “It’s the building you see ahead of us, the tall one with the rim of windows near the top. This is as close as we dare get—thermal imaging shows the approach from here is monitored by a large number of armed men.”
Apollo heaves a sigh and unbuckles. His hands are shaking as he exits the vehicle, straightening and adjusting the cuffs of his suit jacket. I get out with him. He’s staring at the building, shoulders hunched, tensed.
I wrap my arms around him from behind and rest my cheek against his shoulder blades. “It’s going to be okay, Apollo.”
He snorts softly. “I should be telling you that.”
“It’s okay to be afraid, Apollo. It doesn’t make you any less.”
He turns in my arms, gathers me in his and cups my jaw. “It’s not fear, darling. It’s rage.” His dark eyes flash, and I see a hint of murderous venom, quickly hidden as the love he still cannot quite voice bubbles up in his gaze. “If there is fear, it’s not for me. It’s for her. Fear that I’ll let my emotions get the best of me before she’s safe.”
I lift up and touch my lips to his. “We will get her back safely.”
His eyes probe me. “You cannot risk yourself, Corinna. Promise me.”
I shake my head. “I won’t do that. Can’t and won’t, Apollo. If I deem it necessary to risk myself for your sake, or Yelena’s, I will do so. And it will be my choice.”
“Not for me,” he growls.
“Yes, for you,” I argue. I smile up at him. “I love you. I would do anything for you.”
He tenses. “Corinna, I…”
I touch his lips with my fingers. “I know.”
He cradles the back of my neck with fierce fingers, and his lips crash onto mine, harsh and demanding, yet soft and thrilling. I writhe into him, feel his hard body rippling against mine, feel his hands clutch my hair, my buttocks. “Corinna…”
I laugh into his kiss. “You love me, Apollo. I know you do. I know it and I don’t doubt it. Not for a second. You don’t have to kiss me like that to prove it.” I bite his lower lip. “But please, continue. I don’t need it, but I like it.”
He heaves me into his arms, my legs going around his waist, arms around his neck, and he presses me up against the rear passenger window of the SUV, kissing me until I’m breathless, kissing me like he kissed me in the tower back in Spain, what feels like a lifetime ago.
With a growl, he abruptly breaks the kiss and sets me on my feet. “Better go, or I’ll show you how I feel, right here, right now.”
“If I was more of an exhibitionist, I’d tell you to go for it,” I murmur.
“You deserve more than that, though.” He traces the line of my jaw from earlobe to chin. “So much more.”
“How much more?” I ask, teasing him. “What do I deserve, Apollo?”
He swallows hard. “Love.” It’s a whisper. “Mine.”
“I have it, don’t I?” I ask, whispering back. “Don’t I have your love, Apollo?”
“You do.” A breath. “Such as it is.”
“Such as it is…is wonderful, Apollo.”
“Feels broken, sometimes. Since I seem to be unable to make myself say it.”
“This is a conversation for when all this is over.” I take his hands, thread both of my hands into both of his. “You go, now. You don’t think about me, you don’t worry about me. You focus on doing what you have to do.” I hold his gaze. “Whatever it takes. You get that girl to safety, and you get yourself to safety. Back to me. No matter what. Okay?”
“No matter what.”
I kiss him, once more, fiercely, and then I back out of his arms. “No matter what.”
It’s a stand-in. Three words which, in this moment, from Apollo, mean something else entirely, three totally different words. I know what he means. I hear it. I see it in his eyes.
