Apollo (Cerberus MC)

My cock, still determined, hangs thick and needy behind the towel, the plush fabric only making the situation worse as it extends from my body.

“You’re naked!” she yells, both hands covering her face as she rounds the end of the bed and falls into the chair.

“You shower with clothes on?” I ask. “Why are you crying?”

She glances up at me but then dips her head again.

“I thought you’d left again.” She swallows, and I understand why she’s not looking in my direction, the cool air swirling around the room making it very clear that I’m half naked and still wet, but I hate that she’s upset.

“I’m not planning on going anywhere,” I whisper. Did I not tell her that? Did my vows not remind her that I’m in this with her?

“I have a hard time trusting,” she confesses. “Everyone lies to me. At least they always have.”

Guilt swarms inside of me because she has felt that same betrayal from me. I’m not innocent here, regardless that nothing happened between Nova and me that night.

“Give me a minute okay.” I leave the room, hoping she’ll be able to look at me if I’m wearing clothes.

I pull on my boxers and my undershirt, but there’s no way I’m going to suffer in slacks and that tight-ass button-down. I look at myself in the mirror. I feel decent, wearing more than what most men wear at the beach, so I leave the bathroom and rejoin her in the bedroom.

Her eyes are still pointed down.

“I’m going to book the room for another night.” My words make her jolt.

“Because it’s our wedding night?”

“No, April, because I want you to be comfortable. I know you’re tired. We can order dinner, or we can go out to eat. I’m fine either way.”

“You needed a shower?”

I clear my throat. This whole not lying thing is going to end up biting me in the ass.

“You didn’t smell bad when you were holding me.” She looks up, innocent green eyes genuinely curious. She isn’t trying to tease me or get me to confess to the things that led to me getting off the bed and jumping into a cold shower. Now, if my cock could get on board with that realization, that would be awesome.

I grip the back of my neck and give her a little grin.

“You do that when there’s something you don’t want to say.”

I release my neck. “It’s not that I don’t want to say it, but I don’t want to freak you out or make you uncomfortable.”

“Lying beside me was uncomfortable for you?”

“Not even a little. Lying beside you… umm… I liked it… a lot. My body liked it so much that I was… I can’t always control that, the reactions. And I seem even less capable around you.” I clear my throat again, but it doesn’t fully dislodge the lump there. “I needed to cool down, to calm down. I’m seriously attracted to you, and I—”

My words stop when her eyes dart to the front of my boxers, lingering before they sweep back up to mine.

“Yeah. See? I can’t control that.”

Her hands cover her face, and I realize we’re going to have to talk about this honesty thing. I’m not trying to cause problems, but we need to draw some lines.

Her eyes are squeezed tight, and it takes me a little too long to understand that she’s not freaking out. She’s laughing.

I can’t help but laugh a little, too. We are a damn mess.

Chapter 15

April

I groan around another bite of cheesy pizza, the seasoning they sprinkled on top and the mozzarella the perfect combination. I can’t imagine eating anything but this ever again.

I look over at Nate because he was talking just a moment ago, and he had abruptly stopped.

“What?” I ask when I see that he’s staring at me with his slice of pizza an inch from his open mouth. “Do I have sauce on my nose?”

“Those sounds you’re making are driving me wild.”

“Am I smacking?” I cover my mouth with my hand, mumbling an “I’m sorry” around my fingers.

I was starving, though, and sometimes when I’m hungry the rest of the world just fades away.

He has that same look in his eyes he had when he explained that he was turned on when he was holding me. I pull my hand away from my mouth.

“And that look you’re giving me is only making it worse,” he complains, but there’s a bright smile on his face.

“I’m not immune to you either,” I confess. “You groaned when you took a bite of your burger in the truck Saturday. I felt a full-body tingle run through me.”

“Yeah?” He winks at me when I nod, but he doesn’t dig deeper.

I’m grateful for the reprieve, and it’s like he knows when to push and when to leave things alone. I can only hope that he doesn’t grow bored with having to show restraint where I’m concerned. I know I’m going to get there eventually. I don’t know how many times I’ve lost my mind looking at his mouth or thinking about touching him. I’m human. I may have been raised in what legal standards would consider a cult, but I’m capable of feeling sexual attraction, and it’s coming off this man in waves. It’s like the room is being pumped full of pheromones that are making my head swim.