Apollo couldn’t see a problem with that. “That will be perfect for you then – being a nature goddess with your love for all furry beings.”
“My affinity is with natural animals, not ones who walk on two legs and wear suits to breakfast.”
“I seem to recall you do the same – wearing a suit as you delicately nibble on your avocado on toast. Just reach into that tightly controlled heart of yours and imagine this person in their fur during your meeting. You should be fine.”
“The man is an alpha wolf.” The look of pure disgust on Artemis’s face made Apollo want to laugh. “He throws his pheromones around as though he expects anyone and everyone to lunge for his zipper. It makes me uncomfortable just being in the same room as him. He leers at me.”
“Ah, well, there’s a good reason for me not wanting to meet him right there. The man clearly doesn’t have any taste if he’s lusting after you.” There were times when Apollo thought a roll in the hay would be good for his sister – it might help her appreciate some of the human enjoyments in life, like love, music, andhappiness. She used to dance, but she hadn’t done that for a very long time. He never understood why she insisted Zeus gift her with celibacy. “Who is this person in a business sense, and why are you even attempting to have anything to do with this lecherous wolf shifter?”
“His name is Titus Haverland, and he’s the owner of Titus Industries. We, or rather you, have an appointment to meet with him here in our offices this afternoon. His transport company has gone nationwide, and with a solid contract, he could potentially save us…”
But Apollo was shaking his head as soon as he heard the name, even as his insides were quivering with anticipation. He quickly squashed that down.Meeting the object of my interest would ruin everything.“No,” he said firmly, cutting Artemis off mid-stream. “No, I won’t meet with Titus Haverland. Just no.”
“I can’t think why you wouldn’t have anything to do with him. It’s not like he’s in your current circle of friends. But from a business perspective, access to his trucking company could save us a fortune in logistics, and it would be a solid partnership for our company to grow on,” Artemis insisted.
“Then you meet with him.” Apollo stood up and glanced out of his window. It truly was a beautiful day. “I’m sorry, but I have other places to be. I’m sure you’ll handle Mr. Haverland the way you handle everything else – efficiently and successfully. Excuse me.”
Before Artemis could talk him into something that could have terrible outcomes, Apollo translocated out of the office building with its beautiful city views into the peaceful serenity of his massive garden, edged with high walls. Artemis would likely add his translocation to the long list of sins she believed him capableof, but Apollo let out a long breath and felt his whole body relax the moment he was free from the office.
“We can’t actually meet the sexy and devastatingly handsome Titus, can we, my loves?” He stroked over the leaves of the laurel tree that had pride of place in his garden, before moving onto his massive hyacinth bush. The buds were just starting to bloom.
Plonking himself down in the shade offered by his treasured tree and bush, Apollo sighed, staring up at the sky. “If I meet you, then I’ll fall in love with you for real, even more than I am now,” he explained as if the sky was listening to him…and maybe it was because he was a sun god after all.
Titus Haverland was the man Apollo lusted after and dreamed about. They’d never met, obviously, but Apollo had seen him on a television screen being interviewed when he was in a coffee shop, picking up a quick snack. Just one look and Apollo was hooked, the man causing romantic dreams of walking along a beach at sunset, or spending cozy time together in a club listening to music.
Ah, Sundays in bed. I could click you up any meal your rugged heart desires, just so we never have to leave the sheets.It was Apollo’s ultimate dream – spending time with someone who was happy to be with him as much as he was with them.
Unfortunately, Apollo knew it couldn’t happen. Although he’d seen the man around town countless times since, he knew better than to make any approach.
“If I meet you, then something disastrous will happen and you’ll end up as a tree, or a bush, or a statue situated on some remote island – nothing more than a shitting station for local bird life. I don’t need my powers to know that when my life experiences remind me of that every day. I can’t meet you. I can’t put youthrough tragedy just because my knees go weak when I see you going about your business. Absolutely not.”
He nodded at the blue sky with its puffy white clouds. “I have had enough of being the harbinger of doom for those who stir my blood and set a fire ablaze in my soul. I will wait and watch as Titus meets his mate, and they have happy puppies together, no matter how much my heart might ache at the very thought.” He rubbed his chest absently. “It’s not as though the pain of heartache is something new to me.”
The leaves of the laurel tree and the blooms of his hyacinth bush waved in response, but whether it was because they heard Apollo’s vow or because a light breeze skipped through Apollo’s garden, he couldn’t tell. And it really didn’t matter, anyway.
It’s Wednesday, and I do have an appointment in a few hours. I didn’t lie to my sister. In the meantime, the sun is warm, and I’m not stuck in an office.As far as Apollo was concerned, that was a win.
Chapter Two
Titus Haverland checked his appointments, frowning when he saw he had a two o’clock with the owner of Orion Industries. He had met the woman just once before – a breakfast meeting conducted in a public restaurant. As an introductory meeting, it went well enough, but there was something very off about the woman.
She had been glamoured for one thing, and Titus had a healthy distrust for anyone who tried to be sneaky with him. She also flinched every time he did anything, such as reaching for the freaking saltshaker on the table between them.
In normal circumstances, Titus would’ve just said “thanks but no thanks” to any potential deal and filed the company and their suspicious owner under the “too weird to deal with” column.
However, there was something about the woman, introduced as Ms. Artemis, that was setting his wolf on edge, and he was curious enough to want to know why. Titus wasn’t attracted to her – beyond noting that she was a stunning woman. He could appreciate someone’s looks and not want to tangle with them.
The feeling he experienced over breakfast was different from carnal attraction, though. It was also a totally foreign one for him. In the privacy of his office, Titus could laugh at himself for even considering it, but when he met Ms. Artemis, he got the sense he should know who she was behind the glamour. Even more intriguing was that his wolf felt she was family, and yet prior to the meeting, Titus had never met the woman before. From what he could tell, she didn’t have a drop of shifter blood in her.
Reaching into his lower drawer, Titus flicked through the files there, pulling out the one he had his investigative team prepare about Orion Industries and laying it on his desk. One of Titus’smain rules of business was to know the ins and outs of all of his current customers and potential customer base – their business, their lives, their contacts. Regis, his second-in-command, said he was an information hoarder, and there was an element of truth in that.
Titus had already read the file before he’d had his breakfast with Ms. Artemis. There was nothing in the prepared report that pinged his wolf or his instincts. He flicked through the pages now, stopping at the picture of the woman he’d met. Again, his wolf perked up, but Titus still didn’t feel any attraction toward her, and he was sure that wasn’t the signal he was getting from his wolf either.Fuck, I can’t even remember what she smelled like,and scent was important to a wolf.
But there was something. Titus tapped the picture, his brain working hard.Maybe it’s not her specifically – maybe it’s something else to do with the company that’s sending my senses haywire?He flicked through the pages again, but there was very little information on anyone else at Orion Industries in it.
He recognized the legal and accounting firms mentioned as being on retainer for the company. They were expensive, conducted themselves impeccably, and any company would be proud to be represented by them.
Is the company a front for something else?That was a possibility. Titus had been approached by shady companies many times since he’d bought his first truck. While many modern companies focused on the internet – the so-called information highway - goods still needed transporting, and Titus’s company was one of the best in the country for getting goods of any kind from point A to point B.
