Chapter 25

Chapter

Twenty-Five

DAPHNE

I wake up in the middle of the night, with the sharp chill in the air and dread pumping through my veins. I don’t want to hear his heavy breathing as he sleeps or feel amiss for not being in that bed with him. I want to escape. Leave him and his family forever. And God help me… I want to fuck him. Fuck him hard over and over again.

Is it possible to want both at the same time?

A moment of peace as he sleeps. A moment of safety as his arm lays draped over the edge of the bed which is never how he used to sleep. He used to be a back sleeper. Clearly Olympus Manor has changed him.

It’s changed him so much.

The full moon casts a powerful beam of light into the room—bouncing off the metal of the bars of my cage—only illuminating my harsh reality. I am a captive in a family manor with my captor who is also my husband. I have only myself to hold on to, even though my strength is fading. A strength turning into a pool of thick dark weakness, threatening to strangle me in despair.

Fuck Apollo. Fuck him and the rest of the Godwins straight to hell. And yet, as he sleeps, I remember small glimpses of his humanity. There are many. He’s given me small peeks, as of late, into his soul that shows he isn’t all black inside. There’s something in his eyes I’ve never noticed before.

“Apollo?” I whisper, breaking the silence of the room. I look through the bars at his face as he sleeps. He looks so peaceful, gentle, and even kind. This is not the rough man who punished me repeatedly then took me without so much as an ask. This sleeping man is not a monster. Or is he? Maybe he’s just a beast in slumber. “Apollo,” I say again a little louder.

His eyes flutter open. “You should be asleep,” he says in a scratchy voice.

“Am I going to die?” My question is direct, blunt, but it can’t be held back any longer. I have to know the truth.

“Go to sleep.”

“Are you planning on killing me?”

“No.”

“Then keeping me in a cage as your pet forever instead?”

“Would you rather I kill you?” He takes a calming breath. “Did my discipline earlier not teach you anything? You should be afraid of me, not poking the bear. Go back to sleep. The sun’s not up yet.” He says the words, but his eyes linger on me hungrily. I see how he looks at my bare pussy and my exposed nipples. I can sense the intensity in his stare, almost feel the heat of his body even from afar.

“But your family still wants me dead, right?” I ask. “I seriously doubt any of them have changed their mind. You’ve never stood up to them before.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know,” he says.

“I know that when it comes to Troy Godwin, no one, not even you or your siblings, go against his wishes.” I pause and then add, “And I know I made an awful mistake. One that your father, your sister, your brother, and maybe even you, will never forgive.”

He sighs deeply and repositions his body where I see the last bits of moon light highlighting every curve of every muscle. “Did you really want to see me in jail forever?”

I shake my head. “I gave little thought before I acted. I was just so hurt. I wanted to make you hurt. And I felt so trapped and weak. And I didn’t want to be weak any longer. So I asked myself what Athena would do, and well…that’s how I decided to betray you and Medusa.” I grab hold of the bars and press my face closer. “And when your brother took the fall for it, I really wanted to step in and confess, but the tidal wave had already hit. I didn’t see a way to fix it. I froze. I became immobile to do or say anything. I took the cowardly way out and just remained quiet. I thought if anyone could get out of this mess, it was Ares Godwin, and I needed to step back and allow him and the Godwins to do what they did best, which is fix anything. I feared I’d only mess it up further. Your brother was a powerful man. I respected him. Feared him. But more than anything, I had grown to love him as a family member. He was always kind to me. To be honest, he was the only Godwin who even tried to make an effort. I’m sorry he’s gone. I’d love to apologize to him and beg for his forgiveness, as I’m doing to you.”

“Is that what you’re doing?” Apollo asks. He seems to soften right before my eyes. “Begging for my forgiveness?”

“Yes, and not just because I’m in a cage.”

He chuckles. “But I’m sure you hope to not be in there any longer.”

“Do you blame me?”

He remains silent for a bit. He finally lets out a deep breath and asks, “You said you were hurt. Why?”

“You know why.”

“I don’t. Tell me.”

I try to not let the familiar bite of anger take hold every time he acts like my request isn’t, and never has been, important. “My sister. I asked you over and over. I begged you. And yet, you always shut it down.”

“Shut what down?”

Tilting my head, I study his face. Did the accident make him black out this part of our life? The doctor said his memory would have holes because of his head injury, but he’s been doing so well remembering most everything else. I occasionally can see an emptiness in his eyes when I mention something about our past, like there is no recollection of what I’m saying, but then he seems to remember quickly. But not this time. This time, he really appears to have no clue what I’m talking about.

“You don’t remember?”

He runs his fingers through his hair and glances out the window before saying, “I don’t remember. I wish I did.”

His words are like a punch to the gut. He doesn’t remember the reason our marriage shattered to a million pieces. He doesn’t remember why I wanted out of our marriage so badly that I’d go to the authorities with information that would destroy him. He doesn’t remember why we are the way we are.

“I can see that me not remembering this is hurting you. Why?”

“Because it’s the catalyst for our destruction. If only you?—”

“If only I did what?” he interrupts.

For some reason, I don’t want to say it again. I don’t want to ask again. I begged constantly. I offered everything, anything, if only he’d do as I ask, and yet right now, I don’t want to repeat what had become a broken record. “Do you remember the kind of relationship my sister and her husband are in?”

He slowly nods, but I’m not sure if he really does or if he’s just nodding for my sake.

“He’s an abusive asshole,” I say, just to clarify for him if by chance he doesn’t remember that fact. “He beats my sister over and over. Punches, makes her bloody. He’s even broken her arm.” My voice cracks. I swallow the bile forming in the back of my throat. “I fear he’s going to kill her someday.”

I see his jaw lock, and his eyes narrow.

I continue on. “She won’t leave him. She told me that if she ever did, he’d hunt her down and kill her and kill me too, as payback.”

Apollo sits up quickly. Rage washed over his face. “The fuck he will. The fact that he even threatened your life is reason enough for me to kill him with my bare hands. How dare he threaten you.”

“He’s threatened me multiple times. But…” I don’t understand why the sudden change of heart. A complete about face. “That’s just it, Apollo. I asked you to kill him. I begged you to. And when you refused, I even asked if I could have your brother do it. You refused that too. I know your brother was the family hitman, and for some reason I didn’t understand, you forbid it. I wanted her husband dead and came to you for help. You turned me down, over and over again.” I stop speaking as I try to process the clear anger I see on Apollo’s face.

“Did I ever give you a reason?”

“You said that the Godwins don’t get in the mud with pigs. You said that you and your brother are busy with genuine problems. You said that my sister made her bed and can easily get out of it. You said?—”

“I was a fucking asshole,” Apollo interrupts, clearly pissed. “That fucker deserves to die. The only reason I haven’t gotten out of this bed to hunt him down right now is because for the life of me, I can’t remember this shit.”

“I just want my sister to be safe,” I say, more to myself than to Apollo.

I sit back and pull my legs to my chest, feeling the overwhelming need to cry.

“I’m assuming they live on Heathens Hollow?”

“The Eastside.”

“I’ll take care of it today. ”

My heart skips. “Wait… Just like that?” I move closer to the door of the cage.

“Yes. Just like that. Give me the address.”

An odd sense of panic mixed with excitement sizzles through my veins. “No plan, no— you can’t just walk into the house and kill him.”

“Why not?”

“Apollo, you act like it’s no big deal to kill a man.”

“I think we both know this isn’t going to be my first rodeo.” He smirks, but I can see he’s uncomfortable with this discussion. His body is tense, and his face even more so.

“You make it seem so…simple,” I say softly.

“I shouldn’t have refused you when you first asked. And if I didn’t want to do it, then I should have asked Ares. Because he wouldn’t have hesitated for a second. Not only would he have killed him, but he would also have made him suffer.”

I’m confused by the change of heart. Why now? Why, after all this time?

“I hated you for saying no. I hated you for not helping me. Not helping the only family I have,” I confess.

“You should have,” he says. “It’s warranted.”

“I hated you so much, but I couldn’t just divorce you. I knew when I married a Godwin that divorce was out of the question. Troy, Ares, Athena… Everyone truly believes the vow until death do you part . And I knew death was inevitable for breaking the vow. But I was miserable. I couldn’t look at you. I had lost all respect for a man who I had thought would save me and keep me safe. So, when I walked in on you killing that man in the boardroom, I recorded it. I saw it as my chance to destroy you. I wanted out and knew this was a chance to be free of you forever. It was the pain in my heart that made me do what I did. You were willing to kill a man for business in the Medusa boardroom, just not willing to kill for me.”

“And your sister?” he asks. “Is she okay right now?”

“For now,” I answer.

“Does she want him dead?”

I shake my head. “No. I’m sure she doesn’t. But it’s either him or her. I know this in my gut. I have to protect her. I have to.” I release a deep breath. “She’s pregnant. Which means that now a baby is in danger too.”

“Then we will. I’ll take care of it.” He lays down on his back and stares at the ceiling. “I should have done this before, but I will handle it. I promise.”

“You’ll kill him?” I’m not sure I’m hearing him correctly. What does taking care of it mean?

He turns his head. “Yes. I’ll do whatever you ask. Besides, he fucked with the wrong Godwin by threatening your life.”

“You’ll do it yourself ? Not hire someone?” Now that Ares is dead, I’m not sure who would be the person to handle this. Yes, Apollo killed someone in the boardroom of Medusa, but I didn’t peg him as a ruthless killer. Killing Godwin enemies was the role of his twin.

“Of course I’ll do it myself. He threatened my wife. You are a Godwin now, and no one gets away with threatening a member of this family.”

Trepidation, uncertainty, and doubt constricts my heart like a vise. It suddenly feels difficult to breathe. “Today? You are going to do this today?”

Apollo must sense my chaos of conflicting emotions, because he turns his head and looks at me with tenderness in his eyes. “When would you like me to?”

“I’m not sure… Not today. I mean, I want it done. I do, but…”

He doesn’t say anything. He simply watches me.

“I’d like to talk to my sister first. Not warn her it’s being done or anything. But… I just feel I need to speak with her first.” Scared I may be missing my window of opportunity, I quickly add, “But I do want you to. I do. I just need a little time. If that is all right?”

He smiles. “You tell me when. It’s your call.”

Gratitude rushes over me, as well as…warmth. “Thank you, Apollo. I wouldn’t ask if — thank you.”

There’s a long moment of silence between us. The air feels heavy, and I desperately want to be in his arms right now. I need his comfort, and I need to feel safe. And for the first time in my life, I truly feel Apollo has the ability to make me feel that. Secure.

There seems to be a crack in the air. A sizzle between us. An electric current that pulls us together, even though we’ve been drifting away as each day of our marriage went by. I’ve felt this powerful pull more and more since the accident. As if his near death has changed who he is and who we are. It’s a gripping, suffocating hold over me, and I can’t resist the way it demands me to just… be.

“Do you want out of the cage?” he asks, seductively hypnotizing me with his husky voice .

I remain silent and still, uncertain if his question is a trap of some sort.

“I have a lot of making up to do,” he finally says.

“So do I.”

“I think you’ve paid the last few days. Or at least coming damn close.”

My body heats at the memory of all the ways I’ve paid. “Does that mean the cage and the punishment is over?”

“I’ll tell you what,” he says. “You can stay in that cage, roll over and get some sleep. I will leave you alone even though my cock is hard again and I want to fuck you until you scream my name.” He presses up on his elbows, revealing his rippled abs. “Or you can crawl out of that cage and come sit on my face so I can lick you. We can end this punishment once and for all right now.” He smiles. “The choice is completely up to you.”