by Lazu, Sotia
Moira’s moans and thrashing are proof of that.
“Fuck.” She folds her other leg over my shoulder too, digs her heels in my shoulder blades and angles her hips. Rides my face. Humps my thumb. Tries to pull me closer.
“More,” she gasps. Or is it in my head? “More. I want you inside me.” She tangles her fingers in my hair and pulls until I raise my head from my feast.
“Not tonight.” The words scratch my throat on their way out. They’re a lie, and I don’t lie. What I should be saying is not ever. Not while I have nightmares of destroying another woman’s sanity. Not when I don’t want to ascend—don’t deserve any sort of forever.
Disappointment flits across her face, but then my fingers are in her tight cunt again, and she drops her head back on the table, rolling her hips while I finger-fuck her. She thrashes and moans, and in my mind, her voice chants, “More... Need more... Need you...”
When she comes, what’s left in the champagne bottle erupts in a bubbly volcano, all over my thigh.
I want to shower with her, press her against the glass and fuck her raw, but I don’t. I let her clean up first, and then get under the water jet and fist my cock hard and fast, until I come so intensely, I see double. And yet, I have an erection when she invites me to share the cot in the backroom with her. And I go—me, who’s never shared a bed with a woman for sleep. And I hold her tight against my body as her breathing slows and she drifts off.
Thank Chaos I’ve avoided the bonding, huh?
Ariadne is pulling at her hair, gouging at her cheeks, wailing at the skies. I want to wrap my arms around her, keep her from harming herself, but my touch is what caused this to begin with. Until I tangled my fingers in her long wavy hair and slanted my lips over hers, she had no memory of the deaths she caused under Theseus’ control. Had no memory of arming Theseus and telling him where to strike, to end her poor brother’s life—her brother Asterion, known only as the beast Minotaur, who spent his existence deemed a monster, for their mother’s sins. Did not recall poisoning her father’s evening brew, to facilitate Theseus’ escape. Had forgotten she was abandoned here by the man who used potions and spells to make her love him.
I bind my hands with cotton strips torn from my chiton, so I don’t make contact with her skin again, and force her arms from her face. She’s determined to break free. To blind herself. Throw herself off a cliff. She shrieks her intentions at me, as I whisper soothing, empty words. It’s not her fault. None of this is her fault. Theseus will pay for how he’s wronged her, I swear he will, as long as she promises not to punish herself for deeds that weren’t her own.
“You’re kind,” she mumbles. Her eyelids are drooping, exhaustion finally filling in for the hysteria. “I should have loved someone like you.”
I hold her as she sleeps. In the morning, she presses her lips to mine. “Thank you,” she says.
And maybe once I’ve fulfilled my promise to her, she will love me.
Chapter Eleven - Moira
Can’t believe I slept after that, but my body was depleted by pleasure. And maybe by the rollercoaster that’s been the last couple days. But mostly pleasure.
I stretch back into Dionysos. He has his jeans on. Kept them buttoned up the entire night. This can’t be comfortable. His hand comes up to cup my breast, and I let him tease my nipple. I’m wet again. Or have been. Since I first saw him.
A full-body tingle rolls along my skin at the memory of his mouth on me. Thank God for Sofia, talking me into waxing on a regular basis, although I had no boyfriend to do... maintenance for. We do it for us, she said. To feel sexy. I sure felt sexy while the hottest man I’ve laid eyes on drank freaking champagne from my waxed pussy.
And he didn’t expect me to return the favor. Or did he, and I failed to realize?
I shift to face him, plant my hand on his shoulder, and push him back. In my mind, I’m every bit the seductress who’ll roll him onto his back and suck him dry. My seduction skills leave a lot to be desired, though, and so does my upper-body strength. Despite my efforts, Dionysos remains on his side, head propped up on one arm. A smile plays on his lips, and his eyes are fully silver.
I give up and brush my thumb along his cheek. “How do your eyes do that? Are you wearing lenses?”
His smile stiffens, and with a sweep of his long lashes, the silver melts into his usual warm brown. “Something like that,” he says after a long heartbeat. “Did you sleep well?”
His question snaps something inside, and a mix of sadness, guilt, and longing rises up in my chest, threatening to pull rational thought under. I was... somewhere, in my dream. With Dionysos. He held me while I wept and hated myself. I’d killed my only surviving family for a man—another man—and Dionysos was picking up the pieces.
“Moira?” he whispers. “Are you okay?”
I shake my head. “Bad dream. Just now came back to me.”
His chest is hot against my cheek and smells faintly of champagne, as he gathers me close. I feel safe, with his arms around me. Like I belong. Like I could fall in love with him, and he’d never hurt me.
I lay a kiss on the smooth skin over his heart. Like I could stay here forever.
Dionysos tightens his hold for a second, before he pulls away so fast he almost rolls off the cot. He throws his legs off the edge and stands. “What time is it?” His back is to me, rippling with delicious muscle as he bends to put on his shoes. “I need to talk to my brothers.”
My watch says it’s seventy thirty. What fuckery is this? What does he possibly have to tell them that can’t wait till later? I scoot closer and tug at his back pocket. “Or you text them and maybe get back in here, and I make sure you have a very happy morning?” I waggle my eyebrows when he looks at me over his shoulder.
Okay, a clenched jaw isn’t what I expected. I drop my hand, not giving in to the urge to touch his magnificent ass. Whatever last night was, he’s obviously done with me. But what guy goes down on a woman and doesn’t stick around long enough to get his rocks off?
This guy. Damn it.
I’m glad I’m so pissed off, or I’d be a crying heap, asking him what I did wrong. As things stand, I don’t know what his damage is, but it’s just that—his damage. And I’ll cry later. Because I will cry; I can tell by how my eyes burn and my throat constricts at the thought of not seeing him again.
“Yeah, okay. Go,” I mumble. “I’ll get my stuff and be out of here in half an hour.”
Great. Now I’m on the receiving end of a glare. Full-force, too, as he finally turns to face me. God, his abs stick out like freaking Lego pegs.
I’m getting a brushoff. I shouldn’t be drooling over chiseled-to-perfection body parts.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he says. “I’ll get you a room at one of Sei’s hotels, like I told you last night. I’ll drive you to get your things, and you’ll be back here in time for your shift. Clear?” His gaze softens marginally, before his brows come together in a scowl.
Okay, mixed signals suck, but I can’t exactly ask him where we stand.
Scratch that. I should totally ask, but I’m not ready for a flat-out rejection. Maybe I said something in my sleep that freaked him out? Whatever it is, I’m waiting out this moodiness, and will definitely talk to him about it tonight.
He paces the length of the room once, then twice, before coming to a stop at the door. Back stiff and shoulders square, he leans against the door frame. “Listen... About last night...”
He’s gonna tell me it shouldn’t have happened.
And I didn’t realize a heart could actually break. Mine must have; it hurts as if my chest were split in two. How is this possible? I barely know the guy. I can’t be in love. This must be my ego. Same thing barely keeping the tears at bay as my breath jams in my lungs.
“Can we please keep it between us? For now? I don’t want the other girls to think I hired you because I wanted to... You know—because I want you. Not messing with my employees is a hard line for me.” His chuckle
sounds brittle, pained. “Usually, it is.”
My heart kick-starts, but now it’s racing in my chest. He’s not saying we should forget last night. And he said for now. Like there will be a future. A more. Or he’s about to ghost me, and I’m reading too much into a gentle brushoff.
But would he tell me to stay if he meant to ghost me? I mean, working together isn’t exactly the best way to avoid each other.
“I can do that,” I say somberly.
“Good.” In two strides, he’s in front of me and crushing his mouth to mine so hard, our teeth clash. Then he’s at the door again, throwing it open, and I’m left with tingling lips, a stomach full of butterflies, and a messed up head. And don’t get me started on the state of my pussy.
For now, since I’ve nowhere I need to be, I sprawl back on the cot and fold my arms behind my head. “Say hi to your brothers,” I call out, more sweetly than snippily, though that balance takes some effort.
Pretty sure the glance Dionysos spares me before he walks out is full of longing and regret. And naturally, I can’t go back to sleep.
My whole life, I’ve loved sleeping in, and now that I can do so in a bed that smells like the sexiest man alive, I twist and turn and sigh like a heartbroken teen. A horny one. I could take care of the ache between my legs myself, but that may erase the memory of his mouth on me.
Finally giving up on the hope of drifting off again, I sit up. I could tidy up in here. Wash last night’s towel. Busy myself so I keep a pair of dark-brown eyes and a husky, gravelly voice from my thoughts.
I hate housework, but an hour later, the room is sparkling clean, and I’ve hand-washed everything I’ve worn the past couple days. I search the bathroom for the switch to the magical dehumidifier, I can’t find it. Which leaves me with two options—lay my laundry out to dry in the staff bathroom, where my new coworkers can see it, or splay it on the cot and set the radiator on high. But then I can’t leave till my clothes are dry, or there may be a sort-circuit that leads to an electrical fire. Thanks, Mom, for making me always think of the worst possible scenarios.
Screw it. I leave the heater on, palm the second set of keys from behind the bar, and take myself and my severance check first to the bank, and then to the seaside. Coffee by the beach is good for the soul year round, and for a while, I can pretend all is well with my life. Really, it is. I have a job and a room to crash in, and I spent the night with an incredible man. What more could a girl want? Nothing.
But I’m a woman, and I want more, damn it. Can this be enough for me?
The waves hold no answers, and the weak rays of the morning sun don’t warm my core, where I ache for a man I shouldn’t be thinking of. He’s my boss, and he’s obviously not in the headspace for anything more than what he offered me last night.
Well, nothing better for temporarily covering the empty pit in my chest than spending money I can’t afford on things I don’t need. Now where’s the nearest mall?
Chapter Twelve - Dionysos
Waking up with Moira’s soft, warm body in my arms? Definite yes.
Having Sei’s voice in my head, yelling score, as Moira thinks of a forever with me? No. Fuck no. The shock makes me recoil and slam up my mental walls, but the asshole keeps wooting and cheering and ignoring them.
Can he shut up and give me ten minutes, to rock Moira’s world one more time? Totally.
Does he? Another nope.
“It’s urgent,” he blares in my head like a fog horn. “Get your ass to your apartment. I’ll pick you up in two.”
“Don’t want to,” I reply the same way.
But he won’t stop until I do as he says, so I get out of bed. Holding a conversation with Moira while Sei screeches for me to haul ass is near-impossible, but I’m awesome, so I manage. I want to look my fill of her naked body, stretched alluringly behind me, but I don’t know if the jackass in my head can sneak a peek.
I hate her look as I scramble out the door. She must think I’m a coward, but I said I’d see her later. Didn’t I?
I make my way upstairs, burst through the door, and shove my dick of an older brother with both hands. “What the fuck was that, Sei?” Sparks come off his chest where my palms make contact, but I push once more, even if I can’t make his immortal ass move a centimeter. “Who said you can invade my head like that?”
“I tried your cell, more than a couple times. I told you, it was an emergency.” Chill as fuck, he clasps my wrists and forces me to drop my arms. “I swear I didn’t peek at your female. Besides, you should be thanking me for cutting in; she seemed about to initiate the bond.”
Forever. Moira’s voice echoes in my mind. Was that all it took for the bond to form? I thought we had to fuck first, and for the decision to bind ourselves to each other for eternity to be a conscious one. “I didn’t... We didn’t...”
Sei shrugs. “Hermes and Joy hadn’t shared that level of intimacy when their bond fell into place.”
Shit. Does this mean I shouldn’t even be kissing her? That I can’t taste her again?
Or that I could taste her for the rest of a very long life.
No. I won’t bond. It’s a decision I made a while ago.
But the circumstances have changed.
“Fuck.” The word bounces off the walls, mocking me. Maybe I should have fucked her and gotten this over with.
“Yup.” Sei nods gravely. He closes a hand on my shoulder, and my apartment fades away, to be replaced by the whites and blues of his suite in the Kifissia Olympian Plaza. Unlike me, Sei likes flaunting his wealth, even if he’d like to believe he does so in an understated manner. The leather sofas and real-gold accents are so understated on marble floors, right?
Said sofas—as well as armchairs—are now occupied by all my brothers. Joy is in Hermes’ lap, and Irine hurries to latch onto Sei’s side. See, I can’t do this. I can’t have a female touching me at all times.
Moira isn’t any female. She’s—
Hey, Ares is sporting a black eye. Don’t think I’ve ever seen one of us bruised before.
I point at his face as I lean against the floor-to-ceiling window. “What does that to an Olympian?”
Today’s a day of firsts, because Hephaestus—he of the perma-sadness—chortles. “A fucking Titan. This dickwad made a joke about Pandora’s Box. Epimetheus didn’t appreciate it.”
Ares rolls his eyes. “Pussy-whipped ape’s got no sense of humor.”
“Upside—we know Epimetheus isn’t our enemy,” Hermes says. “If he were, Ares would have seen the punch coming, and he’d have avoided it.”
“Not sure he could have avoided that.” Sei huffs. “He should consider himself lucky that King Nereus and I stopped Epimetheus before the Titan caused greater damage.”
“Yeah, or before I brought the whole fucking palace down.” Ares crosses his arms over his chest, green eyes blazing.
The guy scares me sometimes. Who wants someone with so many issues, ascending to full power? But he’s my brother, and I love him. And, if we’re lucky, his Valkyrie will stay in Valhalla and never ever cross his path.
I tap the nonexistent watch on my wrist, looking at Sei. “You said this was urgent. Did you just wanna show me Ares’ face before he healed? ‘Cause I do appreciate it, but I have things to do.”
“Things.” Hades snorts. “We know what you have to do, brother. No need to be coy about it. I, for one, am happy for you.” That may be the longest he’s ever spoken in one sitting. If Hephaestus is sad all the time and Ares is moody, Hades acts like the weight of the world is on his shoulders. Which I guess is the case, now that Sei abdicated the throne in the new pantheon, but that doesn’t explain why Hades has been this way since he reached adulthood.
Not that any of us has had the balls to ask. He may never get violent, but those ash-gray eyes of his can be scary when he levels a glare your way. He’s a couple months younger than Sei, but I’ve always considered him the oldest in the family. Maybe the wisest after C, too, not that I’d admit it alou
d.
“Whatever. Is there something you need me for?” I sound bored, like I’m not dying to go back to Moira and to not doing the things I want to do to her.
“Sit.” An invisible blast of air wraps around me at Hermes’ words and pulls me down.
I cross my legs and try to look as if sitting on the floor was my idea.
“Poseidon and Ares met with Epimetheus, King Nereus, and Aphrodite.” Hades’ voice is a touch brighter than I’m used to. “Those three spoke for those of the ancient world still in existence. Nereus swore fealty to Sei, and once Epimetheus stopped trying to kill Ares, he and Aphrodite swore the Titans will not oppose our rule as long as we don’t endanger humanity.”
“Which should go without saying,” Joy interjects in perfect Greek that she didn’t speak a couple days ago.
“Damn right,” Hermes adds.
Hades continues, as if they didn’t speak. “But that’s not all. Our sister remembers all of her past life.” He glances at Hephaestus. “She wants to meet with you, at your convenience, to thank you for raising her son.”
Hephaestus scowls, the look perfectly in place on his angular face. “Her son?”
Sei cuts in. “Eros. You were a father to him, even though he wasn’t yours. He wants to thank you too. And his mate, the witch Circe, had a gift for you.”
Silver overtakes the brown in Hephaestus’ irises. “A gift?”
“Unless you don’t want it.” Ares shrugs.
“I’m gonna fucking kill you.” The threat is uttered matter of factly, before Hephaestus turns his expectant gaze to Sei.
Sei’s smile is crooked, and when he doesn’t answer for too long, Irine pinches his arm. “Tell him,” she hisses.