by Marie Harte
Ajax shoved the vines away, clearing more of the hole in the earth. A moist, decaying smell came from the cave, making Aeros’ skin crawl. Ajax must have not heard their debate, or the stubborn man didn’t care.
“This can’t be right. The chalice is down here? How the name of Hades did it get down here?” Ajax demanded, standing and glaring down at Tabithia. His light hair had fallen out of his leather band, shadowing his face, but Aeros saw the stubborn set to his jaw. Ajax had once been trapped in the earth when they’d fought the Death Stalkers in a battle on the coast of Ireland. When the tide had risen, he’d choked on water, barely managing to stay above the high tide. No doubt he didn’t relish stepping into a cave again.
Before he could step in, Tabithia shrugged a slim shoulder and examined her glossy black nails, clearly not intimidated. “I have no idea. But that’s where it is.” She eyed them all sceptically and he found himself standing taller under her critical gaze. “Look, if we want out of here any time soon, let’s hit it. Remember to stay close. Step where I step. And do not touch anything.”
“Huh, sounds like we can’t touch anything…” Narc grumbled.
Aeros glared at his men. They all found other things to stare at. He turned back to Tabithia to see her innocent expression. “I thought you said hours up here, then down?”
“Well, we made good time.”
He waited. She waited, that red-gold eyebrow rising. She wasn’t even sweating.
Finally, when his men shuffled, he nodded. “We will follow you.”
“Great, so glad you agree. You got the supplies I texted, right? Rope, flashlights, emergency flares?”
“We have all of the equipment you recommended.” Ordered, he wanted to say, but held the thought to himself. She was eager for a fight. He could sense a trap, too, and if he gave her as much as one wrong word, she was coming down on him like he did with his men when they fucked up.
“Great.”
He almost thought he sensed a bit of disappointment from her when he didn’t say more. A smile tried to curve his lips, but he hid the reaction. No doubt, any trace of humour would seriously piss her off. Turning, she waved her hand over the remaining vines covering the dark opening and, as he watched, they slowly pulled back from the entrance with a rasp of vegetation rubbing against vegetation. One of the round bulbs opened into a vibrant orange and red flower.
She made a tsking sound and gave him a pointed glare. No touching, she mouthed.
He had to admit he was a bit frustrated, but refused to argue with her. Cowardly, of course, but he wanted to savour a few hours in peace before she finally called him out.
Somehow, the idea of arguing with her had his cock hardening to the point that he had to shift his stance to ease the suddenly too tight confines of his pants.
He had a feeling damn near anything she did would make him hard as a rock.
Aeros nodded at her warning, not appearing phased by her repeating herself every time she turned around. He had the uncanny ability to stare her straight in the eye and make her want to squirm as if she’d been caught with chocolate on her face but refused to admit eating any. Bizarre didn’t even begin to describe it.
Now, he merely watched her, his big, muscular shoulders practically blocking the light from the tunnel entrance. Would all his skin be as golden as his arms?
She struggled to remove the image of him all sweaty and solid above her. Would he hold back his strength and allow her to explore him? Would any man?
“All right.” Had her voice come out a bit breathless? Getting a grip on herself, she focused on the magic swirling around them. “So, here’s how it goes. I can sense a trap. But if you step anywhere I don’t, you could set the jaws of the trap around us all. I won’t be happy, ‘kay?”
“Well, how in Hades do we know where your tiny feet step, lass?”
Lass? “Because I will leave them all sparkly for you, A-Man.”
The Bard grinned. “Smart.”
“Duh.” Head up, she met each of their eyes before giving Aeros a brief once-over. His face looked like a storm cloud. Geesh, what had she said? “Just keep them in line.”
“You heard her.”
Impressive. Turning back to the trail, she smiled. Dare had made a fine mess of this place. The traps were good. Very good. And everywhere, like some kind of crazy kitten had gone nuts with a ball of yarn. Power left a signature that only she could see and the witch had practically cocooned the place with traps. When she concentrated in a particular way, spells revealed themselves with a signature of colour, almost a brushstroke of what side of the evil coin the witch or warlock landed on. Dare was the lightest blue with a hint of purple or perhaps light lavender around the edges. The tint of her sapphire indicated that she landed on the good side of the coin toss, but the colour could also signify pain, or perhaps lack of strength. Someone, possibly the god of war, had bound Dare’s powers to the point that she suffered when she used them, and when she did call on her magic, she could access only some of her strength. The woman would be a killer once she broke free of Ares. She almost felt sorry for the arrogant god of war.
Almost.
Sighing, she took a step and cleared the first of the spells out of her way. It was a good thing she was deep in the jungle. Her strength fed from nature, the world around her. The silver bracelets on her wrists also aided her. The silver bands fit tight to her skin, acting as a conduit for her magic and just a tad bit of strength to her sword strokes.
The next of Dare’s spells showed a bit brighter ahead, giving her pause until she unravelled the mass of lines to the beginning. Tricky. The witch was tricky.
Behind her, Aeros made a sound like someone had sucker-punched him in the gut. She had just enough time to brace herself before he hit her from behind, managing to knock her off balance enough to force a staggering step forward.
Nothing happened for a brief second. She held her breath and realised several things at once.
Aeros held her tightly around the waist, his bigger body pressed tight to her smaller one. Instead of freaking her out, the contact felt good—almost too good. She wanted to press deeper into his big, strong muscles and let him hold her as tight as possible. The urge was almost too much to resist the arching of her back.
Second, a screeching sound like rock against rock sounded louder and louder until it shook the place. Bits of dirt and debris pinged off them, making Aeros pull her closer and hunch over her, no doubt for fear the entire place would fall down on top of them.
The move brought her butt up tight to his hips. Catching her breath, she stilled when she realised what was pressing into her wasn’t one of those hard, long flashlights. Aeros, it would seem, was a big guy all over, completely rock-hard in places that had her breath escaping her in a soft whoosh. His rough, whiskered cheek brushed up against hers and she shivered from the top of her head to her toes.
The urge to rub against him grew into something much, much more dangerous, mixing with a heavy dose of awe. Did she do this to him? She wanted to arch back into him and rub along every thick inch of him. Would he grow bigger?
Before she could decide what to do about the urges rolling through her, or the Spartan behind her, the world around them erupted, literally exploding in on all sides.
Someone behind them cursed.
She gritted her teeth for the impact. Gathering her magic tight, she was preparing to throw a spell of protection around them when Aeros spoke.
“Don’t do anything!”
Son of a bitch! The Neanderthal. Frozen in place by his words, she felt the ground tremble once, and heard, or thought she heard, a soft giggle in the air just as what felt like half a ton of earth collapsed on top of them, knocking her and Aeros off their feet and the breath right out of her.
She swiped angrily at the dirt and filth covering her. Blinking, she managed to get enough grit out of her eyes to twist and turn until she could glare up at Aeros.
“Aeros! I told you—” She stopped in mid
-rant when she realised he completely covered her from head to toe. His big body was hot, hotter than anything she’d ever felt. She felt his heat soak into her, surrounding her with such warmth she wanted to purr.
His breath tickled her neck. A shiver raced under her skin, lingering over her breasts before tingling upward, awakening her body with a rush. Her nipples hardened. Her stomach filled with butterflies, and her mind went completely blank as her body began to slowly burn from the inside out.
“Tabithia? Fuck, are you harmed? Can you breathe, baby? Talk to me, Tabithia?”
The concern in his voice snapped her out of the sudden urge to flex under him like a cat. She licked her lips instead, her mouth dry, unsure what to say. Baby?
“Tabithia? Answer me, did I harm you?”
Harm her? He’d ordered her again. Her mind began to work, seemingly at a speed no faster than a snail’s. He’d ordered her, she’d been unable to stop the spell trap, and here they were—him on top of her. She was filthy. Disgusting. Covered in dirt, sweating, and now for some insane reason her body wanted to melt under his.
He’d be revolted when he saw how dirty she was.
“I’m fine.”
He exhaled, and she realised he’d been holding his breath. Had he been worried he’d harmed her? She closed her eyes and tried to sort all this out.
His body tensed over her and she felt him move. Her eyes flew open. His thick erection dug into her stomach. He was still hard. His attraction was so obvious she could have squealed in delight if she wasn’t smothered by tons of dirt. Trapped by a spell a witchling could have caught. And all because of him.
“Aeros! I told you not to speak. And I definitely said no more orders, damn it!”
She thought she heard him chuckle, but she had to be dreaming. The man was more serious than any other immortal she’d ever met. They were freaking buried alive here. No way was the man laughing.
He lifted his head, and his dark obsidian eyes glowed down at her with humour. He was smiling, the lines of it clear in the dimness of their little cocoon. His teeth flashed white. His inky, black hair and eyebrows only enhanced his chiselled-from-granite features, the line of his square jaw and soft lips. Lips tipped up in a grin.
“This is so your fault. Your men could be crushed and you’re…you’re laughing?”
He lifted himself on his elbows and suddenly she felt every inch of the impressive man. Good Lord. He was massive. Huge. Completely… Holy Hecate, he had to be completely aroused. The thickness of his erection stole her breath. She wiggled a little, then froze when he let out a rumbled groan.
“Fuck, Tabithia, do you know how long I’ve wanted to feel your gorgeous curves against me?”
“Aeros!” Shock mixed with elation practically had her laughing. He was heavy, but in a good, solid, warm way. He’d wanted to feel her? ‘Gorgeous curves’?
“Uh, a day?” Tabithia asked.
Dirt caked his face, filling in the laugh lines she’d not seen before. He looked over at her, drying her smart remarks in her mouth with the intensity of his expression. Reaching up, she cupped his square jaw, shocked at the warm, bristly feel of him.
Brushing at some of the dirt, she watched him swallow before he said, “Tabithia, since the first moment I saw you. Damn, woman, I need to kiss you. If you don’t want that, say it now.”
Say it now? Kiss me? His eyes glowed, bright and full of something she couldn’t quite pin down. He slowly moved closer, breathing in deeply, and rested his face against her hair. “Say it now, say it now, or I’m not going to hold back. Can you feel what you do to me? Every inch of me hurts, hurts from holding back.”
Something close to happiness flooded her system, and she couldn’t hold in the soft little happy squeal or stop herself from shifting her fingers to his silky, short hair.
A deep groan filled their little cocoon. She didn’t hide the smile on her face, didn’t think she could. Aeros’ gaze flickered over her features, his eyes turning slumberous a moment before he whispered her name and lowered his head.
“Aeros? Tabithia? Are you two all right?”
The men. They hadn’t been buried. Or, if they had, they hadn’t been lying around staring at each other, ready to kiss each other senseless.
Concern creased his brow, drawing his eyebrows into a sharper angle.
“Am I crushing you? Fuck, I didn’t even think.” Breaking off, he made as if to move off her.
She didn’t want that. She wanted just a few more moments, with him, like this—unbelievable moments she’d cherish.
“No, don’t move.”
Of course, he did. Ignoring her, he shifted, rubbing against her already sensitive body. Her cheeks burned, but so did her body. Between her thighs she tingled. Her pussy felt wet and achingly empty. She let her hands fall by her head and fisted both tight. Her heart raced, pumping blood through her like a train rushing down the track.
Above her, Aeros sucked in raggedly, exhaling again after a long heartbeat. The warm humid puff tickled her throat and did strange things to her. Her toes curled and an image of him above her, labouring for breath as he possessed her body with ragged, short, hard thrusts, exploded behind her eyelids.
Her heart thudded painfully at the thought. Her desire burned higher, reminding her of all she longed for but never thought she’d have.
Throat tight, she dug her nails into her palms to keep her hands off him. She wanted to touch him, to feel the texture of his hair again, but she was dirty—caked in cave dust and grime.
Rising above her, Aeros managed to lift his head enough to brush his bristled jaw against her forehead. The sensation drove a hot pulse of heat to her soaked thighs.
Goddess. She just might kiss Dare when she finally rescued her.
Aeros lingered above her. She swore he smelt her before he shifted enough to look down at her. Was it her imagination or did his eyes lighten, soften to a golden colour? She felt his heart beating like a drum between them. Brushing her hair off her face, he frowned.
“I’ve hurt you?”
She didn’t speak. Shaking her head, she watched his eyes flicker to hers, then down to her lips. Would he kiss her? She wanted his kiss. She wanted to feel the pleasure of being wanted by another.
Time seemed to stand still. She held her breath, wanting this more than anything she could ever remember wanting.
“Ah, fuck, I want to kiss you so damn bad it’s killing me.”
Wanted? Oh, Bridget help her, she wanted him to do more than kiss her. He wanted her?
His head lowered, his firm lips so close to hers she wanted to arch up and meet him but couldn’t. Years of fear, self-hatred, and doubt had built a wall she couldn’t break, not even for this man. What if he turned away in disgust after? What if he wasn’t interested in her, but merely grew aroused because she was a female? What if he lost his arousal at the taste of her?
His soft breath feathered over her face. Holding hers for fear of whimpering, she fought the urge to worry her bottom lip. Would this be her first kiss?
One brief contact of his mouth to hers hit her like a blast spell, rocking her system with pleasure. His kiss was warm, soft and insistent. He moulded his hands behind her head and pulled her up, licking along her mouth like he couldn’t wait to taste her. Her breath left her. He captured her parted lips and slid inside to stroke his tongue along hers, emitting a low rumbling sound from his chest. His erection burnt against her stomach. He drew back only slightly before devouring her again. He pressed and coaxed until, with more courage than she’d ever drawn from before, she tentatively brushed her lips over his, drawing her hands up to lightly touch his hair.
He groaned loudly, and his body tensed along the length of hers. She smoothed her hands over his broad shoulders, realising in that moment how much she’d wanted to do just that. She wanted to dig into his muscles and feel how powerful he was. Let him take the burden of being strong away, if only for a moment, a day, a night. Something deep inside her chest blossomed an
d loosened at the same time. Releasing something she’d not ever been able to let go of. Anxiety melted under his warmth and strength. His kiss became ragged, urgent, but wonderful at the same time. His hands dug under her and easily meshed her to him from lips to hips. One hand pulled her closer by her hip, the other curled under her shoulders as he made growling noises in his throat.
“Tabithia, you taste so sweet.” Seconds after the words passed his lips, he crushed her mouth to his again, not letting her respond, let alone think. The world melted away, and, in its place, Aeros stroked her to a heat she knew would burn her, but she couldn’t resist rubbing against his thick thigh to stoke it.
As soon as she did, his arms turned to steel holding her and his body trembled. He whispered her name again, as if saying a prayer against her mouth. The next second, light and noise broke the spell like cold water. Aeros jerked away, pulling her up, and muttered some kind of curse she couldn’t quite make out.
Dirt fell from them like rain. Her heart raced, her body still hot, and she felt confused and suddenly more alone than ever before. Jerking from his grip, she brushed herself off and glared at any of the men that chanced her gaze. Aeros opened his mouth once, but she hissed at him and held up a hand.
“Don’t. Just don’t. By all that’s holy, you guys are too much. Next time I say don’t move, don’t move.”
She simmered with heat and shame. Had he been disgusted? In the one brief glance she’d shot him, he looked heated still, and just as frustrated as she felt.
Good.
Marching off, she flung a spell so far ahead she melted the binding spells for hundreds of feet in all three directions. She should leave one or two spells behind to catch the men if they dared to follow her.
She’d practically been moaning. She had been pressing and rubbing against him. Had he liked that? Had he? Or was it just because they were alone and he was horny?