by Abigail Owen
She shook her head, biting down on her smile.
“Come on,” he urged.
“I’ll pass.”
He leaned down and placed his lips close to her ear. “I want to dance with you.”
Still she hesitated.
“Please?” He found himself holding his breath like this was the first woman he’d ever asked to dance. If Pollux could see him now, his brother wouldn’t let him live it down.
When he’d about decided to give up and sit back down, she placed her hand in his and got gracefully to her feet. “Just remember whose idea this was.”
Not hers. He got the message.
He led her out onto the floor. The DJ was still playing slower songs as people wrapped up eating. He pulled her into his arms, and his hand at her waist encountered bare skin, warm and silky under his fingertips.
“I can’t believe you did that,” she whispered. “Lightning? Really?”
“No one threatens you around me.”
She shook her head, but he could see a warmth in her eyes that hadn’t been there before.
“Every man in this room hasn’t been able to take his eyes off you tonight in this dress.”
She chuckled softly. “The same way every woman hasn’t been able to stop stripping that elegant tux off your body with their eyes. We’re all driven by the same urges tonight, and they don’t come from us. They come from them.” She tipped her head at Tala and Marrok, currently circling the room together greeting guests.
He was tempted to challenge that idea, knowing this thing between them had started before coming to Colorado. At least for him. Knowing Leia, she’d pull away if he did, and he wanted her close. Besides, he could hardly argue with his erection pulsing and the pressure inside him needing release.
She stepped on his foot.
“Ouch.”
“Sorry.”
“Was that in retaliation for saying you’re beautiful?”
Another clash of feet, only this time she managed to plant the spiked heel of her stiletto on his instep. “Sorry,” she muttered again. “I did warn you.”
She pulled a disgruntled face. He chuckled at how cute her consternation was, only to receive a glare. He sobered. “Yes, you did.”
Despite his clamoring body, he kept the rest of their dance PG, managing to get stepped on only a couple more times, and escorted her off the floor when the song ended, feet sore and body on fire. Thankfully, Kaios had moved away, talking to wolf shifters on the other side of the room. Though Castor continued to watch him closely.
They spent the rest of the evening together, except when Marrok needed Castor for various best man duties. At those times, Castor made sure he left Leia with Tala’s sister or one of Marrok’s many cousins, the female ones at least, determined to never leave her vulnerable.
Several hours later, even though the party showed no signs of winding down, Leia tugged on his sleeve. “I’m dead on my feet.”
He’d hoped the connection that had been forged between them would lead to greater intimacy in their room, but she did appear to be drooping and pale. Had using her powers in such force today wiped her out? He swallowed back his disappointment even as his protectiveness where she was concerned kicked in hard. “Have Astra walk you up. I won’t be too much longer.”
He watched as she threaded through the crowds to wish Marrok and Tala goodnight before she disappeared out the side door with Tala’s sister.
“She’s quite a woman.”
Castor glanced over to find Kaios standing beside him. Rather than bothering to answer, he went to move away.
“Did she tell you about how we met?”
Castor ignored the question. “If you value your life, you’ll stay the hell away from me.”
“It was a ceremony similar to this one only for werewolves. The effect of a wolf mating can be amazingly heady. Don’t you agree? Imagine it when the mating pair are more…powerful creatures.” The werewolf’s implication was blatant.
A lie. Leia had already told him how things went down. But had she held back? Not told him everything? Something to explain the werewolf’s hatred.
Suddenly picturing Kaios possessing Leia’s body as the sexual tension drove them to greater heights had Castor wanting to punch a hole through the arrogant smirk on the werewolf’s face.
Instead, he forced himself to turn and walk away.
Chapter Eleven
Something pulled Leia out of the dreamless comfort of slumber. Instinct niggling at her, she blinked awake then stilled to discover Castor perched on the edge of the bed.
She glanced at the clock. Two a.m. She rubbed her eyes as she sat up to face him, dragging the heavy blanket with her to cover her black silk nightgown.
She did her best to ignore her instant awareness at his nearness, trying to tell herself it was unspent sexual need from tonight. Not real. And not something he’d want acted on. Only, turning off her own needs had no effect. “Castor? Is something wrong?”
At some point during the evening, he’d discarded his tux jacket and tie and rolled back his sleeves. Yummy. He blew out a breath and ran his hand through his mussed hair. She frowned at the outward sign that her usually cool-headed demigod wasn’t at all calm. “Sorry.” He paused and shook his head. “Sorry,” he said again. “I’ll go.”
She put a hand on his arm, stopping him. “What’s wrong?”
“I had an interesting conversation.”
She took a moment to think through that. “Did Kaios get to you? Please tell me you didn’t get in a fight or anything.” She searched for any signs.
If anything, his eyes turned darker, more penetrating, like he could see into her soul. “I showed an impressive amount of restraint. You’d be proud.”
Ah. She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “Did he imply we slept together?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t believe him.”
“No, but wanted to punch him I’ll bet. Which is probably what he was hoping for. What an ass.” Was Castor jealous?
“Yes. He is.”
He watched her with an intensity that wrapped around her like a spell being cast.
“I humiliated him,” she said in a low voice.
Castor said nothing. Just waited.
And it all came spilling out. Half drowning the damn werewolf in front of men he’d wanted to impress. The werewolf mating ceremony had been held near her spring. They’d all been gathered. Rare then. Even more rare now.
“It was such a stupid thing to do,” she muttered at the end. “Werewolves are unpredictable, and that’s on their own.” She shrugged.
“So he came after you.”
Another shrug.
Castor put a hand under her chin to tip her gaze to his. “I’ll never let him touch you again.”
Leia lowered her gaze, hiding her thoughts, wishing that could happen, but knowing she’d have to leave after this ceremony, disappear like she had before. Especially now that Kaios knew of her relationship with Castor—or thought he did anyway. Needing a distraction, she took his hand and flipped it over, tracing the lines of his life across the palm. “According to this you’re going to have a long and prosperous life.”
“Lyleia.” There was a growl to his voice that told her he was on edge more than she’d realized.
She lifted her head to peek at him only to be snared by the look in his eyes.
Wanting. Real wanting, and not for show.
An ache of need glowed low in her belly. Could he tell the effect he had on her? Here, in the dark room, after the things that had happened, she couldn’t resist the pull he had on her anymore. Didn’t want to.
He flipped his hand over to lace their fingers together, tugging her toward him. “You thought I’d be just like him when you first came to work for me?”
“Di
d you know about my history when I came?” she asked, stalling.
He shook his head. “Only that you no longer had your spring. Is that what you thought?”
“Yes.”
“Do you still think that?”
He drew lazy circles on the inside of her wrist with his thumb—a soft caress that befuddled her mind. “No.”
“When I first told you about the mating, was your past experience your only reason for refusing?”
She licked her lips. “No.”
His gaze turned sharp, searching. “What else?”
The heat in his eyes scorched her skin everywhere they trailed, or maybe her visceral response to this man was the culprit. Either way, the truth was dragged from her lips. “This.”
He tipped his head in question, clearly wanting clarification. Time to take a risk. She hadn’t used her sexual radar in centuries beyond shutting direct approaches down or turning her own needs off. She hoped to Aphrodite the skill wasn’t rusty, that she was reading his signals right.
Never taking her gaze from his, she slid out from under the blanket and climbed into his lap, straddling him. No mistaking the evidence of his desire. With excruciating slowness, she lowered her lips to hover above his, not quite touching. “This.”
She didn’t have to wait long. With a low groan he covered her lips with his, his tongue sliding along hers, tangling and tempting. He tasted of champagne and something delicious that was simply Castor. He tangled his hands in her hair to angle her mouth better and shuddered as she opened fully for him, whimpers of need pouring from her into him.
Leia lost herself to his kiss, his touch, her body taking over from her mind as she surrendered to the sensations that she’d felt building since the first moment they’d met. This thing between them went way beyond the desire brought on by a wolf-shifter mating. This weekend had only exposed a nerve. Something she had a suspicion they’d both tried to ignore.
She whimpered and rocked against him. Not enough skin. With frantic fingers she reached for the buttons of his shirt, but he placed a hand over hers, stilling her actions.
“Are you sure?” The raw need in his voice almost had her coming right there.
Still, she gave the question the consideration it deserved, taking a deep breath. “Yes.” With her free hand, she smoothed the fine material of his tux shirt over the toned muscles of his chest, savoring the heat of his skin beneath. He shuddered at the touch.
I shouldn’t be doing this.
She needed to resign when they got back to Austin. Not only because of the danger Kaios presented, but because allowing herself to fall for Castor had broken all the rules.
But she couldn’t make herself stop. “I’ll no longer be able to work for you, but for now…”
She raised her gaze to his to see an answering need reflected back at her.
“I’ll take ‘for now,’ but promise me you won’t make any decisions about later without discussing it with me first.”
Why did that request leave her spinning? He wanted what? More? To keep her as his assistant after slaking his lust? Even knowing she’d let her desires get the better of their contract? If she was honest, in this moment, she didn’t care.
He released her hand and she undid the buttons on his shirt. Not in a rush like earlier, but one at a time, teasing him with light brushes of her fingertips with each inch of exposed skin. His breath quickened with every touch. Finally, she peeled the shirt off him. With a grin she leaned forward and gave him a playful nip on his pec, at the same time releasing a wave of pleasure through them both, a perk of being a nymph.
“Holy shit,” he muttered, his cock throbbing between them.
In an instant, urgency took over and together they caught fire. Holding her in his arms, he stood, then lowered her feet to the floor.
He gazed down at her body, encased in the tiny black negligee. “Damn, honey. You’re killing me.”
She giggled even as she delivered a smile worthy of all nymphs. The rest of their clothes were divested in a rush, with heated kisses between every move, every delicious sweep of their hands over each other.
Leia squealed as he spun them around and tumbled her back to the bed. He followed her down and she wrapped her legs around his back. Hovering above her like this, his hot skin was a brand against her own, claiming her with the contact alone.
And everything, all of it, felt so right.
With incredible gentleness, he smoothed her hair back from her face. “I’ve been waiting for this so long, I don’t want to rush.”
Her eyes widened. “So long?”
He nodded. “Since that time we worked together on the Huntington contract late into the night. You were helpful, smart, and challenging.”
She raised her eyebrows. “So you lusted after my brains and sarcasm?”
He grinned and brushed a thumb lightly over her nipple, pulling a gasp from her lips. “Yes. Plus, you touched me.”
She smoothed her fingers over the dark stubble on his jaw. “I’ve touched you before.”
He leaned into her caress. “Yes, but that was the first time. Before then, you held yourself back. Noticeably careful to keep your distance. But you lost that reserve for a second, and it was…electric.”
She remembered. “I thought it was just me. Or the fact that you’re the son of Zeus.”
He shook his head. Then he lowered his head and took one rosy peak of her breast into his mouth. Warmth and heat and the rasp of his tongue assaulted her senses. She groaned and tangled her hands in his thick hair, holding him to her. He grunted as another wave of her power pulsed through them. The more she let go with him, the less she could control it.
After giving attention to each breast, he proceeded to explore her body in a leisurely drive-her-to-the-edge kind of way. No part of her went untouched as he built the tension in her body to screaming pitch. She adored how every caress was like he worshipped her body. Finally, when she was on the point of begging, he made his way back up to her lips. He captured her in a drugging kiss as he ran a hand up the inside of her thigh where he slipped a single finger inside her.
He groaned low and pulled back to grin down at her. “So ready for me.”
“Mmhmm,” she agreed, distracted by what he was doing with that hand now.
He rolled on a condom, and she had no idea where it came from. Didn’t care. Then he positioned himself at her entrance. “So damn sexy.”
“You’re not the only one who’s been thinking about this.” They both gasped as he eased inside her, pleasure throbbing, escalating.
“How long?” he demanded, every inch a demigod.
She tossed her head back as he started to move, rocking her hips into his, matching his rhythm.
He stopped moving. “How long, Lyleia?”
She opened her eyes to find him hovering above her, an intensity in his gaze she’d never seen before, even as passion tightened his features. “Too bloody long.”
He grinned, and she sighed as he started to move again. She closed her eyes, reveling in her body and his and their joining as sensation layered on sensation.
“Eyes on me.” His rough demand had her obeying to find him watching her with an intensity that only built the pleasure.
Gazes locked, with each stroke inside her, and each shudder of pleasure, the pressure built and the wonder became personal. As though he was branding her as his own. Electricity skated over her skin.
As her eyes widened, he smiled. Triumphant and arrogant and hers. “You’re not the only one with pleasurable tricks.”
“You haven’t seen anything yet.” With an answering triumphant smile, she let loose the fullness of her gift and the pleasure inside her rose like the swell of a tsunami, so intense she dug her nails into Castor’s back, hanging on for the ride.
Castor groaned, thickening inside her, and increased
his pace, bucking into her wildly, his face beautifully harsh above hers.
The electric charge gathered and sparked in his eyes then shot between them, sizzling lightning wrapping his cock in electric pleasure that flirted with pain and made each thrust that much more intense.
Leia writhed beneath her lover, wild with pleasure as their powers entwined until, with twin shouts of rapture, they toppled over the edge into another world, one filled with exquisite sensation. He didn’t stop his thrusts until both of them were satiated, drained.
Leia relished the slowing after the beauty of what they’d created together, the weight of his body delicious as they lay locked in replete contentment. She refused to think about the later. The consequences and next steps. Not yet. She still wanted now too much and worrying about later tended to ruin now.
Castor buried his face in her neck, then hummed in appreciation. “You smell like rain and mountain springs…and me.”
She opened her eyes to find him watching her with a lazy, satisfied, utterly possessive smile playing across his lips.
“Gods, you are an incredible woman. The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
“I find that hard to believe given how long you’ve lived but thank you.” She stretched, luxuriating in the way his gaze followed every curve of her body, showing off like the nymph she was, accessing a part of her she hadn’t in way too long.
He captured her face between his hands, suddenly all serious intent. “I mean it, Lyleia.”
She turned her head to kiss his palm. “I believe you.”
He nodded, satisfied. Then stood and scooped her into his arms.
“What are you doing?” Even as she asked the question, she wrapped her arms around his neck, happy to go anywhere he wanted to take her.
“I’m making us a bath. I’ve heard a man hasn’t lived until he’s made love to a water nymph in the water.”
The rumors were true as water amplified the effect of their pleasure giving and receiving ability, partly why gods pursued them as relentlessly as they once had. The experience became addictive. Panic surged through her. She laid her palm over his heart. “I don’t do that.”