He wouldn’t look at her. Just continued with his overview of the land, the location of the satyr fortress, and a rundown of their defenses.
And a shiver rushed down her spine, not because she was finally getting what she’d always wanted, but because it suddenly paled in comparison to what mattered most.
Chapter Twenty
It was dark when Zagreus finally made his way back into the castle.
He’d spent most of the day showing the Argonauts the layout of the castle, the grounds, the village, and the kingdom’s border near the stone arch where they expected Pandora and the satyrs to attack first. They had a plan for defense, and everything was prepared. He was confident with his silens and the Argonauts—including Nick, who he was still surprised was helping—they could fend off anything Pandora and Max might come up with. The wild card was his father.
Thoughts of his showdown with Hades swirled in his mind as he moved into the grand hall. A low fire burned, and a few nymphs and silens sat around the hearth, quietly talking, but none bothered him.
Most of the Argolean crew had retired to suites in the castle for a few hours of rest before the attack. Since scouts hadn’t reported any movement from the satyr fortress yet, they had time. But Hades had promised retribution in twenty-four hours, and if he followed through—which still wasn’t a guarantee as Hades was unpredictable—that time would be up just before dawn.
Zagreus’s mind urged him to head back to the stone arch. To wait and watch in the darkness for the inevitable. But he knew that was a bad idea. He needed some downtime so he’d be at his best when the satyrs arrived.
Crossing into the kitchen, he took his time washing and drying his hands in the dark, trying to stay focused on the plan, failing miserably because his mind kept running back to Talisa. To the way she’d looked earlier today, standing at the bottom of the staircase when he’d returned to the castle with the Argonauts, wearing those new clothes the nymphs must have made for her, staring at him with a mix of emotions ranging from relief to shock to abject disbelief.
He hadn’t spoken to her. Not during their planning meeting. Not after when they’d broken into groups and he’d headed out to walk the border with the Argonauts. And in the time since, when he’d helped Rhen sharpen weapons and check armor, then met with his silens to go over their plans all over again, he’d not seen her.
She’d disappeared after their meeting, to where he didn’t know. Part of him was anxious to find her, just so he could make sure she was safe. Another part, though, knew that was a bad idea, particularly after their argument yesterday. Especially considering she didn’t know about the end of his plan. The part her father had agreed to and promised not to share.
He shut off the water, reached for a towel, and dried his hands. His body urged him to go upstairs to his suite, to drop into bed, to sleep for at least a couple of hours. But he’d left Talisa there last night. If she was waiting for him in that room, he didn’t want to do or say anything to agitate her again. She needed to keep her wits about her so she’d be ready for the battle, too.
Dropping the towel on the counter, he moved back into the grand hall and stopped as he glanced toward the stairs and debated his options.
There were too many people in this damn castle. Too many he didn’t want to run into now that everything was done. Too many he couldn’t face one-on-one tonight—like his uncle or Talisa’s father.
He moved back out the main doors and headed across the river toward the path that led up into the mountains. Long minutes later, he ducked under the rocks and into the cave that led to the lookout, knowing up here he’d be able to rest with no one bothering him. Where he’d have nothing but time and darkness as company, two things he knew all too well and hadn’t missed these last few days with Talisa.
Talisa…
Every second with her, from the moment he’d seen her in that club, tumbled through his mind as he stepped out of the tunnel, crossed the cavernous room, and moved up the steep steps. She would hate him when she discovered the deal he’d made with her father, but he didn’t care. All that mattered was that she lived. To know that she’d go on, that she’d have a future to look forward to, one that wasn’t dark or broken or isolated, was worth any price.
He eased up the last step and faltered when he reached the circular room. It wasn’t cold stone and empty space anymore. Candles of different shapes and sizes flickered in groupings on the floor and from candelabras littered throughout the area, all casting a warm glow over the bed against the wall opposite the windows.
The bed that hadn’t been there before. The bed with the white comforter pulled back, mountain of pillows, and the female he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about all day, sleeping softly on her side on the soft white sheets.
She startled as if she’d heard him and sat up. Blinking quickly, she swiped at her eyes and looked his way. “Zagreus…”
The emotion he heard in her sleepy voice tugged at something deep inside him, but he didn’t move his feet, afraid of misreading her, unsure about why she was here and what this was for.
“I was starting to worry I’d made the wrong choice.” She pushed to her feet.
He didn’t know what she meant. And his throat was suddenly too thick to ask.
She was barefoot, wearing a silky white robe that fell all the way to the floor, with bell sleeves that hung past her fingers, and a sash tied to accentuate her waist. But it was her features he couldn’t look away from as she crossed his way. Her long dark hair falling naturally around her perfect face. Her sweet pink lips turned up in a slight smile. And her violet eyes focused only on him.
She looked like an angel. Like his own personal savior. And with the candlelight flickering behind her, like all the light he’d ever needed in the world.
Her steps stilled in front of him. She didn’t speak. Just continued to hold his gaze. In her glittery eyes, he didn’t see anger as he’d seen yesterday. No shock as she’d shown him earlier today. He saw only relief. Hope. And heat. So much heat it awakened something inside him he’d told himself was dead.
“What is all this?” he managed.
“A gift. For you. I had a feeling you wouldn’t want to stay in the castle tonight with all of our guests.”
“You did this?” He glanced toward the bed with its iron headboard and matching side tables also holding candles.
“Yes. Well, Nysa helped me some.”
He wanted to ask how but couldn’t seem to make his lips work. Because she was stepping closer, and all he could focus on was her hypnotic scents of cinnamon and vanilla and orange blossom surrounding him. Her tempting heat seeping into his flesh. And her lips, so soft and perfect now within reach.
“You know,” she said softly, “you have some explaining to do about those guests.”
He knew he did, but his heart was beating so fast, he couldn’t seem to do anything but stare into her mesmerizing eyes.
“My parents were a little bit of a shock.” She smirked up at him. “I won’t lie about that.”
“You don’t have to stay. You can go home with them. We have enough people to protect the kingdom and help your cousin.”
She pursed her lips and eased closer.
“Talisa—”
“We’ll talk about all that later. Right now I want to talk about what happened yesterday in that forest.”
He tensed, remembering how angry she’d been. The betrayal in her eyes. And how the truth in her words had pierced his chest like a blade.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I didn’t mean those things I said. Sometimes my temper gets away from me, but I… I’m working on it.”
The regret he saw in her violet eyes surprised him more than her words. “You have nothing to apologize for. It’s my fault your cousin is with Pandora. You were right about me. I am selfish. I always have been. You were right about everything.”
“No, I wasn’t,” she whispered. “And you’re not selfish. What you did today proves that.”<
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He couldn’t seem to answer. Was afraid if he did he’d give too much away. Then he couldn’t because she was moving closer again. So close she was all he could see.
“And I didn’t mean to throw that rock at you.” She reached for his hand, her soft fingers sliding over his skin to ignite tingles everywhere they touched. “I didn’t even know I could do that.” With her other hand, she touched the gem still hanging on the chain around her neck. “All I can think is it must be the amulet you gave me.”
“It’s not the amulet.”
“It’s not? How do you know?”
“Because you’re stronger than you think. And way more important than you or the people of your world realize.”
Her gentle gaze skipped over his features. “I don’t know if that’s true. The only thing I do know is that I’ve been fighting a battle my whole life. Between who I want to be, and who I’m supposed to be. Between where I am, and where I belong. No matter what I did or how hard I fought, I never fit in. Not with my family. Not with the Argonauts. Not even in Argolea, which has always been my home. And now I know why.”
He stared at her, waiting for more.
She lowered her hand, holding his softly in both of hers. “Because where I belong isn’t a place. It’s not a job or a duty. It’s a feeling. One I know is right because it’s all that matters anymore. Where I belong... is with you.”
His head grew light, and for a heartbeat he was afraid he might fall over. But she was right there, holding him up, keeping him grounded. In her. In her eyes, filled with an emotion he was almost too afraid to name. In her heat, igniting a fire all through his blood. But mostly in her words. Words that settled deep in his chest. Words she should never be saying to someone like him.
“I told you I’m not a hero, Talisa. I’m the villain. I’ve always been the villain. I’m—”
“—Mine.” She squeezed his hand in both of hers. “You’re mine, Zagreus. That’s all you ever have to be. Just mine.”
He stared at her, his heart thumping so loud he was sure she had to hear it in the silence. “How do you do that?
“Do what?”
“Change everything. In a heartbeat.”
A sweet smile spread across her gorgeous face. “Is that what I’ve done?”
“It’s what you’ve done from the first moment you walked into my life back in that club. You never had that power before. You never made me feel…”
“Feel what?”
His knees grew weak, and the words left his lips on a heavy breath. “In all your other lifetimes, you never made me feel.”
Her smile grew wider, and she moved even closer, until the long line of her sexy body brushed his. “I like that.” Her hypnotic gaze dropped to his shoulder then slowly lifted, skimming his throat, his jaw, his lips, leaving a tingle of heat everywhere she looked. “I like that a lot.”
He stared at her, aching for more but needing an answer to his question at the same time.
As if she knew what he was waiting for, she finally met his gaze. And very softly she said, “The question isn’t how, Zagreus, it’s why.”
He swallowed hard. “Then why?”
She pressed the palm of her hand against his chest, right over his heart, just as she had before when they’d stood in this same spot. “Because this is mine, too. It always will be.” Her eyes turned soft and dreamy. “Because I love you.”
Her love swirled around him like a vortex. One he would never be worthy of. One filled with so much honesty and tenderness and passion, he couldn’t hold back.
Closing his arm around her waist, he pulled her tight against him then lowered his mouth to hers.
She groaned the moment their lips met and opened to his kiss, drawing him deep into her heat as she tangled her tongue with his and lifted her hands to his face. And as he kissed her deeper and her fingers slid into the hair at his nape, all those reasons he’d told himself he needed to stay away from her tonight faded in the ether.
“Talisa,” he murmured. “I’m not… I don’t deserve… Ah, damn, but I want it.” He kissed her again and again. “I want you.”
“I’m here.” Her fingers dropped to his shirt, and she made quick work of the buttons down the front as she stepped back, drawing him with her. “I’m right here.” She pushed the halves of his shirt apart and slid her warm hands over his chest. “Come and take me. Make me yours, Zagreus.”
The backs of her legs hit the bed. Gently, he lowered her to the mattress, savoring the sweetness of her mouth, the softness of her body, and the way she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and drew him down into her heat as if she couldn’t get enough.
As if he was her everything. The way he suddenly yearned to be.
“Take this off.” She pushed the shirt down his arms, helping him wiggle out of it.
He kicked off his boots, then wrapping his arm around her waist again, shifted her higher in the bed so her head was against the pillows and her hair fanned out around her. Reaching for the sash at her waist, he kissed her nose, her cheek, moved his lips to her jaw and nibbled at the soft skin behind her ear as he tugged the tie free and pushed her robe open. Then he drew back and looked down at the only gift he’d ever wanted.
“Ah, mono mia,” His gaze skimmed her curves, the flare of her hips, the swell of her breasts, and the small silver balls at her nipples that caught the light and made his mouth water. “I have a weakness for you.”
“Show me.” She lifted her shoulders from the mattress, slipped her arms free of the robe, then slid her fingers along his jaw and into his hair, drawing his mouth back to hers. “Show me. I need you.” She kissed him and pulled him down with her once more. “I need all of you.”
Her bare breasts pressed against his chest, the barbells through her nipples warm where they grazed his skin. She licked into his mouth and opened her legs, making room for him.
Groaning at the wicked feel of her bare flesh, he tasted her deeper, ached to get closer. She answered by sliding her hands down his chest and abs until she found the waistband of his pants, flicked the button free, then pushed her hands beneath the fabric and slid them around his hips so she could sink her fingertips into his ass and pull him in tighter.
“Oh yes.” She lifted her hips and rubbed the heat of her sex against his swollen cock, the sensation sending sparks of electricity to his brain that threatened to overwhelm him. She shoved at his pants. “Take these off. Hurry.”
He wanted to. But he knew if he didn’t slow things down he was going to lose control and take her the way he had the night of the maenads’ festival. And though he’d loved what they’d done to each other that night, he didn’t want that to be the memory that lingered in her mind.
He forced himself away from her lips. Kissed her jaw, the slender column of her throat, pushed himself back and slowly feathered kisses down her chest until he reached her breasts.
“Mm…” He traced his tongue over the right barbell, drawing her nipple into a stiff peak, then did the same to the left one. “I love these. Arch your back for me. Let me have them.”
Her head fell back in the pillows. She sifted her fingers through his hair and closed her eyes, arching into his mouth, giving him everything.
He drew her right nipple between his lips and suckled, loving the sounds she made, the way her muscles tensed beneath him, the way the firelight flickered over the pleasure on her face as he teased the barbell with his tongue. His hand massaged her other breast, then he moved his mouth that direction, repeated the process, stroking her desire one lick at a time, watching as she burned hotter with every lap.
He trailed kisses down her toned abs, across her belly button, then finally to the treasure he’d been aching for.
“This is what I’ve been craving.” Pushing her legs wider, he settled between her thighs and skimmed his fingers over her mound. “Mm, your scent makes me absolutely high, mono mia.” He glanced up as he lowered his head and parted her with his fingers. “Try not to come. I want
you hot as the sun when I make you mine.”
“Ah gods…” She arched, searching for his mouth.
A wicked smile turned his lips. “Tsk. I thought we went through this already.” He blew gently against her. “I’m the only god for you, remember?”
“Yes.” She shivered when he pressed a kiss against her mound. Wiggled beneath him. “I remember. Just you. Please, Zagreus…”
Her pleading was more than he could take. He lowered his mouth and ran the flat of his tongue over her clit, then did it again.
“Oh…” Her fingers tightened in his hair.
“Mm… Like the sweetest honey.” He did it again, then slid down to circle her opening and back up to flick her clit.
She lifted and lowered her hips, rubbing against his face, growing hotter with every stroke. He didn’t let up, lapped at her core, the scent of her arousal swirling in the air to make him lightheaded. She groaned. Grew so wet against his face. And feeling her passion rising, knowing she was getting close, he finally drew her into his mouth and suckled.
Her body bucked. Her sweet clit swelled between his lips. He hummed and sucked harder, driving her to the edge. Then her whole body tensed. And just before the orgasm hit, he released her.
She cried out and writhed against the white sheets. Pushing to his feet, he shoved his pants the rest of the way off, then climbed back between her legs where he knelt on the bed and reached for her.
“Come here.” He pulled her up and onto his lap.
She gasped and slid her arms around his shoulders, her eyes glazed with lust. As she straddled his hips, he pushed his knees wider and drew her down against him, his aching cock sliding through her wetness and pressing just a fraction of an inch inside her.
“Ah god…” She shivered and tried to push down, to take him in deeper. But he held her still with a hand at her lower back and the other at her nape so he could pull her forehead down to his.
“Mono mia,” he breathed against her mouth. The marking on his hip pressed against hers, hotter than ever before. “You’re like a drug. One I can’t resist. I know I should, but…” He flexed his hips, moving the tiniest bit inside her. “Tell me what you want.”
Wicked Page 31
