“You were right,” Actaeon said.
Icarus swallowed the impulse to say was that so hard? Something told him it was a good idea for this conversation to last longer than thirty seconds. He faced Actaeon.
Actaeon wore a tight smile. “I’ve spent a long time trying to go down in a blaze of glory. It’s not a death wish, but it’s...” He raked his fingers through his hair. “I’m one of the best hunters in history, because my mother raised me that way. I’m the child of the moon. I’m Apollo’s bratty nephew. I’m the guy who helped Heracles destroy Las Vegas. The world knows about me, but after three-thousand years, you’re about the only person who truly knows me. On one side of the coin, it’s terrifying that someone does, and on the other side, I wish you weren’t the only one.”
“I know exactly what you mean. It’s a tough place to be.” Icarus was sympathetic. He wasn’t about to wreck this moment with a sarcastic retort.
Actaeon’s body was tense. It was almost funny, how he could look so at ease walking into a fight but tonight he looked as though he might shatter if someone tapped him wrong. Regardless, he was a gorgeous specimen. In fact, the vulnerability added to his strength.
“I’ve been running from the wrong things,” Actaeon said. “I belong with you. I’ve fought that for so long, because I’m fearless... except when it comes to you and me. I don’t want to push you away again.”
“No?” Icarus almost choked on the question. Experience said listening to this would end in heartbreak again. But it felt sincere this time. Was it possible to change after so long?
Actaeon closed the distance between them, until there were only a few inches. “I’m terrified of loving you, because you could break me. But I can’t stop, and I won’t keep running. I’ve loved you for centuries. Longer. I don’t remember a time when I didn’t.”
That was almost poetic. But Actaeon had always been good with words... when he wanted to be.
“Well?” Actaeon watched him expectantly.
“I love you too.” It felt incredible to finally say it. Such a simple thing, but Icarus had hidden it away forever. “And ditto all those sweet things you said. Except the part about being terrified. Nope. Not one little bit.”
Actaeon smiled. “Liar.”
“Maybe I’m a smidge scared.” Icarus laughed. He should be. Most of what he felt was relief. “Aphrodite was right.”
“Not the best tangent.”
“Love is worth jumping through a lot of hurdles for.” Icarus understood why the goddess had done so much for Lexi and all of them. “Even the ones you put me through. I wouldn’t surrender a single one of those memories, regardless of whether or not we reached this point. Though I’m glad this is where we go next.”
Actaeon kissed him. So many emotions rushed through Icarus at the hungry touch, buoying him, exciting him, and filling his head with promises. He cupped Actaeon’s face and returned the gesture, clinging for all he was worth. So many kisses over the years, and this was the best yet.
Perhaps he’d forgotten how good it was before, but he didn’t think that was the case. Either way, it was all up from here.
“Oh.” Lexi’s surprise carried in her voice and thoughts. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“Wait.” Actaeon broke away, grasping Icarus’ hand. He reached for Lexi as well. “I wanted to talk to you, too.”
She paused near the doorway to the roof. Her mind was closed off, but hints of curiosity and hope flitted around her.
“Well, come here.” Actaeon extended his free hand.
She drew near to grasp his fingers, and he tugged her closer.
“I don’t know how much you heard,” Actaeon said.
She shrugged. “I saw kissing. It was sweet. And kind of hot. I can infer a lot from that.”
Icarus suspected she’d be right.
“I’d walk into any battle, physical or otherwise, by your side,” Actaeon told her. “I worship you, and I’ll even stop calling your gatekeeper puppy.”
“That last one is between you and him, but I don’t want you to strain yourself,” Lexi teased.
Actaeon pressed his lips to her forehead. “Goddess, I love you. Those aren’t just words, though they are a combination of words I never thought I’d say.”
Lexi brushed her mouth over Actaeon’s. “I love you too. And you.” She turned to Icarus. “Though, you knew that.”
Icarus’ smile grew. “I’ll never get tired of hearing it, though.” This was what it should be. This circle—triangle? Square? Perfect shape of love. He couldn’t see the thread the way Lexi did, but he felt the way it intertwined between the three of them, looped around Cerberus, made them a whole unit.
He rested a hand on the back of Lexi’s neck and pulled her close for a kiss. He had his memories of the years they spent together—the wonderful nights and days and decades of life in their heads.
That was vivid and amazing, and this was better. It had that real spark he’d missed. The tingle of energy that raced between them. The taste of her kisses. The soft mewls that escaped her throat. He devoured her mouth and skated his hands up her back and memorized every sensation.
Actaeon cupped Icarus’ cheek to turn his head and steal a kiss.
Icarus remembered this, too. Every other time he’d been with Actaeon, and the pain when it ended, over and over. The lies were gone this time. That insistence that there was nothing between them. That their intimacy was fleeting.
For as many times as they’d come together and fallen apart, this was different. It felt right. And incredible.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Lexi loved everything about this union. She was caught between two other hungry mouths. On hers. On each other. She lost track of whose hands were where. A tug in her hair. A lick along her neck. A pinch on her nipple.
It was all delicious, and the adoration that enrobed them made her skin dance with desire.
A sliver of fear nudged her senses. What if she was coming between them? It was a silly concern, given all they’d been through, but the pit of doubt jarred her.
“Don’t. You’re not coming between us,” Icarus said in her mind.
Actaeon bit her earlobe, and the sting made her gasp in delight. “You need to be here as much as we do.”
She knew he hadn’t heard the thoughts, the way Icarus did, but he had a sense... The pair of assurances chased away her uncertainty.
Icarus was kissing her again, his tongue dancing with hers, while Actaeon stroked him through his trousers.
She couldn’t see it all, but she knew everything that was happening. Felt whispers of each touch.
“I could spend so much time exploring this. Discovering us,” Icarus murmured against her lips.
“We have eternity. Or close enough,” Actaeon said.
That sounded perfect. Lexi could snap her fingers and have all of their clothes fall away, but that removed the anticipation. The mingling of their auras was the perfect magical complement. The rest, she wanted to happen naturally.
Icarus tugged her shirt up, stopping when it was halfway off and trapping her arms. He swallowed her giggles with kisses while he held her captive. He finished pulling off her top, and tossed it aside..
Actaeon unhooked her bra, then slid the straps down her arms.
Being up here, under the night sky, surrounded by love and security, was incredible.
Icarus gliding his hands up her chest, to tease her nipples, made it even better.
She looked between the two men. “Why am I the only one who’s topless?”
“Fair question. I can fix that.” Actaeon grabbed Icarus’ collar, yanked him closer, and tore as many buttons as he unhooked, in undoing Icarus’ shirt.
Actaeon crushed their mouths together. Their groans mingled, as they roamed their hands over each other’s bodies.
Lexi enjoyed watching them together as much as she liked being in the middle of them. Partly because it was hot as fuck, but also because she felt the adoration that flowed
between them.
Actaeon broke away for the few seconds needed to take off his own shirt. He dropped his hand below Icarus’ waist, to cup his clothed erection, then pulled down Icarus’ zipper and worked his cock free.
Need pulsed between Lexi’s legs, and heat raced over her skin. She wanted back in on the action. She freed Actaeon’s dick and gripped Icarus’, to tease them both.
Icarus kissed up the back of her neck, while Actaeon sucked on her nipples. She squirmed under the attention. Squeezing her thighs together didn’t relieve the pressure.
Actaeon dragged her jeans down her legs, following the burn of denim on skin with a row of hungry sucks. He knelt in front of her and licked back up to her slit.
When he sucked on her clit, she moaned at the sensation that sparked along her senses.
Icarus slid two fingers inside her from behind. She rocked between his hand and Actaeon’s face. Desire and climax built inside. Her breath tore from her throat in short gasps.
She knotted her fingers in Actaeon’s hair, grinding into his attentions. Orgasm spilled through her. They continued to push her until she shuddered away from overstimulation.
Icarus withdrew as Actaeon stood. They pressed her between them. Icarus pulled Actaeon in for a deep kiss, sharing her taste.
She wanted more. Of this. Of them. Of everything.
Actaeon turned to her and rested his hands on her hips. He guided her back. When she bumped into something, he lifted her to sit on the ledge of the roof. The polished wood bit into her ass.
The two-story drop at her back was exhilarating, rather than terrifying. Actaeon had her, and she had no doubt she was safe in his arms.
He searched her eyes. “I can’t say this enough.” He looked between her and Icarus. “I love you both. If I were anyone else, I’d wonder what I’d done to deserve this.”
Icarus laughed.
Lexi rolled her eyes, but she was grinning. “Definitely not be humble.”
“I’ve got a few flaws, but that’s not one of them.” Actaeon nudged her knees apart with his own and slid between her legs. He teased her opening with the head of his cock.
She wrapped her legs around him and thrust her hips forward, driving him inside. This was better than the other times they’d fucked. This was more tangible. Instead of a swirl of auras, it was a smooth, sense-heightening blend. Like the buzz of fine whisky.
As Actaeon built to a steady thrust, she reached for Icarus. She knew exactly how he liked to be stroked.
She teased his shaft and glided her thumb over the head of his cock, in time to Actaeon’s slamming against her.
Icarus cupped her cheek to kiss her. She tilted back her head when he nibbled down her neck, to suck on the tender skin. He dipped his hand between her legs, to tease her clit and brush Actaeon’s cock at the same time.
Their desire mingled with her own, until she wasn’t sure where hers stopped and theirs started. It blurred her senses in the most delicious way.
As climax built in Icarus, it swelled inside Lexi as well. He slowed in his attentions, but he didn’t have to move, for her to feel him.
Icarus came hard, coating her hand with a sticky mess. His groans were as musical as any opera. Her pulse raced from the excitement. She felt it, and it pushed her to the edge of her own climax.
He resumed biting along her shoulder and stroking her swollen, tender sex. The onslaught of touches, combined with his pleasure lingering in her thoughts, pushed her over the edge again.
She screamed into the night when she came. Her orgasm drew out, as Actaeon hammered against her. She clenched around him.
When Actaeon spilled inside Lexi, it lit up her senses and sparked over her skin, until she swore she was glowing. She struggled to catch her breath. It was too much and not enough and the perfect balance of desire and satisfaction.
As the frantic moment ebbed, they all slowed to a stop and collapsed against each other in a breathless pile.
She couldn’t say why sex exerted almost as heavy a toll as fighting, but she was grateful immortality didn’t numb her senses. She loved the hum in her thoughts and veins.
Lexi was staying like this, wrapped in this moment, for as long as possible. When they broke apart, reality would burst in, reminding her that, despite how incredible love was, it didn’t actually conquer all.
CERBERUS FELT THE CHANGE in the air, as the four of them gathered around a table in the empty main room of the saloon.
It wasn’t just the scent of sex, but also Lexi’s glow of happiness. Her stress and worry were still there, but adoration and joy ran through it all. He’d granted her the privacy of staying out of her head while she was with Actaeon and Icarus. That may change in the future, but that could come later.
It was incredible to see. And he was going to have to either deal with the little threads of jealousy, or get good at hiding them and hope Lexi never asked him if he was one-hundred percent okay with things.
He didn’t have an issue with her loving Icarus and Actaeon, but the connection between the three was different. Cerberus felt as though he was sitting on the outside looking in. He’d get over it. There were important things to deal with.
Lexi settled in Cerberus’ lap, rather than taking a chair of her own. Her weight and heat and casual assumption helped quiet his irrational thoughts.
“What now?” he asked.
“We take the fight to Zeus’ door. Off-camera.” Actaeon didn’t hesitate.
Icarus shook his head. “That almost killed us with Hades, and we had a way to bind him.”
Cerberus didn’t see the issue. “Unlike Hades, Zeus has children everywhere.” The magic that bound a god required someone who shared their power—a servant or offspring.
“So, one, that killed Cassandra,” Lexi ticked off a finger. “And while we could debate the highs and lows of her specific passing all night, I’m not doing that to a random stranger. Especially if we don’t know that it will work.”
She raised a second finger. “And two, we had him four-on-one in Germany. No, wait. It was just me, because he sent you guys away.”
Fair point. “So we figure out how he did it,” Cerberus said.
“We don’t have to.” Icarus leaned in, to rest his forearms on the table. “We only have to know how to stop it.
Lexi lit up. Literally. Her aura pulsed brighter. “Can you do that?”
Inspiration struck Cerberus. “The inverse of what you did with Hades. You bind people to a god like a magnet, using their energy.”
“Yes.” Lexi draped an arm around his neck. "Is he right?”
Icarus furrowed his brow in thought. “It’s a sound theory. It needs to be a different kind of precise, sine we’re all already bound. Something that forces proximity. I believe it’s possible. That doesn’t make it smart to go toe to toe with Zeus.”
“You sure?” Actaeon asked. “We’ve got a lot more unlocked firepower than we did with Hades. He may have ages of experience, but he hasn’t fought for a long time, and he doesn’t know what we can do together.”
Cerberus agreed, except for any part of the plan that brought Lexi into the middle of a fight. Not that he had any delusions that he could stop her, but he didn’t have to like it.
“Icarus is right.” Lexi let out a long sigh and stood. “Zeus has fought his war in media and public perception for centuries. Plays. Movies. TV shows. Novels. Comics. Other names have risen and fallen in popularity, but Zeus and his pantheon have remained in people’s minds since the beginning. He’s pushed that. Sneaking off into some quiet corner to destroy him won’t fix the overall issue. It won’t tear down the structure he’s created.”
That was a lot bigger than a bit of pro-active self defense. Cerberus wasn’t sure how he felt about it. “Is that the goal? Are you looking to destroy the establishment, or get them off your back?”
Lexi scrubbed her face. “Does it ever stop? Is there any reason to go after Zeus otherwise? Hades was killing people by the hundreds of thousands
. Zeus is likely to slow down or stop the sacrifices now that I’m here, because he won’t want to feed my numbers. He’s not killing the masses to draw me out.”
“No. He’s killing the masses because he likes the fear it generates. I speak from experience—they ignore you if you don’t stick your nose in their business,” Actaeon said, “but their definition of business is volatile and probably not the same as yours. And you’re not going to be happy, hiding down here.”
Icarus stopped Lexi mid-pace and pointed her toward a chair. “You have to function within the system he built, at least until you can change it. This has been the ultimate slow burn for him. One hundred years ago, the gods never could have stepped in and demanded this level of faith. Forty years ago, registration wouldn’t have stood.”
“We have to do this,” Lexi corrected him. “I can’t do this alone.”
Cerberus was drowning in her frustration and powerlessness. Why wasn’t there a way to magically make this all better? “You don’t have to. We’re all by your side. We’re in this together.” He didn’t question speaking for everyone. It was true. “What are we doing?”
“We’re doing what Zeus wanted.” Uncertainty hung in Lexi’s tone. “I’d rather stay in the shadows for the rest of eternity, but Hades and Zeus took that from me. No more hiding.” As she spoke, her confidence grew. “I’ll tell the world my side of the story. They don’t have to believe me, the same way they didn’t have to listen to the other gods.” She looked at Icarus. “Can you hook me into every streaming outlet and TV network, similar to what Zeus did?”
“I need access to a network. I can’t do it without the connectivity already in place,” Icarus said.
Cerberus had several contacts from when he’d been searching for Lexi. “I can get you into a hub. You should be able to hop everywhere else from there.”
“Which is fantastic but isn’t a real plan.” Actaeon didn’t sound enthusiastic. “You can’t just say, I’m going to appear on TV.”
“I’ll have three great historical figures—”
Apathy's Hero: A Reverse Harem Urban Fantasy (Truth's Harem Book 3) Page 20
