by Sotia Lazu
He’s said this last part before, but this time he’s wrong. If this were only about me, I’d be his without hesitation. Even after his lies and manipulation, my body hums when he’s close, and my soul is soothed by his touch. But this is about so much more, and I won’t be used to enslave my own kind.
“Like fuck, you will,” Lena says before I have time to respond. She crosses to us so fast, I barely see her move before she’s behind him and grabbing him by the shoulder. “Get away from her.” She pushes him aside hard enough to send him crashing into the coffee table. Guess it’s true what they say about adrenaline giving people superhuman strength.
Sei is on his feet in the blink of an eye. He spins to face her, and I see the tension bunching the muscles of his neck and upper back. He fists his hands at his sides and takes a step toward her. Fuck my gut feeling. He’s a freaking god. He’ll destroy her.
I jump from the couch and throw myself at him. Grab his arm and pull. It’s like I’m trying to uproot a tree with my bare hands. He doesn’t budge.
“Please,” I whisper. “Don’t hurt her.”
The gaze he trains my way betrays no anger, only shock. “I wouldn’t harm your sister any more than I would harm mine.”
Odd response, but I’ll take it, as long as Lena is safe.
“Is that why you hired her?” Lena’s eyes are blazing, her chest heaving with angry, choppy breaths. “Because you wanted to have her? Own her? People aren’t possessions.”
Sei’s muscles strain beneath my grip. His silence is the confirmation I need.
“She’s right, isn’t she? You didn’t think I’d be good for the job.” A great fit, he said. Lying asshole. It’s a weird thing to feel hurt over at this point, but it’s yet another layer on a pile of lies. One more reason not to trust him. Not that I should need more of those.
He tosses back his head and throws his free arm in the air. “I didn’t fucking care about the job. I have people to run the London hotel. I was supposed to keep you close.”
“Supposed to? Because I’m a chore? A means to an end?”
“No.” The single syllable bounces off the living-room walls.
Lena screws her mouth in disgust. “Typical male, thinking he’s entitled to everything because he has a dick.”
Sei ignores her. “Because you were my destiny,” he spits out. “I was raised to find you and mate you. It was always the plan.”
I roll my eyes. He’s not making things any better for himself. “Get out.”
He doesn’t budge.
“Get. Out.” I tug on his arm again—I’ll drag him to the door, if I have to—but he shifts in my grasp and wraps his arm around my waist. “Please hear me out.” He brushes his nose against my ear. “Give me a few moments. Alone. That’s all I ask.”
Not like I’m able to outrun the future king of gods or hide from him. “Five minutes.” For five minutes, I can melt in his embrace, inhale his scent, and pretend it’s not because I like it but because I can’t escape.
Sei lets me drag him to my bedroom, but the moment the door closes behind us, the room fades around us. It’s as if my bed and dresser and nightstands melt into the walls, which in turn lighten from eggshell to stark white. And we’re in Sei’s suite.
Ancient immortal beings can apparently teleport, even when they say they can’t. Because they’re fucking liars.
And I’m so glad I never got to eat the sushi, because it’d be making its second appearance right about now. “How did you do that?” I mutter. “You said you weren’t restored yet.” Another lie. Is that so surprising?
“I wasn’t. I’m still not. I cannot control water unless you’re in the vicinity and”—he clears his throat—“aroused. I didn’t know I could do this, either, till a few minutes ago. And I thought things would be simpler if I blinked us here, where we can talk.”
I hear what he doesn’t say. It’s easier to make me listen when he can keep me here until I do.
Should I fear him? Probably. But the worry eating me up inside isn’t that he’ll hurt me. It’s that he’ll give me more reason to hate him, and I can’t imagine this warmth that spreads from where his body presses into mine turning into something vile and dark and wrong.
This isn’t simple lust I’m feeling, is it? It’s not lust that makes me trust Sei when he promises to return me home, safe, once we’re done talking. It’s not lust that has me purring with delight when he sits down and gathers me in his arms, his chin pressed to the crown of my head.
It’s not lust, allowing hope to blossom in my chest and chase away the fear when Sei says, “I’m falling for you.”
I bunch his shirt in my fists. “Liar.”
He sits back and tilts my face up with his finger beneath my chin, so I meet his gaze. “I’m falling for you hard, and that wasn’t the plan.”
If I hear about the plan one more time, I’ll kick him in the nuts. “Who even made the fucking plan?”
His chest rises with a long breath. “Remember when I told you my brothers and I were adopted? We were taken in by a guy we know as C.”
“Like the letter?”
He smiles softly. “Save the questions until I’m done, or I’ll never get it all out.”
“Okay. Whatever.”
“But yes, like the letter. He told us about the role we are to play in the world, and he has been gathering information on our soulmates. I’ve known about you since you turned eighteen. C has been keeping tabs on you.”
It takes all I have not to protest at how messed up it was for this C to gather up kids and map out their lives, or how sick it makes me to know I’ve been watched for the past eight years.
“I didn’t know I’d meet you in London, but he did,” Sei says. “He sees the future, and we’ve always trusted him to steer us in the right direction. This time, though...” He pinches the bridge of his nose, his expression pained. “This time, he didn’t lead me straight. He didn’t explain what bonding entailed, other than sex. I thought I’d bond with you and then go on with my life, but I can’t. I can’t go on, like making love to you was a one-time thing. I want you. I cannot get enough of you. And I meant it when I said I’d have you. Whatever it takes, I’ll do it. To make you my mate.”
To ascend.
The words blossom in my mind, but they’re in his voice. It’s his thought. I’m picking up his thoughts. What’s happening?
“You’re still lying,” I say. But my body melts into his, and when he kisses me, I open up for him. His lips make me tingle. I moan around his tongue when he thrusts it in my mouth. He’s hard beneath me, his impressive erection digging into my thigh.
He tastes like the sea, and I want to drown in him.
Yes.
The thought sounds a little too smug, too self-satisfied, to be mine. He thinks he’s won.
Because this is a game to him. A contest. And I’m not even the prize, immortality is.
I disentangle myself and stand on trembling legs that want to straddle his hips. “You’re doing it again. Messing with me. Lying. Scheming.”
“Irine...” He holds out his hand, but I jump backward.
“Don’t touch me,” I hiss.
Sei stands slowly, arms up and palms open. “I’m not lying. I do want you. I am falling in love with you. That our connection was written in the stars makes it no less real.” He reaches for me again, and I flinch.
His gaze darkens, and he drops his hand to circle my wrist. “I’ll take you home.”
My bedroom materializes around us, and Sei leaves again, though he uses the door this time and slams it so hard the frame rattles.
Everything was a lie. He used me. He doesn’t want me for me, but for what I can offer him.
Does that even matter? He’s obviously more powerful than he let on, and that makes him beyond dangerous.
But he did bring me back home. And his kiss felt real. And he sounded honest when he said he was falling for me. And he didn’t choose his destiny.
Great. Now I�
�m finding excuses for the supernatural psycho.
Chapter Nineteen – Sei
I kick off my boots, pour myself a shot of whiskey, straight, and sink into the couch.
Inaction feels wrong. I should be doing something. Should go back to Irine’s, erase our chat from her mind, and try again. More than once, if I have to. As many times as it takes, until she relents and lets me claim her.
I should compel her to love me.
Awesome. I’ve crossed over from desperate to despicable. Even if Irine didn’t easily defy my compulsion, I wouldn’t force her to love me. I wouldn’t mess with her free will, though she obviously believes I already have.
The memory of the fear in her eyes when I tried to caress her cheek will haunt me for eternity. I did that. I made her fear me, by being a self-centered asshole who must always have things go his way. And this is Game Over. She said as much.
I gulp down a slug of the amber liquid. It burns my tongue but does nothing for my foul mood.
Irine won’t bond with me, which means I will not ascend.
One of those two realizations fills me with pain, just as the other cocoons me in sweet relief. For more than two decades, every decision I’ve made, every step I’ve taken has been with the ultimate goal in sight—become the Poseidon once again. That’s changed since I met Irine. The need to win first her body and then her heart has taken over my thoughts.
Fuck. Is it possible I don’t care about immortality anymore? That I don’t give a damn about the golden throne I was to erect on Olympus? That all that’s important now is my little human?
Then again, was godhood important to me, to begin with? I never chose to become the ultimate ruler; it was a task thrust upon me. C said I was to take Zeus’ place, so I prepared for just that. Remaining under the radar was hard, when I wanted to scream my accomplishments from the rooftops, but I was patient and committed and focused. I kept abreast of the current socioeconomic situation by studying finance and political sciences, and at the same time trained to control and cultivate the muted powers I was born with.
Speaking of powers, blinking between locations is incredible. It blindsided me when I found myself outside Denny’s, but by the time I reached Irine’s apartment, I figured it out. All I need is intention. I will it, thus it becomes so. And the power feels familiar, a part of myself, as if I’ve always wielded it.
I’ve spent years exercising my ability to sway the human mind, and yet never excelled at it the way I did at blinking from the start. I mean, blinking inside Irine’s apartment from the doorway was pretty impressive, but getting us both to my place and back? Whole different level. Either one of us could have ended up stuck halfway inside a wall, but no. Perfect landing, both times.
Because she was with me.
But she wasn’t turned on...
The elevator doors ping open, and out walks Hermes. “You’re here. Alone.” He doesn’t look surprised. Maybe a little disappointed. “Fucked up again? Guess I owe Hades a grand,” he says with a grimace.
“Shut up.” I don’t scream the words despite the anger simmering in my chest. Does he think it wise to mock me when I stand to lose everything? Outside, the first drops of rain trickle down the floor-to-ceiling windows. The pattering on the glass plucks at my nerves.
“Did you tell her how you feel?” Hermes asks.
“It wasn’t enough,” I grind out. I really don’t want to talk about this. Not with him, anyway.
He flops into an armchair, palms splayed on his knees. “Then try again.” He looks at me like I’m an idiot.
I feel like one. “She said we’re over, and she meant it. If you saw how she looked at me... She hates me.” And I’m a coward who can’t handle seeing the suspicion and fear in her eyes again. That one moment, she was really afraid of me. Really believed I could harm her.
My stomach is in a knot, and my neck aches with strain. I’m clenching my jaw so hard, I’m getting a tension headache. And I’m a fucking deity; we don’t get headaches.
The rain outside grows thicker, until the water hammers against the windows.
“She doesn’t hate you.” The reassurance sounds fake, and it’s the last straw.
“Can you please get the fuck out of here?” I phrase it as a question, but I’m prepared to drag Hermes out of the building kicking and screaming if he doesn’t haul ass.
He stands but disappears into my kitchen and returns with a beer, instead of leaving. “Not till we work this out. I can’t leave you in this condition. You may do something stupid.” He reaches for the remote and turns on the TV. “Plus you have a forty-two inch screen, and—”
“Leave. Now.” My voice booms louder than I meant for it to, and the thunder outside echoes it. A resounding crack makes me snap my head toward the window, as the water breaks through the supposedly shatterproof glass. Will nothing go my way today? I’m fed up with this rain.
The water stops.
I stare at the puddle that’s formed on the floor, and under my gaze, it retreats, up the remaining window pane and outside.
I’m doing this. I control water. Which can mean only one thing.
I’ve ascended. The bond is complete.
Just to make sure, I will Hermes’ beer to spurt out of the can and all over his lap.
Win!
Hermes jumps to his feet, holding the can out from his body. “Did you do this?”
I nod.
“Dude.” He guffaws. “You did it. You’re the fucking Poseidon, Lord of the Seas and Skies, man.” He pumps his fist in the air. “Yes. You don’t even need Irine anymore.”
But he’s so very wrong. I need her more than ever; I cannot ponder navigating eternity without her by my side. And I really don’t give a flying fuck about being the Poseidon anymore. I just want to be with her. Pity I screwed up my chances of that.
Or not.
“Call cleanup and have that window replaced,” I tell Hermes, as I pull on my boots.
“Where are you going?”
“To claim my queen.” And to do so, I need to give up on being the king.
The thought stings for a mere moment, and then the ache vanishes, chased away by an unprecedented sense of calm. This is right. For the first time since I remember myself, I am doing what the fuck I want.
“Call the guys. I need to talk to you all tomorrow. Be here at sunset,” I tell Hermes, as I make my way to the elevator. I’m gonna want to take my time with Irine.
I could blink to her bedroom, but—
Screw that. I will blink to her bedroom. I won’t pretend to be something I’m not, and I’m a god who’s very much in love with her.
Irine’s room takes shape around me, softer edges and hints of color overtaking the crisp-white lines of my living room. She’s lying on her stomach on her unmade bed. Her cotton shorts ride high on her ass, and her tank top is pulled up, revealing a sliver of skin at the small of her back. Her arms are tucked under her pillow, her face buried into it. She could be asleep, but her shoulders are shaking visibly. Is it a vivid dream, or is she crying?
I could try to reach her mind. See what’s on it.
Or I could not be a creep, and talk to her. I won’t do anything to scare her, ever again.
I probably should have thought of that before showing up here like this.
How can I make my presence known without alarming her? “I won’t claim my birthright.” It’s the one thing I can think to say.
Irine flops over like a pancake and crawls backward till her back is flat against the headboard. She brings her knees to her chest and glares. “What are you doing here? I thought I made myself clear.” Her growl would put a lioness to shame.
It only serves to make me desire her more. She’s made of fire and steel, my mate, and I get to tame her and claim her. “I have my powers. All my powers,” I say. “I have ascended. I should be out there, conquering humanity.”
She tilts her head. Looks a challenge at me. “And why aren’t you?”
I don�
�t miss the hitch in her breath or how the pulse on her neck quickens. “Because that’s not what I want. I want you. I won’t give up on us. Crazy as this is after we’ve known each other for a blink of an eye, I’m in love with you. And it feels right. Perfect. So I choose you.”
“You do? Gee thanks.” She doesn’t seem thankful. Not a little bit. Her nostrils flare, and her eyebrows lower over narrowed eyes. “I’m so flattered. Except for that part where I don’t get a say. Again.” She rolls onto her knees, grabs a pillow, and hurls it at me. I duck, and it hits something behind me, sending it crashing to the floor with a clang.
I want to fuck the glower off her pretty face. This is important to her, though. I should try to see things from her perspective.
No. I’ve done enough soul-searching the past couple hours to last me a lifetime, and pretending I’ll simply let her go—that I won’t chase her down, court her, or throw her over my shoulder again, take her to my suite, and lock her in till she comes to her senses—will help neither of us. Things might be different if I had the slightest doubt she loved me, but even now, when she’s pissed at me, she’s also aroused. I can smell it. Taste it. Plus her pupils are dilated and her nipples seem about to pierce that white tank top.
And I can hear her thoughts.
“Take me,” she all but screams inside my head. “Show me what I mean to you.” There is more there, and though it doesn’t form coherent sentences, I pick up on the errant feelings. Shame, that she wants a man—even an immortal—to dominate her. Fear, that I’ll use her again and shatter her heart. Hope, that for once in her life, she may feel happy. Full. Complete.
With me.
Happiness unlike I ever knew existed suffuses me, making my chest expand. Also, I’m so hard it hurts.
I crawl onto her bed and stop when our knees are only a couple centimeter apart. She seems tiny, looking up at me, but she squares her shoulders and her wide eyes blaze the same silver mine do when my desires or powers flare up. She’s not a helpless human; she’s my goddess. Whether she likes it or not.
