by K. F. Breene
“But this is too important,” he muttered. His jaw clenched, and for a moment—a split second—I thought I saw regret.
Then the pain rolled through me again, tearing down all the heat and sensuality from my sex-addled brain. God, he was good at keeping someone on edge. I had to hand it to him.
“You can end this whenever you want, Alexis,” he whispered, and I heard it that time, faintly. Regret.
“Where’s…the fun…in that?” I clenched my teeth, then tried a new tactic. Instead of sinking into his magic like I usually did, I floated through it—and I reached out a mental hand and tugged him in with me.
He grunted, as if I’d struck him. A moment later, without warning, a huge wave of his vicious magic crashed over me, blistering me as it tore me apart. Black spots danced before my eyes before enlarging, cutting out my vision. Fear choked me and pain blotted out my awareness. My equilibrium went next before something hard and immovable hit my side.
“No more."
That rough, sexy voice was much too familiar. The spine-crushing pain dried up, evaporating like raindrops on hot cement.
One minute I was in mental hell, and the next I was panting, lying on the floor, flat on my back, looking at white, puffy clouds painted on the light blue ceiling. Apparently, I wasn’t the first person who’d ended up flat on her back in this room. I was glad I didn’t know that coming in. Nothing had hit me—I’d hit the floor.
Kieran knelt by my side, his face pale.
“Are you okay?” he asked, and the sentiment was genuine.
“That’s an odd question, given that you just smashed me with godly magic.”
His gaze raked down my body, but it wasn’t sexual. He was checking me over. “I apologize. It was a defensive reaction to your magic. I didn’t mean to strike that hard.”
My brain tried to process what he’d said, but it felt like he’d peeled back my scalp and stuffed my cranium with cotton candy. I couldn’t focus just yet.
Kieran’s arms came out, and I knew one moment of panic before they snaked under my body and he lifted me, holding me tightly to his chest.
“Please don’t crush me. I’ve had a bad day.”
“I’m not going to crush you,” he said before depositing me back into my chair.
He pulled his seat closer, right in front of mine, definitely within striking range of my legs. He settled slowly onto it.
“I don’t want to control you, Alexis,” he said, his voice intimate, just for me. “I don’t want to force your secrets out of you. I want to coax them out, one by one, in long, sweaty sessions that last all night.” Passion dripped from each syllable, and the effect was like vibrating panties. I barely kept from moaning. “But you’ve put me in a tough situation. You’ve become a talking point out there. They are scratching their heads and looking up your various magical traits. And while the magic tied to seeing spirits is a known quantity, your ability to suppress your magic, and run circles around experienced interrogators, doesn’t fit the profile. Your power is clearly off the charts, but what you do with it is strange. Or, I should say, what you choose not to do with it on a daily basis is strange. You are an anomaly, Alexis. A sexy, gorgeous anomaly that I can’t let off the hook until I know what’s lurking under the surface. I have more power than you can withstand. Please, don’t make me prove that.”
I wheezed out a laugh, slouching. “You just picked me up off the floor. I’m pretty sure you just proved it.”
“I’m prepared to compromise. It’s rare that I would. If your results are something my father might desire for his…team, you have my word that I’ll protect you from his influence. There are few in the world who could make such a claim. I have that power. In your case, I will exert it.”
I blinked in confusion, my thoughts still moving as slow as molasses. “What in the hell could I have that Valens would ever want?” I shook my head. “Look, to end this ridiculousness, fine. Test me. Just promise me that if I have enough power for the government to care, you won’t make me move to the magical zone. Daisy can’t live there, and Mordecai would be in constant danger. Just…please, promise me that.”
“Is that all it would’ve taken?” He cocked his head, mystified. “All this, just so you don’t have to move to the magical zone?”
“It would put my wards in danger. Where would Daisy go?”
He stared at me for a moment. “I should have seen that. How shortsighted of me.”
“Well, now that you mention it…”
He nodded. “That is an easy promise to make. And once you are categorized properly, the mountebanks’ burning curiosity will be put to rest. I’ve seen it before. They hate unanswered questions, especially when the subject is the one in control of the answers. But soon after they answer this riddle for me, I’ve seen to it they’ll get someone new to marvel at. Someone my father will be desperate to control.” A vicious smile crossed his face. “That subject belongs to someone else. He wandered away in search of mortal pleasures, and I swooped in to pick him up at the right moment. I’ll fabricate where and how I found him, feign ignorance to his magic and who has a claim on him. Given that he responds to authority about as well as you do, he’ll give you the perfect way to slip out from under the radar, providing me with enough cover to alter your records.”
That seemed like an awful lot of effort for one assessment, but I wasn’t about to say no. It solved both of our problems—my desire to be ignored, and his need for something constructive to do.
“Yeah. Sounds good. I’m in. Whatever.”
He stood and slid the chair across the room, the graceful movement contrasted by metal screeching on linoleum. “Don’t give them a hard time,” he said as he made his way to the door.
“Yes, but they make it impossible,” I yelled after his retreating, muscular backside. He was doing great things for those slacks.
“Get your head back in the game,” I muttered to myself furiously. The man was unsettling on so many levels. It was starting to mess with my head.
Biting my lip, I kept all snarky comments at bay when Mountebank Iams and his stern-faced nurse trudged back in. “Cooperating the first time would’ve saved everyone a lot of time and effort,” he said.
“Just think about all the things we would’ve missed out on had I done so. Our chemistry. Our witty banter.” I grinned at him. “Tell me true. You loved it.”
His face could’ve cracked glass.
I held out my arm so they could wrap the band around it. All the hookups from the last machine had been yanked off when I’d tumbled to the ground.
“It really is strange that you have three machines in here with the sole purpose of knowing a person’s favorite color,” I said. “Just do a color test.”
“Some magic lends better to multiple people working in sync. For those types of magical people, we need multiple machines running synchronistically.”
“Ah.”
“Now, please relax so we can get an accurate reading.”
I was grateful to do as he said. After Kieran, I was exhausted. I just hoped this test would finally satisfy Kieran’s curiosity, and he’d be done with me once and for all.
31
Alexis
It only took ten minutes, but it seemed like a lot longer in the company of the stuffy mountebank and his disapproving nurse. At the end, they looked at me with wide eyes, stunned by whatever the machine was telling them, and then escorted me out of the room as though the past two hours hadn’t happened. I wished I could be excited, or feel any other emotion but unease.
As promised, I was free to go. At least that was a good sign.
No one was in the waiting room where I’d dropped off Mordecai. I lugged myself to the check-in desk and waited for a small-statured woman to glance up from her computer screen. Her brow furrowed just a bit before she plastered on her chipper customer service smile.
“Hello. Can I help you?” she asked.
“Yes. I’m just checking on Mordecai Wolfram.”
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br /> “Oh, yes. Mordecai. What a lovely young man. Let me check his progress.” She turned back to the computer screen. “Let’s see… Ah. All the tests are done, and we’re waiting for the stat sheet to make sure we have everything we need. Sometimes the numbers are skewed and an additional test is needed. It looks like Mordecai is… Yes, he’s in a massage currently. He should be out within the hour.”
“In a massage?” I asked.
“Yes. Given the wait times, and the nature of our patients’ illnesses, we offer a variety of services to help them relax. It looks like”—she moved the mouse—“Mordecai opted for all three.” She turned back to me with a sad smile. “That’s fairly standard for patients who suffer chronic pain.”
“A massage, and what else did he get?”
“A facial and a mud bath.”
“Right.” He needed it, deserved it, and I was glad he had access to it, but man, after being poked, prodded, and mentally messed with all day, it took a second to like him. “So an hour?”
“Yes. And you are Alexis Price?”
“Yes. I’m finished…with my thing. Downstairs.”
“Yes, of course. He mentioned that you’d be taking him home. If you give me your number, you can feel free to use our resources and I’ll text you when he’s ready. Or, if you’d prefer, we can arrange—”
“Texting me would be great,” I cut in, not about to argue again about someone else driving him home. “What resources?”
“We have a state-of-the-art fitness center. Clothes and shoes can be provided if necessary. We also have a library with over thirty thousand volumes…”
I rubbed my eyes, noticing she hadn’t mentioned a cafeteria, though I was pretty sure the place must’ve had one. Was she trying to tell me something?
“Where’s the library?”
A couple of wrong turns later, I finally found the hall that housed both the library and the fitness center. But when I reached the large archway that led into a cozy place with overstuffed chairs, huge wall-to-ceiling bookshelves, and people quietly reading, I couldn’t bring myself to go any farther. The second my butt hit one of those comfortable-looking reading nooks, I’d pass out. The best bet was to keep moving.
Continuing on, I heard the metallic clanks and rhythmic pounding of people working out. The opened double doors showed off a myriad of machines and free-weight areas, half of which were currently being used. A check-in desk sat off to the side, and I very nearly wandered over to see about getting some clothes.
Instead, I drifted in, working myself up for any sort of physical activity. To the right, legs jutted into the air before slowly lowering again. Upon closer inspection, it was a yoga class of clearly advanced students, because they went right back into a handstand.
That wasn’t for me.
A group of five men and women followed a bulky lady out through a back door, each with a weight in one hand and a jump rope in the other. That was probably a class of some sort, like boot camp or CrossFit or something. To the left, way in the back behind a setup of medicine balls, more weights, and padded mats, another set of double doors stood open. Soft light fell through, illuminating the person who stood just in front of them.
A shock of butterflies ripped through my stomach as I noticed the large, well-built man in loose sweats and an unzipped sweatshirt. His torso was nude. My tongue nearly stuck to the roof of my mouth as I feasted my eyes on that impeccable slice of pec and six-pack heaven.
Kieran was just as defined as he was built. The man was a legend.
No, Alexis, he’s a god.
He turned his head, glancing around, like he was doing something mischievous, before he reached the doors. He grabbed first one side, then the other, exiting the gym and closing the doors behind him.
Instead of drifting to a stop and turning around, like I definitely should’ve, my stride lengthened and my speed increased. Something in me wanted to see how he liked being stalked. How he liked thinking he was alone, doing his own thing, when someone was watching him from the shadows.
Besides, I had a burning need to see what someone like Kieran got up to when he thought no one was looking. Was he like a normal person, or did Demigods lead more extravagant lives?
He knew all there was to know about me. Time to turn the tables in this little power play and get what I wanted for once.
I got to the double doors and did as Kieran had done, inspecting my surroundings to see what was what. The desk was out of sight from his area, and only two people were taking a break from their machines, patting their face dry or slugging water out of a bottle. Neither one glanced my way.
Some of the fatigue lifted as stealthy excitement coursed through me. I cranked the handle, surprised it wasn’t locked, then pulled the door open a crack so I could peer inside. Light filtered down through a glass dome high overhead. A walkway led right, flanked by a banister with nothing but air on the other side.
Confused, I slinked in and closed the door behind me, staying near the wall. A shout echoed up from below, followed by a spattering of laughter. A splash of water drowned them out before another burst of shouts and laughter took over.
The walkway to the right curved around the banister to a small landing. From there, the walker could either continue on to the other side, a walkway similar to this hugging the wall across an open chasm, or go down a wide stairway to the floor below.
Speaking of the floor below…
I took a couple steps forward and peered over, listening for any sounds of possible pursuit. I didn’t want to be caught unawares, which might lead to someone trying to teach me to fly by throwing me over the banister.
My eyes widened at the layout below me. It was a course of some kind, with ropes and scaffolding suspended over water, each item an obstacle, dumping the athlete into a safe water landing should they mess up.
“Go!” someone shouted.
A horn blared and a large electric timer hanging at the end of the course started rolling numbers.
A guy with lean muscle and the flowing elegance of the truly athletic practically danced across a series of raised round steps, all spaced at odd distances, each of the surfaces at a different angle. The man made it through quickly, his hands barely raised at his sides to keep his balance.
He scampered up one of the carpeted scaffolding platforms, jumped across empty space, and grabbed a rope hanging in the air. He swung to another platform before climbing onto a log balanced lengthwise on a metal rail about ten feet above the ground.
My mouth dropped open as I watched him roll through the air toward a floating island hovering at the end of the rail. It was like watching a real-life Mario Bros. character run, jump, and parkour his way to the finish flag.
When he reached his destination, a cluster of guys clapped off to the side, keeping pace along a walkway that would eventually pass right under me. I spied Kieran at the center of the crowd, his height matching the others’ but his physique setting him apart. His focus was entirely on the man struggling to stand dizzily and move on to the next obstacle.
Somewhat fascinated and also let down that he wasn’t doing something more exciting, I pushed back from the banister and hurried toward the stairs. Once there, I edged out enough to see that they were now staring at the athlete as he climbed up a rock wall, made of real rock. The obstacle partially blocked their view of the stairwell, so I skulked toward the hidden side and hurried down, hoping their entrancement with the athlete would keep them from noticing me.
Once at the bottom, it was easy to scamper to the opposite side of the obstacle course, ducking from one large structure to the next. A splash made me pause, my heart in my throat. There was no way the athlete would get out on my side, was there?
As the onlookers clapped and shouted encouragement, I caught a glimpse of their bodies moving back toward the beginning. It was time for someone else to go.
Between two large pillars, I saw the fallen competitor climb out of the water with a delicious display of back muscle
. Once up, he shook his head with a smile.
“Let’s see you take that wall, Thane,” he shouted, running his hand through his hair while laughing. “They made it ten times as hard.”
“For you.”
I hated how intimate I was with that rough, sexy voice.
“I got this,” Kieran said.
“Hit it,” someone shouted.
“Hold on, let me reset the timer,” someone else said.
I snuck forward until I noticed some steps leading up to a viewing platform. I hesitated, knowing I should stick with the lower walkway, where it was easier to hide behind the large obstacles. At the same time, I wanted to see what he could do. An obstacle course seemed so mundane. It didn’t seem like something a Demigod would waste his time on. Unless impressing his minions and pumping his already massive ego was what got Kieran’s rocks off. Probably.
Without another thought, I climbed the steps and hurried to the bench by the wall. I was now about halfway between the lowest floor and the upper walkway connected to the gym. The course opened up in front of me, and I had a perfect view of Kieran stripping his gray sweatshirt off before tossing it aside.
The V of his upper body reduced into his sweats-clad, trim hips. He swung his arms, and his large biceps grabbed my attention like a hypnotist at a magic show.
The newly wet guy draped a white towel across his shoulders and joined the others waiting for Kieran, some with sweatshirts and some with bare torsos. All the guys moved and stood with a lethal, toned grace.
“You ready?” one of them shouted.
Kieran nodded, and the horn blared.
He started forward, faster than a mere human, running across the round pedestals like they were even and flat. At the platform in no time, he climbed the rope hand over hand, his ease of movement staggering. Up on the log next, he wrapped those long arms and legs around it before rolling, holding on while spinning through the air like it was a normal mode of transportation.
The side of another obstacle blocked my sight, but the whooping of his buddies as they moved along the walkway made it clear he’d landed on the floating island. I edged out to the side so I could watch him run along an uneven surface, scale a bending wall, and then launch himself at the rock wall that had beaten the other athlete.
