Page 16 of Protected By Artemis

“Xavier could come or anyone else in the direct chain of command. Or my appointed heir. Or even my mate or wife.”

“Oh.” But she could feel there was somethingelsehe was not telling her, and she didn’t even need her powers. “And who else?”

“My…bedmate.”

“A what?”

“A bedmate,” he repeated. “Someone who provides services. Sexual services.”

Heal engulfed Artemis’s cheeks—her entire face, neck, and possibly other parts of her as well—scorching her. “I…oh…”

“Shifters have powerful libidos, much more intense than normal humans. We need touch and?—”

“Sex,” she finished, though how she even managed to say anything when her tongue felt like jelly, she didn’t know. “You need sex.”

“Yes. I mean…” he cleared his throat. “Since the only other women at the conference would be other alphas or their mates, who would be off limits, they’d allow me to bring someone whose job it is to?—”

“I get it.” She raised a hand to stop him because she wasn’t quite sure she could take any more of this embarrassment without praying for the ground to swallow her up whole. “So…I could come—if I pretended to be your bedmate?”

“Yes.”

“Oh. That’s easy then.” She managed a casual laugh. “We just tell everyone that I’m your bedmate.”

“It’s not that easy.” His eyes darkened. “Anyone there would instantly know if we weren’t bedmates.”

“Th-they would?”

“Yeah. Much like that magic instinct of yours, in a way. Wolves, alphas especially, will be able to tell. For one thing, if we were fucking, you’d have my scent all over you.”

The crude words should have made her feel revulsion, but somehow, it had the opposite effect. “Okay, so you just…rub your scent on me.”

“I suppose that would work.” He paused, rubbing his chin with his fingers. “But they’d be suspicious nonetheless.”

“But how?”

“An alpha is usually very handsy and affectionate with their mates and bedmates. If we truly were having sex, I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands or mouth off you, if only to keep other males away. If the others even sensed any hesitation in you, they’d know.”

“And what makes you think I can’t play along?”

“That stick up your ass, for one thing,” he said without missing a beat.

“I beg your pardon?” She balled her hands into fists at her sides as she stalked toward him. “What do you mean stick in my…my…my?—”

“See? You can’t even say ‘ass.’” His gaze raked over her. “Can you even say dirty words, my lady?”

“I certainly can.” Her mouth clamped shut. “Not in public, of course.”

“But you do, don’t you? With your other lovers?”

“I–I…” she stammered. “That’s none of your business.”

It was also none of his business that she was, in fact, a virgin.

Yes, in all these millennia, Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, had never slept with a man. And it wasn’t just a goddess thing, like those others in Mount Olympus who chose to remain a virgin. While she wasn’t completely inexperienced, she just hadn’t done the actual deed.

“This is exactly what I mean. One look at us, and you’ll be outed as a fraud.” He tsked. “And I can’t risk that. The only way I’ll even get close enough to finding out who sent me that bomb is if I keep the other alphas’ trust.”

Artemis chewed at her lip. “I mean…if that’s all…” She shook her head. “If that’s all it takes, then I don’t care. We have to do what we have to do.”

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