Page 26 of The Chosen Son

Oh, and he knew it too, if his widening smirk was anything to judge by. With his hand still gripping my jaw, he tilted my head back, tracing his nose across my cheek. My eyes fluttered closed of their own volition, and I breathed him in, his taste sweet and spicy on my tongue. Oh, shit, he was going to kiss me! He rolled his hips just once, twice, showing me what I was doing to him.

Fuck me, I wanted this, wanted him, but then I thought about his brother. I’d kissed Phobos too. It was that thought that snapped me out of my daze. My eyes flew open, and I shoved hard at his chest until he took a step back, easing up but keeping his hands on me, leaving me gasping for breath.

Sliding his fingers through the hair at the back of my neck, he said, “You know, you never answered me. About the job offer. In fact, you didn’t have much of a chance to say anything at all. Phobos kept putting words in your mouth. I’d like to hear what you have to say.”

“I’m not his, you know,” I blurted before I could even consider taking it back.

“What?”

“Phobos, back at the dinner table. He said I was his, but I’m not. I’m not anyone’s.”

The smile teasing at his lips did very, very bad things to me. “Good to know.”

I swallowed hard, my throat tight and dry. It took every bit of willpower to slip free of his hold, and this time, he let me. I felt cold without his blazing heat, and it helped to clear my head. I reminded myself that he was the bad guy. A real-life supervillain! He hurt people,committed crimes! So what if he was handsome and charming and hung like a horse. I had standards.

“And no,” I said firmly, reminding myself to stay strong. “I don’t want a job. I’m happy where I am.”

He seemed amused as he took in the shades of varying emotions flitting across my face. “My brother is an interesting character. He’s a better man than he has any right to be, considering how we were raised. We were groomed to be our father’s helpers, riding into battle with him. It was bloody work, and there never seemed to be an end to war. There are only two things humans really excel at—killing each other, then fucking in order to produce another generation of fighters so they can do it all again.”

“You’re wrong,” I said vehemently, heat rising in my cheeks. “There is love and beauty in humanity, fragility and tenderness. Our lives may be nothing more than the blink of an eye to a god like you, but that only means we have to make every moment on this earth count for twice as much. Humans can make huge changes in the world even without super strength or speed or—”

Deimos held a hand up to cut me off, chuckling. “Okay, I give up! I guess I’ll just have to take your word for it. I’ve certainly never seen it, not when it was literally my job for thousands of years to invoke dread and terror, to provoke anger and violence in those same humans you praise. And I excelled at my job, Cameron. So did Phobos.”

“But… that doesn’t make any sense. I know Phobos, and he’s more like a puppy—an extremely powerful puppy, sure, but he’s never been anything other than gentle with me.” I thought of the way he’d cupped my face and kissed me with all the tenderness in the world, and about how he hadn’t pressured me for more even once.

Deimos paused, his intense gaze stripping away all that I was saying until it was like he could see the truth of all Iwasn’tsaying, and he could see everything that had happened between us.

“Well…” he continued after a moment, his eyes now shuttered, so that I doubted I’d seen anything at all. “Somewhere along the line, between countless wars and insurmountable death, he grew tired of it. Maybe it was our mother’s influence, or maybe he’d just hit his limit; everyone has one. Either way, he decided it was time for a change. I figured he’d get a job as an accountant or a real estate agent or something mundanelyhuman. Not a fucking superhero!” He barked a short, hard laugh, before his smile promptly fell. “What do I know. He must be doing something right if he’s collecting such avid fans.” Deimos rolled his eyes, leaning a hip on the counter and crossing his arms over his chest like a perfect portrait of relaxation, but it was all a show. I could tell there was a rift between the two brothers.

“What do you mean, avid fans?” I asked.

“Well, I’ve seen the news stories about him, the celebrity spotlights, the way that woman had screamed for him when his limo pulled up outside the charity gala.” Deimos was sulking! No way, was he… jealous?

A startled laugh slipped out before I could stop it, and I clamped a hand over my mouth to keep it in, tears leaking down my face as I doubled over. “What’s so funny?” he snapped.

“I’m sorry, I’m not laughing at you. It’s just… you’ve got it all wrong.” I mopped uselessly at my wet cheeks with my hands, trying to regain control of myself. I hadn’t laughed that hard is ages! “That woman at the gala was an actor,” I explained. “I hired her to make a big scene outside the gala. I’ve been working to build up his image through a PR firm.”

Deimos’s jaw dropped, mouth gaping. “Are you shitting me? What about the news, the media coverage, the men’s underwear billboard downtown?”

I shrugged. “All me. Phobos hired me to help him, so that’s what I’ve been doing. I know money can’t necessarily buy you happiness, but it’s amazing what you can achieve with a nearly infinite budget.” I took pleasure in the shift of emotions on his face, from sulking to smirking, but then I realized what a mistake it could be to have shared that with him. He was the bad guy, after all. I took a quick step closer, reaching for him, my hand gripping his forearm. “Oh! But please, don’t tell him! He doesn’t know what I’ve been spending his money on. He thinks he’s just popular and that word is spreading about what a great hero he is. I want him to think he’s doing well. It would break his heart.”

“Yes, wouldn’t want the poor, delicate god ofterrorto get discouraged,” he sassed, narrowing his eyes as he reached down to where I held his arm, placing his warm palm over top.

I grimaced. “Yeah, that hasn’t been an easy sell, to be honest. His past history doesn’t exactly instill warm fuzzies. He should’ve changed his name.”

His eyes danced as his lips split in a blinding smile. “Right? I keep trying to tell him that, but he refuses to listen. Says if he tries hard enough, they will eventually be grateful for his help.” His humor dimmed as we lapsed into a moment of shared silence, his smile softening into something far more gentle than he would ever admit to.

His thumb moved in an idle circle over my knuckles, sending a ripple of current up my arm. “So, I guess you don’t want me to rub his nose in that little tidbit of information at the first opportunity?” He looked like a mischievous little imp in this moment, and I regrettedletting my walls down around Deimos. It was too late to take it back, but I should’ve known better.

“Please, don’t.” I swore there was a spark of something between us as he made me beg.

His mischief was joined by a hint of mayhem. “What will you give me for it?” the gremlin asked coyly.

“What? Are you blackmailing me?!” I should’ve known better! I tried to jerk away, but he moved with me, my feet dragging across the floor as he trapped me between him and the tiled wall behind me, the cold seeping through the fabric of my damp shirt. He was scary strong, but even as a tingle of warning niggled at the edges of my mind, my self-preservation instinct doing what it could to keep me safe, there was also a frisson of excitement. Hadn’t I wanted to be manhandled?

“Nothing bad, I promise. How about… a kiss.”

My stomach dropped, and my skin flushed hot, but I couldn’t decide if it was good or bad. I was stalled at the top of a rollercoaster, waiting for the plunge. “A-A kiss?”

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