Page 13 of Summer's Seduction

Hera cleared her throat, glancing between Hecate and Persephone as the staff entered with trays of olives, cheeses, fruit, and figs. “It has been centuries since we’ve been invited to The Underworld.”

“Weweren’tinvited,” Hermes muttered from her place along the wall.

Hera tensed, the tips of her smile growing tight. I lifted a brow, eyes darting between Hermes, the product of one of Zeus’s many affairs, and Zeus’s wife. Hera would never forgive his infidelities. Marriage was something she prized beyond all else, and as such she would never leave him. It must have been hard to watch the children of Zeus’s conquests integrated so thoroughly into his life, but I couldn’t help but think it was harder still to be a known bastard and hated so publicly by your stepmother. Hermes may be powerful, but she would never be seen as a true Olympian.

Choosing to ignore Hermes, Hera continued, her eyes fixed on Persephone. “You’ve brought a warmth to The Underworld, Lady Persephone. Hades is fortunate to have you at his side.”

Zeus and Poseidon shared a look, the two of them rolling their eyes as Zeus muttered, “At least she’s nice to look at.”

Hera’s spine stiffened, her knuckles bone-white around the stem of her wine glass, but it was nothing compared to the darkness seeping from Hades. Midnight wings shimmered into view as great ram horns arched back from his head. His eyes darkened until only black remained, and frost snaked across the table. Gods damn, did I love it when Daddy Darkness came out to play.

“Oh, come off it, Hades.” Poseidon laughed. “He was only teasing. Besides, the real prize is right over there.”

My nostrils flared, jaw clenching as I watched him raise his glass toward Larkspur.

“She’s taken,” I growled, the words out before I could think twice about it. Larkspur sucked in a breath, her heart racing as I stared down The God of the Sea, but she didn’t contradict me.

Poseidon smirked as he popped an olive in his mouth. “Really? I don’t see a collar for your bloodwhore.”

“That’s because she isn’t a whore,” I bit back, hating the way my little monster recoiled at the term.

His grin only widened.

Shit.It was foolish to respond emotionally, especially without any evidence that she was mine. Technically, I had to claim Larkspur. I didn’t even haveher agreementand now Poseidon was looking at her like a prize to be won. Just another woman to be used and added to his horrifyingly long list of conquests.

Consent wasn’t something The Olympians cared for. If anything, forcing themselves on another or tricking an unsuspecting person into their bed seemed to be a preference.Actions like that would be an automatic death sentence in my kingdom, but somewhere along the way, the gods in The Above had lost all sense of what was right.

My mind raced as I filtered through the possibilities. If Poseidon chose to act, to take her body without her permission, most of the people in this room would let him. Hera and Hermes wouldn’t like it, but they wouldn’t stand against Ares, Poseidon, and Zeus. I believed Hades would try to stop him, Lady Persephone and Hecate as well. Maybe Cupid. Together, we might have a chance of saving her, but it would be the start of a war among the gods, which was essentially handing Hypnos the only pen to this unfinished book.

No, it mustn’t come to that. Too much was still undecided.

Schooling my features, I turned toward Larkspur, playing with an umber curl that had fallen free. She was fucking stunning, but the urge to protect her was so much more than that. My little monster had a fire in her—a whole fucking volcano—and I’d do everything I could to shield her from Poseidon’s poisoned waters. Even become the person she hated most.

“We’re early into negotiations,” I mused, knowing my time was running out and hoping beyond hope Larkspur would understand. “She’s uneasy with the idea of being bled, of being owned. You know how the young ones can get. The first time is always the hardest.”

Larkspur’s eyes narrowed as Poseidon pushed back from the table.

“I’m twenty-six years old. I’m not a child. Andyou,” she seethed, batting my hand away before turning her withering glare on Poseidon. But she didn’t realize how quickly one of the Olympians could move. Didn’t understand how her defiance only kindled his desire.

“I will never be anyone’s bloodwhore.”

There it was. The flash of a decision in Poseidon’s eyes, the tightening of muscles and tendons a moment before he launched forward, intent on proving my little monster wrong.

But I was there first.

Grasping Larkspur by the waist, I yanked her from her seat, spinning us as my leathery wings expanded like a shield between us and the others. My fingers curled in the dark strands at the nape of her neck, my fangs snapping into place as I tugged harshly to wrench her neck to the side.

The first hint of her fear scented the air around us. A piece of me crumpled at the knowledge that I was the cause of it. The gasp that tore from her lips as she realized what I was about to do shattered another piece of my heart. I wished to the depths of my soul that this could’ve been different. Perhaps we might’ve stood a chance in another life, another rebirth.

But life was cruel. And time had run out.

“I’m sorry,” I breathed, the soft words lost to her protests as I leaned forward and sank my teeth into her flesh.

LARKSPUR

One minute I’m getting ready to remind Poseidon that just because I have breasts and a really fine ass doesn’t mean anyone is entitled to my body without my permission, and the next, Morpheus has me by the throat, neck bared.

A part of me didn’t think he’d actually do it. He’s the son of a psycho with the reputation of a sinner, but some strange, foolish part of me had let down my guard. I’d been ready for the hyenas at my front, prepared to be shredded as I clawed and maimed right back, but I hadn’t seen the lion lurking in the brush at my back until he’d pounced.

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