Page 74 of Seph

“You know, Zag got that piece of hair from his mother’s throne. He said Hades doesn’t letanyonetouch that throne. He’s keeping it safe for her, just waiting for her to sit beside him again. I feel like any second now, Hade is going to pop up anddemand that we put that strand of hair back—and now it’s been charmed and it won’t be the right color. He’s going to be pissed, isn’t he?”

They froze, waiting, but nothing happened. The strand stayed in its vial. Hades, pissed or otherwise, remained absent.

“All right, best keep going over everything before we leave the town. If we’ve got any questions, better to ask them now.

“Right. That’s phase one.” Emily nodded.

“If we can get Seph without Zeus sticking his nose in, perfect. If not...” Simeon flexed his fingers on the wheel.We dangle her like bait. We dress her up and let her attract every lecherous perv in the city while she haunts Mnemsoyne’s area, hoping for clues to Seph’s whereabouts.

“Phase Two? Or should that be One-and-a-Half?”

“Very funny, Huntress.”

“That nickname... I don’t hate it, but how the hell am I going to live up to it? Maybe I can face Zeus if he finds us, but the hard part will be hurting himenough. At least Zag told us that the gods are weaker when they force themselves into a corporeal form. They can’t access some of their more devastating powers unless they go ethereal, and that means blowing his cover. As long as he’s down here, I have a little advantage.”

Simeon stared at her. “He can’t resist a stunning woman. We have two advantages. Three—I bet Zeus thinks after this long avoiding detection that he can’t be caught.”

“Especially not caught by one of the pretty women he intends to catch. I’m good at being bait.” Emily shifted in her seat, long legs crossing to show off her calves.

What I wouldn’t give to be sliding between those legs right now, Simeon thought hungrily.

“You know, my dad told me it was such an easy way to trap a vamp. To play the helpless pretty girl and then turn on them. Itwas kind of satisfying to watch the look of horror on their faces before they turned to ashes at my feet.”

“You should terrify me, Van Helsing. Instead... I don’t know. Something’s wrong with me. I’ve always been attracted to your spark.” Simeon let out a long, cold breath, leaning near her. Her pounding pulse jumped in her neck, mesmerizing him. “I love you because you’re so unique, Huntress. I know you could kill me, but you don’t...”

She leaned toward him, too, eyes slowly closing. “I could say the same thing about you.”

“I love the softness inside of youandthe badass you can be. Emily Van Helsing... I’m in love with all of you.”

“I—”

“I just wanted to tell you in case something goes wrong in Vegas and you forget. Or I forget. No, I could never forget that. I love every inch of you, all the powers you have, all the graces you show. Gods have fought Zeus. Titans. Warriors of old. But I’d put all my money on you, love.”

She stared at him for a long moment before crashing her lips onto his.

This kiss was nothing innocent, nothing sweet, in spite of the words he’d just spoken. Her fingers dug into his chest, claws into his skin as her tongue plundered.

He couldn’t help it. Lust and bloodlust went together, a messy adrenaline cocktail fused with danger and desire. He unbuckled his seatbelt and reached for her hips, fangs bursting into his mouth and through her lip.

And she didn’t stop kissing him.

“Say it,” he hissed, licking scarlet from her pale peach kiss.

“I love you.” She reached behind her as she slid her way into his lap, smacking the H Drive. “Take us to a deserted, dark corner of Vegas where no one will disturb us,” she rasped.

The car spun, dizzying and disorienting, but not more intoxicating than her blood and the feel of her thighs crashing over his.

Only belatedly did he stop and think about whether or not Hades would fry whatever was left of his immortal soul for having sex in his car.

Chapter Twenty-One

“Tomorrow is Halloween,” Emily said the words in a flat voice. It was the wee hours of the morning. They would have all day, all night, and all of the next day, until midnight flipped the switch and ushered in their deadline on November 1st. “We should work around the clock.” Emily applied siren red lipstick to her puffy bottom lip. Swollen from kissing. Swollen from a fang slicing through it.

“I’m game if you are. A toast. To adrenaline and the ability to stay awake for forty-eight hours if we have to.” Simeon entered the bedroom, now dressed in a crisp black shirt with open collar and cuffs, red satin threads weaving through the interior of the shirt to catch the light where his white skin was revealed. His dark, wavy hair was perfectly mussed to give the look of ease and riches.

And I? I look like his perfect plaything. A lady in red tonight. Bare back. Low neckline, high hemline, full red lips, and black cat eyes.“A toast to blending in and playing all the parts.” She took the glass of complimentary champagne the swanky high-rise hotel left in their room.

Simeon swirled his glass, pointing to the silvery bubbles with a ruby tint that seemed to fight the smaller golden bubbles as they danced their way to the surface. “Lethe’s Nectar. Drink up, Em. We should have taken it earlier, but...”

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