Page 39 of Sweet Obsession

Gods, he’s handsome. It’s even more apparent when he’s sleeping, his features relaxed, the stress of the world he carries around through every waking moment having been set down for a little while.He could look like this all the time if he weren’t Poseidon.

The thought jars me out of the peace of the moment. HeisPoseidon, and he’s far too good a person to turn his back on his people, even if he’s facing a losing fight. Being foolish enough to fall in love with such a man is a recipe for disaster.

What the fuck am I thinking?Love?He’s a mark, plain and simple. Just because he’s kinder than I expected and so sweet in his submission that he makes my teeth ache… It doesn’tmeananything. It can’t.

Even as I tell myself that, even as I extract myself from his soft grasp, guilt rises, so thick I can barely breathe past it. Everything about this feels so wrong, I might die. Not because it is wrong but because it actually feels so right.

My father is laughing on the slab in a morgue somewhere, safe in the knowledge that I can’t even dothiscorrectly.

I walk silently to Poseidon’s discarded clothing and dig through them until I come up with his phone. The passcode is easy enough—I’ve seen him key it in twice. I know better than to look back, but I can’t quite manage to stop myself. He’s moved a little in my absence, one arm thrown over his face, his chest rising and falling in slow, steady cadence. The blanket sits low on his hips, under the curve ofhis stomach, and I want nothing more than to tug it lower and wake him up with my mouth. It’s not dawn yet, after all…

No. This might be my only chance to ensure I can actually keep my word for once. I told Poseidon I would leverage my blackmail to drive away Deo and the other four generals. All I had to do wasaskfor the phone and I have no doubt Poseidon would have given it to me.

But then he’d be standing there to watch me potentially fail to do what I promised. I can’t stand the thought of that.

I glance at the front door but decide the bathroom is a better bet. No matter how much Poseidon acts like he trusts me, at least part of it has to be a lie. Surely he has people watching the apartment, ensuring I don’t kill him and try to take off in the dead of night. If he doesn’t? Well, I can’t afford to think about that right now.

I duck into the bathroom and close the door softly behind me. Then I dial one of the numbers I memorized before coming to Olympus.

Despite the hour, it only rings twice before he answers. “Hello?”

It’s disgustingly easy to sink back into the plaything I was on Aeaea. My voice drops a little, smoothing out and gaining a flirtatious edge that I’ve almost lost since being in Poseidon’s presence. “Deo, did you miss me?”

Silence as he considers hanging up on me. A sigh when he realizes he can’t afford to. “So, you’re still alive.”

“The very picture of health.” I lean against the bathroom counter and avoid looking into the mirror. I don’t want to see whatever my face is doing. “I was just thinking about you and that delicious little thing I do with my tongue that makes you squirm.”

He coughs. “Icarus, do you have a reason for calling? I’m kind of busy right now.”

I bet he is. Deo is the owner of theScylla. The ships and crew might not be moving as far as the Olympians can see, but I highly doubt they’re just hanging out and partying out there. “Make time.”

“Fuck. Fine. Hold on.” Rustling, a faint murmur in the background, too low to identify anything about the person’s identity. I doubt it’s his wife, though. She wouldn’t know what to do without her estate and a full staff of servants at her fingertips. No doubt she’s enjoying her husband being away—it means she doesn’t have to sneak her lovers into the house.

When he speaks again, he sounds significantly more awake. “Make this fast.”

“Darling, you know better. I love to goslow.”

He curses. “This was a waste of time. I’m hanging up—”

“No, you’re not.” I laugh silkily. “Has Circe discovered the coup yet?”

Deo inhales sharply. “We’re engaging in a blockade of Olympus right now, so I highly doubt she’s unaware of an attempted coup of the city.”

“It’s cute that you think you can bluff your way out of this.” It never used to take this much effort to pretend. I don’t know when that changed. I want to drop the act and allow harshness to sink into my tone, but it’s safer to keep up the person he’s familiar with. “We both know that you have no intention of allowing Circe to take Olympus while you sail back to the scraps you consider Aeaea.” I hate even saying it. My island home might be just as corrupt as this city, but it’shome. My people deserve better than Deo and his ilk.

Fuck, I’m starting to sound like Poseidon.

Deo clears his throat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“We both know that you do. You and that vicious wife of yours plan to double-cross her the moment she’s done all the heavy lifting for you. I wonder what Circe will say when she finds out. She’s not the most forgiving type.”

“You wouldn’t begin to know how to contact her to tell her our plans.”

“I never realized you were so naive. I have her number, Deo.” I rattle it off to prove it. “But we both know Circe wouldn’t takemyword on anything, which is why I have plenty of evidence stashed.”

“Evidence,” he says slowly.

“Indeed.” I roll my shoulders, fighting against the tension raising them toward my ears. “You didn’t think I spent all that time with you because I liked fucking you, did you? I was compiling a case against you—well, you and all the others currently piloting your cute little ships. Isadora has been directing an extra ten percent off her profits directly into her pocket instead of Aeaea’s coffers. Evander’s penchant for wandering has resulted inthreechildren, one of which he plans to name heir after his wife mysteriously dies.” A problem since marrying her is what brought him all his money and connections. She’s universally beloved by both the rich and the poor on Aeaea. “And Agatha… Well, Agatha’s is most delicious of all. She’s the one bringing in the drugs that are running rampant through the island and fucking up all your workers. Be sure to tell them I know all their dirty little secrets—and that I expect them to do what I ask in order for those secretsto staysecret.”

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