Page 121 of Nemesis

I wrench my gaze away before I can examine it further, but when I meet his eyes, he’s smirking.

My scowl deepens.

He stops in front of us, hands on his hips. “You’ve been avoiding me, sweetheart?”

Tem mirrors my expression. “Can you put some clothes on?”

His abdomen tightens, dragging her gaze—shit, no,mygaze—down again. I turn away and stalk toward the house. His towel and shorts are on one of the chairs. I pick them up and whirl around, but he’s right behind me.

“We fought,” he says plainly.

Yeah, we did. And he got the best of me.

Another reason I grit my teeth. I shove the shorts and towel at him, and he laughs in my face. It’s loud and abrasive, and will Tem care if I just murder him right here?

With my bare hands?

“Stop.” Tem grabs my arm.

Am I really the issue, here? I glare at her, trying to convey that this dickwad is nakedandlaughing at me.

“Kade, Saint. Saint, Kade.”

She positions herself in front of me, forcing me a step back. With breathing room between him and I, the weight on my chest lessens. I take a breath, then another. I imagine myself back in Elora’s house, hitting my head against the wall.Thump, thump, thump. It matches my slowing heart rate.

“We’ve met,” Kade says. His voice is low, but no less powerful than his stance. Or his posture.

I immediately hate him more than I did five seconds ago. The preening peacock.

His unspokenduhis obvious. She was there, too. She was also there when I forced myself to enter this house the first time and drag her out.

The urge to do the same is only tempered by the knowledge that he can help us find Reese. Or… well, Tem thinks he can. And that means putting aside my massive trust issues.

It’s my fault he was taken.

I didn’t tell her about the drinking game. The questions.

“Great,” Tem says. “Because we need your help.”

34ARTEMIS

Saint and Kadedo not like each other.

And yet… well, they’re going to have to get along for at least today. We go inside, which is just as bare as the last time I was here. Kade has put on his shorts, rinsed his feet, and now we’re in his kitchen. I tug off my sweatshirt and set it aside, then jump up onto the counter. I grip the edges. Saint claims one of the barstools at the island.

I should have changed my shirt before Saint and I left. It’s the one I wore to Olympus, then Bow & Arrow, and the one Saint shoved up to lavish attention on my breasts…

Stop that.

There are bound to be hickeys on my breasts from the way he bit and tugged at them. Just thinking about it sends a rush of desire straight to my core. Now is not the time to be thinking about sex. But at least the ones Kade left on my neck from the dance floor have faded. They got lost amongst the bruises after the bike crash incident.

I lean forward so the gold material isn’t stuck tight to my chest. My nipples feel sensitive, and I am braless. The last thing I need is for either to spot them pebbling, or…

I should just put the damn sweatshirt back on.

But I don’t.

Kade grabs a bottle of water from the fridge and offers one to me. I take it, setting it beside me. When he doesn’t offer one to Saint, I take a quick sip from mine and toss it across to him.

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