Page 21 of Gods of Prey
“ . . . Okay?”
Fuck. Now I have to figure out something to ask that would be worthy of such a violation. Yet I can’t seem to think with him standing before me, fully nude. He’s still not hiding his erection, which almost looks...bigger now that he’s realized I’m here. Or maybe it just feels that way because it’s so obvious that Ishouldn’tbe here.
A cocky smirk tugs at the side of his lips and my eyes go straight to the dimple in his left cheek. “You’re staring, goddess.”
Shaking my head, I drop my scowling gaze to the ground. “No, I’m not.”
“I’m sure you’ve seen a male body before. Especially a mortal one.”
“I have,” I snipe back a little too aggressively. And because I’m a child who wants to embarrass him just as thoroughly, I tack on, “I usually have to do more to get them so excited.”
His head bobs in agreement, eyes flicking toward the spraying water before landing back on me. “Don’t let it go to your head. I’m not used to going this long without a female’s attention. A banshee could walk through that door and I’d still be just as aroused,” he explains cooly, and I make no attempt to hide my scowl.
I hook my thumb behind my shoulder, toward the door. “Right, well...I’m sorry the mortal realm isn’t packed with exhibitionists the way Aurelys is. I’m sure the kind woman wholeased you the apartment can help. Or maybe you should have saved that barista’s number. She may have been free.”
I sound jealous. I know I sound jealous and jaded and crude—those women are all innocent—but I can’t stop the words from leaving my mouth nonetheless.
He rolls his eyes at me and continues spreading suds across his skin again. This time, he doesn’t avoid his erection. Instead, he grabs it up and gives it one full stroke that leaves my mouth watering. “I’m afraid they wouldn’t be able to satiate my appetite, goddess. But thank you for the suggestion.”
Another pump. My blood stops pumping.
“Just finish up and get dressed. We have plans to discuss.” With that, I go straight through the closed door, mustering up every ounce of personal restraint I have to stop myself from looking over my shoulder to see if he’s still stroking himself.
I nearly succeed. Until the very last second, just before I float through the door, I allow myself to look back and find that irritating dimple looking back at me.
Revel emerges from the bedroom, face flushed and dressed in sweatpants and a plain T-shirt. It’s far more casual than anything I’ve ever seen him wear in the past.
“So glad you could grace me with your presence once again, interim god,” I greet bitterly. There’s no good reason for my attitude. I’m just still so uncomfortable about being caught gawking at him, and my instinct is to be rude.
“I wouldn’t want to disappoint the Queen of Umbraeth.”
“Don’t call me that.” I turn away, uncomfortable with the reminder of responsibilities I’ve temporarily abandoned.
“What should I call you, then? Sienna? Ms. Lancaster? Your Morbidness?”
“Just focus on your job,” I snap. “We need to get close to Bash. Figure out how much he remembers.”
Bash is a safe subject. A comfortable one.
Revel pauses at the kitchen sink. “And you? What’s your job here?”
Shrugging, I tilt my nose upward. “To see the things you don’t.”
He doesn’t have any rebuttal to that. Instead, he pulls a protein bar out of the pantry and sulks off to his room.
After he leaves, I drift to the window, watching Seattle’s lights blur through the constant rain and realize he never even asked what I came into the bathroom to ask him. I can’t decide if I’m happy about the small mercy, or if I should be embarrassed that he knows it was all a lie, and I was only there to violate his privacy.
Being here, so close to Bash yet unable to truly reach him, is its own kind of torture. But not as torturous as sharing space with Revel for the foreseeable future.
I press my forehead against the cool glass, closing my eyes. The apartment feels smaller already, crowded with his presence even in his absence. This is going to be impossible.
A sudden flicker of awareness pulls me upright. Someone is looking at me. Someone sees me.
I turn slowly toward the building across the street. In the window directly opposite ours, Jovie stands wide-eyed, coffee mug frozen halfway to her lips.
She sees me.
Our eyes lock across the divide between buildings, between Life and Death.
