Page 27 of Unleash Hades
“It is.” IthoughtI saw a small flicker of expression in his eyes. But it was gone in an instant, like smoke on a breeze.
Probably just a figment of my imagination.
“And the Challenger… Martin “The Legionnaire” Hugo!”
My heart stopped. The name was wrong. It was a coincidence…
Both were common names. Surely…
I let out a long sigh of relief, shaking my head.
When you think about something, or someone, you’ll see signs of your desire everywhere.
I certainly did. I held on to the memory of my singular indiscretion for so long that I saw him in crowds at riots, in the blinking of streetlights, and sometimes, I thought I heard his voice like a distant song from car speakers, fading away as they drove down the road.
I didn’t know what I’d do if I saw him… I’d probably combust.
I’d lose my cool, the way I had at the wedding in Venice. The way I had let my guard down, and run to him in relief… the way I had kissed him.
That was a mistake. I had kept my secret to keep everyone safe for so long that I should have known better. I could have destroyed everything…
“I’m sorry. My mistake.” The announcer corrected, coughing into his microphone. “I mean Hugo “the Legionnaire” Martin!”
“Holy Hades,” I gasped.
My Hades was here. He was…
My heart sank somewhere down to my core. My thighs clenched as every memory I had repressed came to the front of my mind. He was here. His dark, bronze skin, the stubble on his cheek that was there even after he shaved. The way his body moved with power, and energy, displacing the air around him with the sheer magnetism of his impassive glare.
He was a specimen of beauty. With blue gloves, and tight shorts that did nothing to hide his gorgeous posterior, he was the model of every Grecian statue, but with the warmth of sun-kissed skin. Black hair lightly covered his chest, except for two perfect dark, flat nipples. Then the hair began again, lightly, below his belly button.
He walked down the aisle, as the She-Bear waited for him in the octagon. A short Asian woman with long black hair followed close behind him. She was saying something as they walked together, and I wanted, desperately, to hear their conversation.
Who was she? Who was she to him? Was he… would he have a girlfriend? Wife? Lover?
It would make sense, after all. Why would he wait ten years when we had barely seen each other…
But we kissed in Venice. He didn’t push me away.
But maybe he was too stunned by my assault…
He stood by my sister and had promised that he’d protect her. Would he do that if he had forgotten me? No. So… so he must still think of me. Right?
Not the way you think of him.
A hundred thoughts sputtered and stopped. I swallowed them all down, remembering Bellamy’s sharp eyes.
Hugo gave his woman a side hug, then let her open the door to the octagon. She closed the gate between them, before stepping back from the fence. She didn’t take a seat. She just stood, her arms crossed, her defined biceps protruding like she was a sentry, standing guard.
The two contestants turned in a circle, showing off their bodies to the spectators, which marked the final betting for the event.
“Care to place a wager?” Bellamy said, looking down at his phone. “Oh wait, you didn’t get an invitation, did you? So, you wouldn’t be able to, since it’s all done digitally, on an app linked to your phone number.”
He smirked, as if he’d figured out something amazing about me.
“Of course, I got an invitation. I just don’t gamble.” I am a seasoned liar.
“Really? You didn’t just… I don’t know… get the address?” he asked, though it wasn't a question, was it? He was telling me that he knew. But how could he? He was fishing.
