Page 178 of Blood of Hercules
“Why?” I swallowed thickly.
He made a harsh noise in the back of his throat. “I’m done pretending.”
His thumb stroked softly down the column of my throat, fingers burning against my much colder skin. His dark-green dress-shirt sleeves were rolled up, showcasing a tan forearm covered in thick veins.
My stomach fluttered.Am I into older men?
Yep—ambrosia was 100 percent a drug. There was no way I’d think that in a sober state of mind.
I gasped for air as his grip tightened.
His lips hovered next to my ear. “This isn’t a game, Alexis.” My name rolled off his tongue like a confession of sin. “I know whoyou are.”
Is this about my meeting with Zeus?
He didn’t remove his fingers from my neck.
I was at his mercy.
Caught in his snare.
Heat pooled in my lower stomach, and everything got hazy in a dreamlike way. The scent of ozone filled my nose, and invisible electric sparks leaped betweenus.
Warm lips brushed against the shell of my ear. “You have noidea just what you’ve done with your little display. What you’ve started...”
Goosebumps exploded down my spine.
He inhaled deeply, then let out a guttural moan, like he couldn’t help himself.
After a long moment of breathing harshly, like he was struggling to compose himself, he said, “You fucking infuriate me.”
His words jolted me out of my trance.
I wrenched my neck out of his hold and fell back into the booth. “Leave me a-alone,” I said, barely able to speak in his presence.
“Hey, get off her!” Lena shouted and flung her elbows forward.
Since Augustus was leaning over her to get to me, he grunted in surprise and staggered back.
“Thanks,” I whispered to her, hands shaking.
“What did he say to you?” Lena asked curiously, but I kept my gaze on the table, sincehewas still standing behind her. Watching. Waiting.
He was ready to break my mind and crush my will.
“Nothing good.”Nothing that makes any sense.
Oron threw his arm around my shoulder and pulled me back against his naked self so he was flush against me.He’s touching me. He’s touching me a lot.
I froze.
It got even harder to breathe. My heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest. My vision warped.
“I got you, Alexis, don’t worry,” Oron said. “We won’t let him hurt you.”
I grimaced and tried to sit up, but he held me down in the booth.
Sweat poured off my temple, and I breathed shallowly, vision blurring further. A weak feeling washed over me.
