Page 276 of Blood of Hercules
Patro
My knees cracked against the floor of our home.
Smoke billowed.
Launching myself upright, I grabbed Achilles by the front of his shirt and shoved him into our bedroom so we could have privacy from Alexis’s brother. I kicked the door behind me, and it shut with a loud bang.
“You should have let me stay,” I said through gritted teeth, jaw aching from the force of my rage. “We should have intervened.”
Maroon eyes flashed with warning; Achilles pushed back at me, and we grappled. Our breath was harsh and ragged in the quiet room.
“She didn’t want to marry them—it’s not fucking right,” I said as Achilles thrust my back flush against the wall.
Stars exploded in my vision.
The pain grounded me.
“Fuck,” I whispered brokenly. “She’sourmentee—not theirs . . . she . . . she . . . ”
I struggled to put into words the confusing jumble of emotions Ifelt for Alexis Hert. She was supposed to be just a nuisance, the annoying girl we had to mentor.
I should hate her.
The problem was... I didn’t hate her, not at all.
“What do we do?” I asked, desperation making my voice crack.
The question hung between us like a grenade.
Achilles slowly signed, “We find a way—to take her away from them.”
I inhaled sharply, rubbing at my chest. The branded scar tissue was lumpy beneath my touch.
“She’ll be ours?”
Achilles’s eyes blazed with fire as his fingers moved quickly. “She already is. She just doesn’t know it yet.”
Chapter 33
Carnal Delights
Alexis
We were alone.
Long tension-filled moments passed as the three of us stared at one another, not moving, not speaking, just breathing heavily.
The anticipation was a live wire.
My skin prickled from the weight of their stares.
“May I—” Kharon rasped, breaking the spell. He reached forward and cupped my face. “—kiss the bride?” His thumb stroked slowly against my jawline.
My head was under icy water, heart in my throat. Two new cords pulsed faintly inside my sternum.
All the lines had blurred.
I swallowed thickly.
