Page 36 of Deceived By a Warrior

Darius was left alone with Eva. He watched as she continued to sleep. “You better wake up soon,” he told her, “Because I was just given all the permission I need to keep you in my future.”

And whether Eva liked it or not, shewouldbe a part of his life.

Eternally.

Chapter Twenty-One

Eva Maas

Passing out from exhaustion after using her soothsaying abilities wasn’t new to Eva. Neither was waking upstillexhausted, so she was in no way surprised by how lethargic she felt when she finally did wake up.

Eva examined the room she was in while rubbing her pounding head as if that would somehow suppress her excruciating headache. “Uhh,”she groaned.Headaches. One of the many reasons she never gave fortunes.

But now it seemed like that was all she would be doing for the unforeseeable future.

It didn’t take her long to recognize she wasn’t trapped in some sort of dungeon, which was where she expected to be. It also didn’t take her long to realize Darius was here with her.

She tried to remember the conversation that went on between Artem and Darius before she completely knocked out, but she couldn’t come up with anything.

“What are you doing here?” Didn’t he already do his job? He transported her to that wicked being.

He anxiously leaned forward in his chair as if he was happyto see her awake. She couldn’t help but notice the dark blue circles under his eyes. It was as if he hadn’t slept.

Did he sleep at all while she was out?

Hehadto have.

“Like it or not I’ll be with you from now on,” he said matter-of-factly.

Why did she love hearing him say that so much? She was supposed to hate him. Shedidhate him.

Probably because he has the body and face of a god.

Oh, and he was the only immortal she grew some sort of friendship with in… well, ever. Her life felt less lonely around him. She liked feeling less lonely.

Sure, this might be the most attractive man she’d ever met, but that didn’t change the fact that he wasn’t a good man. Her attraction to him was meaningless when his personality was deceiving.

Gods, why couldn’t she slow down the pounding of her heart when his face was this near to hers?

“Because you want to or because Artem commanded you to?” She hated how much she hoped he would tell her he wanted to.

Get it together, Eva!

She wasn’t thinking straight because of how drained she was. It had nothing to do with how much she craved his company. Absolutely nothing.

“Whether he commanded me to or not doesn’t make a difference.” He leaned back in his chair, distancing his face from hers.

“That means he did.” She tried not to sound disappointed. She hated that her heart fell when he said that. She shouldn’t care that he was only with her because he had to be.

Her mind was really throwing her for a loop right now.

His eyebrow arched, intrigue visible on his expression. He definitely noticed the hurt in her voice.

“Not that I care,” she added in some last ditch effort to save her pride.I don’t want him, I don’t want him. Idowant him!

“No,” he leaned forward again. This time he was so near to her face that the erotic scent of him - an inviting mixture of pine and leather - tantalized her senses. “I meant that if he commanded you to be sent halfway across the world without me, I’d still follow you.”

Eva could hardly think with him this close to her, his growing stubble clear on his face. Hehasn’tslept!

---