Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 95187 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95187 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
“I’ll be honest. Pinkie promise.” I hold up my hand with my pinkie extended. He stares at it as if I just offered him a snake. I can’t help but laugh. “Come now, Poseidon. You must know a pinkie promise is the most honorable of promises. It’s horrible luck to break one. I wouldn’t risk it.”
“You’re making jokes at my expense now.”
“In fact, I’m being uncharacteristically serious. Come on. You know you want to ask me questions. Here’s your chance.” I wiggle my pinkie finger at him.
He reluctantly reaches out and loops his thick pinkie finger around mine. I shouldn’t be startled at his calluses, but I am all the same. One of the Thirteen who actually works? Color me surprised. I release him and pick up my wine again. “In the spirit of charity, I’ll even let you ask a question first.”
He studies me long enough that I wonder if he’s changed his mind. Then he shakes his head and takes a sip of his wine. “Do you really think seducing me is your pathway to freedom?”
I blink. Did he just…? I give a nervous chuckle. “Is that what you think I’m doing?”
“I’ll remind you that you promised honesty. Are you already throwing your pinkie promise out the window?”
Damn it. In all my years of using seduction as a technique to gather information, I’ve never had someone call me out so explicitly—or so early in the process. Denying it will get me nowhere and it’ll mean an end to this game.
I force a casual shrug, keeping my body language loose and relaxed. “Is that so wrong? If you’re concerned about power dynamics, just know I would have seduced you the moment I saw you regardless.”
“You’ve seen me two times in the past at parties in Dodona Tower.” He holds up two fingers. “We’ve never so much as spoken.”
Well, he has me there. “My father kept me under tight control. I was hardly free to pursue sexual encounters of any flavor. Believe me when I tell you that, yes, I clocked you, and I’ve wanted you from the moment I saw you.”
It’s even the truth. Poseidon has an unrefined handsomeness that makes me want to dig my fingers into him. He’s not like the perfectly coifed peacocks from the Aeaea court or even like the rest of the Thirteen. He doesn’t play games. I should have taken that into account when I proposed this one. “But in the spirit of perfect honesty, yes. I do think seducing you will pave the way to safety, if not freedom. I couldn’t ask for a better protector than one of the Thirteen’s legacy titles.”
“I already promised you my protection. You don’t need to bring sex into the equation in order to ensure it.” He’s glaring as if being invited into my bed isn’t a godsdamn gift.
Getting riled up isn’t the pathway forward. I swirl my wine lazily. “Maybe not, but it certainly keeps things interesting. I think it would be fun. That’s all the reason I need to do it.”
“No.” Poseidon pushes to his feet, towering over me. I can’t help but rake my gaze over his body. He seems to favor jeans and T-shirts that hug his chest and round stomach, clothing with nothing loose to be caught in machinery or whatever the fuck it is he does. A working man, so to speak. I bet he looks excellent with dirt smudges on his brow and sweat glistening on his skin.
I don’t exactly mean to lick my lips, but I’m only human. And no matter what other motivations I have, lust is always a good reason to jump into bed with someone. There’s lust aplenty when I look at this man.
“I answered your question. I want you to answer to mine.”
He doesn’t sit. His body is tense, as if he’s about to bolt out of the room. In all my estimations and plotting, I never expected Poseidon to be skittish. But then, a lot about him has surprised me in the last twenty-four hours. He finally gives a jerky nod. “Ask.”
There are a thousand possibilities, and even more angles, to take to get what I want out of this. But the question that springs to my lips is one of genuine curiosity. “When I pulled your hair, your knees buckled. Does pain get you off?”
His face flames a deep crimson like I’ve come to anticipate. He looks away and starts up that tapping of his middle finger against his thigh. This man must be terrible at poker. The moment he gets even the slightest bit agitated, he starts fidgeting. Or maybe it’s not actually fidgeting. Maybe he’s stimming. That would make a lot of sense, now that I think about it.
“I…don’t know.” Each word sounds like it’s forced from his thick throat. “I’ve never experienced pain in the bedroom in the way you mean.”