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)
For a moment, it seems like he might argue, but he finally shrugs and leads the way back to the SUV. It takes us about an hour and a half to get through the last three stops, and they proceed just like the previous ones. It’s a wonder that Poseidon’s people don’t fall to the ground and worship at his feet. They certainly follow him around with stars in their eyes. Maybe it would make me sick if I wasn’t in danger of doing the same.
It says something about the level of damage my father scarred into me that I’m still seeking approval in all the wrong places. I should be angling for a way to escape, to follow my sister to freedom, and yet I’m standing here with my hands in my pockets staring at a giant, redheaded man whose approval I’m willing to twist myself in knots for. And yeah, I want to fuck Poseidon too, but for once the lust is almost secondary. I don’t understand it. Maybe I really am grief-addled. It’s been said to happen.
When it’s finally time to head back to Poseidon’s residence, I climb in the passenger seat and twist to face him. “Why do you keep that house? You obviously hate it.”
He freezes. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s your uncle’s house, right? You inherited it when you inherited the title. But if I don’t miss my guess, it’s been relatively untouched since you took it over. You haven’t changed a single damn thing, have you?”
He still hasn’t looked at me. “Do you have a point that you’re trying to make?”
Oh yeah, I’ve definitely struck a nerve. “My point, as you so sweetly put it, is that you’re not going to relax if we’re not in an environment where you feel comfortable. I can’t relax if you’re not relaxing.” It’s not, strictly speaking, true. Somehow, though, I think he won’t bend to my will if I tell him I’m deeply curious about what a home crafted by Poseidon might look like. He’s an enigma of sorts, and I can’t help wanting to pick him apart and see how his brain works.
He leans back against his seat and taps his finger against his thigh—a sure sign of his agitation. But I don’t retreat, and I don’t take my words back. I simply wait for him to work through the puzzle I’ve presented.
Finally, he says, “Truth be told, most days I stay the night in an apartment in the shipyard. I work long hours, and the commute to the house feels like too much at the end of an exhausting day.”
This might be the first lie he’s ever told me. But I understand lies of the heart, so I don’t call him on it. I simply settle back into my seat and buckle my seat belt. “That sounds much more relaxing than that big, echoing house. Let’s go there.”
He shoots me a stern look. “If you’re thinking of escaping, it won’t work. The shipyard is more intensely manned than anywhere else along the coastline right now. Especially with the sentry stations I’ve set up. You’d be caught immediately.”
He’s so damn cute. “Good thing I have no intention of escaping.”
“You…don’t.” If anything, he looks even sterner. It makes a delightful shiver shoot down my spine. “Icarus, we said no lies.”
“Technically, that was only for the game of questions.” I continue before a bruised look can take up residence on his handsome face. “But I’m not lying. I wasn’t thinking about escaping even a little when I suggested we go to your apartment.”
He hesitates long enough that I have no doubt he’s playing through several scenarios. Apparently none of them satisfy, because he finally says, “Then what were you thinking about?”
“Sex.” I say it bluntly just to see his reaction.
Poseidon doesn’t disappoint. His blush is visible even in the intermittent passing streetlights. “I— What— You—”
“I’m deadly serious.” I lean over and press my hand to his cock and my mouth to his throat. He jolts in surprise, but makes no move to dislodge me. I smile against his skin. “My intentions, if you must know, are to strip you down, beat you until you go limp and make that delicious whimpering sound, and then fuck you until you forget your own name. How does that sound?”
He swallows hard and his cock goes rigid beneath my palm. When he finally manages to speak, his voice is hoarse with wanting. “That sounds good. Really good.”
18
Poseidon
I feel like I’m in a fever dream as I unlock the door to the little apartment I keep over my office. This is a mistake, and normally I do everything I can to avoid making blatant mistakes—the ones I accidentally commit are enough—but that doesn’t stop me from holding open the door and allowing Icarus to precede me into the space.