Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 51038 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 255(@200wpm)___ 204(@250wpm)___ 170(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51038 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 255(@200wpm)___ 204(@250wpm)___ 170(@300wpm)
“We need to find him,” I say. “Like right now. I’m not getting stuck in the pits of Hell, either.”
“Oh, my god,” Quaid says. His tone filled with exasperation. “How many times—”
But I don’t hear the rest because I trip over something and fall on my face. Except, my face doesn’t hit the hard ground, because my hands fly out in front of me and break my fall.
Except they don’t hit the hard ground, either. They hit… a body.
A very muscular and cut chest on a body. And I know this is Declan because my face lands right over top of that perfect blond happy train. I’m talking right on top of it. I could pop the button on his jeans with my teeth.
“Declan?” I say. “Oh, my god, I think he’s dead. I just fell on him!”
Both of the guys shuffle through the darkness until they’re close enough to bend down. Meanwhile, I have pulled myself up—reluctantly—and I’m straddling Declan’s thighs as my hands caress his perfect abs.
I gasp and pull them back. Feeling slightly ashamed at myself since he’s probably unconscious, but also slightly grossed out since he could be dead.
“Is he breathing?” Quaid asks.
“I don’t know!” I say. “But he better be! He’s our only way back!” Then I have a brilliant idea. A sexy, perfect, so-in-the-moment brilliant idea, I don’t even discuss it with the other two guys before I put it into action.
He needs mouth to mouth.
I reach up, place my hands flat on his face, and then lean down and kiss him. I mean, I blow lifesaving oxygen into his airway. Except, I don’t. I actually kiss him. And even though he’s unconscious and might even be dead, the shame and disgust are gone and in their place is… bliss.
Pure bliss.
Like Declan, the total stranger, messenger guy with the hot body, is my one true love.
6 - ARIC
Star is kissing him! It takes me a moment to figure out what’s happening, and this is way too long to stop what comes next. But she’s not just kissing him, she’s grinding on him. Like he’s got some kind of hold over her!
Which I need to put a stop to immediately.
Fuck that. His gifts are charm and moving through worlds. I’m the fucking sex god here.
Demigod, technically. But that’s my kiss, not his! I’m the one with the belt buckle. It’s holding the curse of attraction that Ares gave me to be used in exactly this kind of situation.
And Declan has the nerve to steal this moment from me?
No.
I pull her back, hook my arms under hers, and drag her away.
“What is going on?” Quaid asks. “Was she just kissing him?”
“Yes. He put some kind of curse on her and—”
Star begins to kick and scram. “Get off me! Let me go! I need to give him mouth to mouth!”
“Mouth to mouth?” Quaid sneers.
And just as he says that, Declan starts laughing. “I did it! I got the first kiss! She’s mine now! Rules are rules!”
“Rules?” Quaid asks. He’s such a Mr. Nobody. He doesn’t even understand that in the world of demigods, the first kiss is the claim. “What the hell kind of game are you two playing?”
“Star,” I say, pulling her to her feet and shaking her a little. “Snap out of it! Look at me!” But while I’m saying this, I’m unbuckling my belt.
“Bro,” Quaid says, flicking a lighter on so he can see. “Did you just unbuckle your belt? What the hell is happening here? Have you two freaks lost your minds?”
Star is still struggling while Declan gets to his feet. “Let her go, Aric. You saw it. She kissed me first. She’s mine.”
This makes Star go still, but I don’t let go of her. She takes a breath and composes herself. “Did you just trick me?”
“Yep,” I say. “He did. Which means, it doesn’t count. And anyway—” I have my belt off now, but it’s only the buckle holding the curse of attraction that I need. “Star has already been claimed by me!” Then I shove the belt buckle up to her face. And thanks to Quaid’s lighter, she sees it. And in this moment, she blinks. When the blink is over, her eyes find mine and they are filled with lust.
“That’s right,” I say. “See?” I lean in to her, pushing my face up to hers like we’re about to take a selfie together. “We’re a couple now. She was mine first, Declan and—”
But suddenly I am thrown backwards, and the darkness is back. Because Quaid drops the lighter when he attacks me.
“You freak! Both of you,” Quaid says. He grabs the collar of my leather jacket and slams me into a rock wall. Then he pulls Star out of my reach. “Get away from us! The two of you are sick! She’s not a prize, for fuck’s sake! She’s a woman!”