Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107826 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107826 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
It’s Adonis’s doing.
“You helped him. You told him what to say, what to do.”
Adonis doesn’t blink. “I had my reasons.”
Gods, I might deserve this, but I can barely think past the betrayal coating my throat. “Right. Of course you did. Well, don’t let me get in the way of your little spat. I’m going to bed.” I start for the hallway.
Hephaestus curses and grabs my wrist. He pulls some move that doesn’t even make sense, spinning me into his arms and creating a cage.
I slap his chest. “Let me go.”
“That was an impressive exit, but you don’t get to make Adonis sad and then prance off.”
“I do not prance.”
“Theseus.” Adonis is on his feet next to us.
I give a sharp laugh. “Oh, so you call him Theseus? It really must be love.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Eris.”
My real name is another blow. I’ve missed hearing him say it, but I don’t want to hear it now. Not like this. “No, you—”
“That’s enough,” growls Hephaestus. “Both of you.” He spins me around and pins my back against his chest. “Just kiss and make up already.”
I go still, but my shock is nothing compared to the way Adonis’s jaw drops. He looks over my head at my husband. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” He keeps one arm banded across my waist and grips my chin with his other hand. “Look at her. So sad. So hurt. Don’t you want to kiss her better, Adonis?”
I can’t breathe. I don’t know if I want to fight or simply melt against him. I am not, and have never been, someone particularly submissive in the bedroom or out of it. But…I am so fucking tired. My heart hurts and, damn it, I’m scared out of my mind. I can barely think about tomorrow and the days that follow and what this new reality might look like.
Maybe I can release that. If only for tonight.
Adonis looks downright tormented, his gaze jumping from me to Hephaestus and back again. “Eris…”
I never wanted to give you up.
I don’t say it. Even I’m not bastard enough to voice such an unforgivable thing in this moment. I’ve missed him. I don’t deserve him back in my life or my bed, but I don’t have the walls in place to stop this.
I don’t want to stop it.
Just like that, I decide. I relax against my husband’s chest and tilt my head back, pressing my throat more firmly into his palm. “That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? To make me feel better, my perpetual knight in shining armor.”
Adonis’s mouth goes hard. “You don’t have to say it like that.”
“But she’s right.” Hephaestus’s words rumble against my back. “You’re the good one, Adonis. Better than both of us combined.” He drags his thumb up and down my throat slowly. “Leave her in my care and who knows what damage I might do.”
Adonis crosses his arms over his chest and glares. “You’re trying to manipulate me and you’re not even doing a good job at it.”
“Why bother being good at it?” He moves his arm by my waist, hooking the edge of my shirt and lifting it a few inches. Not enough to flash anyone, but it’s close enough that Adonis’s gaze sharpens on my newly exposed thighs. “You want it. She wants it. What’s the point in playing games?”
“Because you’re fucking with my heart.”
Hephaestus hesitates. It’s only because I’m pressed so tightly to him that I feel his breath hitch. “You aren’t the only one with a fool heart tangled up in this. Stop playing the martyr and get on your knees.”
I draw a shocked breath, but it’s lost in Adonis’s obedience. He curses and sinks to his knees slowly before us. “I won’t get out of this unscathed, and I resent you using me like a pawn between you.”
I need to say something, to stop this or reassure him or…something. This night has taken a twist for the unexpected and Adonis is right. We need to stop. This wasn’t simple from the beginning, and it feels like every step we take only makes it more complicated, entangles us further.
But I can’t quite manage to speak as Hephaestus lifts my shirt, baring me from the waist down. He’s still stroking my throat with his thumb, a possessive and strangely gentling movement. When he speaks to Adonis, he sounds almost tender. “You may have started out like a pawn, but you didn’t stay that way for long.”
“Don’t.”
He ignores Adonis’s protest. “Last night meant something to me, no matter how messy it is. Now, you know what she needs. Give it to her.”
“What she needs is a good night’s rest and an increased security force.”
I can’t let that stand. “I know what I need. I don’t need the two of you to decide it for me.”
Hephaestus gives a rough chuckle. “By all means, Wife, use your big-girl words and tell us.”