Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 82080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
“Why are we meeting with Allecto?”
Meg heads for the closet, and I hop off the counter to follow her. The closet is filled to the brim with black clothing, but there’s a section that’s obviously Meg’s for all that it appears to be menswear. She dresses quickly in a pair of gray slacks and a white halter vest thing that gives glimpses of her pale stomach and the curves of her breasts. Heels finalize the outfit, bringing her well past my shoulder. She finally looks at me. “Hades taunted your father last night. It’s possible Zeus will retaliate.”
He taunted my father last night. I pick apart the words and delve beneath to what she’s not staying. “He left our bed to go play power games with Zeus.”
“Yes.” She doesn’t bother to pretty it up, but then Meg isn’t one to mince words. “He’s brushing up the security in order to ensure his people remain safe. Allecto is already the best, but she can’t anticipate an enemy she doesn’t know exists.”
I should have known that reality wouldn’t wait long to intrude on this little paradise we created. Just like I should have known that Hades would be the one to invite it in. I scrub a hand over my face. “How Zeus responds will depend on what Hades did to provoke him—and how public it was.” My father has a mostly sterling reputation despite everything he’s done in the shadows and behind closed doors. It’s one of the things that tipped the scales against Leda, in addition to her being a virtual unknown and Zeus holding significant power. Zeus will fight to maintain his public persona.
“I can’t speak to that.” She stops in front of me and runs her hands up my chest. “I hope you were serious with everything you said last night, because there’s no turning back now.” She hesitates. “But if you do change your mind—”
“I won’t.”
Meg catches my chin, her nails digging into my skin. “If you change your mind, I’ll get you out.”
Shock floors me. “What?”
“It won’t be Olympus and it won’t be Carver City, but I have enough money set aside that you could effectively disappear as long as you aren’t an idiot about it. Say the word and it’s yours.”
What she’s offering… I hold perfectly still. I won’t brush this off, no matter how unlikely I am to take her up on this. If I know Meg, and at this point I feel I have an innate understanding of her, then this nest egg she’s gift wrapping for me is one she’s saved for herself. Her exit hatch to ensure history never repeats itself, that she always has a way out. “I meant what I said last night.” I take her hands. “I’m totally gone for you.”
“You barely know me.” Even as she says the words, her heart is in her eyes. She cares about me too. She wouldn’t do so many of the things she’s done since we met, culminating in offering me everything to leave if I need it.
“I know enough.” I lean down slowly, and though she maintains her hold on my chin, she allows it. I kiss her carefully, cautious of the red lipstick. “Thank you for offering me this. I don’t need it, but I know what it represents to you and what losing it would cost.”
Her fingers tremble, just a little. “You can’t possibly be real.”
“I am.” I cover her hand with mine. “I’m real. I’m right here.” A pause. “I’m yours.”
Her lips finally curve into a reluctant smile. “Yes, you really, really are.” She drops her hand and shakes her head. “I don’t know if this is the beginning of something new and wonderful—or the beginning of the end. But apparently we’re taking this ride to its conclusion.”
“It will be okay, Meg.” A reassurance I have no business offering her, but one I can’t help making despite that. I don’t want her sad and stressed. I sure as fuck don’t want to be the cause of it. “We’ll figure this out together.”
“I suppose we will.” She casts a critical eye over me, lingering on the lounge pants I wore up to this room last night. “We better get moving or we’re going to miss the meeting with Allecto, and then Hades will think up some ridiculously uncomfortable punishment.” She leans into me. “But if we had time, I’d be sucking your dick right now and let you fuck me in front of Hades’s giant mirror.”
I glance over her shoulder at the mirror in question. It stretches from floor to ceiling and is wider than it has right to be. A heavy frame that must be custom-made borders it. With all that space to work with, I would be able to watch my cock slide into Meg with each stroke, would be able to see every wave of pleasure roll through her expression. I swallow hard and try to get my physical reaction under control, but my cock isn’t listening.