Bound (21 page)

“Oh, I have sex.”

Her fingers stilled against the Argonaut markings on his arms. “You do?”

“Yeah. Why? Does that surprise you?”

“No. I just thought… Well, you said you couldn’t touch anyone.”
Except for me.
“That it had been a hundred years.”

“I haven’t. But I’m not celibate. A guy has needs.”

She froze beneath him. Didn’t know what to say.

“Ask me,
ligos Vesuvius
.”

She looked his way and narrowed her eyes. “Are you reading my mind?”

“No.” He smiled. “But you’re getting hot again, and I can tell this time it’s not from arousal.”

He was right. She was heating up. She hated that her emotions were so closely tied to that damn element inside her.

“I just…I saw the way you reacted when the Amazons touched you. You were in pain. How do you…you know…deal with that and keep it…hard…enough….to have sex with other”—
shit
—“people?”

His cheeks turned the slightest shade of pink. “It’s a complicated process of clothing and condoms and making sure they don’t physically touch me.”

“They who?”

He glanced away, and his cheeks grew pinker. He was embarrassed. The knowledge sent an odd thrill through her. “There are a couple regular females back in Argolea who know what I like.”

That thrill turned to a quick shot of dislike. Had
she
done what he liked? She didn’t know. Suddenly, she wanted to know a whole lot more. And who these females were who were throwing themselves at him. “And what is it you like?”

His arm tightened around her waist, and he nuzzled her ear. “I like being inside you. Naked. Feeling every part of you. Gods, your whole body melts like liquid fire when you come.”

He was being cute. And sexy. And he was damn good at both. But she suddenly couldn’t stop thinking of him with those “regular” females.

She literally felt her temperature rising. It was stupid to get so worked up. She hadn’t known him before a few days ago, and back when he was fucking these other females, she’d been frozen anyway.

“Tasa.” He lifted his hand from her belly, used his index finger to tip her face his way, and forced her to look at him. “They can’t touch. That’s the rule. And usually they’re restrained because I don’t trust them. They agree to it not because of me, but because of the bragging rights for sleeping with an Argonaut. I hate it. It’s clinical at best. But it’s the only thing I’ve found that works. I wasn’t built to be celibate.”

She could feel that. He was still semi-hard against her thigh, even in the middle of this fucked-up conversation. He was obviously built for pleasure and release. And though her anger had subsided, the thought of him giving that pleasure to someone else burned a path of fire straight to her gut.

“I’m sorry.” She looked down at his lips. Couldn’t meet his eyes. “I told you before I’m…”
Emotionally volatile. A raving lunatic
.
Pathetically jealous.“…
unstable.”

His luscious lips curled. “And I told you I am too.” He kissed the corner of her mouth. “Being with you… It’s not even a comparison. Just thinking about the sounds you made, the way you climaxed… The way you felt coming around me…
Skata
, it’s making me even harder, right now. Can’t you feel that?”

She smiled because she
could
feel it. And because this conversation was off-the-charts
insane
. Burning with embarrassment, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close.

He kissed her throat and breathed cool against her skin. “You’ve ruined me for anyone else, you know. There’s no way I’ll be able to go back to that after this.”

The thought eased the sting. Made her sex clench. But then she realized what it meant. And guilt slithered in. Guilt for making such a big deal over something that—in a few weeks—wouldn’t even matter anymore.

If she were normal, if she had any kind of future, he’d be the sort of guy she’d want to spend it with.

She couldn’t tell him what his words meant to her. But she could give him something he’d been waiting for.

“Titus, the element inside me… It’s getting hotter. I went to Argolea in the hopes maybe Maelea could tell me where Zeus chained Prometheus. He’s the only one who knows how to stop it. He gave it to me. He’s…my father.”

He pushed up on his arm and stared down at her. “Your father? But how…?” His gaze raked her features. “That makes you like…four thousand years old.”

“Technically, yes.” She rested her hands against his shoulders, loving the way his muscles flexed beneath her fingers. “But chronologically I’m only twenty-nine. I was trapped in a frozen state for over three thousand years.”

His brow wrinkled. She could see he was working through the probability of that. “Run that by me again.”

She pushed against his shoulders and leaned back in the pillows. Explaining all this when his touch was a teasing chill she liked too much made it hard to focus. “My mother was a nymph who was seduced by Zeus. They had a love affair, but when Hera found out, she flipped. To protect my mother, Zeus turned her into a…well, a cow. People say a beautiful white heifer, but really, she was a cow. I think he did it because he’s an ass. I mean, he could have picked anything, but a cow?” She shook her head, pulled her knees up, and wrapped her arms around them. “Hera was so pissed he’d tried to protect her, she banished my mother from Greece and cursed her to wander the wilds as a beast.”

He didn’t say anything, just leaned on his elbow and stared up at her, dumfounded. Okay, springing the Prometheus card on him probably hadn’t been the smartest thing for her to do, but now that it was out there, she couldn’t take it back. And part of her didn’t want to.

“Zeus did nothing to stop Hera, and my mother had no choice but to leave the only home she’d ever known. She wandered for years. What Zeus didn’t plan for though was that during that wandering, she’d accidentally come across Prometheus, whom he’d already imprisoned. I guess she felt bad for the elder god—they were basically in the same kind of prison but with different walls, both exiled and alone. Whatever she said must have resonated with Prometheus, because though he was still chained, he retained the power to ease at least part of her suffering. He changed her back into a woman.”

Titus slowly sat up. “I know this story. Io. The nymph who was turned into a cow was Io. You’re Io’s daughter?”

Natasa swallowed hard. The sheet fell against his waist. Light from the edge of the curtains glinted off his strong, solid chest. Faintly she wondered what time it was—what day—but the shock and awe alive in his features kept her from asking. “Being the father of foresight, Prometheus has the gift to see into the future. He also told my mother that one day she’d reach Egypt, and there, far from Hera’s sight, Zeus would eventually break the wandering curse. To thank him for the hope she’d given him, my mother, uh, eased his…um, suffering.”

“Hold on.” Titus held up a hand. “While Prometheus was chained to a rock, your mother…”

Fucked him blind
?

Natasa’s cheeks burned. “Ah…yeah. She, um, relieved him…as much as she could while he was bound. I was the result.”

Titus chuckled. “Gives new meaning to the title of that ancient Greek play,
Prometheus Bound
.”

He was cracking jokes. A little of her embarrassment ebbed. “I guess you could say that.”

She swallowed. “My mother eventually reached Egypt, and Zeus did rid her of Hera’s curse. And there she married an Egyptian king—Telegonus—my stepfather. But when Zeus found out what had transpired between Prometheus and my mother, he came looking for me.”

“Wait. I know this one too. Prometheus foresaw that a descendent of Io’s would lead to the downfall of Zeus.”

She nodded again. He didn’t look shocked anymore. Just…interested. And that calmed her anxiety. “I was in my late twenties by then. I had only recently been told about Prometheus. When Zeus appeared in the form of a dove, I wasn’t afraid. I mean, doves aren’t scary, right? It was only after—after he took me away from my home—that I realized why.”

“So he froze you in some kind of perfect state for more than three thousand years? Why didn’t he just kill you?”

“Because by killing me, he’d also kill the fire element. And he knew he’d one day need it.”

“How did you get away?”

“I have no memories of that time. It was like being in a coma. One day you fall asleep, the next you wake up and years have gone by. Only in my case, it was thousands of years. I don’t know what changed, but for some reason, I came awake. I was in a cave high in the mountains of Greece. I didn’t wait around to see who—if anyone—had saved me. I got as far from there as I could. Then, after I’d adjusted to the changes in the world—which I’m still not totally accustomed to yet—I went looking for my father.”

“To fulfill your destiny,” he said quietly.

His eyes were so intense, his gaze so focused on her face, her heart bumped again. “No,” she whispered. “I’m no hero, Titus. I’m not looking for Prometheus for any reason other than to find out how to stop the fire inside from consuming me.”

“Destiny’s a fickle thing to play with.”

“I wouldn’t know. At the moment, I’m just trying to make it from one day to the next.”

“That’s why you were with the Amazons, isn’t it? Because you were hiding from Zeus.”

She drew in a breath, then slowly blew it out again. “Yes. The Amazons don’t have any particular love for the gods. Though Aella and her warriors have their own issues, they were more than happy to help me so long as I helped them.”

“What were you going to do for them?”

“Find a way to stop Zagreus from bugging their tribe.”

“That didn’t work out so well.”

No, it hadn’t. And a sliver of guilt whipped through her when she thought of what had happened at the Amazon city. Though she was pretty sure Zagreus being there was not her fault. “I wasn’t trying to hurt anyone. That guard in your realm…I didn’t even know I could do that.”

“I know.”

His utter faith in her shook her to her core. No one else had ever believed in her. Why him? And why now? She stared into his hazel eyes. And saw that flash of worry again.

He was holding something back. Her pulse picked up speed. Her skin grew hot all over. She searched his eyes for answers.

He was a smart guy, the descendent of Odysseus. Even if he wasn’t willing to admit it, he already knew what would happen if the fire consumed her first.

Her heart clenched. “You should get as far from me as possible,” she whispered. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

He reached across her body, hooked a hand over her hip, and tugged her beneath him, until her body was flush against his. “You said that before and I didn’t listen. I’m not listening now.”

She pressed her hands against his chest and tried to push him away. “Titus—”

“Stop.”

She stilled beneath him.

His eyes were intense as ever. His stare, unwavering. And gazing up at him, her heart took a hard, painful tumble. “I told you you’re not getting rid of me, and I meant it.” He brushed a curl away from her temple. His voice gentled. “We’ll figure this out. We’ve still got time. I’m not letting you go, Natasa. Understand? You’re mine now.”

His…

He bent his head, brushed his mouth over hers, and kissed her gently. Deeply. And her entire body responded. Not just to the kiss, but to him. To what he was willing to do for her. To his steadfast vow to protect her.

She knew it was wrong. She knew it was selfish. But she didn’t want to give him up either. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him close and arched against his strong, muscular body.

No one had ever wanted to help her before. She hadn’t even considered that someone like Titus could be out there. She hadn’t thought to wait for him. But maybe there really was a chance they could do this. Maybe he could help her find her father and get rid of this blasted element.

And maybe…just maybe…she wouldn’t have to go through with the deal she’d made with Poseidon after all.

Chapter Thirteen

Demetrius flashed into the courtyard of the Argolean castle. Memories of seeing Nick and Isadora here the day before bombarded him, but he pushed them aside. Right now he needed to get to Theron.

“Hold up, D,” Orpheus muttered at his back.

He ignored Orpheus and headed into to the castle. At this hour—nearly six a.m.—the castle was quiet. Guards glanced their way in the main foyer but barely paid them any attention. He headed for Theron’s office.

Light spilled through the doorway into the darkened corridor. Voices echoed from inside. Theron’s and Zander’s.

He stepped into the room. Z and Theron were studying what looked like a map on a virtual screen near Theron’s desk. Both looked his way when his boot steps quieted.

“Well?” Theron asked. His gaze flicked from Demetrius to Orpheus at his back. “Anything?”

“More than you may want to know,” Orpheus muttered, stepping around Demetrius. “We just had ourselves a nice little chat with Epimetheus.”

“The Titan?” Zander asked. “How in Hades did you end up there? I thought you went to see about a witch.”

Demetrius moved into the room and told them about their visit with Delia and how that had led them to the elder god. When he was done, Zander’s shocked expression said it all.

“
Skata
,” he muttered. “And I thought Krónos was the one we had to look out for.”

“So did we. ‘Things are going well for you?’” Orpheus mocked in his best Zeus impersonation. “‘Here, bend over and I’ll fuck you in the ass a few times to liven things up.’”

Theron ignored his sarcasm. “We need to get to Titus and stop Natasa before its too late.” Urgency formed deep lines in his forehead. He looked back at the map. “Based on what little we were able to get from the portal’s records, we’ve narrowed it down to the western half of the US. Cerek and Phin are searching this area here—”

“Dad?”

The voice of Zander’s eleven-year-old drew their attention. Zander’s brow wrinkled with concern. “What are you doing up this early, son?”