Daughter Trilogy Bundle (19 page)

"She doesn't want me to."

"It doesn't matter what she wants.  It matters if she lives or not," she whispers back.

He flashes to me, and his eyes connect with mine.  The goddess within is awakening against my wishes.  His hands grip me, and I struggle lightly against his touch.

"I'm sorry," he murmurs as his lips take mine.

I can't fight him.  I need him right now.  Aphrodite breaks free and takes me over as my hands wrap around his neck and then move to twist in his hair as he lifts me up.

My legs wrap around his waist, and the kiss deepens with more fire and intensity than I've ever felt.  I can hear something happening, but my eyes barely gauge anything around me as he grips me tighter and they close again.

The steamy scent of boiling water invades my nose, but it doesn’t snuff out the entrancing scent of Devin Cole's passion for me.

"What's going on?" Theia questions, but I can't stop what's about to happen - even if it is a little crude to do in front of his mother.

My nails dig into his back, and he squeezes his hands against me tighter in response.  I'm not in control anymore.  I'm not me at all, but then again I am.  It's all so confusing, dreadful, incredible, and surreal at once.

"Now.  Please," the goddess and I beg.

He starts walking away with me still firmly attached to him, and Theia calls to us.  "We need to train.  The whole lake is boiling.  Can you two break it up for a minute?"

Devin ignores her as he carries me toward the house, and I hear Persia talking in a low murmur.

"Unfortunately, this is how you train Aphrodite."

I feel the wall crack as he falters in his stride and my back claps against it.  He doesn't attempt the stairs.  I can feel us crossing a threshold, but I don't pay any attention to the room around me.

The bed is suddenly beneath me, and he separates from me long enough for me to rip his shirt over his head.  His mouth quickly regains control over mine, and his hands scour my body, making up for lost time.  My hips rise and fall against his and my jeans feel as if they're burning off of me.

He rips them free from my body, and then he hoists me back into the air to force my back into a shattering armoire.  The splintered wood splatters around us, but that only fuels my lusting fire.

He pushes me harder against the wall, and I balance myself long enough to pull my shirt off.  His lips stroke my neck, and I'm so fucking doomed at this point.  My lips return to his, and I feel the desperate, unkempt desire I've been dying to give into.

Aphrodite seizes her moment, consumes me, and takes both of us into the flames.

"Do you hate me for
that?" Devin asks guiltily while we lie in a shattered bed surrounded by an even more shattered room.

I think about that for a second, and I know I can't hate him no matter what - certainly not for that.

Day turned to night during our ridiculous amount of time in here.  I don't know what I'm supposed to feel, but Aphrodite has been sated, and I still want him so badly.

"No.  I don't hate you, but I don't see how having sex with you has helped anything... other than the obvious," I mumble.

He stifles a grin, and I roll over to face him.

"What do we do now?" I ask softly.

His eyes soften, and they start trying to pull me in.

"Anything you want," he says with an underlying meaning.

I feel myself inching toward him, surrendering, and finally giving up my endeavor to stay away.

"I want you."

The honesty in my words is raw, leaving me all the more vulnerable.

"I'm yours."

His lips cover mine, but there's a knock at the door to interrupt the new stirring.  I cover up with the remainder of the sheet that has been scorched from the heated encounter, and Devin pulls on his eye-catching, low-hanging pants.

"Yeah," he says with a bit of agitation.

The door creaks open, and Ther walks in with a huge smile that only forces me to blush.

Damn immortal super-hearing.  There's no telling what wild, raw, carnal sounds came out of us during that.

"The others are here now, and Persia isn't happy about so many knowing about Dissy, so we could use your help."

I roll my eyes.

"My name is Adisia."

Devin laughs a little, and Ther's eyes dance excitedly.  I pull the scorched sheet a little tighter, and Devin moves between me and Ther to block his view.

"I'll be out in a minute," he says in a scolding tone.

"Yeah.  Take your time.  I think we can manage for a minute.  By the way, the two of you blew out the power for ten miles.  Your dad went to get some supplies."

I blush deeper as I clap my hand over my face, and Devin snickers a little as the door shuts behind Ther.

He turns back to me and steps over the shattered furniture trail we've left behind.  The bed is even setting at an angle after we collapsed half of it.

I smile as he pulls on his shirt.  "So,
was
this your room?"

He laughs louder as he climbs back onto the bed to be beside me.

"Yes, it was.  I may have to do a little redecorating before I can sleep in it again."

"I don't know.  I think it has a savage appeal now," I flirt.

His eyes hold mine as he kisses the back of my hand, and the goddess tries to awaken.

"You could stay in the room I'm in," I breathe, losing all the humor I had in my earlier tone.

"I wasn't planning on staying anywhere but with you," he smolders, and my lower lip feels the bite of my teeth as I stare into his swirling eyes.

He pulls me into his arms, and his lips trap mine.  I feel the heat of his hands forcing my body to spark.  He pulls me under him, and then there's another knock.

Devin smirks as he answers the interrupter.

"Yeah."

"So, I know you're with a sex goddess and all, but we could really use you out here," Kry says impatiently.

Devin laughs wildly as I blush again.  He kisses my forehead, and I whisper to him before he gets up.

"Don't hurt me again.  I can't-"

He kisses me to stop my ramble, and then he draws back slowly to meet my eyes.

"I never wanted to hurt you the first time.  I have to be with you.  I need to be with you, and I'll never let you go.  I couldn't let you go even after I let you go.  I-"

Another knock interrupts us yet again.

"Yes," he growls.

"Some crazy bitch is threatening to open the skies on our asses if we don't go.  Can you please help us out?" an unfamiliar voice pleads.

Devin smiles playfully as though he finds humor in Persia's madness.

"Be right there," he chuckles out.

I pout slightly when he turns back to me, as if he's asking for permission to leave.

"Go.  Kill my mother if you have to."

He laughs again, but I can see his reluctance to get up.

"I do want to be with you.  That's never been in question since I started stalking you the first time," he teases.

I smile foolishly, and he disappears out the door, leaving me only his scent to drown in.

I stand up and pick up my jeans.  A gasp breaches my once sealed lips when my eyes fall upon the charred fabric.

They felt like they were burning against my legs because they were.  There's barely any material still intact.  I'm surprised the entire house didn't get torched.  I'm sure he had to break out some of his Poseidon juice to extinguish that shit.

Oh boy
.  This is all so crazy.

I can hear everyone outside, but I tune it out.  At least I'm learning to do that much.

I pull on my shirt, which has suffered some burns as well.  Hopefully I can get through the house without anyone seeing me.  At least my underwear is still intact.  I slide them on and peek out the door.  I don't see anyone, so I decide to risk it.

I sprint toward the stairs and shriek as a guy barrels down them.  His mouth falls open, and he shakes his head to try and assess if he's seeing clearly.

His eyes blaze with excitement, and he licks his lips like I'm a juicy steak someone just threw on a plate in front of him.

Who the hell is this guy?

"Hey, girl.  Where did you come from?"

He takes a step toward me, and I inch backwards in a ready-to-run stance.  He takes another step, the swirling yellow staining his once brown eyes.  I don't like the way he's looking at me, and I don't hesitate.

"Devin," I murmur quietly, the fear evident in my tone.

Devin flashes to my side the moment I call his name.  He pulls his shirt off and hands it to me to put on.

I quickly shrug it on, and I'm thankful it drips lower than my underwear.

"Back off, Trey," he threatens.

The guy seems possessed, and he steps toward me again.

"Trey?  What the hell?  Back the fuck off," Devin blares.

Persia walks in just as Devin grabs Trey and throws him out of the house.  He rushes to the porch, and yells at him.

"You don't want to try this with me."

Persia sighs, "It's not his fault.  This is why I wanted a limited amount of people here.  She has to get her Aphrodite under control.  The others here seem to have acclimated to her growing powers somewhat, but all these new ones are going to struggle until she gets her supercharged sex appeal subdued."

Supercharged sex appeal?

Devin's lips tighten, and then he nods.

"Yeah.  Most of us have been around her from mortal to immortal.  I'll talk to Mom about keeping everyone else out of this house until she figures it out," Devin grumbles with his eyes still burning against the brooding man limping away.

"I'm going to put some pants on now," I say with a blushing, shameful, downward gaze.

"Aphrodisia, you should concentrate on Devin and only on him when you're in a room full of men.  If you make eye contact with another man right now, it could push them to a limit with severe consequences - even the ones who have gotten used to your
… charms," she instructs.

"I'll fucking kill someone if they try anything," Devin interjects.

"It won't be them.  They lose control," Persia adds.

"I've walked away from her Aphrodite stare, so can they," he growls.

"You're the only man I've ever known capable of such.  It's astounding actually.  Her eyes bear the aphrodisiacs to the gods in them, and it's unbelievably strong in the early stages."

"Got it.  I'm not even allowed to look at people now.  Great," I mumble.

Persia's eyes soften, and I know she actually knows exactly what I'm going through, but I still hate her.

"It gets easier.  Getting your goddess under control will free you from such issues, but for right now you have to play carefully.  Eventually, you'll control the gaze and your Aphrodite.  You can't hide out here forever.  It's too dangerous."

"Too dangerous?  I thought this was a safe house," I say in confusion.

"A safe house is only good for intense training.  We hide better among the mortals.  Out here, we're too obvious.  There's no interference with our scents or anything else.  Our presence is easily detected.  We stay here to give someone time to get their powers under control.  Usually we have about two weeks before someone starts sniffing around," Devin answers with a huff.

"And no one bothered to tell me I had to be ready to go back into society within a couple of weeks.  You told me I'd be ripped apart in a few days, so why not tell me I can go home in two weeks?"

"Because he didn't know how strong your scent was.  These people were half mad by the time they got here.  They're intoxicated and drinking you in.  Their presence is a safety risk."

Devin shakes his head.

"Their presence is necessary in case we run out of time before we're ready.  Things have gone awry in other safe houses.  There's a reason we have multiples.  I'm not going to let anyone here touch her, and they're going to be here in case someone outside our group tries."

She tightens her lips, but sighs in defeat.  "I'm used to doing things on my own.  It's easier to move quicker."

"I guess that's the real reason why you threw me away twice," I grumble while I make my way up the stairs at last.

I almost feel pain exuding from her.  I suppose she's using her goddess to express how cutting my words were.

Kry runs in, and Devin speaks to him as he follows behind me.

"No one in the main house.  They're vulnerable to her goddess."

"Yeah, well, it's not easy on Ther and me either."

"Just let me know if you feel it's too much," Devin exasperates while gripping his head.

"I'll be fine.  Just make sure she stays in here as much as possible when the others are out.  I'll keep them back, but we've got some hikers to deter right this moment.  I'm going to inspect so we can be sure there not immortals."