Legacy of Olympus (In the Gods' Secret Service) (28 page)
Read Legacy of Olympus (In the Gods' Secret Service) Online
Authors: Teri Gilbert
Tags: #Romance, #ebook
Alec spoke in a hushed whisper, not wanting to attract any unwelcome attention. His team stood at the mouth of the servant’s quarters, in the lowest level of the mansion. Back on the beach they’d been worse for wear, but now, with the exception of torn and soiled clothing, they appeared vibrant, ready for battle.
Getting into the building had been relatively uneventful, one guard dead, one unconscious. Quinn flexed his right hand while Adara wiped the blood-soaked blade of her spear across her pants, leaving a rusty smear in its wake.
He swallowed hard. They had no choice. Everyone at Mallaki’s knew what they’d signed on for. Directly or indirectly, they were a party to the horrors Mallaki wreaked on the rest of the world.
Alec felt a pang of regret. All that training with Zorba, and his bow and arrows had been lost at sea. He’d have to make do with an average knife. He turned and addressed his team. “Follow my directions to the rotunda and destroy the amplifier. Got it? I’ll join you as soon as I’m done.”
“And where are
you
going?” Adara raised an arched brow.
“To Eleni’s suite. I’m worried...” Alec hesitated, then forced himself to continue. “I’m concerned about what Mallaki might have done to Eleni for helping me escape.”
Adrian wore a sardonic expression. “What is it about the men in this group? Shouldn’t the women be able to take care of themselves?”
Adara shot him a withering look. “Some of us can.”
“I feel like we’re rescuing Helen of Troy.” Jules attempted to break the awkward silence. “Maybe we should have created some sort of Trojan Horse.”
“Eleni
is
the Trojan Horse.” Stephanos gestured down the hall. “Now let’s go put an end to Dorian Mallaki’s madness.”
Alec watched as they crept down the marble hallway, weapons drawn, then he turned and headed in the other direction. He knew he should go with them, but he had to find Eleni first. Once he had her safely with him, he’d join them in destroying the man who’d stolen so much from the world.
Stephanos’s words accompanied him as he made his way down the corridor. He’d said Eleni was the Trojan Horse. That made sense, in a way. She alone had penetrated the enemy’s defenses in order to destroy him.
Alec racked his brain as he headed toward Eleni’s room. What happened in the myth? Did the ruse succeed? Or were the Trojans defeated?
Eleni strode toward her bedroom door, letter opener at her side, refusing to take another glance at Mallaki’s lifeless body. Nausea bubbled in her stomach. She’d taken a man’s life tonight, and to get out of there safely, she’d likely have to take more. However, next time she’d try using her power first before shedding more blood.
She tugged open the door and stared in disbelief at Zander, who lay on the floor, blood blossoming from a wound on his shoulder. Her power wouldn’t be needed on him. She frowned. From what Mallaki had said, Zander should have been standing guard. Had Mallaki lost his temper and punished Zander again, but said he was there anyway, so she’d feel trapped? Well, she couldn’t wait for Zander to regain consciousness to find out, and judging from the rise and fall of the young man’s chest, he wouldn’t die from his injury.
Lifting the hem of her gown, she prepared to sprint down the hall. A shuffling noise from somewhere behind her grew louder. She spun, letter opener raised.
“I hope you don’t intend to use that on me.”
Her breathing suspended, and she felt like her knees would give out from under her.
Alec. He was alive, standing there just a few yards away.
The impossible had happened.
The dead had returned to life.
Again.
An unexpected surge of emotion caught Alec off guard as Eleni, looking like some sort of spirit in her filmy gown, raced toward him. All thoughts of the battle ahead vanished.
He jogged the last couple of steps and caught her as she leapt into his arms. He buried his head in her hair, inhaling her floral scent, finding strength in her warmth. Swallowing past the constriction in his throat, he reluctantly set her down.
She gingerly touched his cheeks and the corners of his mouth, a look of wonder on her face. “You’re really all right?”
Not trusting himself to speak, he nodded, then cleared his throat and took a step back to study her. Her hair went every which way, and her dress had been torn in several places, but the thing that made him want to cringe was the blast of color across her bodice. Mouth dry, throat tight, he lifted the blood-stained fabric between shaking fingers. “Are you hurt?”
“The blood is Mallaki’s. What about Stephanos? The others?”
“They all survived. What do you mean Mallaki’s?”
“I killed him when he tried to rape me.”
Relief warred with disbelief. “Are you sure he’s dead?”
She glanced down at the blood and made a face. “Yes, I’m sure. I had to do it, Alec. He had to be stopped.”
But how could someone so slight overpower a man like Mallaki, especially if he were intent on rape?
“I-I—” Her eyes fluttered closed for a second. When she opened them, he saw how glassy-eyed and feverish she looked.
He pressed a hand to her forehead. “You’re sick.”
“Yes, yes I am. I’ve consumed too much Siac. It’s making me crazy.” She glanced around with a frantic expression. “Heal me the only way you can, Alec. Make love to me.”
“Eleni, we have to join the others. We’ll have time for this later.”
“I’m sick. I want to help you, but I need you to make love to me, so I don’t get worse.” She kissed him firmly, desperately. “Please, Alec, I need you.”
Her hands fumbled with his belt buckle.
The mere sound of the clasp coming undone inflamed him. “Here?” He scanned the hall. True, there was no one to be seen, but still.
She gave a frustrated sigh.
He remembered Naia and Litsa had ducked into a vacant room to satisfy their Siac-induced lust.
“Yes.” Eleni followed his gaze to a nearby suite, took his hand, and dragged him there. She locked the door behind her, then spun and planted her back against the marble surface. “I need you to make love to me.” She reached beneath her nightgown and with a few wiggling motions, tugged the thong down her curvy legs, over her frost-tipped toenails, and let it drop to the floor. She met his gaze. “I love you, Alec.”
He cupped her face with trembling fingers, then lowered his mouth to hers.
“No.” Her eyes remained frantic. “There isn’t time for that.”
Her reckless behavior was making him crazy. What was she doing? They had to join the fight. But suddenly he couldn’t think. Adrenaline, fear, and relief came together in a surge of need. Blood flowed away from his brain, rushing lower and filling him to the point of bursting. He had to help the others, but Eleni came first. If she said she needed him to make love to her, then he believed her.
On some level, he knew they shouldn’t, but the feel of her...He ran his hands over her shoulders, down her breasts, to her waist. Eleni was all right. All the worry, the anxiety for her safety transformed into burning desire. Besides, he wouldn’t need much time. Judging from Eleni’s actions, neither did she.
Eleni gripped his hand, and shoved it beneath her gown, then upward, skimming the silky flesh of her inner thighs, then higher, until the fabric bunched at her waist and her heated moisture licked his fingers.
An unwanted groan issued from somewhere at the back of his throat. He entered her in one swift motion. She whimpered and clung to him as he took her, up against the door, legs curled around his waist. He felt her tiny contractions pulse around him, then increased his pace, hearing the slap of her bare hips against the marble as he drove her toward the brink.
Suddenly she convulsed, dropping her head forward onto his shoulder and hugging him close to her.
Gripping her hips, he plunged again. “Eleni.” He could hear his love for her in the way he’d said her name as he gave himself over to her.
The sound of footsteps in the hall brought him back to reality. “Eleni, adjust your clothing. We should get moving. They could have found Mallaki’s body. The alarm could sound at any moment.”
When the footsteps passed and the ensuing silence continued, he gestured for Eleni to remain still, then checked the hall. All clear. He motioned her toward him and clasped her hand, was now cool to the touch.
Alec tugged on her hand and spoke in a hushed whisper. “Mallaki’s dead. That will make him a martyr. We have to hurry.”
Eleni increased her pace, bare feet pattering lightly on the cool stone, and managed to keep up with Alec. With each motion, she could feel the sticky dampness between her legs. Fingers of heat rose from her breasts to her cheeks. She’d acted with such intense wantonness, what must Alec think?
A strange mixture of sounds caught her attention. It reminded her of a pleasant cocktail party that rapidly deteriorated into a crescendo of insults. Within seconds, the thuds and grunts of punches being thrown and bodies slamming against one another reverberated in the hall.
Alec shoved past her and tucked her behind him. “Go.”
“I’m not leaving.” She would not be out of Alec’s sight again.
“I can’t be worried about you and still do my job.”
A wild cry split the air.
Eleni darted past Alec, then planted her hands on her hips and shot him a look to let him know she wasn’t going to budge.
“All right, dammit. Then stay out of the way.” Anger flashed in his eyes, and he ground his teeth in frustration.
A small measure of satisfaction flowed through her. Now all she had to do was prove to Alec she could hold her own.
He motioned for her to stay put, then crept into the rotunda while she inched forward. When she reached the corner, she peered around the edge of the corridor into the spacious room. Nothing could have prepared her for this.
An Arnold Schwarzenegger of a man was engaged in what looked like a wrestling match with one of Mallaki’s bodyguards. Both men had their feet planted slightly back from their interlocked bodies. In a violent game of Twister, one man’s arm locked around the other’s waist, while his opponent’s arm grasped him beneath his knee. Their faces were red, and veins bulged in their necks and arms. Eleni found it difficult to discern where one man started and the other ended.
On the opposite side of the room, a thin, muscular woman carrying a spear was kicking some serious butt against
two
men. The spear was a blur and Eleni heard muffled thumps as the shaft hit home twice. One of the men, face white and pained, yelled “bitch” and charged her, while the other clutched his crotch and dropped to his knees.
A brief smile played across Eleni’s lips.
You go, girl
.
She glanced down at her nightgown and her bare feet, toenails painted frosty white from her time with Naia and Litsa. Alec was right. She was more of a hindrance than help in this situation.
“You.”
Eleni swiveled, and a sharp pain swept across her brow.
Charissa stood a few feet away wearing the same dress from the party the night before. She clutched her remaining sandal in one hand, while the other hand balled into a tight fist. Charissa drew back the arm holding the second sandal.
