“And now I adore how your mind works.”
I pull her close, guiding one of her thighs around mine while cushioning her head with my bicep. I need another kiss, and I take it. Her mouth is as hot and succulent as ever, matching the decadent dew between her legs, telling me she’s more than ready for me. And holy hell, am I ready for her.
She moans as if she’s received every detail of that message from my psyche. Yet again I’m grateful for the woman’s hyper empathy. Go, little demon, go.
No.
Stay, little demon, stay.
She smiles against my lips. “Well,” she whispers, pushing incessantly at the waistband of my pants. “If you insist…”
I don’t get the chance to answer her. A pronounced slam of the front door does it for me.
I go still. Kara tenses too, but not in the same who’s-barging-in-at-six-a.m. way.
“Take it down a notch, Olympian,” she chides before kissing me softly. “It’s just Kell. She’s clearly been out canoodling.”
I kiss her back but keep my eyes open, kicking up a brow. “‘Canoodling’?”
“It’s what she does. But back to what we were doing. Something about pretend sand…and having my way with you…”
I let her kiss me once more, but I still can’t relax into her desire. Something—instinct, sixth sense, premonition, whatever—eats at my libido. Something about the rhythm of the footsteps out in the living room. Footsteps that don’t track toward Kell’s bedroom…or even the kitchen.
“Kara? You awake?”
I breathe a little easier. Okay, it is Kell.
“Kara.”
Holy shit. That’s not. But I recognize the voice instantly.
“Kara!” Veronica Valari’s repetition seems to push at the walls themselves. “I need to see you out here. Now.”
Chapter Two
Kara
The best thing about seeing my mother at this hour is that Z is standing right beside her. For all Maximus’s doubts, for everything he’s feeling about this man that’s far from resolved, Z’s presence here gives me hope. My mother’s icy stare adds to my surety that he’s found a way out of this mess. She wouldn’t look so miserable otherwise.
Her arms are folded tightly across her chest, accentuating her heavy bust through the leopard fabric of her blouse. Silence hangs in the room like the early morning fog. Except this is more eerie than peaceful.
Kell shifts on her feet, her gaze fixed on some imaginary point of interest outside. Everything about her posture betrays her guilt.
“You told her I was here,” I utter with bitter resignation.
Her eyes are wide and dark, nearly a mirror of my own. “It wasn’t like that.”
“I only asked for a little time to lay low,” I remind her.
“Lay low? After the warhead button you’ve pushed?” my mother scoffs, hiking one of her etched black brows. “Besides, there were only so many places to look, darling.” She utters the last word with sugary sweetness that doesn’t match the rest of her tense posture. “You haven’t been answering my calls, which simply isn’t like you.” She lifts her gaze, narrowing it on the man beside me. Her regard slides south of Maximus’s waist before her nostrils flare slightly. “At least you have discriminating tastes, Kara. He could have been human.”
Z answers with a low chuckle as he casually paces the living room, curiously checking out the decor. “That’s my boy.” The perusal and the remark feel like an invasion.
I don’t know whether to feel defensive or downright embarrassed by the conversation. “I don’t see how it matters, all things considered.”
“Oh, darling. It matters.”
“Why?” I bite back.
“Maximus is a demigod,” she says, unfolding her arms haughtily. “It’s not good, but it changes things.”
“What things?” My voice wavers, giving away the worry that’s been plaguing me every hour since I broke my vow. “Are they coming for me?”
Maximus catches my hand in his, warm and possessive. I yearn to tuck in closer to him but don’t dare.
“I’ve managed to work something out with Arden.” My mother tucks her short black hair behind her ear, her expensive bracelets tinkling with the motion. “Though you left him in quite a mood when you ran off the other night. I had no idea how taken he was with you already.”
Maximus tightens his grasp, shifting himself in front of me a fraction, as if he can protect me from the mere mention of my betrothed.
“He’s not coming anywhere near her.”
“Why would he? She has nothing to offer him. You made sure of that,” she snaps.
If this topic wasn’t so awkward already, I’d correct her. Maximus didn’t seduce me, unless the weeks in his class listening to him passionately read page after page of Dante counts. Of course, it was so much more than that. A thousand little moments that twined our souls, tighter and tighter, until I couldn’t imagine giving myself to anyone else.
But none of it matters if I don’t survive our relationship. Before this moment, I doubted that I would. But now, there’s something about my mother’s stance, something defined and different about her attitude, that infuses my spirit with real hope.
“So what does this mean? Are we safe?”
“As for Maximus, I pulled some strings at the university. They’ve agreed to let the matter go.” She levels an even stare at the man I adore. “You should be able to start back on Friday, Professor.”
A whoosh of air spills from me. While the threat of having to pay the ultimate price for our affair has weighed on me, so has the prospect that Maximus would lose everything he’s worked so hard for because I couldn’t stay away. His livelihood. His passion.
“Does that mean…” I’m afraid to even ask, but the relief singing through my veins and flowing into my hopeful heart is too much to resist. “Can I go back too?”
My mother’s nostrils twitch again. “You can. For now.”
I can’t help the broad smile taking over my face.
“For now?” Maximus’s question cuts through the elated moment.
My mother interjects before I can explain. “Kara agreed to quit her studies at Alameda. To protect you and your career, of course. We couldn’t have the two of you creating any more newsworthy scenes. Someone had to go. It was her or you.”
Maximus’s expression is torn with confusion. “Kara, why didn’t you tell me?”
I turn in to him, mold my palm over his pectoral, and stare up into his tortured gaze. “It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered,” I whisper. Nothing but Maximus and the night I thought would be my last.
“Kara.” My mother’s sharp tone severs our connection, pulling my attention back to her. “This isn’t sentimental. Sending you back to Alameda has nothing to do with my approval or lack of it—and everything to do with your ultimate safety.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Being seen together before threatened to destroy the path you were born for. Had Maximus been a mere mortal, I doubt there’s anything I could have done to protect you. You could say we’re in limbo until this is sorted out, but we might be able to use the visibility to our advantage.”