The heat of his body lingered even after his task was complete, and my blood pressure rose to the stars above in the sky. The blindfold, I’d expected, but I hadn’t anticipated how disorienting his presence would be.
“I’m going to catch you.” He whispered it beside my ear, and I jerked in response, not realizing he was still so close. His voice was pure sin. “Part of you is hoping I will.”
“No, I’m not.” I refused to accept any other concept.
I flinched at his touch when cold hands gently gripped my shoulders. They guided me to turn in place. One circle. Another. All of it was an unnecessary excuse to have his hands on me. We hadn’t moved from the center of the maze, so when the blindfold came off, it’d only take a single moment to know which way to go.
The hands released me. “Take off your dress.”
“What?” Panic dumped over me like a bucket of frigid water.
“You agreed I’m allowed to disorient you however I see fit. So, you will be naked when we do this.”
I shook my head furiously. “No.”
He was a viper slithering inside my head. “This is not difficult, nor is it something I haven’t already seen.”
I tucked my chin to my chest and furrowed my eyebrows. He believed this would slow me down and trip me up, but I wouldn’t let it. I was going to win, and nothing was going to stop me. I’d spent so long not caring what other people thought of me, I’d lost any shyness, and this included my body. If anything, tonight would be easier than the initiation because it would only be one man instead of nine, and I wouldn’t be able to see his reaction.
“Do you want me to do it?” He asked it with an eagerness that sent my pounding heart into overdrive.
“No,” I snapped. I reached down and grasped the hem of my skirt, lifting the stretchy fabric. Up I pulled, taking extra care around my face not to bump the blindfold off, until the dress was collected in my hands.
I’d worn the sexy pink lace bra and panties for Royce, but a tiny inkling deep inside me was flattered when Macalister drew in a sharp, affected sigh. There was power here. Perhaps he’d made an unwise move and my nakedness would be more disorienting to him than it was to me.
The dress was pulled from my grasp, and there was rustling. He must have folded it and then discarded it on the bench beneath the fountain.
“All of it, please.” His hushed voice was full of gravel and need.
Unwanted goosebumps prickled my skin.
When I twisted my hands behind my back to undo the bra, I surrendered to the situation. I would pretend it wasn’t real. I was in one of the myths I enjoyed, some nymph being chased by a man besotted with infatuation. I’d escape, and he’d be cursed to roam the maze for eternity in search of me.
It was a pleasant night, but the breeze caressed my body and my nipples hardened into points. Taking off the bra hadn’t been that much of a challenge, but my underwear was a different story. Which was stupid. The pale pink lace was thin and essentially see-through, and what he’d said was right.
Macalister Hale had already seen me naked. There were no new secrets to be—
His demanding voice cut through the air. “What is that?”
I froze. What was he asking about? A cold finger stabbed between my ribs, and my mouth rounded into a silent ‘oh.’ And then it curved into an evil smile. “It’s a tattoo.”
Although I couldn’t see his face, I didn’t need to. I could hear the contempt loud and clear in his voice. “When did you get this?”
The upside to stripping naked before him was I’d arrived at this perfect moment, and vindictive warmth spread through my limbs. I was proud to show off my statement of defiance. “It’s what I needed my car for.” My tone was overly bright and fake. “Do you like it? I hope so, because your money paid for it.”
I didn’t know what kind of reaction I expected from him, but it went deathly silent, and it was far scarier than I would have thought. It was quiet for so long I began to wonder if he’d abandoned me or rage had vaporized him into thin air. I reached out, pawing into the unknown.
“Uh, are you still there?”
“Finish your task.” His sharp order was the sting of a crop, and I jumped in response. “We’ll deal with your decision to deface your body at a later time.”
My expression soured as he sucked all the energy out of the moment, deflating my attempt to get under his skin the way the tattoo was inked in mine.
Hesitantly, I hooked my fingers under the waistband of my panties and slid them down my legs. I tried to be as careless and awkward about it as possible. This wasn’t a striptease or a seduction.
I stepped out of my shoes and dropped my underwear on them, leaving me wearing nothing but the engagement ring his son had given me.
There was a reason the Greek gods were usually depicted in the nude when most art from other cultures at the time clothed their subjects. The Greeks didn’t see nudity as shameful—it was the body’s natural state and the hero’s form. Perhaps it was fitting I was naked now.
I was going to be the hero of my story.
Once again, Macalister’s cool hands were on my arms, but rather than turn me, this time he guided me to walk. The smooth pebbles weren’t too painful as they dug into my bare feet and sensitive arches, but they were cold and foreign, and after several paces I could feel the grime collecting on my skin.
I tried to keep my bearing as we walked, but his hand was on my shoulder, and I knew he was staring at me, and once he began to make me turn in place, it was futile. He led me through switchbacks and reversed directions so many times, I was hopelessly lost.
In the myth, the hero Theseus is saved by Ariande, who gave him a golden ball of yarn for him to use to find his way out after defeating the Minotaur. But I didn’t need yarn to escape the Labyrinth. I told myself when the tie was undone, I would know where I was in a single look.
I can do this.
He pulled me to a stop, and his hand was gone. It gave me a moment to try to imagine what we looked like. The high walls of dense green leaves surrounded us. He was the Minotaur cloaked in a designer suit, and I was the shivering maiden, naked except for a strip of red silk covering her eyes.
Macalister’s voice dripped with seduction. “Would you like to earn five additional seconds?”
A warning tingled on the back of my neck. This advantage would cost me. I didn’t hide the wariness from my tone. “What would I have to do?”
“I’d like to kiss you.”
I jolted away from the sound of his voice and fought the need to run, the urge to shake my head and refuse. This was another attempt to disorient, only it was on a much larger scale.
But it was five seconds, and that was huge. It could be the difference between winning and losing, and wasn’t I supposed to win at all costs?
“Where?” I demanded.
The pad of one of his fingers brushed over my lips and his voice was hushed. “Here.” His rasping voice sounded like sex. “Give me five seconds, and I’ll give you yours.”
Beneath the blindfold, I closed my eyes.
I’d allow one terrible kiss to avoid another which would be far worse. Five treasonous seconds to prevent two minutes of the unthinkable.
“Fine.” I forced air into my lungs. “Do it.”