Chapter 12 #2
I took a quick ten-minute shower, washing my hair and scrubbing away the grime of the past two days.
After drying off, I lathered my skin with body lotion—Rituals Cherry Blossom & Rice Milk, soft and grounding.
After brushing my hair, I tied it into a messy topknot, then wrapped in a huge, luxurious towel, wandered into the small hallway, and back into the bedroom.
Turning to the wardrobe to grab a robe, I froze.
‘Cordelia.’ His voice—low, velvet-rich, and dangerous—came from directly behind me, so close I could feel the heat of his body radiating against my bare back.
Poseidon.
My spine went rigid.
He moved like a shadow, silent and smooth, a predator wrapped in mortal skin.
‘You smell delicious.’ The low rumble of his voice vibrated against my damp flesh and poured over me like warm caramel, soaking my body with decadence and lust. Tingling sensations rippled through me, dancing along every nerve ending. I clenched my teeth… and my thighs.
Do not cave. Do not let this breathtakingly beautiful god get under your skin. Nope. He wants to control you.
No one owned me. Especially not him. The arrogant, smug, maddeningly gorgeous god of the sea could go take a long, hard swim.
‘Every breath you take makes it harder not to touch you.’ At his words, I drew in a shaky breath, feeling unreasonably hot for a whole slew of reasons. Fuckety dammit. His effect on me had me behaving like a sexually frustrated, lovesick teenager instead of a lethal assassin.
For fuck’s sake, get it together, Cordelia.
‘It’s only fair I give you what you need, Little Red…’ he said in a low rasp. ‘We were so rudely interrupted, after all. And considering you’ve already seen me naked and orgasming…’
His lips grazed my ear. ‘It’s my turn.’ The well-executed reasoning for denying him dove from the window as my nipples peaked beneath the thick terry cloth, and an avalanche of molten lust crashed through me, obliterating all logic and resistance.
Oh, gods help me… I am so, so screwed.
And not in the way I wanted.
Soft lips brushed the back of my neck, each kiss a reverent whisper against my skin.
He moved slowly at first, open-mouthed caresses that sent shivers racing down my spine.
Then the kisses grew rougher, more urgent—each one a claim.
When his teeth sank into the flesh of my shoulder, I cried out, pleasure laced with pain sparking like a live wire beneath my skin.
‘You like it when I bite you, Little Red. You’re like a feral cat,’ he murmured, his breath hot against my neck.
‘You bring out my animalistic side,’ I whispered as I leaned my head back against him.
His hands curled over my shoulders, turning me to face him.
And gods, those eyes. Piercing, storm-swirled—wild oceans full of fury and want—and my heart fluttered like a caged hummingbird in my chest. Everything about him was devastating: that chiselled face, the fit of his tailored trousers, the way his dark-blue shirt clung to his body like it was part of him.
He exuded power, arrogance, and the raw elegance of something ancient and unyielding.
He wasn’t just a man—he was a force of nature—and I was so damn doomed.
He slid his fingers to the knot of the towel above my breasts and tugged it loose.
I didn’t stop him. As it slipped from my body and pooled at my feet, his eyes swirled with silver-blue frazil, like ice crystals glimmering in the dancing waves.
His gaze roved over me like a touch, slow and searing, causing the tips of my breasts to tingle, hardening under his stare.
A ripple of heat followed his gaze as it dragged over my breasts, the swell of my hips, to the V between my legs.
I wanted him to look. Gods help me, I craved it.
When his chest rumbled with a guttural groan, the sound vibrated straight between my legs, leaving me slick and shivering with anticipation.
His fingertip traced the ink along my ribs, slow and deliberate, like he was learning the story etched there—while his eyes devoured me whole.
‘Mm, exquisite,’ he rumbled before his hot mouth closed over a nipple, drawing a gasp from my lips as I arched into him.
His tongue teased and tormented while his fingers worked the other, coaxing every nerve to life.
He played my nipples like a finely tuned violin—each lick, each pinch, each suck pulling another sound from me as his mouth and fingers worked in tandem to perform a perfect symphony.
‘Oh,’ I panted. ‘Oh, gods.’ My hands tangled in his thick hair. He dropped to his knees, licking and kissing a trail over my ribcage and down my belly. Heat surged through me, every nerve on fire. He looked up at me, eyes blazing.
‘You’re so fucking edible,’ he rasped.
‘Then why don’t you eat me?’ I bit my lower lip as I challenged him with my words. Lust had conquered—all rational thought took a vacay, and his eat-me-alive gaze sent liquid heat straight to my clit.
His growl vibrated against my skin—and then he answered in the way only a god could.
He lay back on the bed, eyes hooded, gaze hungry. ‘Come sit on my face, little assassin.’
Holy gods. I’m so glad I didn’t kill this man.