Chapter 35
Chapter thirty-five
ILIANA
“Get it right this time, and we will call it a day,” Anubis said, handing her the dagger.
Iliana’s arms were shaking as she got back into position. They’d spent two hours polishing her stance, her body locked into positions for grueling stretches before moving to practical drills. She’d repeated hundreds of stabbing motions. She’d sparred against a god who barely had to try.
Every failure stung, a sign of how painfully human she was. Mortal and breakable.
Not this time.
She drew in a deep breath, ignoring the fire in her muscles, the fresh bruises throbbing under her sweat-slick skin, and lunged.
Her dagger thrust forward, aimed straight for his chest.
Before the practice blade could meet flesh, he caught her wrist with perfect control.
A gasp escaped from her at the contact. Her hold slackened around the dagger, letting it fall out of her hand.
Anubis yanked her to him. Their bodies collided, his chest firm, scorching against hers. Their breaths mingled—hers ragged, his maddeningly steady.
She barely had time to process the rush of sensations before he rumbled low in approval. “Nicely done.” His hot palm splayed wide across her lower back. “Your form was strong. You still telegraph your movements, but you are learning.”
Praise. From Anubis.
The rush of pride almost buckled her knees.
Warmth grew, spreading outward into every one of her cells.
She sagged against him, exhausted though victorious.
For a brief second, everything was simple.
Understandable. Her accomplishment. His approval.
The way his solid embrace fixed her to this space.
But it didn’t last.
Even as pride overtook her, a deeper, more uncomfortable longing moved in. For his attention. He looked at her as if she were worth teaching. She realized she was starting to want this—to want him—in a way that frightened her.
“I’m done,” she panted, raising her head to look up at him. Every muscle trembled with the effort to stay upright. Her thighs quaked. Her core burned. “Right?”
Anubis gave her a slow, devastating look, his eyes tracing her face. They moved from her lips to her eyes and back again, before he asked, “Done? I do not think we will ever be done.”
The focus in his eyes made everything else fall away.
And then his mouth was on hers.
The kiss stole her breath.
His lips were softer than she’d expected, even as his kiss was demanding. He tasted like roasted spices, the flavor electrifying and darkly addictive.
She gasped, and he took advantage of the opening. His tongue swept in, deepening the kiss.
It was so different from Thanatos’ kiss, but she didn’t have time to dwell on the comparison, not when Anubis’ touch lit a blaze inside her.
She hardly noticed her arms winding around his neck, her hands entangling in his braids.
He lifted her off the ground with effortless strength.
She latched on, her legs around his waist, ankles locking behind his back.
The movement felt natural, almost instinctive.
As if her body had pushed aside every doubt and simply decided.
She wanted him. Needed him.
Anubis pulled back just enough to look at her. His eyes glowed with raw, dangerous desire. Whatever he saw in her face must have answered an unvoiced question. He growled. The deep, guttural sound sent a bolt of arousal straight to her core.
He took a few steps and pinned her against the wall. She felt the cool plaster on her back and the blistering heat in front as his lips crashed onto her mouth again, hungrier this time. Desperate. His teeth caught her lower lip, tugging, and she whimpered into his mouth.
She matched him, answering every nip and soul-stealing kiss with her own. She fisted his braids, tugging hard, and swallowing the groan he made in response.
Anubis broke away with a rough sound, half-curse and half-prayer. His hips ground into hers with deliberate pressure. The hard length of him pressed exactly where she wanted him most, but their clothes dulled the sensation. Still, the delicious ache in her belly bloomed, turning scorching.
His mouth moved to her throat. He licked the salt from her skin, found every spot on her neck that made her see stars.
The line of her jaw. The hollow below her ear.
She felt each kiss. Each claiming bite and press of teeth, sharp enough to mark but not to hurt.
The primal part of her delighted in it. Her body moved without thought, hips rolling against him, seeking the friction, pressure, and the release that was almost within reach.
So close. Gods, so close.
His answering groan was rough and broken. He cursed in another language and grasped her hips tightly.
Too tightly.
The pleasure turned from arousing to painful in a heartbeat, bruising as his fingers dug into her skin. Iliana yelped, the sharp sound piercing, the spike of pain pulling her out of the bliss as if someone had doused her in ice water.
Anubis stilled instantly, his entire body tensing beneath hers. He loosened his grip, his fingers gentling as his breath brushed her throat. “Iliana, I am so sorry,” he said hoarsely.
Through her panting, she managed, “It’s…okay. It just surprised me.”
He didn’t look convinced. Regret and disappointment showed in his eyes, shadows darkening the desire that had burned so brightly moments before.
She unhooked her legs from around his waist.
He steadied her when she stumbled, before stepping back and putting space between them.
Was he protecting her, or himself?
The distance felt wrong. She felt something she’d craved slip away. She hated seeing him torn up over an honest mistake and closed the gap, coaxing his eyes back to hers, refusing to let him retreat further.
“I’m fine. I liked the way you made me feel.” She held his gaze, willing him to believe her.
A small, genuine smile touched his lips. He stared into her eyes with desire, no longer hidden by the heat of the moment. The fire in them was still there, just muted.
Then, just when she thought he might reclaim that heat, he leaned down and pressed a kiss on her forehead.
Soft. Chaste. Entirely at odds with the passion from before.
The contrast was almost painful in its tenderness.
Her throat tightened and her eyes stung.
She shook her head, too exhausted and confused to understand Anubis right then.
Or any of the gods in her life, for that matter.
Iliana exhaled shakily. The most frightening part wasn’t just her desire for them both. It was realizing that the attachment forming would make it impossible to walk away this time.
This morning, Thanatos had kissed her as if she were precious. Now, Anubis had claimed her mouth as if he’d been a starving man and she was his sustenance. Two gods. Two different kinds of heat. And both felt right.
What was she doing? She’d never been one to kiss multiple men or let things get complicated. One kiss, one night. Now she was breaking her own rules, losing the boundaries she’d trusted, and admitting to wants she’d always denied herself.
Flustered with her thoughts, she tried to move past him. She needed to be alone so she could think, but he blocked her path, his large body stopping her escape.
“What is wrong?”
She shook her head, not meeting his eyes. “I’m sweaty. I should probably hop in the shower before dinner.”
He didn’t move.
Iliana sighed, knowing he wouldn’t drop it. “I’m just…confused. Frustrated.” A flush rose up her neck. “Once I get a minute to think—” and maybe finish what he’d started in the shower, “I might know how to answer your question.”
A glint of satisfaction crossed his face, and he stepped aside. “We need to put ice on your bruises after you shower.”
She nodded and brushed past him.
“After dinner, we will talk about what happened here.”
Iliana looked back at him. “And what happened here?”
Anubis chuckled. “Forgotten already? Do you need me to remind you?”
Her face heated. She spun around and fled, sensing his grin following her the whole way. She kept walking, not daring to look back. Not wanting him to see the smile curling her lips in response or the way she touched her mouth, tracing where he’d kissed her, still tasting him.