An arm. She looked down. An arm marked in ancient Greek text.
She shifted slowly to her back and looked into Titus’s sleeping face. His eyes were closed, his wavy, dark hair falling over his bare, muscular shoulder. His head resting on the same plump, heavenly pillow she’d been sleeping on.
She didn’t know where they were, didn’t know how they’d gotten here after running from Zagreus’s army and jumping into that ocean. But suddenly, she didn’t care. She was alive. He was alive. The fever was no longer baking her brain, and the reasons she’d convinced herself she couldn’t have him seemed to fade into the background.
Her pulse pounded as she rolled to face him. His arm slid from her belly to her hip. A thrill of tingles rushed through her pelvis.
Heat gathered in her belly and slid between her legs. But this wasn’t the same kind of heat that burned and threatened. This was the kind that made her want. Made her crave. Made her think of nothing but him.
She leaned forward, pressing her lips to his. Drew in a breath of his musky scent and shivered. Gods, he felt good. Soft. Warm with life yet cool and invigorating at the same time.
He made a small sound, not a grunt or a moan, but it was enough to encourage her. She kissed him again, shifting closer so her body came into full contact with his. Her lips brushed his mouth again, and gently she slid her tongue along the plump curve of his bottom lip.
The arm across her hip flexed, and his hand flattened at her lower back. A low growl built in his throat, and then he opened to her, drew her tongue into his mouth, and kissed her like he couldn’t get enough.
Heat pulsed through her pelvis. He rolled to his back, dragging her on top of him. One hand combed through her hair, gripped the back of her skull, and tipped her head so he could kiss her deeper. The other pressed against the top of her ass, pulling her hips tighter to his, forcing her legs to open, to straddle his hips. She rubbed against his growing erection.
A tremble rushed through her. She moaned at the taste of him, at the warm wetness of his mouth. Flexed her hips and smiled when he lifted his own and pressed right where she wanted him most.
She was breathless when he pulled back, when he opened his gorgeous hazel eyes, when he looked up with heat and lust and every ounce of need she felt rushing through her. “You’re awake.”
Her smile returned. She rubbed against him again. Loved the way it caused him to suck in a breath. “You noticed.”
His gaze sharpened, searching hers. “How do you feel?”
“Horny.”
A slow smile spread across his luscious lips, and he laughed, a sound that was sweeter than anything she’d ever heard. Deep. Rich. Sexy. One that felt even better rumbling from his chest. “I can see that.”
She lowered her head and nipped at his square, chiseled jaw. Then brushed her lips across the dark stubble covering his skin as she worked her way toward his ear.
“I meant,” he managed, swallowing hard, “how are feeling? Light-headed? Nauseous? Hot?”
She licked his earlobe, drew it into her mouth and suckled. He trembled and tipped his head to the side, offering her more access. “Very hot. But this time just for you.”
She kissed the soft skin beneath his ear, kissed her way down his neck, loved how silky soft his hair was against her cheek. Before she could reach the hollow at the base of his throat though, he threaded his other hand into her hair and carefully pulled her away. “Wait.”
She shifted her weight back and looked down. Concern darkened his eyes. A concern that caused her heart to bump.
“You’ve been a little out of it, Tasa. I need to make sure you’re okay before we…”
The room was dark, only a sliver of light shone in around the edge of the curtains, but even in dimness she could see the pink tinge to his cheeks. And she loved that he was nervous. That he was worried. That he was thinking of her when he could so easily take everything she was offering without even asking.
Gently, she tugged his arms down to her waist, shifting so she was sitting on his lap. His erection pressed against her sex, and it was all she could do not to grind against it. “I’m fine, Titus. Much better than before. And I’m thinking clearly. Very clearly.”
Disbelief swirled in his eyes. He moved his hand from her leg—which she now realized was bare except for a bandage wrapped around her left thigh—to her forehead. Feeling, she knew, for her fever.
“You were so hot.”
“Don’t you think I’m still hot?”
He smiled again. “Scorching. But I like this heat a whole lot better than the last.”
She did too. She leaned forward and touched her lips to his again. “You cool me.”
“I know. I just haven’t figured out why.”
Oh, he had the softest lips. “Mm…”
“I don’t want to do anything to hurt you, Tasa,” he mumbled against her mouth.
“You can’t.” Then she realized he might not be worried just about her.
She eased back, resting her hands against his muscular chest. A scattering of fine, dark hairs covered his pecs. “What I have isn’t contagious—like a virus or anything. It’s just…part of me.”
“I know.”
She stilled. Remembered how he’d told her—on that rock ledge—that he could read minds. “You…know?”
He nodded. “I know about the fire element. And I don’t care. I’m not going to let anyone get to you.”
Her skin grew hot. Her pulse picked up speed. If he knew about the element, did he also know about the side effects and what would happen if she didn’t find Prometheus before it was too late?
He sat up, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her again. And she realized she needed to push him away, to talk to him about this, but his lips were so soft, his mouth so wet and inviting, she couldn’t stop herself from taking another decadent taste.
Her hands landed against his shoulders. She opened to his kiss, her tongue slicking over his, again and again. Between her legs, he grew thick and hard. Her need for him rose to exponential levels.
“Gods.” He nipped at her lips. “I was so worried. You scared the shit out of me, baby. Don’t do that again.”
She swallowed hard. Knew that was inevitable. The dream—seeing him standing in those flames—rushed through her mind, bringing urgency back to the forefront. This conversation was getting too deep. If she told him about the side effects, she’d have to tell him the rest. And she didn’t want to do deep… Not right now. Not unless it involved him deep inside her.
She kissed him again. Loved the way he trembled whenever she touched him. Easing away, she grasped the hem of the nightgown, dragged it over her head, then dropped it on the floor beside the bed. “I don’t want to talk, Titus. I just want to feel. Make me feel.”
His eyes darkened. Lust and need swirled in their hazel depths. His fingers tangled in her hair, and he dragged her mouth back to his. And then he kissed her like no one had ever kissed her before.
Yes, yes. Just this…
Energy coiled beneath her skin. Excitement tightened her stomach. She gasped when his tongue thrust into her mouth, then sighed at the exquisite taste of only him. His other arm tightened around her waist and he lifted her, then moved out from under her body and pushed her back on the mattress.
Tingles rushed all over her skin as his weight settled against hers. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, opened her legs to the push and pull of his hips, opened her heart to a man she had no business wanting but suddenly couldn’t let go.