“Whoa. Wait. What—?”
He grasped a handful of denim at her thigh and pulled the fabric away from her leg. Using the tip of the dagger, he pierced the fabric to create a hole, then set the weapon on the ground, grabbed her pant leg, and ripped it free of her leg.
Okay, that was like the sexiest thing he’d ever done. Wait, no…what he’d done to her in that room at the colony with his mouth…with his body…that was the sexiest, but this was damn close. She didn’t want to admit danger turned her on, but him kneeling in front of her, shredding her pants with a dagger…? Total turn-on.
The fever was seriously baking her brain.
She rested her hands on his shoulders and tried to stay still while he repeated the process with her other pant leg. When he was done, she was left in nothing but boots, cut-off shorts, and her bra, and all but panting.
“This looks better.” He pressed a gentle kiss against the scab on her leg, then rose to his feet. “Cooler?”
Hell, yes. But she frowned for effect. “They’re a little short, don’t you think?”
He glanced down her body and smiled with what she could only define as appreciation. Then he leaned around her side, slid his hand up the back of her bare thigh until he gripped one cheek, and squeezed. “Not too short for me.”
Cool tingles spread along her ass, up her spine. Desire pooled in her belly, tightening her sex. She couldn’t stop herself. She rose up on her toes and pressed her hands against his hard, slick chest to keep from falling over. One touch and she was putty in his hands.
Just fuck me. Right here. That’d cool her down for sure. She still didn’t understand how, but simply touching him was more relief than stripping naked could ever be.
He grinned that devilish, sexy-as-sin smile and grasped her hand, pulling her along behind him. “Come on. Lots more land to check before sundown.”
Disappointment rippled through her body, but she tamped it down and told herself no matter how much she wanted him right now, she wasn’t going to use him like that. The Argonauts used him to read minds, to tell them what others were thinking or feeling. She didn’t want him to ever think she wanted him only for what he could do for her. Because it wasn’t true.
“What happens at sundown?” She stepped over a downed log, wishing they were back on the beach so she could dunk herself in the ocean one more time. Or ten.
“We find a quiet, sheltered place for the night where I can ravish you.”
Her whole body tightened. She hadn’t realized her feet had stopped until he chuckled and stepped in front of her again. “Like that idea?”
“Yes,” she breathed.
He cupped one hand around her jaw, leaned down, and brushed his lips over hers. And those tingling, cool, refreshing sensations shot through her whole body from that one spot, easing the fever just enough, bringing her focus back to what was important.
Him. Keeping him safe. Finding this nymph so they could locate her father. And getting rid of this fire inside her.
When he eased back, his eyes were so fathomless she was sure she could see eternity if she looked hard enough. This had to be the real him. Not the reserved, carefully calculating guardian Theron had described. “Titus…”
He brushed his thumb along her jaw. “Yeah?”
“I should have told you.”
“About the element?”
She shook her head. “About the fire.”
“It’s okay,” he said softly. “It’s not your fault.”
“No, but—”
He cupped her face in both hands. “Do you know why you need me, Tasa?”
Because you’re sexy as hell. Because you protect me. Because you’re the only one who cares. “I—”
“Because I can cool that fire inside you.”
He smiled and brushed a lock of hair away from her forehead. “I love when you’re confused. You get this gorgeous little line, right here.”
He ran his finger between her brows, and she frowned. “I don’t—”
“Understand? I didn’t either. Not until I held the Orb. You know how you said you didn’t know why you’d been freed from Zeus’s prison? It’s because Zeus trapped you in the air element. He figured you’d be safe there since he had possession of it. What he didn’t know was that Orpheus was going to steal it and hide it for thousands of years.”
“Orpheus?”
“One of the Argonauts. He’s really Perseus’s son reincarnated, but that’s a whole other story. What’s important is that when O remembered where he’d hidden the air element in his former life, found it again, and placed it in the Orb, that freed you from your prison. He found the air element six months ago.”
Six months ago… That was about the time she’d awoken. Natasa focused on a branch behind him. Stunned and…well, enlightened. “That’s why so much time passed.”
“And why you don’t remember any of it. Thanks to Orpheus, you lucked out. Zeus would have used you long ago if you hadn’t been hidden.”
And she never would have met Titus.
Her gaze found his again. “That’s some knowledge you’ve come into.”
He grinned. “There’s more.”
“More?” She wasn’t sure she wanted to know more.
He slid his arms around her waist and pulled her close. Her temperature ticked down pressed up against him like this, and she felt herself growing weak in the knees, just like every other time he touched her. “I cool you not because you’re my soul mate, but because of Calypso.”
She rested her hands on his forearms, loving the feel of him against her but overwhelmed at the same time. “You’re throwing things out at me really fast. Soul mate?”
He chuckled, leaned close, and kissed her ear. His sweet, refreshing breath ran down her neck, and felt so damn good. “We’ll get to that later. When my forefather, Odysseus, was stranded on this island by Calypso, he bathed in a special pool. One drawn from the water element. Traces of that passed to his descendants. To me. I’m the water to your fire, ligos Vesuvius.”
Her brow furrowed deeper. He looked so smug and proud of himself. What he was saying was crazy, and yet, in some insane way, it made sense. “You’re saying the water element’s here on this island?”
He shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.”
“Then why aren’t you looking for it? Your Argonauts—”
“Because I don’t care about the elements. I only care about you.”
Her mouth dried up, and love—a love she’d never expected to find—filled the space inside her chest. This had to be the real him. “Oh, Titus.”
He kissed her again. His lips were cool and soft, his tongue wet and so damn tempting sliding along hers. Coaxing a groan from her chest. Making her ache. Making her need.
He smiled that wicked grin. “I am going to have my way with you later. But first I want you sweating. And panting. And so damn hot you’re begging for me to cool you from the inside out.”
She already was.
A shiver raced down her spine. One born of anticipation and excitement. Fantasies about what he’d do to her ricocheted through her mind as he let go of her, as he tugged on her hand and pulled her after him. But they quickly shifted to doubt and worry when she realized she needed to tell him the rest. Needed to tell him about the deal she’d made so she could search for her father these last few months. But she was afraid. Afraid of what he’d say and do when he learned the whole truth. Afraid of losing him because of a stupid mistake she now couldn’t change.
Her heart raced. She stepped around a tree and tried to steady her quaking voice. “So what is this soul mate thing you and Zander both mentioned?”
“It’s a curse. From Hera. She had a major grudge against Heracles, and when Zeus created the Argonauts and the realm of the heroes, she was doubly pissed. So she cursed him, and all the Argonauts’ descendants, with having only one soul mate. The one person he wants most in the world, but who is the worst possible match for him.”