Heart of Fire (Blood of Zeus #2) - Meredith Wild Page 0,1
I’ll even share.”
Kara sits up, curling her knees into her chest. “Trade you the worms for what’s going on in that beautiful head of yours.”
Another shrug, making up for more flustered vibes. I can lecture to hundreds of students at a time, but this sole female can undo me with one damn look. “Sleep and I have never been best friends,” I finally say. “Few hours a night, and I’m good to go.”
“Hmm.” She tilts her head. “That makes sense, I guess.”
“You guess? Why?”
“Well, considering everything.”
“Everything like what?” My intention isn’t a confrontation, but I need to hear it from another source besides the inside of my mind. “Just say it again, Kara. For me.”
She jogs up her chin. “Everything, like you being a demigod.”
Her gaze glitters now, reminding me of the sparklers Jesse and I played with during our boyhood summers. I want to smile, slammed by memories of happiness and hope, but right here and now, the memories are disjointed. Different.
“You can say it too, Maximus. And if you need to talk about it…well, I won’t be freaked out.”
“No.” I lower to the mattress with an audible heave. “I’ll be freaked out.”
“Why?” Her confusion is sincere. I feel that as fully as her warmth, spreading through me as soon as she uncurls and presses against my side. “You had to have an idea. At least a small one. You were already asking questions. You openly shared them with me.”
I wrap a hand around her wrists. “From now on, I share everything with you.”
She sets a sigh free, heating the ball of my shoulder. “Even now?” she presses. “Even knowing what I am?”
I’m compelled to turn, dragging her in at the same time, until she’s nestled in my lap and engulfed by my embrace. The sheets, which are the texture of spun butter, gather even tighter around her. “Especially now,” I tell her, stroking my knuckles along her cheek. “Knowing who you are.”
Though she quirks her lips, the spark of levity doesn’t make it to her eyes. “Right,” she mutters. “Who I am. Kara Valari, spawn of the demons who royally messed up your existence.”
“No.” I extend my grip to her nape, squeezing gently to demand her attention. “You’re Kara Valari, the brave and brilliant creature who defied her family and the fate they were dooming you to. You’re the demoness who dared to say that wasn’t okay, but you’re also the human being who stood up for so much more. You stood up for us.”
At last, her big eyes and full lips get warm with confidence. Not a lot but enough to make me relax my grip.
“So…you really believe it? That we’re—that I’m—”
“A demon?” I smile at once, then lift my upturned lips to her smooth forehead. “I was halfway to figuring that out already, beautiful. I’m the guy who read all your grandfather’s screenplays to get to the bottom of it, remember?”
I’m rewarded for that with a musical Kara giggle. “Now that deserves a medal of valor. Or a knighthood. Perhaps both.”
“Do either get me a few more hours in bed with you?” I flash a roguish smirk. “Maybe a few days? Weeks?”
Her own gaze flares. “I doubt Alameda will approve a Kara sabbatical, Professor.”
There’s the flirtation killer. Still, I work to keep my tone light while replying, “Oh, I strongly doubt they’ll refuse.”
Her eyes widen more. “Wait. What?” she charges. “What’s going on?”
I grunt and twist my lips. “It’s probably nothing. Just an email that came in overnight.”
“An email from who?” she demands.
My grunt turns into a low, protesting rumble. Still I reply, “Chairperson of the university’s board.”
“Who said what?”
She’s quieter about that one. I abhor being the cause of her overly cautious tone.
“They think a few days away from my duties might be a good idea.”
She gasps. It’s not quiet. Or cautious. “Why?”
“It’s just a suggestion. Not an order, per se. But I’m not in much of a position to challenge them at this point. Not if I want to keep my job.”
She pushes up and away, out of my lap. She doesn’t go far but gets in enough inches to show me all the energy of her frustration. “You love your job.”
I resist the urge to kiss her. This woman…how she knows so much of me already. How she values what she sees too.
“Yeah,” I say gently. “You’re right. I do love my job.”
“And they’re issuing this decree, keeping you from it.”
“Not a decree.” I push out a heavy breath. “A suggestion. Remember?”