to hear.
I pause our retreat, turning her to face me. I respond to her shivery whisper in one of my own. “Kara? What is it?”
She lifts her face toward me. Her gaze frantically searches mine. “What if he’s right?”
I wince at the thought of giving Arden credit for anything. “Right about what?”
“About Hera. About the story,” she adds. “What if—”
I cut in with a soft laugh to lighten her growing anxiety and to hide the fact that I’m now nursing some of my own. “It’s just a story, Kara. He’s trying to get under your skin just like he did mine. He’s bitter and looking to piss us off any way he can, but we can’t give him that satisfaction.”
I’m not sure how thoroughly I believe that, but it feels good to state it.
Still, Kara shakes her head fervently. “I don’t know. Remember the first time we met Z? He said his wife kept him on a tight leash. Who else could he be talking about?”
“We’re talking about myths and legends here—”
“Maximus. Don’t you get it yet? We’re living the myths and the legends.” Her voice shoots up an octave, echoing through the tunnel. “Everything we discount as too unbelievable to fear could kill us.” She swallows hard. “Arden might be onto something with Hera or maybe knows something we don’t. I saw my grandfather the other day, and he thinks we should be worried about her too. Everything you and I have done in the spotlight could backfire if it draws attention to you. If the story is true… Hera’s merciless. She’ll try to find you, and…and…”
The wobble of her words cuts into me, right past my own worry. “Breathe, Kara.” I match my tone with a soothing glide down her arm.
She works her lips together and then complies with an inhalation through her nose. I’m suddenly driven to allay these new fears and save the rest of our day without Arden’s words haunting her. I can’t do it with total confidence until I know more, though, and that won’t happen until Z resurfaces. For now, I’m in a holding pattern about discrediting Arden’s threat.
But I can take full advantage of the small informational opening she’s given me, and that may be just as well. Perhaps even better.
“All right. If your grandfather’s onto something with this Hera business, then maybe we should lie low for a while.”
She swallows roughly. “We probably should. But the premiere… My mother—”
I lean in and cut her off with a soft kiss. “I’m not letting her ruin another minute with you,” I whisper against her perfect lips. “Not today. Not tomorrow. Until I talk to Z, we do what we want. And that starts now.”
She gazes up at me, her eyes glittering with enough emotion and surrender to give me hope.
“My place.” I brush my thumb over her bottom lip.
Visions of possibility cause me to bite down on my own to keep the growl in my chest from tearing free. She releases a long and heavy breath, letting me collect her against my chest.
“Your place,” she murmurs softly.
Those two little words send an avalanche of celebration and relief through me as we head back to the truck. And as I catch a glimpse of Arden’s shadowed figure peering down at us through the glass wall of his office, I don’t bother denying myself the satisfaction of that small win.
Chapter Twelve
Kara
I’m obsessed with the feel of Maximus. The sheer force of him. The intoxicating contradiction of his strength and the care he takes when he’s making love to me. I melt into every blissed-out second of it, not taking anything for granted.
I revel in the brush of his lips along my neck, soft and rough at once. His sexy whispers in my ear. His strong hands on my hips, controlling the angle and pace of my motions as I’m straddled above him, taking him deeper and deeper into me.
The sheets have long been torn off the bed. The air smells like sex. Like us. And my cries of pleasure have turned into raspy whimpers.
We’ve passed the frenzy. This is delirium. Slow and decadent stokes of the flame that’s been burning all night. We’ve discovered and rediscovered each other in a thousand electrifying ways. I should be exhausted. But hours of being brought over the edge haven’t made me want him any less. The rising sun spears through the hazy, early morning rain clouds and filters in through the little apartment’s picture window. Still, I refuse