Heart of Fire (Blood of Zeus #2) - Meredith Wild Page 0,70

planned on feeding him, but it’s enough to dazzle him out of asking for anything more. I hope.

“You really know how to toss a guy into the centrifuge, buddy.” He shakes his head slowly, like that’s exactly what just happened. “You must’ve been tripping.”

“Just a little,” I deadpan.

“So…when? And where? Did Kara have anything to do with it?”

“Yes and no.” I deliberately skirt his other queries. He’s already gotten the juice from the main bombshell. Details would be the equivalent of escorting him into the nuclear reactor. “Apparently our families have some connections. Mutual friends, so to speak.” It’s a stretch, but I’m trying like hell to use language Jesse will understand on this one.

“No kidding. So does she like him? Do you? What’s he like? And where the hell has he been all this time?”

I wince. “That brings us back to the complicated part.”

“Of course it does,” he grouses.

“I’m sorry. I wish we could go home, order a pizza, and inhale it while I give you every detail.”

“But then you’d have to kill me?”

I crunch a frown as my whole gut twists. “It wouldn’t be me, man.”

The guy’s genius brain picks up exactly what I need it to. I know it as fact the moment his face pales and he drums all ten fingers against his wheels. “Well, fuck.”

“That’s become one of my favorites lately too.”

An uncomfortable moment stretches by. I’m still racking my brain for subjects other than the themes that have taken over it. Discovering—and dealing with—my family. The intricate politics of Kara’s whole clan. The impact of all this on Mom and Regina. Figuring out a new normal beneath the glare of paparazzi lenses—and the more vexing flare of Hades’s fixation.

I lower my elbows to my knees and then my head into my hands. But I’m not there for long, because I’m saved by my woman’s adorable little sigh. I return to her side on the couch as she blinks in sleepy confusion.

“Maximus? Where am… Oh.” She interrupts herself once her gaze takes in the rest of the room. “Oh, yeah. I’m…here.”

I run my knuckles down the side of her face. While I’ve memorized every one of her expressions already, nothing takes the place of getting to relearn them with my own touch. “Feeling a little better?”

While she’s stunning, she’s not vibrant. Her attention seems foggy. Her lips are pressed and pale.

“Kara?” I prompt when nearly a minute goes by without her reply.

“I’m okay,” she says at last.

“You sure about that?”

“It’s just a headache,” she murmurs. “Honestly, Maximus. Stop stressing. I think I just need some fresh air.”

She gentles her grip on my wrist and flows her fingers across the back of my hand. At once, all my fingers are rays of perfect warmth. Even my palm burns like the sun creating those rays. No matter how many times this happens between us, I’m struck as if it’s the first sunrise—or lightning jolt, or energy surge, or brush fire—she’s ever pushed into my blood. Like all those times, I never want it to end. I never want us to end. Even the consideration of that possibility shreds my mind to violent purpose and my senses to unthinking fury. Which, of course, she’s honed right in on.

“Maximus?” she asks sheepishly.

“Yes, beautiful.” I gently kiss her knuckles. “You’re right. Outside is a grand plan.”

A smile teases the edges of her lips. It has to be the most perfect sight of my night.

Correction. That honor goes to the look on her face as she swings her legs over and pushes all the way back to her feet. The second she’s there, she grabs my hands and draws me up too. “I was really hoping you’d say that.”

“Because…?” I purposely lead her with the comeback. She looks a little too eager for a stroll around the pool deck and gardens, despite how prettily they’re lit up tonight.

“Because we’ve been invited to another gig.”

I stop. “Tonight?”

“Umm…yeah.” She’s sheepish again, but I’m much fonder of this version, especially when she adds, “Out at the beach. Jaden and a friend are throwing a party in Malibu. I’d really like to go.”

“Your brother?” It’s a no-duh question, but it spills out anyway.

“Well, he’s definitely not here,” Jesse comments. “I’d have noticed his name on the auction sheet for the VIP afternoon at the Porsche test track.”

I crunch a frown while realizing the same thing. “How’d he get out of this gig?” I ask Kara.

“Because he’s sly. Rerek Horne is co-hosting the bash, and he’s