Blood of Zeus (Blood of Zeus #1) - Meredith Wild Page 0,74

using the length of his body to pin me there, forcing me to feel more of him than I’d ever want. He twines his fingers in my hair and cinches a handful in his grip so any attempt to move away is painful. A whimper escapes before I can help it, but that only feeds the force of his grip. He brings our faces close, so close I can see the fire in his eyes now. Or maybe it’s a reflection of my own.

“You’re mine now, Kara.”

I could scream, but it would do no good. Nobody inside the mansion will lift a finger to help me. This is how it is now. My duty is relegated to becoming this demon’s intended bride. His plaything. His property.

My mind is blasted by words now. They tear like a growl from my chest. “I’ll never be yours.”

His answer is an evil smile that makes my stomach roil. “You are mine. You’re a gift. Made just for me.” He brings his lips to my neck, then his mouth to my ear to whisper, “I’d take you now whether you want it or not, but the Valaris are becoming a favorite with the powers that be. So I’ll play nice if you will. And if you know what’s good for your family, I won’t have to tell anyone downstairs about your little slip with the professor.”

I’m breathing hard now. My heart’s flying. It’s taking everything in me not to fight back and claw him off me. He’s stronger and inherently more dangerous. I just need to get out of his clutches, even if that means playing nice…for now.

He drags his mouth down my neck. “What do you say, love?”

“I don’t want to fight.” I barely breathe the words. “Please.”

He draws back in degrees, so gradually I’m not convinced he’s going to let me leave. But he takes a full step back. Then another. Just like that, he manages to mask the ruthless demon inside him. He slips his hands into his pockets and shoots me an easy smile, as if we have a rapport. How pathetically wrong that is, but I’m not about to point it out.

“Dinner next week, then?”

I respond with a jerky nod, willing to agree to about anything if it gets me out of here faster. I draw in some much-needed air and get into the car. I start the engine with shaking hands, determined to get as far away from him as fast as I can. And as I pull through the gates of the place that will only ever feel like a prison, I make a new vow that I’ll never go back.

Never.

Once I’m back on Sunset Boulevard, I drive a few blocks and cut a sharp right onto Beverly. Luckily, there’s a spot on the curb beneath one of the big palms lining the municipal park here. I sit for a few minutes in silence until the trembling through my body eases. Once it does, I ring Kell.

She answers with a yawn. Then, “Hey, K-demon. What’s up?”

“Where the hell have you been?”

“I’ve been at the spa all afternoon. I just turned my phone back on. Why? What’s going on?”

“Everything.” A sob threatens my voice. I deep breathe it away. “Everything is a fucking mess.”

“Can you elaborate?” She pauses a second. “Oh, wait. Oh, shit. I see it now. Oh, Kara.”

“On Star Passion?”

“On…everywhere. My phone’s blowing up.”

Shit. When news like this drops, it either falls flat or spreads like wildfire. There is no in-between.

“I should have been more careful.”

“Careful? You shouldn’t be canoodling with the man in the first place!”

“You canoodle, Kell. Don’t lie to me and tell me you haven’t messed around.”

“That is none of your business. I’ll admit it when I get caught, which I’m not stupid enough to do, like someone else I know. What’s Mom going to say?”

“I already talked to her.”

A few empty seconds pass. “And?”

“And I’m dropping out of Alameda. She threatened to get Maximus fired. I had no other choice.”

Her heavy sigh speaks to the disappointment—and fear—she’s not sharing out loud.

“But it’s actually worse than that, if you can believe it.” I blink back the tears that have been wanting to release for hours.

“Worse? How can it be worse?”

I restart the car and hook a U-turn back toward Sunset. The move is likely five kinds of illegal, but no way do I want to be even a block closer to the heart of Beverly Hills right now. Kell’s question taunts me, despite how