stares at the man in stunned silence. I’m not even sure he realizes what’s happening. The total truth that he’s just been hit with. That this stranger isn’t a stranger at all. Moreover, that he’s not only Maximus’s father. He’s precisely who he proclaims to be.
And I believe him. With every molecule of my being, I believe him—not just because I have the most accurate bullshit detector in the room. Because, more importantly, it explains everything. Everything I was too lovestruck and scared to piece together before.
Maximus is the son of Zeus.
Zeus.
The king of gods. Walking among men. In Los Angeles.
And right now, sitting in Maximus Kane’s living room.
“Holy shit,” I mumble.
Maximus shoots me an exasperated look. “You believe this horseshit?”
One second into my own stunned silence, and I’m convinced he knows I do.
“Maximus—”
“Kara! Oh, come on!”
“It makes sense.”
I take a step closer, sensing Z doesn’t intend to do us any harm unless he’s attacked. In which case, he can obviously hold his own.
“Your strength,” I murmur, taking Maximus’s hand. “Your mental stamina… Hell, your stature.” And all the other little things that should have tipped me off, had they been slightly more believable in the moment. Most of all… “This explains us. The connection. The fact that we both felt it, not just me.”
Maximus’s shock melts into a grimace of frustration. He steps back from me, stabbing both hands through his hair. “Why would this nutcase have anything to do with us?”
The corners of Z’s lips curve up. “Oh, this is precious.” He lobs an amused half grin in my direction. “Don’t tell me he doesn’t know.”
I’m the one breathing hard now. Does he know? Of course he knows. He’s fucking Zeus. And if I didn’t believe it before, I worry he’s about to prove it. Shit. He really is about to prove it.
Maximus pins me with another taut look. “What don’t I know?”
“Maximus.” I manage to stammer that much, but tears clog my throat and blur my vision. “I—”
I what? Was going to tell him? I can’t lie to him. Not now, when he’s dealing with the fact that his own parents did the same for twenty-seven years.
“Kara? What don’t I know?”
Z beats me to the truth, filling the moment with an exaggerated sigh. “My dear boy, I’m afraid you’ve just been to bed with a demon.” His gaze lingers on me. “Never had the pleasure, actually.”
Maximus takes a step toward him and points threateningly. “You’d be wise to keep your eyes and hands off her.”
Z raises his hands in mock surrender. “Come now. I wouldn’t dream of it. Demons aren’t really my type. If you think humans are complicated…”
Maximus turns, facing me down now. “Kara.” Something in his eyes softens, like maybe he’s silently begging me to tell him his father is fantastically wrong. That this is all crazy talk. Oh, how I wish I could tell him that.
Instead, I swallow over the painful knot in my throat, cast my stare down to my bare feet, and rationalize that there’d never be a good time to tell him. This situation has been so fucked up. So royally wrong—but beautifully right—from the very start.
“He’s telling you the truth. He’s telling you what I should have a long time ago.”
Several tense seconds pass. I almost wish Arden would show up now and save me from what Maximus’s expression might hold. If I could just skip all the judgment and pain and hurt I’ve imagined passing between us when this moment finally came…
But when I do look up, he’s a canvas of bewilderment. Just as beautiful and vulnerable as he’d been hours ago, making passionate love to me. His eyes are wide and stunned. His lips part to accommodate the harsh breaths he’s taking in.
“A demon.”
“Yeah.” My voice is thick with tears. “Mostly.”
“All right.”
I gulp hard, wondering why the ball of shock doesn’t rip my windpipe open. “All…right?”
“Well, what does that mean exactly?”
Z sinks his cheek onto his hand again, rapt and waiting like he’s dropped in just in time for story time at the public library.
“What you read in my grandfather’s screenplay… Well, it was true. Partly true, anyway. He didn’t mate with my grandmother as a price for his freedom. He’d already escaped hell, and she was his punishment for getting away with it. She was sent to seduce him. She became pregnant with my mother before he suspected who she truly was.”
“And who was she?”
I close my eyes briefly. “A succubus. A demon sent in the female