Aron didn't seem to be affected.
"Spiked?"
"Drugged it. Made me want, uh, sex. Like, a lot."
"Ah. No, that was not it." He glances over at me, gaze flicking over my body where I'm clutching the blanket to me like modesty is a bell I can un-ring after he had his hand between my thighs last night for oh, hours and hours. "Tadekha is an Aspect. It is clear to me now which kind."
"I don't understand." I knew she was an Aspect like him, but I'm not sure how that's supposed to have some extra sort of meaning. "There are different kinds of Aspects?"
He grunts. “This is information that an anchor would have if…” He trails off. “It does not matter. This is not the time or place to discuss things."
Annoyance flashes through me. "Really? Because I'd sure fucking like to know why I acted like a ho if it was something she did. You weren't the one grinding on someone in public all night."
"You think I wasn't affected?" His eyes narrow as he glances over at me and then turns his attention back to the window.
That confession comes as a bit of a surprise. Aron always acts like he's above everything, but I remember putting my hands under his tunic last night and finding a very large and very erect cock. Okay, yeah, I guess he was affected too. Maybe that's why he's so pissy.
"I'm not sure I want to be here anymore after last night," I tell him, squeezing my thighs tightly together. God, they're still wet and sore. I'm so embarrassed at how many times I came last night. Five? Six? Eight? Twelve? Aron's probably got freaking hand cramps this morning. Just the thought makes me moan with fresh humiliation.
I huddle under the blankets, wishing the ground would swallow me up.
I’d really, really like to go home now, please.
"We are not staying here,” Aron says firmly. “I am surprised that Tadekha has let us live, which tells me that she has plans for our use, and we will not like them.”
“Enemies, right?”
“Long enemies,” he says with a nod. “I have disagreed with her abuse of power when it comes to the Citadel, because it has stripped the land and bankrupted Aventine. My city. We have fought over it many times.”
Right. I’m sure that went well. “But we’re alive—"
“And if we intend to stay that way, we will be leaving, just as soon as I figure out how." And he gazes thoughtfully out the window once more. "Tadekha will not want us to go. She is in her element here. She has control over everything. And she will be having us watched."
A shiver crawls up my spine. The goddess had seemed so pretty and delicate. I can't imagine her being as ruthless as he's making her sound…but he knows her. He knows what she's capable of. And if Aron misbehaved and got dumped here in the mortal world, Tadekha must have, too. "So what do we do?"
He gives me a sharp glance. "If I had a plan, we would already be executing it."
I make a face at him. "I missed you, too."
"That much is obvious."
Oooh, is that a crack at how I grabbed at him? "That wasn't me, dammit. That was whatever Tadekha did." I fling one of the pillows in his direction.
The pillow smacks him and he gives me an incredulous look, as if he's shocked I somehow dared to throw something at him. "You should mind yourself."
"Or what? You'll tickle me between the thighs again?"
Aron scowls and turns back to the window, silent.
I sigh. We're supposed to be a team and here we are, picking at each other. "Look, I'm sorry, all right? I'm just embarrassed about what happened last night. I can't believe I did that."
"It wasn't you," Aron says gruffly.
I guess that's about as much of an apology as I'm going to get from him. "At any rate, I'm glad you're here. How did you know to find me?"
He leans forward, studying something out the window. "The pain. It began once you left and grew less when I headed in a certain direction. I figured it must have had something to do with our attachment, and so I followed it." Aron snorts and gives a little shake of his head. "I didn't know you were foolish enough to head straight for the Citadel despite my warnings, though."
"I didn't. Some guys riding these big animals came through and snatched me up. They carried me off and that