namely, on my bed. She pulls herself onto her elbows. She has this tiny strip of hair between her legs, which are open. I know when I’m being played. I keep my eyes on hers.
“You are exactly my guy.” She sits up, with no shyness about her nudity. Now I know why. She’s a shifter.
My sleeping shorts are tight. My cock feels like it’s throbbing. I don’t try to hide the fact that I’m horny as fuck. I don’t try to make explanations for the fact, either. She’s naked…in my house…in my fucking bed. “I’m not your guy. You can forget that idea and move right on.”
“There is no one else strong enough to help me. It’s you or…” I see her eyes fill with fear for a moment before she schools the emotion. Only, I’m still not buying it.
I throw out the start of a laugh. It sounds like a bark gone wrong. I clear my throat. My lip twitches. “You’re really good.” A class-A manipulator if I ever saw one.
“It’s the truth.” She stands. “There are very few people strong enough. Almost all of them are affiliated with Hades…or the Underworld. They can’t help me. You can! You’re the son of Ares…lord of war, bloodlust, and chaos. Lord of destruction. You’re also my only hope.”
“I’m not buying it.”
“It’s the truth.”
“There must be someone else. Anyone else! Did you know I have a brother?” I find I don’t like the idea of Nia going to Maddox. Even though I am suggesting it. I go on anyway because it makes sense. “Maddox might be willing to—”
She shakes her head. “Your brother doesn’t have your strength. He doesn’t have the power that you do. Besides, your brother is…nice.” She shrugs. “Nice won’t work. Nice is no good. Nice doesn’t work for me at all! I need the opposite of nice. I need you.”
I frown but only because I understand.
“Ares may have fathered you both, but it’s clear who follows in their father’s—”
“It’s a ‘no’ from me. Let me show you the door.” I wait for her eyes to well with tears. There’s a sick part of me that’s hoping she’ll offer me sexual favors again. Not that I would accept. None of those things happen.
She folds her arms. “What happened to you?” she asks me. It’s clearly a serious question. “I mean aside from being the bastard son of Ares.”
I grunt. I’m too taken aback to say anything.
“What made you like this?” She gives me a dirty look, dragging her eyes from my head to my toes and back again.
“Made me like what?” I bite out.
“You’re an asshole! Who doesn’t like dogs? I’ll tell you,” she goes on before I can say anything, “no one, that’s who. Only an uncaring mochyn doesn’t like dogs.”
“What the hell is a mochyn?”
“Look in the mirror, and you’ll see one. My mam warned me about people with a dislike for animals. She warned me about people like you.” She widens her eyes, which are fucking beautiful, just like the rest of her.
I’m instantly irritated at my train of thought. “Not all animals…just dogs!”
She pulls in a breath, sounding shocked…looking shocked. “Dogs are Man’s best friend.”
“You’re not a dog, though, are you, sweetheart? You’re a hellhound. Harbinger of death and foreboding. A bad omen.”
“That’s a myth. Not true at all! Besides, you didn’t know I was a hellhound when you met me.”
“When you followed me home and wouldn’t leave, you mean?”
Her eyes narrow. Her cheeks are a bright red. Her hands are pulled into tight fists. “You took me to the shelter. The shelter!” she yells. “The lady there warned you – not in so many words - that I might get put to sleep. That it would be a distinct possibility I’d get a lethal injection, and you left me there anyway. What kind of monster are you?”
“The kind who would love to see the back of you.”
“Fine!” she yells.
“Great!” I yell back. “Nia,” I say as she turns towards the door.
She whips back around, which is good since her ass is amazing, and I really shouldn’t be looking at it. “What?” she grinds out, her eyes blazing.
“Close the door behind you, will you?”
She makes this cute growly noise and then stomps off. I hear the door slam a few seconds later. I feel sorry for her, but at the same time…I feel nothing. I can’t afford to feel anything. This isn’t my problem.
I’m not getting involved. She’s a hellhound. She’s from the freaking Underworld.