the fire from the ritual. It had burned him briefly before Zak had joined him to shield me and taken some of the burn as well.
Paxton had also made a contribution to diminish the searing within me, but I didn’t want my thoughts to dwell on him.
He was dead to me.
The demigods might be egomaniacal, self-centered jerks, but Axel and Zak hadn’t been selfish with me. I hadn’t been entirely fair to them when I’d included them on my hate list. I recalled Axel’s and Zak’s rage and devastation when they walked into the training room and saw my injured condition.
They’d lost their shit for me.
I’d been mad at them, but I couldn’t deny that part of me was also drawn toward them like a pin to a magnet. I had a particular bond with Axel that didn’t shatter, even when I was with Héctor.
I didn’t like it. I didn’t like any messy, entangled feelings, emotions, or relationships. But that’s how it was now.
My insides lit up and melted when Héctor returned wearing only boxer briefs.
My gaze roamed from his broad shoulders, taut chest, and six-pack abs, to a trail of faint golden hair disappearing into his expensive underwear. My eyes lingered on the hair that conjured up an erotic sensation and sent my imagination in wild directions before I sent my gaze to rove with blunt appreciation over his powerful legs that were all hard muscles.
He was like a statue of perfection, carved out of granite and steel. Only the statue breathed, radiated heat, and burned with lust for me.
Shamelessly, I stared without blinking at the huge bulge that distorted the fabric of his briefs. Maybe I should tell him that his cock couldn’t wait to be freed.
The corner of his lips tilted up. The Demigod of Death was amused and pleased by my undisguised, hot reaction toward him.
What was there to disguise? I acted on my honest interest.
“Nothing of me you haven’t seen already, lamb,” he said, his scorching gaze caressing me.
Another wave of desire surged in me.
“That isn’t entirely true,” I said. “I saw you only in a dream, which was way too brief.”
“Look your fill then, woman. But it’s my turn to check every inch of you and burn the memory of your beauty into my mind.”
Sometimes Héctor didn’t talk like me, but he was, after all, a demigod who came from another time.
“And after that?” I purred.
“After that,” he drawled, lust thicker than heavy rain in his voice. “I’ll taste you and savor you over and over.”
My blood raced.
How was he going to savor me? Was he going to use his fingers, tongue, teeth, or all of them?
He dropped his boxers in one swift, impatient move.
His enormous cock sprang free. I stared at it, mesmerized. It was velvet smooth and harder than a steel rod. I couldn’t wait to wrap my two hands around it, if that was what it took.
I licked my lips, and Héctor stepped into the Jacuzzi and settled in across from me.
“Turn around, lamb,” he said.
“Why?” I asked nervously.
But I obeyed, and then perched my buttocks in his lap. His hard shaft pressed against my inner thigh.
I tensed in thrilled anticipation, my shoulders straightening, as I waited for him to lift me up, spread my legs, and thrust into my heat.
I expected pleasure to blast through me and nothing less from the Demigod of Death.
It didn’t go as I’d imagined.
He poured shampoo onto my head, distributed the cold liquid evenly, and started massaging my skull.
Well, this wasn’t too bad either. I even moaned as his fingers sank deep into the roots of my hair.
With the benefit of large hands, he finished washing my hair quickly and moved on to the rest of my body. His touch lingered longer on my breasts and the flesh between my thighs than any other places.
I writhed a little at his fondling that was both gentle and rough.
The water rotated itself in the Jacuzzi, and the stream became clean and clear.
I looked down at my body and saw tiny, crisscrossed lines all over my skin.
“I hope the scars will be gone one day,” I said regretfully, turning to peer at Héctor over my shoulder. “I hope I can be more beautiful for you.”
Rage and desire swirled in his eyes at the same time.
“You’re already beautiful, lamb. You don’t need to be more beautiful,” he said softly before his tone turned lethal. “But Paxton and Jack will pay for your scars.”
“I might have killed Jack,” I said.
I