Strength (Curse of the Gods #4)(11)

“You can’t be a robe,” Rome grunted, in the same voice that a mother used while telling their child that they weren’t allowed to stay up past bedtime.

“Way to ruin all my fun,” I groused quietly.

“Trust me.” Siret grabbed my arm, drawing me away from the others. “This will be fun.”

I glanced back at the others, as though I needed to say a proper goodbye to them even though I was only being dragged out of the house to get a disguise … and not going on a perilous quest that I may never return from. They looked back at me as though they felt the same way, though, so I didn’t feel as pathetic when I gave a little finger wave just before I was pulled through the door.

“I could be a bug,” I told Siret. “Those are small, and they can move.”

“They can also get stepped on,” Siret reminded me.

“Yeah but you’re not actually turning me into a real bug. So I can’t actually get stepped on.”

Siret wasn’t pulling me into another stone house, as I had expected. Instead, he was leading me into a marble gazebo with vines snaking up the pillars and covering the three stone benches within. There was a small marble fountain at the centre, with a few birds perched on the edge, grooming themselves in the spray of water.

“If I turn you into a bug and someone runs into you, they’re going to realise there’s an invisible force walking around, and they’ll set off an alarm.” Siret sat me down on the bench and stood before me, unnecessarily trapping my knees between his legs, as though I would try to escape at some point. “That’s not something we want right now.”

“What do we want right now?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest and arching a brow at him.

“We want subtlety.” He grinned, planting a hand on the back of the bench, beside my right shoulder, bending over until his face was looming over mine.

“And you’re the King of Subtlety,” I snorted.

“You’re going to be a goddess.” He ignored my insult altogether.

“Maybe I’m already a goddess,” I murmured, pushing up on the seat a little bit and brushing my lips over his with the words.

He grunted, his hand shifting from the back of the bench to my shoulder, his fingers somehow finding their way beneath my robe to the skin of my collarbone.

“A specific goddess,” he clarified, his thumb tracing the outside of my collarbone before dipping down further, the rest of his fingers digging into my skin.

“You already know who you’re going to disguise me as …” I was working to keep the accusation out of my tone, to keep my voice soft and breathy as I continued speaking against his lips.

His thumb inched down lower, almost pressing into the top of my breast now, his breath heavier against my lips.

“Yes …”

“Asshole!” I declared, pushing him away. “What the hell are you assholes hiding from me?”

He groaned, falling back from me and slumping into the seat opposite mine, putting the fountain between us. “That was mean.”

“Who did you pick and what are you hiding?” I demanded.

“Don’t be mad okay, Will? It was the only way.”

“What was the only way?” I was standing now, my hands planted against my hips as I stared down at Siret over the top of the fountain. “Why did you take me out of the room to disguise me? I swear to the gods …” I was already striding from the Gazebo, ready to storm back into the marble house, but Siret was quicker.

He grabbed me, pulled me back into his chest and lifted me until my feet left the ground. “Calm down, Soldier. Just calm down and I’ll explain everything.”

“You have until I count to five, Five.”

“You can’t be serious.” He froze, his frustrated breath rushing out against the top of my head.

“One,” I replied.

“Willa.”

“Two.”

“For the love of Staviti. Rome taught you this trick, didn’t he?”

“Three.”

He jostled me further up and then suddenly tipped me over his shoulder, his hand coming down hard on my ass. A loud smacking sound assaulted my ears, and I could almost feel his sudden grin.

“You hit me,” I said, dumbfounded. “On my ass.”

“I spanked you,” he clarified, “and I’ll do it again if you keep counting.”

“I can’t believe you—”

“Or talking,” he added, cutting me off. “In fact, I might do it again regardless of what you do or say.”

“I’m going to kick you right in the—” I started threatening, but he cut me off again.

“You can’t; you’re hanging over my shoulder.”

“RIGHT IN THE BALLBAGS!” I shouted out, probably loud enough to alert the next floating platform. “Just as soon as you put me down. So … put me down!”

“Not a chance.” There was a definite smile in his voice, and that was all the warning I got before his hand was coming down on my backside again. Hard. “Now here’s what’s happening, before you threaten me again. Aros is … persuading … a certain goddess to stay on her platform for this meeting, so that you can attend the meeting as her.”