Strength (Curse of the Gods #4)(12)

“I was pissed off before. Now I’m … worse. Now I’m dangerous.”

“Cute.” His hand landed on my ass again, but this time it was soft. A caress. The skin there was burning slightly, and I might have been wiggling against him as though I wanted his hands beneath my robe, but that had nothing to do with anything.

Because I was pissed.

Dangerous.

“So fucking cute,” Siret muttered, and then he was setting me on my feet and pushing me back against the fountain.

I had barely a moment of warning before his mouth was on mine, his fingers moulding to the side of my face. He drew me up, into the kiss, and then sent me down, spiralling with a need that was almost too much to control. His tongue was against mine, claiming my mouth and scattering my attention. I was pressing into him, needing to have every inch of myself covered by him.

I couldn’t remember what we had been fighting about anymore.

I couldn’t even remember why I was there.

Siret was kissing me and I needed more. I needed the robes gone. I needed skin against skin. I needed …

I needed …

“Wait a gods-dammed-click,” I growled out, tearing my mouth from his. My breaths were only small, gasping noises. I could feel my face growing hot. I could barely stand. My mind was muddled, but a growing fury was pushing its way back in. “How exactly is Aros persuading this goddess to stay on her platform?”

He didn’t answer me, he just recaptured my mouth and I was still disorientated enough that he managed to distract me again. In moments of clarity, I decided that whilst finding out Aros’s plan was very important and pertinent, I could wait another few clicks.

I opened my lips further and at the same time pressed my body up and into Siret’s. We were so close together, I could feel every hard line. Every muscle. His strength was almost overwhelming, and it reminded me of how very different I was to the Abcurses. A difference I was starting to like … a lot. Because they might be physically stronger than me, but I had my own strengths, and … I was not letting any of them get away with their underhanded bullsen shit any longer.

It took every ounce of my strength to push through the fog in my mind and formulate a plan. One which involved me being able to continue this very enjoyable task of kissing one of my boys. I was starting to think I’d do anything to always be kissing one of them.

There was no space between us, so I let one of my hands trail down his side, pushing and gliding across his robes, feeling the lines of his body. Siret made a sound from deep in his throat, and I forgot for a micro-click where I had been going with my plan. His arm was wrapped tightly around me and all I wanted was to taste and breathe in the scent of him.

Plenty of time for this later, I forcefully reminded myself, regaining some of my focus. My hand continued down, over his hip and along the top of a rock-hard thigh. My centre ached, I wanted him to shift his position and place that thigh between my legs …

Focus!

My hand snaked between us and just as I was about to wrap my fingers tightly around him, he let out a low laugh against my lips and twisted his body out of reach. I gasped and fell forward, completely missing my mark. We were standing a few inches apart now, our breathing hard, his eyes burning into mine with a glowing intensity.

“How did you know?” I pouted between the deep breathing I was doing.

He laughed again, but those eyes remained at almost full glow. “We’re connected, remember? Not to mention your first instinct when you’re cornered is to fight dirty …”

“I only have so much power to use against you,” I admitted.

Siret made that noise again, although this time it sounded like it came from even deeper. I stepped into him, needing to feel his body against mine. This time there was no ulterior motive—I clearly couldn’t hide my intentions from these five, they knew me too well. Nope, all I wanted was to touch him. He lifted me against his body and I let out a low breath, melting against him.

“You’re wrong, you know,” he murmured close to my ear.

“Huh?” I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about, my brain was mimicking my body. Both were mush.

“You have more power against us than any other being in the worlds. It’s almost scary the things we would do for you, Willa. You never have to worry about Aros and what he’s doing right now. Everything we do is to keep you safe.”

“So he’s not over on some marble platform seducing a goddess?” I’d been planning to force the information from Siret, but now I hoped he would just tell me.

Our bodies shook as he laughed hard.

“How about I change you first, and then we can go and see,” he suggested.

That seemed like a great plan to me, so I nodded, and he pulled back. Just as he was about to set me down, I lifted my upper body and settled my lips against his again. This time it was short and sweet, the kiss just a brief touch of skin before I pulled away.

“That power goes both ways,” I told him. “I won’t let anyone hurt you five. I promise.”

The certainty of that statement came from deep in my … soul, maybe. There was a ring of finality about it, like a promise that I could and would not break. I didn’t know what my new energy was, the one that was lingering just below the surface, but whatever I ended up being, I would use that power to keep my family safe.

Siret didn’t say much after that, but his face was different than usual. No less beautiful. No less god-like. There was just a softness there as he cupped my cheeks in his hands, a softness that I hadn’t seen before. No laughter, just a lot of emotion.