Filthy Gods (American Gods 0.5)(7)

Silence engulfed us and I gawked at him.

I went to open my mouth, but I closed it and wrinkled my brows. “And how, exactly, do you expect to do that?” I asked, skeptic.

Again, my voice shook, ever so slightly, but he caught it and like a lion catching its prey, he dug his teeth in. “By letting me conquer you, Juliette.”

I let out a dry laugh at that. “Conquer me?” I spluttered, jabbing a finger to my chest. “You are not conquering me, Nathaniel. This is the twenty-first century, and I’m no damsel in need of conquering.”

“I am aware of what century it is, Juliette,” he said evenly and stood. By that simple move, I felt tiny, delicate.

He was well over six-foot-four and the way he filled out his suit jacket and pants should have been a crime in itself.

He moved gracefully toward me, shattering what little concentration I had.

“I am also aware of the tension between us,” he whispered, tilting his head to the side as he scanned my reddening features. “It’s destructive, to say the least. It affects my focus because you’re very, very distracting. And I don’t do distractions, sweetheart.”

I shook my head at him. “If you’re going to blame all women for distracting you, Nathaniel, you’re in for a rude awakening.”

“Women don’t distract me.” He moved closer and we only had a tiny space between us. I could feel the heat from his large body and my knees shook. “You distract me, Juliette, and I need to remedy that as soon as possible.”

“And you think indulging in each other will help?”

He cocked a ruthless brow. “I thought you were just as determined to succeed. The longer we deny this tension between us, the more unfocused we will be. And that will affect both our academic performance. Do you wish to graduate Yale and have no offers? To be nothing of importance after?”

I clenched my teeth. “As if your grades would really affect your success,” I said out of spite. I could have sworn hurt flashed in his gaze for just a fraction of a second. I ignored it. Being distracted wouldn’t affect his future in the least, but it would affect mine. I didn’t want that. It was my absolute fear that I would lose everything. That I wouldn’t be good enough.

And I needed to be the best.

“Plus, you’re full of yourself to assume you distract me in any way, Nathaniel,” I added, staring him straight in the eyes. “You don’t distract me.”

I lifted my chin, back as straight as a board, trying in vain to even our heights.

His full mouth twitched and his eyes gleamed and he stepped forward, destroying any space between us.

My breath hitched and I swallowed any shock and glared back at his mocking gaze.

His fingers picked up a fallen dark strand and smoothed the curl on the pads of his fingers. “You play with your hair in class. Untying it from that tight ponytail and letting it fall down your back.” His fingers moved to the elastic band holding my hair back and I gulped as he slid it down, letting my hair fall across my shoulders. A shiver ran down my chest, my nipples hardening. I fought to keep his warlike gaze. He wanted to destroy me, he wanted me to fall and cave-like savages were seizing an empire.

“And then you run your fingers through it,” he said, brushing my dark hair back, his fingers scraping my scalp, the sensation stirring the heat growing in my lower stomach. “These dark sable strands. So tempting, so arousing. I imagined how silky your hair would feel in my hands.” His hand curled around my hair and gripped it. He leaned forward and I turned my head, but not before I realized too late I had exposed my neck to the enemy.

His mouth fanned across the skin of my neck and when his lips pressed down, I gasped, my pulse beating like a drum under his mouth and I knew he felt it.

He groaned deep in his throat and moved his lips farther up until they touched my earlobe. And then his hand still curled in my hair, yanked the strands back gently. A warning. “Would you fight me the whole way through if we fucked? Even when I’m deep inside of your pussy, owning, possessing you? My cock swelling, leaking inside of you? Would you fight me for making you come even then?”

I bit my lip but the moan inside of my throat escaped and when his teeth scraped along my earlobe, tugging, nipping, I gripped his shoulder and shoved him back.

I panted, glaring at him as he grinned, rolling his shoulders back. “Distracted, sweetheart?”

I went to open my mind and deny his words, but he was faster than me.

“Don’t deny it, sweetheart, I bet your pussy is wet for me as we speak.” At my silence, a smirk curled his lips upward. “It is, isn’t it?”

I gritted my teeth, my skin flushed bright pink because of him. Because of his words, his body—his mere existence.

“Okay,” I whispered, meeting his eyes, hoping he felt the fire burning inside of me. His fingers touched the edge of my jaw and slowly, he traced up to my hairline. I felt him everywhere and I couldn’t stop the trembling beginning in my limbs. He’d keep my secret and we’d rid ourselves of what was between us.

“Until the end of summer, you’re mine,” he muttered and his head dipped, but his lips lingered on mine. “Swear it to me, Juliette.”

I swallowed thickly, my lips bumping against his own. “I swear.”

“Swear what, Juliette? I want to hear you say it.”