Seduction (Curse of the Gods #3)(46)

“Don’t even think about it.” The reprimand was a rough sound, vibrating through the half-bared body to my left. Rome. “You put your hands on me tonight and I’ll break the stupid pact and take every damn consequence they give me.”

My eyelids flew open again—both of them this time, and I blinked back up at the dome in the ceiling, my mind spinning too fast to form a reply. The fireplace was still emitting enough light to fill the room, and I wondered if anyone was going to put out the fire—surely three bodies in a bed together would heat up pretty quickly.

Yael released a heavy breath, shifting beside me, and I worked to quieten my mind, to pull a shutter over my thoughts and gain some privacy.

“What are the consequences?” I asked suddenly, because gaining control over my mind apparently meant losing control over my mouth.

“A broken face,” Rome stated plainly.

“Dick,” Yael amended. “A broken dick.”

“Yeah, more likely,” Rome agreed.

“What?” I continued to blink up at the dome in the ceiling, since it seemed like a perfectly safe place to direct my attention. “They would actually do that?”

“I would.” Yael sniffed, sounding almost insulted that I doubted their ability to fight over me. “That’s what matters. Strength would, too. Probably twice, just because he likes breaking things.”

Rome snorted, but it sounded like an agreement.

“Let me get this straight.” I struggled to keep myself from sitting up and looking at them both. “If someone breaks the rules—which, if I remember correctly, were nothing sexual—then they get their … ah …”

“Dick,” Yael supplied helpfully.

“Dick,” I repeated, shifting around uncomfortably. “Yeah. That. They get that broken.”

“That’s correct.” Rome let out a sigh. “Is this conversation going anywhere, or did you just want us to know that you have a problem with the word dick?”

“I didn’t want to break any pact rules by talking about body parts!” I defended myself, a little louder than was really necessary. “That’s too sexual.”

“Point,” Rome groaned. “If there is one, you need to get to it.”

I immediately surged up from my spot and scrambled to the edge of the bed, right over Rome’s legs. I made a haphazard grab for the pillow on the floor, ready to throw it in his face much harder than I had thrown it the first time—but arms wrapped around my waist and tugged me back.

I landed hard against a bare chest, my hands captured again and bundled up together over my stomach as I tried to get my breath back. I was laying on top of Rome, facing the dome in the ceiling again, the back of my head against his chest and the heat of him burning up through the entire length of my body.

“I can’t sleep like this,” I croaked out. “I need my hands.”

“You don’t need your hands to sleep.” Rome’s voice was in my ear, lower and softer than it had been all night.

“Sorry, Willa-toy,” Yael’s face was suddenly looming above mine, his hand brushing over the side of my face. “But we’re really going to need you to sleep now.”

A quick flash of anger spread through me, but it was followed by an even quicker flash of exhaustion. It settled against my senses with a heavy intention, pulling darkness over my eyelids and piling weight into my limbs.

He was using Persuasion to knock me out.

What.

A.

Dic—





Twelve





The warmth woke me first. I was surrounded by it, as though I had fallen asleep in the bather and the warm water still licked against my skin. But … I wasn’t in water. My eyes flew open and I tensed. I was still sprawled across Rome’s bare chest. He had both arms wrapped around me, and at some point I must have turned so that my face was snuggled in between his shoulder and neck. The warmth was starting to make sense now, and the scent, because all I could smell was spice and god. Holy fires in hell. It was really hot in here now, and as sparks of Chaos lit up my chest, I fought against my urge to press myself tighter to him.

“I know you’re awake,” his deep voice rumbled all around me. He knew I was awake and hadn’t loosened his grip on me. That was a win.

I still had my nose pressed against his smooth skin. “Did you hold me all night?” Somehow, through no fault of my own, my hand was running up and down his side, gently tracing the hard planes of his body.

His chest rumbled under me. “You talk in your sleep. You fidget in your sleep. This was the only way for me to keep you quiet.”

My fingers brushed across the band of his pants, and images flooded my head. Rome and Yael naked … that wasn’t something I was going to ever forget. Tilting my head slightly, I could see a wide, unoccupied expanse of bed off to the side, prompting me to think that Yael must have left.

“Where’s Four?” I reluctantly lifted my head so that I could see Rome’s face.

He looked a little tense, his jaw set in a firm line. “Meeting with the others, talking strategy. I was just waiting for you to wake up, then we can join them.”

I was awake, but neither of us moved. Arms were still wrapped around me, and I was still running my hand along his side.