Warrior Rising (Goddess Summoning #6)(33)

Odysseus’s smile turned sad. “Old friend, I do not believe the princess was in any real danger. I simply kept her entertained while we awaited your return.”

“Good night, my friend,” Achilles called after him.

It was only after Odysseus was gone that Achilles looked at her. Kat met his gaze and forced herself not to fidget nervously. She wished he would say something, but he just continued to look at her, his expression inscrutable.

Finally she decided to say the most neutral thing that came to her mind. “You look tired.”

He gave a slight nod. “As do you.”

“I suppose I am.”

Achilles cleared his throat. “You have no reason to trust my word, but I swear that you need not fear sleeping in my tent. I will not touch you. I will not harm you. What happened on the beach will not—”

“I believe you,” Kat interrupted him, realizing suddenly that she didn’t want to hear him tell her that what happened between them on the beach was a mistake he wouldn’t repeat. “And I’m not afraid of you.”

The disbelief on his face was easy to read.

“Okay, I’m not afraid of who you are right now,” Kat corrected. “And I’m not afraid that you’re going to spontaneously change into something else without, well, let’s just say extreme provocation.”

Achilles grunted, though he didn’t look convinced by her little speech, and gestured to the tent flap. “Then you should go to your bed. You do look tired.”

Kat stood and walked the short distance to the opening of Achilles’ tent. When she saw that he wasn’t following her she said, “Aren’t you coming?”

“I thought I’d give you time to…” He hunched his shoulders and his words trailed off.

“How long are we going to be sharing a tent?”

He blinked in surprise at her question. “I do not know.”

“Probably more than a night or two, right?”

“Yes. Probably.”

“Then we might as well get over being all awkward around each other,” Kat said matter-of-factly, neatly avoiding mentioning that the reason they were behaving so awkwardly around one another was because they’d just made out causing him to almost turn into a raging monster. “So come on in here with me, okay?”

He grunted again, but this time he nodded and when she ducked under the flap he followed her.

Once inside, Achilles ignored her completely. He went directly over to the huge bed, stepped inside the gauzy curtain, and with his back to her, proceeded to strip off his tunic and dry himself with a linen robe.

Kat sat on her nest of a bed, took off her shoes and wiped sand from her feet. Then she unwrapped herself from the silky, ruby-colored robe that was the top layer off what she was wearing, leaving her dressed only in a thin cream-colored tunic that somehow fit loosely while still being flattering to her young body. And the entire time Kat busied herself semiundressing she tried unsuccessfully not to sneak glances at Achilles.

When he emerged from behind his bed curtain to dim the lanterns, she saw he was naked except for a short linen towel-like thing that was wrapped low around his hips. Kat stared, disbelieving at the scars that riddled his muscular chest. As if feeling her gaze, his eyes flicked to hers.

“You have more scars than I’ve ever seen on one person,” Kat blurted.

His jaw tightened. “I know I look like a monster.”

“No, you don’t,” she said quickly, relieved that they were talking again. “You just look like a man who has used his body as a weapon.”

He stared at her and then he gave a brusque nod. “Exactly.” He turned down the last of the lanterns, leaving the tent lit only in a dreamlike light. Then he went back through the gauzy curtain and got into bed.

Kat wanted to give up for the night—to roll over and close her eyes and pretend that she was really passed out on Jacky’s couch and would wake up with nothing more than a wicked hangover. But she couldn’t—not if she wanted to get back to her body and her life. Hera had said she had to work fast, so she didn’t have time for self-delusion and procrastination. And there was more to it than that. Achilles’ touch had sealed the attraction she’d already felt for him. Kat wanted to help him. She also was self-aware enough to admit that she wanted him to touch her again. Yes, what had started to happen to him had scared her. It had also excited her. He excited her, as did the knowledge that Achilles had not been with a woman in a very long time.

“Achilles,” she spoke softly, not wanting to wake him if he had fallen asleep.

“You have nothing to fear, Princess.”

“You’re not asleep,” she said, then rolled her eyes at herself. She was an educated, intelligent woman and that was the best she could come up with?

“I do not sleep,” he said flatly.

“Ever?”

“Rarely.”

She smiled, even though he couldn’t see her. “Now that I know I can help you with.”

There was a pause and then he said, “How?”

“Well, I have to come closer to you. If that’s okay.”

"You may come,” he said, but Kat thought his tone was decidedly unthrilled.

She parted the bed curtains to find him sitting stiffly up, his back leaning against the carved oak headboard. Kat gestured at the edge of the bed. “Mind if I sit there?”