The Return

I’d laughed, and it had been a light and strange sound after everything. Nothing was said after that point. Seth had gotten into the bed, shifted onto his side, and I’d felt his warm breath on the back of my neck. I didn’t think that I could fall asleep with everything crashing around in my head, but I did.

And when I woke up, I was sprawled across Seth. It was ridiculous. Really. My head was on his chest, my arm on his abs, and my leg was thrust between his, pressing on a very interesting part of him. It was like I was trying to become one with him or something, but he also had one arm around me, his hand resting on my hip, under the covers, and the other was curved around my forearm.

I didn’t dare move, since he was still asleep, his chest rising and falling steadily, and his heart beating under my cheek. There was something surreal about lying in his arms like this. I’d always thought it was something people did when they were in a relationship, the whole cuddling thing, but it made me feel that strange warmness again. It also made me feel a lot of other things, like his defined chest under my cheek. And those hard abs under my arm. I couldn’t help it. Every part of me was hyperaware of how my body was plastered to his. He was just so long and lean, and as I lay there, I didn’t think about all the dark and terrible things that were waiting at the edges of my consciousness, ready to pounce and push sorrow through me like dirty, messy slush.

The hand on my waist suddenly flexed, and my eyes widened. Was he awake? The answer came when his hand slowly slid to my hip and his fingers splayed. A ripple of tingles spread across my body, centering between my thighs. I squeezed my eyes shut, but it did nothing to stop the sudden pounding of my pulse in all the interesting areas. I should move and definitely get off him before…well, before my hormones started to climb out of my body and do a little jig on top of us. I shifted, straightening my leg, and the hand on my hip tightened, as did the one on my arm.

“Josie,” Seth said, his voice gruff with sleep and something else, something more raw and rough.

For a moment I didn’t understand, but then I felt him against the inside of my leg, the one between his. Holy crappers, I really did feel him. My eyes popped open, and I started to move, but the hand on my hip stopped me. It didn’t just still me, but pressed me against his hip, and the contact sent a jolt through me. I squirmed, and that only made the feeling stronger. No. It wasn’t just a feeling. I knew what it was. Arousal. Want. Desire. Lust. Whatever. I’d felt it before, many times before, and it made my breath reedy, and my body acted out of instinct, not common sense. I moved my hips forward and was rewarded—or maybe punished—by the acute rolling of sensations that started at my core and undulated through me.

“If you keep moving around, this is going to get super-awkward,” he rasped, voice husky and shivery.

My mouth dried because I felt him swell and thicken against my thigh. Heat burned my cheeks, partly due to embarrassment, but also due to the slow fire that had started building in my veins. I was stunned by the intensity of what I was feeling. I’d liked guys before, even wanted them, but I’d never felt this strongly.

“Or maybe not awkward,” he drawled as he moved that hand on my hip, sliding it up to my waist, creating tiny coils in the pit of my belly. His hand halted, as if he was testing me, his thumb barely brushing the underswell of my breast. “Maybe something totally different.”

I didn’t know what to say, nor did I get the chance. A startled gasp parted my lips as Seth rolled. I was on my back in a heartbeat, and Seth was above me, his powerful arms on either side of my head.

The next breath I took lodged in my throat. His hair was loose, curving around his cheeks as he stared down at me. “What are we doing, Josie?”

Heart pounding, I forced my breathing to slow. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t? I think you do.”

Nervous energy rushed me, mixing with that burn in my veins. The tip of my tongue darted out, wetting my lips, and his eyes drifted shut, as a large shudder seemed to roll through him. When his lashes lifted, his gaze was as scorching as the summer sun.

“We shouldn’t do this.” Even as he spoke those words, his lower body settled on mine. “We shouldn’t be doing anything like this.”

Every muscle in my body tensed at the weight and feel of him. My hands settled on his shoulders as his forehead dipped to mine. Air around us thickened as my heart threatened to tear itself out of my chest. I recalled when he’d said in the hotel room outside of St. Louis that I should feel lucky he wasn’t caving in to what he wanted, but I didn’t feel lucky then, and I sure as hell didn’t feel it now.

I gathered whatever courage I had inside of me. “Why not?”

“Several reasons,” he said, shifting his body, and suddenly the hardest part of him was pressing against the softest part of me.

I wasn’t prepared for that or how my body would react. I dampened. I ached. The long shirt —his shirt—that I wore, my undies, and the thin material of his sleep pants were a frail barrier between us, but, at the same time, it was too much. My fingers gathered the material of his shirt as I clutched his broad shoulders.

“Your father would have my balls if I got between those pretty legs.” His voice was deep and rough as he spoke, his breath warm against my parted lips. “But, you know what? Losing my balls would be worth it.”

“I can’t believe we’re talking about balls.”

“Seems relevant, don’t you think?”

My lips curved into a smile. “Yeah…yeah, it kind of does.”

“Mmm…” His head tilted and the ends of his hair dragged over my cheek. “Gods, I can’t even believe I’m going to say this, but you’ve been through a lot. Dealing with that can make you think you want things you really don’t.” A look of surprise flickered across his striking face as he lifted his head, like he’d actually shocked himself.

For some dumb reason, that made my chest all squishy, because he was thinking of me, and well, that had to mean something, right? “You’re a…you’re a good guy, Seth, when you want to be.”

He stared at me for a moment, and then laughed outright.

“But I know what I want and what I don’t want,” I continued, feeling a flush travel down my throat.

There was an electricity-filled moment before he spoke. “Do you?”

I did. Right or wrong, I really did, and I didn’t care about what the driving force behind it was. I didn’t want to investigate that too closely, to poke and prod at it. I couldn’t find the words, because my bravery had disappeared as my inexperience took center stage. I’d kissed boys before, but I’d never been in a bed with an unbelievably gorgeous guy who was a complete mystery to me, and I felt clumsy, naïve even, but I wanted him to kiss me. I needed him to.

Drawing my leg up the side of his, the movement settled him closer, deeper, and there was a burst of fiery sensation. A low, sultry groan rose from the depths of Seth, and there was an answering rush of warmth in response. This was crazy, but it was going to happen. I saw it in the way his golden eyes burned bright with need.

“You’re going to regret this,” Seth said, and before I could process what those words meant, he dipped his head. Those well-formed lips of his swept over mine, as light as a feather, once and then twice. My grip tightened. His head slanted, and I—

A thump thudded off the dorm door, jarring us out of the heady daze. I jerked back, pressing my head against the pillow as Seth lifted his and swore as he cast a damn near deadly look in that general direction.

The knock came again, louder and more insistent this time, sounding like cops were about to burst through the door. I cleared my throat. “Maybe it’s Marcus? He said we needed to talk today.”

“It’s early.” Seth shifted off me, and I lowered my hands to my sides, feeling hot and cold as he rose from the bed and looked at me. The fire still smoldered in his gaze, but his jaw was tight. His gaze dipped to my chest. A muscle popped along his jaw. “Stay in here.”

Pressing my lips together, I sat up and tugged on my shirt. He rounded the bed easily, heading into the little living area, and I scooted forward, wondering if I had time to find an oven and go shove my head inside. Nope. I heard the door open.

And then I heard Seth say, “Dammit.”

Lips pursing, I started to strain forward, but an unfamiliar voice froze me. “So it’s true,” a guy said. “Everyone was all like ‘the Apollyon is here,’ and there was a lot of excitement. I didn’t believe that Seth the awesome Apollyon would dare grace our steps again.”

“It’s true,” came another unknown male voice, and my eyes widened as I started to yank the blanket up to my throat. “Everyone is talking about it. We had to see for ourselves.”

“Yeah, I’m here. You’ve seen me,” Seth replied. “Now you can go—”

“But the thing is,” the second guy spoke again. “Solos told us you were in the room across the hall. We knocked. You didn’t answer. So Luke got the key.”

“You got the key?” Seth asked. “Yeah, can I have that key?” There was a pause. “Thanks.”

“Anyway,” the guy I assumed wasn’t Luke said. “We knocked on this door and you answered.”

“Thanks for the blow-by-blow description of what just happened,” Seth replied dryly.

“And we also heard you didn’t show up here alone,” the guy named Luke chimed in. “All the peeps are talking, Seth, saying you brought a mortal here.”

“So, of course, we’re here,” the other guy added. “Because we need to see this.”

What the…?

I started to ninja-jump off the bed and dive into the bathroom, but I heard Seth’s very loud and very exasperated sigh right before he said, “Whatever. This was going to happen sooner or later, so come in.”

Come in?

My eyes nearly popped out of my head, but I had no time to do anything. A second later, two very tall and very good-looking guys steamrolled into the bedroom.

They stared at me.

I stared at them.

One of them had bronze-colored hair that was artfully messy, and he was dressed in a long-sleeved black shirt and dark blue jeans. He was built—huge arms, an obviously toned stomach—and he looked like he knew a thousand ways to kill someone.

The other was more slender, had a head full of blond curls and the most startling gray eyes I’d ever seen. He was wearing plaid pajama bottoms and a deep-blue V-neck sweater. He was already grinning, but it spread into a wide smile. “Hey there.”

I glanced over to where Seth looked like he wanted to bang his head against the wall. “Hey.”

The blond continued to smile, while his friend continued to stare at me.

Seth sighed again. “The one grinning like he’s crazy is Deacon, and the other one is Luke.”

“We’re friends of his—of Seth’s,” Deacon threw in, and Seth did not look like they were friends.

“This is Josie,” Seth continued. “Please don’t be weird and scare her.”

“Be weird?” Deacon rolled those gray eyes. “Ha. Whatever, dude. All you need to know about me is that I’m like a dolphin in a sea of less-smart fish,” he announced, spreading his arms with a flourish.

Luke turned to him slowly as his eyebrows inched up his forehead. “What?”

He shrugged. “Just saying I have a lot in common with dolphins. They’re smart. I’m smart.”

Seth rubbed his hand down his face.

There was a beat of silence, and then Luke sighed and shook his head, lips twitching. “It’s a good thing I think you’re fine as hell.”

As unbelievable as it sounded, Deacon’s smile stretched even further as he turned to look at me. “We’re together.”

“Oh,” I said, glancing between the two. “You two make a great couple.”

“We know,” he replied.

Luke folded his arms. A moment passed. “You have awesome hair.”

“Um…” I raised one hand, smoothing it down. This was so weird. “Thanks.”

Deacon’s smile started to slip a little as he eyed me. Then it was like chess pieces moving on a board. He took a step toward the bed, and I locked up, and Seth shifted closer. Luke got between Seth and Deacon, who seemed oblivious to all of them. Then, Deacon’s eyes narrowed as he stared at me. “Your eyes are really familiar.”

Tension eased out of Seth as he sat on the edge of the bed. A slight smile pulled at his lips as he looked up at the two guys. “Oh, this is going to be great once you put it together.” He leaned back, his elbows pressing into my legs, and he chuckled. “I cannot wait.”

I had no idea what was going on, and Luke looked just as confused, but Deacon… His lips were moving, but no words were coming out, and then he drew back, straightening as if someone had dropped a steel rod down his spine.

“Holy shit,” he said, paling.

Seth tipped his head back, laughing deeply—laughing so hard I wanted to knee him in the back.

“What?” demanded Luke.

Deacon shook his head slowly. “It’s not possible.”

“Oh, yes, it is,” replied Seth.

“What?” I repeated.

Luke unfolded his arms, turning a pointed stare on Deacon. “Yeah, you want to let us in on whatever is going on here?”

“Her eyes… I know those eyes. Like, I really know those eyes.” Deacon thrust a hand through those wild curls. “They’re the same as…”

“As Apollo’s,” Seth filled in for him. “When the son of a bitch actually has eyes.”

Luke’s brows flew up again. “Wait. You’re not saying…” He laughed, but it sounded strangled. “She can’t be…”

Since I figured that Seth must trust these two dudes, I decided to get to the point. “Apollo’s supposedly my… He’s like my dad or something. My demigod…whatever is bound, so everyone thinks I’m…mortal. And Seth’s…he’s going to train me.” All of this was so incredibly awkward.

“Yes,” agreed Seth. “To all of that.”

“Holy. Shit.” Blood rushed to Deacon’s cheeks.

Seth chuckled again, and I still didn’t get what was so funny. “Needless to say, Josie here is very important, and not everyone on this campus needs to know who or what she is. So, you two keep your mouths shut.”

“Doable,” Luke murmured, and then he knelt down, shaking his head. “A fucking demigod? Wow. That’s…well, that was unexpected, Seth. Leave it to you to surprise the hell out of me.”

Seth grunted.

Deacon was a statue. “Holy. Shit. Balls.”

I glanced at him, starting to get worried.

“Wait,” Luke said, frowning. “If she’s Apollo’s daughter, wouldn’t that mean in some weird way, she’s related to—”

“I think Deacon’s going to pass out,” Seth cut in smoothly while I was wondering who else I could be related to. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know.

Luke looked over his shoulder and rolled his eyes. “Dude, chill. It’s not like you slept with her.”

“Wait. What?” I said, distracted.

Deacon bobbed his head. “Yeah, that’s a good point.”

A chuckle rumbled from Seth, and he tipped his head back so he was looking at me. “When I said your daddy got around, I wasn’t exaggerating.”

I stared at Seth for a moment, then looked at Deacon, and then put two and two together. Whoa. “My father slept with you?”

Deacon winced as he shrugged. “I wouldn’t say we slept together. I seriously had no idea who he was, and he was all about free love, and so was I, and the next thing I know, the dude I’d fooled around with turned out to be Apollo, and well… Shit gets kind of awkward sometimes.”

“I can imagine,” I murmured.

Seth snorted. “You have no idea.”

“How old is Apollo?” I asked.

Luke chuckled as he rose. “Depends on how he wants to look, but even in his true form,” he said, shrugging, “he looks like he’s in his late twenties. He’s hot. But that’s probably gross to you.”

“Of course he’s hot.” Deacon rolled his eyes. “It’s not like I’m going to get with someone who isn’t, but anyway.” He turned to Seth and took a deep breath. “I’m glad you’re here, because I never got to thank you.”

And just like that, the amusement disappeared and Seth tensed up. “That’s not necessary, man.”

“No, it is. It’s really necessary. I know what you did for my brother. I know what it means for you,” Deacon rushed on, and now I was even more confused than before. “So, thank you.”

Seth said nothing as he focused his gaze on the wall, and silence poured into the room. The tension was thick, and while I was as curious as a bored cat, I didn’t like the sudden stiffness to his shoulders. I liked it when he was laughing.