“It wasn’t here. It was on Pandora. He was the one I had to rescue.”
“Wow. So…what? After rescuing him, you just jumped his bones? Way to go.”
Elysia rolled her eyes. “Can you focus for one minute? It wasn’t like that. He stuck around and helped me with the next few labors. And, I don’t know, we talked, and one thing led to another and…and then we kissed.”
Sera considered for a moment. “If he stuck around when he was supposed to leave, that’s not exactly a bad thing. It means he was interested. Clearly, seduction is where you’re going to earn back your points.”
“Now I sound like a slut.”
Sera laughed. “That too is not a bad thing. You are training to be a Siren after all.”
Sighing, Elysia looked down at her hands.
“Okay, spill,” Sera said. “Something more than just kissing this dude is eating at you and has been since you arrived on Olympus.”
“I don’t know. I just…” Elysia lifted her hands and dropped them. “I didn’t know who he was when I kissed him. It wasn’t as if I was trying to seduce him. I liked him. A lot. Then I got here and discovered he’s one of Aphrodite’s boy toys and that she pimps him out to the Sirens for seduction training.”
“Ouch. Yeah, that news would totally blow. I get it. No wonder you’ve been in such a funk. But, think about it logically. The odds you’ll get him as your trainer are really slim. I mean, there are fifty of us. If he stuck around with you on Pandora when he shouldn’t have, Athena’s probably assigned him to someone else already.”
“Yeah.” Elysia twisted her hands in her lap. “Probably.”
Sera stared at her a long moment. “Which is just what you’re really afraid of, isn’t it?”
“Stupid, huh?” Elysia’s heart pinched as she looked at her friend. “He belongs to Aphrodite. I’m pissed he didn’t tell me who he was, and I don’t even want him as my trainer.”
“But you don’t want him to train anyone else either,” Sera finished.
“Yeah,” Elysia whispered. “Exactly.”
“That”—Sera moved to sit next to Elysia and wrapped an arm around Elysia’s shoulder—“totally sucks.”
Elysia huffed a sound that was a half laugh, half groan. “Thanks for the news flash.”
“Well, look on the bright side. Maybe your seduction trainer will be so hot, he’ll make you forget all about what’s-his-name.”
“Yeah, maybe,” Elysia agreed.
But as her gaze drifted to the box on the end of her bed, she knew odds were a whole lot better she was going to spend the next few months fantasizing her trainer was Damon. And cursing the recruit whose nights would now be spent pleasing him.
Damon stood in the shadows of the main hall and watched from afar as the recruits spilled into the room, more than fifty females from all different backgrounds. Tall pillars rose all around the room, and iron chandeliers lit with a thousand lights illuminated their wide eyes and expectant faces.
Less than half of the recruits would make the cut by the end of their seven years of training. Some would be shipped off to various parts of the globe to serve Zeus and the gods in other ways—as handmaidens, as pleasure slaves, even some as breeding stock—but the rest would be terminated.
Most probably didn’t realize that fact. Zeus liked to keep those details secret. It was a shitty deal all around for those that didn’t make it, but Damon had learned long ago that after the recruits left the Siren compound, there was little he could do for them. Except Elysia. He was determined she’d make it. She had to. Because losing her was no longer an option.
His gaze skipped over each female as she entered. Excitement lit their eyes as they caught sight of the trainers assembled on the periphery. The recruits were each dressed in an outfit of their trainer’s choosing—some in skirts that showed off their legs, some in skintight pants, all wearing heels and heavy makeup and with enough cleavage to drown a man. As Zeus had handpicked each recruit, they were all beautiful, but those eventually inducted into the Order would be altered in the image he preferred. Zeus claimed his Sirens were altered to draw the attention of any male they crossed, but Damon knew the truth. Zeus didn’t appreciate individuality. He wanted his minions to fit his mold. And he changed them to prove he was in ultimate control over every aspect of their lives, even their looks.
What good was being king of the gods if you couldn’t lord it over each and every one of your subjects?
Disdain rippled through Damon. A familiar disdain after twenty-plus years on Olympus. Thankfully, his interactions with Zeus were few and far between. He shifted his weight against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest, searching for Elysia.
He searched faces but still couldn’t find her. Where the hell was she? She couldn’t have been kicked out of the class already. He’d know.
Hushed whispers carried on the air. Footsteps sounded as the room filled. Around him, trainers murmured throaty approvals. But Damon barely spared them a glance. He continued scanning faces, searching for Elysia. The last of the recruits stepped into the room, and the wide double doors on the far side closed.
Panic spiked in his chest, and he pushed away from the wall.
Footsteps sounded to his left as Athena climbed three stone steps and stood on the raised platform to address the group. “Quiet down,” she said in her throaty, sex-kitten voice. “We’re about to begin.”
Damon barely cared about Athena’s little announcements. He moved toward the group and scanned each face again. She had to be here. She couldn’t miss this.
Voices quieted as all eyes turned toward Athena, who tonight was dressed in a low-cut, sleeveless red blouse and black leggings capped with four-inch silver heels. With long, delicate fingers, she reached for a scroll from the Siren standing next to her. “Tonight you move into the second phase of your training. Seduction is as elemental to a Siren as is her ability to kill.”
And this growing need inside Damon was as elemental as anything he’d ever felt. He stepped closer to the crowd, searching faces, sure he had to have missed Elysia with her hair and makeup done.
“Forget everything you know about seduction,” Athena went on as Damon continued scanning. “Your assigned trainer will rewrite your history with both seduction and pleasu—”
The double doors on the far side of the room burst open, and Elysia stumbled into the room.
Heads turned. Eyes shifted her way. On the platform, Athena frowned and muttered, “There is always one in every group.” Then louder, “Recruit, take your place.”
From the corner of his eye, Damon saw the look Athena sent Naila, her right-hand Siren. Naila nodded and looked back toward the double doors Elysia tried to close with as little sound as possible.
They were making a note of her disruption, docking her points for being late. Damon would have to find a way to help her regain those points before the next checkpoint.
His focus zeroed in on her, and the stress faded as warmth gathered low in his belly. Her hair fell in soft, dark waves to the middle of her back, and her eyes were made up just enough so they sparkled. His gaze drifted down, over the simple blue blouse he’d picked out for her, the slim-fitting black pants and sensible flats, then lifted back to the long string of pearls around her neck that fell to her cleavage. He’d debated what to send her for tonight, and finally decided something that put her at ease would be best. He wanted her to trust him. Trussing her up in some revealing ensemble—though he definitely planned to do that later—wouldn’t be his smartest first move.
Sirens passed through the crowd of recruits, and as one stepped in front of Elysia, Damon realized Athena had stopped talking. The Siren held up the blindfold, and Elysia’s gaze flicked Damon’s way. For a split second, their eyes held across the distance, making every muscle in Damon’s body tighten with excitement and anticipation.
He couldn’t read her from this distance. Was she happy to see him? Angry? Excited? He’d never know, because the Siren cover
ed her eyes with the blindfold before he could tell and moved behind her to tie the sash.
His pulse sped up, but instead of breathing easier, all he could think about was what he was going to say to her when they were finally alone.
Athena’s voice echoed through the room once more as she called off each recruit’s name. One by one they were brought forward, handed off to their assigned trainer, and led out of the room. Damon’s pulse beat hard and fast as he waited. When Sera’s name was called, Erebus sent Damon a predatory wink and moved across the wood floor toward the unsuspecting nymph.
“Elysia,” Athena said when there was only one recruit left. Lowering the scroll in her hands, Athena moved slowly down the three stone steps toward the female. “You were late.”
“Y-yes, my lady.” Elysia managed a pathetic bow and turned toward the sound of the goddess’s voice. “I’m sorry. I didn’t…I won’t let it happen again, my lady.”
Damon’s jaw tightened as he watched. Athena was purposely intimidating the poor girl, all because she got her shits and giggles the same way her father did—from scaring others.
“See to it that it does not. In the meantime, you are at the bottom of the list in the standings. The first elimination is coming up in a matter of weeks. That means you need to step things up or you’ll be on your way out. Do I make myself clear?”
Damon bit down harder. Stay where you are, dickhead. Don’t make things worse for her.
“Yes, my lady.”
Athena’s eyes narrowed on Elysia in an assessing, almost rapacious way. There was something sinister in Athena’s gaze, an undertone of disgust that made the hairs on Damon’s nape stand straight.
Had Elysia offended the goddess? Did Athena know something about Elysia’s past the girl didn’t? The goddess could hold a grudge like nobody’s business. If Athena had already pegged Elysia to fail, making sure Elysia passed was going to be a tougher job than Damon had anticipated.
Silence lingered. Finally Athena turned to leave. But as she did, her gaze found Damon’s, and even though he tried to stay still, every muscle went tense and rigid.
This was where it got tricky. When he’d altered Elysia’s chart, he’d purposely placed her at the bottom of tonight’s list. The other recruits were already paired up. If Athena balked here and wanted to make a switch, she’d have to call them all back. That would waste time and could cause problems. He was banking on the fact she’d let it slide.
Athena’s gaze narrowed to hard, sharp points, a warning reflecting deeply in her bitter eyes. Damon held his breath and waited, knowing he was playing a game of roulette he couldn’t win, hoping and praying this one gamble would pay off. Several heartbeats of heavy silence elapsed before Athena turned out of the room without another word, her heels clicking like cannon fire against the hardwood as she left.
Damon exhaled. Told himself he’d dodged a major bullet. Reminded himself to be careful around Athena from here on out. Elysia clearly wasn’t the only one on the goddess’s shit list.
Breathing easier, Damon returned his attention to Elysia. Instead of moving toward her, though, he simply watched. Watched the way her breasts rose and fell under the blue blouse with her shallow breaths, watched as she licked her lips and shifted her weight, watched the adorable way she twisted her fingers still behind her back as she waited.
He wanted those hands running over his body. Wanted her warm breath fanning his cheek. Wanted those succulent lips pressed against his as they’d been on Pandora. But first he wanted her to want the same things.
He cleared his throat, and she immediately stiffened. She was nervous. More nervous than he’d expected for someone who’d had no problem kissing a total stranger in the jungle. He took that as a good sign.
His footsteps sounded across the floor. As he drew close, the familiar scent of honeysuckle surrounded him. His skin tingled. Electricity arced through his body. Even before his fingers grazed hers, he knew she felt it too. Knew from the way she trembled and held her breath. Knew from the heat suddenly swirling around him like a vortex.
He didn’t speak. Simply slid his palm along hers and wrapped his thick fingers around her much daintier ones. Pulling her toward the double doors on the far side of the room, he led her out and down a long hall lit with pale sconces, and finally into one of the many private training rooms in this wing of the compound.
This was not where he wanted to spend his first night with her, but considering what he had planned, this was the safest place for both of them.
He closed the door after her. Left her standing in the middle of the room as he lit candles around the periphery. Elysia’s breaths grew shallow and fast. Grasping her at the shoulders, he turned her toward him, then slowly pushed her back. Her muscles tensed in obvious fear. When the backs of her legs hit the front of the chair, she relaxed.
Her hands landed on the armrests of the high-backed Queen Anne, and she lowered herself to the soft cushion. Leaning close so she could feel the heat of his body and the brush of his skin, Damon fingered the long strand of pearls from the edge of her throat down to the V of her cleavage.
Elysia went completely still. Drawing in a whiff of her delectable scent, Damon let his fingertips hover on the bottom pearl, right at the apex of her cleavage, and watched as her succulent breasts rose and fell.
Gods, she had the best breasts, small and firm and high, and at the moment not nearly as exposed as they’d been on Pandora. He wanted to feel them in his palms. Wanted to hold them and squeeze them and lick them until she was quivering. But he held back. Because what he had planned needed to come first. And because when he did those things, he wanted her writhing and begging for more.
Reluctantly, he lifted the necklace from her skin and drew it over her head. She shivered as if he’d removed an article of her clothing, which only made his pulse beat faster and his pants grow even tighter. Moving around behind the chair, he reached for her right hand and gently pulled it back, then did the same to her left. She tensed as he used the pearls to tie her wrists together behind the chair, but didn’t voice a protest.
“Relax, oraios,” he said softly as he pushed to his feet and walked around the chair. “Nothing bad is going to happen to you.”
He pulled the blindfold free. Elysia’s dark eyes widened, and in a rush, he saw exactly what he’d missed in the ballroom when she’d looked at him across the distance. He saw shock, disbelief, and rage. But mostly, he saw betrayal.
“You,” she muttered.
She was pissed. He had that coming. “Yes, it’s me. I know you think—”
“You don’t know a thing about me. You never did.” Disgust rushed across her features as her gaze swept over him like a broom brushing aside nothing but dirt. “All you know is being a yes-boy for the Sirens and man whore for some slutty goddess.”
CHAPTER TEN
Damon stiffened at Elysia’s sharp words. She tried not to let his reaction faze her, but something inside shrank with mortification.
She wasn’t this girl. The angry jilted lover. She didn’t want to be that girl. Didn’t want to feel a thing for him. But she did. Her chest pinched so hard at the sight of him, pain spiraled through every cell.
Skata. She wasn’t about to be enchanted by this gorgeous male any more than she’d been on Pandora, but one look at his thick legs, cut muscles, and trim physique and she was a quivering mess. He was dressed in loose black drawstring pants and a lightweight, short-sleeved, button-down shirt that showcased the rippling muscles in his arms and exposed just a hint of the rose tattoo on his shoulder and biceps. And when her gaze lifted to the shadow on his square jaw, his tanned and weathered skin, and his chocolate irises rimmed with gold, her resistance wavered.
Don’t do it. Don’t fall under his spell. Because that’s all it was. A spell. The same kind of spell Aphrodite clearly uses to turn hot males like him into manipulative man whores.
She stiffened her spine.
“I see a month with the Sirens has exercised
your tongue well,” Damon said.
“My tongue gets plenty of exercise, thank you very much.”
A wry smile spread across Damon’s lips, making him look that much sexier, and Elysia’s cheeks heated when she realized just where his thoughts were heading.
“Not like that,” she snapped. Then, when she realized this was her chance to make him squirm a little, she added, “Actually…just like that. There’s this really hot ebony god who’s been helping me—well, flirting with me, really—in the field. He’s—”
“Tall guy? Scar near his left eyebrow?”
Suspicion drew Elysia’s brows together. Damon didn’t seem the least bit jealous. Panic sent her pulse up. “Yes. But he’s—”
“A minor god.” Damon crossed his thick arms over his chest, the movement pulling on his shirt. “His name’s Erebus. And I guarantee he wasn’t flirting. Unless your name was Sera. I noticed him eyeing her a month ago. He’s been assigned as her seduction trainer.”
Elysia’s eyes widened. “He’s Sera’s trainer?”
“Jealous?”
No, Elysia wasn’t jealous. She was a little afraid for her friend. Erebus was huge. Before she could say so, though, Damon’s words hit her.
She tugged at the pearls tied around her wrists, which—as he’d planned—kept her completely immobile against the chair. “You were here a month ago? I’d have seen you if that were the case. What did you do, run back to Aphrodite’s temple for a little fun?”
He moved to her left and disappeared behind her chair. “Actually, Athena had a job for me.”
Elysia huffed. “Another recruit to manipulate?”
“Something like that,” he muttered.
Heat burned her cheeks when she remembered the way she’d fallen for his ruse. The injured, innocent male. She nearly huffed again. There was no such thing as an innocent male.
“I’ve spoken to a few of your field trainers.” Damon moved around her right side. “And it seems you’re in a precarious position.” He stopped in front of her again. “You need me, Elysia. You need high marks in seduction if you’re to make it through the first elimination round, and I’m your seduction trainer.”