Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89763 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89763 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
She blinks those big eyes at me. “Yes?”
“You have three days. Get me those blueprints.”
She licks her lips. “Uh…okay.”
“Good girl.” I kiss her lightly and then straighten and slam the door.
I head upstairs and strip the second I get inside. My cock is so hard, I’m surprised I haven’t passed out from the lack of blood to my brain. I stalk to the primary bedroom and into the shower. Only then do I allow myself to wrap a fist around my cock. With the scent of her orgasms all over my face, it only takes three rough strokes before I blow, my orgasm so intense, my knees buckle.
Three days before I see her again is too fucking long.
12
Ariadne
I wake up feeling like the night before was a fever dream. Surely that didn’t happen. Surely Asterion didn’t spend hours worshipping me with his mouth. I failed to get him the blueprints. That should have made him finally fulfill my father’s command to kill me.
It’s almost enough to make my foolish heart believe that he cares about me more than he cares about my father’s approval. Almost. Too bad that sort of thing—the monstrous hero falling in love with the sheltered, nerdy heroine—only happens in fan fiction. If this were one of my favorite fics, he’d scale the building to get to me, whisper some sweet nothings in my ear, and then spirit me away to his penthouse, courtesy of some independent wealth I never knew about. We’d live happily ever after.
I laugh bitterly. That’s how I know it’s fiction. There’s no such thing as happily ever after. We’re all just struggling through this life as best we can with the tools allotted to us. I may be sheltered, but I’m as much a monster as my father. How else to explain my changing sides with so little hesitation? I may not have been able to hand the Olympians every detail of my father’s plans, but I gave them enough for them to prepare for the coming attack. It means more Aeaean people will die. It might even mean my father will die. I knew that, and I didn’t let the knowledge stop me.
How else to describe that but monstrous?
But…Asterion didn’t do the expected. I’m still nearly certain he avoided using his fingers or cock because he was worried about hurting me. That level of care doesn’t align with him wanting me dead. Nothing about what happened last night does.
I still don’t have any answers by the time Dionysus swans into the living room. I feel like an absolute disaster compared to his pristine appearance. He’s wearing a remarkably mundane gray suit with a purple pin-striped shirt beneath it, but then I see that his glasses have jewels encrusted on the frames and I almost laugh. “Good morning.”
“Almost afternoon. Hence why I enjoy brunch so much. Shall we?”
I keep waiting for the silence between us to grow uncomfortable as we take the elevator down to the parking garage and climb into the back seat of a nondescript black town car. It doesn’t. Dionysus seems lost in his own world, which allows me space for my own thoughts without having to worry about missing something important. It’s…nice.
Even so, I fight not to think about Asterion. The knowledge that I’ll be seeing him soon makes my stomach erupt into butterflies. It doesn’t matter that I know he’s no good for me. Being around him makes me feel like I’m in bloom. Like I’m more than the daughter who never measures up or the traitor who doesn’t have enough information to actually make my betrayal worthwhile. When Asterion looks at me, I can almost believe that he thinks I’m perfect.
But then, I’ve already made peace with my rose-tinted glasses. They won’t be enough to save me when reality comes calling.
We stop in front of a charming little shop on the outskirts of the upper warehouse district. I shoot Dionysus a questioning look and he shrugs. “There will be plenty of time for fanfare and playing to the public later. Brunch should be enjoyed, and Dolores has the best around. There’s also the benefit of privacy. We won’t be bothered here.”
I examine his words for some kind of insinuation, but as best I can tell, he’s being honest. Truth be told, I wouldn’t mind getting to know him a little better. He’s made it abundantly clear that he has no intention of being a true spouse to me, but if we get married, we’ll still be partners of a sort. It doesn’t hurt to make sure we’re on the same page.
Though I can’t be entirely honest, can I? Not when I’m actively betraying him…
I shove the thought away. The place is entirely empty as we walk through the front doors and are greeted by a petite woman with light-brown skin who looks to be approximately a hundred years old. Her white hair is almost completely gone, and her face is covered with age spots and wrinkles that indicate a life well lived. She smiles brightly when she sees Dionysus. “Hello, stranger. I thought you were getting too important to come visit little old me.”