You really ought to run out of this room and lock your door, Danger. That's what a smart woman would do. The urge to comply with that was strong, but she didn't listen. It had never been in her nature to run from anything.
Taking a deep breath, she took his hand into hers and pressed it to her face. His touch was cold. Icy. There was absolutely no warmth whatsoever to his skin.
But the look on his face was one of pure pleasure and it made her stomach flutter. No one had ever taken such joy from touching her. At least not this platonically.
"You are beautiful," he said in a breathless tone. His eyes filled with wonder and lust, he cupped her cheek in his palm as he searched her gaze with his. "How long has it been since you last made love to someone?"
She was stunned by his question. "I beg your pardon?"
A wicked light danced in his eyes. "I know, none of my damn business." His face turned somber, then he let his hand fall away. "But I, too, have moments of profound curiosity."
"Yeah well, that particular curiosity is likely to get you cold-cocked."
His features softened as if the thought amused him. "I suppose even painful contact with that area is better than none at all."
Her jaw dropped in disbelief. "What?"
He gave her a wicked grin to let her know that he was teasing her again. "You have to forgive me if my social skills are a bit rusty. I don't interact with others much."
"No?"
"No."
She considered all of his disclosures. He didn't seem like the kind of guy who confided in others easily and that made her wonder how she got to be so lucky. "So you don't eat. You don't interact. What do you do?"
Once again, he didn't answer—an action that reminded her much of Acheron and his vagueness whenever someone asked him a personal question.
Instead, Alexion walked away from her.
Danger wasn't willing to let this go. She followed him down the hallway.
Halfway down, he stopped. He had his eyes closed and his head tilted as if he were listening to something. It was a very Ash-like pose.
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
"Do you hear that?"
She listened for a few seconds, but all she could hear was her own heart beating. "Hear what?"
He didn't respond. "Someone's watching us."
Danger went cold with dread as she turned around slowly, searching every corner of her house with her gaze. "Who? Where?"
"I don't know. But I can feel it."
He could feel it. Well, that just explained it all, didn't it?
Danger let out a tired breath. "Maybe you're just overworked."
"Acheron?" he called out loud.
Danger frowned, half expecting Acheron to make one of his surprising appearances in her house.
He didn't.
It was just the two of them, standing there in her hallway, looking for ghosts in the shadows. Oh yeah, this was so comforting. Like a porcupine in a condom factory. She fully expected something to jump out of the walls at them.
Alexion swore under his breath before he walked away from her, into her living room. He stood in the center and looked around.
"Artemis," he growled, "I summon you to human form."
Part of her waited expectantly to see if Artemis would really show. After a few minutes and no miraculous goddess appearance, she realized he was full of crap. "Artemis can't come here. Remember? I have no soul and the gods won't come near us because of that."
"No," he said from between clenched teeth. "The Greek gods can be around you if they want to, they just don't because most of them are assholes. As for Artemis, she won't come because she's getting back at me by not responding."
"Back at you for what?"
"Oh, there's a multitude of reasons for why she hates me." He glowered up at the ceiling. "I swear, Artemis, this isn't the way to endear yourself to me." He shook his head in disgust. "Simi's right, you really are a heifer-goddess."
"Who is Simi?" she asked again.
He finally looked at her. "Like me, she's 'other.'"
"Ahh, that explains so much. I truly appreciate your trusting me with the honest truth. It just warms me through and through."
A tic started in his jaw as he moved toward the stairs. "Whether you want to believe it or not, there's someone in this house with us."
He was right, she didn't want to believe it. In fact, she knew better. "No there isn't. Believe me, Alcatraz had less security than this house."
"And they had how many people escape?"
He was seriously starting to irritate her.
Danger followed him up the stairs as apprehension ran rampant through her system. Did he really sense something that she couldn't? It wasn't likely that someone could be in here, but then most people would say that her dead existence in the world of the living wasn't possible either. Maybe he did know something she didn't.
He crept down her hallway like a large panther on the prowl. Room by room, he went in and searched. By the time they reached the last bedroom she was tired of it.
"I told you, no one is here."
He cocked his head. "Simi?" he called out. "If that's you, stop playing with me and go buy something."
Danger rubbed her temples. "Do you always talk to your imaginary friends?"
"Simi's not an imaginary friend."