Seduction (Curse of the Gods #3)

“Point,” Rome groaned. “If there is one, you need to get to it.”

I immediately surged up from my spot and scrambled to the edge of the bed, right over Rome’s legs. I made a haphazard grab for the pillow on the floor, ready to throw it in his face much harder than I had thrown it the first time—but arms wrapped around my waist and tugged me back.

I landed hard against a bare chest, my hands captured again and bundled up together over my stomach as I tried to get my breath back. I was laying on top of Rome, facing the dome in the ceiling again, the back of my head against his chest and the heat of him burning up through the entire length of my body.

“I can’t sleep like this,” I croaked out. “I need my hands.”

“You don’t need your hands to sleep.” Rome’s voice was in my ear, lower and softer than it had been all night.

“Sorry, Willa-toy,” Yael’s face was suddenly looming above mine, his hand brushing over the side of my face. “But we’re really going to need you to sleep now.”

A quick flash of anger spread through me, but it was followed by an even quicker flash of exhaustion. It settled against my senses with a heavy intention, pulling darkness over my eyelids and piling weight into my limbs.

He was using Persuasion to knock me out.

What.

A.

Dic—





Twelve





The warmth woke me first. I was surrounded by it, as though I had fallen asleep in the bather and the warm water still licked against my skin. But … I wasn’t in water. My eyes flew open and I tensed. I was still sprawled across Rome’s bare chest. He had both arms wrapped around me, and at some point I must have turned so that my face was snuggled in between his shoulder and neck. The warmth was starting to make sense now, and the scent, because all I could smell was spice and god. Holy fires in hell. It was really hot in here now, and as sparks of Chaos lit up my chest, I fought against my urge to press myself tighter to him.

“I know you’re awake,” his deep voice rumbled all around me. He knew I was awake and hadn’t loosened his grip on me. That was a win.

I still had my nose pressed against his smooth skin. “Did you hold me all night?” Somehow, through no fault of my own, my hand was running up and down his side, gently tracing the hard planes of his body.

His chest rumbled under me. “You talk in your sleep. You fidget in your sleep. This was the only way for me to keep you quiet.”

My fingers brushed across the band of his pants, and images flooded my head. Rome and Yael naked … that wasn’t something I was going to ever forget. Tilting my head slightly, I could see a wide, unoccupied expanse of bed off to the side, prompting me to think that Yael must have left.

“Where’s Four?” I reluctantly lifted my head so that I could see Rome’s face.

He looked a little tense, his jaw set in a firm line. “Meeting with the others, talking strategy. I was just waiting for you to wake up, then we can join them.”

I was awake, but neither of us moved. Arms were still wrapped around me, and I was still running my hand along his side.

“This pact … I don’t want the others to break your … thing.” My face flushed as soon as those words fell thoughtlessly from my mouth.

I just couldn’t stop thinking about the Abcurses. It had reached the point where I almost couldn’t handle this sexually-tense-line we were precariously balancing on. Something had to give. The corner of Rome’s lips twitched, and I felt a bubble of laughter fighting to free itself from my chest. We lost it at the same time, and I wasn’t sure I’d ever heard him laugh like that. With an unrestrained sort of amusement, his powerful arms tightened, pulling me back into him.

“We’re not breaking any pact yet.”

A thought struck me then, and I stiffened, before wiggling my arms free and placing both palms onto Rome’s chest. I pushed with all my might … and didn’t move an inch. He must have noticed that I was trying to get free at some point, though, because he easily released me. Ignoring the waves of cool air, which immediately felt intrusive and annoying, I leveraged myself up so I could glare fully at him.

“I’m done with this pact,” I grumbled. He opened his mouth but I cut him off before he could speak. “There’s nothing you can say to change my mind. The pact is stupid. It’s my life and my body and I will make the choices for it. Not you.” I jabbed a finger at him. “And not those other morons!” Second finger jab in the direction of the doorway.

Chaos swirled within me, and I jumped to my feet before I burned the bed down. Rome lifted himself slightly, leveraging his elbows under him. His chest looked even more massive than usual and I had to force myself to stare at the wall behind him so that I wouldn’t get distracted.

“You’re right.”

His words were so unexpected that I swung my head back to stare at him. My eyes widened even further when I saw how serious he looked.

“You’re no longer a dweller, you’re learning to control the power of Chaos. I think you can handle our powers … if you want to.”

Holy dweller babies.

He lifted himself all the way up, using just abdominal muscles, before he shifted forward onto his knees. I was standing, we were almost eye level. My heart started stuttering in uneven beats as he stared. Then, in a micro-click, his arms went back around me, and I was hauled up into him.

“It’s my turn,” he murmured, before his lips landed on mine.

The kiss was surprisingly gentle, considering the fact that his power was Strength. His tongue traced along my lips, and I parted them for him. The most delicious sensation was his lips moving on mine, his tongue caressing mine. But … was he holding back for fear of hurting me? Had that been his issue all along? Suddenly, I needed to see him lose control. Just a little bit. Before he had a chance to counter my actions, I pressed my feet into the mattress and pushed. We tumbled down together. Our lips never parting as he caught me with ease. His back hit the soft mattress. I wiggled across the top of him, every inch of my body pressed to the hardness of his. The warmth was back and I let out a low moan into his mouth. Rome froze for a tiny fraction of a heartbeat.

“Fuck,” he muttered, as he sprang into action.

Before my slow brain had time to process what had happened, our positions were flipped and I was the one pressed into the soft mattress. The sensation of skin against skin was almost too overwhelming to process, and it took me a whole click to realise that he had wedged himself between my thighs, and I was still completely without underwear. I could feel the heat of him, the hardness of him, even the size of him. His lips weren’t kissing any longer, but claiming, his tongue demanding more as it stroked my mouth. My head was spinning, but in the best kind of way. My body was moving against him, needing so much more. I never wanted the kiss to stop, so when he pulled away, I groaned.