Page 64

The next day,my ribs were finally healed. It’d taken a powerful healing tonic from Hedy, but I was feeling tip-top. Mostly.

Everyone else was healed as well, thank fates. There’d been some nasty injuries, and it’d been a miserable journey back through the fortress to get to Caro and the sub, but we were all better.

I leaned back on my couch, closing my eyes.

An hour ago, we’d finished our meeting with Jude. Though I felt the sting of failure over our mission, Jude had agreed with everyone else. It had been a success. Mostly because we’d permanently weakened the Titans and destroyed the Stryx. Defeating such insane evil was usually a multi-step process, she’d said. We knew who they were, too. I’d been right about the crowned one being Cronus. The horned one was probably Crius, whose name meant ram. And the one who shot flames from her eyes was Theia, Titan goddess of shining. Which was weird, but if it allowed her to shoot flames from her eyes, that was freaking bad ass.

And we now had a weapon to use against them.

Me.

I figured it was Apollo who’d given me the sun magic, and I was determined to practice until I could make a nuclear blast that would destroy them for good. We just had to find them again.

We suspected that wouldn’t be quite as hard this time. With their special fortress destroyed—we’d bombed the hell out of it after evacuating the worshippers—their dark magic would be easier to track.

A knock sounded at my door, and I blinked my eyes open. It was ten o’clock. I was supposed to be in bed soon.

“Yeah?” I called as I stood.

“It’s Maximus.”

I grinned, unable to help myself. After the meeting, he’d disappeared immediately. He hadn’t even said goodbye, which I thought was weird.

I opened the door, gasping at the sight of a huge cluster of roses. Maximus held them out, along with a picnic basket and a bottle of wine.

I took the basket and the roses, stepping back into the room. “What’s all this?”

“Our date.”

I smiled and let him in, then shut the door. “I don’t recall scheduling a date.”

“That’s because it never works when we schedule. And since we’ll be off hunting the Titans tomorrow morning, I figured we’d better take the time now.”

I grinned. “You brought a picnic?”

“We’ll go out for a real date once we’ve defeated the Titans.”

“This is a real date.” I set the flowers and picnic basket on the counter, then grabbed the wine from him and set it down, too.

I turned away from it, facing him. He looked so damned good in his dark T-shirt and jeans. Strong and tall, and handsome as sin. My fallen angel.

“Not a fan of the food?” he asked.

“Not right now. I have something better in mind.” I moved toward him, wrapping my arms around his neck and leaning up to press my lips to his. The scent of cedar rushed over me, and I drew it in.

He groaned and pulled me toward him, pressing me full length against his body. I reveled in his strength as I kissed him.

Pleasure streaked down my body, and I shivered. He ran a series of kisses down my neck, sending electricity through my veins. When he picked me up, I wrapped my legs around him, touching every inch that I could. He was hard everywhere, and I couldn’t get enough.

“Want to take me upstairs?” I whispered against his lips.

“I couldn’t possibly want anything more.”

Funny thing was, neither could I.

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