Page 69 of Releasing the Gods
“Ahhh,” I exclaimed, glad to have my breasts free from that sweaty thing.
Cronus looked like he’d swallowed a bug.
“Maisey. What are you doing?”
I shrugged, knowing full well this water was crystal clear and that I was trying to kill him.
“Bras are torture. Besides, I’m sure you’ve seen enough of these in your day.” I pushed my shoulder blades together to make my cleavage pop.
His gaze sharpened. His lips tilted up into a smile. I had expected more of growly Cronus, so this shocked the hell out of me as I blinked stupidly at him.
“What are you doing?” I murmured, not covering myself but more wary. Maybe my teasing had finally cracked him. Men had fragile minds.
His smile grew larger, and I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at him. “I don’t like this, Cronus. You need to shut that shit down immediately. Since when do you smile? Are you sick?”
He threw his head back and laughed, and despite my confusion and concern about what he was scheming, I had to admire how beautiful he looked, head back, water dripping along that strong throat and across broad muscles. When he straightened, his dark hair slicked back from that perfect face, I wondered if it was possible to die from wanting someone so much and not having them. Was that actually a thing?
Because I was about ten minutes from combusting and it was only pure pride that stopped me from throwing myself at Cronus.
“I have never spent a lot of time around humans,” he finally said, softly. “Your spark for life … your stubbornness and free-willed nature … it’s intoxicating. I never expected…”
He paused and I leaned forward, desperate to hear the next words.
“You. I never expected you.”
Fuck.I was in so much trouble. It hit me then like a ton of bricks: I was falling for him. Hard. I couldn’t be falling in love with this big brute. He wasn’t human! We weren’t even the same species. And when we got this sins thing under control, he’d go back to whatever gods did, and I’d go back to waiting tables and hoping for my big break.
Still, my damn heart beat so hard, and if I hadn’t known for certain it was Cronus causing that, I’d be worried the sin in my necklace was giving me a heart attack.
While I was having my existential crisis of the heart, Cronus swam forward and I jumped when his thigh brushed against mine.
“Maisey,” he rumbled, drawing all of my attention. We were inches away from each other, our lips almost touching as he barely stayed afloat, too caught up in whatever drew us together. My nipples brushed lightly against his chest and I had to ball my hands into fists to keep from moaning.
“It’s the bond, right?” I said breathlessly. “This pull … the attraction. The bond is causing that?”
Cronus’ chest rumbled, and as it swelled it pressed harder against my bare breasts, sending the most delicious sensations through my body. My hands were moving toward him, but somehow, at the last second, I managed to stop myself.
“The bond ties us physically together,” Cronus said, his face unreadable but his eyes blazing. “Physically, and our life energies. But it has nothing to do with an emotional bond. I cannot manipulate emotions.”
That meant … this was all real. On my side at least. I had no idea what he was feeling, outside of a fairly obvious erection that spoke of his attraction. I mean, it was a good place to start, but my feelings went so much deeper and it scared me.
Suddenly I regretted playing this game with him, trying to lure him into sex with me, to have one night. One night wasn’t going to be enough for me. I wanted years. I was going to get hurt. I was going to get so badly hurt that I would cease to be the Maisey Hope Parker that I was now.
Could I risk that? Cronus was the riskiest thing I’d ever had in my life, and maybe, just maybe … it was too much for me.
I’d been through a lot of loss in my life. My mom, losing my dad to alcohol, then the actual death of my dad. It was too much. I jerked my face away and swam toward the ladder that led up to the docks. “Too tired to swim now,” I called carelessly over my shoulder, hoping he’d think it was exhaustion that caused the waver in my voice. “Time to get some sleep.”
I’d played with fire and I’d almost gotten burnt. Right now I couldn’t decide if it would have been worth the flames for one night with Cronus, or if I made the right decision.
Either way, I was going to bed wet and horny, and that had nothing to do with the ocean water dripping from me.
Chapter 19
That night was the most uncomfortable Cronus and I had ever had. I pretended to be asleep after he finished his shower and came to bed, not flinching as his weight sank down the side of the massive bed and he slipped in under the covers beside me. After everything, I wished he’d slept on the couch, but since I was “asleep” I couldn’t suggest it.
Instead, I continued to mull over why our bond was allowing more and more space to come between us. It scared me. If the bond broke would Cronus even stay around anymore?
“I know you’re awake, human,” he said, his voice a quiet rumble in the air, the crashing waves in the background the only other sound.
