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Epimetheus’ heart skipped in his chest at Elpida’s declaration, but it shouldn’t. She might only be keeping an eye on him for Kronos. But Kronos was gone, according to both the human policeman and Rhea. He could be pulling Elpida’s strings from beyond the grave...
But when they’d left the hospital, he’d tuned into her feelings long enough to sense her desire for him. He could sniff the pheromones coming off her body so strongly, he might as well be tasting her arousal.
And overthinking this went against everything Epimetheus was. He grinned at Elpida and kept the expression in place even after Daphne started shrieking accusations at her, about how she was a lousy assistant who never got anything right. He’d have liked nothing more than to interfere, but Elpida’s placid expression and the tilt of the visible corner of her mouth showed she wasn’t bothered by her former boss’s words.
When Daphne called his woman an idiot and threatened to make sure she wouldn’t find work in Greece again, he had to draw a line. “You will apologize to Elpida now and promise not to mess with her career,” he said over his shoulder, letting his compulsion power seep into the order.
Without missing a beat, Daphne said, “I’m sorry, Elpida. You’re not a bitch, and I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.”
Elpida snapped her head back, to look at her former boss with eyes so wide, Epimetheus couldn’t hold back a chuckle. “What did you say?” she asked Daphne.
“Uh... the road?” Epimetheus said, and Elpida turned forward in time to keep the car from swerving out of course.
“You were a great personal assistant, and I’ll be sad to see you go,” Daphne replied.
Epimetheus couldn’t see her expression, but she sounded like the words burned her on their way out.
She fell quiet and stayed that way for the rest of the drive, and Epimetheus could almost pretend he and Elpida were alone in the car as the sun crested the horizon. He stole glances at Elpida, hoping to catch her eye so she could see how proud he was she put Daphne in her place, but Elpida stared ahead, at times chewing on the inside of her cheek.
When he asked if she was okay, she nodded and turned on the radio. Upbeat music filled the car. Huh. Music was fun. He liked it.
Daphne gave Elpida instructions when they were near her place. She left them with a dry goodnight and even carried her bags to her door. Epimetheus was glad to see her leave. She made Elpida uneasy, which raised his hackles.
“We’re almost there,” Elpida said a few minutes later. “Oh. Are you hungry? I didn’t think to ask sooner. I’m sorry.”
He could eat her. He arched a brow. “Are you suggesting you’d cook for me at”—he checked the dashboard clock—“seven in the morning?”
She yawned. “I was thinking more of hitting that bakery in my neighborhood. You don’t know love till you’ve tried their homemade spinach pie.”
Love brought to mind Pandora’s face, but the memory was faint, overtaken by Elpida’s smile and bright eyes. Could he fall in love with her? Another mortal? Was that why Kronos had chosen her for him?
But how would he know what would work for Epimetheus after all this time? And why bother with him at all?
“Hey.” Elpida snapped her fingers in front of his face as she pulled into an underground garage—and thank Chaos for the cop’s comprehensive knowledge of all things modern, or Epimetheus might freak out at the thought of going underground ever again. “Are you hungry? We can walk there.”
Epimetheus didn’t require sustenance to replenish his body, and it wasn’t food he had an appetite for. “I’m good,” he said. “I’d rather go to bed.” Test if mattresses were as comfortable as the man believed them to be. The man... Prometheus never gleaned his name. Odd. Back in his day, mortals held their sense of self at the forefront of their thoughts.
Elpida led him to the elevator, and he marveled once more at modern technology while they rode it up the four floors to her apartment. With his love for creation and challenges, Prometheus must be having a blast in this day and age.
Elpida’s steps grew slower as they approached the door at the end of the corridor. “It’s nothing big,” she said. “Nothing like Daphne’s place.” Her laugh bounced fake off the walls.
“I’m sure it’s beautiful,” Epimetheus said. Inside, he added, like you.
She fished a key out of the tiny bag at her waist and slid it into the lock, then paused. “You’re not... You’re not dangerous, are you?”
He was. He was lethal. “Not to you.”
Elpida chewed on her bottom lip. “That’s not really a no.”
He held her gaze. “I promise not to hurt you in any way, but I understand if you changed your mind and would feel more comfortable with me staying at a hotel.”
That seemed to do it. She turned the key three times and pushed the door open. “Nah. I believe you. Come on in.”
He followed her inside, taking in the open space even before she turned on the lights. A plaid blanket was bundled on the large sofa, empty cartons of food were strewn all over her coffee table, and there was a bra on the floor.
“I’m a bit of a slob,” she said with a blush as she picked up the discarded bra and tossed it and her bag on an armchair.
“I like it. Makes the place look lived in.” He meant it. The stark-white walls and minimalistic furniture would look too clinical without these touches of disarray. And the cop whose memories he absorbed must have been really into interior design.
She rolled her eyes. “Tell my mom that. Hope the couch is comfy enough for you. Wait here, and I’ll get you sheets and a fresh change of clothes.” She stammered. “I mean... I guess you’ll want a shower, right?”
He’d used the wind to clean himself as soon as he was out of the earth, but— “A shower would be perfect. Thank you.” Whose clothes would he be wearing, though? Hers were out of the question. She only came up to his chest when he was in this form, and he could circle her waist with his hands. And lift her on the kitchen counter and spread her thighs and bury first his face and then his cock between them.
Epimetheus shook away the thought, but not before his erection formed a tent in the fabric of his pants. Elpida had seen him hard when he was naked, so he didn’t bother hiding it when she returned, clutching new clothes for him. Her gaze went straight to his not-so-little situation, and her breasts heaved with a sharp inhale. She stopped beside the couch and licked her lips.
Oceanus, he wanted those lips wrapped around him. “See something you like?” he asked before he thought better of it.
She let out a guttural sound. “Hot. The water. You can... God.” She dropped the clothes on the couch and rubbed her face with both hands. “We have hot water. You can go shower,” she said more slowly.
He loved how he affected her even with two meters and layers of clothing between them. He peeled off his shirt, just because he could, and enjoyed the way her gaze traced his pecs and abs. “You didn’t answer my question.”
Her eyes were wide when she raised her gaze to his face. “Huh?”
“Do you see something you like? Because I’d be happy to show you more.”
She clenched her jaw and shook her head. “Not a good idea. You’re leaving, and I’m— Complicated. It would be. Very.”
The mental image of a small green man flashed through his brain but didn’t stick around long enough to kill his hard-on or let him figure out what it was about. “That I’m leaving may make it less complicated.” He scratched his chest, and the way she zeroed in on the movement said she wouldn’t take much convincing.
He prowled to her, watching her nipples harden beneath the thin fabric of her top. She could be his now. Here. But he could wait. Seeing her fight her desire for him was fun, especially when he could practically taste it.
Elpida snatched what he now saw was a battered T-shirt and a black pair of sweats from beside her and pressed them to his chest. “I couldn’t find any underwear. Sorry.”
No, she wasn’t.
That thought wasn’t his. It was hers. Had he managed to touch her thoughts again? “Do you want me?” he asked in her head and didn’t miss the widening of her pupils or the tiny bob of her head. He was getting to her, and it might have something to do with her current state of arousal. He could take advantage of this in a million ways, but there was one thing he needed to know more than anything else.
“Why are you doing this for me?” he asked, mentally nudging her to be completely honest. “Why invite me to your home? Why offer me a ride, even? I’m nothing to you.”
“Because you needed help, and I was there. And looking at you makes me warm inside. And I’d die before letting Daphne take you from me.” The words were whispered with conviction and wrapped around his heart like a healing balm.
Epimetheus no longer cared if Kronos or even Zeus had sent her. She would be his, and he’d waste no time staking his claim.