The Return (Titan 1)

I opened my eyes and stared at the huge tub.

I seriously hoped Seth found a shirt.

Chapter 8

WHEN I heard the water come on in the bathroom, I exhaled loudly and then tugged the shirt on over my head. There were no windows in the bathroom for her to make a crazy escape, and while she could be using the quality one-on-one time to convince herself none of this was real, at least she was still in there and not running screaming back to campus.

This conversation had gone better than the last, which was a positive.

Sighing, I zipped up the bag and then moved to the wet bar. Opening the mini-fridge, I grabbed a beer and then walked over to the chair. Popping off the cap, I didn’t even bother trying to summon Apollo. I knew he wouldn’t show.

I took a long drink before I dropped down in the thick cushioned chair I’d parked my ass in when I’d brought Josie to the hotel. I’d sat there for a few hours, watching her sleep like some kind of creep before I’d hopped in the shower to wash away the faint¸ lingering scent of the Underworld. But I did have a valid reason for keeping an eye on her. She had cracked her head pretty good. It had to have been the blood she carried in her veins, even though her abilities were bound, that kept her from needing a trip to the ER.

Tipping the bottle to my lips, I wondered if there’d been situations in the past where she’d walked away from serious accidents or injuries virtually unscathed. Had she ignored them, chalked them up to luck?

Did she also know she slept like the dead?

From the moment I’d laid her down in that bed and tugged the blankets up, she hadn’t moved from where I’d put her. Not once. Didn’t flip onto her side. Roll onto her stomach. Didn’t even twitch.

The constant drum of water ceased in the bathroom. Finally. There had to be enough water in that tub for her to drown herself.

I lowered the bottle to the arm of the chair as I turned my narrowed gaze on the bathroom door. She wouldn’t…

I didn’t know her at all, so I had no idea what she was capable of. The girl had been worried that she was sick like her mother, and maybe she was.

Dammit.

Pushing up from the chair, I set the bottle on the wooden stand and went to the bathroom door. Unease gathered in the pit of my gut, the sensation traveling upward. I reached down, turned the knob, and found it locked. Not a problem. The energy of the fire element rolled down my arm, and heat wrapped around my palm, searing the knob and melting the insides of the lock.

Lock be gone.

Ha.

Mentally preparing myself for anything, I pushed open the door. What I saw I was definitely not prepared for.

Josie was in the bathtub, not drowning herself, which was a good thing. Bad thing was being in the bathtub meant she was completely naked. Maybe that wasn’t a bad thing. Okay. Definitely not a bad thing.

She froze in the jetted tub for a few seconds—seconds that felt like the longest of my life but still not enough time.

She was tucked into one of the rounded corners of the tub, her knees breaking the whirling water. Her hair was pulled up, but light-brown and blonde tendrils snaked around her neck, sticking to her damp skin. My gaze followed the longer strands that traveled well beyond the slope of her shoulders. As I tall as I was, I had a clear view into the tub. At that point, I should’ve looked away. Maybe apologized. That’s what a decent person would have done.

But I was not a decent person.

So I looked my fill.

I’d been right. She’d been hiding some major assets under the baggy sweaters. Gods, the top half of her was perfect. They were more than a handful, but not overly large, with creamy swells and rosy pink tips.

Sweet. That’s what came to mind. Everything about what I saw was sweet.

Then she moved.

Josie shrieked as her arms shot out and over her chest. Water flew like a little rocket had hit the tub. She curled up, pressing her knees against her arms, covering all that glorious skin. “Oh my God! What are you doing?”

Good question. For a moment I’d forgotten why I’d come in here. “I was making sure you didn’t drown yourself.” My voice was deeper, rougher.

Her wide eyes narrowed on me. “Well, obviously I didn’t drown myself.”

No. No, she had not.

“Have you ever heard of knocking?” she demanded, her gaze doing a quick scan of the room. “And I locked that door.”

“Knocking is…cumbersome. And locks are annoying.”

Her brows rose quickly, and I was fascinated by the way a pink flush spread across her cheeks and down her throat. I bet it flowed over her breasts too, but unfortunately, she had them covered. A moment passed. “You’re still in here,” she said.

“I am.”

Her lower lip thinned. “You shouldn’t be. It’s rude.”

“Is it?” I leaned against the doorframe, getting comfortable.

“Yes! I’m in a bathtub. And naked!”

My lips curved up. “You are most definitely naked.”

“That’s the point!” she shouted, and my grin spread. “What? Do rolly-pollys not have basic manners or any personal boundaries?”

“Apollyon,” I corrected absently. “And like I said, I’m not good with boundaries.”

“Whatever.” Her voice pitched high.

A chuckle rolled out of my throat, surprising me. I needed to get out of here before…before I did what? Stripped off my clothes and joined her? Parts of me really liked that idea, but that wouldn’t be smart.

Josie wasn’t some girl I had picked up for a few hours.

Forcing myself to move, I turned, but her voice stopped me. “Seth?” she called, and I looked over my shoulder at her. Her tongue darted out, wetting her bottom lip, and I swallowed a groan. She had no idea. “Your eyes…they’re kind of glowing.”

“They do that sometimes.”

She looked like she wanted to ask another question, but seemed to remember that she was naked in a bathtub. I really needed to get out of the room. Grabbing the virtually useless doorknob, I stepped out and shut the door behind me.

“Damn,” I groaned.

I was as hard as I was the first time I saw breasts, and that was a long time ago. I thought I might even be harder this time.

What was I doing here?

Adjusting myself sure as hell didn’t ease anything. I walked over to where I’d left the beer and grabbed the bottle. Taking a long drink, I wondered how I’d ended up in this place, at this very moment, with a naked chick a few feet from me, and I wasn’t in there with her.