The Return (Titan 1)

Those elegantly arched brows climbed slowly. “Do you realize you ramble? A lot.”

Heat swept over my cheeks. “No. I’ve never been told that.”

“I find that hard to believe,” he responded dryly.

My eyes narrowed, and when he grinned, I was torn between wanting to knock it off his face and…and grin back at him. That was an infuriating response. “You’re supposed to take me to South Dakota. Why can’t I stop in Missouri and see my mom on the way?”

“I never said you couldn’t.”

My eyes met his. “Then I’m going to see my mom before you cart me off to the middle of nowhere.”

He tilted his head to the side, and his hair, now dried in soft waves, brushed his face. “I don’t think it’s smart.”

“And I didn’t ask your opinion.”

One eyebrow rose.

I squared off against him, drawing in a deep breath as my grip on the robe tightened. “You can’t stop me.”

He stared at me a moment and then tipped his head back, laughing deeply. A shiver curled around my spine. Such a nice laugh. “I can’t stop you? You can’t stop me, Joe.”

“Don’t call me Joe!”

His chin dipped as amusement curled his lips. “Sorry, Joe-sie.”

“Oh my God, you’re so annoying,” I muttered as I started pacing along the length of the bed. “What is your job? Like, why are you here with me? You’re my babysitter, right?”

His amber gaze tracked my movement with unnerving intensity. Did he always stare at people like he could see right into their innermost private thoughts? “I prefer the term ‘guard’ over ‘babysitter.’ I’m supposed to keep you alive, not fed and watered and entertained with Disney cartoons.”

“Whatever. You’re a hot, ninja-esque babysitter who has to protect me,” I amended, distracted for a moment by the sudden glimmer in his tawny gaze. Drawing in a shallow breath, I raised my chin. “Because my…my father ordered you to do so. And he’s like Apollo—the real deal—and I’m guessing he’s super-powerful and not someone you want to tick off. And I’m also guessing, since he had other…people watching over me, he doesn’t want me dead, so he’d be pretty ticked off at you if I end up not breathing, right?”

His lips pursed as the glimmer faded in his eyes. “Something like that.”

“So, to make your job easier, you should just let me go see my mother. If not, you’re going to have to spend half the time worrying about killer mythical creatures gunning after me, because the moment I can make a run for it, I’ll do it. I can promise you that, Sethie. And then, if I’m there running amok with no protection.”

His mouth opened slightly as he cocked his head to the side, and then he shocked me. He laughed again as he unfolded his arms. “That was clever.”

I tried and failed to hide my triumphant grin. “I thought so myself.”

“It’s not smart,” he added with a shrug. “But, hey, what’s the worst that could happen? You end up dead and I end up wishing I was dead. Or the Titans or shades follow you home and put your entire family in danger. It’s a risk, but no biggie.”

My grin slipped off my face. Well, that didn’t sound good.

Walking over to the other side of the bed, he picked up a pillow, fluffed it, and dropped it back against the headboard. Then he pulled the heavy blanket and sheet back.

“When are we leaving? Now? If so, I need clothes.” I needed clothes like five minutes ago. “And probably my purse and cellphone. I guess I need my identification stuff. You never know when—”

“Your friend will be bringing that stuff over, probably in a couple of hours. Not only is she doing clean-up, she’s out there scouting and making sure nothing gets close to this hotel.”

I had to wear this robe for a few more hours? I could put my old clothes on, but they smelled weird—musty and dank.

Seth looked over at me. “So we’re not going anywhere until the morning.”

“The morning?”

“Yep.” He threw himself on the bed, causing the mattress to bounce, but he did so with a level of grace that was sort of astonishing. Sprawled on his back, he folded his arms behind his head. Nice biceps—that position really showed them off.

“What are you doing?”

He wiggled his hips. “What does it look like?” Whatever it was, it looked good.

Those lips formed another grin, and I prayed that he couldn’t read minds. I might need to ask about that later. “Unlike someone, no names mentioned.” He looked pointedly at me. “I didn’t just take a four-hour nap. So I’m going to use these next couple of hours to sleep.”

My mouth opened, but I clamped it shut. I couldn’t complain about him wanting to sleep. That was just rude. But what the heck was I supposed to do while he was getting some shuteye? Holding onto the robe for dear life, I shuffled my weight from one foot to the next as I looked around the spacious hotel room.

“Josie.”

I turned to him, my breath catching. How in the world did anyone look that…that good simply lying in bed? “What?”

His eyes were at half-mast, drawing attention to the thick, spiky lashes. “Come here.”

Another shiver slipped over my skin. “Are you trying that mind-control thing again? Because it’s not working.”

He chuckled. “No, I’m not. Just come here.”

My heart tripped up in my chest. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Really?” he murmured, grinning lazily. “Why?”

I didn’t have a good answer, because what I was thinking was really presumptuous of me. When I didn’t answer, he rolled onto his side and extended his arm over the empty space between us.

“Come here,” he said again.

Digging in, I shook my head. “Why?”

“Because it’ll make me feel better.”

“That’s definitely not a good enough reason.”

He chuckled again. “That wasn’t very nice, Joe.”

“I don’t like you,” I whispered.

His grin spread until it transformed his face, taking some of the raw edge off his beauty. “Look. I’m not going to molest you or anything.” He wiggled his fingers while I dealt with a really weird and really disturbing sense of disappointment, which made me feel like I needed therapy. “I need to get some sleep, so I can be alert later on, but it’s hard to do that when you look like you’re seconds away from darting toward the door. All I want you to do is sit here. You can even watch TV. I’ll sleep through it, but I need you here, beside me.”