The Return (Titan 1)

I didn’t know what to say, nor did I get the chance. A startled gasp parted my lips as Seth rolled. I was on my back in a heartbeat, and Seth was above me, his powerful arms on either side of my head.

The next breath I took lodged in my throat. His hair was loose, curving around his cheeks as he stared down at me. “What are we doing, Josie?”

Heart pounding, I forced my breathing to slow. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t? I think you do.”

Nervous energy rushed me, mixing with that burn in my veins. The tip of my tongue darted out, wetting my lips, and his eyes drifted shut, as a large shudder seemed to roll through him. When his lashes lifted, his gaze was as scorching as the summer sun.

“We shouldn’t do this.” Even as he spoke those words, his lower body settled on mine. “We shouldn’t be doing anything like this.”

Every muscle in my body tensed at the weight and feel of him. My hands settled on his shoulders as his forehead dipped to mine. Air around us thickened as my heart threatened to tear itself out of my chest. I recalled when he’d said in the hotel room outside of St. Louis that I should feel lucky he wasn’t caving in to what he wanted, but I didn’t feel lucky then, and I sure as hell didn’t feel it now.

I gathered whatever courage I had inside of me. “Why not?”

“Several reasons,” he said, shifting his body, and suddenly the hardest part of him was pressing against the softest part of me.

I wasn’t prepared for that or how my body would react. I dampened. I ached. The long shirt —his shirt—that I wore, my undies, and the thin material of his sleep pants were a frail barrier between us, but, at the same time, it was too much. My fingers gathered the material of his shirt as I clutched his broad shoulders.

“Your father would have my balls if I got between those pretty legs.” His voice was deep and rough as he spoke, his breath warm against my parted lips. “But, you know what? Losing my balls would be worth it.”

“I can’t believe we’re talking about balls.”

“Seems relevant, don’t you think?”

My lips curved into a smile. “Yeah…yeah, it kind of does.”

“Mmm…” His head tilted and the ends of his hair dragged over my cheek. “Gods, I can’t even believe I’m going to say this, but you’ve been through a lot. Dealing with that can make you think you want things you really don’t.” A look of surprise flickered across his striking face as he lifted his head, like he’d actually shocked himself.

For some dumb reason, that made my chest all squishy, because he was thinking of me, and well, that had to mean something, right? “You’re a…you’re a good guy, Seth, when you want to be.”

He stared at me for a moment, and then laughed outright.

“But I know what I want and what I don’t want,” I continued, feeling a flush travel down my throat.

There was an electricity-filled moment before he spoke. “Do you?”

I did. Right or wrong, I really did, and I didn’t care about what the driving force behind it was. I didn’t want to investigate that too closely, to poke and prod at it. I couldn’t find the words, because my bravery had disappeared as my inexperience took center stage. I’d kissed boys before, but I’d never been in a bed with an unbelievably gorgeous guy who was a complete mystery to me, and I felt clumsy, naïve even, but I wanted him to kiss me. I needed him to.

Drawing my leg up the side of his, the movement settled him closer, deeper, and there was a burst of fiery sensation. A low, sultry groan rose from the depths of Seth, and there was an answering rush of warmth in response. This was crazy, but it was going to happen. I saw it in the way his golden eyes burned bright with need.

“You’re going to regret this,” Seth said, and before I could process what those words meant, he dipped his head. Those well-formed lips of his swept over mine, as light as a feather, once and then twice. My grip tightened. His head slanted, and I—

A thump thudded off the dorm door, jarring us out of the heady daze. I jerked back, pressing my head against the pillow as Seth lifted his and swore as he cast a damn near deadly look in that general direction.

The knock came again, louder and more insistent this time, sounding like cops were about to burst through the door. I cleared my throat. “Maybe it’s Marcus? He said we needed to talk today.”

“It’s early.” Seth shifted off me, and I lowered my hands to my sides, feeling hot and cold as he rose from the bed and looked at me. The fire still smoldered in his gaze, but his jaw was tight. His gaze dipped to my chest. A muscle popped along his jaw. “Stay in here.”

Pressing my lips together, I sat up and tugged on my shirt. He rounded the bed easily, heading into the little living area, and I scooted forward, wondering if I had time to find an oven and go shove my head inside. Nope. I heard the door open.

And then I heard Seth say, “Dammit.”

Lips pursing, I started to strain forward, but an unfamiliar voice froze me. “So it’s true,” a guy said. “Everyone was all like ‘the Apollyon is here,’ and there was a lot of excitement. I didn’t believe that Seth the awesome Apollyon would dare grace our steps again.”

“It’s true,” came another unknown male voice, and my eyes widened as I started to yank the blanket up to my throat. “Everyone is talking about it. We had to see for ourselves.”

“Yeah, I’m here. You’ve seen me,” Seth replied. “Now you can go—”

“But the thing is,” the second guy spoke again. “Solos told us you were in the room across the hall. We knocked. You didn’t answer. So Luke got the key.”

“You got the key?” Seth asked. “Yeah, can I have that key?” There was a pause. “Thanks.”

“Anyway,” the guy I assumed wasn’t Luke said. “We knocked on this door and you answered.”

“Thanks for the blow-by-blow description of what just happened,” Seth replied dryly.

“And we also heard you didn’t show up here alone,” the guy named Luke chimed in. “All the peeps are talking, Seth, saying you brought a mortal here.”

“So, of course, we’re here,” the other guy added. “Because we need to see this.”

What the…?

I started to ninja-jump off the bed and dive into the bathroom, but I heard Seth’s very loud and very exasperated sigh right before he said, “Whatever. This was going to happen sooner or later, so come in.”