“Yeah, I know that.” Ares swallowed a bite of pita bread. “But you never saidwhythe mission went south.”
Because I had sex with Blade. “Poor communication.”
His eyes narrowed. “Why? And don’t tell me you don’t know. Your team is held up as a model for how well you work together.”
Dammit. She glanced at her comms and Mace’s message. She needed to get out of here.
“It’s just…things got a little tense after Mace got hurt and Blade and I had to finish a job without him. Kynan chewed our asses. We’re fine now.” She stood and looked at her mom. “Thanks for dinner. Great as usual. I need to go.”
“Scotty—”
“See you at Thanatos’s tomorrow. Bye!” She darted out of there, raced down the staircase, and hopped into the island’s Harrowgate, where she stood for a moment, her heart and mind racing.
She was about to go and have sex with her best friend. Her other best friend. The one shehadn’thad sex with yet.
She should change her clothes. At least put her top on right. Maybe she should shower again. She’d showered before dinner, but she probably smelled like Greek food.
What was Mace like in bed?
The thought interrupted her panicked fear of smelling like Mediterranean herbs. Excitement filtered through her, quelling her nerves a little. She’d loved being with Blade, even though things had been frantic, and the setting had been less than ideal. She couldn’t imagine a better way to have lost her virginity. He’d been perfect.
So, how would that experience differ from the one she’d have with Mace?
You’re not going to have one with Mace if you don’t get moving.
Right. She hurried to her villa, showered, and spent half an hour trying to decide what to wear. She finally settled on a matching green panties-and-bra set, black leggings, the gray cashmere sweater Aleka had gotten her for her twenty-ninth birthday, and sneakers. Casual, but classy…and still practical for battle.
You never knew when you might have to kill a demon or kick a groping guy’s ass.
Gut churning, her palms sweating, she waited for Mace to send her the room number. Five minutes later, she was standing in front of the door.
Am I really going to do this?
Her heart pounded, all fight-or-flight, and she was on the verge of choosingflightwhen the door swung open.
Mace stood there, barefoot and in worn jeans and a black tee, the long, ropey muscles of his arms flexing beneath the bronzed skin.
She didn’t have to wonder about his underwear. He didn’t wear them. She’d seen him undressed—or nearly so—a million times. At the time, she’d thought nothing of it. Now, it was all she could think about.
“Hey,” he said, sounding confident and sexy, and not at all like hisnerves were eating him alive the way hers were.
“Hey.” Okay, she sounded cool too. Maybe she wouldn’t come across like a nervous dork. “Nice place.”
He’d gotten a suite, complete with a couch, a couple of leather chairs, and a kitchenette. A bottle of wine was chilling on the counter, along with a tray of chilled, chocolate-covered strawberries.
Wow. Something about his thoughtfulness caught her off guard. Not that he couldn’t be thoughtful, but she hadn’t expected it. Not for her. This wasn’t a date. This was just supposed to be sex. Sex to match what had happened between her and Blade.
Sure, they didn’t need to do it in a cave, but this went too far.
“It’s okay,” he said. “I mean, it’s not the floor of a cave, but…”
She laughed, somehow unsurprised that they’d both been thinking of the cave. “Okay, so how do we do this?”
He blinked. “Wow. Right to it.”
Yeah, she’d even surprised herself there. The awkwardness was making her twitchy. “Sorry. I’m just nervous, you know?”
There was a heartbeat of hesitation, and then he twitched his broad shoulder in a shrug. “I am too.”
