Aeëtes turned and looked at her—really looked at her. He was standing in the opposite corner now. Both of them were poised like they were ready for a fight. Hecate felt her heart beating erratically in her chest, an ache growing between her legs that she hadn’t felt in a century. It took all the magic she had left within her to keep her eyes on Aeëtes’s and not let her gaze drift down to see if he was similarly affected.
When he spoke, it almost sounded like a command.
He spoke to her like a prince.
“I meant what I said earlier.” Aeëtes stared at Hecate, his chest rising and falling. She could see the muscles in his arms and shoulders tense. “Ever since I’ve laid eyes on you, I’ve been unable to look away. I’ve stopped wondering how I’ve found myself here so quickly because I have.”
Hecate felt her stomach begin to twist as she closed her eyes and shook her head rapidly.
“You don’t mean that, Aeëtes. You’re mad!”
“So then I’m mad!” He started laughing as he nearly pulled his own hair out. His voice got louder and louder, losing its princely authority, seeming almost enraged. “That would make the most logical sense. There’s nothing rational about how I find myself drunk in your presence. How I find myself wondering if it’s worth it to sleep, to even blink, when I’m around you—lest I miss you for asecond.”
“This is utter nonsense,” Hecate hissed at him, her power flickering to life as her snakes wound themselves around her arms. Her mind was reeling with disbelief that he would insult her so gravely by pretending this was anything more than lust. She took a step closer to him, her finger pointing at Aeëtes accusatorially. “I don’t believe you for a second. Men will say anything if it gets them where they want to go!”
“I’ll go anywhere you send me, Hecate.” Aeëtes’s voice almost chewed on the words. “You just need to say it.”
“I’ll ask you a final time.” Hecate took a step backward, retreating to her corner. “What do youwantfrom me, Aeëtes?”
Aeëtes paused. He stood up taller, taking a deep breath, as he leveled his stare at her. His gaze was piercing, and Hecate felt it nearly drown her as she fought to keep the intoxication off her face. The sun was setting outside, golden light now bathing the cabin, casting Aeëtes in rapturous glow. He truly looked like a son of Helios, and the sight of him made Hecate want him on his knees.
“I’ll take whatever you give me, Goddess.” Aeëtes looked at her, a brow raised in challenge. “But don’t get it confused. I want it all. I’ll take it all.” Hecate felt shivers run down her spine at the resoluteness in his voice. The cheerful, happy-go-lucky sailor that she had become used to hadn’t entered the cabin with her. This was Aeëtes, the Crown Prince of Colchis and the immortal son of the Sun God, and he was offering to lay down everything at her feet.
The thought of it alone fortified the barricades around Hecate’s heart. In that moment, she pictured herself giving in to seeing where something would go beyond a night. She was so overcome with the meager idea of it, what that would feel like to have someone attuned to her needs, to take up life by her side that she locked down the notion before she broke her own heart.
She could play a man’s game.
Hecate picked up her chin, looking every inch like the Goddess of witchcraft, and a cold, tricky smile grew on her face. She shrugged, bracing her hands on the lip of the barrel and hoisting herself up, seating herself on it.
“Just sex.” Hecate looked at her nails distractedly. All the air seemed to vanish from the room.
“What?” Aeëtes’s voice was quiet, almost hurt.
He had offered up his entire world to her, as irrational as it was, but she clearly saw him as something only fit to fuck. He felt a deep, sharp pang in his chest, one that felt awfully similar to how it felt when he wondered why Helios had abandoned him. His father had never taken him seriously—why would she? Aeëtes pulled himself out of his thoughts before they could spiral, ripping himself almost violently back to the present.
No.He shook his head, staring at Hecate from across the room. She looked flushed, and while her expression was calm, her eyes were wild.You’re just as overwhelmed with this as I am. Alright. I can give you time. You’ll see.
“I accept.” Aeëtes grinned at her, his smile lighting up his face. Hecate’s eyes got wide as she startled, looking over at Aeëtes in disbelief.
“What?”
Aeëtes crossed the room until he was in front of Hecate, bracing his arms on the barrel on either side of her legs. He leaned down until his lips were just barely brushing up against hers. Hecate bit back a whimper at the closeness, feeling that ache deep in her core beginning to pound at the proximity of him.
“I said I accept.” Aeëtes shrugged, licking his lip slowly. “I’ll take whatever you give me, and I mean it. If that means you want to pretend that you don’t have any feelings for me for a while, that’s fine.”
“You’re insufferable,” Hecate snarled, raising her hands up to his chest. She had prepared to shove him off her, but his skin was hot under her palms, sending her down a path of wicked thoughts.
“I’m patient,” Aeëtes corrected her, his hands moving to grip her legs. Hecate let out a small gasp at the contact, his palms nearly covering her thighs—and she did not have the body of a willowy nymph.
“I’m not,” Hecate felt her hips canting up towards Aeëtes as her head dropped back and her eyes fluttered closed. “Put that mouth of yours to good use for once.”
Aeëtes let out a dark chuckle, dropping to his knees in front of her. In one quick movement, he shoved her skirts up around her thighs and pulled her legs open wider. Aeëtes pressed his lips to the inside of Hecate’s thigh, inhaling the scent of her and getting his first look at her arousal.
“Fuck the gods,” he growled, the sound reverberating against Hecate’s overheated skin, “I’ll worship you alone for the rest of my life if you let me taste you.”
Hecate had fallen backwards and was propped up on her elbows, her hips grinding against the air. Aeëtes had barely touched her, and she was ready to burst. Her magic was responding to him as she listened to him praise her, and her own powers were amplifying his seduction from the inside out. After what felt like an eternity, Aeëtes’s hands moved to Hecate’s ass, pulling her forward and licking a hot stripe up her core.
“Aeëtes!” Hecate shrieked, her back nearly bending in half at the sudden sensation of his mouth on her. As soon as he tasted her, Aeëtes didn’t let up, immediately beginning to fuck her with his tongue. Hecate was unable to control herself, her whole body contorting. The stubble on his jaw chafed against her thighs in the most exquisite burn. His grip on her would leave bruises, but she didn’t care. She cried out for him to hold her tighter. Every single one of her senses seemed to be overloading at once, with Aeëtes at the center of it all. Hecate had never had such…successwith a lover the first time, but Aeëtes was merciless. It was like he knew every button that she had, every swipe of his tongue sending her spiraling further into oblivion.
