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Pandora’s mouth opened and closed, but she couldn’t figure out what she wanted to say.
So, you’re a painter?
Would you put a shirt on, please?
Why didn’t you bother showing up at the library?
Why are you so godsdamned gorgeous?
After a moment of utter stupidity, with her standing in the open doorway like a fool, she cleared her throat and lifted her chin. “You’ve kept me waiting because of some paint? I don’t know about you, but when Apollo gives me a task, I take it seriously. And it’s Trivia, by the way.”
At first, Sol said nothing. He merely continued to paint, his fingers moving in lithe strokes that told Pandora he had done this many times before. With a new perspective, she glanced at the paintings hanging on the wall once more.
Had he painted all of these?
At long last, Sol set his brush down and wiped his paint-stained fingers on a nearby rag, then turned to face Pandora once more. “The sun is perfect,” he said. “I knew the scene wouldn’t last long, so I had to act.” He shrugged and offered her a cocky smile. “I figured you wouldn’t mind.”
Pandora opened her mouth to say that she did mind, but then her gaze snagged on his painting, and the words died in her throat. Pinks and oranges and reds mingled to form a burst of color surrounding the morning sun that filled the sky above the ocean.
It was stunning. She couldn’t deny it.
Somehow, the idea that Sol, the arrogant ass she’d always loathed, loved to paint beautiful nature scenes made her anger ebb slightly.
Only slightly.
“So, what do you think?” Sol spread his arms, indicating the paintings that surrounded him. That infuriating smirk still rested on his lips.
Pandora squared her shoulders. “Do you use your magic when you paint?”
His smile faltered. “No. Of course not. That’s not how my magic works.”
“Really? Because I see an awful lot of paintings of the sun. I just assumed…”
“You assumed I have no talents besides my sun magic?”
“Oh, no, I’m well aware of your non-magical talents,” Pandora said, rolling her eyes. “Snobbery, condescension, rudeness, lack of consideration for any being except yourself…”
Sol frowned, but nodded. “All true.” He leaned against the balcony door frame, bracing one arm against it, drawing Pandora’s eyes to the way his bicep flexed with the motion. “You are only describing the talents you’ve seen firsthand. There is so much more to me than just that.”
Pandora scoffed. “Gods, you truly are a self-absorbed bastard, aren’t you? Just because you can wiggle your fingers and fling paint on a canvas doesn’t change that.”
Sol arched a single eyebrow, his eyes taking on a dark, heady glint that Pandora didn’t like one bit. “My point exactly. You’ve only scratched the surface of Sol, the sun god. There are far more interesting things I can do with these fingers.” He flashed a wide grin and flicked his tongue along the length of his lower lip.
A jolt rippled through Pandora’s body at the sight of his tongue and that intoxicating look fixed on her. Heat coiled low in her belly, and her cheeks flamed. It was too hot, too stifling in this room. His shirtless torso, the paint stains along his bare skin, the flex of his muscles, that look…
Gods above, what was he doing? Was he flirting with her?
And… was her body responding to it?
Stop it, she chided herself, forcing a look of disgust on her face. You have work to do. Remember? “Is that supposed to impress me? Put some clothes on and meet me in the library. We have more important things to do.”
Without waiting for a response, she turned on her heel and strode from the room, her face on fire. From behind her, Sol chuckled, and said, “I’m sorry my lack of clothes makes you uncomfortable.”
The humor in his voice told her he was not sorry about it in the slightest.
PARTNERS
PANDORA
