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He scrubbed a hand over his face. "Frankie showed me your picture."
"And? What does that have to do with anything?"
"I couldn't stop thinking about you."
"That's flattering." She let out a breath. "But it still doesn't explain anything. When we got back to the ship, you told Gertrude that the two of you were on for tonight. Am I really going to have to pull it out of you one word at a time?"
Margo had seemed so sweet and mellow when he'd held her in his arms after she'd fainted, but apparently that had been the drug's effect, softening her, and once she'd sobered up her real nature came forth. The woman was stubborn, and she wouldn't relent until she got what she wanted.
Why the hell did he find that sexy?
The more assertive she got, the harder his erection pulsated inside his slacks.
Turning around, Negal leaned against the railing and crossed his arms over his chest, mimicking her pose. "Do you want the truth?"
"Always."
"Even if it's not what you want to hear?"
"The truth shall set you free."
"Very well. When Frankie showed me your picture, playing matchmaker, I told her that I wasn't interested, and I meant it. I thought that you were very pretty, so it wasn't about me not appreciating your beauty, but I didn't want Frankie to set me up with you just because she got it into her head that you had to mate a god because she and Mia were mated to gods, and since I was the only single god left, that meant me. I happen to enjoy my unattached status and to prove that she was wrong, I made plans with Gertrude last night."
"I see." Margo turned to look out at the harbor, but Negal hadn't missed the hurt in her eyes.
He couldn't smell her emotions, though, probably because her scent was overpowered by the strong smell of the ocean.
"Still, despite what I told Frankie and what I told myself, I couldn't stop thinking about you. Those fierce eyes of yours haunted me, and when Mia found out that you were missing and Kian started assembling a task force to deal with the situation, I knew that I had to take part in the rescue mission. It happened during last night's wedding, and I told Gertrude that I had to leave but that I would make it up to her tonight. That's why she asked me about it as soon as I was back. I had made her a promise, and I couldn't go back on it no matter how intrigued I was by you and how much I wanted to spend tonight with you, so I had to agree."
"I didn't know that you felt that way about me." Margo's entire face softened. "I thought that you were just being chivalrous." She chuckled. "The picture Frankie showed you must have been incredibly flattering, and I'm surprised that you weren't disappointed with what you found, especially given the state I was in."
"To tell you the truth, I hoped you would be much less interesting in person and that I could finally stop obsessing over you, but my obsession has only gotten worse."
She arched a brow. "You could have fooled me. I was sure that you weren't interested." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Maybe you're the competitive type who gets interested in a woman only when another guy enters the picture? Frankie told you that she would introduce me to Max, and then you suddenly wanted me. You did call Max your competitor."
39
MARGO
"Is he?"
Margo really wanted to answer in the affirmative, but she also hated playing games. "Max is a great guy, but I'm not interested in him."
He chuckled. "Funny that you would say that because I thought that you weren't interested in me either. So maybe you are also the competitive type who wants a male only if another female desires him?"
She huffed out a breath. "Don't flatter yourself. I would never chase a guy who belonged to another woman, and I wouldn't have agreed to dance with you if you were still with her."
His smile was pure male satisfaction. "So, does that mean that you are attracted to me?"
Margo swallowed. "You are a god, and you came to save me. How could I be indifferent to you?"
He groaned. "You are doing it again. You are answering my question with a question."
She was. "But it's true. I'm awed by you, by this world, by the glowing goddess who presided over the ceremony. How can you expect me to answer this as if you were just some guy I met?"
"Can you pretend that's what I am? Just a guy? Would you be interested in me then?"
There was a vulnerability in his eyes that she didn't know how to interpret. Did he want her to pretend that he was human? Wasn't he proud of being a god?
