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I shook her a little, my fingers digging into her flesh, but she seemed unfazed. She only pushed me off and stormed out of the bathroom, back to the bed on the floor. “Oh, poor Ladon. I’ve ruined your whole life, haven’t I?”
Her tone was anything but sympathetic. I didn’t expect her to be, but I also didn’t think she’d have such an attitude with me. She huffed and pulled her hair back into a bun.
“What are you doing?” I asked, watching as she tossed the blanket aside and crawled back into bed. She spread out, not bothering to make herself seem small. She didn’t leave any space for me.
“I’m going to bed. You can sleep on the fucking floor.”
Chapter Sixteen
Ladon
The sound of metal scraping across the floor made me pry my eyes open. I’d slept in the corner of the room opposite of Emilie. Perhaps it was my own fault that she chose not to share the bed after our spat, but I’d never been good at controlling my temper. Something about Emilie always made the heat rise in me and if I didn’t release it, I’d explode. My neck cracked as I turned toward the source of the noise.
Emilie had overturned the bucket and now stood on top, reaching toward the grate on the ceiling. She grabbed it and shook and the thing rattled, but remained in place. Meanwhile, the bucket she stood on slid an inch in the puddle of water that was now on the floor.
“Have you lost your mind?” I mumbled.
She smacked her hand against the grate, in a move that I was sure had to do more damage to her palm than it did to the metal bars. “Maybe. I can’t just sit around doing nothing like you.”
“Beg your pardon,” I said, sitting up now. “What the hell do you mean by that? We’ve been here less than a day and you spent most of that time incapacitated and heaving over a toilet.”
“And you did nothing.” She flung her hands above her head, exasperated. “I expected the almighty Ladon to have had us out by now. After all, you can do no wrong. You’re so perfect and everyone else is beneath you.”
I rolled my eyes and mumbled under my breath. “I’m glad you’re coming to that realization.”
“What?” Her eyes widened. She looked more crazed than I’d ever seen her and a part of me wanted to laugh. Gods, it was so easy to get under her skin. But I also knew if I let out even the smallest chuckle, she’d probably throw herself across the room and slam her tiny fists into any part of me she could reach.
I massaged my temples. I was too exhausted to start the day like this. “Listen, we need to get along if we’re going to get out of here alive. Can we not start the day with arguing?”
The noise that came out of her was manic. Like releasing a screech and simultaneously trying to hold it back. It sounded a bit like an animal in heat and once again I had to stifle a laugh. My shoulders shook a little, but she didn’t notice.
She took several deep breaths before speaking again. “Fine. We can call a truce. Now would you help me try to open this grate?”
There was no point, but I stood to humor her anyway. She pushed and pulled at the metal bars while I took the few steps across the room to her. All it took was one misstep, one toe over the edge of the bucket’s flat surface, and the thing went sliding across the room.
And Emilie fell backwards.
Instinctively, I reached out my arms to catch her, but she’d caught me so off guard, we both went tumbling to the floor.
My back crashed into the hard black stone, and the weight of Emilie slamming into my chest took my breath away. Her forehead collided with my chin and I bit into my lip. I could taste the blood almost immediately.
Emilie struggled against my body, one of her lean legs creating friction between my thighs. She pressed her palms into my chest, her pelvis pushing into mine. Her top was disheveled and I could see the curves of her breast with unsettling clarity.
“Emilie, please,” I said between gritted teeth. She continued to move clumsily over me, failing to right herself. I grabbed her by the waist and forced her to remain still. If she wiggled against me any further, I might not be able to control my body’s response.
She pushed her hair back from her face before finally managing to sit up. My heart thudded at the sight of her perched on top of me, looking flushed and on edge.
She seemed to realize her position after a few seconds and leaped off me. I stood as quickly as possible and turned my back to her. I could feel the heat in my own cheeks and didn’t want her to see me flustered.
How was it possible that someone as unbearable as Emilie could have that effect on me?
No, she couldn’t. There was no way. It was simply my body betraying me. A physical reaction and nothing more.
I swiped my hand through my hair and then turned around after regaining my composure.
Emilie was staring at me like she was waiting for me to combust. A fair concern, considering the way I’d reacted every other time she touched me.
“Ladon, I’m so—”
