“Come on now, Goddess. Do you really want me to insult your intelligence and spell it out for you?”
Hecate crossed her arms, squaring her shoulders and feeling herself breathe a sigh of relief at the challenge in his voice. She could do this—spar with him, argue. That was easy. It didn’t involve betraying herself by admitting she didn’t know how to describe what she felt for him.
“I’m afraid you’ll have to. I still don’t have the slightest clue what you’re going on about.”
Aeëtes’s smirk grew into a grin as he stepped further inside the cabin and shut the door behind him. He leaned back against it, where Hecate had been collecting herself moments before.
“Last chance,” he warned her with a playful note to his voice that told Hecate that he was enjoying this far too much. She merely shrugged. He let out a low chuckle, rubbing his hand across the stubble on his jaw. Aeëtes ran his tongue over his lower lip slowly, never taking his eyes off Hecate as he spoke.
“Do you think I didn’t notice how you haven’t been able to keep your eyes off me?” He raised a brow. “How badly do you want to fuck me, Goddess?” Hecate’s eyebrows shot up, and she felt another flush rise to her face as she heard the words out loud. Aeëtes studied her reaction and kept speaking. “You don’t have to answer. I’m happy to admit that I want to fuck you…have wanted to since the moment I saw you.”
Hecate nearly growled, “Do you often win women over with such poetry? I should tell Apollo, let him know he’s been replaced.”
She took a step towards him, red magic dancing between her fingers. Aeëtes was unfazed.
“No.” He shook his head. “But you’d rather jump overboard than hear me tell you that I’m enamored with you. That I’ve been nearly driven to obsession over you since the second I saw you in that clearing. That every brief moment we’ve spent together, I have wanted to claw my own heart out and give it to you so you can dissect it and cure me of this wildness.”
Aeëtes’s cool demeanor shattered. He crossed the cabin towards Hecate and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her to him until there was barely an inch between them.
Hecate was hardly breathing, unable to comprehend his words as she looked up at him.
“You would hate that,” Aeëtes purred, leaning down until his lips were grazing Hecate’s ear. “Isn’t that right?”
“You would be a madman if that’s how you felt.” Hecate swallowed thickly, intoxicated by his towering presence over her. Aeëtes only laughed, the sound making Hecate’s stomach flip.
“Sure.” Hecate felt his arms slip to her waist, pulling her tight to him. He whispered again in her ear, coaxing her ever so slightly. “Which is why I’mnottelling you how I feel. I’m simply telling you that I want—no, would be honored—to fuck you.”
Hecate had to bite back a gasp at the sensation of his body pressed up against hers, her senses almost blinded to anything but the heat that was coming off him.
“You’re very confident to believe I want that, too, Aeëtes.” Hecate rose to his challenge. “What if I don’t want you to?”
“Don’t want me to…what?” Aeëtes’s lips were now ghosting down her neck, so close that she could feel his breath tickling her skin. “I would hate to misinterpret you. Say it.”
Hecate tilted her head on instinct, giving him more access to her. “What if I don’t want you to fuck me?” Aeëtes let out an unabashed moan, leaning over so his forehead was now resting against her.
“Then I guess it’s a good thing that there are still a million things I’d love to do to you, witch.” He pressed a kiss to the junction of her neck and shoulder, the subtlest of touches sending magic flickering off Hecate. Red sparks danced across her skin like she was a jewel caught in sunlight. Aeëtes made another pleased noise, pulling away to watch as the magic faded.
“So responsive,” he chuckled, moving to continue the assault on her neck. “Are you always this responsive? Or is this just for me?”
“Aeëtes.” Hecate’s voice was breathy, unable now to contain her arousal. Her hips moved of their own accord, shifting and grinding up into his body. There were a few blissful moments where she could feel herself on the brink of surrender, so tantalizingly close to letting go and giving in. Her mind reeled with howgoodAeëtes felt, howrighthis body felt pressed against hers.
He continued to whisper against her skin, small sentiments that she couldn’t hear, and part of her knew that she couldn’t handle them if she did. His hands were tight around her waist as they stood in the center of the cabin, their bodies both grinding against each other as Aeëtes’s mouth drifted from her neck to her jaw to the dips of her collarbones.
He moved like a man starved, his grip nearly tight enough to hurt, but Hecate found herself reveling in the possessiveness of it. He held her like he was afraid of losing her.
It was that thought that pulled her out of her reverie, nearly dousing the flames that were threatening to burn her alive.
“Why are you here?” she nearly spat the words, pushing herself away from Aeëtes and untangling herself from his hold. Hecate took a few stumbling steps back.
Aeëtes looked up at her, panting heavily, rubbing a hand over his face as he shook his head a few times. Both of them were silent for a few seconds as they slowly came back to reality, Aeëtes looking at Hecate with an expression that she hadn’t seen on him before—he wasangry.
“Why am I here?” Aeëtes’s voice was quiet, deadly. His dark eyes surveyed her like he was anticipating her next move.
“Yes.” Hecate nodded as she attempted to stand up straight. “What do youwantfrom me, Aeëtes?”
“What do I want from you?” He took a step closer to her, his brow furrowing in anger before it melted into sheer disbelief.
“Stop repeating my questions!” Hecate snapped at him, moving to readjust the folds of her himation across her chest. Aeëtes scoffed, beginning to pace away from her as the tension between them started to build again. Hecate found herself moving back towards the wall until she hit one of the barrels.
