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The bed bounced and creaked as he moved. “I didn’t mean that in a bad way, Leo,” he whispered, grazing my arm with his fingertips.
He moved closer, lining up his body with my back. I was glad for the covers between us, because it was so tempting to push back against him, or curl into him.
What was it about these men that drew me in? My feelings for Pollux were overwhelming, but Paris’s kiss…
And Achilles’ heat…
I closed my eyes, doing my best to ignore him.
Until his lips touched my cheek. He didn’t move away. He lingered there, lips drifting from my cheek to my temple, down again to a spot at the corner of my mouth, and then to my ear. “Maybe a better word is unique. I’ve seen everything, Leo. I watched man evolve, and not once has someone seen through me.”
I moved, trying to turn to see his face, but he stopped me. “I can’t say this while you’re looking at me.”
The world seemed to go silent. There were no cars, and no streetlights. No dripping water, or creaking floors. There was only us, wrapped in a cocoon. That huge hand grazed my arm again, all the way down to my hand where he linked our fingers.
“They’ve sacrificed enough. Each one of them. It’s my job to protect them. Iwantto do it. I owe it to them.” His lips touched in front of my ear and he sighed. Moving even closer, he wrapped our arms around my middle. “You see me, Leo, and I’m not sure if I like it.”
My heart pounded in my chest, and my pulse thudded in my ears.
“I think…” I took a breath and let myself squeeze his fingers, even though I shouldn’t. “I think you’ll get used to it. You’ll be okay.”
Those huge fingers squeezed even tighter. “Go to sleep, will you? I don’t trust myself with you.”
I didn’t trust myself with him either, but my conversation with Pollux still echoed through my head.
They’re always going to be in my life. And I don’t want a life without them, so—
What had he been trying to tell me?
Achilles released my hand, sliding beneath it to spread his palm on my belly.Oh.This was where I sucked in my stomach and tried not to feel self-conscious about my body.
“Relax,” Achilles whispered, like he’d felt me tense.
But I couldn’t now. Being told to relax had the exact opposite effect on me. If anything, now that I was thinking about it, every flaw seemed spotlighted.
I tried to move away, edging a little bit away from the center of the bed to one side. Achilles gave a sudden grunt, and rolled me onto my back. He hovered over me, propped up by his hands on either side of my head, and studied me with narrowed eyes.
“What are you doing?”
“Putting some space between us.” I was a little more confident from this angle, though I was worried my boobs would try to sneak sideways.
Lowering himself so our bodies barely touched, he shifted onto one arm, then touched between my brows with his thumb. “What are you so worried about, Leo?”
His pelvis pressed against mine and it took all my control not to roll my hips. I’d never been ruled by my body, but where these guys were concerned, something happened. My brain and body went to war.
“You don’t want me to see you, Achilles and I’m not sure I want you to see me either.”
He gently traced from my brow to the tip of my nose. “I think you mean something different.” Leaning down, he pressed his lips to mine before pulling back. “You said something at the cottage that bothered me. You compared yourself to Helen.”
Right. The thing I absolutely didn’t want was Helen’s face to be in his head, or Pollux’s head, or any of their heads, when they were looking at me.
“You know, there are a million women who are as beautiful as Helen.”
My disbelief must have been evident because he chuckled. “She wasn’t as rare as you seem to believe. Beautiful women come and go, but Leo, I’ve never met anyone like you. Not in any millennia I’ve lived.”
Something came over me. I pushed his shoulder, attempting to roll him. “Get out of here.”
He let me, laughing loud as he rolled to his back. “I’m serious. Beautiful women, bah. But a heart like yours? Do you know how many men have bested me in battle?” Flipping onto his side, he propped his head on his hand.
