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“You know, when I first met you and you grabbed me by the neck and pressed your dick into my back, I gave the green light. But you declined. I can take no for an answer.” I tilted my head to the side, then gestured at my arm and back. “That being said, I would be grateful for some help washing these. I don’t heal as fast as you do. No naked funny business, I promise.” I smiled, winking at him.
It was his turn to laugh, and I was pleased he seemed to chill out some after my comment. A tingling sensation ran over my exposed skin as the sound echoed in the cave. His mirth filled me with an emotion I couldn’t place. I tossed my partially clean clothes onto the rock ledge so I could twist them out and dry them by the fire. Moving a little closer toward the shoreline, my feet found purchase, and I was able to stand. The water came to my breasts, barely covering my nipples.
Turning around, I looked at a wall in the back of the cavern. “See? I won’t even look. Take off your pants, or don’t. I’ll never know.” I was a total liar. Not about the seducing part. No was no, but I was one hundred percent going to check out the goods.
Pan chuckled, and I heard his pants rustle. Turning my head slightly, I glanced out of the corner of my eye to see what he had to offer. My mouth fell open, and I whipped my head around as quickly as possible.Oh my gods . . . was that real? Are all gods endowed that way? Or just him? Is it an animal thing? No, I’ve been with average-sized shifters. That monster looks like it wouldn’t fit. Not that I wouldn’t give it a ride just to feel it out.
The water splashed as he entered—the pool, not me—and he waded through until he made it to my spot.
“I know you looked,” he said casually as he approached with his thin white shirt in hand.
I shrugged, turning around. “I was curious.”
Once I was facing him, my stomach tightened. His eyes met mine, and we stared at each other in a tense silence. I meant what I’d said. He wasn’t interested, and I was good with it, but my insides screamed at how much Iwantedhim. Trying to shake off the feeling, because I would never bethatgirl, I did the best thing I could think of. Talk about something gross.
“I, um—” My voice was breathy, which was not what I intended. I cleared my throat. “I don’t want these cuts to get infected. Slower healing means they’ll fill with pus and smell bad, so . . .”
Pan pressed his lips together in an attempt to not laugh at me, then managed to school his features. Guess maybe he saw through my subtle attempt to ignore my baser instincts.So smooth, Adora.
“What happened here?” Pan asked, pointing to just below my collarbone. His fingers traced a jagged, puffy scar, then touched the round scar next to it.
Flashbacks strobed in my thoughts, and emotions flared within. “I was captured by some assholes and stabbed. Probably wouldn’t have scarred so badly had one of them not dug his grubby finger into it. Then they shot me.”
Anger flashed in Pan’s eyes. He tried to cover it, but I could see it clear as day.
“Who did this?”
“It doesn’t matter anymore. They tried to kill my sister. They failed. We won.” I shrugged, thinking back to that night.
Pan pressed his lips together, accepting my answer and not pushing further. “I don’t think these will scar, but your healing should be better than this . . .”
“Really?” Curiosity filled me. “Do peacocks heal better when they’re in Arcadia? Is this just because I’m so used to being on Earth? Like it drained my powers?”
“Sort of,” he said softly, gently guiding my shoulder to turn me around. Water splashed against my skin, and he gently rubbed his wet shirt over my back. “It’ll come back to you soon . . .” His voice trailed off in a somber tone.
For several minutes, he washed me slowly, taking care around the marks that hadn’t quite healed.
“Tell me about life in your realm,” he said. “I want to know more about you.”
“I told you some things about me, remember? Then you wouldn’t return the favor.”
He dipped the fabric in the water before wringing it out and using it again. “You didn’t tell me what you were doing on the other side of the portal.”
“If I talk about me, will you answer my questions?” I turned my head slightly to look at him from my periphery.
He smirked, keeping his eyes focused on his work. “Some of them, yes.”
It was better than none. “I joined the Portal Watch. We’re the faction that guard the portals between realms. There’s seven of them on Earth. There’s this one to Arcadia, of course, Celestia that goes to a world of angels and demons, Faery goes to the fae—obviously, unpronounceable portal is in the Himalayas—”
“Unpronounceable portal?” He repeated, amusement lining his tone.
“It’s the language of the gods—or at least the god-like entities that come out of it. That portal sucks. It’s freezing. The Watch there are mostly arrogant fucks that think they’re better than the rest of us because they guard the most inhospitable portal with the most powerful beings.” I rolled my eyes. “The world on the other side blows anyway. Not that they know that. We’re technically not supposed to cross that one . . .”
“But you’ve never been one for following the rules?” Pan guessed.
“In my defense, some jackass dared me to because he thought I’d chicken out. I made him my bitch the remaining three weeks I was there.” Pan chuckled quietly, his warm breath doing things to my skin I wasn’t supposed to think about. “Anyway, then there’s the witch portal in the Sahara, Vuulectus in the land down under, and Oceania in the Pacific. Oceania is the only one I haven’t been to. Kinda hard to get an invite when it’s a few hundred feet underwater. That one is mostly left to Sea and Serpentine to do what they want since they’re the only House that can easily access it. The other six we monitor the comings and goings of supernaturals. Protect our world when something undesirable comes through. That sort of thing. When I finished my training, I chose to return to Portland to guard the Arcadian portal.”
“Are you happy there?” he asked, gently lifting my injured arm from the water and skimming the cloth over it with care.
