Page 39 of Going to Hell
“Do not dare leave this room,” he seethed when I straightened. “You will accept what I offer in recompense.”
Wreck-ohm-what? And how in the heck was asking me to hand him the scrubber offering me anything except an up-close view of all his glistening skin? I definitely did not want to take a step closer. Even well-educated in the ways of monsters, I was far too attracted to him to tempt what fate I might find in this room.
Ignoring his command to stay, I closed the door and cringed at his outraged yell.
At least, the walls aren’t shaking,I consoled myself as I hurried to the next room.
A pants-wearing C’adon stalked up beside me while I was still frantically scanning the ghostly faces within.
“You will want me. Do you hear? Me and no other.”
Oh boy. Did he think I was into his daughter because I’d washed her off?
What if that was some secret Hell-mating ritual? I mean, I’d heard of creatures doing weirder shit than bathing to be mated. Overly exhausted, I almost smirked at the thought I’d somehow gotten hitched in Hell, but quelled my amusement at the last second. Poor C’adon’s brain would probably melt if he kept sifting through emotions at the rate he was going.
He followed me to the next door and got into place. I really didn’t want to set my head on his chest so soon. Especially since he was still demanding that I want him. However, I also didn’t relish the idea of making him angry again.
It was time to change the game.
Rather than open the door, I frowned at it, pivoted, and went back to the room C’adon had occupied. It was empty now, but I didn’t let that stop me from walking to the spot the tub had been and dipping my fingers into water that was no longer there.
“Yes,” he purred from the door.
The sound was so filled with desire that I almost stopped what I was doing. But that would be the reaction he was looking for, wouldn’t it?
Determined not to give anything away, I stepped over the edge of the imaginary tub and sat in my not-bath. Pretending to recline was worse than doing actual sit-ups, and I only managed to hold the pose for a minute before leaning forward to fake wash myself fully clothed. When I finished, I stood and acted like I was wringing water from my dress, my way of acknowledging that I’d purposely worn clothes in my bath, then squeezed “water” from my hair.
Through it all, C’adon remained quietly observant.
He chuckled when I went to a not-vanity and pretended to run a comb through the wet strands. I wasn’t sure if amusement was a good thing. Did he know this was all a lie?
“Look at her skin,” he said finally, reassuring me with his familiar crazy talk.
As soon as I finished my performance, I went to the door and brushed my shoulder against his chest as I passed him.
“She is everything to me. The reason for my existence. Without her, I would not be. Do you hear me, Goddess?”
He sure liked praying to his goddess a lot. Most creatures were loyal to the god or goddess that created their kind but not all felt that way. Fenris, a werewolf I knew, firmly camped team Loki with his sense of mischief. Megan, the youngest fury, sure wasn’t team Hades, though. She harbored too much anger over the whole not-quite-free-will labor thing she was locked into.
Maybe C’adon was more of an Athena follower. He definitely liked games.
As I continued to the next door, I tried to recall what creatures Athena had created. However, my thoughts felt too sluggish to make any sense of anything.
It wasn’t until I had my forehead on C’adon’s chest that I remembered Athena was one of the few who hadn’t given birth to monstrosities out of some misguided attempt to find purpose. She’d adopted some kids just like Uncle Trammer had adopted me.
That made her pretty okay in my book. And not C’adon’s creator.
“She doesn’t tremble. What does that mean?” C’adon softly asked the hallway. Or maybe his goddess.
I really wished I knew what he was.
“Does she grow fonder of me? She hasn’t extinguished the torches yet.”
Wait. Was he saying the dead lady back in his room used to turn off the lights when she “grew fond of him?”
I grinned at his chest for a moment, too amused by the thought despite not being able to imagine what about him had the dead lady wanting the dark in the first place. The up-close view of his torso was nothing short of mouthwatering. My fingers stroked over his chest before I realized what I was doing.
He groaned.
