Page 14 of Queen of Tempests and Sin

‘Deadly.’ His eyes flickered with amusement, as if he enjoyed watching me flail.

Holy Hades, this man wore his arrogance like a cloak; his ego must have its own gravitational field. ‘You’re losing your marbles, dude. You can’t just demand someone go to dinner with you.’

‘I can, and you’ll be there.’ He smiled—and damn… that smile was a thing of perfection. It could have melted the knickers off a nun, and I cursed when a host of butterflies fluttered in my middle. Then he turned and walked away, leaving me staring at his back, open-mouthed as Ajax trailed after him, a deep scowl on his angular face.

Fuck, I needed to punch myself in the mouth. My alter ego was in tatters… my wig and contacts were in my room. And he had my phone.

Shit, shit, shitting shit.

The barometer meter reading on today’s suckery? Catastrophic.

I was so screwed.

CHAPTER 5

POSEIDON

Ineeded to surf. Needed to get that woman out of my damn head.

Why in Olympus had I asked her to dinner?

I was done with women, apart from the very occasional one-night stand, whom I left as soon as I’d fucked. No strings, no conversations, no complications, but always consensual. No myths required.

Humans never remembered that part. They clung to the worst versions of every story—fear stuck better than truth. The old myths weren’t so different from modern headlines: exaggerated, sharpened, and endlessly recycled.

Half of mine were man-made anyway. Medusa, for example, was alive, employed, and would happily stab anyone who called her a victim. She worked IT in Zeus’s Azure Vault now, had a human partner, glamoured hair, enchanted contacts—the full package. She was also my friend.

I snorted, salt air burning my lungs.

Poets had a lot to answer for.

Thanks to my preternatural hearing, I’d caught every scathing whisper the stranger flung at Ajax and the surfer at her table. Everything about her was what I hated in a woman. She was feisty: a natural turnoff. Opinionated: a definite no-no. A smart mouth: a hard, absolutely not. Brazen, infuriating women, like Persephone, were not my speed. Definitely not.

This stranger wasn’t my type. At. All.

I should get Ajax to cancel the dinner. I’d tell him after my surf—clear my head, then kill the whole idea.

The salty breeze on the wrap-around terrace flirted with my senses, reminding me of home—my real home—but even that comfort didn’t last. She shoved her way into my thoughts again, uninvited: a riot of auburn hair—half flame, half wine—chaos and temptation braided into one. Long, wavy strands framed ivory skin and a body that looked carved for sin—distressed denim shorts clinging to her hips, and a cropped tank baring the toned strip of her middle.

Striking wasn’t the word. She was… unreal. She rattled me. That smile did things to my heart… and my dick.

As I’d gazed into those azure-blue eyes, it was like seeing the rippling ocean on a tranquil day. A thousand hues of blue and a small touch of hazel radiating in softly swooping arcs. Something about her resonated—she felt so… right. My cock thickened just thinking about her. Damn it. She was trouble.

I’d definitely get Ajax to cancel the dinner after I’d cleared my head on the water.

I sank into the sofa ‘Did you tap the phone?’ I asked Theseus.

‘Sure did, boss,’ he said, flashing a cocky grin. ‘Got through her passcode in seconds. But there’s only one contact. Weird, right?’ He held up the phone.

I shot a frown in his direction. ‘One?’

‘Yup.’ He passed it over. The last message to "Guinn" read:

"Hey, baby. How’re you? What you been up to? I’m not sure how long I’ll be here, but I should know soon. We’ll see that movie when I get home ”

The text was still unanswered.

I ruminated on this. It was very unlike humans to limit their contacts to one number… unless she had other mobile devices. Backup phones. Burners.