Page 94 of The Arcane God

“No,” he said, the nerves in his stomach fluttering wildly again.

She walked over to him, so their bodies were close, and she looked up at him with her mesmerizing mismatched eyes. “You may be sweet, but you are not dumb. Don’t play it,” she said, her voice breathy as she stood before him. “You know there is something between us.”

“I’m not playing dumb,” he said, feeling like an idiot. “I just…find it hard to believe.”

“Why?” Xena asked sincerely.

Turner just shrugged. How could he explain that it made no sense for someone like her—powerful, sexy, intriguing, unique—to be into someone like him? He never got the girl, or the boy, as it were. He was never chosen.

She seemed undeterred by his non-answer, though, and instead took a step closer to him, so that he could feel her breath on his face. “Kiss me,” she demanded. The way she spoke made it clear it was not a request, but something she longed for, and his cock instantly filled with blood.

Turner stood there with his mouth open like a fish. “You want me to…?”

“Kiss. Me. Daemon,” she said, grabbing on to the front of his coat and pulling him close so they were nose to nose.

“But you’re Ty’s sister,” he said, and immediately regretted it after he spoke.

“So?” she asked, her breath mingling with his. She smelled like pine forest and snow, with just a hint of metallic blood underneath.

“So…he might be upset about it,” he said.

“Do you really think he would stop us?” she asked, looking down at his mouth in a suggestive way.

Fuck, he wanted to kiss her. Very badly. But…

“I don’t know,” he said, watching her plump, pale-pink lips as they moved.

She looked up at his eyes again then, skepticism crossing her face as she pulled back, breaking the spell of the moment. “Is that really what this is about, daemon? My half brother, whom I just met a few months ago, might be displeased by us kissing?”

“I—well, I—” Turner was blubbering like a fish at this point, but he didn’t know what to say. Was that the only thing stopping him? Because now that she pointed it out, it did seem a little silly. And yet, the thought of kissing her, while exhilarating, also terrified him, and he didn’t know why.

Xena released his jacket, lowering herself down from the tips of her toes so she was standing flat-footed again. Her eyes looked almost hurt for a second—disappointed—before they returned to their normal steely resolve. “If you don’t want to, you can just say so,” she said, turning away from him and heading back towards the woods.

Fuck. How had he fucked this up so badly? He didn’t want her to go. He wanted to kiss her, he just—

“Why do you even like me?” he blurted out without thinking. His voice held a hint of desperation that he was embarrassed about, but he didn’t know how to rein it back in. He was upset all of a sudden. Why was she doing this to him? Leading him on like this?

“What?” she asked, turning back around to look at him, as if the question perplexed her.

“Why do you even like me?” he repeated, quieter this time. “I’m nothing special.”

“Why shouldn’t I like you?” she said, facing him fully now, her brow puzzled.

“Because I’m nothing special. I’m not…” How could he put this? He wasn’t a brave leader like Ty. He wasn’t stoic and steady like Steig. He wasn’t a particularly good daemon. No one was clambering to date him. Why was she saying she liked him? She had to be mistaken.

“You’re not…what?” she asked rhetorically. “Sweet? Handsome? Kind to your friends? Kind to strangers? Funny? Please, tell me why I should not like those things.”

Turner swallowed. Did she really think that?

“Okay,” he said, feeling dumber by the second. “But you, you’re like…”

“Like what?” she asked, giving him a cocky, feline smile.

“Well, fucking hot, for one. And interesting. And so confident. Also don’t tell Ty, but I think you might be a better hunter than him and—” He didn’t exactly know what he was saying now, words were just tumbling out. “You make me want to follow you around like a lost puppy or something, and I don’t think I’m good enough for you.”

Turner ran his fingers through his hair, feeling embarrassed by the sudden admission. He hadn’t meant to say that.

Xena took several steps back towards him until she stood in front of him again. “Turner, I won’t ask you again,” she said, looking deep into his eyes. “Kiss. Me.”