The Power
Page 21
“They are?”
Seth nodded. “Glowing like Apollo’s do when he wants to punch me.” He walked over to where the dummy had landed, near the wall. He stood it up. “Now do it again.”
Do it again? Like I was some dog learning a new trick.
“You have to do it again,” he insisted, returning to his Instructor of Annoying Jerk-Face position. Legs spread wide. Arms across his chest. “You have to do it more than once, and not when you’re just pissed at me.”
My skin prickled with frustration, and anger was like lava in my blood. Screw wind, though. I was so damn sick of the dummy. Sick of not being able to do it correctly every time. Sick of my missing mom and my absentee dad. Sick of the nightmares. So over the responsibilities I never asked for.
Just sick of everything.
Like a flower blossoming for the rain, whatever existed deep inside me opened up. A chasm ripped open, like it had when I blasted Hyperion. Pure power rippled through me, and this time when I lifted my hand and opened my palm, I wasn’t summoning the element of air. I tapped into the power of the gods, the energy that gave life and ended it.
Seth made a sound of surprise.
Whitish light powered down my right arm, circling like a cyclone, and then the intense white bolt of light erupted out of my palm and slammed into the dummy, lifting it back into the air again. The dummy continued to climb, higher than the trees surrounding the campus.
Akasha covered the dummy, the intensity too much for the plastic and fake flesh. It exploded with a loud crack, shattering into a million little pieces that rained down several feet away.
Closing my hand, I dropped my arm and turned to Seth. “There.”
He was staring at me again, his gaze feverish this time, and the glyphs were out, sliding across his skin.
“And yeah, I did that on purpose, jerk-face.”
Seth said nothing as he took a step toward me, but I was ready to explode like that stupid dummy. “I totally get that I need to be better at this, but I’m trying. I’m doing my best. I didn’t have years and years of training. I’ve had months, so excuse you if I get a little distracted by the random eagle or boob-shaped clouds!”
His features were tight, highlighting the angular sharpness of his cheeks, and he was still coming at me with this hungry look on his face.
I was so not finished.
“And I know I’m going to have to be freaking awesome to fight Hyperion and the rest of the Titans. Trust me. I think about it every day,” I told him, my voice warbling as tears clogged my throat. “And I try not to, because when I do, I think about—” I cut myself off, shaking my head. “You know what? Never mind. I’m going to go eat my emotions.”
I started to turn away, but Seth wrapped his arm around my waist and drew me back to him. I hit his hard chest and would’ve bounced off if his arm hadn’t clamped around me.
“Seth—”
His mouth closed over mine. I gasped into the kiss as he pulled back, lifting my feet clear off the ground. Clutching his shoulders, I was pressed between the cool base of a nearby statue and the heat of Seth within a few stuttered heartbeats. There was nowhere to go, and despite the fact that I was just yelling at him, I didn’t want to go anywhere.
If yelling at Seth ended in him kissing me like this, holding me like this, then hell, I was going to yell at him more often.
I was quite happy here, even if it was out in public where anyone could stumble upon us. Then again, being in my room wasn’t exactly private considering Apollo had a habit of just appearing randomly.
Seth caught my bottom lip between his teeth, and I wasn’t really thinking about anything. My lips parted in response to the wicked pressure, and there was no room for anything but the way he tasted and how he felt, and I could really, really feel him. He was hard against my lower belly, and then he shifted, sliding his thigh between mine.
As his tongue tangled with mine, he moved his thigh in the perfect way, right against the bundle of nerves. Liquid heat flooded my veins and I moaned into his mouth as my hands dug into his shoulders.
“You liked that, huh?” His voice was thick and sexy, sending shivers straight down my spine and into the most interesting places.
“Yes.” I nodded just in case he didn’t get the message.
He chuckled against my mouth. “You know what that makes me want to do?”
“What?”
Seth’s tongue traced my lower lip. “Makes me want to hear you make that sound.” He moved his thigh against me, and he got what he asked for. I moaned as pleasure pulsed through me. “And again.”
Oh. Oh, goodness.
His mouth was on mine again, drowning me in kisses as the arm around my waist tightened. He lowered his leg slightly, so my feet were on the ground. “Ride me,” he ordered gruffly.
Heat blasted my face. Ride his leg? Oh my God, my face was burning up, but it was nothing compared to the other areas of my body. I didn’t move, so he gripped my hip with his other hand and then he moved me against him. The friction was immediate.
“Seth,” I gasped out, shuddering.
“Do it.” His kiss was more demanding, more overwhelming. The hand on my hip guided me again, rocking me against his thigh.
I did it.
I so did it.
Didn’t care that we were outside or that I was basically riding his thigh like someone who seriously needed to get a room. I didn’t care that things had been weird in the moments leading up to this. Or that a handful of minutes ago, I was contemplating throat punching him.
Seth nodded. “Glowing like Apollo’s do when he wants to punch me.” He walked over to where the dummy had landed, near the wall. He stood it up. “Now do it again.”
Do it again? Like I was some dog learning a new trick.
“You have to do it again,” he insisted, returning to his Instructor of Annoying Jerk-Face position. Legs spread wide. Arms across his chest. “You have to do it more than once, and not when you’re just pissed at me.”
My skin prickled with frustration, and anger was like lava in my blood. Screw wind, though. I was so damn sick of the dummy. Sick of not being able to do it correctly every time. Sick of my missing mom and my absentee dad. Sick of the nightmares. So over the responsibilities I never asked for.
Just sick of everything.
Like a flower blossoming for the rain, whatever existed deep inside me opened up. A chasm ripped open, like it had when I blasted Hyperion. Pure power rippled through me, and this time when I lifted my hand and opened my palm, I wasn’t summoning the element of air. I tapped into the power of the gods, the energy that gave life and ended it.
Seth made a sound of surprise.
Whitish light powered down my right arm, circling like a cyclone, and then the intense white bolt of light erupted out of my palm and slammed into the dummy, lifting it back into the air again. The dummy continued to climb, higher than the trees surrounding the campus.
Akasha covered the dummy, the intensity too much for the plastic and fake flesh. It exploded with a loud crack, shattering into a million little pieces that rained down several feet away.
Closing my hand, I dropped my arm and turned to Seth. “There.”
He was staring at me again, his gaze feverish this time, and the glyphs were out, sliding across his skin.
“And yeah, I did that on purpose, jerk-face.”
Seth said nothing as he took a step toward me, but I was ready to explode like that stupid dummy. “I totally get that I need to be better at this, but I’m trying. I’m doing my best. I didn’t have years and years of training. I’ve had months, so excuse you if I get a little distracted by the random eagle or boob-shaped clouds!”
His features were tight, highlighting the angular sharpness of his cheeks, and he was still coming at me with this hungry look on his face.
I was so not finished.
“And I know I’m going to have to be freaking awesome to fight Hyperion and the rest of the Titans. Trust me. I think about it every day,” I told him, my voice warbling as tears clogged my throat. “And I try not to, because when I do, I think about—” I cut myself off, shaking my head. “You know what? Never mind. I’m going to go eat my emotions.”
I started to turn away, but Seth wrapped his arm around my waist and drew me back to him. I hit his hard chest and would’ve bounced off if his arm hadn’t clamped around me.
“Seth—”
His mouth closed over mine. I gasped into the kiss as he pulled back, lifting my feet clear off the ground. Clutching his shoulders, I was pressed between the cool base of a nearby statue and the heat of Seth within a few stuttered heartbeats. There was nowhere to go, and despite the fact that I was just yelling at him, I didn’t want to go anywhere.
If yelling at Seth ended in him kissing me like this, holding me like this, then hell, I was going to yell at him more often.
I was quite happy here, even if it was out in public where anyone could stumble upon us. Then again, being in my room wasn’t exactly private considering Apollo had a habit of just appearing randomly.
Seth caught my bottom lip between his teeth, and I wasn’t really thinking about anything. My lips parted in response to the wicked pressure, and there was no room for anything but the way he tasted and how he felt, and I could really, really feel him. He was hard against my lower belly, and then he shifted, sliding his thigh between mine.
As his tongue tangled with mine, he moved his thigh in the perfect way, right against the bundle of nerves. Liquid heat flooded my veins and I moaned into his mouth as my hands dug into his shoulders.
“You liked that, huh?” His voice was thick and sexy, sending shivers straight down my spine and into the most interesting places.
“Yes.” I nodded just in case he didn’t get the message.
He chuckled against my mouth. “You know what that makes me want to do?”
“What?”
Seth’s tongue traced my lower lip. “Makes me want to hear you make that sound.” He moved his thigh against me, and he got what he asked for. I moaned as pleasure pulsed through me. “And again.”
Oh. Oh, goodness.
His mouth was on mine again, drowning me in kisses as the arm around my waist tightened. He lowered his leg slightly, so my feet were on the ground. “Ride me,” he ordered gruffly.
Heat blasted my face. Ride his leg? Oh my God, my face was burning up, but it was nothing compared to the other areas of my body. I didn’t move, so he gripped my hip with his other hand and then he moved me against him. The friction was immediate.
“Seth,” I gasped out, shuddering.
“Do it.” His kiss was more demanding, more overwhelming. The hand on my hip guided me again, rocking me against his thigh.
I did it.
I so did it.
Didn’t care that we were outside or that I was basically riding his thigh like someone who seriously needed to get a room. I didn’t care that things had been weird in the moments leading up to this. Or that a handful of minutes ago, I was contemplating throat punching him.
