She should tell him no.

She should kick him out of her bed, out of her room. Maybe even out of her life. She had a partisan. Phillip. Who’d abandoned her for Emma Jordan with Mars’s permission.

Whatever. She didn’t need Finn.

It didn’t change the fact she wanted him. Wanted this. If she’d admit it to herself, she’d wanted him from the moment she’d met him. Despite telling herself he was too angry to consider indulging in an affair with him, it was right at the top of her must-do list.

His breath fanned her face as he whispered his challenge. “What, no snappy comeback? No demand to back off?” He curled his hand around her nape, exerting pressure to draw her closer. To make her meet him halfway to the kiss.

Her fingers brushed his chest as she pressed near. The thick mat of crisp hair covering his muscles rasped under the heel of her hand as she stroked her way up to his neck. His pulse pounded as rapidly as hers, wild and racing. Insistent.

Confident this would happen between them. A sultry flare of acceptance blasted right to the hidden spot between her legs.

She lifted her gaze away from his pecs and found him studying her, heat and lust flaring in his eyes. She licked her dry lips. “I…the inspiration I’d hit you with right now wouldn’t be to back off.” Tilting her chin up, she closed the small gap between them. In the second before their lips met, his eyes widened and his mouth quirked into a smile. She sealed her lips to his.

The touch, tentative at first, soft and sweet, quickly became demanding. Finn opened his mouth and prodded for entry to hers. Their tongues touched, stroked, collided in her mouth. She tightened her fingers on his neck and wiggled closer, until her chest brushed his. Desire exploded within and landed in a pool of liquid heat in her stomach. Finn feathered his hand on her hip, and urged her toward him, pressing their bodies tightly together. His arousal dug into her belly, rock hard and like the rest of him, big and oh, so hot.

Working his hand around her shoulders, he rolled to his back, pulling her on top of him until she straddled his body. Holding her in place with one arm around her waist, and his other hand cupping her butt, he let her control the kiss. His move surprised her. She’d never guess that he’d be the type to allow anyone else to dominate. Propping her elbows on each side of his head, she dipped her tongue past his lips, angling her head and returning his greedy kisses. The zipper of his pants stood out over the solid outline of his cock, a nonverbal taunt to unwrap-me-now.

When he slipped his fingers under the waist of her sleep pants and curved them into her bare flesh, ardor burned like the sun under his touch. She rocked her hips, her clit rubbing over his erection. A whimper escaped her mouth as sensation built. His lips slanted over hers, a satisfied smile as he moved her to the level of desire that made her want to groan with need.

She tangled her fingers in his short hair and tugged. Lifting from him, she arched her back, offering her breast to his mouth. He cupped it, flicked a nail against the taut nub buried behind the thin fabric of her camisole. He mouthed the tip right through her shirt, the damp heat searing perfection.

“Oh, Finn,” she breathed as he gently bit down.

He slipped his fingers over the crest of her butt, sliding between the cleft and easing along her folds. “If you don’t want this, Aerie, tell me to stop.” He trailed kisses up the column of her throat, nuzzling the sensitive skin between her ear and jaw.

He jutted his hips against her, letting her know just how much he wanted it.

“In what world could my response be considered a sign for you to stop?” Aerie pushed upright, rubbed her body along his. In case he needed the words, she whispered, “I. Want. This.”

Holding her gaze, Finn curled his hands over her thighs toward her center. Pulsed his fingers…one over her clit, the other lower along her slit. Color and light generated by the intimate touch climbed like a vortex through her. Lifting her chin, she sighed with pleasure, dropped her head back and arched.

Finn skated one hand up her stomach, sweeping his fingers under her shirt, and continued to move upward. She rounded her back, and rested her hands on his shoulders, reveling in the smooth glide of his hand toward her chest.

Callouses on his fingers rasped her skin as he progressed up. The touch of his palm burned erotically as he cupped her breast. Massaging the mound, he swirled his nail over her nipple, the gentle abrasion sensual and demanding.

Suddenly burning up, Aerie dragged her shirt over her head and tossed it away. She refused to think twice about wanting this man. She was going on feeling alone. And she wanted to feel his mouth on her, his fingers inside her, his body moving on hers in a rhythm as old as time.

She lowered her torso until Finn closed his lips around one peak. While he kneaded, tongued and nibbled on her nipple he pulsed his fingers in a steady motion between her legs. Sparks of need jolted through her, drawing a moan from deep in her core.

Unable to bear it, Aerie pushed up, breaking the seal of his mouth around her flesh. Putting her hands on his waistband, she popped the button on his pant. “Finn. Now. Don’t want to wait. Please don’t make me.” She scooted back along his thighs, giving her better access to his zipper. The hard ridge beneath it jumped as she trailed her fingers over it. The teeth of the zipper clicked loudly as she pulled it down, freeing Finn’s erection from restraint. She slipped her fingers past the elastic of his briefs, stroking the heated, velvety flesh.

He groaned when she wrapped her hand around his cock, and rocked his hips up. “God, Aerie, that feels good.” He shoved his pants over his hips, baring all for her to see.

Solid and proud, his erection speared against his flat abs. She skimmed her thumb along the throbbing vein, reveling in his hissed breath. Skipped her finger over the slit at the top, just enough to dip into the opening. Finn sucked in a harsh breath. Moisture welled under the pad of her pinky. She touched her tongue to the droplet, the salty taste bursting like heaven in her mouth.

“Aw, Jesus,” he blurted out, his voice rough and guttural as her lips ignited a flame.

She licked the length of him and mumbled over the crown, “Like that, do you? How about this?” She took him into her mouth and hollowed her cheeks, sucking hard as she swept her tongue around the tip.

Finn growled. The sound rumbled through his body, and charged along her nerve endings. Flexing his fingers into her hips, his grip clenched. His stomach muscles bunched as he flipped her over, until her back was flush on the mattress and her legs cradled his lean waist. Rising to his knees, he jammed them under her butt, lifting and angling her hips. He jerked her pajama pants low on her thighs, and pressed kisses down her torso.

Muscles trembled and clenched as he splayed a hand over her lower abs. His fingers found a way past her lacy thong and he cupped her sex, a finger buried in her folds.

Ah, sweet goddess divine, she wanted him in her. Bucking up, she tried to capture his digit within her sheath. Claiming her nipple with his mouth, he toyed with her, slipping his finger over the opening, circling through her folds, teasing her clit until sweet tortured sensation blazed a circuit from his lips to his finger and back. Breath sighed out of her, a whimper, a gasp, a soft moan of bliss.

When he finally slipped his finger in, and then another, tears of ecstasy leaked from the corners of her eyes, plopping softly on the pillow under her head. Finn’s mouth popped when he broke the seal around her breast. He drove his fingers hard and deep inside, stroking the one spot guaranteed to make the top of her head explode. He kissed away the tears, but kept up the relentless motion into her.

Chest heaving, she gripped his wrist with one hand, and his dick with the other. She squeezed the hard shaft, then fingered his balls. “In me, Finn. Please don’t make me wait.”

“I like that you’re so demanding.” Sitting up, he tore her pants off and threw them aside. The sound of tearing fabric filled the air as he jerked her panties over her hips. He studied her naked form.

Erotic sensation cascaded within when he traced a finger over her smooth, shaved mound, then pressed kisses along the path his finger had taken. Heat seared from his lips to her bare skin, no hair to deflect the incendiary touch. She arched into his hand, tugged his hair, and pulled him up to cover her.

Delicious, heavy weight settled on her, the hair on his chest tickling, the hair above his sex gently abrading her swollen flesh. The tip of his penis poised at her entrance.

“Look at me,” he commanded.

She held his gaze, watching his eyes glaze as he slipped past her barrier, stretching and filling her. Lifting her legs, she locked her ankles behind his back, digging her heels into the flexing muscles of his ass. Suddenly, she was lightness and color, as if her mind had slipped into the Hollow, but her body stayed anchored under his.

“Princess, you are so tight and hot around me.” He claimed her lips as he rocked back, then thrust home again. “Want to be gentle, but I’m not sure I can. I just want to fuck you hard.” He rocked again, slapping against the cradle of her hips.

She rose to meet him. “Whatever you want, I’m with you, Finn.” Gentle would be fine, but what she needed went one hundred and twenty degrees past sweet.

Burying his face against her neck, he reared back, then slammed home. And again, and again. His urgency set the bed to motion, the headboard thumping against the wall rhythmically with slide of his hard body over her softer form.

Aerie wrapped her arms around his shoulders, locked her legs tighter against his waist and held on. Each flex of his hips brought his pelvis in contact with her clit, and delicious, decadent electricity coursed through her. Sweeping over her head, higher with every thrust. Every sensation focused on the points at which they were joined, breast to chest, hips to hips. His dick buried deep in her.

Breathing became difficult as passion claimed her soul. Her inner muscles rolled and clenched; lightning flared behind her eyes and she cried out his name as her orgasm crashed over her. He continued to thrust, punctuating each thrust with a grunt, his breath hot and humid against her neck. Digging her nails into his back, his muscles tensed as his body strained into her, his entire frame tense.

Rearing his head back, he groaned, long and low as his release claimed him and he emptied himself within her. He punched up on his knuckles, arms shaking with strain, and pounded hard into her several more times. With one final howl, he collapsed back on top of her and buried his face in her pillow. His chest heaved against hers.

Breath rushed out of her lungs, and she struggled to draw in enough oxygen to stop the dizzying swing of her brain. “This is what it feels like to be well fucked,” she breathed into his ear.

Still firm within her, he pushed deeper as he turned his head to face her. He traced the shell of her ear with his tongue, his breath tickling her sensitive flesh. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

A laugh built in her belly, and she tightened her arms around him. “Not at all. For the record, I loved it.” Couldn’t wait for a repeat performance. But she held her tongue on that. She unlocked her ankles and let her feet drop to the mattress on either side of his hips.

He lifted off her, then stilled as he slipped free of her body. “Fuck!”

The distress in his voice claimed her roving thoughts. “What’s wrong?”

He rolled off her, plopping back to the mattress. The space separating them yawned like an abyss. “We didn’t use a condom. Christ, I’m so sorry. I can’t believe what a dick move that was. I have no defense.”

“Well, I didn’t really think about it either.” Flipping to her side, she shuffled closer to him, drawing the covers around her chest. “Finn, I’m a goddess. And even though my lifespan mimics a mortal’s, there are things it doesn’t repeat. I can’t catch an STD, and therefore can’t pass one on.” She laced her fingers through the mat of hair on his chest. “Also, I have control of my body, and won’t get pregnant. It’s not impossible; I can have a baby, but only if I choose to.”

He huffed out a breath. “So we’re okay?”

She hit him with a big grin. “More than okay.” She traced the stubble line on his cheek with her thumb.

Wrapping a hand around her wrist, he drew her hand to his chest, then tucked his other arm under her shoulder and rolled her into him. Once her head was nestled against his neck, he sighed. “What do you mean, your lifespan mimics a mortal’s?”

“Remember when I told you I’d lived over one hundred twenty lifetimes?” Had they only had that discussion less than eighteen hours ago? “I’m born, live and die on a human timetable. Each time I am reborn, I come back with my accumulated memories. Once I hit my awakening, I can start inspiring mortals again.”

“I thought you said Phillip shared your lifecycle. He’s a partisan. If I am too, why don’t I remember past lives? Have I had them?”

A good question. “I don’t know. Zeus granted the power of knowledge and the gift of rebirth to protectors assigned to his daughters. We didn’t know they even existed until this challenge began. If you weren’t tapped as a partisan, you might not have had other lifetimes. There’s really no way of telling.” She drew her hand over his shoulder and fingered the spot she knew held Mars’s crest. “Roll over.”

He kissed the tip of her nose and then complied, turning to his other side to present his back to her. In the dim light from the bedside lamp, the outline of the mark glowed faintly. As she traced it, the image intensified, the shield turning bright blue for an instant. Finn jerked and sucked in a breath. She snatched her finger back.

“What the hell did you do?” Finn tossed a look over his shoulder. “It felt like you were, uh…touching a different spot on my body.”

“That’s odd. I’m not sure what happened there. But suddenly, there was color in the mark, not just a dull brown.”

She daubed her fingertip to it again, curious to see if it changed further. But nothing else happened. She pressed her lips to the warm skin covered by the mark, licking her tongue over his salty flesh. With a deft move, she urged him to his back, then curled in around his side, resting her head on his chest. Shifting until he cradled her in the nook of his arm, he trailed his thumb along her arm. The motion was soothing, and peaceful. Almost as if he himself had the gift of inspiring love and calm in his fellow beings.

She snuggled in closer and confided in a quiet voice. “It isn’t necessary for you to sleep in here. The whole house is warded against intruders, and the alarm system is wired to Olympus Security. They see everything and could be here in a flash if I needed.”

“So, you’re telling me someone is sitting behind a computer monitor, watching everything we just did?” His chest rumbled, his tone aggrieved.

“The Muses drew the line at cameras in the bedroom. So we’re okay there. But everyone, including my dad, will read the report that you entered my room at a quarter past the witching hour, and didn’t come back out for an hour.”

“Are you kicking me out?”

“Not at all. In fact, I was thinking maybe we could give them something worth reporting. You could spend the night here. I mean, I know that was your intent before we…”

“I don’t have to worry about Zeus getting pissed at me?”

“Finn, he is thousands of years old. I’m technically nearly his age. I stopped making decisions to please him in the third century, when Septimus openly used a savage army to put down a rebellion. The twenty or so rulers after him were all assassinated or killed in battle. Zeus wanted to let them fight, I argued a case for brotherly love. We had words and he put me in time out for a hundred years. That wasn’t fun.”

A chuckle. “In all your years of existence, how many times have you been married?”

“An odd question, curiously out of place.” She drew a breath, released it in a rush. “Many times. But all were marriages of convenience.”

“Why weren’t they love matches? You’re the Muse of Romantic Love.”

“How many times have you been in love, Finn?” She turned the tables to avoid the question. She’d never been in love. She wasn’t sure she knew how to be.

He yawned. “Only once. I was twelve. She was ten. Her mother wouldn’t let her play with me because my dad was a bastard of the first order.” Bitterness edged his tone.

Sensing his rising irritation as he broached the subject of his dad, she pressed a kiss to his chest, nudging calm into him through the touch of her lips. She imagined him sleeping peacefully and sent the thought to his subconscious. He yawned again and gathered her close. His lips pressed against her hair, his fingers tangled in it and wrapped around the base of her neck, one finger on her pulse, while the other hand cupped her elbow. His breathing eased as he slid into slumber.

She only wished she could conquer the problem of Hate and Pierus with such ease.