Luke’s brows flew up again. “Wait. You’re not saying…” He laughed, but it sounded strangled. “She can’t be…”
Since I figured that Seth must trust these two dudes, I decided to get to the point. “Apollo’s supposedly my… He’s like my dad or something. My demigod…whatever is bound, so everyone thinks I’m…mortal. And Seth’s…he’s going to train me.” All of this was so incredibly awkward.
“Yes,” agreed Seth. “To all of that.”
“Holy. Shit.” Blood rushed to Deacon’s cheeks.
Seth chuckled again, and I still didn’t get what was so funny. “Needless to say, Josie here is very important, and not everyone on this campus needs to know who or what she is. So, you two keep your mouths shut.”
“Doable,” Luke murmured, and then he knelt down, shaking his head. “A fucking demigod? Wow. That’s…well, that was unexpected, Seth. Leave it to you to surprise the hell out of me.”
Seth grunted.
Deacon was a statue. “Holy. Shit. Balls.”
I glanced at him, starting to get worried.
“Wait,” Luke said, frowning. “If she’s Apollo’s daughter, wouldn’t that mean in some weird way, she’s related to—”
“I think Deacon’s going to pass out,” Seth cut in smoothly while I was wondering who else I could be related to. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know.
Luke looked over his shoulder and rolled his eyes. “Dude, chill. It’s not like you slept with her.”
“Wait. What?” I said, distracted.
Deacon bobbed his head. “Yeah, that’s a good point.”
A chuckle rumbled from Seth, and he tipped his head back so he was looking at me. “When I said your daddy got around, I wasn’t exaggerating.”
I stared at Seth for a moment, then looked at Deacon, and then put two and two together. Whoa. “My father slept with you?”
Deacon winced as he shrugged. “I wouldn’t say we slept together. I seriously had no idea who he was, and he was all about free love, and so was I, and the next thing I know, the dude I’d fooled around with turned out to be Apollo, and well… Shit gets kind of awkward sometimes.”
“I can imagine,” I murmured.
Seth snorted. “You have no idea.”
“How old is Apollo?” I asked.
Luke chuckled as he rose. “Depends on how he wants to look, but even in his true form,” he said, shrugging, “he looks like he’s in his late twenties. He’s hot. But that’s probably gross to you.”
“Of course he’s hot.” Deacon rolled his eyes. “It’s not like I’m going to get with someone who isn’t, but anyway.” He turned to Seth and took a deep breath. “I’m glad you’re here, because I never got to thank you.”
And just like that, the amusement disappeared and Seth tensed up. “That’s not necessary, man.”
“No, it is. It’s really necessary. I know what you did for my brother. I know what it means for you,” Deacon rushed on, and now I was even more confused than before. “So, thank you.”
Seth said nothing as he focused his gaze on the wall, and silence poured into the room. The tension was thick, and while I was as curious as a bored cat, I didn’t like the sudden stiffness to his shoulders. I liked it when he was laughing.
“So,” I said, drawing out the word. “My father can change the way he looks?”
“Oh, yeah. He can pretty much do anything,” Luke said, and the corners of his lips tipped up, and I smiled back, mostly out of relief. “Also has this horrible habit of popping in at the most inopportune times.”
“I second that.” Seth sat up.
Deacon plopped down on the end of the bed, tilting his head to the side as he grinned at me. “The whole hooking up with your dad thing aside, I can’t believe I’m sitting on a bed with an Apollyon and a bound demigod.”
“It’s like the start of a bad joke,” Luke said. He grinned as he reached out, patting my blanket-covered leg. “My life just got so much more interesting.”
Chapter 19
A TINY bit of guilt pricked at me for leaving Josie alone with Luke and Deacon. One of them alone could be a lot to deal with, but two of them were something else, something overwhelming.
I cracked a grin, imagining Josie at the moment. Those eyes— eyes I’d never thought were beautiful before, but I sure as fuck thought so now—were probably wide, and that pretty mouth was also probably hanging open.
But I trusted these guys, the four of them—Solos, Marcus, and those two. And before I had ducked out, knowing I needed to chat with Marcus alone, I had pulled Luke outside and reminded him of two things: that Josie was important and she needed to be kept safe, and that he needed to keep his mouth shut about me. He hadn’t looked happy about it, but I also knew he didn’t want to piss me off either.
What Luke and Deacon knew, Josie didn’t need to know. Or maybe she did, and I just didn’t want her to know. It didn’t matter. What’d almost happened back there… Well, nothing uncomplicated could come from it. If she had been any other girl, I wouldn’t have thought twice. I’d have been in and out of her, thoroughly enjoyed myself, and then forgotten about the whole thing. But I did rub some brain cells together when it came to her. Strange thing was, knowing she should have a big “No Touching” stamped all over her soft, curvy body, didn’t change the fact I wanted to touch, kiss, link, slam into, and take it slow with that body.