“Maybe this is Hades’ doing.” Aimee’s fingers curled into a fist as he continued to stroke her soft skin.
Roric shook his head. “Hades wouldn’t want to risk losing us after going to such trouble to find the right woman to set us free.” Even as he said it, he knew it rang false. Hades would know exactly where he was. Maybe Aimee was right. Maybe Hades wanted Roric to bond with Aimee so he’d be more likely to do whatever it took to protect her. That made her a liability to him.
Aimee nodded and sucked in a deep breath. “So what happens now? What are we going to do?”
His heart skipped a beat when she said the word we. Most women would be screaming in fear, demanding he leave, or calling on the demons of Hell to come and get him. She might look fragile, but Aimee was strong-willed. The voice in the back of his head reminded him she might just be luring him into complacency to make it easier for the demons to capture him.
“Now, I figure out a way to keep us both safe. The demons will be coming for us. They have only twenty-four hours to defeat me. After that, Hades must relinquish his claim on me and my soul forever.”
“That’s good, right?” Aimee tugged on her wrist, and he reluctantly released her. She stood, staring down at him. “I mean, you only have to hide for a few more hours and then you’ll be free.”
Roric shook his head, unable to keep the truth from her. “I can’t hide from them, Aimee. They know where I am. They know who you are.” If she was as innocent as she appeared, he didn’t want to frighten her, but she had to be fully aware of the situation. “And Aimee, they’re not only coming for my soul, they’re coming for yours too.”
Chapter Nine
Aimee stood beneath the showerhead and let hot water pour over her. She’d scrubbed herself from head to toe and was now simply trying to drive away the chill permeating her bones. She watched as the water trickled down the drain, so ordinary, so normal. Her life had suddenly become anything but.
Demons, immortal warriors and a war with Hades—it was enough to drive a woman stark-raving mad. If she were a weak-willed person, she’d have run screaming from the house after calling the sheriff’s office to report a handsome but slightly touched stranger in her bedroom.
But deep in her gut, Aimee knew this wasn’t a dream, wasn’t a fantasy. Somehow, some way, all of it was real. And that meant the nightmares that had been plaguing her for months had been genuine as well. On some level, she’d truly been a part of them. But that didn’t bear thinking about right now.
She shuddered in spite of the heat and steam enveloping her. If she truly believed Roric, then she’d also been in the presence of Hades himself. It was enough to give a girl nightmares—if she wasn’t already having them, that is.
Burying her face in her hands, she gave a slightly hysterical laugh. “This is all a nightmare. All of it.”
“All of it?”
Aimee shrieked and whirled around. Her feet slipped on the tile floor and she began to fall. The shower curtain was ripped back and strong arms wrapped around her. A familiar, woodsy scent surrounded her. Roric.
She blinked, unable to quite believe what she was seeing…or feeling. Roric was in the bathroom with her. Furthermore, he was standing in front of her. Right in front of her. And she was naked. Her bare breasts were plastered against his hard chest. The man was forever catching her naked.
“Don’t do that.” She pulled away from him, grabbed a towel from the rod and held it in front of her. The towel wasn’t large enough to wrap around her, but it was better than nothing.
“Don’t do what?” One corner of his mouth twitched. If he laughed at her, she’d smack him.
“Sneak up on me. I was taking a shower. Alone,” she added for emphasis. How long had he been watching her? Heat pulsed through her body, pooling between her thighs. She stifled a moan and ignored it.
“Ahh.”
What the heck did he mean by that? She decided she really didn’t want to know. “What are you doing in here? I told you I’d only be a few minutes.”
Roric traced his index finger over her collarbone. The small caress made her blood sing. “Why so shy?” He skimmed his finger lower, dipping below the edge of the towel. “It’s not as though I haven’t seen you naked.”
Aimee took a step back. One of them had to be sensible. “That was when I thought it was just a dream. I’m not in the habit of jumping into bed with any strange man that comes along. Especially not one who is trying to break some kind of ancient spell or curse or whatever it is.”
His jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed. The indulgent lover was gone, replaced by the cold, implacable warrior. “You will not help me?”