“Wait. Did you just say that’s ‘a check you can take to the bank?’”
Heat hit my cheeks. “My granny used to always say that.”
Seth looked at me a moment and then dipped his head to mine. He didn’t kiss me, just rested his lips against the curve of my cheek. “You are still so very mortal.”
“And you still like that about me?”
“Yes.” He kissed my cheek then, sliding his hand further south. He cupped me, squeezing. “I also really like this about you.”
“Perv.”
“Believe it.” His hand drifted away though, and he grinned as he stared down at me, but that smile didn’t reach his eyes.
“You need to learn to trust yourself more,” I told him, patting his cheek. “Like start some kind of daily affirmations or something.”
“Oh yeah, Joe, I’ll start doing that in the morning. Immediately.”
“I won’t tell anyone.” I grinned.
“Whatever.” He laughed as his hand drifted across my belly.
Relieved that he was joking and laughing again, I let my gaze roam over his striking face. His lashes were lowered and the corners of his lips were curled up on one side. As I watched him, I thought about what Alex had said earlier. I pushed those thoughts aside and another thought surfaced, something I’d forgotten about with the arrival of Hercules and . . . well, Seth being Seth . . .
“Hey,” I said, and his lashes lifted. “Do you think it’s possible that Alex is still the God Killer?”
One eyebrow rose. “No. It was why the gods insisted that . . . that she had to die a mortal death. That way, she would no longer be the God Killer.”
I frowned. What in the heck was Medusa talking about then?
“Why are you asking that?”
I shrugged. “Just wondering.”
Seth curled his hand over my hip. “Alex isn’t the God Killer. She’s still an Apollyon somehow. A demigod and an Apollyon.”
My frown increased. “How can she be both . . . ?” I trailed off as I realized what that meant. My stomach seized. “Are you two still connected?”
His gaze flicked up to mine. “Yes.”
Every muscle locked up. I lay there, unable to move. I couldn’t think around the knowledge that Alex and Seth were connected, joined in a way that I could never fathom, couldn’t—
“Josie.” His hand left my hip and curled around my cheek. “Alex and I are connected still, but not like it was before. Nowhere near as powerful.”
I drew in a shallow breath as I grabbed his wrist. My stomach churned, and I felt like I might vomit. “Are you just telling me that to make me feel better about it?”
“No. I swear. I can barely pick up anything from her and when I do, it’s faint.” He dipped his head and kissed the tip of my nose. “Trust me, I’m not overly thrilled about it, but compared to before, it’s not a big deal.”
Not a big deal. I kept repeating that, over and over, but knowing the man you loved was connected to another woman on a mystical, cellular level was totally a big deal!
Seth smoothed his thumb along my lower lip. “It doesn’t affect us, Josie. Never has. Never will. What I have with you—”
“It’s okay.” It had to be, and I could be cool about this. Alex was in love with Aiden, and Seth cared about me in a way he never cared about someone before. I knew that. I turned my cheek and kissed his palm. “It’s okay.”
He slid his hand off my cheek and gripped the back of my neck. “You sure?”
“Positive.” I let go of his wrist and placed my hand on his chest, feeling his warm, hard skin. Honestly, I wasn’t all that okay, but I had to deal with this, and maybe after we found the demigod in California, I could have a minor freak-out session.
“You ready to do this? It’s going to be a long-ass day,” Seth said after a few moments. “Over a twenty-hour ride between here and Malibu.”
“Yeah.” I stretched, wiggling my fingers and toes. “But I refuse to be in the same vehicle as Hercules.”
“Cosign,” he replied. “Fucking cosign.”
CHAPTER 25
Seth
Shit rolled downhill the moment we all were standing by the outer wall, preparing to climb into two Covenant SUVs.
First off, it was too early, and Josie and I hadn’t spent the night sleeping and being all responsible, getting rest or anything. Maybe dozing here and there, but definitely not being restful.
More like ridiculously active.
But the things she said last night, about fighting the gods, including her father, weighed on me. Fighting those twisted fuckers usually ended with someone being dead or getting turned into some kind of sedentary object for their enjoyment.
I didn’t want her fighting for me.
And I also didn’t want the faint connection between Alex and me to bother her. I couldn’t blame her for being upset though. Honestly, I admired her for how she was dealing with it.
The second thing that warned me this trip was going to be full of potholes was the fact that Deacon was out here. Why in the hell he was tagging along was beyond me, but he was not going to be my problem.
“I call shotgun,” Hercules called out.
And there was the third and final giant pain in my ass. I turned around, squinting as I stared into the glare of the morning sun.
“Oh my gosh,” murmured Josie, her wide eyes moving from him to me. She did a double take. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
Hercules was dressed like me. Sporting faded jeans and a gray Henley pushed up to his elbows. He had a cup of coffee that smelled like . . . vanilla and mint?