Bonds of Hercules (Villains of Lore, #2)(24)

It took a second for me to process that he thought the one with the door was the weird one.

Maybe the sirens are right, and I am a prude?

Kharon muttered about Hermos being ridiculous as he walked past me—butt-ass naked.

A small smear of blood contrasted with the pale, unblemished skin of his left thigh.

But his right leg was a patchwork of burns, welts, and ruined skin. The scars were different from the ones across his chest, but no less painful looking.

Kharon was a shocking amalgamation of fury, tattoos, and old wounds.

He stepped into the open stall and turned on the water.

His expression became guarded as he saw me looking at his leg, and he roughly grabbed bottles.

Guilt filled me, because I’d noticed his limp back in Corfu, but I hadn’t thought much of it. I never could have imagined the awful extent of his injury.

Augustus sauntered past, also sans clothes, and I momentarily lost the ability to think. Black and white hair hung loose against his bronze skin.

His chest was unbranded, smooth with a light smattering of hair, but there was also blood streaked across his thigh, and silver glinted in the head of his thick penis.

Wait—what?

My gaze shot to his face.

Augustus arched a dark brow as he stepped into the shower beside Kharon.

God save me.

The drawings of genitalia on the Spartan Lifestyle Page were clearly fabricated because none of them had a piercing—I would have remembered.

Shaking my head, I ran into the stall that had a door and closed it tightly behind me.

Being the world’s first introverted perverted prude is surprisingly exhausting.

I hastily stripped down.

The divinely hot spray almost made me forget about the two naked men an arm’s reach away.

Almost.

“Are you okay in there?” Kharon crooned mockingly, an edge to his tone.

I shouldn’t have stared at his leg. He was clearly self-conscious about it, even though, if anything, the scars made him more impressive.

“Is the shower up to your standards, princess?” Kharon called out, clearly trying to get a reaction out of me.

“Don’t c-call me that.” I furiously rubbed soap all over my sweaty skin.

“But it’s true,” Kharon said. “You’re the princess of the great House of Hades.”

“We know,” I muttered under my breath. “It’s why you married me.”

The silence that followed was charged.

“That’s not the only reason,” Kharon said sharply.

I scoffed.

Kharon’s pale feet appeared outside my door. “Alexis, you’re being a coward hiding from—”

“And you only married me b-because of my heritage.”

“I married you—” Kharon’s tone was dangerous “—because when I saw you, I immediately wanted to ruin you … body and mind.”

A primal part of my brain recoiled with horror.

Save yourself; get away from him.

“Is that what you wanted to hear?” Kharon asked harshly. “Does that make you feel better, princess?”

“No.”

It really doesn’t.

Turning off the water, I quickly wrapped myself in a towel and wrenched the door open.

“It’s not just physical.” Kharon bared his teeth as he glared down at me, his naked skin glistening with water.

If he was trying to look remorseful, he failed.

He looked cruel.

I pushed past him, my arm tingling where we touched as I grabbed the first training clothes I found in a locker and pulled them on. When I was fully dressed, I turned back to him.

Kharon had found pants.

I was a devastated woman (read: pervert).

“I admit the urge to stalk you is—” Kharon wet his lower lip “—unbearable.”

I took a step back. What was someone supposed to say to that?

“When it comes to you, my desires are even … darker than usual.” His voice was gravelly.

The queasy sensation returned.

Augustus stepped out of the shower in a cloud of steam with a towel slung low on his hips. “We both enjoy control,” he said casually. “I tend to praise—while Kharon is more viciously inclined. One could say he’s … cruel.”

I choked.

WARNING: DANGER.

Red lights flashed in my mind.

Kill them and run before they can hurt you.

“Do you understand what we’re saying?” Augustus asked, his voice velvet wrapped in steel.

Praise?

Cruel?

“Carissima,” Kharon said with sinister gentleness. “Tell us that you understand.” Tendons strained across his tattooed neck. “Now.” He pinned me with his gaze.

My mouth went dry.

Shadows clung to Kharon’s sculpted face as his expression turned sinister. A vein bulged in his forehead as he pointed at me. “TELL ME RIGHT NOW THAT YOU—”

“I GET IT!” I yelled back, desperate for him to shut up.

Augustus stepped toward me. “Oh, Alexis,” he whispered darkly. “I’m so glad you comprehend what’s happening here. That’s … my good girl.”

Kharon seethed and Augustus smiled.

My nervous system shut down.

Acute full body paralysis, all systems failure.