“You’ll be waiting a long time,” I say coolly, burning from the chest up.
His eyes dip to my mouth, lingering there. “We’ll see.”
It’s all I can do not to wet my lips.
I nudge Panotii so I’m ahead. Eat my dust, Warlord. “Fourth, I won’t live on the castle grounds.”
“Absolutely not,” Griffin says, pushing Brown Horse alongside me again. “You’ll stay behind the castle walls, and that’s final.” His storm-cloud eyes flash until I think I’ll hear thunder.
“Calm the lightning bolts. There’s no reason I can’t stay in the city.”
“No reason?” He starts ticking off so-called reasons on his fingers. It takes both hands. “At the castle, I can keep an eye on you. I’ll know where you are. Carver can keep an eye on you. I won’t have to waste time looking for you. Flynn can keep an eye on you. When I need you, you’ll already be there. Kato can keep an eye on you. You won’t get dragged off without anyone even knowing about it. And, especially, I can keep an eye on you!”
“You already said that. It was point number one in a long list of inanity.”
His jaw muscles bulge. “I’ll give you your other conditions, but not this. You’ll have access to the castle and two hundred and sixty acres of training grounds, gardens, and woods. There are baths and an entire army barracks to explore if you want to, but you will not leave the castle grounds without one of us. Is that understood?”
“No.”
“Promise, Cat.”
I snort. “I hope that’s a joke.”
His nostrils flare when he realizes the enormity of what he just asked me. “No vow, then. Just agree. It’s better for everyone.”
“Better for you.”
“And you.”
“Not really.”
He growls deep in his throat. “Zeus’s bollocks, you drive me insane!” His eyes darken. He looks ready to wring my neck.
“The feeling is mutual,” I assure him.
With a sudden snarl, Griffin snatches me out of my saddle so fast I shriek, landing facedown across his legs.
I twist, glaring up at him. “What are you doing?”
“I’m not sure yet,” he grates out.
In that case… I knee him in the ribs. He grunts and slaps a heavy hand down on my rear end, pinning me. I bite his thigh.
“Gods damn it, Cat!” He kicks Brown Horse into a gallop and heads for a rock formation up ahead. The horizontal ride is so jarring that my teeth hurt by the time he reins in, lets me slide to the ground, and jumps down after me.
Griffin grabs my wrist and drags me toward a cavern entrance. There’s no way I’m going into a dark cave with a seething male. Life has taught me something.
I swing at him with my free hand, landing a punch on his jaw. Son of a Cyclops! My fist feels like it hit a wall.
“Hit me again and you’ll regret it.”
There’s no lie. He definitely means it. Outwardly at least, he’s mastered his temper, calm again, like he’s the eye, and I’m the storm. He makes me crazy! Why am I always the one to explode?
I tear my arm out of his grip, pivot, and kick him with everything I’ve got, catching him squarely in the chest. Thrown only slightly off balance, he narrows his eyes and tackles me. I land hard, going half-numb from the impact.
Griffin grabs my wrists, pins them above my head, and then lowers his forehead to mine. Our mouths are suddenly even. His breath fans my lips, a warm, seductive caress across my mouth. Heat floods me, and my anger flies like a bird from a cage.
“What are you doing?” I gasp.
“Making sure you don’t head butt me, you little Harpy.”
Oh. I’m not disappointed. Definitely not disappointed.
He rolls off, then heaves me up and flops me over his shoulder. Not liking that at all, I slap his backside as hard as I can. I smack him again, just in case he didn’t feel it the first time.
Griffin hits my ass back, making it sting. “Control yourself! You’re not a bloody animal.”
He doesn’t hit me again, but he strings together a long, colorful sentence detailing just why my ass deserves his hand. Infuriating, reckless, and hot-tempered pop up, peppered with a few choice curses I haven’t heard often, despite living in a circus.
His diatribe leaves me momentarily speechless, my ears ringing from the unfortunate truth in it.
The cave is cool and dark compared to outside. He sets me down hard, and I blink, adjusting my eyes to the gloom. “What are you planning? To beat on me where no one can see?”