Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 92659 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92659 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
I don’t feel that way with Charon. Watching her ride his cock…his mouth…his hands…it pulls at parts of me I didn’t know existed. Seeing her come on his tongue while he shoved his cock down my throat was an experience bordering on religious.
In the past, I preferred to put my own spin on reality in my paintings. A portrait where the subject is identifiable, yes, but I like to insert fantastical elements that deepen the meaning. I’ve never been overly drawn to Impressionism or any of the styles that leave too much up for interpretation though.
Sitting in this car, with the memory of last night flowing through my mind, my fingertips itch again. I don’t know how to convey the tangled feeling in my chest into color and movement, but for the first time in so many months, I want to try.
I lean back and close my eyes. Eurydice has always felt a graceful blue to me, but with lust and need riding her hard—and that delicious thread of dominance—she bleeds over into magenta. She is all bold strokes and sensual curves. Charon, on the other hand, is a red so dark it’s almost black. His desire is not anything as simple as lust. He wants me, he needs her, and he is the framework that holds this entire experience in place. He is both the grounding force and the boundary that keeps us safe. His presence won’t stop us from cascading into ruin, but it would be all but guaranteed without him involved.
And me? I’ve never been one for self-portraits, but this image would not be complete without my presence. A fragile lacework of pale blue twined with lilac morphing into red at the edges.
I can’t quite see how the three fit together seamlessly, but the threads are there all the same. In this moment, I hope with all my heart that life can imitate art. But then, I haven’t painted this yet, have I? I don’t know if I’m even capable of doing it anymore.
The door opens, startling me. I open my eyes to find Eurydice leaning down to catch my gaze. She glances over her shoulder, looking almost guilty. “Let’s go.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask her where her sister is, or at least her security detail. I don’t. I have a feeling that to ask is to be left behind. She’s allowing me to come with her, trusting me this much, and I won’t do anything to make her doubt that decision. I scramble out of the back seat and follow her down the sidewalk at a quick clip. We’re not quite running, but it’s increasingly obvious that she’s going rogue. “Charon’s not going to like this,” I murmur.
“I’ll deal with him when I get back to the lower city.” We turn the corner, and she slows down enough for me to catch up without rushing. She shoots me a sharp look. “Tattling won’t earn you any points with anyone.”
I hold up my hands in surrender. “I am a vault. Take me where you will.” The words come out a little more serious than I intend, but I don’t take them back. It’s only been two days back in her presence, and I’m willing to do a whole lot more than crawl in order not to be sent away.
“We’ll see.”
We walk three more blocks before she flags down a taxi. I follow her into the back seat and wait for the car to pull away from the curb to ask, “Where are we going?”
“I need to see a woman about a thing.” For a long moment, I think she’ll leave it there, but she sighs and slouches against the seat. “How caught up on current events are you?”
“Enough. Most of what I know comes from the gossip magazines, but it’s easy enough to read between the lines. Minos is the enemy, or at least the first wave of the enemy. It seems like his foster son went rogue when he relinquished the Hephaestus title, but the family has still done a damn good job of destabilizing the city.”
Eurydice gives me a pointed look. “Not just a pretty face.”
A year ago I would’ve made a quip about her thinking I’m pretty, but I just shrug and give a pained smile. “I am Apollo’s brother, after all.”
“Yes, but you’ve always been his brother. You’ve never paid attention to politics that don’t directly affect you before now.” She tucks her hair behind her ears and lowers her voice. “After Minos’s party, Eris approached me with some information. Ariadne isn’t as on board with her father’s plans as it would seem. She’s also far cleverer than anyone notices. She sees things, hears things that will be incredibly useful to us if she’ll share that information.”
I consider that as the cab pulls to a stop in front of the university. If it’s easy enough to read between the lines of current gossip, Eurydice might as well have lit up a neon sign over her head. “No one except Eris knows you’re doing this, do they?”