Come in?
My eyes nearly popped out of my head, but I had no time to do anything. A second later, two very tall and very good-looking guys steamrolled into the bedroom.
They stared at me.
I stared at them.
One of them had bronze-colored hair that was artfully messy, and he was dressed in a long-sleeved black shirt and dark blue jeans. He was built—huge arms, an obviously toned stomach—and he looked like he knew a thousand ways to kill someone.
The other was more slender, had a head full of blond curls and the most startling gray eyes I’d ever seen. He was wearing plaid pajama bottoms and a deep-blue V-neck sweater. He was already grinning, but it spread into a wide smile. “Hey there.”
I glanced over to where Seth looked like he wanted to bang his head against the wall. “Hey.”
The blond continued to smile, while his friend continued to stare at me.
Seth sighed again. “The one grinning like he’s crazy is Deacon, and the other one is Luke.”
“We’re friends of his—of Seth’s,” Deacon threw in, and Seth did not look like they were friends.
“This is Josie,” Seth continued. “Please don’t be weird and scare her.”
“Be weird?” Deacon rolled those gray eyes. “Ha. Whatever, dude. All you need to know about me is that I’m like a dolphin in a sea of less-smart fish,” he announced, spreading his arms with a flourish.
Luke turned to him slowly as his eyebrows inched up his forehead. “What?”
He shrugged. “Just saying I have a lot in common with dolphins. They’re smart. I’m smart.”
Seth rubbed his hand down his face.
There was a beat of silence, and then Luke sighed and shook his head, lips twitching. “It’s a good thing I think you’re fine as hell.”
As unbelievable as it sounded, Deacon’s smile stretched even further as he turned to look at me. “We’re together.”
“Oh,” I said, glancing between the two. “You two make a great couple.”
“We know,” he replied.
Luke folded his arms. A moment passed. “You have awesome hair.”
“Um…” I raised one hand, smoothing it down. This was so weird. “Thanks.”
Deacon’s smile started to slip a little as he eyed me. Then it was like chess pieces moving on a board. He took a step toward the bed, and I locked up, and Seth shifted closer. Luke got between Seth and Deacon, who seemed oblivious to all of them. Then, Deacon’s eyes narrowed as he stared at me. “Your eyes are really familiar.”
Tension eased out of Seth as he sat on the edge of the bed. A slight smile pulled at his lips as he looked up at the two guys. “Oh, this is going to be great once you put it together.” He leaned back, his elbows pressing into my legs, and he chuckled. “I cannot wait.”
I had no idea what was going on, and Luke looked just as confused, but Deacon… His lips were moving, but no words were coming out, and then he drew back, straightening as if someone had dropped a steel rod down his spine.
“Holy shit,” he said, paling.
Seth tipped his head back, laughing deeply—laughing so hard I wanted to knee him in the back.
“What?” demanded Luke.
Deacon shook his head slowly. “It’s not possible.”
“Oh, yes, it is,” replied Seth.
“What?” I repeated.
Luke unfolded his arms, turning a pointed stare on Deacon. “Yeah, you want to let us in on whatever is going on here?”
“Her eyes… I know those eyes. Like, I really know those eyes.” Deacon thrust a hand through those wild curls. “They’re the same as…”
“As Apollo’s,” Seth filled in for him. “When the son of a bitch actually has eyes.”
Luke’s brows flew up again. “Wait. You’re not saying…” He laughed, but it sounded strangled. “She can’t be…”
Since I figured that Seth must trust these two dudes, I decided to get to the point. “Apollo’s supposedly my… He’s like my dad or something. My demigod…whatever is bound, so everyone thinks I’m…mortal. And Seth’s…he’s going to train me.” All of this was so incredibly awkward.
“Yes,” agreed Seth. “To all of that.”
“Holy. Shit.” Blood rushed to Deacon’s cheeks.
Seth chuckled again, and I still didn’t get what was so funny. “Needless to say, Josie here is very important, and not everyone on this campus needs to know who or what she is. So, you two keep your mouths shut.”
“Doable,” Luke murmured, and then he knelt down, shaking his head. “A fucking demigod? Wow. That’s…well, that was unexpected, Seth. Leave it to you to surprise the hell out of me.”
Seth grunted.
Deacon was a statue. “Holy. Shit. Balls.”
I glanced at him, starting to get worried.
“Wait,” Luke said, frowning. “If she’s Apollo’s daughter, wouldn’t that mean in some weird way, she’s related to—”
“I think Deacon’s going to pass out,” Seth cut in smoothly while I was wondering who else I could be related to. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know.
Luke looked over his shoulder and rolled his eyes. “Dude, chill. It’s not like you slept with her.”
“Wait. What?” I said, distracted.
Deacon bobbed his head. “Yeah, that’s a good point.”
A chuckle rumbled from Seth, and he tipped his head back so he was looking at me. “When I said your daddy got around, I wasn’t exaggerating.”
I stared at Seth for a moment, then looked at Deacon, and then put two and two together. Whoa. “My father slept with you?”
Deacon winced as he shrugged. “I wouldn’t say we slept together. I seriously had no idea who he was, and he was all about free love, and so was I, and the next thing I know, the dude I’d fooled around with turned out to be Apollo, and well… Shit gets kind of awkward sometimes.”
“I can imagine,” I murmured.
Seth snorted. “You have no idea.”
“How old is Apollo?” I asked.
Luke chuckled as he rose. “Depends on how he wants to look, but even in his true form,” he said, shrugging, “he looks like he’s in his late twenties. He’s hot. But that’s probably gross to you.”
“Of course he’s hot.” Deacon rolled his eyes. “It’s not like I’m going to get with someone who isn’t, but anyway.” He turned to Seth and took a deep breath. “I’m glad you’re here, because I never got to thank you.”