She didn't care.
As they hit the ground, Gideon arched back to avoid her nails in his jugular. He also took the brunt of the fall. The back of his skull slammed into the floor, and he winced. Must have cracked him good, because blood splattered. To her surprise, he didn't try to fight her off as she straddled his chest and glared down at him.
'I should never have trusted you,' she snarled. 'Trusting you always destroys another piece of my life.'
His hands—hot and hard and callused—flattened on her thighs, as though he was holding her to him rather than pushing her away. 'That woman was telling the truth. I did this to you. She didn't. She wasn't lying. She wasn't manipulating your memories and weaving fake stories inside your head.' The words escaped him in a rush.
Mnemosyne lie to her? Ha! 'You're the only liar here.' She drove her fist into his nose, and more of his blood spurted. 'That's for forgetting me,' she spat. She'd wanted to do this for a long time. Nothing would stop her now. She punched his face again. More blood. 'That's for abandoning your son.'
Stop, Nightmares cried inside her head. Don't hurt him.
Decided to wake up, did you? Well, you can just shut the hell up!
Don't hurt him. Please. He's telling you the truth.
Defending the bastard? You're my demon. Not his. Now do what you were created to do and frighten him. Cover him with spiders. No.
Fine. She would destroy him on her own. Except, when she raised her fist for a third punch, Gideon didn't turn away. He waited, his expression resigned, even expectant, and she paused. He was letting her hurt him, damn him. Scarlet tried to catch her breath. There was no satisfaction in his acceptance. Only shame.
'Don't think about this, devil.'
Devil. His version of angel or sweetheart. This wasn't the first time he'd used the endearment, and just as before, her heart squeezed in her chest. ' You don't get to call me that. You don't have the right.' Not anymore. 'Besides that, there's nothing to think about. You were using me to punish my aunt.'
'Godsdamn it, you aren't the most exasperating creature I've ever met.'
'You think so?' Scarlet popped to a stand and kicked him in the stomach. No mercy. She couldn't show him any mercy. 'That's for sleeping with her. Actually, that's for sleeping with all your bimbos while you were married to me.'
Stop. Nightmares again. Despondent. You must stop.
No mercy. Not until he's dead. But her own mind rebelled at that. I thought you'd decided not to kill him.
Demon red flickered in the depths of Gideon's eyes. 'Don't you dare listen to me, to what I'm really saying. I slept with her. I did. Okay? All right?'
There was something about his claim, something she should be considering, but at the moment, she couldn't make rational thought matter. All she could see was Gideon's naked body wrapped around her aunt's, the two lost to their passion. All she could hear were Gideon's moans of pleasure.
He'd wanted Mnemosyne all along.
Scarlet's hands balled, her nails cutting skin. 'You're going to regret ever meeting me. That's a truth you can take to the bank. Or better yet, the grave.'
'You are so not stubborn,' he gritted out, remaining exactly as he was. Splayed, hers to abuse. 'I will always betray you. Don't you understand? Always. Betray. You.'
'I know!' Another kick.
Breath exploded from his mouth. He closed his eyes for a moment, lines of frustration branching in every direction. 'Don't think about this,' he repeated. 'I'd met your aunt a thousand times before. There are many reasons—'
'Shut up! There's nothing for me to think about.' Scowling, she paced around his prone body. Another kick. But again, satisfaction proved elusive.
Growls suddenly filled her head. Nightmares had stopped pleading and was now worked into writhing fury. Stop, or I'll make you relive Steel's death. Over and over again.
'You don't know me better than anyone,' Gideon burst out on a wheeze. 'Why would I need you to win her back, when I'd met her so many times? How could I touch her if I wanted you?'
Those questions made absolutely no sense. Why was he— Wait. He was Lies, she reminded herself. He couldn't speak truth. Translation: why had he needed Scarlet to win a woman he'd never met, and how could he have touched Scarlet if he'd wanted Mnemosyne? That's what he was really asking.
She raised her fist.
Last warning.
'Because you—' She stopped, frowned. Good questions. She considered her options, her demon panting, waiting for her to strike, to finally unleash a tidal wave of grief over her. A tidal wave that would not stop her. 'Because you...needed me to make her jealous.' Yes, that was it. The knowledge solidified as she pulled the memories of her recent time with Gideon to the forefront of her mind.
Every time he'd kissed and touched her, he'd been distanced. He hadn't made love to her, hadn't tried to penetrate her. Because that would have been taking things too far when he loved another. Yes, yes. The more she considered this, the more everything made sense. The more right her aunt seemed.
'Yeah, that's totally my style,' he said dryly.
Style or not, it just made sense. 'You...bastard! I wasn't good enough to fuck, is that it? You were saving your precious cock for her.' Scarlet swung her fist down, intending to knock him in one ear and cause his brain to fly out the other.
An image of Steel, cut and bleeding, dying, took residence inside her head, and she whimpered.
In the blink of an eye, Gideon was sitting up and gripping her wrist. His eyes narrowed, his lips pulled tight. 'You don't want penetration? I won't give you penetration.' With a sharp tug, he had her on the ground. Before she could protest, he rolled on top of her, pinning her down with his muscled weight.
Nightmares removed the gory, hated image and moaned. Yes!
No way Gideon would—oh, yes. He would. He worked at the waist of her pants, trying to jerk them open and down.
'Stop,' she said on a trembling breath. What was happening? 'Stop.'
More, her demon demanded.
The warrior stilled, but he was panting as he glared down at her, reminding her of herself a few moments ago. When she'd been furious and jealous and...irrational? Surely not. She was thinking clearly for the first time in centuries. Wasn't she?
'You can't accuse me of being a lot of things, Scar, and wanting you more than air to breathe isn't one of them.'
Another translation was needed: she could accuse him of a lot of things, and wanting her more than air was one of them. So...he did want her. Proof: he wasn't writhing in pain.
Scarlet gulped back the sudden lump in her throat. He. Wanted. Her. So why had her aunt— Wait. That was the something she'd been trying to remember a short while ago. He had to speak in lies or he would hurt. Savagely. And he'd said, I slept with her. I did. Her, meaning Mnemosyne. Yet he hadn't screamed, passed out or grown weak. So he had been lying. He hadn't ever slept with her aunt.
This was...this made no sense.
'I need to think,' she said softly.
Gideon eased off her, but didn't move away. She lay there, struggling to put the rest of the pieces together.
First, Mnemosyne had accused him of trying to make her jealous. But what had he done to make her aunt jealous? Nothing, that's what. He'd come up here to find Zeus and avenge Steel. Scarlet had followed him, and he'd been genuinely surprised to see her. Which meant he hadn't planned for her to follow him.
She'd told him about her aunt, and he hadn't acted as if he knew the woman. Granted, that could have been a lie. But then, why would he have arranged for Scarlet to see her if he'd wanted to keep their association secret? The jealous thing, sure, but he hadn't put his arm around Scarlet while Mnemosyne watched. He hadn't tried to kiss Scarlet or seduce her in front of her aunt, either. He'd just yelled at her, commanding her to find out if her aunt had messed with his memory.
That's when Mnemosyne had placed a warm hand on Scarlet's shoulder and told her about Gideon's plan.
