Hades Legacy (Hades Series #3)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"Well that... makes sense." I reply reluctantly. I'm still unable to ignore the indignation still rattling through me, though. "But did you still have to—?"

"Kiss you?" Eric walks over to me, a small smirk playing on his lips. I gulp, glancing down to the ground, then back up to him again, and take a step back. That only seems to amuse him more. "Why Bambi, have I flustered you?"

"No!" I snap, a little too quickly. His eyebrows shoot up even higher, and I clear my throat several times. "I just fail to deduct why you felt kissing me was the best elucidation to the situation when there were an aggregate of more logical solutions that were preferential, particularly given my incontestably stated perversion to your plan."

"Shit, I really have flustered you, haven't I?" He says, and I frown at him in perplexity. He grins. "Bambi, you literally just made zero sense; there were words in that sentence that even I don't know."

I purse my lips and glare at him, hissing, "Why did you kiss me when I specifically told you not to, Eric?!"

"Because it was the best plan I could come up with in the two seconds we had, and, like I said, I've been wanting to do that for an incredibly long time." He shrugs slightly, his eyes twinkling wickedly. "And I suspect I wasn't the only one."

I falter for a second, before my glare grows in intensity. "Neither of those are good enough reasons, let alone truthful!"

"Bambi, you and I both know that you're lying through your teeth."

I throw my hands down on my hips. "And what makes you think that?"

He smirks, and leans forward to whisper in my ear, "Because you kissed me back."

My jaw just about hits the floor. Immediately, I start spluttering in disbelief. "No, that is not even close to—"

A loud groan interrupts me before I can complete my protestation, tearing Eric and I out of our little reverie and drawing our attention to the nymph Eric knocked out. He stirs slightly, his hand coming up to touch his face, and Eric swiftly knocks him out with another kick to the head. I give him a look.

"Was that really necessary?"

"Did you want him to wake up and tell all the Ellie-haters through there that the focus of their hatred is less than ten meters away?" He asks, raising an eyebrow, and I falter. He smirks, grabbing my hand and dragging me after him. "That's what I thought. So let's go Bambi, we haven't got all night. Barnacle Boy isn't going to stay knocked out forever, you know."

I wrinkle up my nose in consternation. "I so loathe you."

"No you don't." He replies smugly, lowering his voice to a loud whisper. "You kissed me."

I glare at his back, resisting the childish urge to kick the backs of his knees. I mutter under my breath. "Maybe I should let my mother castrate you. Maybe then you'll stop being a cocky imbecile."

"This is no time to make jokes, Bambi. Shame on you." He whispers back, and this time I really do kick him. "Yes, that's a superb idea Bambi. Kick your only friend."

"You are not my friend!" I hiss at him. "At this moment in time, you are far from my friend!"

"Oh, sure." He nods. "And I assume you kiss all your mortal enemies like that, too? Maybe that's why all these nymphs are so eager to start a civil war against you."

"Eric!"

"Shh." Eric holds his hand up, his entire body suddenly stilling.

"Don't you shush me!"