His breathing is uneven as he tries to maintain exactly that. “Christ, you’re the personification of Peitho. A pure, unadulterated seductress.”

Moving higher, I lean forward and breathe into his ear, bite down on his earlobe. “You think I’m a goddess?”

His hands go to my hips, fingers digging possessively in to my skin, as he thrusts up against me. “When I first saw you, I swore you were Aphrodite.” One hand slips from my hip and he cups my face, fingers splaying into my wet hair. “But that’s too obvious, too cliché. Peitho hides in the shadows, persuading and manipulating everyone around her like the marionettes she makes them.”

Some foreign response stirs deep within me, and I shift uncomfortably. Alex holds my face, unwilling to let me go. I lick my lips, knowing what that action does to him.

His gaze drops to my mouth, ravenous hunger burning in his liquid blue eyes. His face nears mine, and that strange feeling deep down reacts instinctively. I turn my head and drop a kiss to his neck.

“Don’t give me a necklace, then,” I say, picking up his goddess thread.

This elicits a breathless laugh. “Why am I not surprised you know the myth.”

Curling my fingers at the back of his head, I smile against his neck. “Technically, she’s a force, not a goddess.”

“That’s debatable,” he counters, his will weakening.

While he’s preoccupied, I ease my hand down his chest and tear the snap of his pants open. The guttural sound that Alex makes excites me, and anticipation has my fingers seeking beneath his boxers.

I take his hard length in my palm as he becomes bold, lost in his arousal, and cups my breast. When I believe he’s completely under the spell, I snake my other hand away from his neck.

“Blakely…we have to stop,” he says, voice thick with restrained desire. “This isn’t right. You’re my patient.”

Alex’s delusion—that he believes I’m his patient—urges me on, and I hurriedly sink my hand into his pocket. With the other, I grip his cock like a vise, making sure he won’t budge as I yank the keyring free.

“Sorry, Alex, but I just can’t fuck this level of crazy.” I grab his balls and twist hard.

He utters a ardent curse as pain radiates through him, giving me enough time to bound free. He clutches his crotch and doubles over on the chair.

I don’t have much time, so I have to get as far as I can. I don’t bother fixing my shirt, letting it fly open as I rush to the curtain and throw it back. I saw a door here when I was sedated and groggy. Whatever is behind that door, I need to know.

Another curtain lines the wall and I shove it aside to reveal an old barnwood door. I fumble through the keys on the ring, trying one, two, and then the third key until the lock turns. I pull the door open and stare up at a dark flight of stairs. The sound of Alex getting his bearings spurs me up those steps.