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something else. Something she knew instinctively she should be afraid of.
    “I’m no hero, nymph. Don’t invade my space again.”
    He let go of the shelf, turned, and exited the room without another word.
    Daphne sagged back into the bookshelf and drew in a shaky breath. But fear didn’t come. Because as soon as she was alone, she realized what she’d missed moments before.
    He hadn’t been icy until just the last moment. When she’d obviously tried to seduce him. Before that, when he’d been watching her and she’d been her silly, rambling self, his expression had been one of noticeable interest, just as it had been when he’d looked at her downstairs in his gym.
    He was attracted to her. Very attracted. He just wasn’t attracted when she used her Siren skills. That meant straight up seduction wasn’t going to work. She needed to finesse the situation, make him trust her. She just wasn’t sure how to go about doing that.
    She pushed away from the bookshelf and remembered Silas. Silas could help her. She’d talk to the half breed and figure out the best way to get close to Aristokles.
    Then she’d finish the job she’d come to do. And forget about the sexy savage who made her body ache.
     
    * * *
     
    Ari found Silas in the lowest level of the hold, a dark, windowless room carved out of the cliff that they used for storage.
    Dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt, Silas stood on the far side of the room, making notes on the clipboard in his hand as he checked supplies on the shelves that lined the walls. “We’re almost out of wine,” he said without turning, obviously hearing Ari’s footsteps. “You drink too much of it, you know. I’m pretty sure I replenished that stock two months ago.”
    Ari wasn’t in the mood to talk about his drinking habits. He wasn’t in the mood for anything except getting that nymph far, far away. Resting his hands on his hips, he glared toward the Misos. “If she’s well enough to wander around the hold, she’s well enough to leave.”
    Silas made another mark on his paper. “I thought you’d appreciate having something prettier to look at than me.”
    “How pretty she is has nothing to do with this.”
    “Ah.” A mischievous smile curled Silas’s lips. “So you did notice.”
    Ari’s frustration shot up. Yes the nymph was pretty, but his opinion would be the same if she were Aphrodite beautiful or Medusa ugly. Stonehill Hold was his one and only refuge, and he wasn’t about to be bullied by a nymph in his own home.
    “I want her gone,” he said. “I’ll be back by nightfall tomorrow. When I return, she’d better not be here.”
    “Daphne.”
    “What?”
    Silas turned to face him. “Her name’s Daphne, not she. And what you want and need are two very different things, Argonaut.”
    Ari’s jaw clenched. “Don’t pretend to know what I need. I’m no good for any female, especially that one, and we both know it.” He stomped back up the steps, refusing to give in even an inch. “Tomorrow, Silas. No excuses.”
    “What you need,” Silas muttered, “is a two-by-four to the head.” Then louder, “Get some wine while you’re out. It does wonders for your personality.”
    Ari ignored the smartass comments and moved back to the main level where he headed for his rooms. The entire west wing of the hold was his domain. An office complete with desk and chair he’d carved by hand opened to a bedroom suite filled with a bed, side tables, and a sitting area flanked by a wide stone fireplace. Crossing toward the closet on the far side of his room, he pulled out a backpack and set it on the bed.
    His gaze slid over the empty wine bottle on the nightstand. Scowling, he looked down at his pack and checked the supplies he kept inside for his patrols. So he drank to fall asleep. Big deal. A lot of people did that. A lot of normal people did that, and he was way past normal. Normal people didn’t have to deal with his curse. Normal people didn’t have