Aiden waited, still as a statue, patient as ever, until my muscles unlocked, one by one. Then his hands dropped to my waist and he turned me toward him. A heartbeat passed and he placed his fingers on my chin, tipping my head back.
I opened my eyes, blinking the wetness off my lashes, and the air hitched in my throat. Faint, purplish bruises shadowed his jaw. There was a cut over the bridge of his nose. No doubt injuries I had given him.
“I’m so sorry, Aiden.” My voice cracked. “I can’t say it enough. I know, but I’m so—”
He dipped his head and his mouth brushed mine, silencing my words. My lips opened to his, as did my heart and everything else. The sweet and tender kiss, well, it lessened the heaviness, eased some of the guilt and shame. My skin—my insides—were scraped and aching, but his touch soothed the frayed edges. I imagined it was the same for Aiden. Gods, it was probably worse for him, considering everything I had done and said. What he’d had to do, to sacrifice, to keep me safe.
The kiss deepened, flipping and twisting my insides into a pleasant mess, and it was like the very first time we’d kissed. Sensations raced over my skin, my heart sang, and the feeling unfurling in the pit of my stomach was better than tapping into akasha, stronger and more addicting. He kissed me like he’d never expected to do so again, as if he could somehow kiss away the weeks.
I placed my hands on his upper arms. His muscles coiled under them as he lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around him. Desire wasn’t the only thing between us. There was so much more: forgiveness, acceptance, relief, and most importantly, love.
Not the kind of love that was fueled by need and that destroyed cities and entire civilizations, but the kind that rebuilt them, that much I knew.
Keeping an arm around my waist, his other hand tangled in my wet hair. And we didn’t stop kissing, because this was rightand that was all that mattered. My heart was pounding way too fast, but it was perfect, it was like coming home after never believing I’d be able to.
I don’t know how we made it to the bed or if the water was ever turned off in the shower. But we were together, our bodies slippery, our wet hair soaking the sheets we were tangled in. And then wewere tangled, our legs and arms. His hands were everywhere, paying reverence to the many scars on my body. His lips followed, and I grew reacquainted with the hard muscles of his stomach, the feel of him.
I glanced down at my body, surprised to see the marks of the Apollyon glowing faintly as they swirled across my skin, forming one rare symbol and then another.
“What?” Aiden cupped my cheek, drawing my eyes back to his. “Is this too fast? I should—”
“No. No, it’s… it’s the marks of the Apollyon. They’re kind of doing their thing right now.”
“Should I be worried?”
I laughed self-consciously, feeling like one of those venomous snakes that warned of its poison in its vibrant colors. “I think they like you.”
Aiden’s hand slid off my cheek, down my throat, to right below my chest. The marks slid toward his hand, as if drawn to him. Maybe they were. I wasn’t sure how the marks worked. The answer probably lay in the thousands of years of memories, but that was like digging for a needle in a pile of needles.
“I saw them,” he said, his voice raw and deep and his eyes like pools of liquid silver. “When you Awakened, and when you went on the Elixir.” His brows drew tight as he smoothed his hand over my hip. “They were beautiful.”
“Really?” I felt beautiful when he looked at me, even all tattooed up.
“Yes. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.”
A long, agonizing moment passed as he hovered above me, his eyes locked onto mine, his body coiled tight like a rope ready to snap. And when he did, his lips found mine and there was a sound that came from the back of his throat that seared me. Our bodies met and for a few moments, neither of us moved, and then we did, our voices soft whispers in the dark room.
Sometime later, we lay facing each other, his hand wrapped around my smaller one. Our bodies were pressed close. Exhaustion dogged me now, and Aiden, too—had been for weeks. The fighting and everything else had tipped us over the edge. Sleep claimed me first. I only knew this because I could feel Aiden’s gaze on my face, and seconds before I slipped away I felt his lips on my forehead.
I heard him whisper, “Eíste pánta mou…”
You are my everything.
CHAPTER 9
No matter how convoluted my life got, one thing remained consistent—my hair looked like a baby opossum had taken refuge in it, invited some friends over, and thrown a party. That’s what I got for sleeping on it wet.
I wrangled it into a thick braid and took a deep breath.
Admittedly, I’d seen better days. Well, my face at least. Most of the damage I’d done to myself. Aiden hadn’t raised a hand against me the entire time we’d fought. He’d only defended himself. But we were both lucky to be standing after facing Thanatos and the furies.
My reflection winced.
Aiden was gone by the time I had crawled out of bed. I’d wanted to stay among the covers, inhaling his unique scent of sea and burning leaves, holding the pillow he’d used close to my chest. I’d wanted to wait there until he returned, so I could wrap myself around him, doing a replay of last night.
But reality wasn’t going to pause or wait for us. There was way too much to be done and I needed to face everyone. I took a long breath and pushed away from the mirror. Staring at my face for hours wasn’t going to fix anything.
I found the bag of clothes I’d brought with me when I’d stayed at Aiden’s parents’ house and Aiden had the sense to take when we left Deity Island. There was some items in there I hadn’t packed or noticed before—one of them being a Sentinel uniform. That brought a smile to my face. I tugged on a pair of jeans, surprised to find how loose they were. Slipping on a pair of boots that were nothing like Olivia’s, I went to the doorway and flinched. Olivia. Oh, dear gods, I’d used a compulsion on her. I seriously hoped she wasn’t still in the basement.
I crept down the silent hall, scrubbing at the itchy bruise on my cheek. I didn’t even know what month we were in. It had been cool, but not freezing when I’d been outside yesterday. Hell. I didn’t even know where I was.
Grabbing the middle of my braid, I went down the steps, fiddling with the ropey sections. At the bottom of the stairs, I caught sight of a tall Sentinel with brown hair pulled into a low ponytail. Solos. As far as I recalled, I hadn’t threatened him with bodily harm—at least, not to his face.
He turned at the waist. “Well, look who’s back.”
My cheeks flushed and I stopped on the landing, wholly unsure of what to say.
Solos smiled, and it distorted the scar that cut deep into his cheek. “I’m not going to bite, little one.”
Heat now swept over my body and I raised my chin. Gods, what was wrong with me? “Good. Because I bite back.”
“That’s what I hear.” His blue eyes glimmered. Now I flushed for a whole new reason. “I’m sure you’re hungry. You’ve slept for almost a whole day. Everyone’s in the kitchen now.”
My stomach growled at the thought of food, but then soured. “There’s not sharp silverware or anything?”
Solos’ laugh was deep and rich. “No. It’s a take-out night, so you’re in luck.”
Finding my courage, I followed him down the hallway. He went into the kitchen first and I peeked around the corner. Deacon and Luke sat on one side, several cartons of Chinese spread out in front of them. Laadan was beside them. Marcus, Lea, and Olivia were across the table. I had no idea where Aiden was.
“We have company,” Solos announced, grabbing one of those yummy dumplings and popping it into his mouth.
Everyone turned. And everyone stopped eating and stared.