I flushed. “Yes… yeah, it is.”
Aiden grinned wolfishly and a wicked glint filled his silver eyes. I should’ve known at that point he was up to something, but this side of Aiden—this playful and sensual side—was unknown to me. His hand glided lower, eliciting a pleased gasp of surprise. He sat up in one fast fluid motion and I found myself unexpectedly in his lap.
I didn’t have a moment to consider much. Aiden kissed me, scattering all thoughts or responses. The sheet slipped away and I melted against him. It was quite some time later, when the sun was about to rise and the candle had long since gone out, that Aiden gently roused me.
“Alex.” He brushed his lips over my forehead.
I opened my eyes, smiling. “You’re still here.”
His hand caressed my cheek. “Where else would I be?” Then he kissed me, and my toes curled. “Did you think I’d just leave?”
I marveled at the fact that I could run my hand up his arm without having him pull away. “No. I don’t know, actually.”
He frowned as he traced the shape of my cheekbone. “What do you mean?”
I snuggled closer to him. “What happens now?”
Understanding flared in his gaze. “I don’t know, Alex. We have to be careful. It’s not going to be easy, but… we’ll figure something out.”
My heart skipped a beat.
A relationship was going to be damn near impossible anywhere we’d go, but I couldn’t stop the hope swelling inside me or the tears building in my eyes. Was it wrong to hope for a miracle? Because that’s what we would need to make this work.
“Oh, Alex.” He gathered me into his arms, holding me tightly against him. I burrowed my face in the space between his neck and shoulder, inhaling deeply. “What we did—it was the best thing I’ve ever done and it wasn’t just some sort of fling.”
“I know,” I murmured.
“And I’m not going to let you go—not because some stupid law says we can’t be together.”
Dangerous words, but I melted along with them, cherished them. I wrapped my arms around him, trying to keep old fears and worries at bay. Aiden was taking a huge risk to be with me—so was I—and I couldn’t deny our feelings because of what’d happened to Hector and Kelia. That fear wasn’t fair to Aiden or to me.
Aiden rolled onto his back, fitting me to his side. “And I’m not going to lose you to Seth.”
The air hitched in my lungs. Somehow, being so lost in Aiden, I’d completely forgotten the unforgettable—the fact that I’d be Awakening in two weeks—and all the ramifications of that. Fear tasted like blood in the back of my throat. What if that changed the way I felt about Aiden?
Crap. What if the bond twisted those feelings back to Seth?
And how in the hell had I forgotten about Seth in the first place? “Out of sight and out of mind” was totally not justifiable. The thing was I did care for Seth—a lot. Part of me even loved him, even though I wanted to hurt him most of the time. But my love for Seth was nothing like what it was for Aiden. It didn’t consume me, didn’t make me want to do crazy things, be reckless, and in the same breath, be safer and more cautious. My heart, my body didn’t respond in the same way.
Aiden’s hand skimmed over my arm. “I know what you’re thinking, agapi mou, zoi mou.”
I took a shallow breath. “What does that mean?”
“It means, ‘my love, my life’.”
I squeezed my eyes shut against the rush of tears as I remembered the first time he’d said “ agapi mou” to me. My gods, Aiden hadn’t lied. He had loved me since the very beginning. Knowing that filled me with steely resolve. I rose up and stared down at him.
He smiled, and my heart jumped. He reached up, tucking my hair back behind my ear. His hand lingered. “What are you thinking now?”
“We can do this.” I leaned down and kissed him. “We will do this, dammit.”
His arm circled around my waist. “I know.”
“Gods, I know this sounds really lame, so please don’t laugh at me.” I grinned. “But I’ve been… terrified of this Awakening, of losing myself. But… but I’m not anymore. I won’t lose myself, because… well, how I feel about you, it would never let me forget who I am.”
“I’d never let you forget who you are.”
My grin spread. “Gods, we’re crazy. You know that, right?”
Aiden laughed. “I think we’re pretty good at crazy, though.”
We stayed in each other’s arms longer than we should have. I was reluctant to let him leave and I think he was, too. Rolling onto my side, I watched him throw his clothes on. He grinned when he caught me. I wiggled my brows. “What? It’s a nice view.”
“Wicked,” he said, sitting beside me. His hand skimmed over my hip. There was something fierce in his gaze. “We will do this.”
I snuggled closer to him, wishing he didn’t have to leave. “I know. I believe that.”
Aiden kissed me once more and whispered, “ Agapi mou”
CHAPTER 23
EVERYTHING AND NOTHING CHANGED AFTER HAVING sex. I didn’t look any different. Well, there was the goofy smile plastered over my face that I couldn’t get rid of. Other than that, I looked the same. But I did feel different. I ached in places I had no idea someone could even hurt. My heart also did that fluttering thing every time I even thought his name, which was so girlie and I loved it.
Letting my heart instead of my hormones decide when to do it made what Aiden and I’d done special. And when we passed each other throughout the day, the looks we stole suddenly meant more. Everything meant more, because we both were risking it all and neither of us regretted that.
I spent the better part of the afternoon and evening playing Scrabble with Deacon. I think he regretted asking me to play, because I was one of thoseScrabble players—the kind who played three-letter words every chance I got.
There was a part of me that kept expecting the gods to zap one of us for finally breaking all the rules. So when Apollo popped in on our fourth round of Scrabble, I about had a heart attack.
“Gods!” I clutched my chest. “Can you stop doing that?”
Apollo looked at me strangely. “Where is Aiden?”
Slowly rising to his feet, Deacon cleared his throat and bowed. “Urn, I think he’s outside. I’ll go get him.”
I glared at Deacon’s retreating form. Left alone with Apollo, I wasn’t sure what to do. Should I stand up and bow, too? Was it considered rude to sit in the presence of a god? But then Apollo sat beside me, cross-legged, and started messing with the letters on the board.
Guess not.
“I know what’s happened,” Apollo said after a few seconds.
My brows furrowed. “What are you talking about?”
He nodded at the board.
My gaze dropped to the game and I nearly passed out. He’d spelled SEX and AIDEN with those stupid little squares. Horrified, I shot to my knees and swept the letters off the board. “I-I have no idea what you’re talking about!”
Apollo tipped his head back and laughed, like, chortled really loudly.
I think I hated him, god or not.
“I’ve always known.” He leaned back against the couch, folding his arms. His blue eyes burned unnaturally, lit from within. “I’m just surprised you two made it this far.”
My jaw hit the floor. “Wait. That night Kain came back? You… you knew I was in Aiden’s cabin, didn’t you?”
He nodded.
“But… how do you know now?” My stomach dropped. “Oh, my gods, have you been doing some kind of creepy peeping-god thing or something? Did you see us?”
Apollo’s eyes narrowed as he tilted his head toward me. “No. I dohave better things to do.”