Deity

The silver eyes flared. His hand trembled against my cheek again and as he lifted up, his eyes roamed over me. My newfound courage all but disappeared under his scalding stare. Somehow sensing my nervousness, his kiss was gentle and sweet. He was patient and perfect, coaxing away the shyness until I wrapped myself around him.

There was a near-panicked edge to him, driven by the knowledge that there was no pulling back, no stopping this time. With a thrusting kiss that left me shaken, his hand drifted with such exquisite detail. His kisses followed the same pattern and when he paused, his eyes begged for permission. That simple moment, that tiny act brought tears to my eyes.

I couldn’t—didn’t want to—deny him anything.

Aiden was everywhere—in every touch, every soft moan. When I thought I couldn’t take anymore, that I would surely break, he was there to prove that I could. When his lips descended on mine again, they did so with a fevered pitch.

“I love you,” he whispered. “I have since the night in Atlanta. I always will.”

I gasped against his skin. “I love you.”

He broke. Whatever control he had wrapped around him finally slipped away. I reveled in it, the pure simplicity of being in his arms and knowing that he felt the same keen madness that I did. Supporting himself with his forearm as his kisses took on the same sense of urgency that I felt, he lifted his mouth to whisper something in a beautiful language I didn’t understand. I was nearly over the edge, rushing towards a glorious ending.

We were surrounded by our love for one another. It became a tangible thing, electrifying the air around us until I was sure we both would ignite under its power. Then in a mindless moment of pure beauty, we weren’t a half-blood and a pure-blood, we were simply just two people madly, deeply in love.

We were one.

I awoke some time later, tucked in Aiden’s arms. The candle still flickered by the bed. The sheet had tangled around our legs, and the comforter was pushed to the floor. I realized that I’d been more or less using him as a pillow. I lifted my head and drank him in. I could never grow tired of looking at him.

His chest rose evenly under my hands. He looked so young and relaxed while he slept. Locks of dark waves tumbled against his forehead and his lips were parted. I leaned down and placed a soft kiss against those lips.

His arms immediately tightened, betraying that he was not as deeply asleep as I’d originally thought. I gri

Aiden’s eyes fluttered open. “How long have you been staring at me?”

“Not long.”

“Knowing you,” he drawled lazily, “you’ve been staring at me since I fell asleep.”

“That’s not true.” I giggled.

“Uh huh, come here.” He tugged me down. My nose brushed against his. “Not nearly close enough.”

I shifted closer. My leg wrapped around his. “Close enough?”

“Let me see.” His hands slid down my back and rested over the curve of my waist with the slightest pressure. “Ah, that’s better.”

I flushed. “Yes… yeah, it is.”

Aiden gri

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 begi

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 gri

“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 gri

“Wicked,” he said, sitting beside me. His hand skimmed over my hip. There was something fierce in his gaze. “We will do this.”