“Every day.” He closes his eyes, screws his face up into a scowl. “Every single day.”
Reaching over to him, I wipe a single tear from his cheek. “That still doesn’t explain the Danny Zuko costume,” I say. He chuckles.
“There’s just a vibe to those greaser guys, you know? Like they don’t have a care in the world. They’re just…cool. I spent centuries feeling sorry for myself and acting out. And then, finally, I started to grow up. Right when these guys were getting popular, actually.” Cupid fiddles with the lapel of his jacket. “And I thought,wow, I want to be like that—laid-back, unshakable. It’s like…emotional armor.”
“Huh. That’s very relatable.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, I wear armor, too,” I say, gesturing to my face. “My resting bitch face. It’s my way of telling guys not to fuck with me, without actually having totellthem.”
“Didn’t work on me, though,” Cupid says,giving me a slow, easy smile.
“No, it didn’t,” I say, smiling right back.
And then, without a second’s hesitation, I lean over and kiss him.
15
Cupid
Felicity’s lips are soft and urgent against mine. Like a moth to a flame, I let her pull my body toward her bright warmth. She presses against me, throwing a leg over my thighs and settling there like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
It’s almost enough to make me lose myself. Almost.
But my mind is churning between our moment last night, her disappearance this morning, everything we just shared. The vulnerability between us is a raw, exposed thing—is it too soon to agitate it? Will this turn us into an open wound?
I gently break away, pushing on her shoulders to create distance.
“Felicity,” I murmur, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear, “what do you want?”
“I want this,” she whispers back, nuzzling her face into my neck and kissing the sensitive spot beneath my ear. “I want to let go for a while.”
In the back of my mind, I don’t think this is a good idea. At all. There’s too much at stake for both of us. She still thinksshe’s been hit by my arrow. She probably thinks this is part of the spell, part of what she’s supposed to be feeling under its influence.
And Felicity doesn’t know that I’ve lied to her about this. That I’m playing a dangerous game, because I was so infatuated with her in that moment that I couldn’t resist the temptation to seek out more. Or, if I’m being truly honest, I’ve been enamored since the moment I laid eyes on her for the first time.
She doesn’t know these things, and I don’t plan on telling her the truth right now. So, what am I supposed to do?
“Let go,” Felicity breathes into my ear before nipping at the lobe. Her hand runs down my chest slowly and stops at the waistband of my jeans.
I’m a god, but I’m no angel.
Besides, stronger men than I have fallen prey to a siren’s song.
I decide in a split second: I will give in to what she wants. But to make myself feel like I’m not being a selfish asshole, I reason, I’ll make it all abouther. It’s a weak sort of exoneration; I’ll still know I’ve been a selfish asshole tomorrow. At least tonight I can lie to assuage my guilt.
With a shuddering breath, I pull Felicity onto my lap and cradle her face in my hands.
“Okay,” I say. “Okay.” My eyes search hers. They’re dark and heated, blazing with something unspoken. “Tell me what you need, then take it.”
Her lips crush mine, and she kisses me with renewed urgency. She bites at my lower lip, tugging my mouth open so she can tangle her tongue with my own. It doesn’t take long for my every thought to be consumed byFelicity—not that I’m doing anything to stop it.
After several moments, she pauses and pulls back. “I needcontrol,” she says. “No questions asked. Can you do that for me, Cupid?”
“Are you sure—?”
“Uh uh.” Felicity places a finger over my mouth. “That sounds like a question. I need a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’. Can you do that?”
