The innate desire to sink into the space between them was maddening.
Surely she was not this easy.
Was she?
For this man, perhaps I am...
“Nice to meet you, Athena. My name’s Briony. Leehan. Like the—”
“Flower,” she mumbled, her idle hands coming to life of their own accord.
Brian’s blush colored his cheeks as his tongue darted out once more, licking his lips again.
“Most people don’t know that,” he said shyly.
“It’s Greek, in origin,” she breathed, feeling as if her heart would leap out of her chest. “It means to sprout, to grow.”
“Perhaps I am not the only expert on mythos around here,” he said.
Athena’s hands settled on his hips, and she pulled him against her, unable to fight the wildfire burning within her.
Brian closed the space between them, his lips brushing hers slowly. It certainly wasn’t the first time they’d kissed, as they’d done plenty of that the night they’d submitted to one another, but whereas those kisses were rushed, steamy kisses in the heat of the moment meant to titillate and enhance an already sensual experience...
This kiss was something much, much more.
Brian settled his hand in her hair, parting his lips as a deep, contented sound escaped him, rattling his breath like an earthquake.
The sound was something so profound and magical, Athena could not help but fall back into him, sliding her hands up his chest, feeling his warmth through his flimsy shirt.
“We should get going,” he said as he closed his eyes, leaning his forehead against hers.
“Or I might do something we may both regret,” he said.
Athena smiled at his attempt at nobility, but she was no fool. Even if she believed his words, there was no hiding his hardness that pressed against her groin, heating her like a flame.
She’d always done the right thing.
The logical thing.
She was after all, a Goddess of wisdom and peace.
But in the presence of Briony Leehan, she did not want to do the right thing or the logical thing.
She only knew she wanted to live in this moment, in his kiss, his touch, forever.
“I promise you, I wouldn’t regret it,” she breathed. “I wouldn’t regret any moment spent with you.”
The words were foreign to her, and she hated that hearing them grace the air made her sound weak, desperate.
Like a lovesick human.
But when Brian opened his eyes, the serenity in them warmed her heart as well as her blood.
“What if... what if someone catches us?” he asked, and she grinned wickedly.
“That’s the fun of it, my little flower.” She leaned forward and kissed him with as much fervor as she had the other night, when they’d made love endlessly.
“I promise I’ll be quiet.” She bit his lip between her teeth.
