“I’m shattered. Emotionally and physically drained,” I truthfully admit.
“Do you ever wish we could return to high school, before all the shit went down, when we had it so easy and didn’t even realize it?”
I roll onto my side, and he does the same so we’re facing one another. “All the damn time.”
“There is a lot of the heavy right now.” He brushes his fingers across my cheek. “I’m worried about you.”
“I’m worried about you too.” I place my hand on his bare chest, careful not to touch his new branding. “I hate you had to see that bitch again today.”
“She’s dead now. It helps a lot.” His lips curl into a smile. “You going apeshit on her ass helped a lot too.” His grin expands, along with the bulge in his sleep pants. “That was so hot, Siren.”
I move in closer, pressing my hips against his growing erection. “I barely remember it. This red haze came over me, and I just lost it. I think I could have killed her.”
“I’m not going to tell you it’s wrong when that’s not what I feel. She was an evil monster. She deserved to die. My only regret is how easy her death was.”
“Same.” I rub my crotch against his hard length through his thin pants. “She should have suffered.”
Chad presses a kiss to the corner of my mouth. “I don’t want to talk about her anymore.”
“What do you want to talk about?”
He kisses the other side of my mouth. “I don’t want to talk at all,” he whispers over my lips before claiming them in a hot kiss.
We don’t do much talking after that, slowly undressing one another, and then he’s thrusting inside me, and we’re both groaning as we rock together, hips and mouths aligned as we make love.
After, we lie sweaty and sated in each other’s arms, our legs entangled and our hearts in sync. My head rests on his chest. “I love you, Ash. I’m so proud you’re my wife.”
“Love you too, babe, and I’m happy you and Jase are my husbands. It’s more than I ever dared to dream.” I move my head, careful not to touch the patch over his chest and on his arm. “Are you in pain?” I ask, gesturing toward the brandings.
“Nah.” He toys with my hair as I prop up on one elbow and stare down at him. “Those pain pills you gave me worked a charm. I only feel a twinge.”
“Good.” I peck his lips. “What are you going to tell your mom tomorrow?” I brush strands of hair off his brow as I peer into his gorgeous blue eyes. Chad is so handsome, and he’s all mine. Forever.
We have slotted back into our relationship easily, and I’m pleased. Our trust issues are still there, but they don’t seem insurmountable. That’s the only good thing to have come from everything else. Chad has put his animosity toward Ares aside, forgiven me for my betrayal, and I’m learning to forgive him for the things he did.
I’ll probably need a whole heap of therapy by the time this all plays out—Chad too—so I’ll just add this stuff to the mental list I’m keeping in my head.
“Not a lot. I’ll tell her we got married, and that’ll distract her from asking questions. I don’t want to involve her or Tess. I want to keep them safe.”
“Now that we know Jase’s dad is on our side, I have a feeling this is all going to get resolved a lot quicker.”
“Let’s hope so.” He reaches up to kiss me. “We could all use a little normalcy.”
ChapterForty-Five
Ashley
Ares is quiet Christmas morning, and I don’t know if he’s retreating or licking his wounds, if he has come to a decision, or he’s still mulling it over. Maybe it’s a combination of all of that plus missing his mom and Lili.
“Penny for your thoughts,” I say after we have all exchanged token gifts. It’s all there was time for us to get yesterday afternoon when we headed to the mall for some last-minute panic shopping.
He shrugs, looking so sad and lost. My heart aches for him as I lean into his side. He looks down at me, a look of surprise on his face, and I wonder if I was too harsh yesterday. Should I have said nothing until after Christmas? I know he must feel so alone, and I don’t want him to feel like that when I’m here. “Are you thinking about Hera and Lili?” I ask.
“Always.” His smile is strained.
“Tell me about Lili,” I ask, clinging to his arm.
A rare softness materializes on his face. “She’s a sweetheart.” He looks down at me. “You remind me of her sometimes. She has long blonde hair and brown eyes just like you. She also has a short fuse and gets riled up about the things she’s passionate about.” He eyes me knowingly, and I flip him the bird.
