Eros (Contemporary Mythos Book 4)

We’d taken a cab ride back toward Ghaoil Cottage, not surprisingly having Mr. Campbell as our driver again. I whispered in his ear where to drop us off, and he gave me a cheeky grin. Eros and I stood in front of a long winding dirt road, and I tugged my jacket around my chest.

“I mean, the dirt path is lovely, but this is the magical place you mentioned making memories?” Eric raised a brow.

I playfully slapped his arm. “No, silly. It’s at the end of this walk, but I promise it’s worth it.”

“Walk? Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I’ve walked more than a mile…anywhere?” He frowned.

I curled my arm with his. “Well, guess it’s about time to get your mortal on.”

“Lead the way.”

It was off-season, so there weren’t nearly as many tourists. I hoped we’d be the only ones when we reached my planned spot.

“Not walking. Wow. What’s it like?” I moved closer, stealing the warmth that radiated from him like a sunbeam.

“Flying?”

I nodded.

“No one’s asked me before, hm.” His eyes closed, and he tilted his chin upward. “It’s a sense of freedom. The wind caresses you, guides you, and you feel weightless. While in flight, the world ceases to exist. You can simply…be.”

A sigh rolled from the pit of my stomach—deep and longing. “Sounds amazing. I can’t remember the last time I could stop and think about nothing.”

“I can take you up any time you want. Remember, all you have to do is ask.” His sultry gaze fluttered over my skin.

“I will. I’m just not there yet.”

Mentally, I wasn’t. Despite all the proof presented to me, there was still a deep-seated block in my brain that wouldn’t let me fully believe it. At any moment, I’d wake up, and this would all have been a glorious dream. One I admittedly didn’t want to leave.

We passed an elderly couple walking hand-in-hand down the opposite side of the path. They greeted us with brightened smiles, and the man gave his wife a quick peck on her temple.

“Mm. Those two have been together for a very long time. That’s a walking example of true, long-lasting love.”

I beamed up at him, curling his arm tighter. “Can you tell how they met?”

“Yes.” The warmth of his smile made my heart swell. “She was sixteen. He was twenty-six, having just taken over his father’s farm. She was a merchant’s daughter, and the families were against their pairing because of the age difference, but they kept meeting each other in secret and eloped when she turned eighteen.”

A tingle shot down my arm. “Love at first sight?”

“Let me guess. Complete hogwash to you, right?”

I bit my lip, desperately searching for the right words to not sound like the cynic I still thought I was. “How could someone possibly fall in love that quickly? It takes time, getting to know someone. What makes them tick, their bad habits? Can you even stand being around them for an entire day?”

A wry grin pulled at his lips, and he gripped my shoulders. “I’m here to tell you, it does exist, but in sporadic cases. Few will experience it but not recognize it, some will confuse it for infatuation, and even fewer will know the truth like that couple we passed.”

A golf-ball-sized lump formed in my throat. The tingles I’d felt from Eric’s first touch…no. Attraction. From the moment I laid eyes on him, I could readily admit he was more than easy on the eyes.

“Have you ever experienced it for yourself? Love at first sight?” I tried to meet his gaze, but remained transfixed on his chest, remembering the light scattering of hair leading down to his—my eyes shot up to his face.

He dragged a hand through his hair, and we started walking again. “I thought I did—once.”

“Her?” I wasn’t even sure I should say her name out loud at this point.

He nudged me with his elbow. “You can say her name. But yes. It ended up being infatuation. And—clumsiness on my part.” His nostril bounced.

A peculiar twisting knotted my stomach. A deep part of me hoped he’d have said, me—that I was his love at first sight.

We passed an older farmer pulling weeds from a nearby fence. He waved at us but then perked up, standing straight with widened eyes. Rattling off a sentence in jumbled Gaelic, he pointed at me.

My Gaelic was a little rusty, but— “I’m sorry, did you say something about marriage?”

The farmer nodded vigorously, pointing at my waist, speaking more Gaelic.

“Care to fill me in?” Eric asked, covering his mouth with his hand and leaning toward me.

“I can’t be sure, but I think he wants to…marry me because of my hips.”

Eric bit back a smile. “Well, why don’t you? He’s got land. Prospects. Wouldn’t he fit into your algorithm?”

I tossed him a seething glare. “This isn’t funny.”

“How much would you give for her?” Eric asked, ignoring me.

Heat surged up my neck, pooling in my cheeks with such intensity, I had to peel away my jacket collar.

The farmer pointed to a dairy cow grazing in the field behind him and raised his bushy white eyebrows.

“One cow?” Eric displayed his hands over me like a male Vanna White. “Surely she’s worth at least two.”

“Oh my God, Eric, stop.” It was my turn to bite back a grin.

The farmer tapped his lips and then sloshed over to a group of sheep. His black galoshes made funny squishing noises in the wet mud. He returned with two sheep in tow and opened his palms toward them.

“Hm.” Eric rubbed his chin. “I don’t know, Elani, that’s a lot of money.”

I thwacked him in the chest. “I truly appreciate your offer, sir. I’m flattered, but I’ll have to politely decline.” Yanking Eric’s arm, I coaxed him to continue down the path.

The farmer frowned, his arms flopping slack at his sides. One sheep baahed, while the other stood motionless save for its rotating jaw, munching on grass.

“Well, now you’ve gone and made the guy heartbroken. You’re so mean.” Eric slid a sly grin across his lips.

“Were you seriously about to up and give me away to an offering of livestock from a Scottish farmer?”

He chuckled and jostled my shoulders. “Of course not. I was miffed about Graeme stealing you away. Why would I let a farmer?”

My heart raced. “You were?”

“Of course, I was.” His eyes searched my face.

The familiar rock formations appeared at the corner of my eye, and I yelped. “We’re almost here. I want this to be a complete surprise, so close your eyes. And no peeking.”

His face brightened as he let his eyes fall shut.

“And no using your powers to see through your eyelids or something.” I waved my hand in front of his face.

“I’m a god, Elani. Not Superman.”

“You’re saying that like I knew you didn’t have x-ray vision or freeze breath.”

“Well, I don’t. Though I can fly.” He grinned.

I moved behind him and slipped my hands over his closed eyes. “To make myself feel better.”

“Whatever gets your hands on me.”

“Shut up.” I smiled. “Now move forward, and I’ll tell you when to stop.”

“I’m trusting you not to let me fall off a cliff. That’s a big deal.”

This man. Since day one, he never failed to make me laugh. “Okay, stop.”

I peeled my hands away and let him take in the view of the serene Fairy Pools. Moss and grass-covered rocks spilled down into a lush waterfall, emptying into a pool of clear blue water.

“This is gorgeous.” His eyes sparkled, and he looked genuinely in awe.

I pressed against his side. “It’s one of my favorite spots in the entire world.”

“Have you been many places?”

The sound of a waterfall crashing against the rocks soothed my scattered brain. “I don’t have to be to know this would still be it.”

Eric stepped to the edge, peering down into the crystal cerulean depths. “Have you ever swum in it?”

“Oh, no way. It’s freezing. Even more so this time of year.”

“I could remedy that.”

“Keep us warm somehow, you mean?”

“Yup.” His brows did one quick bob.” So, what do you say? Want to live a little?”

I gripped his arm as I leaned over the edge to scope how far of a drop it was and quickly retreated. “I’m not jumping.”

“Never said anything about jumping.” He half-smiled and took my hand. “Come on. I saw a path leading down over this way.”

There wasn’t another soul on the path. We were completely and utterly alone. It’s what I wanted, but it made me uneasy. Time alone with Eros meant falling in an endless abyss, wishing I’d hit solid ground, but also hoping I’d float forever.

Eros. That was the first time I thought of him by his real name.

“Here, see. We can slip right in from this rock.” He shrugged his jacket off, followed by his shirt.

My teeth chattered as I stared at his chiseled torso. He had a tattoo on his upper arm I didn’t notice before—a hare with a helmet holding a lit torch.

“I agreed to go in. Not skinny dipping.” My knees trembled from the extra chill near the water.

“I’m only going in shirtless in case my wings decide they want to make an appearance.” He stepped into the water, and steam wafted from the surface. “Come on in. I can dry your clothes when we get out.”

I clutched my hands under my chin, mesmerized by the handsome man—the god, standing half-naked in my favorite spot on the planet. He swirled his hands through the water, kicking up more steam before making a “come hither” gesture with his finger.

Slipping off my jacket, I folded it over a tree branch and kicked off my boots. Wincing, I slowly stepped in. The water was as warm as a hot tub.

“How in the world are you doing that?” I waded through the water until it was up to my hips.

“There’s really no way to explain it. But are you comfortable?”

My heart swelled at the sight of the waterfall up close. “More than comfortable.”

Ripples formed at my side as he came to stand beside me. The mist floating in the air from the steady fall of the water made me acutely aware of his bare arm inches from mine. I scanned the light scattering of dark hair on his chest, lifted my gaze to his broad shoulders, and settled on his perfectly chiseled face. It was hard to tell what was more majestic—the waterfall or him.

“Can I see them again?” Whenever I asked, it was as if my heart had my brain in a chokehold and forced it out of my mouth.

He did a three-sixty of our surroundings and smiled at me with a dip of his chin. “Are you sure?”

I nodded, taking a step back like one of the wings would topple me over upon release.

He turned to face me, and after one roll of his shoulders, the glistening white glory of his wings appeared. The mist from the surrounding water cast a sheen over them, making them sparkle. I reached but snapped my hand back, clasping my fingers behind me.

“You can touch them if you want. I don’t mind. Just uh—avoid the arches for now.” He pointed behind him at the arch of one wing with a sheepish grin.

“I do—it’d be—” I swallowed my words away.

He sheathed his wings. “It would be the last stitch of realism.”

I was convinced him and Alex were in cahoots. The moment was perfect. Alone with a man I was falling for but far too afraid to admit, in my favorite country, surrounded by fantastical waterfalls. With two strides, I leaped from the water, beaming inside when his arms wrapped around my waist to catch me. I pressed my lips to his, and as our mouths opened, inviting the other in, the same static shock and swirly twists I’d felt the first time we kissed rocketed through me.

I peeled back, still in his arms, blinking myself back to reality.

“Hey there.” The cleft in his chin deepened with his grin.

I hummed Strangers in the Night by Frank Sinatra, and he twirled us through the water with the speed of a sloth. His hair had dampened, causing his locks to go slightly wavy. A curl hung over his forehead, and I ran my finger through it. His deep voice started to hum the song with me. I paused, listening to him.

He smiled. “Were you humming Frank Sinatra?”

The realization hit me like a tidal wave, and my body stiffened in his arms.

He frowned. “Elani?”

“Are you two out of your wee minds? You’ll catch the death of cold in that water this time of year,” a man’s voice called to us from the top of the rocks.

I snorted out a laugh, and Eric lowered me. We both scampered from the water to retrieve our jackets.

“We uh—we have thick skin,” Eric yelled.

“Ha. And I have a thick arse. Doesn’t mean it can help me not freeze to death.”

I held a hand up. “Thank you for the concern.”

The man waved us off as he shook his head and walked away, mumbling in Gaelic.

Eric wrapped a hand over my shoulder, and my clothes were dry. I palmed my arms and thighs with a gasp.

“You’re seriously incredible.” I whirled around to face him, only to be wrapped in his arms again, my chest pushing against his ribcage.

“You were doing so well and then I lost you. What happened?” He cupped one of my cheeks with his hand.

I hummed Frank Sinatra. Only one thing made me sing Frankie tunes on a whim.

“It was nothing. I’m still a little sore about the whole Graeme thing, you know? I don’t like to be someone’s plaything.”

He brushed a thumb over my cheekbone. “That I can understand.”

My gaze fell to his lips, wanting nothing more than to devour them again—to feel them in other places than only my mouth.

“We should get back.” I tapped my fingers on his shoulders, resisting the temptation to explore lower.

His lip twitched. “It’s been a long day.” He let go and took a step back.

“Did you want to share a cab back, or—well, wait, do you even stay in hotels, or do you sleep on a cloud or something?”

He pressed both hands over his chest and bent backward in a hearty chuckle. “I don’t think I’ve ever slept on a cloud, but yes, I’m in another B&B not far from yours. A shared cab would be great.”

Minutes later, we sat in silence in the backseat, stealing occasional glances at each other. The driver wasn’t Mr. Campbell this time, which made the stale silent air even more awkward.

“Oh, I forgot. Tomorrow I’m flying to Ireland for the night for a client’s wedding.” I drummed my fingers on my knees.

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. So, maybe we can catch up again the day after?” And give me time to float back to planet Earth.

His lips took a criminal turn. “Remember you owe me a date?”

My stomach gurgled. “You’re still holding me to that?”

He nodded, that same smug grin plastered on his face.

“Haven’t we been on several already?”

“Is that what you’d call them?”

Damn it all to hell.

“You want to call in your date favor and go to a wedding with me?”

“Why not? Being in the profession that I am—” He stole a glance at the driver. “I happen to love weddings.”

“I have no idea what to expect at this thing. It could be mind-numbingly boring or one huge party scene.”

“Either scenario works for me.” He double-winked.

I snorted. His botched winking still managed to make me giggle. “Fine. But you’ll need a tux. It’s a swanky affair.”

His smile deepened. “And you thought I looked good in a kilt.”

My nails dug into the leather upholstery of the bench seat.

It wasn’t a big deal going to a wedding with a date—what was a big deal was going to one with the god of love himself.