Aiden caught a strand of my hair between his fingers. “I know. I trust you, Alex. But that doesn’t mean I trust him.”
There was no winning this with him. “Anyway, I can talk to Seth and let him know what’s going on with the Order and what people fear.”
“And you think he’ll go along with that?”
“I do. Seth won’t force me into anything by using the… connection against us.” I wiggled up Aiden’s chest and kissed his chin. “Seth once told me that if things ever became… too much, he’d leave. So there is a way out.”
“Huh, he actually said that?” His eyes burned silver. “Maybe he’s not so bad.”
“He’s not.”
“I don’t like this, but like I said, I will support you any way that I can.”
“Thank you.” I kissed his cheek again.
A sigh shuddered through him. “Alex?”
“What?”
He leaned back, watching me through heavy lashes. “Did you guys eat all the cookie dough last night or did you actually make any cookies?”
I laughed at the turn in conversation. “We made some. I think there might be a few left.”
“Good.” He placed his hands on my hips and tugged me forward, pressing our bodies together. “What’s Valentine’s Day without cookies?”
“I think the mortals put a lot of emphasis on chocolate this time of the year.” I placed my hands on his shoulders, and the stuff with angry gods, Order members, Seth, and everything else took the back seat. “But cookies work.”
One hand slid up the curve of my spin, slipping under the mass of tangled hair and sending a fine shiver over my skin. “So there’s no lame Christmas tree involved?”
“There’s no such thing as a Mortal Holiday Tree.” My breath caught as he guided my mouth toward his, stopping just as our lips brushed. “But… but I’m sure the mortals would appreciate the thought of that kind of tree.”
“You do?” He pressed his mouth to one corner of my lips and then the other. Eyes drifting shut, my fingers dug into his shirt. When he kissed me slowly, pouring all his unstated passions into that one act, his powerful body tensed under mine.
I couldn’t remember what we were talking about. There was just the heady, wild rush of feelings that stormed through me. This was Aiden—the man I’d loved for what felt like forever, in my arms, under me, against me, and touching me.
“Happy Valentine’s Day,” he murmured.
Aiden held me close and still, and in those moments, he showed rather than told me just how much we were in this together.
Chapter 24
I’D FANTASIZED SO MANY TIMES ABOUT WHAT IT would be like to be in a relationship with Aiden. There had been days, not too long ago, that I would’ve smacked that dream right out of my head because it seemed so hopeless. But for a week I lived that fantasy to the fullest.
We stole as many moments alone as we could, filling them with deep kisses and quiet laughter. And plans, we actually made plans.
Or at least we tried to.
My back arched and a giggle escaped.
“Oh, so you are ticklish?” Aiden murmured against the flushed skin of my neck. “This is a very interesting development.”
It seemed that, when we were together, we could never keep our hands off each other for very long. Aiden had to be touching some part of me. Whether it was just a slight contact of skin, his hand wrapped around mine or our bodies flush with our legs tangled lazily, we were always touching.
Maybe it was because he’d fought it for so long or maybe we both were crazy, intoxicated by the simple act of just lying together, and we were addicted to it. Our legs pressed together and our heads rested on the arm of the couch in the room with the family portraits. It was safe in here as no one dared to enter it. What had once been Aiden’s sanctuary had become ours.
Today was no different.
But it wasn’t all fun. As the days passed and I knew Seth’s return was approaching, anxious energy built inside me. There was also barb-tipped guilt that sank in deep. Sometimes, when I thought of him, I remembered those glimpses of vulnerability he’d shown after our midnight swim in the Catskills and the day after I’d been given the brew. Seth was a lot of things, almost a complete enigma at times, but under it all, he was a guy who… who cared, and he cared about me. Maybe more than I did for him. Maybe not, but I didn’t want to hurt him.
I wiggled on the couch beside Aiden, trying to shake the sudden dark cloud that’d settled over me. Talking to Seth wasn’t going to be easy. Then again, I had no idea how he would respond. He’d been with Boobs…so maybe it wouldn’t be that hard.
“So tell me,” Aiden continued idly, drawing me back to the present—to him. “Where was that spot again? Was it here?” He trailed his fingers over my stomach.
“No.” My eyes closed as my heart jumped and tiny shivers skated through me.
“Here?” His fingers danced over my ribs.
Beyond words, I shook my head no.
“Now where was that spot?”
His agile fingers skipped over my stomach and along my side. I clamped my mouth shut, but my body shook as I tried to restrain my natural reaction.
“Aha! Is this it?” He increased the pressure slightly.
I squirmed, but he was relentless. He laughed when I jack knifed, and I would’ve tumbled to the floor if it weren’t for his quick movement. “Stop,” I gasped in between fits of giggles, “I can’t take it.”