Deity (Covenant #3)(69)

Sipping my drink, I laughed when Aiden tried to right the bulb on Deacon’s MHT tree. I drifted around the room, looking for some sort of personal effects. There wasn’t a single picture of the St. Delphi family. Nothing that proved they even existed.

Aiden stood in front of a closed door—a room he hadn’t shown me on the mini-tour. “How’s the chocolate?”

I smiled. “It’s perfect.”

He set his water down on the coffee table and folded his arms. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what Apollo said.”

“Which part of crazy are you thinking about?” I watched him over the rim of my mug, loving the way he smiled in response to the stupid things that came out of my mouth. That had to be true love, I decided.

“You shouldn’t stay at Lucian’s when he returns.”

I lowered my mug. “Why?”

“Apollo has a point about Seth. You’re in danger because of him. The further away from him you are, the safer you’ll be.”


“Aiden—”

“I know you care about him, but you’ve suspected that Seth hasn’t been honest with you.” Aiden strode forward and dropped into a chair. His gaze lowered and heavy lashes fanned his cheeks. “You shouldn’t be around him—not when he can come and go at Lucian’s.”

Aiden had a point. I’d give him that, but I seriously doubted that was the whole reason. “And you feel this way all because of what Apollo said?”

“No. It’s more than that.”

“You don’t like Seth?” I asked innocently, setting my mug down.

He flashed his teeth. “Besides that, Alex, he hasn’t been honest about a lot of things. He lied about knowing how an Apollyon was created, about the Order, and there’s a good chance he’s… giving you those marks on purpose.”

“Okay, besides all those reasons?”

He stared up at me. “Well, I don’t like that fact that you’re settling for him.”

I rolled my eyes. “I hate when you say that.”

“It’s the truth,” he said simply.

Irritation started to burn below my skin. “That’s not the truth. I’m not settling for Seth.”

“Let me ask you a question, then.” Aiden leaned forward. “If you could have… who you wanted, would you be with Seth?”

I stared at him, somewhat shocked that he’d even throw that out there. And it really wasn’t a fair question. What could I say to that?

“Exactly.” He sat back, smiling smugly.

A fierce emotion blasted through me. “Why can’t you just admit it?”

“Admit what?”

“That you’re jealous of Seth.” It was one of those times I needed to shut up, but I couldn’t. I was angry and thrilled all at once. “You’re jealous of the fact that I can be with Seth if I want to be.”

Aiden smirked. “There. You just said it yourself. You’d be with Seth if you wanted to be. Obviously you don’t, so why are you with him? You’re settling.”

“Ugh!” My hands curled into fists and I wanted to stomp my foot. “You are absolutely the most frustrating person I know. Fine. Whatever. You’re not jealous of Seth or the fact that he’s been sleeping in my bed for the last two months, because of course you haven’t wished that was you at all.”

Something dangerous flared in his silvery eyes.

Cheeks flaming, I wanted to smack myself. Why had I said that? To piss him off orto make myself look like a total ho-bag? I’d accomplished a little of both.

“Alex,” he said, voice low and deceptively soft.

“Just forget it.” I started past him, but his hand shot out as fast as a snake striking. One second I was walking and the next I was in his lap, straddling him. Eyes wide and heart thundering, I stared at him.

“Okay,” he said, grasping my upper arms. “You’re right. I’m jealous of that little punk. Happy?”

Instead of basking in the glory of having him admit that I was right, I placed my hands on his shoulders and basked in something totally different. “I… I keep forgetting how fast you can move when you want to.”

A strange small smile played over his lips. “You haven’t seen anything yet, Alex.”

My pulse went into cardiac arrest territory. I was done arguing—done talking in general. Other things were on my mind. And I knew he was thinking the same. His hands moved down my arms to my hips. He tugged me forward, and the softest part of me pressed against his hardness.

Our mouths didn’t touch, but the rest of our bodies did. Neither of us moved. There was something primal in Aiden’s gaze, wholly possessive. I shivered—the good kind of shiver. All I could think about was how good, how right his body felt pressed against mine.

I cupped his face and then slid my fingers through his hair, amazed that the intensity of what I was feeling was stronger than any bond with Seth. Delicious sensations rolled through me as his hands tightened around my hips, and when he rocked against me, the way his hands trembled and the powerful way his body coiled completely undid me.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” he whispered, his eyes searching mine. “That I should’ve told you—”