Deity (Covenant #3)(74)

When my eyes met his, there was a brutal level of vulnerability in his stare, a sense of helplessness that I shared. I wanted to cry. “I know” And I did. I knew even if he never spoke those words, even if he refused to, I’d still know.

His lips parted. “Couldn’t fool you for that long, I guess.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, but a tear wiggled its way free, gliding down my cheek.

“Don’t cry.” He caught the tear with his finger as he pressed his forehead against mine. “Please. I hate when you cry because of me.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t want to be all weepy.” I wiped at my cheeks, feeling foolish. “It’s just that… I never did know.”

Aiden clasped the sides of my face, pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead. “I wanted a piece of you with me always. No matter what.”

I shuddered. “But I don’t… I don’t have anything of you.”

“Yes, you do.” Aiden brushed his lips over my damp cheek. A soft smile filled his voice. “You’ll have a piece of my heart—all of it, really. Forever. Even if your heart belongs to someone else.”

My heart tumbled over, but I stilled. “What do you mean?”

He dropped his hands, leaning back. “I know you care about him.”

I did care about Seth. But he wasn’t my heart. When Aiden was there, in front of me, the connection between us was something more than prophecy. My true fate—real and not an illusion. Prophecies are just dreams; Aiden was my reality.

“It’s not the same,” I whispered. “It never has been. You have my heart… and I only want to share my heart with you.”

Aiden’s eyes were back to liquid silver. I saw that before he lowered his gaze. Moments passed before his eyes flicked up, meeting mine. There seemed to be some sort of internal battle he struggled with. When he spoke, I wasn’t sure if he’d won or lost. “We should go to bed.”

A shock ran through me, flushing my skin. But wait—was he suggesting that we go to bed together or that we go to bed in separate beds? I really had no idea, I was too afraid to hope, and oddly, I was frightened by the idea. It was like being offered what I’d waited for so long and suddenly having no idea what to do with it.

Or how to do it.

His lips quirked, and then he stood. Clasping my boneless hands in his, he tugged me to my feet. My legs felt weak. “Go to bed,” he said.

‘“Are… are you coming, too?”

Aiden nodded. “I’ll be up in a few.”

I couldn’t breathe.

“Go,” he urged.

And I went.

Chapter 22

I WAS SURE I WAS GOING TO HAVE A HEART ATTACK. Rarely did mortal illnesses plague us, but since I had a cold already, I figured nothing was impossible.

I still couldn’t really breathe.

I brushed my teeth and got the tangles out of my hair. I stared at the obscenely large bed in the middle of the room. I couldn’t decide what to wear. Or should I wear nothing? Oh gods, what was I thinking? It wasn’t like he said he was coming up to have sex. And if he wasn’t and he saw me lying on the bed naked, that would be a whole lot of awkward. Perhaps he just wanted to spend more time with me. Seth issue aside, there was still the whole glaring issue of us not being able to be together.

But he had the pick. He’d had the pick hovering over his heart this entire time.

I pulled on a tank top and sleeping shorts, then started toward the bed. Then I looked down at my arms. In the moonlight streaming in through the window, I could still see the patchy, irregular skin. I didn’t want Aiden to see that. So I changed quickly, pulling on a thin, long-sleeved shirt. I kept the bottoms on. Then I jumped in the bed, pulled the covers up to my chin, and waited.

There was a soft knock on the door a few minutes later. “It’s okay.” I winced at the way my voice croaked.

Aiden came in, shutting and locking the door behind him. He’d changed, too, wearing a pair of dark sleeping pants and a gray tank top that showed off muscular arms. I swallowed nervously and willed my heart to slow down before I spazzed out.

He faced me and went rigid. The room was too shadowed for me to see his expression, and I wished I could, because then I could’ve tried to figure out what he was thinking. Wordlessly, he went to the windows first and drew the blinds. The room was cast into utter darkness, and my fingers dug into the rich comforter. I heard him padding around the room, and then a soft glow appeared. Aiden brought a candle to the bed, setting it down on a small table. He looked at me, expression softened by the candlelight. He smiled.

I started to relax, the blanket easing away from my fingers.

Carefully, he pulled back the covers on his side and climbed in, never once breaking eye contact with me. “Alex?”

“Yeah?”

He was still smiling. “Relax. I just want to be here with you… if that’s okay?”

“It’s okay,” I whispered.

“Good, because I really don’t want to be anyplace else.”

Oh, the warmth that flooded my chest could’ve had me floating to the stars. I watched him stretch out beside me. My gaze darted to the closed door even though I knew Deacon was nowhere near us. And it wasn’t like he didn’t already suspect something. Or like he cared. I bit my lip, daring a quick look at Aiden. He chin was tipped up and his eyes burned silver, bright, and intense. I couldn’t look away.