Page 69 of Taken By the Blood God

Davian sighed, leaning back and stretching his arms across the top of the couch. He looked every bit like the insolent god that he was. “Why not?”

“Because she’d lock me up under the mountain again and run as far away as she could manage,” I muttered.

“I guess that also means you haven’t told her about Cassia.”

My hands began to feel hot. Growling beneath my breath, I spun on my heel and paced back toward the trees at the rear of the yard. It took me a full minute to walk there and back again. When I was close enough to the porch, Davian decided to dig the knife in a bit deeper.

“I’m pretty sure she won’t lock you beneath the mountain when she finds out that she’s the reincarnation of Cassia, the goddess you loved a thousand years ago. She’ll probably just freeze the blood in your veins and throw you off the mountaintop instead.”

Flames danced in my vision, and I felt the comforting heat of them run along my fingertips. Davian just smirked at me, lifting one foot to prop his ankle on his knee.

“She’s not Cassia. What I feel for Minerva is nothing like my feelings for Cassia once were. I didn’t understand it when she said I would one day find the woman meant for me and that it would make my love for her seem like a candle in comparison tothe sun’s rays. But I understand it now. What I feel for Minerva is so much deeper and stronger than my affection for Cassia. It cannot be compared.Theycannot be compared.”

Davian shook his head at me before he tilted the beer to his lips and drained it in one long swallow.

Before he could say something else to piss me off, I heard a car turn into the driveway. Minerva was back. My body relaxed slightly. I wouldn’t be able to let go of the tension completely until I saw her and touched her.

Davian set the empty beer bottle on the table beside him and got to his feet. “I’m going for a walk in the woods.”

He padded down the steps, barefoot, and stopped in front of me after he stepped onto the grass. “You need to talk to the witch, Talant. I’m no expert on females, but I do remember that they don’t appreciate being lied to.”

“I will. Just…not yet.”

I needed more time with her. More time to convince her that she wanted me, not just in her bed, but in her heart.

“I wouldn’t wait too long,” he replied. “She’s growing stronger every day, gaining more of Cassia’s power. Soon, she’ll gain Cassia’s memories as well. When she does…” He didn’t have to finish his sentence. I knew what he was saying.

If Minerva unlocked Cassia’s memories before I told her of my past, it would decimate the fragile trust we were building.

“I know,” I murmured, my head dropping.

Davian clapped me on the shoulder before striding through the yard to the woods and disappearing among the trees. I knew that he was giving me time alone with Minerva, despite his cynical words and sneering face. My brother might be an asshole, but he wanted me to be happy.

However, he didn’t believe that Minerva was the key to that happiness. Someday, he would meet the woman meant to be his and he would discover how wrong he was. If he was anything likeme, he would fall fast and hard. And have no idea how to handle her. Despite the pit in my stomach, I found myself smiling at the idea of Davian falling in love.

The sound of someone walking through the house snapped my attention away from my brother and back to my little witch.

I moved quickly up the steps and walked through the sunroom to the kitchen. Minerva stood at the counter, unloading containers of food from a canvas bag. For the first time since she left that morning, I felt like I could take a full breath. I crossed the kitchen and took her in my arms. I just needed to touch her, to smell her. Smoothing my hands down her back to her waist, I trailed my nose from her ear to her collarbone.

Chills erupted on her skin, and she shivered in my arms. I replaced my nose with the tip of my tongue, tasting her. When that wasn’t enough, I lifted my head and took her mouth with mine. Her lips were soft, opening beneath mine, welcoming me inside. I gripped her tighter, sweeping my tongue into her mouth. She tasted sweet and warm, like she was mine.

Minerva’s fingers clasped my waist, her nails biting lightly into my bare skin. It took everything I had to stop kissing her instead of taking her straight to bed. I cupped her face, gradually withdrawing my mouth from hers.

Minerva’s golden eyes were glassy and unfocused when she opened them to look up at me. I kissed her forehead, relishing in the sense of peace that surrounded me now that she was home.

“I’m glad you’re back. I missed you today,” I murmured.

The peacefulness around me seemed to grow deeper, softer. I realized that the sensation was coming from Minerva. The stress and tension that followed her like a dark shadow for the past few weeks was gone.

Her mouth opened, but before she could speak, the back door opened, and Davian stomped inside. I bit back a curse. Why had he come back so quickly?

As though he read my thoughts, he grumbled, “I’m hungry.”

Minerva blinked, her eyes regaining their focus as she stared at me. Then, her hands released my waist, slipping away. I sensed her withdrawing from me. I lowered my arms and stepped back. We would eat dinner, spend an hour or two together in the den, and then I would have her all to myself.

Minerva carried the containers of food to the kitchen table. “Then, you’d better get the plates so we can eat.”

I watched Minerva throughout dinner, trying to understand why she seemed so different. Why the cloud of emotions that hung over her had dissipated. I kept watching her after we cleaned up the dinner dishes and put away the leftover food. As we settled in the den, she curled up with a book and I sprawled out next to her with a beer. The peace returned, emanating from Minerva. I understood then. She was no longer fighting herself. Or me. She had come to a decision. About herself and about me.

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