Page 65 of Desired By Eros

Eros was too exhausted to think of anything but the truth. He stared at the glowing pyxis in his hands, feeling everything he had endured to reach it.

“I need it to save the woman I love,” he admitted.

Persephone smiled, her brown eyes alight with understanding. “Love is great, isn’t it?” She tilted her head. “Oh, wait. You’re the god of love and desire. You already know this.”

Eros let out a breath of a laugh, but it faded quickly. “It’s the only time I’ve felt it.”

Persephone studied him for a moment before nodding. “Well then, let’s get you back to her, shall we?” She held out her hand, her fingers glowing with the power of the Underworld.

Eros gripped the pyxis tighter, took one last look at the river, and reached for her hand.

In the next instant, they were back in the cabin. Eros rushed to the bed where Psyche was still asleep, her chest rising and falling gently with each breath. He placed the pyxis next to her, carefully arranging it on the nightstand.

Aphrodite gave Persephone a grateful nod. “Thank you for helping him.”

Persephone smiled. “It was nothing,” she replied. “The heart knows where it belongs.” With a soft nod, she disappeared with a brief, almost imperceptible wave of her hand.

Eros turned around and froze, his gaze landing on a man sitting at the kitchen table. “What the fuck is Bob doing here?” he demanded.

“Your mother went a little bit nuts, and now we’re holding Bob here,” Hephaestus grumbled from the corner of the room.

Eros raised an eyebrow, turning to his mother. “Really, Mama?”

Aphrodite didn’t look the least bit guilty. She simply shrugged. “You know how it is, darling,” she said nonchalantly.

Eros shot her a look that screamed “I can’t believe this,” but he didn’t have time to dwell on it. His attention shifted back to Bob, who was sitting in the kitchen chair, silent and wide-eyed.

The pyxis was solid and unyielding in his hands and he placed it in front of Bob. The mortal didn’t say a word, but his eyes widened even more as he stared at it.

For a long moment, the room was quiet. Eros could feel the tension building, the ache everything that had happened, and everything still hanging in the balance.

Chapter 12

Eros

Bob’s eyes remained locked on the pyxis, his fingers curling slightly against the edge of the table, but he didn’t move to touch it.

Eros clenched his jaw, his patience already running thin. “Are you ready to free Psyche from the spell you put her under and let her wake up?”

Bob didn’t respond. He didn’t even flinch. He just kept staring at the pyxis, his face unreadable.

Eros slammed his fist down on the table, the sound echoing through the small cabin. The force rattled the pyxis, causing it to shift slightly. “Say something!” he growled. “You wanted this, right? Now do what you said you’d do!”

Bob didn’t so much as blink. Instead, his gaze flickered past Eros, landing on Aphrodite.

Eros noticed and turned to his mother. She sighed dramatically, examining her nails as if she were entirely unbothered by the drama unfolding in front of her.

“What?” Eros demanded, eyes narrowing.

Hephaestus let out a low chuckle from the corner, shaking his head. “You’re going to love this,” he muttered.

Eros’s stomach sank. He turned his full attention to Aphrodite, who still wasn’t looking at him. “Mama. What did you do?”

Aphrodite finally looked up and met his gaze, completely unrepentant. “Oh, relax,” she said breezily. “When I brought Bob here, I had to use a little magic to find out what he really wanted.”

“And?”

Aphrodite gave an elegant shrug. “And then I used a little more magic…to shut him up.”

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