Page 29 of Pandora's Pain
He pulled fully back from me, his fingertips still lightly held on my hips. Cool air skimmed across my nipples, making my spine arch to close that terrible distance between his body and mine.
“I’m serious. You think I’m fuckwit? You think I don’t know what you’re hiding in that messy mind of yours? You can’t manipulate me. I’m not a little mortal misery for you to toy with. I. Am. A. God.”
He said it as if he was a thing to worship. And yet he held my body in his hands likeIwas a modern marvel.
I shifted closer to the edge of the bed, letting his palms settle heavier on my bare hips. I wished I could see him.
I wished he could see me.
“If you know me so well, why did you kiss me back, Alex?” I let my whisper clip out in a harsh and pointed tone.
Darkness was all that surrounded us. I couldn’t see him, and he couldn’t see me.
And the silence spanned on for so long I wonder if he’d ever answer.
His thumbs started to trail back and forth against my skin, sending a shiver all through me. “Because you felt good,” he said, so quietly I barely heard the confession. “Because you touched me like you wanted me. Even if I knew that wasn’t true.”
My fingers brushed lightly over his jaw, holding his head in my hands as his words repeated in my mind with a sinking feeling of guilt laying like lead in my stomach.
How much freedom does this god really have? I guess I never paused to consider if he was any different than the others. I never even wondered if he was as screwed up as I was.
“I’m sorry.” I shouldn’t have tried to use him. It was a low thing to do to anyone.
He’d confessed. I’d confessed.
And yet there we were, still cradling each other in the dark.
“Scoot over.” His tense words were quiet but demanding.
I paused for only moment before shifting back. The mattress dipped, the bed creaking in protest as he settled in on my pillow. I kneeled there over him. Shadows of movements were all I could make out.
“Lie down.”
It took a moment for me to follow through with his request.
The cool covers fell across my legs as I shifted down into the bed. The sheets separated my body from his and to say I was disappointed was a bit of understatement.
Without explanation, he pushed his palm across my abdomen, making my thighs rub together from his closeness. His hard chest melded against my back and I settled into his strength.
The anger and stress and fear I’d carried all my life fell away as I found comfort in his arms.
If only for that one night.
Chapter Twelve
When I awoke, I was alone. It was as if that moment of compassion and—gods forbid—friendship was only a dream.
Alex’s hard gaze was held on the bustling city life below us. The morning sunlight struck across his perfect features as he watched the mortals below.A god among men. A line creased his brows.
What was he thinking?
His bronze skin was still on display as he leaned there in nothing but his tight jeans. The carved lines of muscle tone along his back drew my attention. Minutes ticked by, and I never said a word. I simply appraised him from my spot tucked beneath the thick, white blankets. Two dimples kissed the narrow span of his lower back, just above his firm ass.
Was everything about him perfectly made? My thoughts instantly went south.What other perfect things have I not gotten a glimpse of yet?
He didn’t look at me as he spoke. “Literally, your mind is an endless loop of dick references, I swear.”
I didn’t move an inch, but a smile crept across my face.
