Chapter 267 - One Shot too Many (2/2)

Jos rolled her eyes unable to fight against the easy smile that seemed to have taken up permanent residence on her face. ”Of course you would... now what about my dress? Unless you would also support me returning to our waiting friends and family as I left them?”

Arei pushed up out of his crouch and pressed his lips to hers. ”Though I'd love to watch you walk around in nothing more than those adorable lacy p.a.n.t.i.e.s, I'd prefer it to be a show for my eyes alone. I'd hate for Chary to seduce you away from me.” He winked as he stood once again.

Jos laughed heartily as she watched him search her bags for the long dress. ”I'm sure your sister wouldn't cheat on Scylla with me even if I were willing.” She pointed to one of the two dresses he'd just lifted. ”Yep, that one.”

Arei pushed himself up from the floor and walked over to her, his brows arched in amus.e.m.e.nt. ”Trust me she would seduce you if she wanted and Scylla would be more than happy to join. It's true they rarely let men into their relationship, but they have welcomed in other women over the years.”

Jos's eyes widened in surprise. ”Is that common... I mean I know the gods take on multiple partners frequently... do... is it like that too with demigods?”

Understanding her unspoken question, he cupped his free hand against her cheek. ”Trust me, kitten, there will always only ever be you for me. I'll never get bored or tire of you.” He bent and kissed her lips tenderly. ”It's only been you for the majority of my life.” He held her gaze until the uncertainty vanished. He straightened and lifted the dress. ”Now lift your arms.”

She did as he asked, watching in amus.e.m.e.nt as he struggled to figure out the workings of the built-in bra and the many fastenings of the back. ”Still want to dress me?” She teased as he fumbled with the strings.

”Hum... And you complain about having to remove a single belt.” He murmured as he struggled with the delicate material between his thick fingers.

Once he was finished, he walked over to his own bag and pulled on a pair of thin sweatpants and a form-fitting tee. Giggling from behind him brought his attention around to her. He arched his brows and tried to mask his own amus.e.m.e.nt behind faux seriousness. Her eyes twinkled up at him from behind the hand that hid her mouth. ”And what is so damn funny.” He didn't even try to hide the amus.e.m.e.nt from his voice.

”You!” She giggled from around her hand.

A mischievous smile curved his lips as he lumbered lazily toward her. He bent over her placing his hands on either side of her. ”And what about me is so amusing to you?” His words came out as a husky purr.

Her smile faded as she lifted the hand that had covered her mouth to his soft beard. ”You... everything about you is a contradiction...” She ran her fingers through his beard before letting her hand trail down the thick column of his neck and across his c.h.e.s.t, her eyes memorizing every inch of him as they followed her hands.

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. ”What about me do you find so controversial?”

Her hand glided down the bulging muscles of his arms, her eyes still trailing them. ”You're such a large, powerful being... yet you're so gentle and caring... We're in a palace and you're getting ready to traipse around it in your favorite sweats.” Her eyes met his. ”I've caused you so much pain over the past several months, yet you were so tender with me earlier.”

”Hum...” A low considering growl rumbled his throat as he studied her, brushing her slightly damp hair back away from her face. ”I don't hold any of the past months against you. I realize it was wrong of me to automatically want to be what we once were... to think you hadn't at least tried to move on whether I had or not-”

”It wasn't like that, though.” Jos interrupted.

He settled a finger against her lips. ”I don't care how it was. I don't hold it against you even if you had thought the worst of me and wanted to make a life with someone else, as I hope by now you don't hold our time apart against me.” He replaced his fingers with his lips. ”I'm ready to move my focus and energy to our future, aren't you?”

Jos nodded as she pressed her head against his c.h.e.s.t. She could feel the slight heating of her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around his waist. ”You always make me feel like such a child...”

He tugged her arms away from him and pushed away from the bed to better study her eyes. ”How so? I assure you it wasn't my intention, and I promise, I've never thought of you as such.”

She shrugged in added embarrassment. ”Just the way you speak to me sometimes...”

He frowned as he tugged her up beside him. ”I apologize. I'll work to do better.”

She frowned against the dull ache still between her t.h.i.g.hs as she directed her focus toward the door. ”It's fine, I prefer your honest reactions.”

Jos was about to crumble by the time they'd reached the library. The ache between her legs was no joke. She had silently cursed every single step of the three-story spiral staircase leading down into the library. She forced her body across the landing toward the rowdy group with as much grace as she could muster, but the second the first chair came into reach she found herself flopping down into it. Several sets of amused eyes met hers and a frozen drink was quickly handed to her. Arei settled on the chaise beside her and tossed his arm across the back, lazily running his fingers through her hair as he spoke to the others. Their teasing words came together in a chaotic blur as she first sampled the drink then decided to rest the cup between her aching t.h.i.g.hs. Lips pressed against the side of her head as she realized she'd released an audible sigh of relief.

”Are you sure you don't want to go for a swim first? We can always come back.” Arei whispered against her ear for only her to hear.

”I'm fine... I blame it on all those stairs.” She murmured in embarrassment.

He chuckled, ”They've never bothered you before.” He was interrupted before he could press her further. Chary, who was now mostly dressed in one of her signature cherry-red bikinis tossed a scarf at them.

”Come dance with us! Enjoy yourselves before you have to go back to the real world tomorrow!” Chary called out.

Jos m.o.a.n.e.d as she shifted the drink. ”I'll pass for now...”

Chary's eyes sparkled with mischief from Jos to Arei. ”Peg told us about your little shopping trip... We had figured that's where the two of you vanished to.”

Peg came up beside Chary and flung his arm over her shoulder. ”And from the looks of it, he tried to use them all at once.” He nodded toward the frozen drink between Jos's t.h.i.g.hs.

A devilish smile spread across Arei's lips. ”We didn't use the toys if you must know.”

Peg arched a brow as Jos hid her face in her hands. ”Well then, maybe you should have...”

Arei pretended to look around the room intensely. ”Don't you have your own wife to harass and bother?”

He shrugged. ”Sure, I'll just go let her know the bag of s.e.x toys and the hour of my life involved in picking them out were a waste...”

Arei had the good graces to blush as aqua eyes shot up at him for confirmation. ”He helped you pick them?!”

Arei ran his hand over his hair as a nervous smile spread across his lips. ”Yea... about that...”