Eros (Contemporary Mythos Book 4)

E L A N I

Sometime later…

It took several weeks for me to become accustomed to my new wings—not only the flying part but the concentration it took to disguise them. It gave me a newfound appreciation for how often Eros kept his hidden when his wings were double the size of mine. There were days we’d fly side-by-side, and as thrilling as it was, there were times I wanted to be in Eros’s arms with him taking the reins. He never seemed to mind. In fact, I knew it drove him wild when I asked in a breathy voice for him to “Take me up.”

Though resistant at first, Alex took over the business. She developed a new algorithm and drifted the focus to love and compatibility—still science-based but allowing that little bit of magic inside. She still hadn’t worked up the nerve to ask Eros about Hermes. I’d have to do something about that very, very soon. Not to mention I’d been playing matchmaker with my mother-in-law. She swore Heph drove her crazy, but every time she read a text from him, her eyes lit up. I may or may not have planted a seed between those two. Time will tell.

Just as Da predicted, Chelsea took the news far better than I expected. I didn’t even have to tell her twice. Ironically, her client, Harm Makos, had recently stepped into godhood herself. Had there been some clandestine shift in the planet and stars as of late? All these mortals finding their long-lost gods?

Whatever the reason, I didn’t care. All I cared about was at home, probably ironing one of his three hundred plaid shirts.

I sat on a park bench, watching couple after couple eat at the bistro café across the street. After working my love mojo, I’d either guide their hearts in another direction or let things ride. It was yet another skill that took practice. Eros and I spent hours for weeks on end working our magic back and forth. I made a few mistakes initially, but Eros was there to correct them.

I’d taken to a particular side of love. One I’d been all too familiar with—mortals who were scorned and no longer believed in it. It’d take more than a pretty face and charming attitude to convince them, so I made it my mission to sprinkle other aspects in life to give them hope again. When you didn’t believe in true love, you needed to witness the impossible. It’s what brought me to Eros.

Satisfied I’d done my fair share of “spreading the love” for the day, I flew back home with the shielding device clutched in my palm. My wings flapped as I swooped through the window we’d routinely leave open when one was away and the other stayed home.

I had some exciting news to share with my love but had spent the last few days confirming my suspicions. One peek at those white feathers rustling once they sensed my presence made me even giddier to tell him.

Eros leaned back, cooking something in the kitchen that smelled heavenly. “You’re back sooner than I thought, sweetheart.”

I paused at the threshold, appreciating the sight of him in only a pair of boxers and those wings. By Zeus, those wings. I’d never get tired of them.

Flashing a bright smile, I nuzzled between his wings and slid my arms around him from behind. “Would you believe it if I said it was because I missed you?”

He chuckled, and I pressed my ear against his back, listening to the deep rumble. “I’d believe that’s part of the reason.”

I traced my finger over the arch of his wing, making my stomach flutter when he shivered against my touch. “Do you believe me more now?”

He spun around and grabbed my hips, pulling me against him. “Now I know you’re really hiding something.” He squinted at me, drumming his fingers against my skin to the beat of Strangers in the Night.

“Fine. It’s because I couldn’t wait to get home to tell you something.”

He cocked a brow at me. “Oh?”

I slid a hand over my stomach, rubbing it and snapping my gaze to meet his.

He eyed my hand before the realization dawned on him, his expression slowly morphing into a radiant smile.

We were expecting a little cherub of our own. Godly pregnancies were nothing like the human variety. There’d been no warning. No morning sickness. No exhaustion. Several days ago, I’d been sitting in my favorite nook, reading The Hobbit, and it just…appeared. I’d have told Eros sooner but needed to confirm what I felt. Aphrodite squealed when I told her my experience, quickly insisting she not be called “grandma.”

Eros. My god of love. My entire mortal life, I spent not believing in love, wondering, fearing that I myself was unlovable, only to realize I’d been living it since I arrived in the world. My family, my friends, even strangers, I spread the love buried deep within me without knowing it—started my divine destiny before the gods found me. The urge to develop the algorithm itself, though I thought at the time was purely based on science, was one of the most passionate elements I lent to the human world as a human myself. What Psyche said was true…Eros, the embodiment of passion, had been the final piece.

I placed his hand over my stomach, and we stood in silence, feeling the steady pulse like a drumbeat, knowing our world was about to change. A flutter tickled my insides, and I gasped.

Eros kneeled and put his ear against my belly, looking up at me with wonder in his gaze. “She’s stretching her wings.”

“She? How do you know?”

His eyes misted over. “The daughter I was always meant to have. I knew you were the one from the first moment I saw you, Elani, but feared I was wrong again.” He cupped my face and placed a delicate kiss on my lips. “You. You…are my love at first sight.”