Eros (Contemporary Mythos Book 4)

He turned to face me, palms open and raised. The wings flicked once before disappearing. Staring at me wide-eyed, he took a hesitant step forward.

I retreated. “Did I—did I see wings, Eric?”

He dragged a hand through his hair. “Yes.”

My breathing went shallow, making my head dizzy. “What—what am I supposed to say right now?”

“Elani. I wanted to tell you.” He took another step forward. “As you can imagine, it’s hard to explain.”

“Try.” It came out harsher than I wanted, but the fog had lifted only to be replaced by confusion.

Eric licked his lips as he shifted his weight, making his exposed abs tighten. My legs clenched, and I forced myself to stay focused.

“Are you familiar with Greek mythology?”

The breath breezed from my lungs. Alex. She said—my blood froze. White wings. Eric. Eros. She absolutely could not have been right about Greek gods this entire time.

“Yes…”

He tilted his head back, interlacing his fingers behind his neck. “I’m the god of passion and love.”

He came right out and said it. What else was I expecting? The wings gave me zero excuses not to believe.

Believe.

“You’re…Eros.” Alex would never let me live this down. She’d remind me every waking minute for the rest of our lives.

His face softened. “Yes. Vena. She is my uh—my mother.”

I shook my head and waved my arms back and forth. “Aphrodite?”

“Mmhm.”

I scanned his anguished face. “Let me see them again.”

His brow bounced. “My wings?”

I nodded, unsure if I could formulate words.

He balled his hands into fists and tensed his forearms. The glorious snow-white wings flared out, the moonbeams from above giving them a shimmering glow.

I wanted to touch them, to feel the smooth feathers against my skin. No. It’d make it too real. All of this was purely unbelievable. As I turned my back to him, I could hear the rustle of his wings disappearing.

His warm soapy scent permeated the air, followed by the heat flowing from his exposed chest. The forest started spinning, my head growing fuzzy.

“Elani.” He rested his fingers against my arm but didn’t try to grasp me, allowing the retreat if I so desired.

What did I desire?

I slowly peeked my head over one shoulder, taking in the sight of his chiseled half-naked body—the great kilt fabric wrapped around his waist.

He canted his head to one side and slowly turned to show me his back. Rolling his shoulders forward, the two scarred lines on his back were undeniable. With a shaky hand, I traced my finger over one of the markings. He shuddered, making me gasp and recoil my hand.

“Sorry. It kind of tickles.” He turned back to face me, eyes frantically searching my face.

My neck grew clammy, sweat beads forming at my brow. The world around me shrunk, making me stumble.

“Elani?” He reached forward, but it was too late. I faded into blackness as the tunnel vision sunk in and overtook me.

I awoke in my room at Ghaoil Cottage, the sun blazing through the curtains, making me wince. Groaning, I sat up, rubbing my eyes. I was underneath the blanket but still in my kilt and clothes from last night.

How had I gotten back to the inn?

My mind flashed to the sight of Eric standing in the middle of the woods with his wings sprawled. My stomach gurgled.

A dream. It had to be a dream. I probably drank too much last night, and some friendly party-goer dragged me back here—simple explanation. But I knew I didn’t drink that much.

Throwing the sheet aside, I scrambled for the door, stopping halfway down the stairs when a familiar baritone voice echoed through the hall.

“Is she up yet?” Eric asked.

“Aye. I heard her stumblin’ around up there only a wee moment ago,” Flora traitorously answered.

I tightened my grip on the banister, making it creak. Mustering every ounce of courage I possessed, I descended the rest of the way with my head held high. Courage quickly dipped into mortification when I spied my reflection in the hallway mirror. My hair stuck out in every possible direction, and half of my make-up smeared down my face.

“Good morning.” Eric leaned to the side in an attempt to see me once I shoved my face into the nearest corner.

“Mornin’,” I mumbled into the wall and peeked with one eye.

Flora raised on the balls of her feet, trying to look at me. “How much did you drink last night, lass?”

I arched a brow at her.

“You were passed out. And this one carried ye up to your room. Cradled in his arms, you were.” She elbowed Eric in the side with a sparkling grin.

I groaned. If only I had drunk myself into oblivion. It’d be a better excuse as to why I saw Eric standing half-naked in the middle of the woods with wings.

Wings.

“I hoped we could…talk today?” A green and blue plaid shirt hugged Eric’s arms. His dark jeans shifted as he slid forward, approaching me like I was a rabid animal.

Was he really Eros?

“Sure. Yeah. I—I just woke up.” The smell of my morning breath bounced off the wall I hugged, furthering my terror.

“Oh, he can wait on ye lassie while you go freshen up.” Flora whisked into the kitchen, swooping the steaming pot of coffee into her hands.

Eric chuckled and slid the brown suede jacket from his shoulders. “Absolutely.”

After giving a thumbs up, I dashed up the stairs, tripping several times until I reached the safety of my room—a sanctuary I’d eventually have to leave to face reality. If what this was could even be conceived as “reality.” After making myself presentable and slipping into a sweater, jeans, and boots, I took out my phone to text Alex.

Me: …you were right.

Watching the bobbing ellipses as she typed her response, my knee bounced.

Alex: I’m right about a lot of things. Care to be more specific?

Me: About Eric.

Alex: Wait. Why is Eric there? What happened to Graeme?

Graeme. My stomach lurched, and I almost dropped my phone. My God. I’d completely forgotten about him. Before yesterday I felt consumed by him, thinking about him at every waking turn, and now…I didn’t care.

Me: He never showed. Eric got here right when they called Clan Stewart.

Alex: Holy. Shit. That’s one of the most romantic things I’ve ever heard, and this is counting Morticia and Gomez.

Me: g2g. will talk more later.

Alex: Woman. You WILL explain this more.

I shoved the phone away before the temptation to type the words, “he has wings,” forced my hand. She’d believe it and know I wasn’t joking around. It’d give the situation a finality I wasn’t ready to accept. Trudging back downstairs, I paused on the last step. I stared at my feet, nerves bubbling in my core. As my foot met with the floor, the tension building in my shoulders relaxed.

Eric and Flora sat in the foyer on one of the plush emerald green couches, sipping on cups of coffee and laughing.

“Ah, lad. You’ve so many stories.” Flora dabbed the corners of her eyes with a knuckle, the chuckles dying down.

“Bartend long enough, and you see some fascinating people.” He grinned and immediately turned his chin at me once I entered the space. He’d been smiling before, but now his entire face came to life with a sort of…glow.

“Hi.” I curled a piece of hair over my ear, my toes turning toward each other.

He tapped a finger on the top of his knee. “Hey.”

Flora stood and strolled past me. “Why don’t you two take a trip to Dunvegan Castle? Hm? I’ll even call ye a cab.”

More than an hour shoved into a confined space with him only to be followed by a romantic stroll through an ancient castle in Scotland? I’d be a glutton for punishment.

“Sounds amazing.” Eric’s stare could’ve lit my hair on fire.

I had to run my hand through it just to be sure.

“Splendid.” Flora fluttered to the rotary phone, making an extra flourish with her hands as she dialed.

Eric stood, crossing one foot over the other. The time it took him to reach me felt like an eternity. My groin throbbed at the mere sight of him. Yesterday I was confused, terrified of the fact he really could be a Greek god. Now all my body could do was betray me—yearning to feel his lips and caresses.

“Are you okay?” He tapped his knuckle under my chin.

“About which part?”

He slipped his hands into his jean pockets. “All of it. Any of it.”

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. Well, most of it.”

He slid an arm around my waist, sending a ripple of need coiling to my toes. Lowering his lips to my ear, he whispered, “I won’t use any of my powers or show my wings unless you ask me. Deal?”

He was serious. This was all one-hundred percent happening.

I nodded as a small squeak escaped the back of my throat.

“All set, dearies. He should be here half past ten.” Flora beamed, curling her hands underneath her chin with an extra bounce in her step as she walked away.

“She cares about you a great deal.” Slipping his hands into his pockets, Eric took a step back.

“She’s like a second mom to me.” I winced. “Well, I mean a mom in general whenever I come out here and after…” My gaze fell to the cracks in the wooden floor.

“I’m sorry.”

I sniffed once. “Don’t be. It happened a long time ago. Have you been to any castles before?”

Well, if that weren’t the most rhetorical question of the century.

“I may have seen most of the world at this point in my life, Elani, but I’m looking forward to seeing it through your eyes.” He tugged my sweater sleeve, getting me to look at him. “If you need to pretend I’m not who I am, then do it. If you want to ask me anything, ask. I won’t mind either way.”

I wanted to fan my face, let out a deep rolling sigh, and sink to the floor. I’d only be able to go so long before blurting every question circling my brain. He was right about me. I needed proof in every way, shape, and form. As if a wingspan wider than the space we stood in wasn’t good enough.

Elani Stewart: Raging Skeptic and Hopeless Romantic in Denial.

A car horn blared from outside.

“Looks like our ride is here.” Eric held out his hand for me to walk first.

The driver was none other than the man from Clan Campbell, proving how small of a town this was. He stuck his arm out the window, waving at us before tugging on his cap. Eric held the back door open for me, slipping his finger over my hand as I got in. The simple fleeting touch of his skin to mine made my insides sizzle.

“Dunvegan Castle, aye?” Campbell asked, raising his grey bushy eyebrows at us in the rickety rearview mirror.

“Aye,” I answered with a smile.

I curled one hand in my lap, letting the other rest on the leather seat between Eric and me. His pinky traced over mine, making me shudder. Memories of that mind-blowing kiss near the bonfire as bagpipes and drums echoed around us thundered through my brain.

Eric peered out the window, watching the rolling meadows pass. He was so calm. So serene.

“Eric?”

He snapped his attention to me, brows cinching together. “Yes, Elani?”

My name from his lips was like hearing the stars—twinkling and mesmerizing.

“Do you really have w—” I paused, my gaze shooting to Mr. Campbell drumming his fingers on the steering wheel.

Eric’s glance dropped to the wing gesture I made with my hands. His eyes sparkled. “Yes.”

My heart raced. “And you can—” I swooped my hands to symbolize flying.

He mimicked my gesture. “Yes.”

I pressed my hands against my cheeks, staring at him as if all this would begin to make sense if I looked at him long enough.

He leaned over, resting his weight on one elbow. “And I’d gladly take you up. All you have to do is ask.”

My eyes dropped to his lips, remembering how feather-like they felt grazing my chin, my brows. Pinching my knees together, I managed to nod. “I’d like that…I think.”

Had I dived straight into this delusion with him?

“You two are a sight for sore eyes,” Campbell said, grinning at the rearview mirror.

“Why’s that?” I asked, watching Eric ogle me from my peripheral vision.

“I’ve not seen people so in love in well—a very long time.”

I choked on my spit. “Love is…such a strong word.” My cheeks flushed.

Campbell gave a knowing grin, making the gesture of zipping his lips.

“Powerful too.” Eric’s deep voice rumbled near my ear.

I snapped my attention to him, our faces inches apart. “What?”

“Love. It’s not just a word. It’s an experience.”

Despite the possibility of him being a Greek god. Despite how at any moment, he could spring out wings and fly away. And even despite knowing full well that with every action and word, he reeled me in like a prized bass—I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to fall in love. Alex couldn’t possibly be right about yet another thing, though, right?

Locking our gazes, I slid a trembling hand over his steady one. “Being who—you are? Can you show me?”

“I can do far more than that, Elani. But I need you to say it.” He squeezed my hand, grounding it—keeping it from shaking.

“Show me,” I whispered, just as the car arrived in front of the castle.