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Carl takes the hint and steps back, not by much, but enough for me to breathe again.
I look up into his face, studying his hazel eyes. “If you wanted me, then why didn’t you say something all this time?”
“I thought I was protecting you.”
“From what?” I ask, very much confused.
“Me.”
“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard in a long while.” I nudge him away with my hands. I want to shove him. I need space.
“In retrospect, yeah, it’s stupid,” Carl concedes, “because you never left me, but I didn’t want you to. I thought if I put enough distance between us, it would keep you safe.”
“From what?” I demand. “Don’t you dare say from you.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore.”
“Huh?” I freeze and observe him carefully. “Tell me what you’ve been keeping me safe from.”
“I already told you more than I should.” Carl turns away, his eyes distant as if he’s trying to see into the future, then he gazes back at me with a hunger I’ve never seen in him before. “I can’t hold back any longer.” He leans forward to kiss me again.
“Wait.” I place my hands on his chest and stare at him for a long moment. “I need a beat or two to process all this.”
He sighs and pulls away. “I understand, but whatever happens between us, don’t trust Eros,” Carl says as he walks back to his room.
Once Carl’s gone, Eros suddenly appears in front of me. I jump and nearly fall back onto the counter.
He catches me before I crack my head open, and he doesn’t let go.
Feeling strangely guilty, I turn my head, refusing to look at him so he can’t see my swollen, just kissed lips. I don’t want to deal with anyone, even him. I want to be alone and figure out why I’m having such a negative reaction to Carl’s kiss.
Why did I let Eros talk me into chasing after Carl?
Eros holds my upper arms, preventing me from escaping. “What happened?”
“Leave me alone!” I shout, knocking him away.
“Dee?” he calls, pleading with me to talk to him. He doesn’t leave me alone. Instead, he follows me back into my room. “What did Carl do to you?Whatis he?”
“Huh?” I spin around and repeat his question as if I misheard him. “What is he?”
Eros flicks his fingers, and it feels like a blanket falls over us. With my disturbed look, he says, “I blocked out other supernatural entities. No one can hear us. Who is Carl?”
“Just some guy I met in college. He works in money management. There isn’t anything special about him except that I love him.”
“I’m not so sure about that.” Eros’s jaw tightens.
“About what? My love? Or that he’s a normal, boring mortal?” I shake my head. This is all ridiculous. “Why are you freaking out about his kiss?”
“Hekissedyou?” An inscrutable look fills his face, and he closes in on me again. “What else happened?”
“I thought this was the plan.” I push away from Eros. Why is he acting weird and accusing Carl of being something other than human? “You were supposed to make him jealous until he chose me, right?” I ask with a bit of force in my voice.
“Right.” Eros drops his gaze. “When I realized you weren’t in bed, I tried to find you, but I couldn’t get to you. I was prevented from hearing or seeing you.”
“Like you, a god, are doing for us now,” I surmise.
“Yes, which means either Carl is a supernatural entity, or he’s working with one.”
