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I huff and perch on the edge of my bed. “There’s another option.”
“What?”
“That some god is messing with you like Hypnos did last night. Or Hermes. Or whoever else is out there being a dick.” I shiver. “Why are the gods so interested in screwing withme? You need to tell me the truth.”
Eros paces the room, not looking at me. “It’s your pure heart.”
“I’m sure I’m not the only one they could go after. Don’t most people have pure hearts or start off that way?”
Eros gives me a weary sigh. “Yes, most people start off that way, but then they quickly become damaged by the pain they suffer. They let the world wear them down. They lose hope. They hurt others in a crazy attempt to heal their pain or worse, they want to break others as they have been broken.” Eros pauses and his golden eyes pierce me from across my room. “But you’re different. It’s rare to survive suffering and not be tainted by it, even in a small way.”
“Okay…” I concede. “I can understand why a love god would want someone working for him with a pure heart, but why the other gods? What could they want with me?”
With dread in his voice, he says, “I hope you never have to find out.”
I sit with that ominous statement for a full minute. “Eros, I need some alone time.” He begins to protest, but I hold up my hand so I can continue. “I know you don’t want to leave me alone under the guise of protection, but apparently they can hide me from you in the same house, and Hypnos can steal me away in my dreams, so your protection is an illusion. No offense.”
“I can only protect you if I know if you’re in trouble and where you are,” he argues.
“Maybe so, but I need a day to clear my head of both you and Carl.”
He folds his arms across his broad, exposed chest—not that I’m in the mood to admire his beauty. A war of emotions passes over his face until he finally says, “When you are out of my presence like this before we are formally contracted, I have no authority over you. Youwillbe in danger.”
“I understand that, but I feel like I’m in more danger than I realized, even with you next to me.”
“If you need me, or when you are ready for my presence again, then touch the ring and call my name,” Eros says reluctantly.
I nod, and he vanishes from sight.
But is he really gone?
16
ALONE
With Eros gone, I’m alone, but now I need to get out of my house. Carl is at work, but his energy is all over this place. I need a fresh perspective… a new location.
I quickly change intomyjeans andmystandard baggy tee. It feels like a test to see if Eros will change it into a sexier outfit. Anyway, I don’t want to attract any attention right now. It feels like I have the world’s attention—or at least the attention of a few frigging gods.
Fucking hell.What has my life become?
I grab my purse and a light jacket, then run out of the house as if it might explode.
I drive in no particular direction, letting my instincts guide me where to go. I follow the streets in what is, by all appearances, a random route, but I pass by the grocery store where Eros and I shopped, then the Burger Love Shack, then the park where he made a couple’s love connection. Now, I’m headed onto the highway… apparently to return to Lovers’ Bluff.
Why not return to the scene of my life-changing moment? I suppose my subconscious is trying to go back in time. CanI erase everything and return to the comfortable yet boring friendship Carl and I had for five years?
The memory hits me like a slap to the face. Carl kissedme!Then I remember the look on his face. He’s torn up about our entire relationship. He confessed he wanted me all this time. Could it be true that something prevented him? Did he deny his affections to protect me, or is Hypnos correct and everything is a lie, and he only wishes to manipulate me? But to what end?
At some point during the drive, my brain gives out and turns off. I’m driving on autopilot.
As if I teleported with my car, I’m parking at the bluff. Fortunately, no one is around.
I walk out to the edge of the peninsula and peek over the edge. A gust of wind almost knocks me over, but something pulls me back.
Someonepulls me back…
Crap.
