Chapter 8
ELOISE
I kept glancing over to Cupid's office door, trying to find an excuse to go and talk to him. Considering the way we'd left things after our late-night meeting, I doubted I needed an excuse, but it felt better to have one.
I checked the system, seeing that there was another potential match for Hades. I resisted the urge to jump out of my seat and took my time looking through the profile for any indication that there was a reason not to go through with the match. On paper, the woman looked perfect, especially for all of the requirements Hades had put forth when we'd talked to him in his office.
I grabbed my tablet and pulled up the information. I might want to talk to Cupid for personal reasons, but it was also important to me that I did my job properly, which meant making sure everything was ready for him to see.
Some of my co-workers gave me a strange look as I headed to Cupid's door, and I assumed they had no idea that I was working with him. I knocked a couple of times and waited for him to call out in response.
The door creaked as I opened it and he looked up from his desk, what seemed like a genuine smile coming to his face. "Eloise."
"We've got another match for Hades," I said.
"Ah." He got up from behind his desk and came around so that we were on the same side. He perched himself on it. "What do you make of her?"
"It's the same as all of the other matches," I said. "There's something missing, but it's hard to say exactly what that is."
Cupid nodded. "Do you have the details?"
"Yes." I stepped forward, coming to a stop when I wasn't far in front of him. I clicked on my tablet and brought up the page with information about the potential match. I handed it over to him and he took it, his fingers brushing against mine as he did.
Cupid stilled, and I could feel the urge to touch him more thrumming through me. I wasn't used to feeling like this around someone, particularly when I didn't know them very well. But I suspected it was the fact that we'd been given such a good score by the matchmaking system that was messing with me on that front. It said we were compatible, so there was a part of me wondering exactly what it was that made us fit together like that.
He cleared his throat and turned around, propping the tablet on the desk so he could look through it. "Hmmm, I see what you mean."
"It's the same as the other ones." I touched the tablet screen and swiped to the next profile, though I knew exactly what it was going to say because it had the same problem as all of the other matches he'd been given. "They're all in the low eighties."
"Hmm."
"I know we'd normally match people with that, but it doesn't feel right to. Not for someone like Hades."
Cupid gave me an interesting expression. "You've got a great career as a matchmaker ahead of you with those instincts."
"Thank you." I couldn't help but feel an immense amount of pride at his compliment.
"Can you bring up Hades' profile?" he suggested.
"Sure." I clicked on his name and pulled up the profile.
Cupid leaned over to look, the scent of his aftershave impossible to avoid. It was surprisingly fruity, like it smelled of cherries or something like that. It was distracting to have it so close to me, and it made me want to touch him, to run my fingers through his hair, and to kiss him.
My gaze dropped to his lips. Why couldn't I do that? There was nothing forbidden about the two of us acting on the match we'd been given, and it was clear that there was physical attraction here, even if there'd only been a hint of the compatibility promised to us by his system.
"What do you think?" he asked.
I turned around, surprised at how close we were together, even though I'd kind of known. The intensity in his eyes was hard to ignore, but I just about managed. "About what?" I asked, my voice cracking and my lips parting.
"I honestly couldn't tell you," Cupid murmured. "I seem to have completely lost the ability to think."
"And yet you've found your words."
"Only a few of them."
I swallowed hard, feeling the tension in the air growing and trying to decide precisely what to do with it I wanted to do with it. I leaned closer, bringing our faces closer together than before. I could see his chest rise and fall faster than before as I reached out and put a hand on his chest. We shouldn't be doing this here and I knew that. We were in his office in the middle of the day, and even if there were no rules against dating one another, I was sure there were some about using the office for more than that.
"Eloise," he whispered.
"Yes." It was the answer to the unspoken question in his voice. I didn't need him to ask it out loud, I already knew what it was, and he knew what I was answering.
He brushed a hand against my cheek, making my breathing hitch in response. My eyes fluttered closed as his lips touched mine and he kissed me far softer than I anticipated.
It was barely a fleeting touch, certainly not enough for me. I pressed myself closer to him, wrapping my arms around his neck and deepening the kiss. His hand skimmed over my waist, igniting something deep within me that I hadn't expected, especially not so soon into the physical touch. It was impossible to ignore the intensity growing within me, even as we pulled apart.
A smile tugged at my lips and I met his gaze. "So..." I said.
"So," he responded, his voice low and full of need.
"I've been thinking about what we should be doing about our match." Right now, it wasn't a date I was thinking of either. There was a very different part of me in control right now.
"Oh?"
I trailed my hand over his shoulder. "I think I'd like to..."
A knock sounded on the door and it started creaking open. I jumped back and Cupid hurried around to the other side of his desk. For a moment, I thought it was because he didn't want to be seen as close to me, but from the way he was holding himself, it was something different.
Despite the interruption, there was a slightly heady feeling that came with knowing I'd done that to a literal god.
A man with dark blond hair stepped inside the room, barely looking up from his tablet. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realise you were in a meeting."
"It's fine, Damien," Cupid responded. "This is Eloise, she's one of our matchmakers."
The man gave me a friendly smile. "Good to meet you."
"This is Damien, he works in the Events Planning Department," Cupid said.
"Ah, the Valentine's Party," I said. "I can come back for the rest of our conversation." I met Cupid's gaze, hoping he knew that I wasn't talking about the part where we'd been discussing Hades, though I knew we had to get back to that at some point.
"Perhaps we could get some coffee next time," he suggested.
I nodded. That was probably a good idea if we didn't want to get too distracted by whatever it was lingering between us. Because it was certainly taking our minds off of our jobs right now.