6
Kaden
It was Valentine’s Day. Two days had passed since my disastrous date with Orion. A day that used to hold so much hope for me but now only made my empty heart ache.
I never should have told my coworkers I was going on a blind date. They’d all been so excited for me, but they’d spent the last two days being my personal motivational speakers. If just one more person told me it was better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, I would lose it. I should have taken a vacation day and stayed in bed, eating my feelings, but it appeared I was a glutton for punishment.
Patrons were kind enough to bring boxes of chocolates and flowers to my circulation desk throughout the day. I didn’t have the heart to tell them candy and vases filled with water didn’t belong anywhere near old manuscripts. Truth be told, I was happy someone thought of me. I’d eat the sweets tonight in front of the television, watching The Notebook for the hundredth time.
Around closing time, I walked through the stacks, straightening up and returning books to their proper place. I was on my way back to the front desk to grab my coat and treats when the lights went out. “What the actual fuck?” I whispered, pulling my phone out of my back pocket and turning on the flashlight app. That was just the latest thing that had gone wrong today. Maybe I’d pick up a bottle of strawberry wine to suck down with my chocolate.
A flickering light from the research table caught my eye. It looked like fire. Breaking into a run, I barreled my way to the front of the room. Fire was an absolute worst-case scenario. We had manuscripts in the collection dating back to before the birth of Christ.
When I reached the table, my breath caught in my throat. There was indeed fire but in the form of candles. I counted at least twenty of them. In addition, the table was set for two with grilled steak and potatoes. “What the hell?”
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Kaden,” Orion said, stepping out into the candlelight. He wore tight jeans and a blue button-down with most of the buttons undone. The man looked good enough to eat.
My heart sank. The last thing I needed was to see Orion today. Hadn’t he already done enough? “Why are you here?” My voice sounded like a growl to my own ears. Good! Orion deserved my anger after the way he’d treated me the other night.
“I wanted to apologize to you in person,” Orion said, slipping his hands into his pockets. He rocked back on his heels, a devilish smile curving his full lips. “I was a jerk the other night.”
“I can think of a few other words besides jerk .” I crossed my arms over my chest, unmoved by Orion’s apology. It was on the tip of my tongue to go off on him and tell him just what I thought of the way he’d acted the other night, but the sadist in me wanted to hear what I knew would be a flimsy excuse at best.
He chuckled. “Yeah, asshole, prick, dickhead, and butt munch sort of fit the bill.” His good-natured smile was disarming.
I didn’t want to be disarmed. I wanted to be angry. My kicked-up emotions were the only things standing between me and flinging myself into his strong arms. I nodded. “There’s no sense arguing. When you’re right, you’re right.”
“I was hoping you’d give me a second chance.” Orion pulled out a chair for me. “I know I don’t deserve one.”
“You’re damn right.” My words didn’t have their earlier heat. I wouldn’t admit it to Orion, but I was happy to see him. Stupid jerk.
Orion bit his lip and ushered me to the seat. The plates were porcelain, midnight blue with what looked like a star pattern. Probably the constellation Orion. The steak was cut expertly, and the potatoes were coated in butter and bacon.
I threw myself into the chair, scowling at Orion as I sat. “I’m listening.” I might be willing to hear him out, but I wasn’t going to make it easy on him. Grabbing a fork, I took a bite of the steak. Flavor exploded in my mouth. Moaning obscenely, I had another slice. I’d heard the term “foodgasm” before, but I’d never experienced one until now.
“Good, huh?” Orion’s cocky grin made him even more devastatingly handsome in the candlelight.
“You realize you brought fire into a room completely made of kindling. One wrong move and this entire collection goes up in smoke.” Christ, I sounded like a brat. Not that Orion didn’t deserve to pay a little more for being an enormous dick, but I had to admit I was being a bit harsh.
Stepping away from the table, Orion grabbed a book from the shelf behind him. I could tell it was a well-worn copy of Homer’s Odyssey . He held it over the fire, and the cover caught alight.
“Stop!” I scrambled out of my seat, smacking my hip against the edge of the table in my effort to get to him. What was Orion doing? What the hell had I been thinking by goading him on and practically daring him to set the library on fire? I barreled toward him, grabbing for the book when I was close enough.
Orion grinned and held the book out of my reach, letting it burn. His eyes danced with glee.
What kind of asshole was this man? My mind spun. I ran to grab the fire extinguisher, needing to put the fire out before the sprinklers turned on. Water was just as dangerous to old manuscripts as fire.
“Wait. Just watch.” Orion closed his eyes, and the fire went out. The burned pages and cover seemed to be regenerating themselves. Seconds later, the book was whole, in the condition it had been before it had been brought to the candle. He offered the book to me.
“I can’t believe this.” Too stunned at what happened to be angry, I took the tome and leafed through it. “You healed the book like you healed my finger the other night. How did you do it?”
“There’s something I need to tell you about myself. Something big.” Orion took the seat across from me. A worried look flashed in his eyes.
“Bigger than me being a werewolf?” I asked, unable to imagine there was anything more seismic than being a shape-shifter.
“Yeah, much bigger.” Orion took a deep breath. “There was a reason I chose The Odyssey . Turn to page seventy-five.”
Flipping through the book, I found the page he’d mentioned. I skimmed it quickly until I came to a familiar name. “This passage talks about Orion. How he was a great hunter and was killed by the scorpion, then brought back to life by the sun.” I gasped at the next line. “He had two different-colored eyes after being blinded by Apollo.” No. This wasn’t possible. The man in front of me couldn’t possibly be the Orion of Greek legend. Could he?
Orion blushed shyly. “My father is Poseidon. I can command the seas and communicate with animals, kind of like Aquaman. When Hephaestion restored my life, I was endowed with a little magic. That’s how I was able to heal your hand and the book.”
Orion’s secret was much bigger than me being a werewolf. I shook my head, still stunned by his revelation. “How many years have you been alive? Are you immortal?”
“I’m 5,031 years old.” Orion chuckled. “Almost, but not quite immortal.”
“What do you mean?” The man before me didn’t look much older than thirty-five. I was an expert on Greek mythology, but never in my wildest dreams could I ever have imagined meeting someone like Orion. What was really ringing my bell was the fact that these gods, goddesses, and other classical heroes were real , not just folklore and products of a rich oral tradition.
“When I find my one true love, my soul mate, I’ll begin to age again. Aphrodite wanted me to taste love before I die.” Love shimmered in Orion’s eyes as he spoke to me.
“You’ve lived all those years, and you’ve never known love?” My heart broke for Orion. He hadn’t gone years without love like I had—no, he’d gone millennia .
“I thought I was in love once.” Orion shook his head, as if to say he couldn’t believe he’d been so stupid. “It didn’t work out the way I wanted it to, but now I know why. It’s because I was meant to love you.”
“Me?” I was blown away by Orion’s words. “I can’t imagine what it must have been like for you, spending so much time alone.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I had my share of lovers, but none of them could hold a candle to you. Finding you made all the lonely nights worth it.” Orion pulled me into his chest. Wrapping his arms around me, he held me tight.
I never wanted him to let me go. “What do we do now?” My head was still spinning. I had a feeling that sensation was going to become par for the course with Orion.
“Oh, I think you know exactly what we’re going to do now.” Orion’s voice was soft and silky.
“Take your clothes off,” I commanded. “I need to touch you.” I had never wanted anyone more than I wanted Orion in this moment, something else I had a feeling was going to be a regular thing between us.
Orion laughed. “What, here in the library? In front of all these innocent books?”
“They’re not as innocent as you think.” My shaking hands reached for Orion, fumbling over his buttons. When they were undone, I pushed the shirt down his broad shoulders and off. “You’re a masterpiece,” I whispered, unable to fully catch my breath. I’d seen so many beautiful things in my life—the painted ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the Taj Mahal—but nothing could or would ever compare to Orion. He was a demigod, after all.
His skin was hot and bathed in the golden firelight. I reached for his belt, undoing it deftly, my now-steady fingers brushing against his bulging erection.
Moaning my name, Orion hitched his hips toward me. “Hurry. I’ve waited centuries for you. I don’t want to wait another second longer.”
Quickly undoing his button and zipper, I pushed his jeans down over his hips. Orion’s thick, juicy cock sprang free. “Fuck me,” I whispered, never having seen such a huge tool. I had no earthly idea how the hell I was going to suck all that dick, but I was determined to try.
Sinking to my knees, I reached for Orion. I wrapped my hands around him, giving his cock a few slow strokes. His hard flesh made me burn harder for him. I wanted to take my time with him, getting to know every inch of his olive skin, but I couldn’t hold myself back. “We’ll go slow next time. I promise.” Before Orion could respond, I wrapped my lips around him, sliding as far down as I could before gagging. Fuck, he felt good.
Orion wrapped his hands around the back of my head. “Touch yourself. I need to see all of you.”
Maneuvering the best I could from my knees with a giant cock halfway down my throat, I got my pants undone and pushed them past my ass, losing my mouthful in the process. My own dick had never been harder in my life.
Brushing his tool against my lips, I took him back into my mouth. He set a fast pace, fucking my face relentlessly. I stroked myself in time with Orion. I wasn’t going to last long. Between the needy look in his eyes and the way he moaned as my tongue caressed him, I was a goner.
“Fuck, Kaden!” Orion roared, his hot release spraying against the back of my throat.
My own cock erupted. Hot, sticky come coated my fingers as I worked my throat, trying to swallow Orion’s heavy load. When his dick was spent, I released him. Orion held a hand down to me, raising me to my feet.
Bringing my sticky hand to his lips, he licked my come from my fingers as if it were a delicacy. My entire body jolted with electricity, as if I’d been struck by one of Zeus’s legendary thunderbolts. “I love you,” I whispered.
Setting his hands on either side of my face, Orion grinned. He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I love you too.”
My heart had never felt so full as it did in that moment. “Why don’t we head back to my place for round two.” I wanted to spend the rest of the night—no, the rest of my life —worshipping his sculpted body.
“You took the words out of my mouth.” Orion bent to the floor to pull his pants back up.
“Does your magic work on modern technology?” I asked nervously, my mind clear and functioning again.
“I think so. Why?” Orion shot me a curious look.
I snorted. “This place is loaded with video cameras, and I wouldn’t want the head of security to see me giving you, well, head.” The old me would have never had sex in the library, or any other public place for that matter. Thanks to Orion, I was a changed man.
Orion laughed. The lyrical sound echoed off the vaulted ceiling. “I can take care of the video footage.” He pulled me to his chest. “I promise to spend the rest of my life taking care of you.”
“Does that include you returning the favor?” I hitched my reawakened dick against his left thigh.
“Oh, yes. Many, many favors.” Orion bent to kiss me.
Warm electricity wrapped itself around me, etching Orion’s name on my soul.
Cupid had actually done what he promised. He’d matched me with a man I could love for the rest of my life and into whatever afterlife would follow.