Chapter Twenty
Raven.
I watch as Jonas takes off his helmet and lifts it on the jumbotron, the crowd of students and former alumni roars behind me but I’m too captivated by my handsome Wide Receiver that puts two fingers on his lips and holds them out, for me to hear them.
I swoon, watching my big, strong demigod all sweaty and delicious and so very mine, get lifted by his teammates.
His yellow jersey and super tight football pants are dirty with splotches of turf grass where he was tackled a few times.
Before the crowd begins to dissipate, I rise from my seat in the stadium behind the team by the center walkway where they go through the double doors to enter their assigned locker room at Yale’s football stadium and when they begin to go through, Jonas is the last to go in, running up, catching the ledge with his fingertips like a monkey and begs me for a kiss.
I lean down, and the crowd once again goes wild behind me.
“I always win for you, baby.”
Oh, I’m definitely blowing him tonight. I blush something horrid amidst the cold, and he hops down, heading in behind his team.
I stand, deciding to head to the locker room to wait for him like I usually do, making my way through the swarms of drunken RMU and Yale students, almost skipping to get to him.
He never takes long. I know Coach talks to them after every game before he comes out to greet me so by the time I get down there, flash the security guards my VIP lanyard, and find where the damn thing is, he’s already freshly showered and walking my way.
The way Jonas smiles as soon as he spots me always makes me feel like we’re in a movie.
It happens in slow mo each and every time.
Meadow-like eyes on the ground, slowly look up to search for me, and when he sees me, it’s like time stands still just for us.
It starts with one corner of his lips hitching up, and then both perfect lips widening so much they part, flashing those teeth of his, gorgeous with incisors a bit too big.
His head leans back a bit, his eyes narrow and there is absolutely nobody else on this earth but him and I.
Two souls destined to collide.
I grin and as soon as his long legs reach me, his arms go around my torso and he lifts me.
My arms immediately go around his neck and his lips are on mine; he pulls away to rub his nose to mine then our foreheads touch and he lets out a soft moan as though he can finally breathe again. “Did you have fun, baby?”
I nod enthusiastically. I really did.
“Good. I’m starving. You hungry?”
Fucking duh.
“Don’t answer that. I already know. Let’s go.”
He sets me down and as soon as my boots touch the ground, he grabs my hand and tugs me through the double doors, helping me put my coat on like always right before we get to the last set of doors.
He surprises me with having our driver stop (he took the team bus, and I took an Uber because Mav and Damon went to his house to keep up pretenses and they don’t like me driving on snowy nights without them) for a nice romantic dinner at some top-notch French seafood restaurant in West Haven on our way home.
It’s by the sea, and we can see the lighthouse, tiny but still there, from where we’re seated.
He orders a bottle of champagne for us and then once again, surprises the waiter by ordering half of the menu since the portions are small.
We feast in the quietness of the restaurant, most of the patrons already leaving.
I feel almost panicked to eat my food quickly, but Jonas puts his hand over mine.
“Relax, baby. I called ahead while I was on the bus earlier and paid for them to stay open a little later.”
I sign a ‘thank you ,’ and dip a cracker into my lobster bisque. It’s fucking delicious and I almost moan out loud at how good it is when it hits my tongue.
Jonas chuckles, “You’re so fucking cute.”
I blush, continuing to munch on.
“Are you ready for tomorrow?”
I make a disgruntled face, scrunching my nose.
No, I most certainly am not ready to spend the night at the Monroe Mansion in preparation for the party the evening after.
I don’t want to see any of them, other than Axel, who was way too happy to receive the message Jonas sent him that we would be attending and staying the evening prior to the party now that Riordan is dead.
Elena will also be there, and we’ll be leaving to meet her in Vermont, where Damon and Jonas will be with us.
Another reason Maverick and Damon stayed behind tonight was so they could go shopping for ski-gear while we… did our thing.
“It’s just one night, and it’ll be over before you know it.
” He assures me but it’s already soured my mood.
“You still got that sexy little balaclava?” He smirks and fuck, if I don’t blush again remembering the night he wore it after Tyler’s funeral while he fucked me on the kitchen counter after playing hide-and-seek and he caught me in the pantry.
I gulp down my champagne and give a slight nod.
“Good. I have my own. Do you know if Damon got access to the cameras?”
I nod again, pulling out my phone to show him the message I received from Damon earlier while at his game. It’s nothing major, really, and probably excessive but Damon just wants to have extra eyes and ears everywhere.
He should’ve been a spy.
Dirty Doctor: I’m in .
“Dirty Doctor, huh? What am I in your phone?”
Ah, fuck. I show him his contact; it’s a picture of us in Paris under the Eiffel Tower just as the snow started sticking to the ground. He hums in delight when he sees Demigod and smiles widely.
He shows me what mine says and it’s also one word – Wife with a little raven emoji beside it.
Why does that make me so wet? I clench my thighs together under the table, remembering the way he told my abuelo he wasn’t just a friend but my soon-to-be husband.
He keeps asking and I keep saying yes in every way I can.
A blow job here, a blow job there, letting him fuck my ass.
How many times can a girl say, ‘ Yes, I’ll marry you,’ while a thick dick stretches apart your insides?
I don’t really need a ring, but it would be nice to have one.
I’m scared I’ll have one of my nighttime episodes while we’re there, I sign honestly. That they’ll try to say I’m unfit and try to send me back to Lorne Wood.
“Then I won’t sleep to make sure if you do, I can wake you... and I’ll never let that happen. I’ll break in and kidnap you.” He grins.
You shouldn’t have to do that. I argue, sighing. You should be able to sleep and not have to watch over me like I’m a baby.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have to, baby, but I will, and I’m going to. It’s an honor and a pleasure. Hey, hey, look at me.”
I do.
“I love you, baby. We always get through everything together, don’t we?”
I nod.
“This isn’t forever. And we all get nightmares. Yours are just a little more… vivid. If I have to hold you a little tighter, so be it.”
I melt and don’t argue. What’s the point?
He does what he wants when it comes to protecting me and haven’t I done the same?
The man let me put a fucking tracker in him without a question.
I finish my tuna tiradito with aji amarillo leche de tigre, and sit back, ready for the next course.
He grabs my plate, setting it aside and puts the four-layered caviar dip in front of me.
It’s a good night. It’s been the perfect kind of night; the kind I wish I could have openly with Maverick or Damon without anyone knowing us.
But for now, I’m okay with it just being us.
I hate that I wasn’t able to show Maverick around my old stomping grounds in Spain, that going to Huelva had taken all of my time, but it felt so good seeing my abuelo again.
We end the evening with a chocolate souffle and by the time we’re back in the car, I’m practically waddling with how full I am.
I unbutton my jeans as soon as we get into the car and Jonas chuckles, rubbing on my stomach.
We fall asleep on the two-hour drive home, me in his arms, and him against the door.
Once we’re in bed, he lays on me, hand curled around my tummy, head on my chest and I scratch his back, letting him fall asleep on me and soon, I’m drifting, thinking of all the ways this could go very right… or very, very wrong.
________
It’s almost dark when we finally reach the Monroe mansion.
The three-story, Tudor-style mansion has impeccable landscaping from the front gate to the home itself.
I stare at the thing, once large and imposing, remembering the first time we drove through, and it was so dark. Dark shutters, dark siding.
Climbing out of my car, I look at all the changes Sofia has made over the last twelve years.
White shutters, pale pink siding, the roof changed to a pale grey, but it’s currently hidden under a blanket of snow.
On the outside, it appears to be so light and happy, but the inside is always different, isn’t it?
My anxiety skyrockets as we get make our way to the large white front door, large enough to fit a car, probably, always wanted to find out if I’m honest.
I sigh as Jonas knocks, then grabs my hand, interlocking his fingers with mine as Axel opens the door, his smile faltering when he sees Jonas, but he fixes his smile. “Hey Cookie! Hey, man.”
A housemaid I’ve never seen before goes to grab our bags, but Jonas stops them, letting go of my hand to carry the bag the driver put on the ground beside us.
She holds out her hands in order to take our coats instead.
When I don’t take the first step across the threshold, Jonas does.
It feels forbidden to be back here. It feels wrong in so many ways I can’t even explain.
Even though it’s warm enough in the house, letting my feet touch the white and gold marble flooring Sofia had installed after we moved in feels foreboding, and it makes my stomach curl.