Chapter 14
“A ren’t you going to do something with those brows?” Isa asked, arching her own in the process.
Lily’d been busy adjusting her fleece tights under her green babydoll dress, but at Isa's remark she let out of huff of fake affront. “What exactly would you suggest?”
“Have any brow gel?” Isa asked.
She shook her head no, but Isa rummaged around in the small makeup bag on the bathroom counter, looking to see what surprises she might uncover. Lily had lots of makeup because she liked it. It was fun to try new things, even if she often wore the same minimal bits on a daily basis.
“Aha!” Isa said in triumph, pulling out her brown mascara. When Lily reached for it, Isa slapped her hand away. “I got it,” she said, turning her boss’s chin her way and swiping the mascara across Lily’s brows in soft strokes.
“Just a little bit…” Isa said, concentrating on her task as Lily fretted. “Perfection,” Isa declared as she stepped back to admire her work.
Lily snorted but Isa narrowed her eyes. “None of that, Lily. You’re looking fabulous and don’t think otherwise.”
It wasn’t like Lily disliked her looks, but maybe she was nervous about the date. Why, she couldn’t comprehend, given the fact she’d been in lots of compromising positions with Boreas already. Still, nerves fluttered in her belly.
“Thinks for the help, Isa,” she said, scooping up the remnants of makeup on the bathroom sink. “You can go ahead and head out if you want.”
“What if I want to meet your man? Ask about his intentions?”
Lily shooed her out of the small bathroom space and toward the back. “Go on. Get. You have choir practice anyway.”
“True, which is the only reason I’m leaving.” She blew Lily a kiss and laughed as she glided out the backdoor, leaving infectious teenage joy in her wake. Something Lily appreciated in the moment as it calmed her odd nerves a bit.
She’d shut everything down a few minutes early to have time to get ready and figuratively twiddled her thumbs as she waited for Boreas to show. A gentle tap on the glass of the front door made Lily whip her head around. She found Boreas there, smiling at her as he leaned against the window of her front display. Heat instantly rolled through her body at the sight. She noted, with sadness, his hands looked like human hands, not the more monstrous claws, but she brushed it aside, knowing he needed to hide his true form if they were going to be out in public. She didn't like the idea, but she understood it.
Beyond that, however, he looked glorious. His broad, open face held a slight smile just for her. The ice in his eyes melted when their gazes connected. His hair, tied back as usual, shone bright white in the fading light of the evening.
He wore a fine leather jacket, the deep brown worn with age. Underneath, she caught glimpses of a red and green plaid shirt, a bit of early Christmas encasing those lovely muscles she wanted to trace with her tongue. His legs were clad in dark, loose-fitting denim that still stretched tight over his hard thighs. He wore big brown hiking boots, hiding his feet. It wasn't the full, delicious display of his usual toga, but he looked good enough to take a bite out of, nonetheless.
His eyes mesmerized her, and without thought, she started toward her mate. Her mate. Odd, but she felt the truth of it deep in her bones.
When she unlocked the front door and swung it open, Boreas moved her back into the depths of the store and quickly shut it behind him. "Hello," he whispered, taking in the outfit she'd obsessed over for the few minutes she had to do so that morning.
"Hi," she replied, shy now in the face of him. She lowered her gaze, seeing their feet so close, boots to boots. She felt a finger, not tipped in a claw, snag her chin and lift her face. When their eyes met again, he searched her, like he could see into her mind and found something he liked. He bent down and planted a soft, quick kiss to her lips.
"Hello," he said again, as if he'd forgotten he'd said it, and she laughed. He followed suit with a deep husky chuckle, and the trance they had been in dissipated.
"We've done that already," she said, turning to walk back to her counter, where she snatched up her puffer coat, hat, and gloves as well as the small wristlet she carried in her big coat pockets in the winter instead of a shoulder bag. "So, where are we off to? Should we head to my car?" She hooked her thumb toward the back but he shook his head.
"No. We are staying close." Boreas took her coat and helped her slip it on. She donned her gloves before he placed the hat on her head, giving the top an affectionate tap when he had it snugly in place.
She figured she knew where they were headed, but she put her arm in his offered elbow and said, "Lead the way, then," as they exited out the front. They paused for her to lock up and walked the three blocks up to the one restaurant in downtown Holly Hollow. Hickory stood at the end of the row of shops, a small farm-to-table spot known for smoked meats and a rustic vibe.
It'd been a while since she'd been in, but she knew the owners well. Much like she knew all the people in Holly Hollows and particularly anyone who had a business in the downtown area. The hostess, their waitress, and the chef/owner who came from the back all waved Lily's way and gave her warm greetings. When they were placed at a small table for two in the back corner of the place, Boreas arched a brow at her in question.
"Small town livin'," she answered to his unasked question and he huffed like he understood.
"Like Olympus," he said as he studied the drink menu in front of him.
The oddity of this, the differences between them, hit her full force. Of course he was a god, she knew this full well. But that also meant there were other gods, maybe from all types of pantheons. Possibly all over the place.
“So you hang with the Greek set. Are there also Egyptian and Norse and Japanese and Aztec sets?"
He acted as if he would speak but paused before he began. The waitress appeared a second later, ready to take the drink orders (a winter ale for him and a glass of the house red for her). Lily gave a quick suggestion of food, so they went ahead and ordered that, too. The corn fritters as an appetizer and the smoked meat plate to share, which Hickory touted as enough for two, but in Lily's experience, seemed more like enough for four. Once the waitress took their order and retreated, Boreas answered her question.
"Basically."
No elaboration. "Why did humans turn on you gods back in the day?”
Boreas shook his head then sighed. "Many gods did many, many things wrong in their time. They ruled too harshly. When humans rebelled, the majority of each pantheon moved into the shadows, happy to lick their wounds and be relegated to mythology. Some still flit around your world, living alongside humans. Undetected."
"You were one of those outside-the-world sorts?"
He nodded. "I had no reason to engage with humanity."
"Until I twisted my ankle in your stomping grounds," she chirped.
A deep chuckle again, music to her ears. "Exactly," he said. "No purpose until you came along."
They locked eyes again, and the rest of the restaurant fell away for a moment. Nothing existed but them, the connection she felt to him in her gut, and the seconds stretched between them. However, the spell broke when the waitress set their drinks down in front of them. Lily blushed as Boreas thanked the young woman and things went back to normal-date territory.
She learned what he did with his time, which mainly consisted of studying, keeping tabs on his three wind brothers and the smattering of gods he still contacted, and making sure all stayed right in his little section of forest. He apparently also dabbled in the stock market with the help of his old friend Plutus, had since its inception, so he made money the semi-old-fashioned way.
Boreas asked her questions, too. About her granny and her brother. Asked how she got into candle-making. She told him how she loved it as a teenager, moved away from it as a graphic design major in college, but came back to it when she couldn't do quite enough freelancing to pay all her bills. Lily's Lights started small but boomed pretty quick. "Thanks in part to you," she added at the end, raising her glass to him in a quasi-toast.
"Glad to help."
"I'm sure you are." She didn't need to see Ryan to know the voice interrupting their conversation. He stood there, a smug look firm on his face though slightly tattered at the edges, as if it might unravel at any moment. Madison hung on his arm, looking unbothered by anyone and anything. Above it all, apparently.
Boreas rose from his seat and Ryan visibly flinched, though he pulled his face back into his annoyed scowl quickly enough. Lily pressed her hand into the god's chest to try to calm him as she looked Ryan up and down. "You should leave," she said.
Madison tugged slightly on Ryan's arm and said, "Our table is this way, babe." She still looked unbothered, but for the first time, Lily noticed the shuffling of her feet, and the way her eyes darted around the room when no one looked directly at her face. Something to think on more later, but not when her mate and her ex might have a brawl in the middle of Hickory.
"Leaving sounds better," Boreas rumbled. Lily tapped her hand on his chest. He closed one of his over it and gripped it tight, keeping it connected to him as he stared down her ex.
"Oh, I don't know. We planned on a nice, romantic date. Right, Madison?" Ryan looked cool, but Lily'd seen his reaction to Boreas, who, even in human form, outmatched him in height and bulk by enough to make any dude who might want to start some nonsense hesitate. The smart move would be to go. Maybe even run, given the strain on Boreas's face right then.
Madison looked between the two men, then at Lily, and asked "What's the deal here?"
"No deal, hun. Really. Nothing for you to worry your pretty little head over," Ryan said, patting her like a child and using that infuriating, condescending tone Lily knew too well. "In fact, why don't we join you? Hey Kathy," He called the waitress over. "Can we add a table here?"
Lily managed to shake her head at the young lady who gave her apologies to Ryan and said something about clear walkways and fire codes.
"Oh, well then. Another time." He stared right at Boreas and repeated himself. "Another time."
Boreas stewed, but he said nothing as Ryan and Madison took a table in the opposite corner. Ryan stared between Lily and the god, ignoring Madison, who appeared to be scrolling on her phone – when she wasn't sending questioning looks Lily’s way.
"Kathy?" Lily called. When she came over she asked, low, "Can we get our food to go?"
"Sure thing," Kathy said, worry and relief warring on her face. Like most service workers, she didn't need or want customers’ personal issues bleeding all over her floor.
She came back a few minutes later with to go containers and thanked them for coming in. Lily tossed cash on the table, enough to cover the meal and a large, well-deserved tip. Boreas grumbled something about it but she shot him a look. "Let's just go." Without another word, but plenty of death glares over at Ryan, Boreas helped her into her coat again and escorted her out the door, putting a far too quick end to their first real date.
B oreas seethed the entire ride to Lily’s house. Seething might be an exaggeration for an average man, but not Boreas. He was a god. Boreas said nothing, but his breath came out in chilly bursts that fogged up Lily’s windshield. When she told him to knock it off so she could see, his breathing calmed some, but a small layer of ice formed along his hairline, eyebrows, and lashes. He literally sat in a cold fury.
Lily understood it, to some extent. Ryan continued to be the same annoying ass she’d had to deal with for a good chunk of her life. Of course she understood. She couldn’t understand the intensity of his reaction in the moment, though, or why, exactly icy anger swirled around him.
As soon as they were both over the threshold of her house, Boreas reached into the front of his shirt and fished out a small metal pendant on a cord. It hung so low on his neck she hadn’t noticed it. As soon as he whipped it over his head, his features blurred then sharpened, turning him back into the Boreas she knew, the monstrous god she’d originally met.
“Handy necklace.” She hung her coat up in her foyer and bent to unzip her boots. His large claws gripped her waist tight as she bent over a second before she moved, as if propelled by air, her boot dangling off a toe for a split second then hitting her living room floor with a thud. “Hey, now. I was in the middle of something.”
Boreas wasn’t listening. He deposited her butt right on her dining room table and growled “Wait. Here.” The strength of his voice, the intensity of his gaze left her breathless, so she merely nodded her head as he stormed off, presumably checking the house for gods knew what. When he came back after his recon mission, his eyes were no less intense.
“All good?”
“No. All is not ‘good.’” He flexed his jaw so hard Lily expected one of those fangs to snap right off. Luckily, that didn't happen.
“Hey. Hey.” She called to him, reaching up to place a comforting hand on his chest. “You okay?”
“No.” Deep, hard breaths, then he continued. “I must take care of this Ryan.”
“What do you mean ‘take care of’?” She had no love for Ryan, but the anger pulsing off Boreas in cold waves and her love of old mafia movies made her stick on the phrasing.
“He will not bother you again.”
“Look, Boreas. He’s an ass, that’s for certain. He quite possibly deserves a takedown of some kind, but what you seem to be suggesting is a little too far.”
He arched a white eyebrow her way and she noticed the ice had melted, leaving small droplets of water on his lashes. She decided a direct approach might be in order: “You cannot kill him.” She quickly added, “Or smite him.”
“Why not?” He sounded like a pouty kid, but Lily ignored the petulance.
“Because it’s wrong to kill someone when you’re not directly defending yourself.”
“I am defending you.”
“Not from immediate physical harm,” she countered, scooting closer to him, her butt now sitting precariously on the edge of the table.
“You are mine to protect,” he said, shooting hands out to grip her shoulders tight. “Mine.”
“Is this a mate thing?”
Boreas huffed out a laugh. “Yes and no. Ryan is a threat, albeit not a physical threat so far. Any threat should be eliminated. However, when someone is threatening another’s mate…” He trailed off.
Lily got it on some level. The idea of Boreas in trouble or in pain made her gut twist and her anger rise. Because he was used to lording over things as a god, and because he was her mate, he needed to protect her. His need also stirred something primal in her, and she hitched up her legs slightly to hook them around his hips. His hands instantly moved to the outside of her thighs, to secure her. To rub her.
“Lily,” he ground out, turning his head away. “It might not be safe for you at this moment. I may-– I do not know if I can control myself after what transpired this evening.”
“Then don’t,” she replied, caressing his chest as it rose and fell in sharp breaths. “I’m yours, ain’t I? Maybe making me yours in another way would help calm you down.”
“If we do this now, Lily, I won’t be able to hold back. I will take you.”
She looked up into his blue eyes flashing white with their now crinkled edges. He worried for her. Always did, which was why he’d been so pissed about Ryan. He also worried he’d hurt her. Always had, which was why he’d hesitated to connect with her for so long. Something in him feared what he’d do to her. But she had no such fear.
“I’m yours. You’re mine. There’s nothing you could do to truly hurt me besides leaving me alone, without you. There’s nothing to take I wouldn’t freely give.” Lily placed one of his hands on her chest, over her heart. She didn’t say the words, but she felt them there already. Sent the feeling down the tie that bound them heart to heart.
A different growl, low and fierce and needy, left Boreas as he gently pushed her chest back until she lay sprawled on her dining room table. Lily looked up into his glowing eyes, his fanged mouth open in a snarl of want, his wings spread wide behind him. “You. Are. Mine.” Each word seared into her, a promise she felt all the way to her bones, just as she felt his claws move down to flip up her dress.
She heard a tearing sound, though she didn’t feel the claws. She did feel cold air brush against her exposed pussy. He must have ripped right through her fleece-lined leggings and panties both. “Mine,” he growled once again before he knelt between her legs. His massive hands spread her wide, exposed her to his gaze. She went up on her elbows to see what he was doing. He stared intently at her core, then looked to her face as he blew an icy stream across her. She shivered, from cold and want, and he gave a predatory smile as he parted her with a single thumb and flicked her clit with a claw. “Mine.”
She moaned at his touch, then screamed when he dove forward, giving her slit a long, lingering lick from bottom to top. Little coherent thought crossed her mind afterward. She became only feeling. The scrape of his slightly rough tongue, the pinch of his fangs, the grip of his claws on her inner thighs wrecked her. He worked her core expertly, licking and sucking and groaning all the while, as if it brought him pleasure.
After a few minutes of his groans and her moans, his licks and sucks, he said, “Come for me,” before lashing his tongue at impossible speed across her clit. The hard, quick lapping at her already primed clit made her come in record time, the sensation running riot in her blood. Lily let out a harsh cry and lifted off the table as she clamped her thighs tight around the still kneeling Boreas, unable to control her body.
Boreas appeared above her, hovering, his wings sending a gentle breeze across the room. He leaned in, kissing her fiercely, and she tasted them both on his tongue. Ripping himself away with a soft curse, he gripped her waist and dragged her back down the table. She didn’t know if she could stand, but he forced her to; he flipped her around, her belly hitting the hard wood of the table.
He hitched her hips higher, so high she almost had to go up on tiptoes to alleviate the stress. Boreas’s body stretched across her back and his tongue hit her ear, licking and sucking for a moment. A quick nip of his fangs brought a yelp of surprise from Lily though it didn’t really hurt. “I am taking what is mine,” he whispered to her, and her body bucked at the words.
The god, still fully dressed, straightened and she heard the quick slide of his zipper before she felt the nudge of his cock against her entrance.
He wasted no time. Boreas slammed into her, hard enough to take her breath, and lingered for a moment so she felt the scrape of his jeans against the back of her thighs. His claws dug into the dress high on her hips and she had a single stray thought about how it would likely rip. However, all thoughts faded when he pulled back out. Every ridge and rise of his dick tickled her insides and she relished the feel even as she wanted him to fill her up once again. The god did not make her wait. He slammed back home, ground hard against her ass, and started a punishing pace.
The room filled with the sounds of flesh slapping flesh, deep groans from Boreas, and rising screams of pleasure from Lily. She couldn’t control herself and didn’t want to. Didn’t need to. Boreas wanted all of her, every bit of flesh and pleasure and feeling. As his perfectly ribbed cock slid in and out of her, he adjusted so he knocked perfectly against the spot deep inside her that made her go feral. She began clawing at the table and she would’ve left deep gouges if she had Boreas’s hands.
She clawed not to get away, but for purchase. She wanted to fuck him back, leverage herself so she could slam back into him harder and faster. What he did to her, as he bore hard and deep into her pussy, reaching farther than anyone ever had before. A claiming she thought they'd already experienced. Boreas obviously needed it to calm himself after their confrontation at Hickory. What Lily hadn’t realized was she needed it as well. Wanted to be claimed by this brilliant, protective, thoughtful god.
Boreas picked up pace somehow and Lily gave another cry. Still, she heard his deep groan. “Give it to me, my flower. Give it to me once again.”
The words, the slide and thrust of him, the grip of his claws on her, all merged into a brilliant, shimmering moment of pure sensation, an answer to the achy need she’d felt since meeting Boreas. She screamed out his name as he called out her own, and they came together, panting and moaning and slowing their pace only because their bodies forced them to do so. The orgasm roared inside her, thrumming hard against the bond she felt with the god, so hard, in fact, she sensed a strengthening in their connection, like a chain wrapping around a taut rope.
After a beat and a huff of breath, Boreas lay on top of her. He squished her slightly against the table but she didn’t mind. Especially when he laced his hand on top of hers. She turned her head to see them, human hand under massive, clawed hand, and he gave her a sweet, lingering kiss on her exposed cheek. Lily wouldn’t of course, but she thought she might like to stay just like that for forever.