Chapter 16
L ily got used to the cave bathroom setup in quick order and had even brought a little on-the-go bag with her last night. Meant she could snuggle in bed longer with Boreas, cocooned in his scent and feathers, before heading out for the day. Also meant some good morning fondling and panting in his big shower, which she did not mind at all.
When she'd thrown her pink gloss on and tossed it in her bag, she turned to her god and said, "All done." He scooped her up like he loved to do, the Superman hold he used so well, and started toward her car.
The wind whipped around them, but a soft layer of warmth enveloped her, and she couldn't tell if Boreas's body heat or his magic caused it. Didn't matter. Not really. All of it felt snug and right. But she wondered something.
"Why like this?" she asked.
He looked down at her, one perfect white brow arched. She wiggled her butt and his eyes narrowed, gripping her tighter.
"Do not do that," he growled out.
"Okay, okay. Probably not too smart, I'll give you that. Just meant to ask why you carry me like this."
"How else should I carry you?"
Valid question, Lily thought, as she considered the logistics of the matter.
"I could hold onto your waist, lay against your front? Might be more aerodynamic."
The ice in his eyes flashed white and she knew he’d thought something naughty. The idea of what they could do in the sky sent shivers up and down her back.
"Not secure enough," he said with a gruff finality.
Maybe true. Maybe not. Or maybe, she thought, she could get him to try something new and bring out whatever sexy thought crossed his mind. Something to look forward to in the future. Possibly when it wasn't so damn cold out.
Lily snuggled back into his chest, taking comfort in his warm embrace. So much so, the thump of Boreas’s feet landing on the ground jolted her eyes open. She'd closed them at some point in their journey but she couldn’t remember when.
He pulled her closer, into his chest in a brief hug before he bent and allowed her to stand from his arms. She did so, though her body hesitated when she stepped away from him.
"Look at that, safe and sound," she chirped as she checked her phone. "Plenty of time to grab a coffee before I open the shop."
"Is today your last day before your break?" he asked.
"No. Like most businesses downtown, I stay open half a day on Christmas Eve for all those last-minute shoppers. Then I'll have a glorious vacation for a whole week."
"Would you like to go somewhere?"
"Like where?"
Boreas reached up to cup her cheek and smiled down at her. "Anywhere you wish to go, my flower."
Not for the first time, she thought there were lots of perks to being with a god. Then she thought of him flying them off to some tropical location and she burst out laughing at the stray old joke.
"What's so funny?"
"Just flew in from Appalachia, and boy, are my wings tired," she said in her best old-timey comic voice. He stared at her and she shook the unasked question away. "Just an old joke setup that might be true for you. Not important."
He shrugged it off and said, "We can get away if you wish. However you wish to do so."
Lily grabbed the front folds of his toga and pulled him in close. "No need to get away. All I want is a week in bed with you."
He growled, deep and sexy, before he said, "More than happy to oblige such a wish."
"But"—she stepped away toward her car—"we can't be in bed all day on Christmas. You already had me confirm with Betty, and there'd be hell to pay if we don't show at her place for dinner when you said we would."
He nodded then she asked. "What are your plans for today?”
He twirled a hand in the air. "I have a few important calls and inquiries to make.”
"Oh la-dee-da. Mr. Fancy Pants but without the pants," she teased.
Before she could blink, he pinned her against the car. Her heart pounded, but not in fear, despite his wicked sharp claws, massive size, and inhuman speed. Never in fear of this monster she might just come to love. Might already love.
He grinned down at her, gripped her chin so his claws gave a delicious scrape against her skin, and tilted her head toward him. He took her mouth, hard and rough and delicious, before he stepped away.
"Be safe, my flower. I will see you this evening?"
"Yep. Come by my place. I'm feeling like spending time with a Christmas tree and watching a Christmas movie." She was in the holiday spirit and he didn't have anything like that in his cave.
With jerk of his head in agreement, Boreas took off, leaving Lily to climb into her car and wait a few minutes for it to warm up and defrost before she left.
A bout three miles away, after the gravel road turned into a narrow asphalt lane, Lily slammed on the brakes. In the middle of the road, stretched clean across it so she couldn't get around without stopping, sat a shiny new luxury car. Ryan leaned against the gleaming white vehicle, looking pleased with himself. She had no time for his mess, and she knew Boreas flew behind her somewhere, so she muttered a few choice cuss words to herself and put the car in reverse, hoping to catch her god and avoid whatever mess Ryan wanted to throw at her.
Ryan held his hand up, as if that would stop her. Lily rolled down her window, to yell as she pulled away, when he called out, "I have proof of what he is."
Again, Lily slammed on the brakes. Her heart pounded, and her knuckles turned white on the steering wheel. She didn't reply, but she also didn't continue backing away as Ryan strolled toward her. She stared at the cold road, mind whirling over how much Ryan might know and how he might know it.
When he reached her car, he leaned down, folding his elbow on the open window so he took up all of her vision when she turned her head his way. A photo dangled between two fingers. She snatched it up, studying the grainy image: Boreas, in all his monstrous god glory, clawed hand held high in the air and sharply feathered wings spread wide. It was the day after their first night together. When he made the snow dance for her. A sweet moment now made sour by Ryan’s intrusion.
For a beat, Lily was confused by how he even intruded, then she remembered. The camera, of course. The one Boreas found minutes later, after Ryan’s angry call. Sadly, he didn’t find it before it captured this. Lily cursed herself under her breath for not thinking of this, not realizing Ryan knew all along. She’d been so happy, even with the annoyance of her ex, so warm in her little mate bubble with Boreas, the consequences of the camera being there never fully registered.
"This is just a screenshot, of course. It's a whole video. You were all giggly over his little snow trick, but I doubt others will be." He paused, looked at her with pity in his eyes, and said, “He’s a monster, Lil.”
"You have no idea who he is." The venom in her voice lashed out because she couldn't, but with a man like Ryan, it didn’t really hit.
"You're right. I don't know specifics. I also don't care. He took what was mine, and I'll have it back."
"You're talking about me, you know. A person. Not a thing."
"It's a monster, Lily," repeated with more bite.
" He is a living, breathing, feeling being. And one I wouldn't fuck with if I were you."
Ryan shook his head. "I'm thinking, if he doesn't usually look like this when he's out and about, he has good reason to hide it from people. Here's what I'll do: I'll destroy the video if he leaves. If he doesn't, I'll expose him to the whole town."
"Why are you like this?" How could she ever have loved this man? Because she had loved him once. She'd been too blinded by it to see who he was really, and that fact haunted her sometimes. Especially when he behaved like a little shit.
" I want him gone, off to whatever rock he crawled out from under. And I want you back. "
"You can force him out, I guess, but you can't force me to be with you."
"We'll see," he said, and his hand shot out to touch her face. She whipped her head as far away from his reach as she could, but she couldn't go far with the seatbelt and all. He managed to touch a wisp of her hair and she felt sick at the feel of him so close.
He straightened and walked back to his car. Before he got in, he yelled out. "He has until tomorrow, Lil, or the whole town will know there's a monster in those woods, not some white bear from their stories."
He revved his engine as he righted his sedan and drove away, leaving Lily breathing heavy. She felt heated, confused, and the chilly wind blowing through her still open window didn't help. She didn't know what might help, if anything. But she had to warn Boreas.
She didn't want to think about what he might do. If he might leave. Secrecy had been important to him and she’d known that from the start. He deserved to know his true form might no longer be so secret, and he deserved to make his own choice on the matter. Even if his choice might break her heart.
L ily couldn't lie. Well, she could about small things, like when she lied to her granny about breaking her favorite pie plate and said the cat knocked it off the counter. She couldn't lie about the big things. They showed all over her face. Which is what Boreas saw as soon as she opened the door to her little house later that night.
"What's wrong?" He pushed her into the house and swiftly closed the door.
For her part, she also didn't beat around the bush. "Ryan knows."
"Knows what?"
"Well, he knows you're not human. Not the specifics, like you're the God of the North Wind, but he knows enough."
Boreas stiffened and ground out, "Tell me."
She did. Told him every detail, down to his glowing eyes in the picture and the clarity of his sharp teeth and glistening wings. When she repeated Ryan's threat and demands, Boreas stiffened, but said nothing for far too long.
"Boreas?" She needed to know what to do, what to think, if he planned to leave and break her heart.
"Yes?"
"He knows you aren't human."
"And?"
"He could expose you."
"And?"
She started at that. "You were real worried about exposure not too long ago. Seemed to be one of the big reasons you didn't want to start things up with me."
"I most certainly have started things with you now."
She nodded.
"Lily, my flower. My mate. When I decided to be with you, to adhere to my purpose, you became my sole concern. If he exposes me, he exposes me. I have ways to mitigate any action he may take."
"But–"
"No buts, sweet Lily. I am a god of old. I can handle a man throwing a tantrum."
He wrapped her up in a strong hug a touch too hard. Maybe a little desperate even. "Do not worry, Lily. I will see to Ryan."
"Are you... Will you..." She couldn't even bring herself to say it out loud, but he still knew what she wished to ask.
"I am not giving you up, Lily. Never."
"But he'll--"
"He will do nothing. I will take care of it."
"Like, take care of him?" She asked. Ryan was an ass, but she wasn't sure she could fully condone murder. He cocked his head in question and Lily mimicked slitting someone's throat.
"As satisfying as that might be, such actions are not exactly acceptable in this age. I have other avenues open to me. Ones which will lead us to a better future."
"What avenues?"
He hugged her again and stepped back. Back towards the door as he reached for the doorknob. He was leaving, which made her blood race despite his assurances.
"I will explain all soon enough, but time is of the essence. Sadly, I must leave to handle this situation."
"You're not leaving leaving, right?" He'd left her without word or promise of his return before. He hadn't done so since the masquerade, and they'd worked through his initial hesitancy, but the pain of not knowing what he might do or think or where he might go made her more than a little nervous.
He stepped back into her, gripped her hands, and looked deep into her eyes. "I know what I did, what I said before, may make you hesitate now, my flower. Please, do trust me. Trust us now."
Lily gave him the benefit of the doubt. Sure, she worried, but she needed to let him handle things, especially things dealing with godhood, magic, and his choices.
She took a deep breath in and out through her nose. "Okay," she whispered, giving him a good squeeze back. Then he gave her a hot, short kiss and in a rush of wind the door closed on him, the lingering smell of winter wind and pine the only thing left.