Rhea nodded. “I smelled War and Sickness on him but not much else.”
“Where is the box?” Okeanos snarled.
Cronus stopped, his jaw set. “He’ll have hidden it. Might take us a hundred years to find.”
Umm, what? I’d be long dead by then and Zeus would have done gods knows what to the Earth.
Iapetos stepped forward and cleared his throat. “I saw Zeus retreating with the box after Cronus died, but … it looked damaged. There was a huge crack on one side. It definitely was faulty from the start.”
Oh fabulous, just what we needed! A freaking faulty box containing the world’s deadly sins and with a madman in possession of it.
Cronus stopped pacing, his brow furrowed in concentration. The moment that expression cleared, forming something a little more diabolical, Hyperion groaned.
“I know that look,” he said, watching his old friend.
Rhea grinned at her ex-husband. “You have a plan.”
#EyesOffBitch #Mine #HaircutComingRightUp
Cronus looked at them both. “I have a thought, but I need some time to consider a way that ensures he can’t betray us again. Something fair and tied up tightly to force Zeus’ hand.” The Titans were nodding with him, all of them on board with whatever he was going to suggest. “Meet here in the morning and I’ll let you know what we’re going to do.”
“You got it,” Phoebe said, sounding way too excited. One by one, they started to pop out of the space, until eventually it was just me and Cronus. Just as I was about to ask him what his plan was, and see if I could offer any suggestions, his hooded gaze raked over me. Slowly.
Heat traveled down my spine with that stare, until it pooled between my thighs. Without another word he closed the space between us, reaching for me. I was already moving to him, so he dragged me into his arms and with a pop we were transported to a bedroom hut on the ocean. The same bedroom hut we had last time.
“Are you sure it’s vacant?” I looked around, noting the bed was pristinely made, a single flower on the pillow.
He nodded. “I had Hyperion rent it for the month while we were having lunch.”
My eyes widened. “A month?”
That would have cost a fortune in dick cash. Not that I was complaining.
He nodded, trailing a finger across my collarbone. “It will take about that long for us to pick out a house.”
At first I wasn’t sure I’d heard him correctly. “A house?”
It was like winning the lotto to think about buying a house. I’d never lived much above minimum wage and near poverty.
“Yes,” Cronus whispered, his lips brushing across my skin. “Whatever one you want.”
My breath choked in my lungs, and I forced each pull of air in and out. “You want to buy a house with me?”
He threaded his fingers through my hair, pulling me closer. “Love, I want to do everything with you.”
Whatever I’d done right in my life to deserve this, I was so fucking grateful.
“I want that too,” I returned softly.
#AllTheSexPlease #That’sWhatHeMeantRight
His head lowered, lips pressing against mine, and I had never been happier that we were on the same page. The ache in my chest that had instantly appeared when I lost Cronus didn’t disappear as soon as we got him back. It was taking me time to truly accept that he was alive and safe with me.
Being with him like this, touching and tasting him, it helped.
“I can’t lose you again,” I whispered, my voice a husky mess. Fucking baby hormones. I was going to be crying a lot, I could tell.
Cronus wrapped his arms around me and hugged me into his chest, holding me so tightly that I felt safe. The baby belly, despite its rapid growth, was actually still small enough to tuck snuggly between us, our little miss kicking away.
“You are the greatest gift I have ever received in my long life,” Cronus said, pulling away, his eyes more gold than usual. “And you’ve only added to it with our child.”
“You have other children,” I reminded him with a grin.
He smiled as well. “Yes, and I love them, even my asshole of a son who I’ll probably have to kill. But none of them were born of a true family. None of them were born of love like our daughter. This little one, I can already picture her, so much like her mommy. I will protect her no matter what, because even with her power she will be more vulnerable for the first few years.”
A few hard kicks and I wasn’t sure she was on the same page as Cronus, but I loved how protective he was about her already. “I need you to make love to me now,” I told him, my knees wobbly as my need for him grew. “Pretty sure baby hormones are going to keep you in bed for the rest of this pregnancy.”
Cronus’ slow smile did something to me. Really naughty things. “Babe, you’re going to regret saying that.”
Somehow I doubted it.
He kissed me again, long slow kisses, before he deepened the movement, our tongues clashing together. He tasted like power and Cronus and love; my weak knees were practically jelly. Slipping an arm beneath me, he lifted me closer to his face to reduce the awkward height difference between us. I mean, I loved me a tall man, but my guy was closer to giant than human, and my poor neck muscles didn’t appreciate being held at that angle for too long.
With his help, I crawled my way up him, arms wrapping around his neck, legs around his waist. As we kissed, he started to walk toward the bed, holding me with no apparent strain. I tilted my head back and his lips trailed from my mouth, down my jaw, and when he sucked on that sensitive part of my neck that he knew I loved, my moan was loud. Embarrassingly loud, but I didn’t give a shit.
Life was short. I’d lived through losing the love of mine and I wasn’t going to hold back on how I felt.
“You. Are. So. Fucking. Beautiful,” he said between peppering kisses across my skin, his tongue sliding across the tops of my breasts, before he managed to slip under the edge of my bra and find my right nipple.
Lord. Have. Mercy.
My lower body rocked against him as the ache increased. Cronus groaned as he tasted more of me, searching for the other nipple. “Can’t neglect this one,” he murmured. His tongue was warm and wet, the suction just enough that I was on the edge of screaming, and the dude had only touched my nipples. I’d probably combust when he moved on to other things.
When he laid me back on the bed, I barely even noticed how soft the comforter was under me; I was too interested in the man on top. My legs were still wrapped around his waist and he held himself up so as not to squish me, strong arms on either side of my head, his head lowering to my nipples once more.
Boy was thorough, not missing any skin as he used his magic to remove my clothing, piece by piece, and each piece of exposed skin got thoroughly loved. He was driving me crazy, but at the same time I wished it would never end.
When he reached the small swell of my stomach, he rubbed a gentle hand across it, just a glancing graze, but it warmed my heart. A warmth that fit with the fire zooming through the rest of me.
At the junction of my thighs, he took his time, kissing and caressing me, before his tongue slid right along the wetness that had been pooling there. I cried out, my fingers burying in his gorgeous hair. “Cronus, it’s too much.”
His chuckle was warm and low, sending air across my sensitive skin, and I almost screamed, pulling my hands from his hair and digging them into the bedding. He licked me again, those long thorough licks that caressed every pleasure point. Pressure built, the sensations so strong I wasn’t sure I’d survive the impending explosion.