Page 24 of Desired By Eros

“Exactly. And they’ve known about your diagnosis since the beginning, yet they still don’t make an effort to make you comfortable.” He huffed. “Even your site manager was prepared to accommodate your needs, and she barely knows you.”

“But this is work. They have to make accommodations.”

“And they’re your family, yet they act like assholes. Don’t make any excuses for them.”

She went quiet and still, except for her fingers drumming lightly on her thighs. “Can you get the car again and fly us back? I can pack up.”

“Yeah, sure.”

So, he flew back to the car rental agency in Healy and picked up the SUV again, then headed back to the site. They packed up the car with the last of their things and drove off.

The ride was awkwardly silent, and for perhaps the first time in his adult life, Eros felt doubt. Had he been wrong to judge Psyche’s sisters without meeting them first? His instinct, however, said the opposite. For one thing, Psyche wouldn’tlie or exaggerate. From what he’d learned about her, she was straightforward and never embellished.

“Wait for me in the back of the building,” he instructed as he pulled into the dealership. “I’ll talk to the rental agent.” She gave him a curt nod, then exited the car.

After parking the car and explaining to the agent that he just needed to leave it there for the weekend, he went around back to meet up with Psyche, though not before he grabbed something from the trunk. He found her in the wooded area, just behind the line of trees at the edge of the property, her back to him.

“Ready?” he asked.

She turned around. “Yeah, I—what is that?”

“What does it look like?”

Her cute nose twitched. “A fleece blanket?”

“Smart girl.” It wasn’t very big, about the size of a large towel, but it was the only thing he could find on short notice. Before she could say anything else, he wrapped it around her. “There you go.”

Wide, brown-green eyes stared up at him. “But why? And where did you get this?”

“I know you have your jacket and gloves, but this is a longer flight than usual, and I have to go higher at some points so I can navigate us safely without anyone seeing us. I thought you might get colder, so I got it for you. I picked it up in town one day.” He whipped his shirt off. “Are you ready?”

She nodded, pulling the blanket tight around her. “Yes.”

Squaring his shoulders, he unfurled his wings from his back and gave them a flick, a loudsnapcracking in the air. “Let’s go then.”

The closeness of their bodies as she stepped into his arms shouldn’t have affected him. They’d done this before, and last night, they had all but cuddled all night long. Still, as her arms wound around his neck, and the curves of her body—albeitwrapped up in the fleece—pressed up against his naked torso, the familiar ache of desire curled in his belly. He shouldn’t be surprised; Psyche was pretty, and though perhaps by today’s standards, her curvy body wasn’t in vogue these days, he nonetheless thought her sexy, like those women Rubens loved to paint. The old Flemish master definitely had a type back then, and Eros could see the appeal, especially when he held such a delectable example in his arms.

“Eros?”

“Yes?”

“Are we going or not?”

The impatience in her tone was endearing. “Yes.” With a snap of his wings, they shot up, and he smiled smugly to himself as she clung to him tighter.

Though this trip was made in silence too, it wasn’t as awkward as the car ride. For the most part, Psyche seemed contented and warm enough wrapped up in the blanket.

As they approached the Alaska pack territory he slowed his flight, not seeing any reason to rush, especially if Psyche was not looking forward to seeing her sisters. He held onto her tighter, and to his surprise, she pressed her face into his bare chest, or rather, against the fleece blanket that happened to be against his chest, but it nonetheless sent his stomach into a curious swoop.

“We’re here,” he announced as they landed just outside the main lodge. Placing her on her feet, he retrieved the shirt he had tucked into the back pocket of his jeans and put it on. “Do you want to freshen up?”

She shrugged the fleece off and folded it carefully, then retrieved her phone, which buzzed continuously now that it had service. “No, they’re already?—”

“Psyche!”

“Here.” Her shoulders drooped, and her nose wrinkled.

Two figures had emerged from the door of the main lodge and were fast approaching. Psyche winced as she was ensnared in a tangle of arms and enveloped in a cloud of flowery designer perfume.

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