Page 47 of Monster Song
“You can be any spoon you want.”
Hephaestus scooped me up and carried me to bed. He snuggled into my back and buried his face in my hair.
“I missed you. I’m glad you’re back,” I said.
“I’m glad to be back too. I just want one night to hold you.”
“You can have more than one night. You can have all my nights.”
I wanted to ask him so badly what he meant by that, but I promised we wouldn’t talk about God business. And I was enjoying his arms around me. I turned in his arms so I could look him in the eyes.
“You look tired, Hephaestus. Did you want me to send for food, then take a nap?”
“Are you hungry, River?”
“I just ate, but I can sit with you while you eat. Gods aren’t supposed to look tired.”
Hephaestus chuckled and kissed my forehead.
“No, Olympians are just too vain to let anyone see them looking tired. We can heal any injury, but we still have to eat well and get our sleep in. I don’t think anyone in Olympus rises before noon, and no one sees them until they look totally perfect. In case you haven’t noticed, my people are snobs. They asked humanity to worship them and build them pretty things. They didn’t let them see their flaws, even as they acted up and cursed people.
“I was working on something at the forge. I created my helpers, but it was all hands on deck. I wanted to come back to you, and Hades was pretty frustrated you kept asking questions. I came back as soon as I could. I missed being away from you.”
“Am I eventually going to find out what you were working on? I missed you too.”
“Would you be furious with me if I told you it was Olympian business and might end up being nothing? Can we just forget I ever left and just enjoy tonight?”
“Why does it feel like you’re saying goodbye to me?”
“I’m not, River. Can we just not talk about this for tonight?”
“I’m sorry. You’re probably exhausted and want all this to be over. Do you want to snuggle?”
Hephaestus’s eyes darkened, and his pupils dilated. He ran his fingers through my hair.
“If it’s not too forward, I’d like to make love to a woman who cares for me and accepts my flaws.”
I snuggled in closer.
“It’s not too forward, and I wish you’d stop calling that tiny limp a defect or a flaw. You’re fucking perfect, and we wouldn’t have been able to stop this if it weren’t for you.”
“You’re sweet, River. But—”
“No,” I said, placing my finger over his lips. “I said you’re perfect, so you are. Now, shut up and kiss me.”
Hephaestus was so sweet and gentle when he kissed me. He tasted like expensive wine, and it should be illegal for a man’s lips to be that soft. He got a little bolder, but not too bold. He gently rolled me on my back and looked deep in my eyes.
“It’s so odd you aren’t totally revolted by this.”
I touched his cheek.
“Did you not take human lovers in your entire time in your forge?”
He shook his head.
“I never wanted demigod children, and it got passed around that my visage was horrific to look at. The only people who ever visited my forge were demigods who wanted weapons for the longest time. The women who came later were generally witches whose only use for me was to make something to hurt people. They asked me to lie with me because they wanted a powerful child, but it would have been a chore for both of us. I generally threw them in the fire for asking.”
“What if I asked you to make love to me before you asked me?”
