'Eros!' she called. 'Can you hear me? Athena? Someone? How can you let him go through this and do nothing? If you have any love for him at all, please help me help him.'
As she expected, no one answered.
Grace leaned her head into her hand as she tried to think of something else she could try. Surely, there…
A light flashed in the room.
Startled, Grace looked up to see Aphrodite materializing next to the bed. She couldn't have been more stunned to find a donkey in her house.
Aphrodite's face was pale and strained as she saw her son convulsing in absolute agony. She reached a hand out to him, then drew it back sharply. Balling her hand into a fist, she dropped it to her side.
It was then she looked at Grace. 'I do love him,' she said quietly.
'I do, too.'
Aphrodite's gaze fell to the floor, but Grace could still see her inner turmoil. 'If I release him you'll take him from me forever. If I don't release him, we'll both lose him.'
Aphrodite locked gazes with her. 'I thought about what you said, and you were right. I made him strong and I should never have punished him for it. All I ever wanted was for him to call me mother.' She looked at her son. 'I just wanted you to love me, Julian. Just a little.'
Grace swallowed when she saw the pain on Aphrodite's face as she touched Julian's hand.
Julian hissed as if her touch burned his skin.
Aphrodite let go. 'Grace, promise me you'll take good care of him.'
'As long as he lets me, I will. I promise.'
Aphrodite nodded, then placed her hand on Julian's brow. He threw his head back as if he'd been struck by lightning. Aphrodite leaned over him and kissed him ever so lightly on the lips.
Instantly, his entire body went limp.
The handcuffs fell open, and still Julian didn't move. Grace's heart stopped as she realized he wasn't breathing. Terrified, she reached a trembling hand out to him.
He took a deep, convulsing breath.
Grace saw the familiar longing in Aphrodite's eyes as she held her hand out to a son who didn't even know she was there. It was the same look of yearning she saw so often in Julian's eyes when he didn't know she was watching him.
How could two people need each other so desperately, and yet not be able to reach out to one another?
Aphrodite vanished the instant Julian opened his eyes.
Grace moved to his side. He was shaking so badly, his teeth chattered. His fever gone, now his skin was as cold as ice.
She pulled the blankets off the floor and covered him up.
'What happened?' he asked, his voice unsteady.
'Your mother freed you.'
Julian stared in amazement of her words. 'My mother? She was here?'
Grace nodded. 'She was worried about you.'
Julian couldn't believe his hearing. Was it possible?
But why would his mother help him now after all the times she'd turned her back on his suffering and left him to it? It didn't make sense.
His frown deepening, Julian started to slide off the bed.
'No you don't,' she said sharply. 'I just got you back, and I-'
'I really have to go to the bathroom,' he said, interrupting her.
'Oh.' Grace helped him from the bed.
His legs were so weak, he needed her support to help him down the hallway. Julian closed his eyes as he inhaled the sweet smell of her. Afraid of hurting her, he tried not to put too much of his weight on her shoulders.
His heart warmed at the way she helped him, at the feel of her arms wrapped around his waist as she walked him down her hallway past the grandfather clock.
His Grace. How would he ever be able to let her go?
After he relieved himself, she ran a hot bath for him and helped him into it.
Julian stared at Grace while she bathed him. He couldn't believe she'd stayed by his side all this time. He didn't remember much about the last few days, but he remembered the sound of her voice soothing him through the darkness.
He'd heard her calling to him. And at times, he was sure he'd felt her hand on his skin, pulling him back from the madness.
Her touch had been his salvation.
Closing his eyes, he enjoyed the sensation of her hands sliding over his body as she bathed him. Down his chest, his arms, his stomach. And when her hand accidentally brushed his erection, he jerked from the force of it.
How he wanted her.
'Kiss me,' he breathed.
'Is it safe?'
He smiled at her. 'If I could move, you'd already be in this tub with me. I assure you, at the moment I'm as helpless as a babe.'
She licked her lips tentatively as she brushed her right hand over his. Her touch was gentle and warm, and she stared at his mouth as if she could devour it. That look went a long way in banishing the chill from him.
She leaned forward and kissed him deeply. Julian moaned at the contact, wanting more. Needing more of her touch.
To his amazement, he got it.
Grace left his lips only long enough to peel her clothes from her body until she stood naked before him. Slowly, seductively, she crawled into the tub with him, straddling his waist.
Julian moaned at the feel of her hairs on his stomach. She returned to his lips with a kiss so hot, it scorched him.
Damn it, he couldn't even hold her! His arms wouldn't budge on their own. And he desperately wanted to hold her tight against him.
She must have felt his frustration, for she pulled back with a smile. 'It's my turn to care for you,' she whispered before burying her lips against his throat.
Julian closed his eyes as she trailed her kisses down his chest. When she reached his nipple, he reeled from the pleasure of her tongue teasing and suckling him. Never had anything touched him more than her actions. He couldn't remember the last time someone had truly made love to
And no one had ever been so thorough. So giving.
He sucked his breath in sharply as she reached down between their bodies to stroke him. 'I wish I could make love to you,' he whispered.
She lifted her head to meet his gaze. 'You do that every time you touch me.'
Somehow, he found the strength to wrap his shaking arms around her and pull her against his chest. He claimed her lips with his own.
He heard her pull the stopper out with her foot as she deepened her kiss, all the while her hand tormented him with light, gentle strokes against his swollen shaft.
His head reeled from the sensation of her touching him there. He lived for her touch. Craved it in a way that was indefinable.
Once the water had drained from the tub, she left his lips to blaze a scorching trail down his body. Julian let his head fall back against the edge of the tub as she licked his stomach and swirled her tongue over to his hipbone.
Then, to his utter shock, she took him into her mouth. Julian growled as he cupped her head in his hands and savored the feel of her tongue and mouth swirling around him. No woman had ever done that before. They had only taken from him, none of them had ever given.
Not until Grace.
