jaw. “Sorry about your…face.”
Our eyes met, and an uneven grin appeared on his face. “No, you’re not.”
“You’re right.”
Seth stepped forward, and I eyed him wryly. “You know you can take a time out, right? Take the rest of the day to just, I don’t know, deal with it all. Get some rest.”
I was exhausted in the way one felt only after going through an emotional upheaval. The idea of laying my little head down on a soft pillow was more appealing than eating cheese fries loaded with bacon. “I’m sure Apollo has a reason for showing up other than yanking those freaks out of me.”
“He can wait.” Concern flickered in Seth’s eyes, and it was odd seeing that. As long as I’d known Seth, it was rare to genuinely see him care about someone other than himself. Then again, I wasn’t giving him credit. I’d changed. He’d changed.
“No. I’m fine.” I turned to the door. “We don’t have time for me to take a nap.”
“We have time.” Seth followed me. “Not like tomorrow is going to be any different than today.”
Who really knew if that was true? Denying the urge to agree and go find the nearest bed, I opened the door. It was slightly off its hinges, so it scraped the floor and opened only halfway. I sighed as I squeezed through. I wasn’t surprised when I saw Aiden and Marcus leaning against the opposite wall. Both seemed to relax a little when they saw me standing and obviously not looking like I’d stuck my hand in an electric socket.
Though I did come to an abrupt halt when my gaze centered on Aiden again. It was like seeing him for the first time—the broad cheekbones, the full, expressive lips, his dark, unruly hair, and those brilliant smoky-gray eyes. A veil had lifted from my vision, and I couldn’t—didn’t want to look away. How much had Ares’ sons affected? Everything, it seemed.
Marcus’ gaze shifted over my shoulder, and his brows rose. A small grin tipped up the corner of Aiden’s lips. No doubt he was happy to see that I was unscathed while, on the other hand, Seth looked like he’d run into a wall.
My uncle recovered first, stepping forward. “Are you okay, Alexandria?”
“Other than the fact I just spewed out two gods like a drunk college chick? I’m feeling
Relief shuttled across his face. He clapped a hand on my shoulder. “There’s my niece.”
I cracked a grin at that while I kept an eye on the two guys. Aiden and Seth were eyeballing one another like they were about to start boy-fight, round two.
Marcus squeezed my shoulder and then dropped his hand. For him, that was a whole exercise in bonding, and I was okay with that. I turned, catching Seth’s attention. My eyes narrowed and his rolled. Raising his hands in surrender, he pivoted around and headed into the dean’s office. Marcus was right behind him. Before I entered the room, Aiden caught my arm and stopped me. We were alone in the hall.
“Alex,” he said, his voice low and rough.
Turning to him, I looked up and met his gaze. My mouth opened, but a sudden knot clogged my throat. I threw myself forward, pressing my forehead against his chest and breathing him in. He shuddered, and then he wrapped his strong arms around me. He dropped his head, pressing his cheek to the top of my head as he held me in a tight, heart-melting embrace. I clung to him like a deranged baby monkey, soaking in his warmth and the absolute feel of him. There was
I needed this hug from Aiden.
“Shit, Alex…”
Squeezing my eyes shut, I let out a choked laugh. “It’s funny when you cuss.”
“Only you would laugh at something like that,” he said, and I heard the relieved amusement in his voice. Fingertips appeared under my chin, and Aiden lifted my gaze to his moonlight-colored one. “You’re with me now?”
I blinked back tears. “Yes. Yes, I am.”
“Good.” His thumb smoothed over my jaw as his intense gaze searched my face. “I’m happy to have you back.”
Turning my cheek into his palm, I swallowed hard. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m the one who should be apologizing, especially for last night. I was jealous, and that was stupid, I know, but I’m—”
“No.” I shook my head slightly. “No, you were right to be upset, but that’s not what I’m talking about. That’s not what I’m apologizing for.”
His brows rose.
My chest ached. “I know…I know there was a part of you that was okay with the idea of us having a baby. I know there was a part of you that was excited in spite of everything else, and I’m sorry that’s not what was going on. I’m sorry that it was
“Stop.” Aiden dropped his forehead to mine and slid his strong hands up to cup my cheeks. “You do not need to apologize. Ever. Do you understand me? None of this is your fault. And you haven’t done anything wrong. What we thought? It doesn’t matter.”
“You have to be disappointed,” I whispered, curling my fingers around his wrists.
“Never,” he swore. “If anything, I’m upset this happened to you. I’m freaking pissed that it did, but, Alex, we have a lifetime ahead of us to have that conversation and feel that way again.”
My breath caught. “You’re perfect.”
“And you know that’s not true.”
“It is.”
A throat cleared behind us, and then Apollo said, “Seriously, you two? It’s not like you’re keeping a god waiting or anything.”
Aiden drew back with a soft groan. “Sometimes I hate him.”
My lips curved up. “Sometimes.”
“I heard that,” Apollo said. “And I’m pretty sure there’s someone else you hate more than me. I’ll give you two clues. Starts with an S and ends with an H.”
There was an audible huff from inside the office.
I started to grin.
“Well, you got that right.” Aiden’s eyes were fixed on me. “You want to do this right now?”
I nodded, and then Aiden lowered his head once more, kissing me in a way that truly felt like the very first time. When he lifted his head, his eyes shone with everything he was feeling in that moment. I knew what he’d said moments before was the truth. He believed we had a lifetime to feel that odd little burgeoning of hope again, and I latched onto that.
Together, we turned and headed past Apollo. He followed us in and took up stance in the middle of the room. “Well, the gang’s all here. Almost. We are missing a few, but this will do.”
We were missing Solos, Luke, and Olivia, and it didn’t feel right that they weren’t here. And it felt really weird that Seth was here. He was leaning against the wall where the daggers had once hung. He arched a brow at me.
“Your mark should be gone, which means the twins won’t be able to get back into you,” Apollo said, and I resisted the urge to yank my shirt up and check right then. Then he turned to Seth. “And don’t think you and me are okay. It’s great you’re no longer Ares’ little bitch-boy, but you’re still a punk-ass.”
Aiden snickered.
“And I hope your jaw really hurts,” Apollo added.
Seth smirked. “Hey, if you want to go a few rounds again, Golden Boy, we can do it.”
“This is an awesome start to our Army of Awesome meeting number two,” Deacon murmured.
The air around Apollo crackled, and I let out a loud sigh and propped myself against a chair. “So, I’m assuming you had a reason for coming here besides helping me and arguing with Seth.”
“That’s right.”
I waited, and when Apollo said nothing, I crossed my arms. “And that would be?”
“We need a plan,” he replied.
“Wow.” Seth folded his arms. “That’s a unique concept.”
