I cleared my throat and moved to the cupboard where I kept my largest mixing bowls. I pulled two out and set them on the counter. “I thought you were getting a divorce? That’s what Oberfluffel said.”
His lips twitched. “I told Oberfall what he wanted to hear. There are no divorces for the pantheon.”
“Well, if you ask around, there are no divorces for Super Dupers married to humans, but I’ve proved that wrong.” I raised my eyebrows at him as I reached for some basic ingredients, laying them out on the counter next to my bowls. Flour, sugar, baking powder, vanilla, eggs. I just kept grabbing things, not really thinking about what I was going to make so much as keeping my hands busy. Anything to hold my mind on my own business and away from the man—no, god—in front of me.
“Ah, you think it would be that easy?” he asked.
I tried not to notice that he closed the distance between us step by step. I grabbed a bowl and thrust it at him. “Here, hold this.”
He frowned into the empty bowl, and I started throwing ingredients in. Literally tossing them in, forcing him to move the bowl around to catch them.
“If you really wanted out, you’d find a way. Zeus said that Hera wouldn’t allow him to divorce her. That he tried. So maybe you could convince your wife to let you go.” I cracked three eggs and dropped them into the mix. I realized that I was making a sponge cake—at least that was the recipe going through my head. Even if I was putting it together wrong.
“And if I were free of her? What then?” He put the bowl on the counter and tried to capture my eyes with his. Nope, not going there. Nana nana nana nana. I ran the noise through my head, hoping for some help. I glanced at Ernie, who just grinned at me and gave me two thumbs up. Shoot, so much for counting on him to break things up.
Smithy slid around so I had my back against the counter and his hands were on either side. Trapping me even while he didn’t touch me. “What then, Alena?”
“Umm.” I looked over his left shoulder, and he moved so his face was in the way. Double shoot, this was not going as planned.
“Let me guess, he let you go, didn’t he? The vampire ran away from you, citing irreconcilable differences?” Smithy asked softly, his voice tugging at me.
“And what if he did?” I finally locked eyes with him, noting that up close his blue eyes had tiny flecks of silver in them that glinted in the light. That had to be what gave him his trademark icy stare. “You don’t really want to be free of Aphrodite. If you did, you would have found a way. There is always a way if you want something bad enough.”
In a flash his body was pressed against mine, making me gasp as he pinned me to the counter, his large hands covering mine and holding me still. I may have let out a squeak, but I’m not entirely sure, because my brain went on strike as my damn heart went into overdrive with sweet, hot adrenaline.
His face came within kissing distance, his breath fluttering over my lips. “There has been no reason to go through with a divorce, no reason to stir the flames of her wrath.” He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, the rush of it tickling across my lips again. “Until now.”
Sugar cookies, this was not good, even though a part of me wanted it. Like really, really wanted it.
Panic reared its head, and the Drakaina in me fell away, leaving only the truth in its place. I blurted it out, desperate to stop this. “I love him. And I can’t . . . I can’t just jump from him to you. I can’t.”
Smithy closed his eyes. “Damn.”
“He doesn’t love her,” Ernie said from his perch, helpful as always.
Smithy glanced at him, not for one second loosening his hold on me. “You sure about that, Eros? Or are you playing games for your master?”
Ernie shook his head. “Alena’s my friend. Aphrodite is my boss. You tell me where my loyalties lie. If Remo loved her, he’d fight for her, wouldn’t he? He gave up the second someone said he had to.”
“You’ve played these games with others, setting people up.” That icy glare was locked on Ernie, but the cherub just shrugged, seemingly unbothered by the accusation.
“I’m never wrong. I can see the truth of people’s hearts. That’s kind of my job, you know.” Like he was going to let us forget that his job was to bring people together.
This sounded like an ongoing issue between the two men. “Um, can you ease off?”
Smithy tightened his hold on me, not looking away from Ernie. “Eros. What do you see for her?”
Okay, what was he talking about now? I glanced at Ernie, who’d closed his eyes, his wings stilling. “There is love in her future, a love that will eclipse the sun with its brightness. Aphrodite will hate her with a passion she’s reserved in the past for lovers who scorned her.” He opened his eyes. “You know I can’t tell you details; it doesn’t work that way.”
“What are you two talking about?” I squirmed, but that only bumped my hips up against Smithy. He turned, his eyes latching onto my mouth, his hands tightening once more on mine.
“It means I’m going to break my own rules.” He tugged my hands up so they were around the back of his neck. My fingers automatically curled, brushing against the base of his neck. We were nose to nose. I opened my mouth to tell him to let me go, only my hands didn’t push him away. They pulled him close.
His mouth was on mine, and his tongue slid past my lips. He wrapped his arms around my waist and held me tight to his hard body, his muscles flexing against me like he was restraining himself from squeezing me tighter.