Authors: Taylor Lavati
"Anyway, I'll see you in the morning." She presses a kiss to the top of my head, and then my dad does the same. They walk towards the medical supplies together, and I notice that my dad grabs her hand and holds onto it, their fingers intertwining.
I walk over to Atee and Zeus, taking my time because it looks like they're deep in conversation.
"Hi." I wave my hand to introduce myself. "I just wanted to say thanks."
"It was no problem. I wish I could've done more," Atee says. "Eury, this is my father, Zeus."
"It's nice to officially meet you." I shake his hand as he holds his out.
"It's nice to meet you, too." He smiles down at me. "Although I have known you in previous lives, this one is my favorite so far." He winks at me, and grins, his face full of charm.
"I'm heading to bed, but I'll see you tomorrow." They both nod, and I sprint out of there, searching for Ari.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
loving you
Ari lays Kara down in her bed. Junior follows and tries to help as much as he can. She broke her arm pretty badly, so they don't bother trying to get her clothes off. Instead, Junior just climbs in with her.
I shut them in the room and follow Ari into the hall. He lifts me into his arms and sprints down the stairs and out the door, towards his house. The lights are on in the top left bedroom, and I assume that Cristos is in there somewhere.
"Do you want something to eat or drink before we go to bed?" Ari asks as he unlocks his front door and places me on the welcome mat.
"I'm good." I take his hand in mine and run up the stairs to his bedroom. My back aches with each step, but I'm not going to let that stop me now. Ari laughs as I slam the door shut behind us, eager to make him mine.
I jump onto his bed and sprawl out, immediately melting into his comfortable bed. I pat the bed beside me for him to get into, but he shakes his head.
"I have to get all this off of me. I'm showering. I'll be right back." He slowly pulls his blood-covered shirt off his chest and over his head. He walks into the bathroom, while undoing his pants. He lets them drop right before he shuts the door.
He's my soul mate.
Once I hear the water running and the glass door shut to the shower, I jump off the bed and quickly undress. As I pull my shirt over my head, my shoulder cries in pain. As I bend to pull my pants down, my spine cracks. My legs are bruised; I look like a hot mess. But, all I can think about is being with my soul mate.
I sprint into the shower before he has a chance to look at me, and I press myself against his back. I hold him in place, my naked body pressing against his as hot water cascades down our bodies. I sigh it feels so good.
"What are you doing?" He chuckles as I hang onto him. We're both drenched under the water. But I don't let go of him. I never want him to be away from me again.
"I just love you so much." He turns, so we're face to face now. My cheeks instantly heat with embarrassment at the full view of him. I try not to look down, but I can't help it, especially when he's pressing right against my stomach, so hard and ready.
"Let me wash you." He grabs a loofa from the corner of the shower and squirts some gel onto the top. He starts right below my ear and lathers the thick liquid on my body. "Then, I'm going to love you," he whispers, his voice chilling.
My body gets goosebumps at his words. I shut my eyes and let his hands roam over me. I clutch his shoulders with my hands to keep my balance as he finds his way up and down my body, over and over again.
His hands dive into my hair with shampoo as he lathers it into my scalp. I moan it feels so good, and he laughs from behind me. He rinses me without getting a single drop in my eyes.
"Now, let me do you." I look over at his heat-filled eyes and take the loofa from his hand. I start at his chest. I rub the soap over his dark hair. The water turns red from dried blood as I rinse his hair. I move the loofa around his shoulders and down his sides.
"That tickles!" He pushes the loofa off of him as he fights the spasm. I shake my head, and bring the loofa back, going lower on his body. I rub his upper thighs and bend lower, my face right in line with his waist.
"Okay. I've had enough." He lifts me up into his arms, and I wrap my legs around his waist. He presses right against me. My heart rate skyrockets, and I'm filled with adrenaline.
He kisses me with hopeless abandon. His lips are hard against mine. I open myself fully to him, and follow his lead. Our tongues meet and refuse to part. I can barely breathe, he's moving so fast, but it's so good that I don't want it to ever stop.
He turns in the shower so his back is to the head and presses my back against the wall. A few aches and bruises shoot pain through me as I collide with the wall, but I ignore them completely.
"Are you hurt?" he asks, noting my discomfort. Apparently I didn't ignore them well enough.
"I'm fine. Just keep going." I pull his head down to mine and kiss him like he kissed me. But I don't fool him.
"You're hurt, aren't you?"
"No…maybe…"
"Eury…" He pulls back, his eyes narrowing on me.
"Let's go on the bed." I say and press against him, pushing my chest against his.
"Only if you tell me when it hurts."
"Deal." I kiss him to seal it.
With one hand behind him, he shuts the shower off. He carries me to the bed, stepping through the bathroom and bedroom to get there.
Within a second, I'm placed on the bed. He immediately gets on top of me, covering me, but hovering just enough so that he doesn't hurt me. I circle my arms around his neck and hang onto him while he kisses me.
"Do you hurt here?" he asks, pressing a kiss to my neck. I shake my head as a no. "How about here?" He kisses my shoulder, right above my breast. I shake my head no. "Here?" he asks, kissing my stomach, above my belly button and I nod, because I'm pretty sure that's where my rib is broken.
"I guess you'll have to be extra gentle," I tell him, smiling. I grab his head and pull it back up towards my face. I kiss him. He kisses me back. I'm completely lost to him.
He's being too gentle. I want more. I use whatever strength I have left and flip us over so that I'm on top of him. He's pressed so hard against me that a chill runs up my spine in anticipation.
I don't want to wait any longer. I want him now. I reach between us and press him right at my opening. His eyes spring open and meet mine, their emerald tones shining with love.
I slide him inside of me until there's nowhere left to go. My breath catches in my throat at the fullness. My eyes shut at the pressure building within me. I grab onto his shoulders and dig my fingers in as I get used to his length.
"Look at me, Eury." His thumb presses against my lip, and I suck it. I open my eyes to Ari's burning with need. He grabs onto my butt and starts to lift it and then drop it. He's slow, so it isn't too intense.
I begin to fall into a rhythm. I move with him instead of against him, and we work together to stay on the same beats. I roll my hips over him, and a moan escapes his lips. It's deep and throaty; immediately, I do it again.
"You're killing me," he mutters out between clenched teeth.
"Now,
you
look at
me.
" I play with his words. He opens his eyes, and I roll my hips over and over again, the grinding making me feel light. He clings to my waist, guiding me as he moves along with me. Thrusting in and out in fast pumps.
"I love you so much, Eury." His words push me over the edge, and I can barely hang on. Pulses push through me with pleasure, and I'm left shaking on top of him, unable to do anything but ride the wave.
"I love you, too, Ari." He pulls out of me, rolls me over and then leans over the side of the bed, grunting. I laugh as I roll over, my orgasm still ripping through me. I lie back on the bed as he cleans himself up.
I watch through hooded lids as he runs into the bathroom. He returns not too long after with a pair of basketball shorts on and nothing else. I wrap myself in the sheet, feeling exposed.
"Do you have any clothes that I can wear?" I smile at him, delirious with pleasure.
"Here." He sprints to his dresser, quickly tugs open the door, and chucks a black t-shirt right at my face. Luckily, I'm fast, so I dodge it and throw it over my head.
"It's like that, huh?" He lunges for me, catching me off guard. I jump into the air, and he misses me by just a fraction of an inch. I laugh as I land on the ground behind him.
"I should've warned you. I'm pretty fast." I sprint towards him and jump into his arms. He catches me and pins me down to the bed. He grabs both of my wrists and locks them to the mattress with his hands.
"I think I should punish you for teasing me." His whisper trickles down my neck. Lust fills me, and I stick my neck up, reaching for his lips. "No, no, no. It's my turn to tease you."
He licks my neck from my collarbone to the back of my ear. He nuzzles me as he sucks where my pulse thumps, leaving his mark for all to see. I arch back and shut my eyes, savoring his sweet licks and kisses.
He falls to the side so we're each lying face to face, and I wince as my ribs shoot out in pain. Ari immediately moves me over and lays me at the top of the bed on a row of fluffy pillows.
"I think playtime is over. Rest my beautiful soul mate." He pulls the blankets up to my neck and kisses my forehead.
"Don't leave me."
"I wasn't planning on it."
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
the first time
A strange animal smell wafts into my nose and shocks me. I am dropped into a vision. I look around and see small, farm-like stands with no roofs lining a dirt path. Behind each stand is a person, who's yelling in a foreign tongue at each passerby.
"Watch it!" Someone shouts at me, and I understand it, so I jump to the side. A man on a horse zooms past me, shaking his fist in the air. On the back of the horse was some strange writing that reminded me of hieroglyphics with symbols and pictures.
"Miss, I have beautiful pots for sale. You need this in your home." A man shoves the strange, large vase-like pot in my face and waves it up and down. The pot is red and gold, painted in not proportionate squares, but it's pretty.
"Eurydice, what are you doing down here?" I recognize his voice and look towards it. Ari runs towards me with his arms open, and I run into them, hugging him. "You can't hug me out here." He pushes me off him like I'm a leper.
"Why?"
"Anyone could be watching." He looks from side to side, up and down the dirt street. I follow his gaze up to the top of a mountain. Clouds cover the very tip of it, but I recognize it from my mythology class senior year at RHS. It's Olympus. It towers over the village, looming like a volcano.
Ari takes my hand and jogs up the street until we get to a stone temple just off the main path. We walk in together, and he pushes me against the wall and kisses me.
"I'm sorry."
"What's going on?" I ask him in a hushed tone, catching my breath from his passionate kiss.
"Orpheus. He's coming for you. The great god Apollo says that you two are soul mates, joined on a godly level. He summoned me and demanded that I leave. He offered to put me on a boat to Troy."
"You didn't leave though?"
"Of course not!" He looks at me like I'm sick and shakes his head. "No matter. We have to go to your home, get a bag, and run. If we can make it past Thebes, we will be safe."
"The gods will find us." Even though I have no idea what is going on, I know that this is a bad idea. My gut tells me so, and I'm sure my reincarnation from the past feels this too.
"They won't. I promise. I love you. Come with me. Please?" I don't answer because I don't know what to say. Instead, I nod and wait for his next instructions.
"Aristeus, the gods are descending the mountain." Cristos runs into the temple and smiles at me. But, when his eyes meet Ari's he becomes serious. "If we're running, we must at once."
"And your brother?" Ari asks him as he takes my hand.
"He's staying." Ari nods to Cristos, and I nod, too.
Ari turns the corner out of the temple and sprints to what is apparently my home. I turn back as I follow behind Ari and hear a rumbling from Mount Olympus. Something like an avalanche tumbles from the top of the mountain, fog enveloping the dirt path of the town. I panic and run. The three of us pile into the small one room, and then Ari slams the door behind us.
"Gather what you must and then we have to flee."
"There's something happening to the town," I say as I walk around the kitchen area.
"It's the gods. They're angry. We'll die if we don't run," Ari says.
Cristos stands next to the door while Ari paces around the front of the room. I gather what I think I need. There's not much in the place, so I take a white woven dress, and what I think are undergarments. I shove them into a sack and then look in my drawers for anything significant.
Right beside the bed, there's a small wooden box.
"Eury!" Again, I recognize the voice. Both Ari and Cristos run towards me and escape through the back window. They jump out and crouch below. Ari puts his finger over his mouth, telling me to be quiet, and I nod before he's gone.
I shove the box into my bag and put it next to the bed. The front door opens and in walks Ollie. He looks so happy that my heart squeezes in my chest.