West of Want (Hearts of the Anemoi) (16 page)

They occasionally made small talk as they ate, but even the silence was companionable and pleasant.

It’s gonna hurt when he’s gone.

The thought broadsided her. Damn. Why couldn’t she just trust in what he’d said? She thought she did. She
wanted
to. But clearly a part of her was hanging on to the worst-case scenario. He deserved better than that. He’d been completely honest with her, and hadn’t given her a single reason to question him or his motives. She released a deep breath and pushed her empty plate away.

Zeph leaned back and rubbed his stomach over the gray shirt.

She let herself soak in his satisfaction, the way he was looking at her with such appreciation. She had to give herself a break. Craig’s damage ran deep, so she was going to get tripped up, but Zeph wasn’t Craig.

“Thank you, Ella. I really enjoyed that. And it’s been eons since another prepared me a good meal with such care.”

His words chased away most of her angst. She ducked her head. “I’m glad.”

Fingers tugged at her chin. “Don’t hide from me.”

Ella felt the heat roar up her face. “I…uh…” She shook her head. “I don’t mean to. I’m just out of practice with compliments.” She rolled the edge of the napkin to distract herself from the intensity of his gaze.

“Well, we’ll have to work on that, because when I look at you, I see quite a bit to praise.”

She smiled and fought the urge to squirm. “Okay.” Pressing a kiss into his palm, Ella breathed him in, then scooped the plates from the table and rose. As she settled them into the sink, arms surrounded her.

“I’m serious, Ella.” He kissed her neck. “No one’s treated me like you do for a very long time.”

She twisted to face him, and his arms braced against the sink on either side of her. “Why, Zeph? What happened?” Her hands fell against the warmth of his broad chest.

His eyes searched her face. “It’s a very long story.”

“Will you tell it to me sometime?” Ella’s stomach squeezed. Would they have the time to learn all those stories of personal history that couples learned through weeks and months of dating?

“If you want to hear it, yes,” he said, his face resuming the pensive, troubled expression he often wore.

“I’m interested in hearing everything about you. And like you said last night, not just the good stuff.”

He closed his eyes for a brief second, then leaned in to kiss her. It was soft and chaste, and just a prelude to a hug that was full of the need for comfort. Ella gladly gave it, her throat now tight at the emotion silently pouring out of him.

She hated whatever it was that weighed so heavily upon him, and wondered what she could do to lift his spirits. When it came, the idea was perfect—providing the friend who owed her a favor was game to help out.

Soaking in some of that odd, peaceful influence she radiated, he met her smiling eyes and felt his shoulders relax. Having been around her consistently, it didn’t impact him as forcefully as it first had, but it was still there. Still powerful. Still something he could dip into when he needed, like ladling a refreshing drink from a cool spring brook. If it hadn’t felt so nice, he’d probably have been wary. What was it about her? He was the god and she the human, yet she very clearly affected him physically and psychically.

He followed her out the front door and waited while she locked up, then squeezed himself into the passenger seat of her small car. His knees nearly hit the dashboard, even with the seat pushed back.

She laughed as she started the engine. “Sorry it’s such a tight fit. I love my Prius, though. And it was a great car for living in the city.” She patted his knee and backed out of her driveway. “Don’t worry. It’s a short trip.”

He grabbed her hand and held it against his leg. “I don’t mind.” His gaze landed on another vehicle under a tarp at the top of the driveway next to the house. “But I have to ask. What’s under there?” He pointed at the covering.

“Oh. It was my brother’s car. A Solstice. He left it to me.” She shrugged and looked away. “Along with the house and stuff.”

Zeph turned his head to her. “You own a car called a Solstice?” Along with the equinoxes, the solstices were two of the most powerful days of the year, when the veil between the human and divine realms was thinnest. The make of car was just a coincidence, surely, but where Ella was concerned, those seemed to be piling up: her powerful aura, her praise of March—the month for which he was surnamed, and now a car named after the day that marked the passing of seasons…

“Yeah,” she said, her words pulling him from his thoughts. “It’s really fast, too. We can take it out sometime if you like.”

He gripped her hand and cursed himself for seeing intrigue where there was none. “Anything, with you.”

Her cheeks went pink, and it was lovely. “Glad to hear that. Because I’m hoping you’ll like what I’ve got planned.” She pulled onto her street and navigated between the parked cars on both sides, chattering about the neighborhood and pointing out landmarks as they drove. Cool sunshine filtered down through the tree-covered street.

A sign out the passenger side caught Zeph’s eye. He froze. “Ella?”

“And over here is my marina. Horn Point. I love that it’s walking distance to the boat. That was actually why Marcus bought the house here.”

“Ella?”

She turned to him. “Yeah?”

“Please tell me I’m reading the street signs wrong.”
And that this one
is
just a coincidence.

She craned around to see what he was talking about. “What do you mean?” The car slowed as it approached a stop sign at the end of the next block. The crisscrossed green street signs read “2nd Street / Eastern Avenue.”

“You live on Eastern Avenue?”

“Yeah.”

“In the neighborhood of Eastport.” He studied her face as she turned onto 2nd, thinking out loud now. “On the east side of this town.”

She frowned and shrugged. “Yeah. Why?”

He shook his head as unease snaked into his gut. Just another coincidence. Had to be. A totally not-meaningful coincidence that the woman he was falling for had this strange, wonderful power over how he felt
and
had all these associations with the East
and
turned out to be infertile just as Eurus was trying to force him into making an heir. Damn, if that didn’t have his brother’s twisted sense of humor all over it.

A pit of suspicion rooted in his mind. He hated it, but it wouldn’t be beyond Eurus. Maybe the whole warning drama had been for show, meant to push Zeph toward what Eurus wanted by telling him to stay away. And then he followed up with this ridiculous ticking-clock ultimatum involving a woman he knew couldn’t conceive. If Zeph’s fears were true, either way Eurus had boxed him in—to giving up the woman he loved on the one hand, or giving up an heir on the other.

Thunder rumbled low and long in the distance.

“Geez, I hope it doesn’t storm again.” Ella glanced out window. “Oh, and that is one of my favorite restaurants,” she said, continuing the tour without realizing the turmoil roiling within Zeph. “Maybe we can go there.” Short minutes later she pulled into a parking lot and announced with a big smile, “We’re here.”

“Okay,” he said, peering out the windshield.

She hopped out of the car, still full of that energy he’d earlier found so remarkable. He got out of the car and surveyed his surroundings, though nothing setting off a particular warning.

She grabbed his hand and tugged. “This way. Come on.”

Zeph followed, less enthusiastic than before. He had to be wrong, had to be overreacting.
Give her the benefit of the doubt
. He just wasn’t sure how much more of that he had left in him.

They rounded a brick wall and crossed a circular drive leading to a hotel lobby.

“It’s just through here,” she said.

Zeph’s eyes scanned the milling people in the lobby and the old photographs of seamen and sailors. Ella kept them moving forward until they left the building again and stepped out into a gusting spring breeze over the water. The bay lapped against the pilings and rocked the hull of a huge sailboat docked there.

“Surprise!” she called, holding her free hand out toward the boat.

Zeph looked from her to the sailboat and back. “We’re going sailing?”

She hopped once, her smile brilliant, even brighter than the sun falling on her face.

“Yes. Just because my boat’s out of commission doesn’t mean I can’t take you out. Plus, if I’m not the one sailing, I get to just relax and be with you. So it’s win-win! What d’ya think?”

He felt the smile on his lips despite the unwanted doubt in the back of his mind. Here she was sharing a part of herself with him, and all he could do was look for the other shoe to drop. He cleared his throat. “I love this, Ella. Thank you.”

She squeezed his hand. “Oh, good. I was hoping you would say that. Come on.” Tugging him to the roped gangway, Ella waved to a man on board. “Kyle!”

A thin man in a baseball hat turned and smiled. “Ella, welcome.” He unclasped the ropes on both ends of the boarding plank. “Come aboard. Come aboard.”

Ella released Zeph’s hand and made her way across, then shook the man’s hand. “What luck that you were going out today. Thanks for letting us tag along.”

“Well, it was an easy favor to grant. Besides, I can always use an extra set of skilled hands.”

“Kyle, I want you to meet my friend, Zeph.” She turned her smile on Zeph. “Zeph, this is Captain Kyle. He owns the
Woodwind
. Well, both of them. This is actually the
Woodwind II
. He agreed to take us out on his safety-check run. His season doesn’t start for about two weeks, so we got really lucky.”

Kyle extended a hand and a kind, open countenance. “Nice to meet you. Welcome aboard.”

Zeph nodded. “Likewise. Beautiful boat.” Zeph followed Ella and Kyle back toward the boat’s cockpit, where a huge silver captain’s wheel shined in the cool sunlight. A light crew moved around the deck, and Ella pitched in whenever Kyle asked her to do something. Zeph watched her work, watched her strong body stretch and lift. Her competence was a total turn-on. And before long, they were underway.

“Let’s sit here,” she said to him after a few moments, a happy flush coloring her cheeks. “I met Kyle through Marcus. The sailing community in Annapolis is both big and way too small.” She laughed. “Everyone seems to know each other.” Grabbing Zeph’s hand again, she asked, “Are you sure you’re warm enough? It’s still pretty chilly.”

Between her touch and her concern, guilt finally replaced doubt as the leading emotion squeezing his chest. She deserved better than what he was giving her. How like him to look for ways to mess up a good thing. “Yes, I’ll be fine.” He waved a hand at the sky. “This is all a part of me, remember?”

A quizzical expression stole over her face, then she smiled. “Oh, right.”

“As long as it’s not exceedingly hot or cold, I’m good in any kind of weather,” he said, forcing himself to be more open, more talkative. To get out of his damn head.

“Wow, you’re really amazing. You know that?” She pressed her cold lips against his cheek.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “Not half amazing as you.” Tucking his head against her hair, he breathed her in.

She struck up a light conversation that eased his mind and body. He admired how open and free she was, despite her own experience of betrayal and heartbreak. Without question, she could teach him a thing or two. If only he’d have the time to learn from her.

Eurus’s warning loomed in the back of his mind. Surely that’s why he’d been so edgy all morning. Having claimed her body, received her acknowledgement that there was something special between them, the thought of having to leave her—or of losing her in any way—pained him to the very core of his being. Somehow, in the next eighty hours, he had to disarm his brother’s threat, figure a way to truly be with Ella, and settle this heir issue with Aeolus. He couldn’t linger in her realm forever, and there had to be a succession plan for the West that didn’t involve an eastern god.

“Nice breeze today,” Kyle said. “What could be nicer?”

Ella smiled, totally in her element. “Nothing at all. Take us flying, Kyle.”

He grinned at her and winked from behind his glasses. “You bet.”

A few onlookers waved from shore as the boat passed an open promenade, then Ella was pointing out the grounds of the Naval Academy, the Severn River, and the old radio towers looming over Greenbury Point. Beyond that, the
Woodwind II
sailed into the open water of the Chesapeake Bay and picked up speed.

At the captain’s orders, the crew hoisted the sails, magnificent furls of white going up and up. The wind captured the boat and lifted it, carrying it along the water’s surface at a good, strong clip.

Ella tilted her head back, and the wind streamed through the long tendrils of her golden brown hair. “Oh, God, I love this.” She leaned against his shoulder. “Isn’t it incredible that something seventy-four feet long and weighing 50,000 pounds can move like this?”

“Truly,” Zeph said. He closed his eyes and breathed the wind deep into his lungs. He concentrated and let the clean air blow through him. He released his doubts and fears and worries and felt lighter as the stiff breeze carried the dark emotions away.