Geary smiled at the unabashed pleasure on Arik's face as he held her hips in his hands and urged her on.
And she did just as she'd promised. She rode him with everything she had.
Fast and hard, pulling him in as deep as she could and then rising up until he was about to fall out. There was nothing better than the feel of his hardness inside her.
And as she thrust against him, she knew they had no future together. But even so she felt closer to him than she'd ever felt to anyone.
It was like he was a vital part of her and for once she didn't feel self-conscious around him. She was completely at ease with her nudity and with her sexuality. Completely at ease with his knowing how much she craved him. There were no barriers between them now. No secrets.
And when she came again, she actually screamed out loud.
Arik groaned at the sight of Megeara's ecstasy. It was so intense that it set off his own. He drove himself deep inside her as his body shook out of his control. A thousand emotions and sensations tore through him, robbing him of all reason and thought.
All he could do was feel. Feel her and the moment of pure, uninterrupted bliss as his body spasmed inside hers.
She leaned over him to kiss his lips. Arik held her there, letting his senses swirl.
"Are you all right?" she asked, her brow creased by worry.
"I don't know," he answered honestly. "I think my body just turned inside out. And I can't understand why Solin would ever venture into dreams if this is what it's like in a human body. He must be out of his mind."
She laughed at Arik's indignation. "That was not what I was expecting to hear. But I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."
He cupped her face in his hands before he kissed her again. "I could drink you in all day, Megeara.
What is this feeling that I have inside me? The one that hurts with the thought of not being with you? The one that wants to be inside you again even though I just had you?" He hesitated before he whispered his last question to her. "Is this love?"
"No," she answered quietly. She didn't believe in love at first sight. "Real love takes time to build. What you feel is just infatuation."
"But it doesn't feel temporary."
"It never does at its onset. It's only in hindsight that we realize the difference between infatuation and love."
He didn't seem to buy her argument. "And what if it's not?"
"What are you saying, Arik? That you love me?"
Arik fell silent as he considered it. There was no denying what he felt. But then his feelings were very new and they would expire in only a few more days. It might be love now, but how could someone continue to love when they had no emotions?
Maybe she was right. Maybe it was only infatuation.
But even as he thought that, he knew better. The very idea of returning to his old existence burned through him with so much pain that he could barely stand it. It made a complete mockery of any punishment he'd ever known. He wanted to stay with her for all eternity.
Afraid of losing her, he held her close, naked body to naked body, and tried to forget how soon his departure would be.
Geary lay there quietly, listening to Arik's heart beating under her cheek. How strange to be with him now knowing how finite their time together would be. There was none of the optimism of most affairs, where you hoped they'd last forever. In some ways that made her lucky. She knew to the second how finite their time was.
But it was also a curse to know when she was going to lose him-because she suspected that she was already in love with him. How could she not be? He was the only man who'd ever seen the real her. In her dreams, she'd told him everything. Her hopes, her disappointments. She'd never been restrained with him. Never held back. He knew her in a way no one else did.
And that was why she couldn't let him go.
"There has to be some way to keep you here."
She hadn't realized she'd spoken out loud until he answered her. "I could stay, but I wouldn't be the man who's with you now."
"What do you mean?"
"I could give up my godhood, but it would change nothing other than I'd become mortal. When my time is up, I'll revert back to what I was. I won't have any emotions and I wouldn't be able to visit in you in dreams. There would be no reason to be around you then."
"I don't believe that. You have emotions. You feel too deeply not to."
"In the dreams, I was syphoning off you. Everything I felt came from you. I promise you that if I were to become mortal, that would stop. I wouldn't even have the power to feel you anymore, either physically or emotionally."
"How do you know that?"
"It's the curse, Megeara. There's no cure for that. No god can alter the curse of another. I'm damned."
She still couldn't accept that. It wasn't in her nature to just accept things because someone said so. She was a scientist and she needed proof of his theory. "Has any Oneroi ever gone free?"
"No," he said emphatically. "There has never been a single case of freedom for any of us. The few who tried were hunted down and killed."
"That's not fair. You should be able to go free if you want to."
He let out a deep breath as he stroked a lock of hair from her forehead. "Who has ever said that life is fair?"
"Maybe, but I'm going to ask Tory about this."
"Tory's just a child."
"Yes, and she's obsessed with Greek mythology. If ever there was an escape for you, she'd know it."
Arik adored the fact that Megeara was willing to try, but he knew it was hopeless. No human knew more about Greek mythology than he did. Megeara was human and he was a cursed god. All he could hope for was to find some way to keep her safe once he was gone.
As long as they were at Solin's they had a haven. Solin had told them that he had a truce with the other gods. They didn't tread into his home uninvited and he wouldn't kill them for it. But Arik and Megeara couldn't stay here every minute of the day. And she wouldn't be content to live her life here within these walls. She'd never liked cages of any sort.
She's going to be dead, so just stay here and enjoy her company until it's time to return.
Return to what? Emptiness? Coldness?
That was bullshit. He didn't want to go back to the Vanishing Isle.
Then you die in her stead.
Arik leaned his cheek against the top of her head as she lay against him. She felt so good in his arms. So good with her naked skin resting against his. I would rather be dead than live without her .
It was true, and actually that was the only solution that made sense. He would spend his time with her and then surrender himself to Hades. Hades would torture and kill him, then everyone would be happy.
You won't be happy, dumb ass.
That was actually quite true, but even if he gave her up and went home, he'd still be tortured, not to mention the Dolophoni would kill him anyway.
So why not just let them have him and end this?
"Live your life with purpose."
Arik blinked as those words came out of the very distant past to haunt him. It'd been back in his days as an Oneroi when he'd ironically gone to help Trieg. Acheron, the leader of the Dark-Hunters, had summoned him so that they could discuss the problems Trieg was having over the death of his family and how best to help the man cope with them.
Tall and black-haired, the Atlantean had been even wiser than Athena. He'd been trying to make Arik understand the human psyche and essence. "Remember, Arikos, the key to humanity is simple. Live your life with purpose. They need goals to strive for. All of Trieg's have been taken from him by his enemies, so we need to replace them with new ones that matter to him. Without goals, humanity is lost and a single man can't function."
Acheron had been wrong about one thing. Without goals, everyone was lost. Even the gods.
Until now, Arik's goals had always been selfish in nature. As a Skotos, his goal had been to find the greatest pleasure to be had. As an Oneroi it had been to do just as he'd been told so as not to be punished. He'd never once considered anyone else's feelings or life.
But now he understood how to live with purpose. He understood sacrifice. There were things worth dying for. His was simple. Megeara. His only regret was that he wished he'd enjoyed their past more. He should have savored every second of their time together.
Still, he had a few days left. Those he would make count. And when the time came, he would put his neck in the noose with no regrets.
Yeah, right.
Okay, so there would be one single regret-he'd never see or touch Megeara again.
He could die with that.
And in the back of his mind was that same sarcastic voice laughing at him. " Trust me, boy, you will."