Eternal Rider - Larissa Ione [143]
He swept her into his arms, amazed at his good fortune. “Any time, sweetheart.”
“Good.” She licked his throat, a lingering, hot stroke that jumpstarted him again. “Remember all those things you said to me in the shower?”
His mouth went dry. He remembered. He’d been an ass, describing things he knew she hadn’t done. But they’d just crossed two of them off the list. “Yeah,” he croaked.
“Well, I want to do the rest. Today. So I hope you have candles, honey, a riding crop, and a whole lot of stamina.”
Oh, he had all of those things.
God, he loved this woman.
Twenty-eight
Ares stood in the sand near the sea’s edge, a warm breeze caressing his face. The secluded cove was several hundred yards from his house, at the base of a trail Cara would be trekking down right now. He’d told her he wanted to have a picnic to celebrate their month anniversary, so he’d come ahead of her, had laid out a blanket and a basket containing chocolate, fruit, and champagne. In his hand, he clutched a box with a white-knuckled grip.
He heard Cara’s soft footfalls behind him, and he smiled when she wound her arm around his waist and leaned against his back. “Where’s your mutt? I half expected him to come with you.”
“He made it about a third of the way before he took off after a rabbit.”
“Damned thing is supposed to be hunting rats,” he muttered, but his gruffness was feigned. With the exception of one accident when Hal played a little too rough and nipped Ares, freezing him up for about fifteen minutes, they got along well. They both understood that Cara’s safety and happiness were paramount, and that was perfect common ground.
Ares did get a little nervous when too many other hellhounds roamed the island, however. On the plus side, Pestilence hadn’t returned. The presence of so many of the beasts was a huge deterrent. Especially since he’d made mortal enemies of them by putting a bounty on their heads.
Bad move, brother. One hellhound hating you sucked enough, and Ares knew that for a fact. Having them all hate you? Yeah, Ares wouldn’t want to be in Pestilence’s boots right now.
Ares turned around, devouring the sight of his little hellhound queen. Though he could probably call her a horse queen, given how Battle, Styx, and even Bones worshipped her, and definitely a Ramreel queen.
While Cara was feeding Rath, whom they’d brought into their home, they’d discovered that Cara’s gift worked on animal-based demons. The Ramreels were all over that, and he suspected some of them were intentionally banging themselves up just so Cara would heal them.
She looked down and curled her toes in the sand. “I love being barefoot.”
“Limos must be rubbing off on you.”
Cara grinned. “She gave me this dress, too.”
“Her taste is questionable sometimes, but you look damned fine in ancient Greek fashion.” He trailed his finger over the curve of her one bare shoulder. “Like a goddess.” Unable to resist, he bent and kissed her there, tasting the tang of salt air and the warmth of the sun.
“Mmm… you can keep doing that.”
He smiled against her skin. “Oh, I plan to.”
“So, what were you doing staring out into the sea?”
“Thinking about how lucky I am.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” He lifted his head, feeling nervous and weird and flustered. Definitely not like him, but since meeting Cara, he’d felt a lot of things he wasn’t used to. “This has been the best month of my life.” Even though they were still seeking Limos’s agimortus while putting out Pestilence’s fires all over the globe, he and Cara had made this island their paradise, their sanctuary.
And Cara had turned his life upside down in the best way possible.
“I’ve never been this happy,” Cara murmured.
“Good. Because I have something to ask you.” His mouth was so dry he barely got that last part out. Before she could say anything, he dropped to one knee. “I always thought this was a stupid custom, but I want to do it. I want to honor your time and traditions.”
Her hand came up to her mouth, and her eyes glistened, and he hoped to hell it