Chapter 18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

T he sun was setting out over the ocean when Enzo returned on deck, his hair still damp and smelling of citrus. Eris tried not to lean in and sniff at him as he took over the ship's wheel.

"I told you I could get us moving," she teased.

"Thank you. I'm…"

"Don't you dare say you're sorry. Now, get back to work so I can shower too," Eris said, refusing to let him feel bad about what happened on top of Byrsa Hill.

Enzo's lips twitched up into a smile. "Bring me a beer when you come back."

"Pushy little mortal, you'll get what you're given," she said and headed back downstairs with a sway of her hips.

It felt good to shower off the sweat, tears, and dust. More than ever, she wanted to protect Enzo from anything that would try and hurt him again. Bianca had said he had loved the wrong person, which was true, but Eris didn't believe for a moment he was cursed. He didn't have the heart of a murderer. He wouldn't still be upset over what had happened if he did. No wonder he hadn't dated in over a year. After a marriage like the one he had, it was a miracle he wanted to try relationships again.

You really don't deserve someone like him , a voice said in the back of her head. It sounded like Zeus, which made her even angrier.

"Maybe I don't, but I'm not going to give him up without a fight," she said aloud, silencing the inner voice.

Clean and relaxed once more, Eris chopped lime wedges for their beers and went up on deck. Enzo was sitting on the reclined mattresses, staring at the darkening water.

"No one steering the ship?" Eris asked.

"Autopilot can handle it for the moment," Enzo said, a slow smile spreading over his lips. "Are one of those beers for me?"

Eris moved across the deck and passed them to him so she could climb up beside him. "Only one is. The other is mine," she said, leaning back against the cushioning. "Are you okay?"

"I am now. Actually, I feel better than I have since it happened. Lighter, I guess," Enzo said and sipped his beer. "I had moved on emotionally after the divorce. She just couldn't let it go and then thought it would be best to kill me over it. Feeling all of Aeneas and Dido's pain just ripped it out of me. I've wanted to tell you about it since I met you, but I didn't know how."

"So you don't love her anymore?" Eris asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

Enzo shook his head. "Not for years. I didn't want her to die, but I didn't grieve our love. That had been over a long time. It was only that she died when she should have gotten help. She wasn't a bad person. Just unwell."

"I understand. There's no point in letting the past drag you down. Take it from an old immortal who knows," Eris replied, bumping her shoulder against his.

Enzo smiled, making her stomach flutter. "Drinks. A beautiful sunset. Despite the weird day, this almost feels like the date we never had."

Eris liked that idea. "I wouldn't know. I never had one."

"As a rule, I usually don't let my dates see me cry," Enzo said with an awkward chuckle.

Eris couldn't resist pinching his cheek. "Why? You look so pretty with tears in your eyes."

"Ah, there she is. I was wondering how long the soft Eris would last," Enzo said before his voice turned husky. "Is that something you are into? Making grown men cry?"

"Not recently, but I can make the exception if you are into it."

Enzo's expression shifted, his eyes heating as they lingered on her lips. "Trust me, Eris, when I do decide to seduce you, it will be you crying from pleasure. Not me."

"That's quite the boast."

"Not a boast at all, bella ."

Eris licked her suddenly dry lips. "Prove it."

Enzo's brows rose. "You still want me after my big messy outburst today?"

"I really do. In fact, if you don't kiss me in the next five seconds, I'm going to toss you into the ocean," Eris threatened. She was only half joking.

Enzo took her beer from her and placed it in the cup holder beside his own. Butterflies exploded in her chest as he leaned down until their noses almost touched.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "Because once I start kissing you, I won't want to stop."

Eris stroked her finger over his soft, bearded cheek. "How terrible for me."

Enzo laughed softly and lowered his lips to hers. Heat burned through her veins, and Eris pulled him closer. She had thought her reaction to the kiss in the caves was because they had just been attacked, and adrenaline was fueling them. She was wrong; it was just Enzo. His lips fit against hers like they had been made for her.

Her hands moved to slide up his side and pulled him closer until he was on top of her. She needed more of his weight, his soft lips and stubble moving against her, making her brain haze with lust. She licked and nipped his full bottom lip before opening her mouth wider. Enzo groaned with the first touch of their tongues.

His hand slid across the curved bump of her stomach, and Eris moved it higher to her breast. Enzo had big hands that covered her completely, and he gently squeezed her in a way that had her gasping.

"Fuck, Eris, your skin is so damn soft," he whispered against her jaw before kissing down her neck. "I just want to kiss you all over."

"Then do it," she panted, making him laugh.

Enzo made his way down her collarbone and chest. His hands found the tie to the wrap dress she was wearing and undid it, moving the fabric aside to reveal her bra and swell of her breasts.

"Tell me if you want me to stop," he said and waited for her to nod before he lowered his head and sucked her hard nipple through the lace.

"Fates, Enzo, more of that," she breathed, her fingers digging into his shoulders. His answering grin made her pussy clench. Maybe it wasn't a boast that she would end up crying before he was done after all.

Still wearing that confident smirk, he slipped a finger under the center of her bra and tugged it down so her breasts spilled out over the top of them.

Enzo stared down at them. "So perfect and ready for my mouth." He proved it by sucking one of her hard pink nipples. The warm, wet electric shock of it raced down to her pussy. She was already wet, and he had barely touched her. She shifted her hips to grind against him. He was wearing soft linen pants, and they couldn't hide the hard line of his dick in them.

Enzo laughed softly against the curve of her breast. "Don't encourage him. This is about me kissing you all over. He can wait."

"Then get on with it so I can have play time too," she grumbled with a playful tug on his curls.

Enzo blew on one of her nipples, making her whimper. "Don't rush me. I've wanted you since the second I saw you all those months ago. I have many things I want to do to you."

"H-How many?" Eris asked, her mind struggling to focus with his mouth sucking and nipping at the soft curves of her breast.

"You'll just have to be a good girl for me and find out," Enzo replied. His hand traveled under the skirt of her dress, pausing when he reached her hip. "No underwear?"

"It's hot, and a girl has to let things breathe," Eris said, her face turning red.

Enzo's thumb moved in a circle over her bare hip. "I agree entirely. You should never wear panties around me again." His mouth replaced his thumb, and he kissed his way over the flared curve of her hip, across her soft belly.

Eris fought the urge to cover herself when he moved the rest of her dress out of the way, leaving her bare to the night. Enzo made a soft hum of pleasure and then surprised her by moving to her other hip and the smooth skin of her thighs.

Everywhere his lips went, warmth blossomed until she felt like she was raw with want. She squirmed under his attentions and moved her hand to touch herself. Enzo caught her fingers and lifted them to his mouth to kiss and nip them as well.

"Are you purposely trying to edge me into tossing you off this boat? Because it's working," she complained.

Enzo clucked his tongue. "So impatient for an immortal."

"Please, Enzo," she begged and then bit her tongue. She had never begged for anything in her whole existence.

Enzo seemed to guess this because he kissed her higher on her inner thigh and licked at the wetness he already found there.

"Fuck, you taste so good," he growled against her skin. His patience finally snapped, and he spread her wide and gave her pussy a hard, slow lick.

Eris bucked against the mattress. "Fucking hell."

Enzo grabbed her hips and dragged her back to his mouth with an impatient hiss. He lifted her hips back to his mouth and held her there while he ate her like she was the best thing he had ever tasted.

Eris had always found oral sex too intimate to be genuinely comfortable with, but Enzo made her forget every reason she hadn't liked it in the past. His tongue made her gasp and squirm, and when he made it to her clit, his stubble sent her over the edge with his name on her lips.

Enzo's eyes caught hers, and he blew on her sensitive flesh. "Again," he said.

"I don't think I can…"

"You can," he insisted and lowered his mouth back to her clit. It was even more intense now that Eris had already come once. Enzo slid his finger into her, and stars flashed through her vision.

"You are so gorgeous, Eris. Everything about you. You look so fucking sexy now. I'm going to completely unravel you so there's nothing for you to hide behind. I want to see all of you," Enzo said, his expression fierce. He added another finger inside her, thrusting them slow and deep.

She rose up until she was almost sitting so she could see what her gorgeous man was doing to her. Watching his thick fingers disappear inside her and the way he focused so entirely on her pleasure made Eris lose her mind. She gripped his thick curls and held him exactly where she wanted him. With one scrape of his teeth against her clit, Eris's whole body lit up.

"Enzo!" she gasped, her head falling back as she came on his face. She was shaking all over, and when a tear slipped from her eyes, his fingers caught it.

"That's mine too," he said huskily, kissing it off his finger.

Eris pounced on him, pushing him onto his back and straddling him. Her hand dropped to his dick, and she found his pants wet. Her eyes went wide. "I didn't even touch you."

"You didn't have to," Enzo said, stroking his fingers down her throat and over her breasts. "All I needed was my name on your lips as you came to finish me off."

Stunned, Eris lay down on him and rested her head on his chest. Enzo's arms came around her and started to comb through her hair. It took her a moment to realize she felt cherished for the first time in her life.

"Next time, I'm starting with you," she said in a daze. Had she ever felt this relaxed? She snuggled into the safe, solid warmth of him and let the feeling seep through her.

Enzo's chest rumbled as he laughed. "It's a deal."