Page 13 of Cupid
“Then what?” Orion usually treated me with kid gloves, so I knew he was getting nervous about something terrible happening. He would blame himself because he set up the B&B to begin with.
Gotta rip off the band-aid. “We’re kind of…sleeping together.”
The line was silent for a moment before Orion busted out laughing. “Are you kidding me? No wonder you’ve been so chill about this whole thing. I’ve been feeling guilty all week, while you’ve been having sexy times with some hot alpha from the North Pole.”
“Well, it’s not like I expected this to happen. It just…did.” And I didn’t regret a second of it. But the money made it all feel icky. “Anyway, maybe I should give him his money back. It feels weird now.”
“No way. He checked out and gave you a five-star review, which now makes a lot more sense because I couldn’t picture you being that great of a host with your busted arm.” He chuckled quietly to himself. “Bottom line is that money is yours. Pay your property tax and let me know if you want me to pick you up so we can book out the house again.The whole housenext time.”
Ugh, thinking about a next time made my skin crawl. “Let me talk to Arrow, and I’ll let you know.” I paused for a second to find the words I wanted to convey. In the end, I went with the truth. “Thanks, Orion. I know I’ve been difficult about this whole thing, but… Thank you.”
He sighed contentedly. “I don’t know why you doubt my genius, but I’m glad it all worked out. At least one of us should be getting some action.”
“I’ll call you in a few days.” I hung up after brief goodbyes and watched Arrow in the water. He was having so much fun that I almost considered joining him in the shallow waves. Almost. Because that water was freezing and I preferred to have my balls on the outside of my body.
When Arrow came back inside, he could tell I was upset by something and came right to my side. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling okay? Do you need anything?”
“You shouldn’t have paid me.” I crossed my arms over my chest in a childish act of petulance.
“What?” He sat down beside me, clearly confused as he ran his fingers through his wet hair.
“For this week. I just got confirmation that you paid for staying here, which I appreciate, but it feels weird since… Well, you know.”
His eyes softened in understanding as he held both of mine and put them on his thigh. “I paid for the agreed-upon rental. Anything beyond that was extremely good luck, and…magic.” He winked and leaned forward to kiss me.
I didn’t like the idea of accepting his money, but I also didn’t want to make too big of a deal about it. He had agreed to stay three extra weeks and he wasn’t going to pay for that time, so I figured it wasn’t worth arguing over. “Well… Thank you. It’s going straight to the property tax bill anyway.”
We hadn’t discussed my reason for renting out the house, but I had a feeling that was about to change when his eyebrow raised with concern. “Do you have what you need?”
“Yeah, now I do.” I considered keeping the details to myself, but if we were going to be together, he needed to know about my financial situation. “I just… Well, I told you that I inherited this house and a small amount of money to renovate it. Which I have. But the property tax was a bit of a surprise to me, so that’s why Orion set up the rental in the first place.”
He nodded as if it all made perfect sense. “Do you need to rent it out again?”
I shrugged, not really having much of a plan beyond my immediate needs. “Not anytime soon. But, if Orion doesn’t mind me staying with him now and then, it’s an easy way to make some quick cash.”
Arrow looked out over the sea as he seemed to be considering my words. Finally, he slipped his arm behind me, and in a fluid motion, he moved me onto his lap. “Maybe when you want to rent this place out, you can come stay with me. We can go back and forth depending on the weather and the time of year.”
“I could go meet the other flying reindeer?” My eyes got big as I imagined seeing the whole fleet of them flying through the air.
Arrow chuckled. “Yes, you would be one of the few humans to see us during practice, drills, and, if you’re there for Christmas Eve, when we go out to make our deliveries.”
I threw my arms around him and smashed my mouth to his, a mix of excitement and joy flooding through me. “Yes, that sounds amazing. When can we go?”
He laughed again, holding me tight against his chest. “Well, we can spend a few weeks here, and then when I go home, I’d love it if you came with me.”
Something fluttered in my belly, and I knew that what was happening was more than just a crush.
“Arrow…” I sucked in a deep breath and braced myself for the answer I wanted but wasn’t sure I’d get.
“Yes, sweetheart.” He swept some loose hairs over my forehead and then ran his fingers around my ear and down my neck. “What is it?”
“Do you see anything between us?” I hated the crack in my voice, but the curiosity was killing me.
He swallowed hard and locked his gaze with mine. “What do you mean?”
I cocked my head, knowing he knew exactly what I meant. “Your Cupid thing. The matchmaking stuff. Are we…connected?”
He stared at me for a few moments before a wide smile broke across his lips. “Yes, but I didn’t want to frighten you by saying anything before you were ready.”
