He grinned. “Of course you will. You matched your ex and his new girlfriend today. Nothing says okay like that.”
Quinn shook her head, burying her chin in her scarf to keep the tears from falling. “No. I mean about being Aphrodite. I think I can handle it now. On…alone. On my own.”
His gaze deepened, his eyes swirled with emotion. “Is this about last night?”
She put her cold fingers to his lips and gulped. “Don’t say anything about last night. Please. It was amazing and wonderful, and despite the fact that I matched Igor today, I’m still a little raw. Maybe even a little unsure of my personal choice-making skills right now. But I’ll never regret what happened between us, Khristos. Not ever. You’ve taught me so much about myself and love and given me insight into a million different things. I’m just not in the right head space…”
“I get it,” he said—the very words she knew he’d speak.
Her pulse throbbed in her ears. If this was the right thing, if she was basing her new choices in smarter life journeys to avoid crashing and burning for the umpteenth time, why did it feel so differently than it had with any other breakup?
Why did it feel like her chest would explode and she’d never be the same if she didn’t spend at least some part of her day with Khristos? She hardly knew him. Incredible sex wasn’t the only kind of glue holding a relationship together.
Maybe this was what doing the right thing felt like—and it sucked.
Grabbing his hand on impulse, she looked up at him and forced a smile. “You were the best teacher ever. But you have a life I know you want to get back to—even if it isn’t really filled with leggy blondes and big yachts. You’re free now. You deserve the chance to live without the apple around your neck like some monkey on your back. I can handle this alone now, I think. We knew that was what would happen eventually, right?”
“That was the plan,” he said quietly, his voice eerily tight.
“And I’ve already asked Nina and the rest of the girls if they’ll stay with me in case these bad guys we haven’t heard from since I was knocked on my ass show up. You said yourself; we don’t have any super-strength or whatever to protect me. So if someone’s still coming for me, why should you be in the line of fire?”
“Quinn—”
“No!” she almost shouted then pulled back and inhaled a steadying breath. “Don’t say anything else. I can always get in touch with you if I find myself with a question. Just go enjoy your freedom, Khristos. Besides, before long, I’m sure we’ll see each other around on the forums or maybe even at a virgin sacrifice,” she teased.
Throwing her arms around his neck, she hugged him hard, savoring his scent, memorizing the way his hands felt at her waist.
She took a step away and smiled. “I’m gonna go get some of that amazing pizza Arch was talking about. We goddesses need our fuel. See you back at my place for one last dinner before you set your charge free on the world at large?”
He stared at her for a moment as snow began to fall, wreathing his body in shimmering white. “You bet,” he murmured.
And then she turned and began to walk, trying to keep from running until she was out of his line of sight.
When tears stung the corners of her eyes, she fought them hard.
Because doing the right thing and making healthy life choices wasn’t always easy or pain-free.
Right.
Right?
Chapter 14
As Quinn walked away, it hit him all at once. He wanted this woman—and she was letting him go so she wouldn’t make another poor choice. She was playing things smart for her future. They didn’t know each other on a deep, personal level yet. They’d spent a week wandering around New York City, matching people up, and then they’d made insanely incredible love.
Lovemaking he couldn’t forget—her soft curves, her willingness, her sweet lips against his when she came. He’d only just begun to taste her, and she was out.
All in the span of the week, a week Quinn could have chosen to turn into one big fairytale. Which quite obviously, she was opting out of doing.
Yet, he felt as if he’d always known her. And the parts he didn’t know, he wanted to know.
Did love happen that fast?
Of course it does, you dipshit. You’ve seen it hundreds and thousands of times in the course of your mother’s reign as Aphrodite.
Just as it hit him and he made sense of his feelings after last night, just as he’d been about to confess he was falling in love with her—she’d dumped his ass like a she was making a deposit at a Jersey landfill.
He took his time walking back to her place, each step he took, feeling worse than he had the step before. His chest ached—tight with the words he’d wanted to say to Quinn.
When he approached Quinn’s, peering around the railing to her steps and into the basement window like some lovesick fool, his chest hurt harder.