We shuffled onto the cramped little plane and took our seats. Only one aisle was present, making me regret the fact we actually had to travel via public transportation.
Our duffel bags fit nicely into the compartments and I sat, knowing the next few hours were going to be filled with torture.
Riding with hundreds of other humans in cramped quarters, when my senses were heightened? Ugh. It had to be worse for Adonis, considering he could smell pheromones on people. His poor nose.
I gave him a little pat as he took his seat next to me. His eyes immediately started watering.
He rubbed his eyes and groaned. “Just how many women are we flying with? It’s like an estrogen factory in here!”
I kept the laugh inside as I looked around the cabin. Yes, slightly more females than males, most of them over the age of fifty, and wearing their fair share of perfume.
“Can’t you just hold your breath?” I whispered, buckling my seatbelt.
“I could, but do you really want me to use all my strength holding my breath, when we may need it later?”
“Good point.” I grabbed a magazine and handed it to him. “Need a distraction?”
He didn’t even look at the magazine; instead he pushed it away with his hand. It dropped to the floor and suddenly he looked at me as if I was… well, as if I was just as beautiful as Aphrodite.
“A distraction, you say?” he mumbled as his finger caressed my jaw. “Why yes, I could go for one of those.”
Not exactly what I had in mind, but who am I to leave my partner with tears in his eyes. I leaned forward, thinking a kiss was exactly what he had in mind. As my breath hitched, I noticed him pull back.
Laughing awkwardly, he grabbed my hand. “So about that talk?”
Oh talking, not kissing. Right.
Adonis opened his perfect mouth to speak, just as Seth plopped down across the aisle from us.
“I totally forgot how good it felt to kiss a human. They taste so…” He reached into the air, grabbing at the word. “…Luscious, like warm blood mixed with honey and spice. I swear I almost lost my mind.”
“You kissed her!” I scolded.
“Maybe.” He looked down at his hand. “But she was having a really hard day. So what if I kissed her? It wasn’t as if I used any sort of power on her. I just merely kissed the daylights out of her, ruining her for all men.”
“You have no shame!”
“No.” He laughed. “Apparently not, but I will say one thing. My kiss also got us information.”
Adonis jerked his head in Seth’s direction. “You hypnotized her?”
“Hardly.” Seth buckled his seat belt. “I merely had a little taste.”
“You did what!”
Adonis slapped his hand over my mouth. My chest felt heavy with righteous anger. “You can’t go around… drinking!”
He glared. “Not something I make a habit of. Come on, it’s not like I’m a vampire or anything. You know as well as I do how much information blood contains. Don’t hate me for enjoying it.” He popped his knuckles. “Anyway, it seems that the plane was having some sort of mechanical problems, and she was worried that it would crash. They replaced the part, and at the last minute, the entire flight crew, which seemed odd. Then I saw the pilot.”
Why did my stomach feel like it was going to heave up all its contents?
“And?”
“It appears that the captain of this lovely plane is none other than your Titan friend. Atlas.”
“But, how — why would he do that?”
A large man stepped into the aisle and leaned over our seats. “To protect you.”
“Atlas,” I breathed. Beautiful, tall, commanding Atlas.
He looked Adonis up and down then smirked at me. “Never fear, my dear. I’ll make sure you make it to your first destination. I shouldn’t even be here, but a mutual friend thought it would be worth my while to see you in action. I’m just as surprised as you are.”
“A mutual friend?” I repeated. “Who?”
He ignored me, instead he looked at Adonis and nodded then walked off.
Adonis’s mouth dropped open. “Michael. I don’t know how or why, Thena, but… I would bet my life on it. Atlas has been talking to Michael.”
“But…”
Adonis squeezed my shoulders. “Do you know what this means?”
He didn’t wait for me to answer.
“It means that Atlas trusts you. For him to even try to speak to another Heavenly is… unheard of. It’s incredible. Good work, partner. I don’t know what you said to him when you disappeared and nearly took my heart with you, but good work.”
I didn’t really have any time to bask in the goodness of what his smile did to me. The plane began to taxi, and the flight attendant started to explain the various exits, in the event that the plane crashed, which, she repeated over and over again, is highly unlikely.
It’s not as if anyone would survive a plane crash into the Alaska Mountains. I mean, if the crash didn’t kill them, the cold sure would, and if by some miracle of God they did escape, they’d most likely be eaten by wolves.
“Lovely way to die,” Seth commented.