Hosting Gods: The Complete Series by Lena Mae Hill

Author:Lena Mae Hill [Hill, Lena Mae]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Speak Now
Published: 2021-05-18T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Gwen

W hen my eyelids fluttered open, I found myself staring into a pair of intense brown eyes. For a second, neither of us moved. I didn’t know where I was, or who I was, or what had happened. It was only me and this other person, this person I belonged to and who belonged to me. I knew that, if nothing else.

“Eliot,” I whispered, raising my fingers to his throat. I hadn’t even realized I knew his name until I said it. And I knew him. My voice sounded scratchy and strange to my own ears, but his was familiar when he spoke.

“Are you really awake?” he asked, his face breaking into a smile that warmed my body right down to the tips of my toes. “I must be dreaming.”

“I’m awake,” I said. “What happened? Where am I?”

“You were bitten by a dragon,” he said, stroking my hair behind my ear. It all came rushing back—the tree, losing Rosa, finding the elves, losing Zeke. The relief of finding him, again, and how everything had changed in that moment. I’d known what he meant to me, and what they all meant to me. I’d known how silly it was to keep pushing them away, worrying about what other people would think. I had sworn I would never do that again. And then, before I could act on anything I’d realized, I’d blacked out.

Now I was waking up, remembering. I felt as if I were coming back to life. The tip of Eliot’s finger circled the back of my ear, slowing as it moved down the side of my neck. A shiver went through me, and Eliot’s eyes flickered with some knowledge. He shifted forward almost imperceptibly, his gaze dropping to my lips. He swallowed, his fingers finding the hollow of my throat. In his eyes, I saw everything he’d never shown me before—a vulnerability and hunger that matched my own.

I’d caught him unguarded when he thought we were alone and I was sleeping. I wasn’t going to miss the chance to see past his defenses. Leaning in, I let my lips touch his full, red ones. I’d waited for this kiss, wanted this kiss, since the moment we’d met in the hallway at Neil’s, and I’d admired his lips. They were soft and plump, warm against mine, and tasting faintly of peppermint. Instead of taking control of the kiss and showing me his superior experience, he pulled back. I wanted to scream with frustration.

“Gwen…” he said, his eyes searching mine. “Are you feeling okay?” His eyes cleared and took on their usual intensity, studying me like I was something to analyze. I didn’t want to be analyzed. Just before collapsing from the dragon bite, I’d realized that I’d held back too much for too long. That I hadn’t given Zeke or any of the others enough. I didn’t want those regrets any longer. I wanted to lose control, to dive into this and embrace it, embrace them all.

“I’m okay now,” I whispered.

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