Read Dark Hunter 00 - Dark Bites (Novellas) for Free Online Page B

forever rigid and dignified. Controlled.
    Circumspect.
    He’d told her that it stemmed from the year his mother had died, when he was eight. Perseus had been just a toddler, and their father had been so distraught that he’d been unable to function without his wife. For two months straight, his father had lain in bed with drink, rising only to attend the most basic of bodily functions. All the upkeep for their farm, servants, and family had fallen to Ari’s young shoulders. His father had given him no chance to grieve himself for his mother while he took care of his brothers, but rather had thrown him into adulthood far too soon. And then when his grandfather had taken ill two years later, he’d been sent to care for him and his farm until his grandfather had died.
    Barely twelve years old, Aricles had been alone with his grandfather when the man had taken his last breath. And all the funeral preparations had fallen to him, too.
    It wasn’t until now that she fully understood what the loss of his childhood had meant for him. Other men his age were laughing and groping at the women around them. Dancing and singing with unfettered joy. They leaned up against others without thought or concern.
    Like Galen.
    Meanwhile, Ari stood sober and somber.
    Except for when they were alone. Then he could be giddy and sweet. His eyes would light up with life and he’d jest with her as he helped her to understand humor and human ways.
    As if sensing her saddened mood, Aricles started for her then was diverted by a small girl who was trying to reach for bread on the table. With a kind smile, he picked her up and helped her to get it then returned her to her feet.
    The girl’s mother joined them and thanked him before she led her daughter away. Bathymaas stared at the woman’s distended belly. It was obvious she was about to have another child, maybe even tonight. She’d never paid attention to pregnant women before.
    Now…
    She placed her hand on her flat stomach and tried to conceive what it would feel like to have a baby growing there. Biting her lip, she met Ari’s gaze and a strange chill ran over her as she imagined what his baby might look like. Surely it would be as beautiful as its father.
    “Are you all right, goddess?”
    She frowned at his question. “Why do you never call me by name, Ari?”
    Clearing his throat, he glanced away. “It’s not my place to use it.”
    But she suspected there was more to it than that. It was as if he used her title to remind himself that he wasn’t divinely born. And while he might not have the genetics, he certainly had the character.
    Not to mention the immortal heart she’d given him.
    “I should like to hear it from your lips. Just once. Would you humor me?”
    There was no missing the devotion in those beautiful blue eyes as he looked down at her. “I will always humor you… Bathymaas.”
    She savored the richness of his accent as he finally spoke her name. “Do you ever dance, Aricles?”
    He laughed nervously. “I tried it once and quickly learned, as you mentioned earlier, that embarrassment is a highly unpleasant emotion.”
    She so loved how he explained things. “I don’t suppose you’d want to try it again…”
    “For your pleasure alone, my goddess, I would gladly make a fool of myself.”
    He set her cup aside and offered his hand to her. Without hesitation, she took it and allowed him to pull her to the floor with the others. As they danced, she saw no reason for him to be embarrassed. Indeed, he was quite adept at this. But more than that, every time she felt his arms around her and his hard muscles flexing, she became even weaker in the knees.
    Aricles forgot about everyone else in the room as he watched the happy glint in Bathymaas’s eyes and the smile that played at the edges of her lips. For a woman who’d never danced before, she was more than accomplished.
    Because she’s a goddess.  
    It scared him how easily he forgot that whenever he was with her.