Strange Love

Arei smiled as he felt Jos finally loosen her grip around his waist. He hadn't wanted to say anything, but his left leg had begun to go numb about twenty minutes ago. He slowly released his own hold on her, stroking his hand up and down her cool arms. When she wobbled slightly on the six-inch heels she wore, he asked. "Would you like to change into something more comfortable before we go downstairs?" Troubled aqua eyes met his as she nodded. He slid one hand down to take one of hers as he pushed himself away from the desk. "Do you have anything in mind you'd like to do before we leave?"

Jos thought it over as they walked toward the room, she'd been sharing with Arei. "I would like to explore around more... There is so much that I remember now from our first trip here and things that have caught my notice recently as well." She paused at the door as he pulled it open for her.

He watched her with curious eyes as she entered the room. "Oh really? Like what?"

She turned to face him as he walked in and closed the door behind him. Embarrassed at some of the things that were now coming to mind, she forged concentration on undoing the straps of her heels as she replied. "Well, a night swim with those creatures we were watching from the windows the other night for one... Chary mentioned some of the underwater sections of the palace that I should also see before I left..."

Arei watched as each heel hit the floor enticingly. He could feel his c.o.c.k stir in his tight designer slacks as he watched her maneuver in the tight pencil skirt. He walked over and offered her a hand for balance. "I'm going to miss these outfits of yours once we are back in our own home on the island."

Jos's eyes moved up to his as she arched her brows. "Our home?" She stood as she continued studying him.

Arei smiled, nodding toward the folder of papers on the bed behind her. "Yes, our home. Those papers sign everything over to us... well, everything except your old home. Ry and I decided to keep it solely in your name to do with as you'd like. Everything on his side is completed, he must have dropped them by while we were going over the sentencing. I asked that he have it finished before he left." Arei released her hand and stepped over to the bed, bending to retrieve the papers. He placed the folder in her hands. "I know it may be a bit presumptuous asking that both our names be put on the house, but I didn't want you to feel like it was anything less than home."

Jos flipped through the paperwork, noting Ry's signature and initials on all the doc.u.ments. Not only was her name on the vast property surrounding the lagoon, but it had also been added right beside Arei's name on the main beach house he and Ry had built all those years ago. Her brows furrowed as she struggled to keep her emotions in check. She shook her head as she handed the papers back to Arei and met his gaze. "Arei, this is too much."

Arei's smile only fell slightly as he took the papers from her and set them back on the bed. He took both her hands in his as he held her turbulent gaze. "If for some reason, after your sentence is over, you decide you don't want to be a co-owner with me... I'll simply sign the whole thing over to you."

"Why would you do that?! You and Ry have shared that property for years now." Her wide eyes searched his.

He shrugged, "What good is it to me without you? What good is it to any of my siblings, without you? The attached property will always be yours." When she continued to stare at him as if he had just declared insanity, he gave her a weary smile. He brought one of her hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles before pressing her hand against his c.h.e.s.t. "Don't think about it too much now, give it some time."

Jos reluctantly nodded, shifting her confused, skeptical gaze from his to the folder on the bed. She carefully pulled her hands away from him and turned, quickly making her way to her luggage by the window seat. "We should probably hurry and get changed. I don't want to leave Shelly alone for too long, if your dad and Ry have already left." She made it a point not to include the other individual in that particular party.

"Alright, I'll step out if you'd like some privacy." He said as he squeezed at the tension building at the back of his neck. When she didn't respond, he took that as his queue to leave. He tugged the band free of his hair and let it fall down around his shoulders, hoping to ease some of his tension. When she still continued to ignore his presence, he let out a sigh as he tugged the tie around his neck lose and tossed it on the edge of the bed following it with the tight, fitted vest. He began unbuttoning his cuffs as he walked toward the door.

Jos's hands hovered over one of the silk nightgowns she'd packed. Noticing the quake in her hand, she quickly squeezed it to her c.h.e.s.t. With her eyes tightly closed, she asked in a low voice. "Arei..."

He paused directly in front of the door, frozen in his tracks. "Yes?" He asked turning his head to her.

Jos shifted in her squatted position in front of her luggage, trailing her gaze up over his thick t.h.i.g.hs and sleek white button-up. He somehow looked s.e.xier like this. His button-up still tucked in his tight slacks but now unbutton at the neck with the sleeves rolled up exposing his many tattoos on each arm. His now tousled lose hair only increased the appeal. Her brain instantly thought of the several e.r.o.t.i.ca novels she'd read over the years with handsome CEO's and mobster bad boys... His current appearance could have given any of the cover models a run for their money.

Concern colored his words as he turned back into the room and began walking over to her. "What's wrong, kitten?" He asked as he searched her clouded expression. Heated aqua eyes met his only briefly before turning away, refocusing on the clothes.

"Could... could I borrow a tee shirt? I hadn't expected to spend more time here so I didn't have my laundry sent down... It's kind of weird having someone else wash my personal things..." Jos could feel the blush that had begun creeping up her cheeks when she realized she'd been checking him out... intensely.

Arei chuckled. "Of course." Running his hand through his hair in relief, he walked over to the dresser. "I thought something was wrong..." He pulled out a soft solid black tee and held it up for her inspection. "Will this work?"

Jos nodded as she stood. She focused her gaze on the rippling of muscle beneath the tight white shirt as he walked over and handed her the shirt. Biting her bottom lip as she took it, she asked. "Could... um... could you help me unzip this?" She pulled her low bun to the side as she turned, revealing a zipper that ran from the back of her neck down past the small of her back.

Arei could fill himself grow hard again as his mind quickly thought up possible garments that could be waiting underneath. He cleared his throat as he neared her and gently brushed the tiny hairs that had escaped the bun aside. He could feel his breath build in his lungs as he held it. His large fingers fumbled slightly with the zipper at first, but once he finally got a grip on it, it slid with ease all the way down. He could see the slight peek of the black lace of a single latch bra and full-backed u.n.d.e.r.w.e.a.r. "There, all finished." He couldn't hide the husky undertones his voice took. Clearing his throat again, he forced himself to take several steps back but couldn't force his eyes off her.

Jos slowly pushed the dress from her shoulders, taking her time pulling each of her arms free of the short sleeves. She could feel the heat build in her cheeks and down her neck... and between her t.h.i.g.hs... She clenched them together as the dress slipped from her body, landing in a light thud on the floor. She held his shirt against her c.h.e.s.t as she glanced shyly over her shoulder. "Thank you." She whispered with a soft breath.

Arei forced his eyes away from the lace framing out each a.s.s cheeks. Each perfectly rounded cheek was supported by the lacy bands of black t.h.i.g.h high hose and peeked out from the bottom of u.n.d.e.r.w.e.a.r that was the perfect combination of full coverage and thong. He cleared his throat. "You-you're welcome. Get changed, I'll wait for you outside." He forced himself to turn and leave the room without looking back.

"Wait..." Jos held her hand up to stop him, forcing the whispered words past her lips seconds too late. The door was already closed. She buried her face in embarrassment in the soft fabric of the shirt she held, but it only made her more frustrated. It smelled exactly like him... Was it really going to be this all over again with him? She lifted her eyes from the shirt and glared at the door. Her eyes narrowed as a thought occurred to her and a revenge plan took root. She clenched his shirt in her fist, giving it a good squeeze before throwing it to the bed. Her eyes narrowed in rebellious determination as she stomped over toward the door and pulled it open causing Arei to nearly toppled backwards into the room. She didn't wait for him to regain balance as she glared into his surprised eyes. She clenched the front of his dress shirt with her free hand and pulled him into her planting a hard kiss to his slightly agape mouth. She let out a hungry sigh as she let her tongue dip into his mouth for a teasing taste. Just as the tension began to melt from his massive frame and he began answering her teasing licks and kisses with his own hunger, she pulled away and slammed the door in his face. {Serves him right for being such a constant tease!} She made her way over to the bed and quickly dressed. Her eyes fell on the folder on the bed, and her irritation quickly melted away. She bent and brushed her hand over the folder. {He really shouldn't have... I already feel like I owe him so much...}

Arei quickly moved away from the door when it opened again. His face was a contorted mess of flabbergastion, confusion, and frustration causing her to giggled lightly. "Sucks, doesn't it?"

He narrowed his eyes as he closed in the distance between them as she made her way toward the second-floor staircase leading to the library. He caught her hand and pulled her to a stop. "Jos, what was that in there?" He shook his head. "In the office, you act like you're terrified at the near mention of-" He ran his hand through his hair as he tried to find the right words. He shook his head as he took a step closer to her, seeing the satisfaction quickly disappear from her face. "I'm not mad, Kitten. I just want... need to know..."

Jos pulled her hand free of his and began fumbling with the hem of the almost knee-length shirt, her eyes following the action. "In the office... it's not that I'm afraid of you... exactly..." Her eyes glanced up at the bulge between his thick t.h.i.g.hs before quickly moving back to her hands.

He took her hands in his and waited for her nervous gaze to finally meet his. "Then what is it?"

She swallowed audibly as she moved her focus to their hands. "It was what you said... the way you said it... it frightened me some... I couldn't help but think of... things..."

He frowned, releasing one of his hands from hers and brought it up to cup her face. "Jos, look at me. I would never intentionally hurt you or do something you didn't want."

Jos nodded as she squeezed her eyes tightly closed. "I know... but you were so gentle last time... and it still hurt so much... I... I... couldn't help but think about what it would be like if you didn't hold back so much, wasn't so controlled..."

He took another step closer bending to meet her gaze. "You never have to worry about that. I've told you, even now I expect there to be an adjustment time IF we were to become physical, but don't think that just because I've put your name on the house or because we will be together for the next 300 plus years that I expect it from you. That's not the case." He ran his thumb gently over her cheek. "You've just went through some incredibly traumatic things, even for a demi-goddess. I don't expect you to just walk away from everything that's happened over the past year and be okay with jumping straight into a relationship with me... or to be able to instantly pick up where we left off."

She nodded, seeing the truth of his words reflect in his sincere expression. She pushed forward wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face into his shirt as tears began flowing freely down her cheeks. "I'm sorry..."

He wrapped his arms around her and stroked the back of her loose hair soothingly. "You have nothing to be sorry for." He bent and placed a kiss to the top of her head. When her watery eyes met his, he bent lower and placed a light, lingering kiss to her lips. He pulled away slightly, searching her face. "Better?" A warm smile spread across his lips as she nodded her head. He wiped the tears away with his thumbs as he continued to hold her gaze. "Good, now... what do you say we go find the others?"

Jos nodded as she pulled free of his hold and wiped her face in the neck of the shirt. "I probably look like a hot mess now, don't I?"

He chuckled lightly as he wiped a clump of mascara out from under one of her eyes with the fabric of one oversized sleeve. He studied the other eye for a few seconds, giving it a light rub with the other sleeve for good measure. "There, back to perfection." He smiled widely down at her as he straightened and took her hand. He lifted it to his lips and placed another kiss to her knuckles. "I swear, that had to be the s.e.xiest kiss I've ever received though." He teased. "Maybe next time you could leave the high heels on." He winked down at her teasingly.

Jos let out a surprised giggle. "You would like that, wouldn't you!" She teased back as she met his tender eyes.

"Yes, I would in fact!" He shot back, gently tugging her closer.

Jos rested her head against his shoulder as they continued walking down the hallway, still laughing. {For everything that has changed, some things have stayed exactly the same... He's still the most caring, comforting person I've ever met... And this is why I can't help but love him...}