Pursuit of a Kiss (12 page)
Authors: Lola Drake
“They could still have kidnapped Carly even if
you hadn’t left my side.”
“Yeah, but then at least I would have been with
you when you got the call and kept both of you safe.”
“Jake…” she touched his face, brushing back his
mussed hair. “You did keep us safe.”
He shook his head, refusing to allow her to let
him off the hook.
“But Jake, you did, and I’m so grateful for it.”
“Damn it, Juliet, I don’t want gratitude.” He
got to his feet, completely unsure how to continue. “Look, I’m no good at this,
but this past week I haven’t been able to get you out of my head. You mean
something to me. I don’t want you to disappear into witness protection.”She
rose to her feet, her eyes twinkling. “Oh, so you’ll keep me safe for the next
year and then say goodbye?”
“You know what I’m trying to say.”
“No, no, I’m not sure I do,” she teased.
“You’re going to make me say this? Fine. I…
well, I think I’m falling in love with you. I know I don’t want to live through
the next year without you.”
“You
think
you’re falling in love?”
He winced, realizing how lame that sounded when
she said it back. “I don’t know if I’m the right guy for you, or if I’ll make
you happy, but if you’ll give me the chance I’ll spend every day trying to see
if I can.”
“What are you saying? You’ll go into witness
protection with me?”
“Actually, I had a better idea. The DC office
has been after me to transfer there for years. What if I take that job and you
come with me? You should be safe three thousand miles away, and you’ll be
living with your very own FBI agent, so that’s extra protection right there.
I’ll even brave Aaron’s wrath when we tell him about all this.”
Juliet laughed. “Then you might be the one who
needs protection.”
Jake caressed her cheek, brushing his lips
against hers. “You’re an amazing woman, Juliet. Please say you’ll give me
another chance.”
She kissed him, the best response he could have
hoped for. It felt right having her in his arms. Running his hands down her
body, memorizing her shape with his touch, he realized he had never felt like
this before. He did love her, with all of his heart.
“Maybe you could even use my last name so it’ll
be harder for anyone to find you.” Nervously, he kissed her before she could
answer, not sure he wanted to hear what she’d say. Juliet leaned back to look
up at him, lifting a hand to touch the stubble on his face.
“Are you… do you want to marry me?”
“Are you proposing? It’s a little fast, but I’d
say it’s a definite possibility.”
He picked her up and spun her around, making
both of them laugh.
Juliet shook her head, trying to glare at him
even though she couldn’t stop beaming. “Even now you can’t answer a simple yes
or no question. You’re absolutely impossible.”
He set her down, taking both of her hands in his
as he grew serious once more. “This morning you showed such bravery, integrity,
and loyalty. I also already know you can be incredibly passionate,” he said
with a wink. “I don’t think any other woman could compete with that, so we
might as well get married.”
“‘We might as well’ isn’t exactly the romantic
proposal every girl dreams of.”
“How about I spend the rest of our lives making
it up to you?”
He pulled her against him as he kissed her,
knowing he would never again let her go.
Epilogue
Eros smirked at his brothers as the three
watched the happy couple.
“Guess that
means I win.” He popped open a few bottles of beer and passed them to the
others.
Pothos glanced at it warily, “You must be
getting a taste for life down here among the mortals if you’re drinking this
swill.”
Himeros accepted his bottle without removing his
eyes from Jake and Juliet’s ongoing embrace. “Damn it. Never would’ve believed
it.”
Eros slammed his bottle on top of Himeros’s
bottle, laughing as the beer fizzed up and spilled over the sides. “Why not?”
Himeros shot him a dirty look, but chugged it
down before answering. “You saw her with Brad. The complete lack of passion in
that relationship never once seemed to bother her. And Jake…”
“I told you he wanted love. So I think that
means I win our bet too.” Pothos chimed in, clinking bottles with Eros.
“You can’t both win.”
“Why not? I don’t think we ever actually bet
against each other – we both thought those two could work.”
Eros nodded in agreement, smacking Himeros on
the back. “Pothos is right. He told you Juliet and Jake would be good
together.”
“Oh, whatever.” Himeros stalked off to the sound
of his brothers’ laughter.
Pothos turned back to Eros as he continued to
watch his brother’s latest success. “You did good, bro.”
“Yeah, although apparently it’s still not enough
if Zeus isn’t here welcoming me home.”
“Give it a little more time. You’ll be back on
“I think my idea of soon and Zeus’s are a
little
bit different. His tends to
encompass decades.”
“It’s not so bad down here, except for the
shitty food, your ugly body, and the complete lack of nymphs flittering around
for entertainment.”
“Oh yeah, it’s just great,” Eros laughed,
opening another beer. “I just wish I knew how many more couples it’ll take to
get me back.”
“Don’t worry, there’s a lot of desperate people
out there searching for love. It won’t be too hard.”
“No, the truly desperate aren’t necessarily
looking to give love, they want companionship and to be adored. True love,
well, that’s rare. Special. It’s the inexhaustible gift that sees both beauty
and flaws, but still continues with unwavering support and loyalty for all
time.”
“Wow,” Pothos wiped at a fake tear, pretending
to sniffle. “That’s truly beautiful, man.”
“Oh shut up.” Eros punched his brother in the
arm, then swiped the rest of his beer. “If you keep up that attitude, I might
just make true love happen to you.”
“Could you do that?”
“Just watch me. I have plenty of surprises left
in store.” Eros gave Pothos a slow smile, imagining all the havoc he could
wreak. Just imagine if he turned his powers on Zeus himself! But to get that
chance, he had a little more work on mortal couples to take of first.
The End
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