redeeming cupid 01 - struck by eros (24 page)

I watched the red spot on Len’s chin grow. “Now what?”

Grayson nudged me out of the way and I watched as he took Len’s hand and wrapped it around Lauren’s. “We sit and wait. When he comes to, you need to convince him to focus on Lauren. Not on you, but on the woman in that bed.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Block his only chance of escape and anybody else’s chance of getting in.”

Grayson and I watched and waited for Len to wake up, or Lauren to show any sign of coming too, but nothing happened. No spark. No movement. No sign that either of them felt the others presence.

After fifteen minutes’ things looked hopeless. Then Len opened his eyes. He first looked at his hand wrapped around Lauren’s, then searched for me, and finally settled on Grayson standing sentry at the door. He stood, his fingers falling away from his soul mate’s.

“How dare you hit me.” His anger rose along with his fists.

“Noel, put his hand back on hers,” Grayson demanded from the door.

I rushed forward, grabbed Len’s hand and pulled him back. Then I placed his hand on top of Lauren’s. The moment his skin touched hers, her eyes flittered, not fully open, but enough to show that his touch was what she needed. Len didn’t notice.

He yanked his hand away, and Lauren fell back into her sleeping beauty routine. “Do you want to hurt me more than you already have?” Len asked.

I stepped closer, gathered his hand in mine, and hoped he would listen to my words, see the truth in what I said. In other words, I gambled for the very last time.

“Len, I need you to listen to me. Not just hear what you want, but really listen.” I put his hand on top of Lauren’s one last time, willing him to just let it stay. “Please, look at the woman lying in that bed. Not just a glance, but really look at her.”

Len did what I asked. He looked at Lauren. When he did, her eyes popped open. She smiled when she saw him staring down at her, a smile so big and complete and full of happiness. Her arrow faded, faltered, and then blinked off. Lauren had connected. Len’s stayed solid

I stepped behind him. “Don’t think about me or Grayson or us. Just think about her. Her name is Lauren, and she needs you. You need her.”

He started to pull his hand away. Tried to let go and turn toward me, but I refused to let him. I put my hand over his, forcing him to keep contact with Lauren.

“She’s your perfect match in every way. She will never disappoint you. Never hurt you. Never have to change to make you happy.”

He looked down, and for the first time he saw Lauren. Beautiful Lauren with the perfect manicure, perfect hair, and perfect heart. He saw Lauren for who she was…his perfect match. How did I know? Len’s arrow finally popped like a bubble and disappeared.

Len and Lauren were matched. The nightmare was over.

I let go of Len’s hand and backed away. A sadness swept over me. Something I hadn’t expected. Something I hadn’t thought I would feel. I gave Len, a man I thought I had loved, to another woman. My time with a great man was over. But looking at him holding Lauren’s hand, sitting in the chair, focusing all his energy on her, well…that was how it should be.

I didn’t want to interrupt them. Or have Len turn his attention back to me, so I crept to the door, that was now Grayson-free. Before I turned the handle I heard Len call my name.

He was standing behind me, but he didn’t look at me, his head was turned, his gaze never leaving Lauren. He glanced at me for just an instant. “I’m going to miss you. You brought chaos to my life, taught me to loosen up, to let the little things go. You made me a better man, and I will never forget our time together.” He pulled me close and hugged me tight. “I hope everything works out with Grayson. If that’s what you want.”

I dug into my purse and pulled out the ring that had once meant so much to me. I held it out. “Grayson is what I want. What I need.” I opened his palm and placed the ring in his hand. “I know you and Lauren will be happy.”

His fingers closed around the ring. “Thank you for bringing Lauren into my life.” He left me standing there and went back to his soul mate’s side.

I turned my back on Len, on Lauren, on the mess I hoped I cleaned up, and walked out of the room. Tears of relief streamed down my face. Grayson stood just outside the room. He looked at my face, at the tears that soaked my cheeks, then he turned and walked away, toward the elevators, away from me.

He pushed the button, and I rushed over to him just as the doors separated. He walked on, but I put my hand between the doors to stop them from closing and separating us.

“You’re leaving?” I asked.

“I’m leaving.” He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. “You’ve shed more tears for Len in the past two weeks than you will ever shed for me in a lifetime.”

“These tears aren’t for Len.” I wiped them from my cheek.

He shook his head. “Noel, you need time to figure out what you really want. I need time to figure out what I really want. We both just need time. Time away from each other.” He moved forward, grabbed my hand, but the familiar lust I expected when we touched didn’t ignite. Something had fizzled between Grayson and me. He pulled my hand from the elevator door. “Go do what it is that you do. Clean up your life, paint, drive Doris around town with the top down. Spend some time without a man in your life. If, after a week, you decide you want me, well, maybe I’ll be waiting for your call.”

He stepped back and the doors shut, leaving me alone. Len was happy with Lauren. Grayson was gone. And for the first time in as long as I could remember, I was by myself.

The truth was, I didn’t want to be by myself. I wanted to be with Grayson. But sometimes you have to fight for what you wanted. Maybe this time I would finally fight for the right person. And hopefully, when I called, he would pick up. Because I couldn’t imagine my life without Grayson Adler in it.

Grayson’s car was already gone when I got to Doris, his spot in the parking lot as empty as his spot at my side. My fingers itched to call him, to hear his voice, but he was right. I needed time to myself. Time to figure out my future. Time to work out how I would win Grayson back.

I needed another of Cupid’s arrows to hit him in his Chippendale-esque backside.

But Cupid wasn’t going to come to the rescue this time. Nope. I needed to clean up this mess I made all on my own. The question was how? How did I make up for weeks of crappy treatment?

I didn’t. All I could do was promise that the future would be brighter, better, full of a lot less bullshit. Time to start kissing ass.

Twenty-One

The Only Thing I’m Changing Is My Clothes

It had taken one full week to get everything sorted out in my head. To work out the words I wanted to say, the things I wanted to promise, to figure out that life without Grayson was dull and boring.

In that week, I hadn’t received one text from Cupid. I guess there weren’t any soul mates that needed connecting, or he was just waiting for his first pair to get their shit figured out before we took care of others. Either way it was a welcome relief to have my old life back. I filled the days working in the studio, painting, sculpting, just being me. And it was glorious.

Even though my days were full, my nights were lonely. I missed Grayson. I ached for his company, for his voice, his witty comebacks, and yes, even his sexual innuendos. His absence left an enormous and gigantic and crushing void behind.

One hour ago, I had placed the call. Asked him to come over. I thought I would have to convince him, but he hadn’t sounded repulsed by the sound of my voice, he actually sounded quite happy to hear from me.

I rushed around the house, putting everything I had planned into place. Every detail that would hopefully convince him that I loved him.

When the doorbell rang, I checked my reflection in the mirror one last time, then rushed to answer. Grayson stood on the other side of the threshold in a navy-blue suit. My breath caught. The smile on his face playful, happy. His eyes taking in every detail of the dress I had chosen just for him. Short, sexy, and see-through.

“Won’t you come in?” I stepped back to give him room.

“So formal.” He walked past me, his scent familiar and warm. “You wanted to talk?”

“I do, but first I have something for you.” I grabbed his hand, happy when I felt the familiar lust ignite between us, but I ignored it. First things first. I pulled him into the living room. “I’ve been busy this week, and I thought you would be interested in my creations.”

I turned Grayson to the first painting on the wall. A picture of an arrow piercing the center of two hearts. The tickets to the play I was at when the arrow struck, stuck to the canvas. I hung the picture like you would see in a gallery with a little placard underneath. I pushed him forward. “Read the caption.”

He pulled out his reading glasses. “Cupid’s introduction.” He chuckled. “Cute.”

He walked to the next painting that now hung over the fireplace. The painting he had admired in my studio. An abstract of blacks, deep blues, and reds. Anger. Confusion. Unhappiness. Everything I felt after I met Grayson. He leaned down and read the caption. “Hatred.” He looked at me and what I saw in his eyes warmed my soul.

The third painting was simple. A heart painted on a very small canvas with the napkin from the coffee shop where we were first supposed to connect Len covering it. Then I had slashed it into tiny pieces, leaving the canvas hanging in tiny shreds.

“Broken Hearted,” he read, and moved on.

The fourth piece was a painting that had taken me days to finish, a picture of Apollo and Daphne, but not Pierro’s version where Daphne is turning into a laurel tree. This one shows how it should have ended. Apollo and Daphne hand in hand, Cupid’s arrows on the ground, their arms around each other as they walked off.

“Destiny.” He smiled at me. A true smile. A happy smile. A smile that told me he still believed in Apollo and Daphne. In us.

The last piece wasn’t hanging on the wall. It was wrapped around my wrist. I stood at the end of the paintings, my hand held up, the silver bangle with Cupid’s bow and arrow dangling from my wrist. Grayson stepped closer and looked at the first gift he had ever given me.

“I love you,” I said, and took his hands in mine. “I love you. And I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the way I treated you. I chased Len when I should have chased you. I didn’t see you for who you were, I was blind. But I won’t change for you. I won’t change for anyone ever again. If you want me, you’ll have to accept me for how I am. Pain in the ass and all.”

Grayson’s playful grin came back. “I never wanted you to change.” He played with the bangle on my arm. “I never wanted you to be anyone other than the foul-mouthed, out-spoken women I’ve come to know you for.” He pulled me close and the lust ignited to call-the-fire-department hot. “I just want you to be Noel. The woman I love.”

Grayson lowered his lips to mine, and in that instant I knew I would never doubt Cupid again.

Epilogue

Cupid

The silver lining on the clouds didn’t shine as bright as they used to. But when your soul mate, the person you would risk immortality for, walks out on you and issues an ultimatum, well, that’s what makes the clouds dim.

Psyche had left. Walked out. Slammed the door.

For centuries we had been together. She’d gone through trials that would have killed anyone else, risked her very existence to prove her love for me, and now it was all crumbling, falling apart.

Why?

Because before Psyche had come into my life, I had been mean, ill-tempered, evil. And her ultimatum before she had closed the door that final time…clean up my mess.

In other words, repair the damage my arrows had caused. Fix my mistakes and then she would return. But if all my past transgressions took as much work to repair as Grayson and Noel, I would be lonely for a lot longer than I wanted.

The door opened, and my one, true love, the other half of my soul walked through the door, looking as beautiful as the day I married her. Psyche.

I’d repair every bad decision just to have my wife back in my arms.

“Noel and Grayson found true love,” I said in a way of greeting. Wanting her to know I was on the way to completing my goal.

“I’m well aware that they have finally found love.” She walked closer and her own unique scent wrapped around me like a blanket. “Had you not interfered centuries before they would never have had to fight so hard to find each other.”

“You can’t chastise me about interfering, dear wife. I saw you down there, trying to help Noel make the right choice.”

Psyche’s image morphed into the young girl with chestnut hair from the student commons. “She was a stubborn girl, and needed a push on to the right path. A subtle reminder where her heart should settle.”

I allowed mine to morph into her rugby playing soul mate “And I couldn’t resist playing along. I almost think you want me to win.”

Psyche moved closer, rubbed her leg against mine, and leaned close. “I want you to win, Eros. I want to walk back into our house and spend the rest of my days in your bed. But first you have other hearts to fix, other rights to wrong.” She purred the words in my ear, caused other things to rise besides my temperature.

“You’ll be back before you know it, dear wife.”

“Then you better get to work, dear husband, because those hearts won’t repair themselves.” She placed a light kiss on my lips and left me to redeem myself.

I notched my arrow, aimed it at the next set of hearts in need of repair, and let it fly.

Pierced by Venom

A Redeeming Cupid Novel

by Jenn Windrow

Gia Adler’s wedding was supposed to be all about her, but a revenge-seeking ex-boyfriend delivers a lead wedding gift into her new husband’s chest, leaving him in a coma and destroying any hope she had of a happily-ever-after. But things can always get worse. Her ex abducts her and forces her into an Underworld of destruction and drugs and death, turning her life into a twisted thing of nasty nightmares. Guided by the spirit of her comatose husband, Gia must survive a journey through hell and face the demons of her past to fight for her future.