Jennifer L. Armentrout

Things aren__ perfect. They are far, far from it,but they are getting there, and I wasn__ looking back. Not when there were so many good things in the future.

Just so you know, I get incredibly bored quite easily and you will be forced to be my source of entertainment. You'll kind of be like my own personal jester."I flipped him off."Well that wasn't funny at all.

Your sarcasm and general assholeness are not necessary,_ Apollo remarked casually.I grinned at him. __ don__ think __ssholeness_ is a word.___t is if I say it is._ Apollo drew in a deep breath, a sure sign his temper was reaching its knock-Seth-into-the-nearby-ocean point.

A demigod?_ I repeated like I__ just learned to speak a few seconds ago. __ real, live demigod?___pposed to a fake, dead one?_ He chuckled, proud of himself, and then sighed when my eyes narrowed on him. __ou used to have a sense of humor, Seth.

I'm a lot to handle, but I can assure you, you'll have fun handling me.

You don__ have to want to be in arelationship for a little bow-chicka-bow-wow.

When people inexplicably dissapeared into thin air, it was usually because they had a new zip code. Something like 666

Kat didn__ get it when it came to the whole Thanksgiving thing. She didn__ think she belonged or was a part of us. She had no idea that she was beginning to mean more to me than_Well, than anyone else that was going to be here on Thanksgiving. And that was dangerous. Potentially stupid. Risky. Also exhilarating.Thrilling.

Fuck," he said, sliding his hands down to my thighs. "You're making this very hard to be the good guy you said I was last night.""I'm not drunk."He pressed his forehead to mine, chuckling softly. "Yeah, I can see that and while the idea of taking you right now, against the wall, is enough to make me lose control, I want you to know that I'm serious. You're not a hook up. You're not a friend with benefits. You're more than that to me."I closed my eyes, breathing heavily. "Well, that was...really sort of perfect.

I was the last person on the face of the Earth to help when it came to the opposite sex. I'd only kissed one boy in my entire life. And he'd been a demon. So...

Dropping his arm from my shoulders, he reached down and folded his hand around mine. It wasn__ the first time he__ held my hand, but there was an intimacy there that hadn__ been present before. A tight shiver curled its way down my spine as his thumb moved along my palm while we walked down to class.He had not done that before.Rider let go of my hand when we entered speech, and I stepped in front of him, walking toward my seat. I dropped my bag on the floor and started to sit when Rider swooped down, kissing my cheek once more.I flushed as I glanced over at him.He grinned as he sat. __ouldn__ help myself. Your cheek looked like it was missing my kiss.

You__e right._ A wicked little grin tugged at his lips. __ think we should celebrate._ Pausing, he waggled his brows at me. __e have fifty minutes now. I only need, like, five of them.___h my God,_ I laughed, shoving at his shoulders. __ou__e terrible._____ not terrible._ His eyes met mine, and the flutter was back, deeper and more dizzying. ____ in love.__h, gosh. My heart swelled like a balloon, and all I could do was stare at him for several seconds before I managed to whisper, __ love you, too.___ know._ Rider lowered his mouth to mine, and the kiss scattered my thoughts.

Rider made this sound in the back of his throat. It was deep and masculine, part groan and growl, and it made me shiver. He folded one hand along my cheek and lowered his head to mine, but he didn__ kiss me.No.His warm breath glided over my forehead as his hand slid across my cheek, his fingers spreading into my hair at the base. His other hand landed low on my back, and the weight did insane things to my insides. He drew it up my back, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. My eyes fluttered shut as his lips brushed over the curve of my cheek. It was the craziest torture. My entire body tensed, prepared for the moment when his lips met mine.And it was the sweetest pressure, a feather-light brush of his lips over mine. Once. Then twice. I felt the touch everywhere, a jolt to the system that zipped through my veins, and then the pressure increased.Rider kissed me then.It was a real one, soft and beautiful, and when the kiss deepened, it wasn__ a shy one. He knew what he was doing, and even though I didn__, an innate knowledge told me it didn__ matter. His lips mapped out mine, and my insides were in tight coils.Kissing was awesome. Amazing. Astonishing. I could probably think of a couple of more words to describe it. Kissing blew me away, and when he lifted his mouth, both of us were breathing hard. He rested his forehead against mine. Neither of us spoke for several moments.I still wasn__ thinking. I had no idea how my hands had gotten to Rider__ chest, but his heart pounded under my palm as fast as mine did. My mind was blissfully blank as I breathed in his scent, a mix of his citrusy cologne and the faint trace of paint.__id you like that?_ he asked, dragging his fingers out of my hair and over the line of my jaw.Screaming yes, oh, God, yes, would__e probably been a little too excessive, so I managed a somewhat subdued, __es.__s Rider grinned, his lips brushed mine. __ood. Because I really liked it.

Before I could protest, which wouldn__ be wise even though I did want him to hang out longer, he placed his hands on my cheeks. My breath stalled out somewhere between my throat and chest. Leaning in, he pressed his lips against my forehead, dropping a kiss that squeezed my heart into slush. My eyes drifted shut as his lips lingered against my skin. Knocked off-kilter, I didn__ move when he pulled back and stood.

When he kissed me, it was like he was reaching for my soul.

He kisses like he's dying of thirst, and I'm water.

I cupped her chin and tilted it back, deepening the kiss, wanting to somehow claim her very soul. Funny thing was, it was my soul that was being claimed, my breath that was being stolen, and my heart that was pounding crazy fast in my chest.

There you go. That ego of yours getting in the way," I teased."Of what?""The perfect package."He snorted. "Let me tell you, I have the perfect--""Don't be gross.