The King of Hearts - Jovee Winters Page 0,4

independently decided there was nothing to say. We’d not talked about that afternoon and no matter how much I reached out to my son to see him; he’d refused all my calls.

He thinned his eyes. “I’ve been mated to you long enough to know that look in your eyes, little dove. What have you got planned?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know that I’ve got anything planned, Hephy. Honest. More like the first inkling of an idea. That is all.”

He stared at me for a long moment, before finally sighing heavily, leaning in and tenderly kissing my forehead. Pressing his lips firmly to my flesh, as though he could hang onto me forever by doing so.

I understood what this was, what he was doing. I’d not been home in so long, he’d missed me. As I’d missed him. He was also worried for me, as was often his way where I was concerned. This Hephy was slightly different than the version of my timeline had been. That one had understood my reckless and sometimes wildly independent streak, he’d seen my growth and maturity through the ages. But the Hephy of this time didn’t have the benefit of time behind him. He’d only known me, truly known me, for a year. He was learning me, just as that Hephy had, but I understood that it would take time before we got back into the same comfortable rhythm we’d shared once before.

His look was studious, but also patient and understanding. “I don’t claim to understand the way your brilliant mind works, my dear, but I trust in you. And daily that trust grows. If you believe that there is naught to be done where Eros is concerned, I believe you.”

Heart feeling as though it overflowed with love and warmth, I grabbed his hands and brought them close to my breasts, clutching tightly to them. “I love that you have such belief in me, Hephy, I do. But I fear that in this I don’t quite share in your convictions. I don’t know what I’m doing where Eros is concerned.”

He squeezed my hands once before gently easing out from my grip and he once again wrapped his strong arms around my waist. Holding me loosely. I clung to his wide shoulders.

“Then why don’t we table this conversation for now. We revisit things in a year’s time? Maybe.” He shrugged. “Maybe it’s just your fears talking and has nothing to do with Eros at all. You haven’t been a mother to him in this life but a year. Just as I’ve had to learn you, you’re having to learn him. Be gentle with yourself, my dove. Trust and love take time to build. Eros is a smart boy. He surely sees that you are not that same woman of before. Someday he will learn to trust in you. As I do.”

I swallowed hard, knowing that Hephy was making so much sense. But a sense of deep failure gripped me tight. “I know you’re right, husband.” I sighed. “I know. I can’t fix that woman’s mistakes in a year, maybe not even ten. Gods, is it horrible of me to say that I hate her? Though she was me, I hate—”

He shook his head, and gazing deep into my eyes said with all the conviction of his heart, “You and she might have shared looks, but you are not the same woman. I love you, Aphrodite. I never liked her. She was everything that was wrong in this world. You are her complete antithesis. Understand that.”

Leaning in, I kissed him. Gently, just a whisper of mouth upon mouth. But soon I was stroking his beloved lips with my own, sliding my tongue along the seam of his and silently urging him to let me in. Which he did. Without question.

We made love; it was slow. And tender. Full of unspoken emotions and passion. I cried at one point, recognizing how very blessed I was that he’d finally seen me. I’d been in a very dark place when I’d imagined my life without him. He simply held me and allowed me to feel the moment. The joy of our union.

When it was done, I felt my world at ease once again. He was right. He always was. Eros would eventually come around. He had to. He had to see that I was a different woman, one who desperately wanted to be his mother. His true mother. One that he could depend on. Count on. One who would hold