*CUPID'S MATCH BOOK 2* FIRST DRAFT
Lila receives an ominous Valentine's Day card.
Cupid & Cal are keeping a dark secret.
Fate is being interfered with.
And a sadistic, and extremely powerful banished cupid is intent on stealing Lila's heart. Literal...
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Cupid's body is inches from mine. I am engulfed by his heat, his smell. I can see his chest, below his moist white T-Shirt, rise and fall heavily with ragged breaths. His eyes burn into mine – the skin around one of them pink and bruised.
And I feel strange inside. My heart is thudding too fast against my ribs, and my stomach clenches. I want him. I want him to kiss me. But I'm angry too. The two conflicting emotions battle inside me until anger wins.
Suddenly I stand up off the stool – inadvertently bringing my body even closer to his.
He doesn't move back. Just looks at me.
I narrow my eyes.
"You've been a real ass to me tonight," I say.
His expression hardens. He takes a small step forward and I back away slightly, my back pressing into the counter behind. The air crackles between us. I prod his chest.
"You couldn't even look at me when the others were here! You made some weird comment about me talking to Valentine, even though I got attacked! And you've been holding this grudge just because I made a mistake."
He stares at me – saying nothing. It makes me even more mad. I can feel anger bubbling in my gut.
"People make mistakes, you know?" I continue.
Still he is silent – his body heat washing over me. It's intoxicating and infuriating at the same time.
"You're...you're acting like a...like a big baby," I say – prodding his chest again. "Did you know when Cal first told me about you, back in the Matchmaking Service before we met, I thought Cupid was some... some big baby with wings, and a bow and arrow, and a diaper? Well...right now you may as well be!"
God...what the hell am I even talking about?!
I catch the corner of his mouth twitch slightly.
"If you have a problem with me, we need to talk about it. And you need to stop being such a jerk," I say.
Suddenly he sighs heavily; I feel his warm breath on my face. His eyes soften – vulnerability pooling in his blue green irises.
And he nods.
"I know."
He places the palms of his hands on the breakfast bar on either side of me. Then he rests his forehead against mine – his skin hot and a little clammy. I breathe in sharply, and then my body relaxes slightly.
He mumbles something - but so quietly I can't hear.
"What is it, Cupid?" I say.
He sighs again, then brings his gaze back up – his eyes as wild and lost as the ocean.
"I don't want to lose you, Lila." I look up at him and he shakes his head. "I could have lost you."
I fall silent. The pain in his voice curls around my heart and squeezes it tightly. The anger inside of me dissolves. He looks so lost.
