Chapter 175: Near kiss experience.
He waited patiently until he saw that she had nothing more to say and it was time for him to defend himself.
"Suni..." he started as he took her hands. "First of all, I want to make it very clear that I have zero romantic feelings for Amber. That relationship is dead, and it is never going to be resurrected. I would not take her back if a watcher pointed its claws at me and ordered me to do so."
She snorted.
A smile curled slowly on her lips.
"As for Moon, I don’t know what happened in your last lives, but I know this for a fact. I would never remain married to a woman as scheming as her. I am pretty sure that I proposed a divorce to her in her past life before the meteors even fell."
Sunshine nodded. It was probably the same as her situation. He had proposed a divorce as soon as he learned of their marriage.
Hades continued, "Given Moon’s greed and temperament, she is not above harming my children to achieve her own selfish interests. If I came with her to Westbrook and kicked her out in the apocalypse, it was because she did something so awful that I could not have her around."
Sunshine thought a little deeper and she started to see sense in Hades’s words. There was no way Moon ever considered treating the children well. She used to call them uppity brats, bastards and other names in secret.
If Hades later revealed that he was not paralyzed, that should also have been another disadvantage for her. He had no need for her, the kids most likely disliked her, and she had never been liked by the Quinn’s.
So, was it truly a surprise that they kicked her out? Was it a surprise that the children would have preferred their mother to Moon?
The answer to both questions was the same.
It was no.
In the end, Amber was a drunk absentee mother, she did not hate her children. She just wanted to spend her time pursuing other pleasures. Maybe in the apocalypse where there was a shortage of alcohol and no pleasures to pursue, she had actually turned into a good mother!
"If Amber shows up here, we will send her to Jon’s. How about that?" He asked her.
She leaned forward abruptly, chuckling like he had said something funny.
They were nose to nose, his berry scented breath seeping from his slightly parted lips over hers. His skin had lost the slight tan it once had. His cheek bones were sharper, his eyes lighter like they were unburdened.
"If I had known that you were very worried about this, I would have broached the subject sooner." His raised his hands and grabbed the sides of her head.
The tip of his nose grazed hers.
Sunshine gulped. Her pulse fluttered and the inside of her stomach was tied up in knots. This seemed like a perfect moment for a kiss. Was he going to kiss her now that the air was cleared?
But there was still more she wanted to say to him. Like the fact that they could not play house forever. Even roommates parted ways someday. And they were so much more than that.
And yet she did not say anything. She leaned forward, her body moving with a mind of its own and she buried her face in the hollow of his neck. Her arms went around him, clinging on to him as tight as possible.
"Does the hug mean we both agree on Jon’s base?" he asked her.
She chuckled. "Maybe Sheldon’s. He is the furthest away from us."
His right hand massaged her scalp.
She purred.
Then she froze and her eyes widened.
Hades chuckled. He moved the hand that he had in her hair and brought it to her nape. Tenderly, his thumb traced along her throat, ending at her chin. He drew back just a little and brought their faces together.
His eyes were glued to her lips. In the grey of his irises, she saw flickers of desire.
But he didn’t kiss her, like she expected.
He lingered. He tempted. He seduced.
Sunshine was hit by emotions. Would he do it or not? If he did, what it mean. Did it mean that their relationship was changing? A thought crossed her mind. Who cared what it meant? All she wanted was to be kissed. Curiosity brewed more than logic.
He traced his hands up her arms, hating the thick jacket which would not allow him to feel her comfortingly cold skin.
"Hades." she called his name softly.
Her raspy voice which carried a sprinkle of need cut through his thoughts. If he did not stop, he had a feeling that they would get carried away. He drew in a sharp breath and dropped his hands.
He sucked in another breath to calm himself. "That was dangerous." he said, much harsher than he intended.
Sunshine licked her lips and laughed nervously, with her right hand, she fanned her cheeks. "I guess we just proved that we are compatible physically."
He laughed as well, nervously. They had never needed a test to prove this. The tension between them when they were alone sometimes proved this much.
She lowered her hands and two bottles of water appeared in them. She offered one to him.
He took hers and opened it for her.
Such a gentleman! she thought. He did it without her asking. She took a small sip, wondering why he had not taken the final step and kissed her.
While she was thinking about that, he gulped down the entire bottle of water in seconds and then sighed loudly, like he had found some relief.
"Better?" she asked him.
"It is too soon to judge." He answered. "But I am sane enough to broach a different subject. One that we should discuss in the same way we discussed our alliance."
She nodded, switching to a more serious mode.
"Before we..." He cleared his throat. "Before we cross any lines and kiss or do something we are legally allowed to do as husband and wife, we should decide of we want to be a real husband and wife."
Sunshine’s mind was still rotating around "legally allowed to do." It sounded a little medieval.
He took her hands in his and looked into her eyes. He wanted her to see how serious and determine he was when he said the next words. "I like what we have together. I like what we have built so far, and I like the way our family is growing closer day by day.
If I do not say this now, I am afraid that after the apocalypse ends, you will sign divorce papers and vanish to a corner of the world where I cannot find you.
I believe that I will be left with regrets if this happens. That is why I think we should consider changing the terms of our marriage alliance. I would like us to try dating and not as friends, partners or co-parents. I want us to date like a man and a woman that have romantic interest in each other. What do you think?"