by Laura DeLuca
“Oh shit! Did I do that?”
Tara’s voice was still hazy with sleep, but she was beginning to stir. She must have noticed the scratches as soon as she opened her eyes. It was hard not to. The red ragged lines ran across the whole of his back. She gave him a chagrined smile.
“It’s okay,” he told her, making sure he spoke slowly and clearly so she could read his lips. It wasn’t easy when he was so excited. “It was worth it.”
For a minute, Tara seemed confused. She wasn’t used to having to read his lips. He had always spoken either in sign language or the rumbling voice that even without hearing, she had been able to perceive on some level. When she realized he was speaking normally, like a regular man, she darted up so quickly, she smacked her funny bone against her nightstand.
“Fuck.” She rubbed her sore elbow and gave him a strange look. “Wait a minute. How is it you can stop a bullet with your bare chest, but you can’t stop my fingernails from clawing the shit out of your back? And…and why can’t I feel your words anymore?”
Taran took her hand and lifted it so that her fingers touched his lips. “You will always be able to feel my words. Here.” He guided her hand down so that it now touched her chest. “And here as well.”
He saw her eyes fill with tears, and she choked back a sob. “That’s all really sweet and romantic,” she told him, “but fuck, Taran…what did you do? Did you go and give up being a god for…for me? I really hope you didn’t lose your immortality, because if you drop dead on me, I’ll feel like crap.”
“All souls are immortal,” he explained. “But as a god, I was never able to grow and change. Life grows stagnant without growth, Tara. But now, I can live and share a mortal life with you. We can grow old together, and when the time comes, we will be reborn again with even greater wisdom.”
She sighed. “When you put it that way, I guess it’s not so bad.” She lifted a hand to stroke his mortal cheek. “So you really aren’t a god anymore?”
He shook his head and kissed her fingers. “The other gods granted my wish to be mortal the moment you returned my words of love of your own free will. This has been my one and only desire for centuries, and it’s a gift that you have given to me.”
“Well, you’re welcome.” Tara ruffled his hair. He loved that impish grin. “But damn, I sure hope you can still fuck like a god, or I might be sorry I did this.”
He laughed. That warped sense of humor was just one of the reasons he loved her. “I’m sure we’ll find a way to make that part…mutually beneficial.” Then he turned more serious. “I love you, Tara. I will always love you. In this life and the next.”
Tara smiled as she watched his lips move and his hands gesture the words in perfect unison. His one arm stayed crossed against his heart while his other hand pointed to her. He stayed that way until she inched closer and guided his hands to snake around her waist. “There ain’t no love like the love of a god,” she teased. “Just call me thunderstruck.”
About the Author
Laura “Luna” DeLuca lives at the beautiful Jersey shore with her husband and four children. She loves writing in the young adult genre because it keeps her young at heart. In addition to writing fiction, Laura is also the editor of a popular review blog called New Age Mama. She is an active member of her local pagan community, and has been studying Wicca for close to eight years. Her current works include Destiny, Destiny Unveiled, Phantom, Morrigan, Player, and Demon.
