Previously on Hate That I Love You...

"Wait," two heartbeats later, Savitar was standing behind Apollymi. "We have to stop doing this."

"Easy. Stop coming to where I am."

"What if I don't want to? What if I can't stay away from you?"


"Then, you die!"

Apollymi whirled around, ready to strike. Her blood and soul were boiling in rage. She got no other thought than erase Savitar from existence.

That was until he grabbed and pulled her closer to him, covering her lips with his. The unexpected action made her gasp. Savitar didn't waste the opportunity at her unwilling invitation to invaded her mouth. She wasn't prepared for the kiss, neither for the sensation of him tasting her so intimately. The last one who had done such thing had been Archon. And even then, it hadn't been so intense as this.

The assault on her short-circuited her brain, putting her murderous intentions momentarily on hold. She could barely think. She put her hands on his shoulders to pull away, but he held her tighter and deepened the kiss. The lust and need of him for her was infectious.

Apollymi has conflicted emotions running through her. The anger inside her blend with the hunger for a loving touch, which had been neglected for too long. It was a volatile combination. She wanted to geld Savitar for daring to touch her, but she couldn't make herself pull away from him.

She surrendered to the pleasure of having a warm body holding her possessively. Her head reeled with the scent of the ocean mixed with the very manly essence of Savitar. He kissed her, long and hard, filling her mouth with his tongue and his taste, and demanding a response. She gave it to him, gripping his head and stealing his breath.

His beard was a bit harsh on her sensitive skin, but she liked the sensation. His soft lips and the itchy beard were the two faces of the same coin. Very apropos for him. She never thought he could be so passionate. Behind that cold stance he usually had, there was a volcano ready to burst.

When Savitar felt she wasn't fighting his attentions anymore, he gentled his embrace and ran his hands up and down on her uncovered back. The warm fingertips raised goosebumps on her skin and sent chill through her spine.

Apollymi never knew when her hands left Savitar's shoulders and ended on his nape. She had her fingers entangled with his long dark hair. She was clinging to it for her dear life.

Gasping for air, Savitar broke the kiss. He nipped her bottom lip once... twice, before pulling away just enough to looked at her in the eyes. He waited for her reaction.

"Why?" was all she could say. She was too confused to come up with a proper comeback.

"I wanted to do that a long time ago," he whispered. He looked down at her mouth and up again, savoring her taste off his lips. "I got to many regrets to carry to the afterlife. If you're to kill me, I don't want to die with the dissatisfaction of never kissing the most beautiful woman in the universe."

The sultry tone in his voice swept through her, taking away part of her remaining anger. But also made her feel uncomfortable.

What was wrong with her? She had never been this self-conscious or so accommodating. She snapped from the idiotic trance and stepped away from Savitar. Immediately she felt the loss of his heat, the sensation of his bare chest against hers. However, his salty scent of the ocean continued impregnated in her nose.

She glared at him, "I don't know why you're so determined to make your death as slow and painful as possible."

"That's starting to sound like an idle promise, you know. Just tonight, how many times have you threatened my life already? And I'm still here."

She hissed. "I really hate you."

"I hate you too, precious."

The fire in his lavender eyes wasn't in synchrony with his words. It spoke loud and clear about the lust he felt inside burning for her. He gazed her mouth again and again, as if he was a thirsty dying man and the spring of fresh water that could save him poured out from her lips.

"Savitar, stop! Stop it!"

"What?"

"Stop looking me like that!"

"Like what?"

Her nostrils flared. "Like if you want to eat me!"

His eyes roamed her from head to toes with deliberated appreciation, stopping for long moments in the right places. He took his time to take in her beautiful figure covered by black airy silk. The fabric hugged the curves of her body with extreme delicacy. The neckline showed a peek of the contour of her breasts... a small tease. But the real bait was on the rear. The posterior cleavage went south, all the way down, to her lower back.

Under Savitar's intense scrutiny, Apollymi felt her temperature rising even more, as if lava was running through her veins. The dress constricted her swelled breasts, and her heart beat faster than the wings of a hummingbird. She wanted to stepped back or make him go away, but she was paralyzed. Savitar walked into her personal space, but didn't touch her. He held his gaze into hers. His eyes darkened and his pupils dilated.

"Would you let me?" he asked in throaty voice.

Her negative got caught in her throat. She gulped trying to get rid of the lump closing off her airway.

Savitar grinned and caressed her jaw with the back of his fingers. "Your silence speaks volumes, Polly."

"No," she managed to utter through her clenched jaw. "All I want is you away from me."

That didn't seem to discourage him in the least. In fact, Savitar's smile got bigger. "It that so?"

"Yes."

"Then, why are grabbing my shirt so tight?"

Apollymi looked down and her eyes widened watching her fingers wrapped around the rim of his shirt. She let go right in that instant, and stepped back. However, she didn't go far. Savitar wrapped his arms around her waist and kept her close. "You know what I think?"

"What gave you the impression that I care anything you might think with those three brain cells you got?" she put her hands on his chests and pushed him away, but he didn't relented. His arms were firmly wrapped around her.

He sighed. "Those three brain cells are more than enough to know you want me as much as I want you."

"No, I don't," she said, disgusted. "And you don't want me, either. I know you, you go after all the shallow-brained women that got the misfortune to cross path with you. I have no desire to experience again to be with a man who doesn't care who he's with or with how many. "

His gaze softened. "Pol... not all men are cheaters. I'm not Archon, the bastard." Savitar let her go and hardened his features. "And you know, I've come to the conclusion, that your hatred toward me isn't for what you've been claiming all these centuries. I've made many mistakes regarding you, I can't deny that. But the one that bothers you the most isn't the obvious. You've been mad at me for longer than you want to admit. I warned more than once that you should never be with Archon, that you'd not be happy with him. You wouldn't listen, because you thought my words were driven by jealousy. You know I was right, and that's why you're really mad at me."

"That's not-!"

"Don't deny it, Apollymi. You know it's true. You were blind about him and didn't want to open your eyes when I warned you. You didn't trust in my affection for you. That I only wanted the best for you. I never dared to made my move on you, respecting your feelings for the bastard. I stayed away and bit my tongue, when what all I wanted to do was to rip your husband's head," Savitar massaged his forehead. "You know how hard it was to see how unhappy you were and unable to do nothing to make it right?"

"Not as hard as living it. What do you want me to say, Savitar? That I was a fool to believe Archon? Yes, I was. Have to remind you that I'm still paying the price of my mistake?! And I do know how you felt. It's the same way I feel every single day. I'm trapped here in Kalosis, unable to be with my son. I watched him suffer for too long while my hands were tied to help him."

Her voice cracked. The roller coaster of emotions that she had been in the last hour made harder for her to control the turmoil inside her. She gave her back to Savitar when her tears threatened to fall.

Savitar spat a curse under his breath, and put his hands on her shoulders. "Apollymi, I-," he sighed when she shrugged his touch away. "It wasn't my intention to upset you."

She huffed offended and kept facing away from him. She had her arms folded across her chest and her shoulders stiffed. The staccato made by the drumming of her foot on the marble floor went faster and faster.

"Could you turn around and look at me? Your tantalizing back makes me hard to concentrate to apologize."

Apollymi turned around, outraged. Fury mixed with a wave of raging lust reddened her cheeks.

"I wish I had been grown a pair back then," Savitar lamented in soft voice. He stretched out his hand to cup her face. He wanted to wipe a lone tear she had missed cleaning up, but Apollymi jerked her face back. He let his hand fall down. "I should have done something."

Looking away, she murmured "There's no use in clinging in a past you can't change."

"True, but I can help wondering how it would've been if you hadn't married that bastard and we had gotten together." He took a longing deep breath and released it slowly. "Acheron would be my son and you wouldn't be trapped here."

Apollymi had her lips twisted in a half-smile when she swung about to face him. "With my temper, who can say I wouldn't have done something different to upset my family and end up here anyway. But Savitar..." she stepped closer to him and put her hand over Savitar's forearm, squeezing it with affection, "...Acheron is your son. Perhaps not of flesh and blood, but you're the closest thing to a father to him. I'm certain that's how he feels about you." Savitar's amethyst eyes brightened. Apollymi knew her words meant the world to him. "I might hate you for many things, but I'll always grateful for everything you've done for him."

"It's been my pleasure." Savitar took her hand and kissed her knuckles. When he laid his eyes on her face, the blush on her cheeks had darkened and she tried to hid the smile of her lips. "Take care of your son was the least I could do."

The anger in Apollymi grew weaker, with uncertainty taking its place. She chewed her lip, looking at him. "What is it?" Savitar's head cocked to a side.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"I'm not that obtuse to not realize how difficult I am. I've never been sweet or docile, and never will be. My tantrums are infamous. Why would you risk to be near me?"

"No, you're not the nicest woman. You have a sharp tongue and quite a temper.

"Then, why are you want to be with me?"

"Because when you smile it's beautiful; feeling you close is addicting;" wanting to prove his point, Savitar got closer to Apollymi and put his arms around her, "and you're cute when you're mad."

"You're an ass."

"See my point," he said, paying no heed to the insult. "There you're getting even cuter than before."

"I'm serious!"

"So do I."

Apollymi drew her brows together. She couldn't understand his reasons. They didn't make any sense to her.

Savitar sighed exasperated, hugging her tighter. She shivered as his breath fell in her ear when he whispered. "I'm aware that being in a relationship with you probably is like eating ice cream with a fork... frustrating, stupid, and challenging. And there's always going to be a little left behind. But it's still ice cream, and it will always be worth it."

She leaned her head back to stare up at him.

"Sounds stupid, I know," he cupped her face, tracing his thumbs over her cheeks. "But I spent too many time thinking in the what ifs. I don't regret all the time I've been loving you, but I do regret taking so much time to finally do something about it."

"Savitar, I-" Apollymi looked down. She could speak looking at the abyss of his dark purple eyes. The intense gaze made her sweat and made her mouth dry.

He declared his love for just like that! How she supposed to respond to that?

She didn't want to hurt him by rejecting him, but she wasn't sure of what she felt for him. For so long she had hold so tight to the hatred, that didn't know how to express the opposite feeling. Was she capable to feel something like that for him?, she wondered. Did she dare to finding that out? "What if we start something and it's a mistake. I've made enough of them for several lifetimes. I don't want to add another to the list."

"Don't have to be a mistake. Not, if we don't want it to be. And in the farfetched possibility that it becomes one, don't you learn from your mistakes?"

"If I did that I'd be a genius by now!"

"You and everybody else in the universe. Everyone makes mistakes. The trick is to make them when nobody is looking."

"That's not much a reassurance."

"It isn't. Just the truth."

"Probably I'll sound foolish to you, but I'm afraid."

Apollymi couldn't believe those words were coming out of her mouth. She... afraid, when in life?! She leaned her head on Savitar's shoulder. She couldn't bear him looking at her. Savitar kissed her neck, sending chills through her. "About what?"

The lump on her throat reappeared, so Apollymi whispered, in hope that her raspy voice didn't betray how a simple act as a light kiss affected her. "Of changing things between you and me."

"What things? Our love-hate relationship, where I love you and you hate me?"

"You don't love me," she insisted. "You can't."

"So stubborn!" he said exasperated, looking at the heavens. "Yes! I deeply care about you. Always have, always will."

"You care about me and you don't miss the opportunity to contradict me every time you can."

"We can go slow. Is it too much to give us a chance?"

Sometimes the first small step was the harder to take.

But in the end she was tired to be alone. Immortal life could be a burden when there was nobody to share it with.

Being in Savitar's arms was nice. More than that. She hadn't felt cherish in a long time. Not the way she was feeling at that precise moment. He hugged her as she was precious. As she really mattered to him.

Her heart beat like a sledgehammer, as fast as her brain was working trying to get to a decision.