Kiss of the Goddess (Grecian Goddess Trilogy Book 1)

by Tessa Cole

  She’d tasted exquisite, sweet and luscious, and my cock had been awkwardly hard nearly every moment we’d been together today despite my anger. Seeing her in that alluring and sensual red dress, covering what I knew to be a full and wonderous body, only made it more alluring. By Hades I was aroused and angry and so very confused.

  Still I managed to brush past her. I couldn’t look back once I had gotten around her.

  I wouldn’t.

  So, I headed for the door leading back into the room we’d come from. At least from there I knew the way out, and that was exactly where I needed to be going. Out.

  I’d had more than enough of this and I was leaving. As much as I knew she needed protection, the others could take care of that. I couldn’t be near her anymore. I’d either take out all my fury on her or all my passion.

  Pushing open the door, I strode into the other room, shouting back at Annie. “I’m leaving. You can’t tease a man like that, promise him everything then tear it away!”

  There were only a few people left and they were lined up at a door on the far side of the room, which led into another area. Many of them turned to look at me as I shouted, but I didn’t care and headed straight for the doors leading back to the foyer.

  Except before I reached them, the doors whipped open and slammed closed, and then Aethan appeared out of nowhere, stumbled into the last row of chairs, and bowled through three more before coming to a stop in a heap on the floor.

  Now everyone was looking at him.

  Good.

  I reached him and, battered and bruised, he rose, unsteady on feet that had been shoved into human-looking boots. He wore some of the clothes Annie had bought for us, but it was clear he didn’t fit in here. Everyone else who’d attended the ceremony was dressed as Annie and myself were, while Aethan had on mismatched bright green pants and a heavy yellow hooded shirt, and a blue jacket.

  “You can protect her now,” I snapped, heading for the double doors. “I’m done.”

  “Rion? What…? By Zeus!” This last was in a hushed, awed tone. I turned, curious what had caused it, but shouldn’t have.

  Annie had come out from the hall where we’d been arguing, tears in her eyes, cheeks flushed — actually all of her flushed — and that dress…

  That’s what Aethan had seen. The goddess in all her stunning glory. He was staring at her just like he’d stared at her in her residence, and now I was staring again too, captivated. I couldn’t move.

  By Hades! What was it about this woman that confounded me so?

  She saw Aethan and her sorrowfully torn expression turned to confusion. “Aethan? What are you doing here?” Then horror. “Did something happen? Is my apartment—?”

  “We needed to find you,” Aethan said, shaking his head as if it took physical effort to take his attention off her and focus. Then he took a step forward, and, between one blink and the next, he crossed half the distance between them. “Keph had a vision. He saw the darkness coming for you. We need to get you out of here!”

  The darkness?

  Keph had visions?

  Aethan glanced back at me.

  “I’m sorry Rion,” he said, voice torn, face contorted in sorrow and need before turning back to Annie. “But you can’t send us back just yet. I need to be with you. I need you to heal me.”

  Heal him?

  Okay none of this was making any sense.

  I didn’t think anything was wrong with him.

  And what was he doing asking to be with her when—

  Well, she’d torn out my heart, so what did I care?

  Except I did care.

  The thought of him with her, her body pressed to his while she moaned with pleasure—

  Oddly wasn’t as objectionable as I thought it would be.

  Instead, I was aroused yet again by the thought of her taking her pleasure and it didn’t seem to matter from who. Just the thought of her finding bliss was enough.

  I blinked, not knowing where those thoughts came from.

  My mind swept further still to a fantasy of myself and Aethan with Annie, and the heights of pleasure she might reach with both of us together.

  I jerked away, my cock hard, straining the fabric at the front of my already too-tight pants.

  How could I still wish to be with her after she’d—

  But I did.

  It didn’t matter that she’d dismissed my bonding. It didn’t matter if she wanted to be with others. I still wanted to be with her… desperately.

  I tried to get myself under control, tried to push my thoughts to other things when loud, sharp bangs erupted on the other side of the double doors leading to the foyer.

  A second later they flew open and Del rushed in. Blood stained the calf of his pantleg but not enough for the wound to be serious, and his eyes were hard with determination. “We need to get out of here.”

  Chapter 19

  Annie

  Holy-what-the-fuck!

  I could hear the distant sirens and even more, had heard the sound of gun shots just before Del, looking like a hobo, had limped in as if he’d been the one who’d just been shot.

  Add to that Rion marching out, and Aethan, looking like a punk with his dark red mohawk and standing before me with a very noticeable ‘tent’ in his bright green sweatpants, and I was overwhelmed.

  I didn’t want to know where Keph was.

  The few other people left in this room were staring at the four of us and had been ever since Rion had shouted those words about me teasing men and promising them everything then tearing it away. It made me sound like some floozy.

  And I was not a floozy.

  But now everyone here thought I was. And I knew far too many of them. Luckily the bulk of the guests, including my immediate family, had gone into the adjacent hall for the reception, but still.

  “What the hell is going on?” I shouted at Del. I didn’t want to be yelling, but he was at the far end of the hall and there were sirens and people shouting behind him. None of which sounded good at all. “What are you doing here? And where’s Keph?” The thought of him alone in my apartment trying to do the simplest thing and accidentally trashing the place leaped to mind. It shouldn’t have. The chair had been an accident and he’d hardly moved since then, but I couldn’t help myself.

  “He’s a statue, out there.” Del pointed over his shoulder to the foyer.

  “A what?”

  Fuck.

  I was about to ask why the cops were here, but then given that Del and Aethan looked like criminals — and had probably acted like ones too — I really didn’t need to.

  Fuck and double fuck.

  “We need to go. Now.” It was the only thing I could think of, but before I was able to turn and direct them back to the hallway Rion and I had just been in — which had had a door marked exit at the far end — Del sprinted toward the other door where the few other people in this room were leaving. Into the other reception hall. Where the wedding party — and everyone else — was.

  No. Please. Not that way!

  But I never got the words out.

  Aethan blurred, moving unbelievably fast, wrapping strong arms around me and lifting me. Then the world blurred and my stomach lurched as he ran.

  We stopped suddenly. My stomach heaved from the sudden halt and I desperately hoped I wasn’t going to be sick, but with everything else that had happened — my life being turned upside down — and now having been shaken and stirred, I couldn’t help myself.

  I tried to avoid losing my lunch on Aethan, turned my head to the side… and threw up all over Lisa’s pristine white wedding dress.

  Oh no!

  The sight was so shocking and disturbing, I threw up again.

  Oh God!

  This was the worst. The absolute possible worst. The shock and horror on Lisa’s face and my brother’s face was too much to bear. I needed to get out of there. Please.

  Then everyone turned at a great noise from the far end of the hall. Thank God, a distrac
tion from the horridness that was me.

  But when I looked, I saw Keph crashing through the doors pursued by cops. The doors flew off their hinges, flying into the room with the force of Keph’s desperate rush. Dressed like some practicing line-backer in sweat clothes that were skin tight on him, Keph seemed unaware of his surroundings and didn’t even notice the marble pillar he ran right into… then through. That caused part of the balcony above him to collapse, which thankfully meant the cops were blocked from entering the room.

  Except Keph continued his charge across the hall, through the table of gifts and, of course, the wedding cake, the impact tossing everything in all directions.

  There weren’t enough fucks to sum this moment up.

  This was the roaring dumpster fire of all dumpster fires. And my whole family was watching.

  Then I heard Rion’s hushed voice. “Close your eyes.”

  Yep, I didn’t want to see any more of this.

  A great brightness erupted, momentarily blinding me even though my eyes were closed.

  “Get her out of here,” Rion said, and Aethan was moving again, making my stomach twist and lurch, threatening to expel what little I had left in it.

  Next thing I knew, I was shivering and throwing up in an alley a few blocks from the wedding hall.

  Somehow all the guys had gotten out and were crowded around me, and I collapsed to my knees, my vision swimming with the incredible shambles these men had made of my brother’s wedding.

  No, this was my fault. And puking was the only logical response to everything that had happened.

  My vomiting turned to sobs. I squeezed my eyes shut, tears leaking beneath my lashes, and pressed my hands over my face. I couldn’t bear to see the world right now.

  None of the guys said anything. They had to know what a mess that had been. Even if they didn’t know my world, they had to know how much they’d fucked up.

  God! Fuck me. Fuck my life. Fuck these idiot guys!

  They had to go.

  And they had to go now.

  Chapter 20

  Annie

  Furious, on the verge of tears, and without hesitation or a second thought, I marched the guys farther from the wedding hall. My goal was the alley where I’d tumbled into their world, and not home, because they had to go!

  The Incident — because I couldn’t think of what had happened at my brother’s wedding in any other way than the Incident — was the last straw.

  But I was in such a hurry to get them out of my now-completely-ruined life, that I forgot to get the coat and boots I’d warn to the hall and now found myself trudging and slipping through snow and slush in my best heels.

  But I wasn’t turning back no matter how cold I was. I couldn’t let them stay in the wedding hall or anywhere near my family. I couldn’t let them stay in my world. They didn’t belong.

  Aethan opened his mouth to say something, but I glared at him, and he snapped it shut and gave me his jacket, which would have been a sweet gesture if I wasn’t so mad at him and if it hadn’t smelled faintly of vomit, reminding me of what I’d done.

  We reached the alley and I pointed to the brick wall where I’d fallen through.

  Aethan cursed when he realized where I’d taken them and Del looked grim.

  “Go,” I said

  “But we need to protect you,” Del replied.

  “No, you don’t.” I wasn’t in danger. This darkness whatever the hell it was, came from their world, where they belonged and I didn’t. I didn’t care how sexy they were or that they thought I was a goddess. That had turned to shit like everything else in my life. Their hot-cold act made me so sexually frustrated I wanted to scream and I was never going to be able to show my face at a family dinner again because of what had just happened at the wedding.

  “Goddess, please—” Aethan started.

  “No! You’ve ruined my life. My family is never going to speak to me again and—” And my ex, Carter, had even more ammunition proving just how stupid and foolish I was. I couldn’t even bring an escort to the wedding and not fuck it up. “Go.”

  They stared at me.

  “I said go,” I snapped, my teeth chattering from the cold. “This was a horrific cluster-fuck-shit-show-dumpster-fire and I don’t want to see any of you ever again!”

  Rion glanced at me for a second, then his gaze slid past me to the wall as if he couldn’t even look at me.

  “As you wish,” he said, the same words he’d whispered to me during the most blissful moment of my life.

  Warmth and yearning whispered, seductive and sultry, through my chest and I quickly froze it into a hard ball of ice. He’d said horrible things to me in front of my family, things that implied I was a floozy, and I was sure that was how they thought I’d managed to land him long enough to bring him to the wedding.

  Then he stepped through the wall and was gone.

  “By Zeus, I’m sorry,” Aethan said, his gaze meeting mine for a second before he dropped it and stepped through.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Keph reach to touch my back, then pull away before making contact.

  “Sorry,” he said. “I know it was wrong. I didn’t mean to destroy… so much. I just— There were people yelling and strange lights and really loud noises and something kept stinging me and…” He sighed then stepped through, leaving Del.

  “I’m really sorry… for all of this.” He ran a hand through his long blue-black hair, pushing it away from his face, and sighed. “I thought it was fate when you appeared from the stones on the beach. And how the others all felt for you, how you healed those people… I thought I’d finally found something that… that meant something in my life.” He released another heavy sigh. “I can see that I’ve destroyed it now. I understand why you’re sending us back. But… if you ever need us, know that we’ll always be there for you, Annie” he said. His voice lowered and filled with reverence. “Our goddess.”

  Then he was gone as well.

  Good riddance.

  Except—

  My chest hurt and my throat was tight, and it had nothing to do with the cold.

  His last words, our goddess, whirled around and around in my head. I wanted to go through and call them back. It didn’t make sense, but I wanted it so much I couldn’t breathe.

  I reached for the invisible portal—

  No! I had to be stronger than that. I had to let them go. They’d made enough of a mess of my life.

  I jerked back, my heel slipped on the ice, and I fell onto my butt.

  They’d ruined my life.

  I barely knew them.

  Why did their leaving hurt so much?

  Because I was silly and stupid and wanted things that weren’t mine and would never be mine.

  I forced myself to stand and walk out of the alley.

  I was half frozen and shivering uncontrollably by the time I got back to my apartment, where I threw off the jacket and fell into bed with my dress still on, even though I knew to take better care of it. But I didn’t care. I didn’t care if my far-too-expensive dress was ruined and I didn’t care about anything anymore.

  For the next few days, I was sick, feverish, and sleeping most of the time, and when I wasn’t asleep, I was crying.

  My brother and sister showed up, worried. They thought I’d been kidnapped by the four strange men. Happy to find me safe, if a mess, they even stayed to take care of me, which was so much worse than just being alone.

  I’d ruined Daniel’s most important day and he was still kind enough to take care of me. I was torn and ashamed. I wanted to tell them to leave me alone, that everything had been my fault, but I was also very grateful that they didn’t think the whole mess had been because of me. And I didn’t have the courage to tell them the truth.

  I demanded Daniel leave to go on his honeymoon, which left my sister to take care of me, but I avoided her when she wasn’t bringing me food or water or a cold cloth. I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. The Incident kept playing over and ov
er again in my fevered dreams… as did my time with Rion in bed.

  And in my delirious imaginings, I also pictured Aethan in Rion’s place… and Del… even Keph. Though with Keph, I was riding him like some prized stallion. He was far too big and heavy to be on top.

  Hot in all the wrong ways, feverish, dreaming, and crying, my week slipped by. It was Thursday before I felt better and my fever had fully cleared. I told my sister to go home, that I was well enough now, but that left the apartment empty. And though the heat was on, it felt… cold.

  I felt cold.

  Diane had been covering for me at work, and I knew I had to go back, but I couldn’t bring myself to drag my life back together.

  I couldn’t.

  I didn’t want to.

  But that wouldn’t get the rent paid.

  I was still a mess when I went into work on Friday. I did my job, half-heartedly, distracted and distant, and was glad nothing important was due. Again, Diane had saved me there. She’d done all the important items earlier in the week, which meant all I needed to do was put together a presentation for a future meeting.

  On my way home, I stopped in front of that fated alley, my chest and throat once again too tight, and stood there, disrupting foot-traffic for some time, staring at the wall.

  It was a normal looking wall.

  And yet it had changed my life.

  For the worse.

  Except, I couldn’t stop staring at it, couldn’t return home, couldn’t even move. I stood there until it was dark, then finally, exhausted, I forced myself to look away and plod back home.

  That night, I sat on my couch, staring at the dark TV, knowing I should turn it on and distract myself, but unable to make myself do it. I’d picked up a slice of pizza from a little shop on the corner, but I stared at it too, unable to make myself eat it.

  I went to bed hungry, feeling like crap.

  My dreams were dark and confusing, like the fever-dreams earlier that week. More sick people were reaching for me, only this time the guys were sick as well. They were calling out for their goddess, begging for her help, and she never came.