For several minutes, they stood there, panting, hips locked, her legs tight around his waist, their arms wrapped around each other. And a powerful sense of rightness settled in his chest, which shook him to his gut.
Tessa turned her face into his neck and her breath brushed his ear. He shivered at the sensation of warmth.
“Cal?”
He stepped away from the door, expecting her to unwind her legs. But she didn’t. “Cal, are you okay?”
No. “Yeah. Are you?”
“Yes.” Her smile brushed his cheek. “Even better now.”
“Good.”
She finally unwound her legs, and he set her on the floor then stepped away and pulled his pants up. “I gotta go.”
“I know.”
Forcing himself to meet her eyes, he saw that familiar glow. And her trust in him.
He wanted to be worthy of it.
She bent to pick up her panties and shimmied them up her legs. Blood swelled back into his cock as she wiggled, but he forced back the desire and shook his head to clear it.
He wanted to say something, something about how he felt, how she made him feel. But didn’t know what that was because it was nothing he’d ever felt before.
She must have seen something in his eyes of what he wanted to say because she smiled.
“Be careful. Come back to me soon.”
Then she stepped back and away.
He turned and headed out the door, making sure it was closed tightly behind him. Every step he took away from her felt wrong, but he forced himself to keep going. If he wanted to keep her safe, he had to do this. He just didn’t have to like it.
X had agreed to remain here until he got back and that eased the worry. Some.
Once outside the building, camouflaged beneath an ordinary-looking home in a wooded area on the side of a hill, Cal started walking northeast, heading farther into the woods. The moon had just risen and, out here, away from the city lights, the crescent glowed brightly.
Hoping like hell that he wasn’t about to make a huge mistake, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number he’d sworn he was going to delete. When the line connected, he took a deep breath.
“I need to cash in that favor.”
Chapter 10
“So Cal filled you in?” Tessa asked as she sat on the bed, watching Eric pace near the door.
“Yeah, he did.” Eric stopped pacing to look at her. “Why didn’t you come to me first, Tessa?”
She didn’t answer right away as she let her gaze travel around the room. The bed frame and the side table were made of iron. The plain walls and silk bedding were snow-white, which helped repel any magic that might get through the iron-lined walls.
All that white made her blink, so stark in comparison to the warm gold of the sunlight she longed for. Down here, below the ground, she felt the absence of the sun. And she felt no residual power at all from the reflected sunlight off the moon.
It made her feel cut off, alone. And with Cal gone, the fear she’d been keeping at bay started to creep back into her stomach and to lie there like a cold, hard ball.
“Tessa?” Eric called to her as if she were far away. And maybe she was. “Are you okay?”
No, she wasn’t. But she wasn’t going to say that to Eric.
She hadn’t come to the doctor for just the reason that he’d wanted her to. She liked Eric, but not in the way he wished she would. He wanted her. Hell, he seemed to genuinely like her as a person, as opposed to just wanting to get it on with a goddess.
But she’d never felt that spark with him. Not like the forest fire of emotion Cal lit in her.
Which could be more of a problem than she’d bargained for.
Blessed Mother Goddess, if you can hear me, please keep him safe.
“I needed a warrior, Eric. Not a doctor.” She flashed him a look and caught his scowl. Catching back a sigh, she knew it was time to change the subject. “How are the babies? Will they be okay?”
He shook his head, and she knew he wasn’t going to take her not-so-subtle hint.
“Tessa, what do you really know about this guy? I understand Salvatorus recommended him and you trust Sal. Hell, I trust Sal. But I don’t want you to fall into something because you’re scared.”
“I’m not in danger of falling into anything.” Because she’d already fallen. And hard. “The babies, Eric. Will they be okay?”
He sighed, ran his hands through his hair, and finally shook his head. “Yes, I think they’ll be fine. They’re small, but you expect that with twins. And the boy’s lungs aren’t as developed as I’d like but, yeah, they’re going to be okay.”
She nodded and forced a smile. “Good. Now, I’m going to lie down. Would you tell X to let me know if he hears anything from Cal? And can you dim the lights on your way out, please?”
He sighed again, this time with resignation, and turned toward the door. “I have to shut the door tight but there’s a call button on the table. Press it if you need me. Try to get some rest, Tessa. You need it.”
As the door snicked shut and the lights powered down to a dim glow, she sat on the bed, pulled her knees tight to her chest, and took a deep breath before releasing it slowly. But the growing weight on her shoulders wouldn’t budge.
Worry ate at her stomach. Worry for Cal. Worry for herself. Worry about the babies and Flavia. All that stress jumbled together into a hard ball that made it increasingly difficult for her to breathe normally. And impossible for her to rest.
She knew, theoretically, that this room should hide her from Charun’s reach. Iron’s ability to repel magic was well documented among those who used magic. Still, sometimes the rules didn’t apply to deities.
Sometimes… hell, most times the rules didn’t apply to deities. When that worked to her advantage, it wasn’t such a bad thing. When it didn’t…
“Oh, Uni’s ass, just lie down already.”
With a sigh, she did, curling onto her side and wishing Cal’s big body was curled around her. She hoped he’d get back soon.
***
The redhead paced the length of her palatial bedroom as Cal stood in the corner, his gaze flicking between the door and the female.
He’d taken a huge risk, letting her bring him here. But he really hadn’t had a choice. If any of the others caught him here…
“This isn’t a favor, Caligo. What you’re asking could get me skewered by a lightning bolt, you idiot. I can’t believe you would even have the balls to ask me. You know I can’t give it to you.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “I know exactly what I’m asking. You owe me, Venus. Vulcan nearly killed me and you let him. You’re lucky I never told him exactly what you were up to, playing him off against Mercury.”
Her beautiful face screwed into a cold scowl that made Cal wonder how he’d ever been taken in by her looks. Her green eyes gleamed like cold glass, and her lips curled into a hateful sneer. Even her hair rubbed him the wrong way, brassy and too bright.
“Don’t piss me off, mortal.” She tossed that too-bright hair over her shoulder in a move she probably thought was enticing. Not so much. “What you’re asking for is forbidden.”
Hell, everything about her rubbed him the wrong way. Especially the way she curled her lip. If she were a man, he’d punch her. Just once. Just to take care of that constant sneer.
“I know that.” He spoke each word slowly and carefully, as if speaking to someone with mental disabilities. Which he wouldn’t be surprised if she had. “Which is why I’ll make you a promise. I won’t tell if you won’t tell.”
Her gaze could slice a man in two. “Don’t be juvenile. What do you want Nectar for anyway?”
Besides the fact that it was a powerful aphrodisiac to humans? And its healing powers legendary? “Let’s just say it’s not for me.”
Venus’s eyes narrowed. “Then who is it for?”
He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. I need it and you’re going to give it to me. You owe me.�
��
That perfect nose, which Cal thought was too damn straight, went up in the air. “You presume too much, Cimmerian. I don’t have to give you anything.”
“Then I will beg an audience with Jupiter and tell him all about your little scheme.”
Probably be suicide. Jupiter had a habit of slinging thunderbolts at people for fun in his specially designed throne room on the first level of this ostentatious estate. But if it was the only option left to him, he’d do it. For Tessa.
Venus huffed and tossed her hair over her shoulder again. “He’ll kill you.”
Cal shrugged. “You can only hope he does. Because if he doesn’t, Daddy’s not going to be too happy with his little princess when I tell him why you wanted Vulcan’s hammer.”
Not that he knew for sure. He’d only had a suspicion; but when pure hate showed in every scrunched line of Venus’s face, he knew he’d guessed right.
Damn, if looks could kill, he’d be sliced, diced, and fricasseed. But she didn’t lash out at him. She couldn’t use her powers here. Jupiter had added that safety device so the deities couldn’t attack each other while they slept.
The Roman pantheon really was more like a pack of jackals than a family.
Still, she could pick up a knife and shove it in his heart. He’d be just as dead, and none of the other gods or goddesses would bat an eyelash. But she’d have to reach him first, and he was faster and stronger. He’d fight her to the death over this.
And he was right about what Jupiter would do to her if he found out why she’d wanted Vulcan’s hammer.
Venus’s head tilted back and that straight nose pointed even higher. “You don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”
He let his brows rise slightly. “You really want to take that chance? You know, you’d be surprised what you pick up when you hang out in a bar with lots of disgruntled gods, most of whom have been fucked over by you. And there’ve been a lot of them, haven’t there, babe?”
The muscles in Venus’s shapely arms quivered as her hands curled into fists at her sides.
Yes, he was playing a dangerous game and he had to be careful not to tip his hand. But Tessa needed the gods-damn Nectar, and Venus would give it to him whether he had to beg, borrow, or steal it. Without losing his life.
Like the remaining Etruscan pantheon, with the exception of those who’d withdrawn to Invol, the Roman deities lived on earth. Unlike the Etruscans, they lived like one big, incestuous, redneck family. But they did it in one of their multimillion-dollar compounds in the Hamptons, in Gulf Coast Florida, or on the outskirts of Rome.
This one was in the Hamptons. Cal recognized the view from the windows as the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic had that dull, blue-green color whereas the Gulf always sparkled. Almost like the fury in Venus’s eyes right now.
Maybe he’d gone about this the wrong way.
Deliberately softening his expression and forcing down some of the tension in his body, Cal sighed. “Look, Venus, I’m not asking for an entire bottle. I’m asking for a couple of tablespoons. Just enough to knock out another deity.”
Her eyes narrowed and her mouth pursed. “Someone I know?”
He squashed a smile. “Of course it is.”
“Who?”
No way was he going to tell this bitch goddess about Tessa’s situation. She’d find some way to take advantage. Cal refused to put Tessa into a worse situation than she was already in.
So he lied. “Let’s just say Voluptas has it coming.”
The smile that lit Venus’s face would have frightened off a gorgon. Voluptas, the Roman Goddess of Pleasure, had been a thorn in Venus’s side for centuries.
The goddesses overlapped in their duties, especially where love and pleasure collided. And both were bitchy enough to want to make the other’s life miserable.
“Well, now,” Venus practically purred, “that could be a different story. I might be convinced to provide you with what you need.”
Cal bowed his head, biting back his victorious grin. “It won’t be going to waste, I can assure you.”
With a drawn-out sigh, Venus rolled her eyes. “Fine. Stay here. This could take a little while.”
Something in the way she said that sent a chill skating up his back. He didn’t trust this one not to stab him in the back, even though he was doing something she wanted. Hell, he didn’t trust any of the deities not to fuck him over, which made the feelings he had for Tessa all the more unusual.
As Venus left the room, he heard the snick of the lock.
Bitch.
He tried not to think about the fact that he was now locked in. Not that he would have gone wandering around the Roman deities’ home uninvited. He didn’t have a death wish.
Besides, it wasn’t like he could just walk off the property. He’d needed Venus to bring him here. He’d need her—or one of the other deities—to get him out. He hated that. Hated the sense of being trapped.
What if something happened to Tessa while he was gone?
He took a deep breath, leaned against the wall, and prepared to wait.
***
Tessa couldn’t sleep.
She tried for at least an hour, tossing and turning in the bed. But she couldn’t get her brain to shut off enough to allow her to rest. She kept thinking about Cal.
Was he okay? Would he be able to convince Venus to give him the Nectar? They didn’t even know if it would work on her. What if he’d put his life in danger for nothing?
Cal was human. Only human. Breakable. A mortal who would eventually die and leave her. As had all her human lovers. Which was why she hadn’t taken one in centuries.
“Screwed up here, didn’t you?” Her voice sounded overly loud in the silent room, as did her sigh. “And now you’re talking to yourself. Great. Just great.”
If she didn’t find something to distract herself, she was going to go crazy in here. Because now that she had time to think, she knew she couldn’t stop.
Since there was no clock, she didn’t know how long she spent waiting and worrying. She only knew it seemed like an eternity.
So when the door lock clicked open, she sighed with relief. Until X pushed through the door. His expression made her heart crash against her ribs.
“What happened? What’s wrong?”
“Aurora just texted me. We have to go. Cal’s in trouble, and you need to go claim him. She said Mercury’s gonna kill him if you don’t. She said he’s already hurt. Bad.”
X’s words were clipped and tight as he took her arm and practically pulled her out the door and down the hall. “I don’t know what the fuck he’s doing in the Romans’ Hamptons compound because nobody fucking tells me anything, but Aurora said if we don’t get there soon, he’ll be dead.”
Tessa tried to swallow but could barely get past the lump in her throat as she hurried alongside X. “He went to get Nectar for me. To help me sleep.”
“Shit.” X practically ripped the door to the second floor off the hinges to get it open. “We gotta hurry, Lady. Cal’s a tough son of a bitch, but he can’t put up with a beating from a god for long.”
“How are we going to get there?”
“Aurora said she’ll transport us there. I just have to call her back.”
They were running by the time they hit the first floor, even though Tessa had no idea where they were running to. When they reached the living room, X stopped and pulled out his cell phone. The seconds felt like hours as she waited for the line to connect.
“It’s X. We’re ready.”
On the other end of the phone, Tessa heard Aurora’s unusually subdued tone and worried even more. She couldn’t make out what the goddess was saying, but whatever it was, she knew it wasn’t good. X’s expression became grimmer by the second.
“I understand,” X said. “Yes. I’m sure. Do it.”
He grabbed Tessa’s hand, and before she could blink, she found herself standing in the circular foyer of a grand home.
She’d never
been to the Romans’ Hamptons estate before but she never would have mistaken it for anything else.
The statues completely gave it away. The twelve life-sized marble renditions of the main Roman deities lined each side of the foyer in two half circles. Jupiter and Juno flanked the wide doorway straight ahead. Beyond, she saw a palatial-looking sitting room.
She didn’t see any living being, though, and the panic started to eat at her. She turned her head, looking for another room, looking for Cal, but saw nothing. If she had to search the entire complex, she’d do it and face whatever consequences came.
“There you are.” Aurora stepped into the opening to the next room and Tessa felt the overwhelming urge to kiss her. “We have to hurry. Your human is getting the crap kicked out of him, Thesan, and I know you’d rather he wasn’t irreparably injured.”
Aurora held out her hand and Tessa willingly took it, allowing the other goddess to lead her and X deeper into the house. She barely noticed her surroundings, only that they were gaudy. Probably expensive as all hell because the Romans did everything to excess.
That had never been the Etruscan way. The Etruscans were more level-headed, less likely to fly off the handle. More compassionate.
The Romans had a mean streak a mile wide. And Cal had walked straight into their midst. For her.
“Here.” Aurora stopped by a door midway down a hallway. “Quickly. I can’t go in or Mercury will know I helped you. Don’t show any weakness, Thesan. Mercury will use it against you. And you can’t take X with you. It will just give Mercury more ammunition. Go. Now.”
“No,” X said. “Wait, Lady—”
Without any idea of the situation she was stepping into, Tessa grabbed the cut-glass door handles, noted the buzz of power running through the handles, and pushed through.
***
Cal was damn sure he was about to go down for the last time when the door to the room opened.
He’d put up a decent fight, but the winged messenger of the Roman gods fought dirty. And Mercury drew his power from the air around him, making him damn near impossible to beat down.
What a Goddess Wants Page 18
