Mortal Seductions

by Allyson James

  “Well, you were mistaken. It wasn’t me.”

  “No mistake.” Leon went to her and put his finger under her chin. Her eyes softened, and he wanted to dip his finger inside her red, moist mouth. “It was you, chere.”

  She shook her head and stepped back. “It couldn’t have been, Leon. If it was dark, and you couldn’t see, you can’t be sure.”

  “I have the night vision of a cat,” Leon said. “So does Demitri, I’m guessing. It was you, darlin’, unless you have an identical twin.” He ran his gaze over her body. “Really identical.”

  “Well, I don’t.” Val started to say something more, then she stopped, and her eyes widened. “A twin. Oh, no, that can’t happen, can it? It isn’t possible.”

  “What isn’t possible?”

  Demitri looked grim. “Valenarian has been coming out to play.”

  Before Leon could ask what the hell that meant, Val put her hands to her face. “No, Demitri. No, I swear it.”

  Leon stepped between them. “Do you mind telling me what you two are talking about?”

  Val’s eyes flooded with tears. “Valenarian, the destroyer.”

  “The what?”

  “I swear to you, Demitri, I didn’t do it on purpose,” she said. “I remember nothing but leaving and going to my room.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Demitri said. “Whether you remember or not, the demon is getting loose, and Aphrodite is right. You know what has to happen.”

  “Stop.” Leon glared at them. “Tell me, in plain English, what’s going on.”

  Tears streaked Val’s cheeks. “The punishment for what I’ve done is death. Demitri is right. She has to be stopped.”

  She bowed her head, all hope in her eyes gone. Leon stepped in front of her. “Like hell,” he said.

  “There’s nothing we can do,” Demitri countered.

  “You said you two used to be lovers,” Leon said in anger. “Does that mean you cared about her?”

  Val looked at Demitri almost fearfully. “He hated me. He did what he had to do in order to imprison me.”

  “Not exactly,” Demitri said.

  “What does that mean?” Leon asked. He felt like he did when he was trying to get two of his brothers to make up after an argument.

  Demitri’s eyes darkened. “I fell in love with her.”

  “You gave me to Aphrodite.”

  “I had to. I promised I’d help her, and you were out of control. You had to be stopped.”

  “Like now.”

  Demitri inclined his head.

  Leon growled. “So, what, you’re just going to turn her in again?”

  “I have to,” Demitri said in a hard voice.

  “No, you don’t. I don’t see Aphrodite hanging around here. How’s she going to know if you don’t tell her?”

  “Leon.” Val’s voice was soft. “She’ll discover it. I’m tied to her. She already knows and will come for me.”

  “Not if we help you. What’s wrong with you, Demitri? If you loved Val, if you still love her, give her another chance. I’ll go to my brother’s dig and never touch her again.” Another pang of regret.

  “I helped Aphrodite because she has a hold on me,” Demitri said. “A big one. She kept my father from destroying me when I finally left my mother’s people. He viewed me as an abomination and spared me only after Aphrodite’s intervention. I vowed I’d help her in return.”

  “Vows,” Val said sadly. “They make life difficult.”

  “I don’t believe you two,” Leon broke in. “You’re going to turn her in, and you’re going to let him?”

  “We don’t have much choice,” Val said. “And if Val is coming out to play, as Demitri said, she has to be stopped. Even if it means I have to die.”

  4

  LEON looked furious, but Val couldn’t explain. Demitri understood. Demons and demigods didn’t die like mortals, but the gods could kill one on a whim. Or they could eradicate a demon who was a threat to humankind, like they wanted to with Valenarian.

  “We’ll go to Luxor Temple,” Demitri said. “Leon has to go to Thebes anyway—we can travel together on my plane. We’ll make supplication to Aphrodite there.” He looked at Leon. “You will be a witness.”

  “Like hell I will.”

  “You have no choice,” Demitri said in a hard voice. “Pack your things. We leave this afternoon.”

  IN the end, Demitri had his way. Val knew he would. Demitri might put on a show of being a civilized businessman, integrated with the mortal population of the world, but he was still a demigod who liked to have control of things. He wasn’t above using his powers, not to mention brute force, to get what he wanted.

  Leon didn’t exactly give in. Val could tell Demitri was surprised at his resistance, but Leon said forcefully that the only reason he was going along was to make sure Val was all right.

  Demitri took the copilot’s seat next to his pilot, which left Val and Leon uncomfortable on opposite sides of the cabin. Val glanced over at Leon, who was staring out the window, his duffel bag planted firmly on the seat next to him. Leon was harsher looking than Demitri, with sandy brown hair just growing out from a close cut, his green eyes slanted in an exotic way. He wasn’t as tall as Demitri, but he was built, solid, as she’d observed before.

  When Leon had poured out his heart last night, Val had found a man of honor who loved his family and missed them. He felt he could best help them by getting out from underfoot and finding something constructive to do. She guessed that when he found a way to make money, he’d send most of it back to his family.

  When Leon had kissed her, Val had almost given in. Almost. His lips had been silken soft, warm, comforting and exciting at the same time. It had taken all her strength to get up, walk out, go to her room, and stay there.

  Except she hadn’t stayed there, if Leon and Demitri were telling the truth. Valenarian had gotten a taste of Leon and decided she wanted more, much more.

  Val’s heart constricted. Valenarian could have killed Leon or hurt him irreparably. There was a reason Aphrodite didn’t want the demon loose in the world. Val didn’t necessarily want to die, but she feared the loss of control over Valenarian even more.

  Val also regretted that she didn’t remember sex with Leon. He probably made love like the wild animal she sensed inside him. He was a lot like the Demitri she’d fallen in love with long ago. Demitri of today didn’t like her, didn’t want her here. She saw that every time he looked at her.

  Like now. Demitri gazed at her around his seat, his eyes yellow with his tiger’s anger. Valerie didn’t flinch, meeting his stare until he turned away.

  The Nile unrolled beneath the plane, the wide strip of blue and the deep green of cultivation contrasting starkly with the yellow white desert beyond. They flew over cliffs where nothing grew, the winter sky overhead bright, almost painfully blue. Settlements clumped along the river, growing more dense around the city of Luxor. Luxor was the tourist mecca for those who wanted a glimpse of Ancient Egypt—the mighty temples of Karnak and Luxor, the Valley of Kings, Tutankhamun’s tomb, the Ramesseum, and other wonders. Here somewhere, Val thought as they landed at the airport east of town, was the woman Leon was meant to be with.

  Demitri’s friend who had set up Leon to stay in Demitri’s hotel owned a hotel himself in the heart of Luxor. It was another boutique hotel situated near the mighty Old Winter Palace, and had been housing tourists in Luxor for more than a hundred years. Demitri hired a car to take them there, the driver navigating around everything from tour buses to farmer’s carts to a string of donkeys.

  Val expected Leon to shoulder his duffel bag and be off across the river to find his brother as soon as they stopped, but he silently followed them into the hotel. Demitri’s friend Karim was an Egyptian, not a supernatural. Val knew right away that he was an ordinary human being—simply a man in a buff-colored suit with an affable smile. His well-dressed, pretty receptionist gave them keys to three rooms on the same floor and sent for someone
to help with the luggage.

  Not long after, Val was unpacking when Demitri entered her room, followed by Leon.

  “What are you going to do now?” Leon demanded as he closed the door behind them.

  “We wait,” Demitri said. “As soon as the moon is full, we take Val to Luxor Temple and see what Aphrodite wants to do.”

  “Can I point out that this is Egypt? Why does a Greek goddess have a temple here?”

  “She doesn’t.” Val sat on the end of her bed and rested her weight on her hands behind her. “But there are certain sacred spaces in the world that all pantheons honor. One is here in Luxor Temple. If I make supplication, Aphrodite will answer.”

  “I still say we don’t tell her,” Leon said. “It happened once, and it won’t happen again.”

  Val felt his gaze linger on her body, and she realized her position thrust her breasts out provocatively. Demitri was looking at her, too, and she sensed his pheromones from across the room.

  Her own desires started to stir. Having two gorgeous, hard-bodied men looking at her on the foot of the bed was making her warm. Her nipples started to tighten, her skin to tingle.

  “Stop that,” she said.

  Demitri raised his brows. “Stop what?”

  “Both of you stop looking at me like you want to lick me all over.” Her heart beat faster as she suddenly pictured herself stark naked with both their tongues lapping her body. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

  Leon’s eyes had gone greenish yellow, and Demitri shifted his stance. Their thoughts were moving along similar lines, she could tell. Whether each man included the other in the fantasy, she didn’t know, but she suddenly hoped they did. Licking her, then she licking them back, maybe all three of them licking one another.

  She fanned her face with her hand. “Is it getting hot in here?”

  Leon reddened. “Maybe we should go for a walk.”

  Val jumped to her feet. “Excellent idea. Luxor is beautiful, and the weather is just right today.”

  “Perhaps we should go to Thebes instead,” Demitri suggested. “Find his brother.”

  “The west bank is nice, too,” Val said. “We could look at some of the tombs.” Tomb paintings and dry lectures from archaeologists should take her mind off things.

  They decided on the west valley, and Demitri’s hired car and driver took them there over the bridge south of town. Val sat in the front next to the driver, her body still humming from her brief fantasy. In the back, Leon and Demitri remained quiet.

  Leon’s brother Remy was working in a remote area of the Valley of the Queens, nowhere near the tombs of the famous pharaohs: Tut, Seti, Tuthmosis. Remy and his team lived in a house near the base of steep cliffs near the entrance to the valley, a few miles from the cluster of hotels that lined the road. The Egyptian couple who kept house for the archaeological team told them that Remy had gone to his excavation, about a fifteen-minute walk. The three of them followed the path to the base of the cliffs, where people swarmed determinedly over the ground or gathered under awnings to pore over bits of stone. They found Remy in the largest of the open-air tents.

  Remy Dupree looked much like his older brother, though his hair was a little longer and a little more bleached by the sun. His eyes were the same shade of green, and Val felt a whiff of the supernatural on him. He was a shifter, too.

  There were differences, however. Remy was deeply tanned from spending all day outdoors, and he seemed more lighthearted, more prone to smiling and laughing. His eyes weren’t haunted like Leon’s, but then Remy hadn’t seen war and brutal death like Leon had. Leon had spared Remy that by working hard and sending Remy to school, where he could bury himself studying the past. The realization made Val want to stand a little closer to Leon, to feel his warmth.

  “We’re working on the tomb of a prince,” Remy said after he’d given Leon a bear hug and been introduced to Val and Demitri. “A pharaoh’s son who didn’t live to become king. The tomb was robbed eons ago, of course, but there are plenty of scraps left to thrill an anal archaeologist.” He laughed a hearty, booming laugh, and Leon softened enough to grin at him.

  “Look around if you want,” Remy said. “I have a lot to do before dinner, and then we can talk. As long as you stay out of the marked off areas, you’ll be fine. We have a cooler full of water and sodas if you need them.”

  He breezed off, his feet crunching on the hard-packed earth.

  Val adjusted her scarf over her head and stepped out from under the awning, her sunglasses cutting the worst of the glare. The sky blazed bright blue, and sun shone on the white- and dun-colored cliffs. Demitri walked purposefully toward the excavation, speaking in easy Arabic to the Egyptians working there.

  “He says we can go into this one,” Demitri said after talking to a man standing by one of the dark openings that no one showed much interest in. “He says they’ve finished in there and uncovered good paintings. He thinks we’re tourists.”

  “We are.” Val ducked into the shadow of the tomb, happy to be out of the sun. She slipped off her sunglasses. “At least I am. I haven’t been to Egypt in centuries.”

  “Centuries?” Leon’s surprised voice fell flat against the narrow passage.

  “The last time I was here was in the time of the Romans. Cleopatra was touring the ancient monuments, showing off her interest in Egypt’s great past. I tried to warn her not to pit herself against Octavian, but she wouldn’t listen.”

  “Did you have a hand in that debacle?” Demitri was farther down the passage, heading for the dark opening at the bottom. A string of electric lights hung above them, burning a steady path.

  “Of course not. I was there to help one of Cleopatra’s maids, who was able to slip away from the chaos and marry the soldier who loved her. She lived happily ever after.”

  Valerie felt the weight of Leon’s stare. He gazed at her then Demitri beyond her, his expression fierce.

  Demitri made it to the bottom of the passage, stepped into the dark room beyond, and flicked on a light there. Val heard him swear, and she hurried to join him. Leon ducked in behind her.

  “Shit,” Leon echoed.

  The chamber was covered with pictures. Hidden in the earth for thousands of years, the colors were fresh and clean, unworn by wind and weather. Red, green, gold, and silver paint covered the walls and ceiling, the images orderly and even. What had made Demitri swear was that every scene was an erotic one.

  Osiris impregnated Isis; gods strode across the wall with huge, erect phalluses. Smaller humans copulated across the next level of the wall, fertility being the theme of the entire sequence.

  “I don’t think this will cool us off,” Valerie said.

  “Why not?” Leon put his hands on his hips and studied the paintings. “It’s not really porn, is it? That one is impossible.” He pointed to a woman standing on her head with her legs wide open, two men with incredibly long penises spilling seed into her vagina.

  “Exaggerated, maybe,” Demitri rumbled. “The theory is possible.” Both men looked at Valerie, and she flushed.

  “Stop thinking about it,” she admonished them. “You’re supposed to be keeping Valenarian away, not figuring out how to share her.” Her cleft began to ache. “We have to keep her quiet.”

  “That is so,” Demitri said.

  She could see that he was erect, no matter that he tried to turn and hide it. She imagined his long cock, nice and hard for her, his balls warm against it. Leon’s hard-on was more noticeable, his tight jeans outlining his crotch.

  Mmm, let me stand between them and put my hands on both of those fine phalluses.

  Val felt the raw lust of the demon stir inside her, and she clenched her fists. “It’s all right for you,” she babbled. “If you two need to be sated, you have each other. In fact, you probably should take each other so you’ll stop looking at me like you want to drag me down to the ground.”

  Silence. Val looked up to find Demitri and Leon both staring at her like she’d lost her
mind.

  “I’m not gay,” Leon said, and at the same time, Demitri said, “He’s mortal.”

  “He’s not quite mortal,” Val said. “I’m not sure what exactly he is, but there’s magic in a shifter.”

  Demitri didn’t look convinced. Leon, on the other hand, had gone red. “I don’t do it with guys. If other guys want to . . . do that, they can, as long as it doesn’t involve me.”

  Val shook his head. “Demitri’s not a man. He’s a demigod. They don’t have the same rules as human beings.”

  “So I should have sex with him? You got to be kidding me.”

  She turned away. “We’re in an uncomfortable situation, which is my fault. At least you two would be able to release. No need to keep it bottled up.”

  Leon’s glare could have started fires. “No.”

  Val nodded, pretending to take his word for it. She noticed, though, that his erection hadn’t gone down.

  “Are we finished with ancient erotica?” Demitri asked. “No wonder that old man was laughing when he sent us down here.”

  “I’m done,” Leon said curtly.

  “The paintings are so beautiful.” Val tilted her head back to take in the entire room. “It’s like no time has passed at all.”

  Leon gave the pictures another brief look then headed for the door. He ducked out and was gone, but Demitri stayed, watching Val with a strange look on his face.

  She smiled at him. “We look the same, too. Like no time has passed since we last said good-bye.”

  Demitri’s eyes softened. “I regretted what I had to do.” He tucked a lock of hair under her scarf, his fingers warm. “You will never know how much I regretted it.”

  His touch was strong. Val still remembered everything they did together three thousand years ago, every word shared, every look, every kiss. Even with the demon suppressed, her memories of Demitri were fresh.

  Valenarian had loved him. She’d loved how the sun had touched his naked body, how his muscles had moved when he’d taken her into his arms. His lips had been pure delight to kiss, to lick, to nibble.