by Tamara Gill
The deep, gravelly sound of his voice almost made her melt on the spot. What’s more, she knew with every fibre of her being that he meant what he said.
“Thanks. You too, except not beautiful, but handsome.” She grinned, oddly embarrassed to be babbling like a fool.
He smiled and her heart melted. Oh dear god, she was doomed to spend the night fawning over a man who was probably only being nice to the plain old Sara, the farmer girl, because she supplied a roof over his head.
She pushed away the negative thoughts and allowed him to open her door. She slipped onto the truck seat and waited for Hermes to get in.
She sat there while he got in and waited for him to start the engine. When he didn’t, she turned to face him and found him staring at the wheel. “Is there something wrong? Did you forget something in the barn?”
“No.” He sighed, looking pained. “I don’t know how to drive.”
Sara laughed at his sheepish grin. “You don’t know how to drive? How did you survive? I’d be lost without my truck.”
“I’ve just never had the need to, I suppose.”
“So, you came from a city. Why did you leave for a place that has no public transport?”
Sara showed him where to put the key in the ignition and how to turn it on. The truck roared to life and she stifled a chuckle when he jumped. “Too crowded and noisy. I prefer this type of life.”
Sara couldn’t disagree with his sentiments and yet, it was odd for a man to just up and leave his home, walk apparently out into the country and start living in someone else’s house. “Where is your home, Hermes? I’ll drive you back there if that’s what you want.”
“I don’t have a home at present, other than your stable. That part of my life is over. I’m a hard-working country man now.”
Sara laughed and for the first time since she’d known him, Hermes did too. He had the most beautiful smile and eyes that seemed to glow when he was enjoying himself. Handsome didn’t even come close to how delectable he looked. She watched him for a moment, caught up in the beauty that was him.
Her heartbeat picked up when he caught her gaze and held it. Her body wanted to slip across the seat, clasp his stubbled jaw and kiss him. And if she was any judge of character, she felt that was exactly what he wanted her to do, too.
Today, sitting in the truck with him had been hell. She’d never believed sexual tension between two people could be so consuming, but they had it. Oh yes, they had it in droves.
Sara gestured toward the steering wheel. “The truck’s an automatic, so pull the lever to D and slowly press your foot on the right peddle to accelerate. The other one is the brake, but just take off slowly; I don’t need whiplash before a party.”
He concentrated on what she’d told him and slowly, the truck pulled away from the house and travelled up the gravel drive. Sara gave directions and it was only fifteen minutes later when they made it to their destination.
Her neighbor Abe’s barn was lit up like a Christmas tree, and trucks sat parked in neat rows in one of his paddocks. “For a first time driver, you’ve done really well.”
He smiled, but didn’t say anything. A moment later, he opened her door and helped her out.
“Thank you.”
Hermes made a pained noise and pushed her against the truck, his hand, hard against her hip, pinning her to the vehicle. Sara met his gaze and all the breath in her lungs expelled. Something wild and untamed lurked in the golden brown depths. What’s more, she liked what she saw.
“What are you doing?” He watched her, his gaze intense and beyond hot.
“I’m not going to deny, that right at this moment, there is nothing in the world I want to do more than kiss you. I’ve wanted to kiss the shit out of you all day,” he said.
Music hummed in the background along with voices and laughter, but this was no laughing matter. All Sara could think of was what he would taste like. He smelt of soap, clean and fresh, of maleness and sex. Hot sex against an old truck. Cold steel against her back and hot, muscular man to her front. Somehow, she knew he would be as delectable as melted chocolate on a delicious strawberry.
Oh yes, she wanted some of that.
Sara tested his grip and found it steadfast. “Then why haven’t you?” Her voice sounded breathless. Needy. For crying out loud, why hadn’t he kissed her yet?
A ruckus sounded behind them and someone called out Sara’s name. He stepped back and she missed his heat immediately. “I will. That I promise you.”
She could only imagine, in the nicest possible way, what she would feel like after had he’d kissed her. Like a woman on the verge of experiencing some really hot man’s love. A man’s love without any strings attached or emotional ties.
He pulled her toward the barn and her legs felt like jelly. “I hope you’re a good dancer, Hermes?”
“I guess you’ll find out soon enough.”
***
Hermes watched Sara do some kind of line dance with a group of people of various ages. He hadn’t expected to enjoy himself at such a basic and somewhat crass outing and yet he was doing exactly that. In fact, he’d never had as much fun at any other time in his long life as far as he could remember.
The people were friendly. Women looked at him, but didn’t try their wiles to gain his attention. They respected Sara and the fact that she’d brought him. The goddesses on Mount Olympus would see such a showing as a challenge. The females of his kind had no shame. Anyone who was open to a tryst, promised to another or not, seduced without guilt or restraint. Even Hermes had partaken in such affairs.
Much to his chagrin now. The actions of his past weren’t something of which he was proud.
But Sara was different. He doubted she would allow sharing whoever entered her bed. And should he ever be lucky enough to sample the beautiful woman who outshone all who’d come before her, he’d certainly not allow anyone near her again.
“Well, she’s just the sweetest little dolly I’ve ever seen you play with.”
A chill ran down Hermes’ spine at the cold and calculating voice that whispered against his ear. “What do you want, Hera?”
“Now, is that any way to treat the goddess who holds your life in the palm of her hand? Come now, Hermes. Do not be foolish.” Her talon-like fingers wrapped about his knee and squeezed.
He shook off her touch. “You and my betraying sister set me up. Used me to get at Zeus for whatever vain reason you had at the time. You’re my father’s wife, a goddess I would never touch, so I suggest you go and find another god to seduce. It’ll not be me.”
“You’re no fun since you left Mount Olympus. I’ve been watching you slaving away for the human girl. Why, you’re practically salivating at her feet. She’ll have you worshipping the ground she walks on next.”
Hermes knew he would do exactly that if Sara asked. The feelings she evoked in him were something new, unknown and yet strangely liberating. “Go and trifle with someone else’s life, Hera. My association with you is finished.”
She laughed, a seductive sound that pulled gods and men like moths to a flame. To Hermes, the sound grated on his nerves and he wanted only to get away from it.
“You’re a fool. As an elder, I decide your fate. Why, I only need to lift my hand and I could wipe all these pathetic people from the face of this realm.”
“You’ll do no such thing or you’ll have Zeus to deal with.” Hermes caught Sara’s troubled gaze and he wanted to go to her, clasp her in his arms and let her know that the woman beside him was of no consequence. She was beautiful, yes, but that beauty was a thin veneer that hid a toxic, rotten core.
“You want to have her, that’s what this is all about. Well you had better start soon. The human’s life expectancy is short. A blink of an eye in our world.”
Hermes stood and finished his beer. “What I do with her is none of your business. Furthermore, I think you forget that I’ve been banished from Mount Olympus and all my powers have been stripped of me, save a few th
at are of no consequence. I’m trying to make the best of what I’ve found to be a very bad situation. And that girl out there is the only one who’s ever looked at me as an equal. Not as a god, or someone who could give her whatever she dreamed. No. She talks to me, likes me for me, not for who I am or who my father is.”
Hera’s face mottled in anger and Hermes wondered what gods found attractive about this goddess. “We are not finished yet, Hermes. Zeus believes we had a tryst. You need to beg forgiveness before he’ll allow me back into his court. His pride will not allow anything less. I’ll not be seen publicly as a liar, even if I am one.” She grinned. “You understand? I would so hate for anything to happen to your future conquest.”
Hermes took all of a second to decide what he wanted. “I think not. I will not admit to something which I have not done. Zeus is the most powerful god in existence. The fact that you started a fight with him is not my problem. You can fight your own battles.”
“We will talk another time. For now, I must mingle.”
Hermes glared back at her. “Don’t do anything that would spike my temper, Hera, or you’ll rue the day.”
She waved over her shoulder. “I’m too old for warnings, Hermes. That time passed long ago.”
Sara sat on a bale of hay and tried not to watch Hermes talk to the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen. Other than that woman she’d seen before in New York, at least. He too sat on hay bales before an old truck that looked to have been parked in the barn a hundred years before, the ease of his stance going against the tension she could read in his features.
Whoever she was he’d spoken to, he wasn’t in any way fond of her, that was certain. If anything, he looked like he couldn’t hate someone more.
Sara narrowed her gaze. Why would that be? She was mystified. This woman was stunning, someone who Sara could easily picture with a man like Hermes. Money married money. Beauty ended up with beauty and all that shitty stuff. Women like herself just didn’t stand a chance against sirens.
“Who’s your guy? He’s dreamy.” Her neighbor’s daughter, Michelle came to stand beside her.
Sara averted her gaze when Hermes looked their way. “He’s my farmhand, not my guy at all.” She took a sip of beer and tried to concentrate on the other people, who were intoxicated enough to keep dancing.
“I wish our farmhands looked like that. I might come home from college more often.”
Sara laughed, but continued to surreptitiously watch. The woman had stopped talking to Hermes and had started to head her way. Sara’s stomach rolled with nerves, not knowing who the woman was or what she wanted. A few of the guests stood back in awe, watching the woman before she came to stand before Sara. Her features were sharp, catlike even and left her feeling like she’d not bothered with her appearance at all.
“Sara, isn’t it?” The woman looked her over, the condescension easy to see. “I thought I should meet you myself since we’re both friends of Hermes. And as you’re having a tryst with him, I have no doubt we’ll meet again.”
Sara heard Michelle gasp and she fought inwardly not to give this rude intruder a well-deserved set down. “I’m not having a relationship with him. He works for me. He’s my farmhand.”
Hera laughed and the menacing sound spiked fear throughout Sara’s body. There was something not quite right about the woman. Unbalanced mentally perhaps, but also, a power seemed to emanate from her. How, Sara couldn’t fathom, but something was scary… This woman was trouble with a capital T and not a problem Sara had time to deal with. Now or ever.
“I cannot fathom as to what draws him to you, but be warned. I always get what I want and Hermes owes me. You don’t know you’re playing fire with, my dearest little mortal. Heed my warning, or pay the price.”
Sara felt the urge to step back, but held her ground. She wouldn’t cower to this cow. “I don’t take well to being told what to do, especially at my age. And having never seen you before, I doubt you were invited here. I think you should leave.” Sara noted Hermes striding purposefully toward them.
Sara watched as the woman’s nostrils flared. But how dare she tell her who she could and couldn’t be with. Not that Sara wanted anything to do with Hermes other than maybe a good lay, but still, this woman didn’t know that.
“You do not want to spike my temper any further. Use him for your pitiful farm and that is all. He is not for you.”
Sara pushed past her just as Hermes came up to them. His face looked thunderous, daunting. His chest heaved and he’d never looked more alluring than he did right at that moment. Her knight in shining armour, coming to save her from the wicked witch. Maybe it was the alcohol or being told to keep away from him, but neither one wouldn’t stop her from doing what she was about to do.
What she’d wanted to do from the very first time she’d seen him.
Running her hands up his chest she shivered at the hardened contours of his abdomen and his eyes flared. Oh yes, he did feel nice and she wanted to do a lot more than touch him. He was a forbidden fantasy come true. Sara clasped his nape and his gaze darkened with need, a need that matched hers. Sara stood on tiptoe and kissed him.
The softest lips meshed with hers and she was lost.
His arm came around her back and he pulled her hard up against his body. She moaned into his mouth, the flick of his tongue against hers, spiking her lust.
Within moments, she lost all control of the embrace. His other hand clasped her nape and angled her face to deepen the kiss. Not that she thought they could get any closer than they already were, but somehow, Hermes managed it.
Catcalls sounded from the other guests and she ignored them. Her body turned to mush and all she wanted to do was make love to him. Even in front of all these people, she didn’t care. Hot didn’t even come close to what was happening in her panties.
He nipped her bottom lip, pulled back and grinned. “You told her.”
Sara looked over her shoulder and didn’t see the woman any longer. No one told her what to do and no one threatened her. “I guess I did.”
Pride and something that felt a little like gumption filled her soul. She’d allowed Trevor to walk all over her, embarrass and cheat on her. No longer would she allow others to dictate her life. From now on, if she wanted to travel, she’d go. If she wanted something, she’d have it. And she wanted Hermes. Bad.
Chapter Six
The pain in her skull thumped like a drum and Sara was sure, should she bother to look in the mirror, that her eyes would be bloodshot. She turned on the shower and fought the urge to be sick. Last night, after their kiss, the party had blurred in her memory.
How much alcohol had she consumed? Another roll within her belly notified her that it had been rather a lot. The shower outwardly made her look human, but inside, she was a mess. The smell of coffee wafted up the stairs and she smiled. Hermes must have made a pot.
She dressed quickly and made her way downstairs. He sat at the table, coffee in hand and an old newspaper, probably months out of date, laid out before him.
“How are you this morning?”
His deep voice dispelled some of her illness, and yet the noise of it made her vision blur. “Not very well, but I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that. You can probably see for yourself.”
She sat at the table and then remembered she wanted a coffee. She quickly got up and poured one, before slumping back into the kitchen chair.
“You were very drunk last night. It was amusing.”
Sara cringed. “I’m glad you think so. I didn’t embarrass myself, did I?” God, she hoped she hadn’t danced on her own like she had a tendency to do when inebriated. Not to mention the fact that she usually became flirty and frank. Oh god, sometimes a bit too frank. At least when she was sober her mouth had a filter.
“Not at all. What sort of date would I have been if I’d allowed that?”
“In my case, a fairly normal one. Thank you for getting me home safely.”
“You’re very welcome.”
Their gazes held and for the life of her could Sara couldn’t look away. She realized, in an instant, that he wanted her. Wanted her as much as she wanted him.
Her body hummed and the air between them sizzled. His attention strayed from her eyes to her lips and she swallowed, trying to stop herself from licking them.
“Do you remember what else happened last night?”
Sara remembered the earlier part of the night. How could she forget? Kissing Hermes wasn’t something she’d forget in a very long time. Heat bloomed on her cheeks. “Bits of it,” she said, taking a good sip of coffee and feeling the caffeine pour through her veins like a drug.
“Bits of it?” He threw her that sexy grin that did delicious things to her core. “Do you remember kissing me?”
Sara sucked in a calming breath, not having expected him to discuss their encounter so openly. Weren’t men supposed to be slick and twist conversations around so the woman was the one bringing up the uncomfortable stuff?
He was the most unconventional man she’d ever met.
“I do.” She laughed to try and dispel some of the sexual energy clogging the air. “I’m sorry I used you in that way, but that woman had it coming to her. Did I tell you she was very adamant that I should keep away from you? She was almost to the point of scary. I think she’s a little obsessed with you.”
“There is nothing between us, but should you see her again without me around, please don’t do anything to raise her ire. She’s not stable, Sara.”
Sara started at his words. Words he meant, if his serious expression was any indication. “Will she really hurt me?”
“Possibly. I’m sorry to have brought you into my messy life. I didn’t think I would see her again. Ever.”
“Is that why you left your home? Because of her?”
He sat back and folded up the paper. Sara had the feeling he was taking his time in answering her question, although she couldn’t fathom why. It wasn’t a hard query to begin with unless he was hiding something. He was stalling.
“Partly. Her husband caught me with her. She used me as a means to get at her spouse, to make him jealous. We never did anything together, it was wholly innocent on my part anyway. I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’ll regret that mistake for eternity. You cannot trust her under any circumstance.”
