From time to time, I did feel guilty for having such a good time with people who had destroyed my little family. But if that gloomy fortune I had gotten was right, then neither I nor the human race had much longer left anyway. What was the point in spending that little remaining time in self-imposed misery when happiness was right there waiting? Regardless of the anger and hurt, moments like these came all too seldom to be thrown away. If life was about anything, then it was about embracing the joy, and if I only had a few weeks left then that was a better way to spend them than embracing bitterness and recrimination.
Ricocheting between happiness and guilty self-loathing was becoming my default state, as I battled back and forth across the same territory over and again. Even I was becoming bored of hearing it. So I went with my gut. For better or worse, I felt happier around these guys than I had any men in my life - except for Remi, who was a brother, not a man. I like them and they like me. In fact, I was pretty sure that feelings on both sides went a bit further than that, and while I wasn't about to act on those feelings, I was going to enjoy them while I could.
It was late when, tired, sunburned and with uneasy stomachs filled with junk food, we headed for home, all wearing the exhausted smiles of a day well spent. It was only then that my mind turned to the other matter that was always undermining my happiness these days; the tasks. This frivolous and indulgent afternoon had been justified by the fact that we had completed yet another task - more than halfway through now. But we didn't actually have any confirmation of that yet, as the scroll still lay in Dolos's apartment for safe-keeping. As we wended our way back, the doubts began to assail me once more. Sure, Antonia had lured men to marital doom, and her singing voice could have made a monk forget his vows, but she was still just a woman in a silly costume. How far did Zeus's definition of siren stretch? I'd been playing pretty fast and loose with the wording of his tasks thus far, what if this was the one that broke the camel's back? It would be a grim ending to a fun day if we got back to find no new task. It would also make the afternoon a criminal waste of precious time.
But was happiness ever a waste of time?
I was pondering over these big questions and concerns when I heard a noise from behind me. New York has its share of stray dogs, even with the work of Animal Control, but they seldom get nasty because they are actually quite well fed - they live in one of the most wasteful cities in the world and can always Lady and the Tramp some spaghetti if they're feeling hungry. But the dog behind me now didn't look like a stray - it was well groomed, well fed and had a collar visible under its glossy coat. Nor did it look as agreeable as most of the stray dogs I'd encountered, which are always friendly on the off-chance you might have a biscuit on you. A low, rumbling growl reverberated from somewhere within the dog’s chest, arching its lips into a snarl.
"Nice doggie," said Nico, trying to calm it down. "Want a snack?"
He tossed half a sausage and a bun to the dog, which swung its head to knock the food aside and issued a series of sharp threatening barks.
"Look at its eyes," Alexei whispered.
As they caught the rising moonlight, I saw the dog's eyes glow red. I had seen that before in the wolves that had attacked us on the slopes of Mount Olympus.
"Look at their eyes," corrected Christoph.
From out of the shadows, more dogs slunk; a Great Dane, so big that children could have ridden it in a petting zoo; a terrier, small but no less frightening as it bared its sharp teeth; an Afghan, slim and elegant but with murder in its red eyes. More and more emerged, all, apparently, pets and wearing collars, all the sorts of dog you would happily stop to stroke if you met them, but all now possessed by some malign force controlling them.
My blood ran cold as I watched, my fingers tightly grasping the stuffed toy that Alexei had won for me earlier.
"Get ready," said Alexei, standing close to me.
"Ready for what?" I couldn't look at him, my eyes wouldn't leave the dogs, now circling us, preparing to attack.
"Ready to run.”
As Alexei spoke, the first dog sprang at me, jaws wide and slavering. Alexei pushed me to one side and caught the animal by the throat.
“Run, god damn it!” he yelled as the dog clawed at him viciously.
I didn't need telling twice. I took to my heels as fast as my legs would carry me, the sounds of the attacking dogs in my ears as the guys took them on. It wasn't just fear that made me run - although, I'll admit, that was a part of it - I was the last hope of the human race, if I died in an alley, victim of a dog attack, then humanity was doomed. It was important that I stay alive. And yet, as I sprinted away, my heart hammering in my ears, my mind remained resolutely with the guys. They were stronger than any men I had ever met, I knew they could fight and I knew they had magic of some sort - they would be fine.
Wouldn't they?
They could take care of themselves, but there had been a lot of dogs. And would whatever magic the guys possessed work on dogs, which were under some sort of spell themselves? What if the dogs just kept coming? There was no shortage of them in New York. Even Alexei, Nico and Christoph had their limits.
I couldn't leave them. And in the end, it wasn't because I feared for their safety - though I did - it was because that wasn't what you did to someone you cared about. My treacherous heart would not allow me to leave them. I had to know that they were okay. Perverse though it was, I genuinely cared more about them than about the fate of the human race. If something happened to any one of them, it would... it would break my heart. The thought brought me skidding to a halt. Yes, it was true, and there was no getting around it now. My heart had gotten involved and liking had turned to loving. I had probably known it already and just been trying to deny the reality to myself, but in times of stress, the truth will come out.
As fast as I had run away from the fight, I now ran back towards it faster. I could hear the sounds up ahead, the baying and growling, but I didn't slacken my pace. What could I do to help? Probably nothing. If the guys couldn't handle the dogs on their own, then it seemed unlikely I would be able to help. You can't grift a dog. But I had to be there. It wasn't a question, it was a fact.
As I rounded the corner of the alley and came face-to-face with the fight, it became instantly clear that there was one function I could perform. I could be a distraction. All the dogs stopped attacking the guys and turned to look at me. I was the one they had come for, their target, their prey. It wasn't the intervention that I had planned but it certainly did the trick. With the dogs’ attention diverted, the guys made a grab for their collars.
"Over here," called Alexei, who had found a length of chain link secured to a drainpipe and began to run the chain through the collars, securing the dogs. The others dragged their dogs over to add to the chain.
But one animal had escaped their notice. To my left, a big, red-eyed Alsatian burst out of a pile of cardboard boxes piled up in the alley, behind which it must have been hiding. On instinct, I lashed out with my stuffed toy, hitting it in the face, which seemed to surprise it more than doing any actual harm. The guys were still too busy wrestling with the other ten or so dogs to give me any help but I felt emboldened by their presence and made a grab for the animal's collar. It dodged my grasp and sprang up at me, I felt a sharp pain as claws scratched a path down my arm, one drawing blood.
Bravery was all very well, but there's a time when it's just foolhardy and I ran again, this time with the dog on my tail.
"Cat!" I heard Alexei yell after me. A dog chasing a Cat; you had to see the funny side.
Trying to lose the dog, I skidded into another alley as fast as my legs would allow and my heart leapt up into my mouth as I saw a wall ahead of me. Dead end. Literally, if the guys didn't come find me quickly. I spun about to face my pursuer and swung my stuffed toy at it again - the only offensive weapon I had. The dog snatched the toy from my grasp and tore it to shreds. I would have sworn that, as it looked at me, its blood-red eyes telegraphed the message; now
it's your turn. I tensed myself to fight.
And a net descended over the dog.
I looked up in shock to see a uniformed man, holding the now much-calmer dog in a large net of the sort dog catchers have in cartoons but which I would never have expected to see in real life.
"Thanks, Miss," said the man politely. "Been after this one awhile." Without another word, he walked away from me, taking the dog with him.
"There's more," I called after him. "That way."
The man said nothing, but looked back at me and touched his cap, before vanishing round the corner.
I rushed after him but at the end of the blind alley I saw nothing. The sound of running feet heralded the approach of Alexei and Christoph.
"Did you see him?" I asked.
"See who?"
"The dog catcher."
"Dog catcher?" Alexei frowned. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine.”
"You're bleeding."
"Well, it's not making me hallucinate dog catchers. Where's Nico? Perhaps he saw..."
"He's looking after the dogs. We can go ask him."
When we got back to the alley where all this had started, Nico looked up from what he was doing, which was petting the dogs.
"Check it out."
Their eyes were no longer red and they seemed as friendly a bunch as you could wish to find, sniffing around Nico's pockets and panting excitably as he ran his big hands over their fur.
"Let them go," said Alexei. "It's over."
"Did you see anyone come this way?" I asked urgently, as Nico released the dogs, which ran off in search of homes and owners.
Nico shook his head. "No. Should I have?"
"No." Alexei shook his head.
"You think I imagined it, don't you?" I snapped at him hotly.
"I don't think anything of the sort," said Alexei, kindly. "I think... Well, I'm not precisely sure what I think at this point, but after this and the truck driver the other night, I wonder if there is more than one god getting involved."
The thought hadn't occurred to me. "You mean, one for me and one against?"
"Just an idea."
"Maybe one who could help me?" I suggested, hopefully.
But Alexei shook his head. "Not with the tasks. They must be completed by a human. By you. If there is another god involved, then all they can do is counter the interference of the first. That's only fair."
I nodded. "You're sure there is a god trying to kill me?"
"I don't think there's much room for doubt at this point," said Alexei. "And if we're saying that a second god saved your life when you fell off the fire escape, then we must assume it was the first god who caused the fire escape to fall."
"Keeping things balanced." I understood. "So, the human race can be wiped out in a moment but only if it's all done fairly,” I said with a snort.
Alexei shrugged. "There have to be rules."
"Does that mean I'm sort of safe, then?” I asked, hopefully.
"Did any of that seem safe to you?"
"Not especially."
"Gods break rules," Alexei went on. "If they kill you then they will probably be in trouble with Zeus, but you'll still be dead and humanity will still be doomed. Just an act of god. Potentially, you have some divine protector, but that won't stop you from getting killed, it just makes it marginally less likely."
I asked the question that had plagued me since we had first learned a god was trying to stop me. "Could it be my father?"
But Alexei shook his head. "Dolos wants you to succeed and he is nothing if not self-serving."
I thought about this. "Doesn't make a difference. I'm seeing this through no matter what. That is; we are. If that's good with you guys."
I was met by three broad grins. "We wouldn't want to be anywhere else."
It had been my plan to check the scroll as soon as I got back to the apartment, but with a fresh cut on my arm and generally feeling a bit banged up, I decided it could wait until tomorrow. If I got bad news now it would only give me a sleepless night and would achieve nothing.
Christoph cleaned my wound and then closed his hand around it, squeezing firmly but gently.
"A bandage will be fine."
"Can a bandage do this?" He removed his hand and I gaped. The cut was gone. Of course, they had healed me before when I had been in the hospital, but it was so much more impressive in front of my eyes.
"You guys should be in Vegas."
I strolled back to my room, with a strange feeling in my stomach, which I struggled to put a name to. When I entered, I heard a noise from the bathroom and Nico came out, smiling shyly.
"I thought you might want a bath."
I peered in to see he had run the massive circular bath for me. The water steamed enticingly beneath a film of bubbles and smelled faintly of rose petals. It looked like the single most relaxing thing in the world.
"Thank you so much."
Nico smiled. "Enjoy."
He walked for the door and I felt my stomach lurch. That was the strange feeling; I didn't want to be alone. I had been afraid tonight. It wasn't the first time - fear was an occupational hazard - but this was different. Being the only hope of mankind was a lonely position.
"Nico?" He turned back and the words came out in a rush before I could stop them. “Maybe you could stay…”
Chapter 10
Still unsure of himself, Nico took a few faltering steps towards me. I held out a hand and his uncertainty evaporated in a beautiful, honest smile. He crossed the room lightly and quickly, and I was in his arms a moment later.
Just his touch made me feel better, the feel of his hands on my body letting me know I was not alone. His huge arms folded about me and I felt safe and secure, as well as loved. As his tongue slipped into my mouth, the only question in my mind was; why hadn't we done this before?
Somehow, our steps took us back into the bathroom, our lips never parting, but still managing to shed clothes as we went. Nico's shirt hit the floor and I ran my hands across the acreage of his muscular chest.
Moments later, wasting no time, we were in the water, still kissing. It was hot enough to take your breath away, scalding my skin to a flushed scarlet, and yet the heat between Nico and I seemed far greater. We had been so caught up in kissing that I still hadn't really had a chance to look at him. Now, I pushed away from him, relaxing back in the tub, sunken into the bathroom floor, to take in the sheer scale of him. All the guys were big, but Nico was a colossus. I doubted that he could have fit in a normal-sized bath without his legs and arms draping over the sides. In this outsized tub, he looked at home, as it accommodated the breadth of his shoulders, the length of his limbs, and that impossible expanse of chest that gleamed with water. I could tell from the look in his eyes that he was giving me a similar appraisal, and he seemed to like what he saw.
"By all the gods, you are so beautiful."
"I'm sure you say that to all the girls you bathe with."
My eyes strayed down to the surface of the water, where bubbles floated in rose-scented clumps. The water was deep, but not quite deep enough. They say that tall men are never “all in proportion”, but that clearly didn’t apply to Nico.
"Up periscope," I murmured as the head of his cock popped up through the water.
He grinned as I scooped up a handful of bubbles and deposited them on his straining member. Nico’s jaw flexed as he reached for the soap.
"Let me."
I wasn't sure what he meant at first but he was apparently following through on his initial goal to give me a relaxing bath. He lathered up his hands, then took my arm and soaped it thoroughly, first one, then the other. Turning me around, he soaped my back, the wash turning into a massage as his large, but surprisingly dexterous, fingers dug into my muscles, seeking out and chasing away every knot and ache. His hands slipped to my waist beneath the water and slowly worked their way back up, leaving me as limp and loose as a noodle.
"Nico..." I purred, too perfectly relax
ed to say anything else.
He reached for the soap again and, still with my back to him, he reached around to soap my belly and breasts, not missing a spot, touching every part of me. And every part of me wanted that touch that seemed to make everything alright.
Hoisting my legs, one by one from the water, he lathered me from toe to thigh, strong fingers once again kneading my muscles till they were blissfully limber. There wasn't a tense muscle left in my body, save the hot knot of desire cradled in my loins, and it would take more than a massage to relieve that.
Abandoning the soap, Nico reached for the shampoo, nestling me between his spread legs. As he began to wash my hair, I could feel his rod up against me, hard as iron, desperate for release, and yet here he was, washing my hair. With gentle hands, Nico guided me down so I was lying back between his legs, the shampoo dispersing from my hair as it floated around his massive erection.
I'd had sex in the bath a few times and in the shower more than a few. But it had only ever seemed like a novel place to have sex - an alternative to the bed rather than something different or special. Certainly, I'd never had a man treat me as Nico did, turning the washing of my body into the most sensual foreplay I had ever experienced. It was simultaneously relaxing and frustrating, draining away all my tension and driving me crazy with desire.
I sat up from the water, my wet hair streamed down my back.
"You like that?" asked Nico.
"You haven't washed me everywhere yet."
He reached for the soap again. "Stand up."
I did as I was told, cascading bubbles as I stood before him, my most private area inches from his face. I heard him catch his breath and allowed myself a moment of quiet satisfaction.
"Turn around,” he muttered, his voice gritty.
I turned, and seconds later, it was my turn to catch my breath as Nico's hands closed on my ass cheeks. He massaged my buns firmly so flesh squeezed between his strong fingers. I squealed as a trespassing digit traversed the length of my ass crack, and then clutched at my breasts in frustration as, achingly thoroughly, he soaped every nook and cranny.
Her Immortal Harem Book Two Page 7
