“Is there anything else I can help you with, ma’am?” Nate, her part timer shuffled in, the scent of pine trees and the musky scent of something suspiciously like pot clinging to his clothes.
“You set the trees up for tomorrow?”
“Sure did.” He nodded, his long hair almost covering his eyes.
“Wonderful. Then I’ll see you on Tuesday.”
He barely waved an acknowledgement past shoving his earbuds into his ears and he was out the door, the chime sounding once more as he made his exit.
“Podcasts.” She sighed. No one listened to music anymore. It was all about the new radio personalities.
She should talk. Her newly found fascination with the My Favorite Murder podcast had taken over her drive home for over a month now and she was nowhere near caught up with the hundreds of episodes.
It was crazy what people did to each other. And she had seen a few things in the thousands of years she’d spent on earth. But she’d never been as happy as she was here in this garden shop with Persephone. No hoity toity palaces and social functions. It was just her and her daughter.
And her absurd collection of polar bears.
Demi tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear and turned back to the repotting project. If she hurried, she could get home in time to put her feet up, make some hot tea, and settle in with a good book.
Fingers deep in the dirt, Demi tried to shake the gloom that had been hounding at her all day.
She missed her daughter.
The door chime jingled and Demi smothered an oath, visions of murderers from the podcast creeping in. She should have locked the damned thing.
“Sorry. But we’re closed.”
“I know.” The twinkling voice startled her and she turned around to find her best friend, Rhoda, standing there holding a pomegranate, of all things.
To most people, it was just a fruit with some cute commercials. To her, it was the symbol of everything she’d lost.
Three fucking seeds and her life was over.
“Hey.” Demi brushed past her, flipping the sign on the door from open to closed. She locked the door with a click and brushed her dirty hands together.
“I thought you might need a night out, so I decided to drop by.”
“Really? With that?” Demi smacked the pomegranate out of Rhoda's hand and onto the floor with a thud.
A dull throb from the headache she’d been fighting all day thrummed through her head.
“Wow. That wasn't bitchy at all.” Rhoda narrowed her eyes and scooped the fruit off the concrete floor. “We’re going to need that you know.”
“For what?”
Rhoda sighed. “You haven’t even let me explain.”
What was there to say? Her daughter was literally in Hell and there wasn’t a damned thing she could do about it.
Nothing.
And the dormant goddess in her wanted to scream and tear down mountains if it would do any good.
“So, you brought that thing to shove in my face?”
All it did was remind Demi that her daughter was in the arms of that asshole, Hades. She didn’t need any reminders about that that. Not. Any.
“I’m trying to help, here.”
“What, Aphrodite? She’s already picked the worst possible man? I don’t think there’s much that can be done now.”
Her friend narrowed her eyes. “It’s Rhoda. Or I start calling you Demeter again, got it?”
Ugh.
Demeter made her sound like somebody’s mother in a tacky lounge toga.
“Fine.”
“Thank you.”
Demi sighed. She supposed a good many mothers-in-law didn’t much care for their daughter’s choice in a husband. But she had to draw the line at abduction. Hell, falling in love with the jerk had probably been that syndrome where you sympathize with your captor and go head over heels for him.
She’d raised her daughter to be a strong, independent woman in a world that often still didn’t offer women as many chances as men…and look where she ended up. Married to the worst possible male she could think of.
Sucking in a breath, Demi tried to shake off the anger. She had a life and her having a complete mental breakdown wasn’t going to help in the slightest.
“Can’t we just go get a drink or something? I need to go back to work. Holiday orders are backing up and these days it isn’t enough just to be a goddess. A girl has to work.”
“In a minute.” Rhoda waved the pomegranate at her and frowned.
“Look. I know you lose all reason when Persephone is in the Underworld, but you want to hear this.”
Lose all reason?
Did she?
Demi leveled her gaze on her friend and sister goddess. All she wanted to do was be left alone to brood and to play with her plants. It was her only solace.
She hated the annual trip her daughter took to the Underworld. She refused to think of that place as Persephone’s home.
What daughter of hers, a child of light and springtime, belonged in the gloom of Hades’ domain? It was mortifying. Even worse, Persephone seemed to love the handsome, dark haired god that had stolen her away. She went willingly to the Underworld every year, spending three months at his beck and call.
It made Demi want to spit nails.
Her fellow Olympians told her to get over it eons ago. Damned if she would, not when she had to see Hades’ smug face at the dinner table nine months out of the year, and lose her daughter altogether the other three.
And why did it have to happen during the holidays?
She was pretty sure the asshole planned it that way, too.
Rhoda meant well, but talking about the situation just made it worse. When Persephone was here, everything meshed Even if she did have to endure Hades’ insufferable presence.
Damned, domineering oaf. Did Persephone have to follow his every command?
The way he sipped his cheap beer with that cocky demeanor made her want to slap him. Everyone else was having Ambrosia, for goddess sake.
The man chewed his food no better than a donkey and his braying laughter was no better.
Even the way he ogled Persephone like she was a prized dog made Demi cringe.
This was her daughter, dammit.
Rhoda gave her a knowing look.
“Hades is giving one of his infamous holiday parties at the Elysian Club tonight. I hear tell that Persephone will be there. Do you want to go?”
Demi snorted. “Hades or one of his goons would see me and I’d never live it down.”
Rhoda shook her blonde curls, her lips curving up in a devious smile.
“What?” Demi put her hands on her hips. “Am I supposed to go invisible?”
“Nope. Not a chance. It's a masked affair, so all the partygoers will be anonymous.”
“A masked Christmas party?”
Her friend and fellow goddess gave her a blinding smile. “Yep. You’ll have fun. I’m sure of it.”
“You've lost your mind.”
Lip between her teeth, Demi considered it.
“Are you afraid?”
“I really don't want to see my daughter in a place like the Elysian Club.” Demi crossed her arms, her lips pressing into a thin line.
She knew her daughter was an adult, but still. It didn't have to be rubbed in her nose. She’d gone there herself a time or two to blow off some steam, but that was a millennium before Hades had become her son-in-law.
“It's a club. What people do behind closed doors is their business. She'll never know you were there. Besides…have you looked in the mirror? Those hunky guys at the party won’t know what hit ’em.”
“I don’t know.” A flush crept up Demi’s neck and spread over her face. She smoothed her hands down over her dirt covered apron and jeans. Her friend had a point. But that didn’t mean she wanted to be caught dead skulking around Hades’ club.
Rhoda touched Demi’s arm. “Look. I know you’re worried about her. You’re a mother and you can
’t help it. But here’s the thing… Persephone is a grown woman and you need to let her go. Seeing her happy and having fun would be good for you.”
Demi played with the ends of her apron. “But what would I wear?”
Rhoda grinned. “Oh, you leave that to me. I have the perfect outfit.”
Chapter Three
“What do you mean he let you have the night off?” Cameron gave him the stink eye, but Nick just shrugged. His bear chortled at the incubus’ ire, but he couldn’t have cared less.
The club was gearing up for the latest holiday party and it was nice that he didn’t have to play bouncer. Tonight, he could let his beast play a little…and scout for a mate. Every winter it got harder and harder to stay here in the Underworld when every fiber of his being wanted to be out there running the frozen fields of the north and nuzzling the neck of his potential mate.
“It’s about time. I’ve worked every week for three straight years. Tonight, I’m coming as a guest.”
He just didn’t mention the fact that he hadn’t had a choice in the matter.
“Jeez.” Cameron picked up a rack of glasses and hefted them over to the bar. “If I had a night off, this is the last place I’d come.”
Nick grinned. “Says the dude who can seduce the drawers off any woman in the room. And half the men.”
“True. So, what’s your excuse?” Cameron laughed and ran his fingers through his hair. “You did say you were looking for a mate, right?”
“It has to be the right woman.” Nick shrugged.
“That never stopped you in the old days.”
“This isn’t the old days.”
The old days.
His friend did have a point. It was what got him here in the first place. He followed a girl for a good time down a less trodden path and ended up in the Underworld.
Karma was a stone cold bitch and he had learned his lesson. Plus, there was the price Hades had placed on him for trying to seduce one of his maidens. He would be trapped here until true love found him. So far, it had been centuries.
His animal had learned to run the Elysian fields and the cavernous depths of the Underworld, but that held nothing to the promise that one day he could feel the rays of the sun on his face and let his bear run wild on the icy tundra of his homeland.
At least he was still technically alive. There was that.
“Yo, Nick. You in there?” Cameron waved his hand in front of Nick’s face and he was snapped out of his maudlin thoughts. “You’ll never find a date if you keep spacing out like that.”
“Ha, ha.”
“Yeah. You know. The holidays. Sometimes you think too much.”
His friend sighed. “You need to find a woman. See if I’m not right.”
But casual encounters with the opposite sex were the last thing on his mind. Holiday parties at the Elysian Club were legendary for high flying escapades that were conversation pieces for the next year.
And he didn’t want to be one of them. Those days were over. It had taken him too long to come to the realization that he wanted someone to share a life with, not just a warm body for a few hours.
Nick grumbled a non-committal response.
“Hell, man. There’s a new dating service called Shifting Hearts. You should check out their website. Maybe they have an app or something. Find yourself a nice she bear and pop out some cubs or something.”
“We’ll see.” Was all he said. He wanted to get out of here and catch some shuteye before the party started. Then, he could wander the crowd and see if his potential mate was among the females.
Jessup was on duty tonight. He was new, but he’d be around if there was anything the kid couldn’t handle. The wolf had some potential, but he was still green. Given a few years, he’d be fine.
A few years.
Gods, but even the thought of it made him want to find a den and wake up when it was all over. He needed to be free.
His bear shifted restlessly under his skin.
“Soon, buddy. Soon.” He had a feeling it was going to be one hell of a holiday.
Chapter Four
“What were you thinking?” Demi hissed. Her eyes blazed as her gaze raked down her body. A tight, red velvet bustier threatened to cut off circulation and spill what flesh it didn’t display right over the top. Demi desperately wanted to cover her backside with her hands, as the flouncy crimson micro skirt barely concealed anything at all.
The barely there cherry-colored panties were practically butt floss and she had to restrain the urge to fidget. One wrong move and it would be a full moon.
“Couldn’t you give me underwear that actually covers something?”
Rhoda cut her eyes at her and frowned, her attention quickly snapping back to the crowd.
Demi sighed and struggled to stay upright.
Thigh high boots that felt like stilts covered her legs and her hair was fashioned into an up-do that made her head want to loll from her neck. A sexy Santa hat perched on the top of her head and every time she moved, she heard the distinct jingle of bells. A black mask covered half of her face and she struggled with the urge to rip it off.
Holy Gods. She was an obscene Mrs. Santa.
“I was thinking we could finally have a good time instead of you sulking in the dirt.” Rhoda sniffed, pushing her forward in line. The graceful lines of her almost transparent lavender gown made Demi blush behind the mask. Rhoda didn't look like herself at all. Short, cropped red hair and a fluttery butterfly mask made her look like a pornographic winter naiad, if there were such a thing.
Demi grit her teeth and focused on putting one foot ahead of the other, hoping to the goddess she didn’t moon whatever unsuspecting person was behind her.
The Elysian Club was hopping and the traffic was horrendous. The line to get inside was long, but moved quickly.
A woman in a barely there mini-toga hung off the arm of a muscle-bound man in a gladiator outfit.
A few places up the line, she thought she caught sight of a mermaid wearing strategically placed shells in the arms of an overly amorous sailor.
Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a satyr stagger forward, surrounded by a group of giggling girls.
It looked like it was going to be a wild night, indeed, if the club was anything like it used to be.
Cerberus, the three-headed attack dog, attended the bouncer, a pomegranate the price of admission. His growls abated as the treacherous fruit was placed into the wicker basket at his feet.
“How droll,” she muttered.
“Quiet. You want him to figure out it's you?” Rhoda growled, elbowing her friend in the side.
“Ouch!” Demi wobbled in her thigh high boots and stumbled against the person behind her in line.
“Oh!”
Hands settled over her hips as she struggled to right herself, but not before she felt the wall of muscle she had momentarily landed against.
Demi’s eyes fluttered shut as heat crept up her face. All of a sudden, she was thankful for the mask Rhoda insisted she wear.
“Had a little too much to drink there, Cupcake? You only just got here.”
She wobbled, a surge of something hot jolting through her body at the contact.
Demi spun around, her lips already twisting in a retort. Her gaze settled on the muscular form of the man in front of her and her mouth went dry.
Broad shoulders and sculpted abs filled out the tight black t-shirt. Leather pants fit along muscular thighs and long legs slid into biker boots.
Delicious warmth settled in her stomach and a tingling raced over her body. He could rival Adonis for beauty but she sensed there was something wild about him, too. Not too pretty, but the rugged kind of man that could take a girl against the wall and make her like it.
Goddess, and those eyes. They contained an inner fire that stoked her lady bits into high alert.
A blush settled over Demi as the image stuck in her head. Hell, he probably had dimples on his well-formed ass.
“Well, hello there.” Rhoda maneuvered herself between Demi and the attractive stranger.
“Hello, yourself.” Mr. Handsome's lips quirked up.
Demi rolled her eyes. The spark she felt when she first took in his bad boy style withered and winked out.
Why would anyone possibly look at her twice with the Goddess of Love standing next to her?
Even in these borrowed clothes, she still felt like herself, and a coquettish nymph she was not. No matter that she still had the form of a twenty something. Unlike her friend, she had better things to do than fling herself at strangers.
Until tonight, apparently.
She inwardly winced, recalling the heat that surged through her veins at the first contact.
Down girl.
This is so not your first rodeo.
Snorting, Demi moved forward, leaving Rhoda to her conquest. She would go in, find her daughter, and make sure Persephone's lout of a husband wasn't making her wait on him hand and foot.
Then, she would go home to her book and a cup of steaming hot holiday tea.
“Where are you going, Cupcake? Afraid I might bite?”
He was talking to her?
Demi stopped in her tracks. Spinning on her heel, she found herself staring into the tight t-shirt of Mr. Handsome.
Rhoda stood a few steps behind, eyebrows raised. When Demi hesitated, she mouthed, “Go on!”
Lifting her chin, she met the challenge in Mr. Handsome's gaze. How had she not noticed the piercing gray color of his eyes before?
“My name is not Cupcake.”
“Really? And here I thought you were one of those brainless Goth chicks Hades usually invites to his raves.” His infectious grin set the tone.
Demi’s jaw dropped.
“What did you just say?”
“You heard me, Cupcake. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck… Even if that duck is wearing a sexy Santa costume just begging to come off.”
A low growl vibrated through Demi’s lips and she narrowed her eyes in fury. Of all the pompous jerks, she would have to fall against this one.
“I can assure you, if that's what you're looking for, you have the wrong woman.”
Mistle Tie Me (Shifting Hearts Dating App Book 1) Page 2
