What a Goddess Wants

by Stephanie Julian

  Hell, the god barely looked winded and Cal was sucking air like a jet engine. Though he couldn’t feel any pain, blood ran from his mouth and from the cuts on his cheeks. His left arm had definitely been fractured; his right hand had shattered bones; and his right tibia threatened to give out at any moment.

  He’d been so close to getting the hell out of there with his prize. Venus had been about to send him back to Tessa when the door to her room had burst open and Mercury had stomped through like a bull on a rampage.

  Hell, the guy’s black eyes had been glowing red like a freaking B-movie demon.

  Cal had barely had time to shove the small vial of Nectar Venus had given him into his back pocket before the enraged god had swung one large fist at his face. The impact had spun him around like a character in a Bugs Bunny cartoon.

  After that, the fight had more resembled the beating taken by Sylvester Stallone in the first Rocky movie. Except this wasn’t going to end in a draw.

  Mercury was going to punch the shit out of him until he broke every bone in Cal’s body and his heart finally stopped beating. And the only thing Cal could think about was Tessa. If he died, X would die trying to save her and Charun would take her anyway.

  So when the door opened and Mercury turned to see who would dare interrupt his fun, Cal took the opportunity to make a break for it. Not that he got far. He tripped over his feet and went down to his knees. Probably looked funny as hell. Wished he could laugh about it.

  He felt even less like laughing when Tessa walked into the room. He wondered for a second if he was seeing things or if it really was her.

  Yeah, she was wearing the same blue dress she’d had on when he’d left her. And it wasn’t like she looked any different than she had that morning. But there was something about her, something in the way she held herself. Her spine was rigid, her lips in a flat, straight line, her eyes cold.

  She resembled Aurora more now than when he’d first seen the two of them together. It was all about the way she held herself rather than her appearance. She looked like a goddess about to kick some ass.

  And she’d come for him. It hurt, but his lips curved in a smile.

  “Touch him again, and it will take a century for your skin to grow back after I burn it off.”

  Mercury turned with a snarl, lifting his arm to backhand her. Cal forced himself to his feet, even though he knew he’d be too late to save Tessa from being hit.

  The bastard would pay for daring—

  Mercury’s arm froze in midstrike. His eyes widened in shock, his mouth a ring of complete disbelief.

  “What the fu—”

  “And I really don’t want to listen to you whine,” Tessa said, “so be a dear and shut up.”

  Okay, now Cal’s mouth was hanging open as much as Mercury’s. How the hell had she done that?

  “Cal, you have some explaining to do, I think.” With a slight turn of her beautiful neck, Tessa glanced at him and he was stunned to see her eyes glowing as well. Her powers were in full force. “But that can wait for later. Now, it’s time for us to leave.”

  “Thesan? Is that you?” Mercury’s gaze narrowed as he stared at her.

  “Yes, it is, actually. Sorry for the hit-and-run visit but you have something that belongs to me and I need it back.”

  Her normally warm voice had an edge of ice to it now, but it toned down Mercury’s expression from furious to curious. Hell, the guy looked happy to see her. And that was not something Cal wanted to think about.

  “This mortal is yours?” Mercury gave Cal a glance, his lip curling in a sneer. “Are you sure you really want him back? Not much of a man, if you ask me. Can’t take a few punches.”

  “Yes, well, not everyone is as perfect as you, Merc.” Her sultry smile made Mercury’s eyes narrow with lust. “Unfortunately, I need this man in one piece.”

  The gaze she turned on Cal made his balls want to crawl back into his body. Hell, if he wasn’t so sure she was playing Mercury like a pro, he’d want to crawl in a corner and whimper like a whipped puppy.

  “He’s only useful to me if he’s fully functional, unfortunately,” she continued. “I’m so sorry he’s been a bother. It was nice to see you again, but I’ll take him off your hands now.”

  There was no mistaking where the word “mercurial” came from as the god turned on a charming smile. “Are you sure you need to leave so soon?”

  With a strut like a peacock, Mercury crossed the room to sidle up to Tessa. If the guy so much as attempted to touch her, Cal would break his fingers. When he could walk again, of course.

  And if Tessa smiled at Mercury one more time, he’d bust the guy’s ruggedly handsome face into itty-bitty pieces. With his good hand.

  “Unfortunately, yes.” She snapped her fingers in Cal’s direction without taking her eyes off Mercury. Damn, that turned him on. Strange, but true. “I have business to attend to, and I need Caligo to complete it.”

  “And what exactly do you need a Cimmerian for, Thesan?”

  Cal stiffened as Venus entered the room through a door behind him. Shit. His stomach tightened into a hard ball of knots.

  Not good. So not good.

  Tessa turned to face the bitch goddess, and Cal worried for a brief second that Venus would chew her up and spit her out. Tessa was too sweet, too kind. She had a warm heart.

  Venus had acid in her veins and a stainless-steel pump in her chest.

  But when Tessa looked at Venus, Cal saw no warmth in her expression. No hint of her true personality in the cool blue of her eyes. This was the Goddess Thesan, the deity who’d been worshipped by millions, who’d commanded the sun and channeled its power for her own purposes.

  It’d been easy to forget.

  “For no reason that concerns you, little doll.”

  Cal wasn’t the only male in the room holding his breath.

  What the hell was Tessa doing? Antagonizing Venus was a fast track to getting your head bitten off. But Venus didn’t attack. Her chin tilted up slightly, as if she’d taken a hit.

  What the hell?

  “I only ask because your mortal may have a hidden agenda. He came to me for a… favor.” Her gaze darted to Mercury for a brief second, and Cal knew Venus wouldn’t reveal that she’d given him the Nectar. She didn’t have a death wish, and giving Nectar to mortals was a death sentence. “I wouldn’t want to see you get injured, Lady.”

  Lady? Venus was calling Tessa “Lady”? Cal felt liked he’d slipped into the Twilight Zone. None of this made sense. Well, he understood why Mercury would want to hit on Tessa. The woman was gorgeous. But Venus kowtowing to Tessa?

  Tessa bowed her head slightly and shrugged one perfect shoulder. “I’m sure I can handle whatever he may come up with. Now, if you don’t mind, we really need to be going. I have an appointment I can’t miss. Caligo, attend.”

  She snapped her fingers in his direction again, and with a lurch, he forced himself to his feet. Just because he couldn’t feel pain didn’t mean that he didn’t realize the damage he was doing to his body. And there was a lot of fucking damage to his body. He was fairly sure he had a punctured lung and possibly kidney damage.

  But he had to obey. For this plan to work, they had to walk out of here. And fast.

  He made sure he was steady on his feet before he attempted to move. Wouldn’t do to keel over now. He took a step toward her. Then another and another until finally he stood next to her.

  Tessa’s expression showed no sign of compassion. A sneer marred her beautiful lips. “You’d better hope your injuries don’t interfere with my plans, Caligo.”

  “I’m sure they won’t, Lady.”

  “Yes, well, we’ll see, won’t we? We can see ourselves out, thank you.”

  Tessa turned to Venus one more time, nodded, then flashed Mercury a smile that made the god’s lips curve in a lustful smile. That Cal really wanted to wipe off his face.

  Never gonna happen, buddy.

  They made their way out of the room then.
Tessa never looked back, and neither Mercury nor Venus followed. That was a damn good thing because Aurora was waiting for them, standing in the shadows of an alcove near the front door, which was the size of a fucking castle gate. It was barred with a thick wooden beam and black iron hinges at least a foot long.

  Christ, did the Romans do nothing on a normal scale? What the hell were they compensating—

  “Holy shit.” He knew exactly what they were compensating for. “Big fucking shoes.”

  Tessa spared him a quick glance, and this time he saw fear in her warm blue eyes. Now, there was his Tessa.

  Even though they were nowhere near being in the clear yet, all the blood began to rush to his cock. Well, at least something still worked. And that was definitely not what he should be thinking about now. He had to concentrate on getting his legs to work so they could get the fuck out of here.

  “Thesan, hurry.”

  Aurora’s stage whisper echoed through the entry hall, loud enough to be heard through the ringing in his ears. That worried him. So did the numbness in his left leg.

  Still, he kept moving. They had to get out of here and fast, before either Mercury or Venus decided they needed to converse a little more. Tessa took his arm, probably because he stumbled and nearly fell, and he sighed in relief as he felt her warmth seep into him. His heart beat just a little faster and he swore the ringing in his ears eased.

  Still his Tessa.

  “Aurora,” she whispered, “we need to get out of here right now.”

  “I know. Jupiter’s asking questions and that’s a very bad thing.”

  Tessa stopped and took a second to enfold the other woman in a hug. Hell, Tessa even looked like she meant it. “Thank you. For everything.”

  Aurora’s smile was nearly as bright as Tessa’s. “You know you only have to ask.” Then Aurora shocked the shit out of him by curtseying to Tessa before straightening with an impish smile and giving a little finger wave. “Later.”

  With a snap, Cal’s vision went black. When it cleared again, he realized they were back at Frentani’s.

  “Cal!”

  He heard X shout his name and heard Tessa gasp. He wanted to reassure her that he was fine, but he was pretty sure that was a lie.

  Then he passed out.

  ***

  “Lady, why don’t you take a seat? You look like you’re going to fall over.”

  Tessa shook her head, unable to take her eyes off Cal. She and X had carried him downstairs to the medical facility after he’d passed out and put him to bed in the safe room.

  A minute ago, Eric had hurried in, taken one look at Cal, and started to swear under his breath. That terrified her. But no more than the ash-gray color of Cal’s face.

  “I’m pretty sure he’s bleeding internally, and I’ll have to operate to stop it.” Eric’s voice seemed to come at her from far away. She could barely make out his words as she stood next to the bed, staring at Cal. “I’m going to need someone to assist. It’ll take the nurse a few minutes to get here, and I don’t think we have time to spare.”

  Cal was dying. She knew it without having to be told. She swore she could feel him slipping away from her with each passing second and every labored breath. Leaving her alone. Nothing she could do to stop him.

  Powerless—

  No, not powerless. She blinked, her body shuddering as if with shock.

  She looked at her hands, then lifted her gaze to Eric. “You need to leave. You and X. Right now.”

  Both men whipped around to stare at her as if she’d lost her mind.

  “Lady, what—”

  “Tessa,” Eric cut off X. “This man needs immediate help or he’s going to die within minutes.”

  “I know that.” She turned to X. “I can fix him. But if anyone else is in the room when I do, they could drain my power. You have to leave.”

  “What?” Eric looked stunned. And unconvinced. She couldn’t blame him. He didn’t know about her returning powers. “Tessa—”

  “No. No arguments.” X nodded at her, his expression set. “Do it. I know you can.” Then he turned to Eric. “Let’s go, Doc. Now.”

  “Wait.” Eric’s shell-shocked expression nearly made her smile. “Just wait a minute. Tessa, you don’t have the power to—”

  “Yes, I do. I won’t let him die.” She shook her head. “Not like this. I can do this, Eric.”

  Eric didn’t believe her. She saw the doubt in his eyes. It didn’t matter. He didn’t matter. Only Cal mattered right now.

  She had to fix Cal.

  As X practically dragged Eric out of the room and shut the door behind them, Tessa walked to the side of the bed.

  She barely saw the rise and fall of Cal’s chest as he took a breath. His color had become even more ashen. She was almost afraid to touch him, but Eric had been right. They couldn’t wait even a few minutes.

  She had to do this, and she had to do it right the first time. If she was wrong about her power… If she couldn’t do this…

  He’s mortal. They all die eventually.

  It was the one immutable fact of their existence.

  And though he would return again, reborn into another body, he’d return with no memories of his previous life, possibly centuries in the future. And she was selfish. She didn’t want to lose him. Not yet.

  This had to work. Placing her hands on his chest, over his heart, she closed her eyes. And tried to feel each beat of his heart. She strained to hear it in her hands and feel it echo in her own chest.

  There! Faint, but there.

  Though she’d helped to deliver hundreds, maybe thousands, of babies, and she’d fixed defects ranging from cleft palates to heart murmurs, she’d never attempted to fix damage such as this in a full-grown man.

  And there was a lot of it.

  She heard the air escaping from the puncture in his lungs. Heard the bile leaking from the tear in his spleen and the acid from his ruptured kidney. Each fracture in his bones registered as a white-hot pulse of pain in the corresponding area of her body.

  At least she knew he felt no pain.

  But with each passing second, he slipped farther and farther away from her. She refused to allow it.

  “You will not get away from me that easily. I won’t allow it.”

  Digging deep, she sought out the part of herself where her power resided. It’d been dormant so long that she wasn’t sure at first that she could remember how to call it.

  It’d come to her unexpectedly at the club. She’d done nothing to encourage it, hadn’t even realized she was using it. It’d been so long since she’d been able to. Now, she forced herself to remember. She had to. Cal’s life depended on it.

  At first, she felt nothing. Nothing but his pain. It burned inside her, so she dug deeper, knowing that each passing second put him closer to death.

  Blessed Goddess, what if she couldn’t do it? What if—

  “No.” She forced herself to focus, to block out that inner doubt demon. “You can do this. You have to do this.”

  And she would. She just needed—

  With a gasp, she felt the power rise up, so strong it caused her vision to go dark around the edges. It burned hot and bright in her blood and brought tears to her eyes.

  Blessed Mother Goddess, she’d missed this! Missed the heat as it consumed her, the fizzy elation, and the sense of completeness that came with her power. For so many years, she’d felt like she was missing a part of herself. And she had been. Maybe one of the most important aspects of herself.

  At least, she considered it important. And right now, she figured Cal would, too.

  After that first rush, when the power wanted to have its way with her, to burn her up from the inside out, she wrestled it back under her control. And forced it to do her bidding.

  She had to heal Cal. She wouldn’t be able to bear it if anything happened to him.

  “I pray to you, Mother Uni. Give me the strength to do this right.” She took a deep breath and began to focus
all that energy. “Please don’t let me screw this up.”

  ***

  Cal woke to the sounds of a storm.

  Loud booms of thunder followed by flashing light. Cool. He loved thunderstorms. He tried to open his eyes… and found he couldn’t. Damn, he was tired.

  He must have fallen—

  Images rushed through his head. Tessa, Venus, Mercury. The Roman deities’ Hamptons estate.

  What the hell?

  He needed to open his eyes but they felt like they had weights attached to them. His body felt unnaturally heavy, too, which just freaked him out even more. He began to struggle, to make his foot, his arms, his fingers move. Anything. He struggled against the darkness that confined him.

  At first, nothing happened. His body refused to respond, as if he was paralyzed. No. That wasn’t possible. Yeah, he’d taken a beating, but it hadn’t been that bad. It couldn’t have been.

  Move, damn it.

  Panic began to set in and he knew that if he let it, it’d take over until he couldn’t think straight. He needed to think, to command his body to listen to his brain.

  Forcing himself to calm, he focused on his breathing. On the motion of his lungs as they filled with air and then released it. On the beat of his heart, a little fast with panic but strong. Steady.

  Okay, let’s try this again.

  In the darkness, he visualized his big toe, imagined wiggling it. Yes! It moved. Now his legs.

  Boom, boom, boom.

  With a firm grip on his emotions, he worked his way up his body until finally he got to his head. And he opened his eyes. From total blackness to complete whiteout.

  He blinked a few times. The white never changed, but he noticed variations in the color now. His hands clenched. Sheets beneath him. And warmth throughout his body.

  He turned his head. “Tessa.”

  She lay across his torso, her head pillowed on his chest. Not moving.

  “Tessa. What—”

  Boom, boom, boom.

  What the hell was that?

  The door. Someone was banging on the door to the safe room in Frentani’s clinic.

  Though his body felt sluggish and uncooperative, he forced himself to sit up. He hoped to hell he didn’t have any broken bones but he couldn’t take the time to check.