“Dumping the wet gear and taking a nap,” I said. I stripped down to my pink bra and matching boy shorts and headed across the sand to a lone palm tree, situated slightly away from the jungle. “Oh, stop staring. It’s not even as revealing as a bikini.”
Kai followed me over. “Just keep piling on those images.”
Uh, sure, if they helped burn the ones of perfect Persephone from his brain. “Stare away.” I wriggled into the sand, under the shade of some broad palm leaves, making a comfy indentation for myself. I couldn’t stay awake a minute longer. Just a quick nap to recharge myself then full steam ahead to find Jack. I glanced over to tell Kai to wake me in an hour and my eyes widened.
Kai had stripped down to his short black boxers, his clothes laid out in the sun like mine to dry. His back was to me as he scanned the beach.
Was it possible to have my mouth go dry and drool at the same time? Why, yes. I think it was.
I’d never seen Kai without clothes on before.
He had tattoos.
I was weak in the face of bad boys with ink. Or just him, since my bad boy exposure was currently at “one.”
Around his right ankle wove a thick, black geometric band, like a bunch of stylized squares. I’d seen the design when I’d originally been Googling myself and Greek myths to get a sense of who I was. It was a pretty common pattern decorating ancient Greek pottery.
Across his back was a word in Greek script. Even I could work out that it said his name. Same number of letters, starting with a “K,” what looked like 2 “l”s … not tough to puzzle out. The name was wrapped around a pomegranate tree, its branches hanging low with ripe, bright fruit.
Even remedial me knew the significance of pomegranates and Persephone. Plus, hello. My favorite fruit. He’d inked me on him. Okay, Persephone, but maybe he’d ink Sophie on him some day. Because having a guy declare his devotion to you that way was cool—provided he was more babe than bubba and hadn’t gotten the spelling of your name off your restraining order.
Having a god permanently profess his passion for you like that? Wow.
A low lick of heat unfurled in my belly at the idea of me tattooed on Kai’s body.
Kai turned around. I lost my breath. Even without the tattoos, he was better coming than going. Six feet of sculpted heaven.
He caught the stunned look on my face and frowned. “Now what?”
I beckoned him toward me with a crook of my finger.
“I shouldn’t,” he mock protested, as he approached. “My virtue and all.”
“You wish,” I taunted, patting the sand next to me.
A wary gleam lit his eyes as he dropped down beside me and rolled me onto my back, his weight propped on his elbows. Our bodies just mere inches apart. “So do you.”
My chest felt heavy and tight. In my stomach was the same rising tingly sensation as when I was at the top of a roller coaster about to plummet.
I nuzzled closer into Kai. He smelled like seawater and sand.
It was intoxicating.
My fingers traced his shoulder blades. Odd. Why did his skin feel ridged?
Kai tensed and pulled away.
Pushing myself up so I leaned over top of him, I pinned him in place to better examine his back.
“Sophie …” he started in a steely voice.
“Kai.” I was just as determined.
Close up, by the light of the brightening sun, I could see that fine scars crisscrossed his spine. “Who did this?” I asked in a hard voice, hating that I already knew the answer.
Kai shrugged as if it didn’t matter. His voice was light when he replied, “It was me against the Underworld. I was a little outmatched.”
I swallowed hard against the metallic taste in my mouth. “It’s because you chose me over Hades, wasn’t it?”
Kai blinked, startled. I had caught him completely off guard. “Where did you get that idea?”
I sighed. “You told me. When I first found you cuffed up.”
“I just spilled that information, did I?” He did not sound pleased.
I kept my expression neutral. “Yes.”
I could tell he didn’t believe me. He sat back onto his knees with a thunderous expression. “You must have loved that. Did you and your friends all have a good laugh about it? How I got what I deserved?”
“No one laughed, Kai.”
He threw me a mocking smile. “But you shared. Of course you did. Well, Sophie, let me share something else.” His eyes were flat and bleak. “No one is ever going to betray me again.” He tilted my jaw up with his finger as he leaned in close. “So get used to having me around, kitten, because until we defeat Hades, I’m going to be your shadow.”
Hmm. It would seem that when Kai got defensive, he made stupid caveman threats. Which threw his earlier declaration about making me fall for him first into a verrah interesting new light. He’d said it after he’d learned that I wanted Pierce to just shoot us into falling in love.
But why would that make him feel threatened?
He chose me.
Holy. Hannah. Did Kai like me more than he wanted to let on?
My body warmed with a feeling that I could only describe as smug.
All this rushed through my head in a fraction of a second.
I blinked up at Kai. I could tell he was poised for a fight. He seemed to hurt so bad.
Kai’s glower increased at my lack of cowering. But this girl had her own ideas. Like how the thought of him staying close thrilled me. I was on a tropical beach, half-dressed with a hot god who I was literally hard-wired into. How often did that happen?
Time to let him know I wasn’t the enemy. I tugged him back down toward me. “I don’t want you going anywhere.”
Kai stiffened.
“Relax, dummy.” I wrapped myself in his arms and pressed myself into him.
Then drowsy and safe in Kai’s warmth, I fell asleep.
It was a lot hotter when I woke up and the moon was totally gone.
So was Kai.
He wasn’t anywhere on the beach. Neither were his clothes.
I knew he hadn’t left me. He’d probably gone to find water or scout or something and would be back soon.
I’d wait. I brushed most of the sand off of me, and put my tank top, skirt, and boots back on. I didn’t want to traipse through the jungle in my bare feet and underwear. I left off the leggings though. I’d risk mosquito bites.
I gazed up at the sun, shining brilliantly above me, lulling me into a continued state of drowsiness with its warmth and the sound of gently crashing waves. Fat puffy clouds meandered their way across a truly incredible blue sky.
Calming as they were, it wasn’t long before I started to feel twitchy, wanting Kai back.
To distract myself, I thought about how we were going to find the holiday home or cave that Jack slithered into when he came here for his R&R. Hopefully it wouldn’t be warded up, since neither of us had any power, but I wasn’t holding my breath on being that lucky.
As soon as Kai returned, we’d start searching. Although thinking about Kai also made me think about Pierce’s memory retrieval plan. How bad exactly was “fourteen” on the pain scale? And what could it possibly entail?
Don’t think about it. I leaned back against the scratchy bark of the palm tree and tried to peer into the gloom of the jungle to distract myself.
Golden eyes blinked back at me slowly.
I froze. Kai didn’t have golden eyes. Kai had lovely brown eyes. These were more like a cat’s.
More specifically, a tiger.
Ten points for the clever girl. I’d just gotten a hell of a distraction.
Thirteen
The enormous tiger padded silently out of the trees and onto the beach.
I pressed myself into the tree and grasped my pendant. It didn’t work, either. Unlike in Olympus where just my powers had gone kaput, even my magic artifact was in sleep mode. I couldn’t tree myself out of here.
I glanced skyward, hoping
for a branch I could pull myself onto. Could tigers climb trees? I had this sickening feeling they could. Hannah would have known.
Didn’t matter. There were no branches on the tree anyway. Just a few coconuts hanging out of useful range.
“Kai?” I called out, having no problem with him coming to my rescue about now.
Two more tigers padded out of the jungle, smaller than their friend, but still more than capable of slicing and dicing me. They sat there, in a loose semi-circle between me and the jungle, with the beach and sea to my back.
I slowly glanced over my shoulder but there was no way I could make it out into the water far enough to get my vines back before one of the cats took me down.
I had no idea what these beasts wanted with me. But I doubted their presence here was random. Somehow these tigers were tied to Jack. They were here on his business.
But what was that?
The only thing I could think of was that Jack had gotten tired of trying to psych me out and had simply decided to throw me to the wolves. Uh, tigers.
I swallowed nervously. “Nice kitty?”
The first tiger let out a wild roar that I felt down to my toes. It was some kind of prompt because the other tigers cocked their heads to one side, then rose as one, and headed toward me.
Of the many opportunities I’d had to die, this was the most unique. Eaten by tigers.
A thousand pounds of lethal muscle closed in on me. I willed a sudden lightening storm to present me with fire, but the weather remained perfect.
One of the tigers stopped in front of me.
I stopped breathing.
He nudged my hip with his big head. What a gorgeous beast. He was close enough that I could see the gold flecks in his eyes and the tawny fur on his body rippling slightly as his chest expanded with each breath.
“This would be very cool if you weren’t going to eat me in a second,” I told him. Even though the tigers were clearly my jailers and possibly my executioners, I had this irrational desire to ride on the back of one. Maybe tussle with it until it purred.
As long as it didn’t rip my throat out.
Bad visual. I clasped my hands together tightly to stem their shaking.
The tiger hip butted me again.
His friend came around me to nudge the back of my leg. His fur tickled behind my knee.
I panted, close to full on-hyperventilation.
Their leader, Rory McRoar, just sat, waiting and watching.
I accessed my familiar angry place. “I don’t speak tiger, you stupid cats. So either eat up or figure out how to speak English.”
Rory tossed his head in a clear “come on, then” motion and padded back into the trees.
The other two kept prodding me until I realized they were trying to herd me into the jungle.
The dark, scary jungle.
No way was I going in there with them.
The tigers butted me again, more forcefully, bent on having their way.
As I had no choice, I let them. But it was definitely under duress.
The temperature dropped significantly in the cool canopy of the trees. Unseen birds trilled merrily. Occasionally I caught a shadow out of the corner of my eye, zipping into the undergrowth. I tried not to look too carefully at anything.
The dim light in the jungle just heightened all my other senses. I could smell the cats’ musky, slightly sweet sweat. I was surprised at the strong scent of ginger in the air and the dank rot coming up from patches on the ground.
And the jungle was loud. Frogs croaking, monkeys chittering, the buzz of mosquitos. Not to mention the heavy, sinusy breath of my captors.
I tried to drag myself along as slowly as possible. My hands still shook and my jaw was clenched so hard that my teeth were grinding down to nubs. I kind of wished that if they were going to attack me, they’d just do it already. The anticipation of all the painful ways these cats could take me out was excruciating. But maybe that was the head trip part of Jack’s plan.
The tigers herded me along for about fifteen minutes over soft, spongy ground with the occasional tree root to stumble over. Nothing slithered or skittered over my feet, for which I was profoundly grateful.
We stepped into a clearing in front of a large, clear pond with a waterfall. It was beautiful here. I almost forgot about my keepers until one of them pawed at me gently. I jumped at the slight rasp of its claws on my skirt and glared at it.
“You prefer lunch with a view?” I asked the tigers, pleased with my bravado.
They sat down, hemming me in along the shore of the pond.
A woman began to sing. Not in Greek. Not a hymn or a chant or a lullaby. Nope. She sang of how her loneliness was killing her. Which sounds poetic, but was actually Britney Spears.
Another woman joined her. And another.
It was the best unplugged cover of “Hit Me Baby One More Time” that I’d ever heard.
Three young women swam out from behind the waterfall. They looked like triplets, with dusky olive skin, and long black hair all threaded through with silvery flowers that glinted as they caught the sunlight. Their voices soared as they entreated the object of their song to give them a sign.
My toes were tapping. And yeah, I hummed along. Whatever. It didn’t get to be a massive hit without being catchy.
The Diana Ross of the group swam forward and held out her hand.
As if. I wasn’t jumping in.
One of my feline jailers nudged me hard enough to push me in.
Instead of being wet, I found myself floating underwater but in the air. The women continued to sing, starting their song again as they somehow plucked orchids which did usually not grow underwater to weave in my hair.
By the time they had finished adorning me, I was singing, too.
I rose out of the waves. Light caught the spray of droplets, creating a thousand tiny prisms of color. Crooning my heart out with eternal angst, I was consumed with emotion. I had to sing.
This was the most poignant song ever written and I was the keeper of all the anguish.
Kai stepped out into the clearing and I sang to him. Sang this ageless story that was our tale. About misunderstanding. About confession. And this burning need to know.
I walked out of the water and took Kai’s hands. Enfolded him in my arms then returned us to the pond. I sank with him beneath the waves into this place of air, my voice raised in lyrical pleading to show me that sign.
That’s when Kai tickled me.
As I started to laugh and could no longer sing, I realized that I was drowning him—not in air but in cold water—while burbling Britney Spears lyrics off-key, tears falling from my eyes like an overwrought teenybopper.
Jack hadn’t attacked me, psychologically or otherwise. No, he’d put me under the spell of the sirens and then made me their lead singer in an attempt to take Kai out. Thankfully, it hadn’t worked.
I stumbled out of the pond and said casually, “Well, that was awkward.”
There was a moment of silence and then the two of us burst out laughing, doubled over.
Kai could barely speak. “You. And that song.” He mimicked me. It was painful.
“Stop,” I begged. “You’re killing me.”
“Like your loneliness?” he howled.
I swatted at him weakly, tears streaming down my face. “Don’t. Make. Me. Pee.”
That just set him off more. It was a good five minutes before we’d composed ourselves enough to compare stories on what had happened.
Kai had gone in search of water, only to find me gone upon his return. I told him about the tigers and sirens.
“There was only you,” he said.
“Then the Supremes left me to go solo. Believe me. They were there.” I placed my hand on his arm. “Glad I didn’t drown you with my alluring voice.”
Kai’s eyes crinkled in amusement. “Hermes didn’t realize that you can’t sing worth a damn.”
I shook out my hair. “I’m not that bad.”
&nb
sp; “Sweetheart, you suck. Lucky for me, he was banking on Persephone’s abilities with that one. Didn’t transfer.”
I wrung out my once again wet clothing. “So what now? Find his house?”
Kai knelt at the edge of the pond and motioned me over. “First we drink. This pond is freshwater.”
I realized how dehydrated I was when I found myself gulping down water like there was no tomorrow. “Not quite as good as Olympus, but damn fine.”
“You drank the water up there?” He sounded like he couldn’t believe I’d been that dumb.
“It’s not like we learn about it in school,” I said. “Stop, drop, and roll, beware of stranger danger, and when in Olympus, stick with soda.”
Kai took the lead. I held on to the back of his waistband as we continued our trek.
It was hot and boring. And uphill. Very uphill.
To take my mind off it, I started talking. “Tell me a bit about yourself. What kind of movies do you like?”
“Revenge flicks.”
“Wow. Don’t make the psychoanalysis too easy. At least you didn’t go all Oedipal complex.”
Kai swatted at an overhanging branch. “Really? Of all the Greeks, that’s the one you know?”
“Thanks to the fine curriculum developers of grade ten English. Had a unit on it last year.”
“Uh-huh. Please. Enlighten me about the mysteries of your soul with your cinematic preferences.”
Smartass. “I like lots. Especially movies about girls who kick ass. Who don’t sit around waiting for a boy to save them. Crouching Tiger, Matrix, Fifth Element. That kind of stuff.” I winced at the squelchiness of my saturated boots, but I was drying surprisingly quickly. Although walking behind Kai, I had more than a moment of being bummed out that he was dressed again.
He turned and favored me with a grin. It warmed my skin like sunshine pouring down on me. Almost made up for the clothing. “You continue to surprise me.”
“That’s because I am unique.”
“One of a kind,” he agreed, “For which I’m supremely grateful.”
I slapped him on the butt. When he glanced over his shoulder at me, I shrugged and said, “Sorry. Alien hand syndrome. My hand is not in my control.” I sang a few bars of the X-Files theme for good measure.
My Date From Hell (The Blooming Goddess Trilogy Book Two) Page 18