Hate: Goddesses of Delphi Book 5 (Goddesses of Delphi Paranormal Romance)

by Gemma Brocato

  Finn wracked his brain, trying to recall the Greek mythology units he’d sat through in middle school history. His head throbbed a little and the mark on his shoulder pinged with a sizzling current. “Dice?”

  “Goddess of Justice. We are in the process of petitioning her to adjudicate this dispute. But our legal system mimics your government’s system. Slower than sludge.” Lip pursed, Zeus looked like he sucked a lemon.

  “If all the other men were mortal, and I’m a descendant of Mars, could my participation be considered…I don’t know, illegal or cheating?”

  “Possibly, but Pierus has started hand picking his contestants. Ben Jordan was the first during Lia’s challenge. He selected you. That is in our favor should he cry cheater like the whiny little bitch he is.”

  Yep, Zeus just dissed Pierus. Finn would have laughed if he could. Cop instincts kicking in, Finn segued to another line of questioning. “Why did you do it? Curse the guy’s children?”

  “It happened a very long time ago.”

  “Answer the question.” Finn took the tone reserved for suspects in an interview room. Deep, guttural, and commanding. After all, interrogation was his specialty.

  Zeus’s eyes flashed bright blue, like lightning just erupted deep within. Oops, probably shouldn’t have ordered the grand poohbah of gods like that.

  The flame faded and Zeus leaned forward, propping his forearms on the table. “I was prideful. Pierus used to strut around like a peacock, crowing about how wonderful his offspring were. How they were prettier than my daughters, smarter and more powerful.” He dragged a hand over his jaw, paused to take a sip then continued. “Gaia warned me against taking action. I should have listened. If you repeat that to her, I will change you into a salamander and put you in a cage with kittens.”

  Finn couldn’t stop the burst of laughter. He held three fingers, like a freaking Boy Scout. “She won’t hear it from me. So what happened?”

  “One day, Pierus promoted a foot race between his girls and mine. He gloated that his children were better athletes. When he threw down the challenge, I had to pick it up. Possibly the original instance of dick measuring.” Zeus shook his head, like the thought still disgusted him.

  Finn noticed movement in the hall behind Zeus. Aerie silently leaned against the doorframe, one arm crossed over her chest. She tipped her chin up, pressed a finger to her lips, motioning him to silence.

  Oblivious to her presence, Zeus continued. “When my children won that first contest, he accused me of somehow supernaturally influencing the outcome. I couldn’t let him call me a cheater. We had words. He pissed me off, and I made his girls pay.”

  “Why change them into magpies?” Surely there could have been a more loveable creature he could have picked. Contemplating Aerie possibly spending the rest of eternity as a fucking ugly bird bit hard. He held her eye across the room, sending her a tight smile.

  “Whenever those girls were together, they squawked and pecked at each other. And the way they dressed, always in black with dark kohl on their eyes and lips, reminded me of crows.” He frowned and rubbed his hands down his thighs. “I thought magpies a kinder choice. It was natural. And just. Humans had a difficult time curbing their natural tendencies toward the evils those girls represented. They certainly didn’t need any extra influence from immortals.”

  “So, in your eyes, you were doing humankind a huge favor.”

  “You sound just like Gaia. She didn’t speak to me for many years after I cursed Pierus’s children.”

  Aerie broke her silence and strode forward. “Zeus, she didn’t talk to you for weeks after that, not years.” She greeted her dad with a kiss on the cheek.

  “You heard all that?”

  She dropped Finn’s shirt in his lap, a blush on her cheeks. “Yeah. I don’t know if I ever knew the whole story. I remember that race though. Those girls cheated. Two of them ganged up on Mel, tripped her and pushed her down. Lia was pissed. She faced them down on the back side of the trail and screamed at them like a fishmonger’s wife. It was dramatic.”

  Finn jerked his shirt over his head, settling the fabric over his hips. “Which one is Lia?”

  “Muse of Comedy. Mel is her twin,” Aerie explained as she reached into the cupboard for a cup.

  Finn lost his breath as Aerie’s top lifted away from the waist of the sleep pants riding low on her hips, revealing the sexy dip at the top of her buttocks. There was a slightly purple blemish on the skin, corresponding to the place he’d sucked and licked her backside. She had the cutest case of freshly fucked bed-head. He wanted to take her right back to the bedroom and pound into her until she screamed his name.

  He retracted his tongue into his mouth, dragged his gaze from Aerie’s sumptuous ass and focused on Zeus. “Is there nothing you can do to lift the curse?”

  “Certainly, but now this whole thing is more treacherous. The Pierides can’t be unleashed on mortals. We’ve protected humankind too long to allow their destruction now.” Zeus pushed up from his chair and paced, his boots clomping on the floor. “Pierus intends to take over Olympus, killing me in the process. We will waste no time second guessing my choice over six thousand years ago.”

  Aerie moved toward the chair Zeus had vacated, but changed direction before claiming it. Instead, she approached Finn, nudged his hand from the table and slipped onto his lap. While Zeus paced, sloshing his coffee on her clean floor, Aerie pressed her lips to Finn’s, then licked the pointed end of her tongue into his mouth.

  Finn’s dick jumped to life under her lush bottom, getting harder when she wiggled over the thick roll straining for release from his tactical pants. Going commando was probably not the best idea. The rough fabric bit into his erection, the friction between it and her soft ass pushing him to near mindlessness.

  Zeus cleared his throat loudly. “Aerie. This is serious business.”

  Her breath sighed against his skin. “So is this.” She slung her arm around Finn’s neck, and faced her father. “How did you get in, anyway?”

  “I let him in.”

  “Your wards held. You shouldn’t bar your father this way.”

  “I thought a little privacy was in order. Finn had…questions that needed my undivided attention.” The smile on her face pegged the needle on the innocent to straight-up-fucking-wicked scale. Finn’s blood hammered through his veins.

  Zeus rolled his eyes and directed his question to Finn. “And did my daughter successfully answer them for you?”

  Twisting on his lap, Aerie ground down hard on his groin as she faced her dad. “Actually, no. I couldn’t answer why Finn doesn’t come back with memories. We assume since he is partisan, he should.”

  “We are not sure yet whether he is a member of Mars’s legion or not. The fact he had a nixae leads me to believe he is.”

  “His aura is blue in the Hollow.”

  “I believe Mars is investigating Finn’s lineage. So for now, this question must remain unanswered.” He paused and tipped his chin down.

  Finn’s phone buzzed with a text alert. He stretched across Aerie’s chest, making sure to brush her tits as he reached for the device. The contact made them both gasp. Finn lowered the hand holding the phone to Aerie’s thigh and opened the message from Anson.

  Hey, even immortals have to show up at the office. Barber is looking for you.

  “Looks like I need to get to work.” Reluctantly, he urged Aerie off his lap. She balanced with her hand on his shoulder.

  Zeus growled deep in his throat. “Mars just reported. It appears we can expect more trouble. Phillip is on his way back. Aerie, please adjust your wards so he can shift in directly.”

  “What’s going on?” Her voice trembled and her fingers tightened on his shoulder.

  “Problems at the University. Nothing the police can’t handle, but Mars’s security is on standby if needed. Lykos was spotted lurking by the gymnasium.”

  “Well, damn.” Aerie inched away to let Finn rise. She closed her eyes, and the l
ight dimmed in the room, then flared bright again. An immediate compression of the air tightened around his body.

  Blue mist coiled in the corner of the kitchen. Phillip’s body solidified as the vapor cloud dissipated.

  “First shift, reporting for duty.” He shot Aerie a cheeky grin, then bowed toward Zeus, touching his forehead. “Good morning, sir.” He waited for Zeus’s nod.

  “Keep an eye on my child today. With Aerie cementing Finn’s assistance, Pierus might get desperate. Anything can happen.”

  “Yes, sir.” Phillip turned to tidy up the mess still on the counters from the meal that had been interrupted last night. He scraped a baguette and crumbs from a cutting board into the trash.

  “You couldn’t have brought donuts or bagels?” Aerie pouted.

  Phillip smirked over his shoulder. “The line at the shift through was too long.”

  There was something Finn chose not to think about. Drive through in the Hollow thingy. Too confusing for sure. Maybe later after he got the hang of it.

  Zeus levitated, skimmed to where Aerie stood, then lowered back to the floor. He pressed his forehead against hers, a silent communication between father and daughter. The slight smile on his face was mirrored on Aerie’s.

  Seeing the emotion on their faces, the presentation of a happy family vibe shifted something in Finn’s chest. With his own experience growing up, he’d never thought about how other families demonstrated love. His father used to claim he beat Finn’s mom because he loved her. The lousy bastard. And with his job, with the incidents of domestic disturbance he’d been called out on, he’d never trusted that being part of a happy family was in the cards for him.

  Until Aerie.

  Zeus’s voice broke through his reverie. “Have you taught your mortal how to mask his shift from the Hollow?”

  Her mortal. He liked the sound of that.

  “Not yet. I was going to steer him through the void to work today since that is where his car is.”

  “Since I’m leaving now, I’ll do it.” Zeus beckoned him over. “Ready to get to work, son?”

  “Let me get my boots.” Finn grabbed Aerie’s hand and dragged her down the hall after him.

  He sat on the bed to pull his socks on.

  Aerie sat next to him. “You’re not too freaked out about traveling with my dad?”

  Bent over lacing up his boots, he tipped his face toward her and hit her with a ridiculous grin. “Nah. He called me your mortal.”

  Tiny lines around her eyes crinkled. “That should have terrified you.”

  He stood and pulled her to her feet, settling his arms low around her waist. “I like the idea of being your mortal.” He pecked her mouth, sipping her lower lip between his. He groaned. “I’d like nothing more than to tumble you right back to that bed.”

  “With my dad in the house?”

  “I’d do it, but you’re a screamer.” He liked that about her.

  She punched him in the shoulder. “You do real good things to me.”

  He kissed her longer this time, relishing the smooth slide of her tongue over his.

  “Detective Finnegan!” Zeus hollered.

  Aerie chuckled. “Better go. He isn’t always nice when he’s impatient. He might drop you in the fountain in front of the police station.”

  Feeding his utility belt through the loops on his pants, he followed her back down the hall. Phillip handed Finn the gun he had stowed on the fridge at Zeus’s request. He secured it in the holster, and faced Aerie.

  “I’ll see you later, right?”

  “Come back when you finish work. You can relieve Phillip for the evening.”

  Her smile promised some naughty entertainment.

  Zeus snorted, then laid a hand on Finn’s arm and levitated them both upward. Cool vapor surrounded his body as his shape misted.

  The last thing he saw before blinking into their Hollow was Aerie blowing him a kiss. His misty body went hard, which was a weird sensation since he no longer had a solid form.

  With that kind of sendoff, today was guaranteed to be spectacular.

  Sixteen

  Aerie shuffled most of her appointments to free up her responsibilities at the office. Being on call meant immediate travel to any sites of supernatural style happenings. The few meetings she couldn’t postpone because the weddings were too close, she turned over to Bernie. Dearly Beloved had to keep running or she’d have some brides and their mommas running amok.

  Other than several minor examples of hate crimes around the world, including a hate-driven attack they’d stopped in a small village in India, the challenge seemed to occupy most of her time. The saves she’d accomplished had drained more of her energy each time. One day, there had been three incidents requiring her help. The more she tapped into her supernatural power stores, the more tense and itchy she became.

  Finn had invited her to his gym to have a go at his punching bag as a way to relieve her stress. She’d declined because she knew of a much better way to relax.

  Finn hadn’t complained at all.

  Bernie had glanced speculatively at Aerie and Phillip as they made excuses to be out of the office this afternoon.

  “It isn’t like that, Bernie,” Aerie whispered while Phillip and Larry looked at something on Phillip’s camera. “We’re just friends.”

  Light glinted off Bernie’s red-framed glasses as she nodded her head. “You’ve been spending an awful lot of time together lately.”

  “We work together.” Bernie would have a conniption if she really knew who was occupying her bed most nights. Finn had taken very seriously Zeus’s charge to keep her safe.

  Last night, he’d loved her soft and gentle for a change, then held her tight as they talked for hours. He was so curious about life as an immortal. Considering she hadn’t really liked the man when they’d first met, she couldn’t seem to get enough of him now.

  “Okay, sure.” Bernie lifted her hands, palm out. “I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, just so you know. You guys seem like a great couple.”

  “Bernie, he’s dating Emma Jordan. You met her at the barbecue at the Athenian a couple weeks ago. Ben’s sister.”

  “Lia’s Ben? He’s a cutie patootie.” Bernie’s smile was wide and generous.

  Larry walked up and wrapped an arm around his wife’s shoulders. “Who’s cute?”

  “You are, you old handsome devil.” Bernie pinched his cheek.

  “Ready?” Phillip asked. “We have a meeting with your uncle. Don’t want to be late.”

  Mars had called a strategy session. She, Phillip, Finn, Anson, and the captain of the partisan legion were mandatory attendees. Apparently, Mars didn’t like the lull in the action any better than she did.

  The days had been pleasantly warm, the nights cooling down. The first hints of color tipped the leaves in the maple trees lining Hyperion Street. Phillip was behind the wheel of his sleek black SUV, and detoured through the drive-up lane at the coffee shop. The sun shone through the window on Aerie’s side of the car, warming her skin, as she sipped the Chai latte he’d bought her.

  Finn was already in the SecCom meeting room when she arrived. He came right to her side, slipped his arms around her waist and drew her close for a kiss. His lips were soft and gentle. The sweet touch lifted her heart and her spirits.

  Anson cleared his throat. “Inbound,” he said as the door slid open with a musical hiss.

  Zeus swept into the room, followed closely by Mars. A much smaller woman slipped around Mars and bolted across the room toward Aerie.

  “Eirenne!”

  The woman barreled into Aerie and hugged her hard. God, Aerie had missed her best friend. So much had happened and Eirenne hadn’t been around to gab with. “When did you get back?”

  “Yesterday.” Eirenne rolled her pretty charcoal-colored eyes. “Themis and Nomos kept coming up with more topics to discuss. Or should I say bicker about. It’s never smart to put a Daemones and a Titan in the same room. Nothing gets done.” Eirenne,
one of the peace goddesses, had traveled with the two justice deities at the behest of Dice, to determine the legality of Pierus’s challenge.

  “What did the Oracle say?” Aerie was afraid to ask, but had to know.

  Eirenne tucked a wayward strand of her jet-black hair behind her ear with a grimace. “Bitch only said she’d get back to us. I don’t understand why it takes her so long to deliberate on the problem.”

  “I suppose she wants to consider all of the facts.” Finn had hovered at Aerie’s shoulder. He stretched out his arm. “We haven’t met. I’m Michael Finnegan.”

  “Eirenne, Goddess of Peace.” Eirenne clasped his hand. A flicker of recognition crossed her face. She darted her eyes from Finn to Aerie and back again. “You’re partisan? How have we not met before?”

  The door slid open again and Gaia scurried through with Themis and Nomos trailing behind. Aerie studied her mother, trying to recall ever seeing her scurry anywhere. Worry began to dam up in Aerie’s chest, making it difficult to draw breath. Gaia hustled straight to Zeus, who’d claimed a seat at the head of the table. She dropped something in his hand, then conjured a glass of water from thin air, and handed that to him as well. She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her toe until Zeus swallowed whatever she’d given him. Zeus eased his scowl with a loving glance at his consort.

  Dragging her attention back to Finn and Eirenne, Aerie spoke. “We only just found out about his status. He’d never known.”

  “How is that possible?” Eirenne’s eyes widened and she clutched the strand of pearls draped around her throat.

  “My ya-ya died when I was very young.”

  “Your ya-ya?” she asked.

  “His Nixae.” Aerie slid her fingers along Finn’s arm. “He had no idea he had special status in the pantheon because she died before she could tell him. Somehow, Human Resources didn’t get word of her death and Finn slipped between the cracks.” She shrugged. The system was good, but HR couldn’t keep track of everything.

  And Finn had suffered for the error. But he smiled down at her now, and had smiled much more lately. Even laughed occasionally. The rich, full sound had caught her by surprise the first time she’d heard it three days ago. The rumble in his chest had charmed her. The flash of his white teeth had caused damp heat to gush between her thighs.