But desire . . . that is the catalyst.
I know what makes people tick, what revs their particular motor. It used to fascinate me. That tall, dark and handsome guy with the mysterious smile that weakens women’s knees? He’s got the hots for the curvy temp with glasses who thinks she’s dumpy and hides behind her computer every time he passes by. The power boss lady who’s so type-A even her CEO trembles in his loafers when she walks in? She calls the IT guy twice a week so she can watch him bend over her desk, her stomach in knots while she tries to get up the nerve to strike up a conversation.
I used to love it. Set ’em up, knock ’em down. See how far it goes this time.
But somewhere along the way, it all started seeming like bullshit. You bring the people together, they get it on, they have fun. Sometimes they fall in love.
More often than not, they fall right out again. The IT guy finally rocks the boss lady’s world, only to have her decide a month later he’s not upwardly mobile enough for her ambitious lifestyle. The curvy temp lets tall, dark and handsome kiss her senseless in the broom closet but can’t quite believe he wants her out of it. She takes a different job just so she won’t be tempted, breaking both their hearts.
Yeah, somewhere along the way, I got jaded. Bitter.
Sometime after her.
Psyche.
My first love. Thought sometimes I wonder . . . was it real? Did she ever give a damn about me, even before Apollo poisoned her mind? I used to stare at the arrows in my quiver, asking myself that question over and over, running my fingers along the phoenix feathers that flocked the gold ones, avoiding the other, darkly iridescent Harpy feathers.
I don’t know what Psyche thought at the end, and I never will. Because she’s dead. And that was my fault, too. Mine and my brother’s.
Psyche was the most beautiful girl that ever lived. Of course, Mom couldn’t have that. As the goddess of love, she wasn’t real keen on competition. She wouldn’t go so far as to kill the human girl outright, but putting the events in motion? That was a different story. Ever the obedient son, eager to prove my worth, I was more than willing to do whatever Mom asked, especially after the “accident” with Apollo and Daphne. Only it didn’t work out the way Mom planned.
Everyone has heard our story, even if they don’t recognize it as such. “Snow White and the Huntsman”? “Beauty and the Beast”? That’s me and Psyche. Not that I’m a monster, at least physically. But inside, where it counts? My brother’s right. I’ve got ugliness to spare.
I was supposed to kidnap her, take her to the Minotaur’s maze and shoot her with a golden arrow in his presence, dooming her to love the wickedest of monsters and likely ensuring her death. Instead, distracted by her pleas, I fumbled my own arrow and nicked myself. The next thing I knew, I was scrabbling across space and time, trying to keep my mother from finding out what I’d done, desperate to keep the woman I now loved safe. So desperate I turned to my brother for help. I left her in his realm during the day, only visiting at night and masking my form so she couldn’t identify me. I was afraid Mom would find out what I’d done. But it was Lo I should have been afraid of.
I stare across the desert, hands on the steering wheel of my Jeep. Then I get out and slam the door. Fuck introspection, anyway.
It’s an abnormally warm day for early March. The sun beats down bright and powerful. I peel off my sweatshirt and toss it inside the truck before locking up and heading out. I like to hike and I needed to get out of the damn house. The Valley of Fire is one of the most awesome hiking spots in the world, and the best part about it is, hardly anyone knows this place is here. The scenery is dramatic, towering spires of rock in rust red and cream swirling together to form arches and secret byways through the spring-green desert.
I lock the Jeep and head to the trail marker. The sky is a brilliant, unbroken blue. Just what I need to clear my head. Honestly, even before this crap with Mom and my bow, I’ve been drifting for centuries. Mom breaking my bow just forced me to face it.
My legs start to burn as I move faster up the trail, trying to escape the memories nipping at my heels. Then I notice someone ahead of me, trying to pick a rock out of the tread of her boots. Sturdy hiking boots. Long freckled legs. Shorts. Fantastic ass.
It can’t be. But it is.
“This is getting a little Christian Grey, only without the jet and the million-dollar company.” Katie gives me a sidelong look, tossing her braid over one shoulder. “You don’t have millions, do you, Ace?”
Possibly. “Why, would it make a difference?”
She laughs. “Of course it would. Don’t you know a fat wallet turns stalking into sexy?”
“I thought that was good looks and a big dick.”
“That doesn’t hurt either.”
I reach down to help her work the rock free, my fingers wrapping around her ankle as she grabs my shoulder for balance. That orange blossom scent teases my nostrils again.
“And here I got the impression that you were an independent, hard-working woman who makes her own money and doesn’t need a man.” I wriggle the rock free and toss it aside before letting her go.
“Oh, I don’t need a man, Q.” She squeezes my shoulder once. “But everyone needs a million dollars. That shit is universal.”
Shaking my head, I wave at the trail ahead. “Well, since I don’t have a jet, I guess we’ll have to hoof it. Unless you want to call the cops and report me?”
“Nah. I mean, you do have a big dick.”
“That fact has saved me from charges many a time.”
“Ah, you do this stalking thing regularly then?”
“No, you’re special. It’s the freckles on your ass. They’ve driven me around the bend.”
She giggles. “So you have a freckle fetish.”
“Only if the freckles are covering a fantastic ass.” I glance down. “And I gotta say, Pearl, yours is the best I have seen in many a moon.”
The giggle turns into a snort, then that loud goofy laugh I can’t get enough of. “You’re too much.”
Oh, I’ll show her too much. “Did you know there’s a swimming hole hidden up ahead?” I lean forward to whisper the words in her ear, a tendril of soft rose-gold hair brushing my lips. “It’s secluded and perfect for skinny-dipping.”
“Why do you think I brought extra sunscreen?”
The pool is deserted, as it usually is. It’s hard to find and most people give up long before they get here. Katie’s cheeks are red and we’re both breathing hard as we scramble through the last jumble of rocks. There it is. A waterfall plunges directly ahead, forming a thin silken veil over a dark green pool below. Katie turns to me with a serious look. “We should swim before sex.”
I raise an eyebrow. “I thought that was bad for you.”
“No, that’s eating before swimming.
“You know,” I point out as I pull my shirt over my head, “we could have sex while swimming.”
“I like that idea. Saves time.” She sets her backpack down and stretches before reaching inside.
Turns out this time we both have condoms. She pulls out hers and I pull out mine and we look at each other and burst out laughing. Then she pulls off her top and I’m not laughing anymore. My breath catches in my throat as she peels off the rest of her clothes. Her naked form is backlit by the fierce desert sun, giving her a halo of white-gold fire.
God, what is it about this chick?
The hint of the V between her legs makes my cock jump as I slide my zipper down, remembering the way it feels to be inside her. I have never gotten naked so fast in my life. But it’s not fast enough. Katie poises on her toes at the lip of the rock before glancing back at me. “Catch me if you can, Ace.”
Then she jumps.
I move to the edge, watching her surface and push a heavy wave of darkened hair over one shoulder. Her small breasts seem to glow under the amber-colored water, her lithe body like a nymph’s but infinitely more appealing.
I cannonball next to
her, the sound booming against the narrow canyon walls.
She laughs and tries to swim away, but I’m too fast. Too strong and too big. As we grapple, my cock slides over her hip under the water, hardening instantly despite the cold. And again, I have to fight the urge to take her then and there. It’d be so easy to push inside her heat, to feel her tighten on my bare dick and—
Holy shit. I need to calm the fuck down before I do something rash. With a curse, I pull her roughly to the side of the pool and lift her out of the water onto the smooth red rock.
“Scoot higher,” I order, my tone sharp.
She frowns but does as I ask, raising an eyebrow in question.
“This time I want to taste first,” I explain.
Her eyes widen. “Well, if you insist.” She puts an arm behind her head and spreads those long, pale golden legs wide.
I shake my head even as her wantonness sends a hot bolt of desire snaking down my spine. “There’s that shyness again.”
“You’d rather I was the quivering type who blushes and says, ‘Oh, you don’t have to do that’?” Her look is so perfectly bland, I chuckle, running a finger up her thigh.
“Fuck, no. But I am going to have you quivering, Pearl.” I slide that finger higher, slowly parting her soft pussy lips, watching her mouth go slack. She’s slippery and hot under the cool droplets of water beading and falling over her skin.
I push deeper and add a second finger as I drop my head and kiss her stomach. The taut muscles under her smooth, soft belly contract and flutter under my lips, just as her pussy does against my fingers. I move them in and out of her heat as I work my way lower. A slow, teasing trail that has her muttering curses under her breath even as her hips start to follow my rhythm.
She wriggles and whines, lifting her ass off the rock and I nip her skin before raising my head to fix her with a hard look. “Patience, baby. I plan on taking my time. And seeing how many times I can make you come on my fingers and tongue before you’re begging for cock.”
She bites her lip but obediently relaxes back, watching as I kiss the inside of her thigh. She has freckles here, too. I run my lips over each and every one before working my way higher. Her eyes darken, lips parting before her head falls back, her wet hair trailing over the rock.
The water laps against my spine as I lap at her core. Lazy, slow strokes with my tongue that have her whimpering in seconds. She tastes like ambrosia, sweet against my tongue. Her breathing speeds up and roughens. Soon her hands are clutching at my shoulders. Seconds later, she’s reaching for the back of my head, nails digging into my scalp as I delve deeper. I’m fucking her hard and fast with my fingers, groaning as her smooth walls tighten and flex, my cock pulsing in the cool water between us.
“More. Goddammit, I want more,” she gasps.
I suck the hard little nub of her clit into my mouth and flick it with my tongue. She bows off the rock with a sharp, strangled cry, the sound sending something fiery hot into my blood. I could get drunk on her screams. But when she comes, it’s silently, her whole body going taut as she shakes with pleasure. I lift my head, licking my lips as I watch her come down. Her pale golden skin is suffused with a rosy light from both within and without, beautiful against the vivid hue of the rocks. Those freckles that so intrigue me are scattered everywhere, dancing over her skin as she trembles and catches her breath. Her eyes find mine, dazzled with lust and fulfillment, sending a fierce stab of satisfaction down my spine.
I did that.
And I want to do it again. But I forgot something. Goddammit.
As I curse again and start swimming back for the condoms we left on the rocks, her light laughter rings in my ears.
“I’ve got a shift starting in less than two hours,” she groans a long while later.
“Call in.” I stare up at the slice of bright blue sky above us, every nerve ending I have still buzzing happily.
She stiffens, then rolls over to curl up against me, pulling my head against her bare tits, throwing a leg over my hip. “Mmm, no. But I’ve got a few more minutes.”
Good enough. I smile and snuggle closer, closing my eyes. Her fingers in my hair are as gentle now as they were demanding minutes ago. My heartbeat slows, and against my ear, I hear hers even out, too. The water laps against my toes and above us, a hawk screams. But down here, all is quiet. Content, peaceful. It’s a nice feeling. And an alien one.
My eyes snap open.
“What?” Katie murmurs.
“I feel good. Really fucking good.”
“Of course you do.” I can hear the smile in her voice. “You just had an orgasm, Ace. A world-class one, if I do say so myself.”
I chuckle and tweak her nipple. “Yeah. I know. It’s just usually I . . .”
“What?”
“I’m too restless to sit still this long.” And I don’t snuggle. Yet with her, I didn’t even think about it. I just did it.
And I’m still in no hurry to move.
“I know what you mean.”
Maybe she does get it. Maybe. But there’s no pretending we’re not very different people. “Why do you have to work so hard, anyway?”
“What do you mean?”
I lift my head to see her staring down at me, those blue-green eyes wide and dark in the growing shadows on the canyon.
“You’re just so . . .” I wave a hand between us before placing it back on her warm hip. “Motivated, I guess? I’ve never been like that.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know.” I tell the lie and start to shrug it off the way I always do. But before I can yank it back, the truth slips out. “I guess . . . I tried so hard for so long to impress everyone. My family, I mean. To make them notice me. And it didn’t work.” Not the way I wanted it to. I wanted to be so great at everything that maybe my dad would be impressed enough to come forward. To be moved to claim me at last.
Obviously, that never happened. And I gave up.
She’s quiet for a long minute, then, “Instead of trying to impress other people, have you tried impressing yourself?”
I laugh. “Where’s the fun in that?”
“You’d be surprised,” she muses. “My dad always said people think hard work is only a means to an end, like money and respect and all that, but that really, we need to work at something, that work is its own reward.” She smiles, but her eyes are dark and intent on mine. “Because it proves that we can change things. That there’s a point to our existence.”
“Deep guy, your dad.”
“You have no idea.” She laughs, but her gaze goes soft and hazy with unmistakable love. “He wa . . . Well, yeah, he’s kind of amazing.” She sits up and grabs her knees. “You said you don’t know your dad. Before, in the bar. Why is that?”
Her gaze is direct and I can’t face it. I look back at the sky instead. “I don’t know. Maybe because my mom betrayed her husband by being with him.”
She sucks in a breath. “Oh.”
My lips twist, but I don’t say anything. What’s to say?
“So she’s never told you who he is?”
“Nope.” The sun pours its light into the canyon, the reddish color illuminating every crevice and setting it on fire. I’ve never been able to get her to break her silence. It’s ironclad. And I don’t know why. Is she scared? Ashamed? Is she trying to protect whoever it is from Ares?
“Maybe she thinks she’s protecting you,” Katie says into the silence, startling me. I sit up, staring at her.
“Me?” Of all the possibilities I’ve considered, that one is new. Why would I need protection from my own father?
She shrugs. “I’m not a mother, Q, but I do know parents do crazy things to protect their kids. Even if most of the time it doesn’t work.” Her blue-green eyes are bright and not in a good way. I don’t like this somber air that has invaded our conversation. I push her back on the rock, eyeing her tits as they sway.
“That’s enough share time for today. Let’s get back to more interesting end
eavors.”
“Such as?” she murmurs.
“Let me show you.”
We’re both wobbly-legged on the hike back down. So much so, we’re weaving back and forth, laughing like loons by the time we make our way back to the bottom of the trailhead. There’s a guy and a kid in a Rebels hat getting their gear on. Father and son, the resemblance is obvious. The man takes in our damp and wrinkled clothes and bites back a smile as we trip past them, trying not to fall on our asses.
“Are they drunk, Daddy?” the kid whispers.
His father stifles a laugh and hustles him faster up the trail.
Katie leaves me at the Jeep, nodding to a small gray sedan tucked farther back off the road that I assume is her car. We don’t kiss. The urge is there, but stubbornly, I refuse to give into it. She’s already got me spilling my guts and snuggling. A goodbye kiss would be going too far.
But I’m disappointed when she doesn’t seem to expect one. With a frown, I get in the car and start it before rolling down the window.
She waves and steps back. “Until next time, Ace.”
I nod and drive off. But I watch in the rearview until the dust hides her from sight, an odd tightness in my chest. I wonder if it’s the last time I’ll see her. There are over two million people in the greater Las Vegas area. We’ve already pushed the realms of probability running into each other twice. Even in a town that runs on chance, the idea of meeting up again seems impossible.
Of course, I am a god. I could find her if I wanted to.
But I won’t seek her out.
I won’t.
Chapter Five
And I don’t. But less than a week later, in the cold and flu aisle of the CVS, there she is.
I stop in my tracks, blinking. In the next aisle, Katie’s head is down, her hair in a messy bun, bits of rosy gold straggling over the back of her neck. The tip of her nose is red and she’s sniffling.
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