by Anh Leod
Now there was an idea. He could read her something sexy. She read the same books he did. Should he turn on his laptop and have something ready?
Probably not. Girls never seemed as hot in the morning as he did. They liked night sex better.
Okay then, he was running out of options here. He could run a shower for her but what if she took it as a signal for her to get up and she didn’t want to?
He experimented by shaking the bed slightly with his legs. Nope, she didn’t move. Hell, she was alive, right?
He crept out of bed and crouched on the other side. She was facing that direction. He couldn’t see the rise and fall of her chest since she was under the covers so he put his palm close to her face and was rewarded with a puff of breath. It made his palm tingle.
He’d just started to grin at his own cleverness when clear blue eyes opened.
And blinked. The peaches-and-cream skin on her forehead wrinkled.
“What are you doing?”
Shit. She’d caught him. “Watching you?”
“Creepy,” she said, but in a sleepy tone that made him hope she wouldn’t remember.
“I’ll get a shower going for us,” he said. He jumped up and ran into the bathroom. Had she been in there yet? He couldn’t remember. He sniffed the hand towel. It wasn’t too bad but the bath sheet had to go. He tossed it in the laundry basket under the sink, which was overflowing, and pulled a new one off the rack above the toilet. His mother had been in town a few days ago and had scrubbed down the bathroom so it wasn’t too bad. The laundry didn’t smell great though. But it was staying there because if he tossed it into the closet all his clothes would stink. He resolved to do laundry as soon as Holly left. How embarrassing. Why hadn’t he cleaned up after she called yesterday?
Hold on, can of air freshener under the sink. He quickly used the facilities then sprayed around the room with a sickly vanilla scent then turned on the shower.
Wait. If they both took a shower, they’d need two towels, but he didn’t have another clean one. He shrugged. That was what his bathrobe was for but he shouldn’t let her wear it since it wasn’t too clean either.
His shoulders slumped. Maybe his mother was right and he wasn’t fit to have a girlfriend. He obviously hadn’t been trying very hard with Jewel. Hell, he didn’t even like living in this much of a pigsty. Making his mother clean the bathroom? What was wrong with him? Two jobs was no excuse.
He heard a knock on the door and opened it. “Sorry.”
Holly wrinkled her nose but didn’t say anything.
“It’s vanilla. I forgot to do the laundry.”
Holly shrugged. “I do live with my brother.”
“Right.” He relaxed his shoulders. Maybe she wasn’t the critical type. “Ready for that shower? Should I leave you alone?”
Holly licked her lips.
“Water. You probably want some.” He glanced around. “I’ll get you a clean glass. I don’t have an extra toothbrush but there’s floss in the cabinet.”
Holly’s eyes half closed as she shut the door behind him. He was putting her back to sleep.
He waited a couple minutes then stepped back in with a hastily washed glass. How could he only have promotional glasses from fast food restaurants?
“Thanks.” Holly took the glass from him. “If you want to get in the shower, I’ll join you in a sec.”
Greg blinked but he knew better than to give her a chance to reword that statement. He turned away then pulled off the swim trunks he’d slept in and tugged back the colorful fish shower curtain, a housewarming gift from his brother that his mother had probably purchased.
The water felt great on his sore shoulders. He was used to stretching out in bed instead of hunching in one corner to give a girl room. Jewel had rarely stayed over, preferring to use her own bathroom at home. Now he knew why. His bathroom was not girl-ready.
He had just soaped up when the curtain pulled back and a beautiful redheaded mermaid joined him. Of course, a fantasy like that couldn’t possibly be any better than the reality.
“You’re gorgeous naked,” he blurted. Embarrassed, he held up his arms to let the soap run off. Man, everything he was doing was stupid. “Do you want to get under the spray?”
“You can rinse off first,” Holly said, crossing her arms over her chest. The gesture pushed up her breasts.
His cock came to life. Hastily, he turned before she noticed, switching the water dial to cool.
The bathroom was a little chilly and he hadn’t been running the water long enough to make the small room steamy so the water really felt cold. He rinsed off super-quick then they did an awkward dance around each other so she could get underneath.
“Hey!” she yelped and jumped out of the way.
“Shit. I’m sorry.” He fixed the dial so the water ran warm again then tilted the spray toward her.
He watched her face go soft and dreamy as the hot water cascaded through her curls and down her body. Her hair was longer when the curl was straightened out and it covered her long neck, brushing a bit past her shoulders. She looked like a different person with her hair darkened by water. Still beautiful though.
“You can put your arms around me,” Holly said, her eyes closed under the spray. “So you can get a little water too. Why were you rinsing in cold?”
“Okay.” He wasn’t stupid enough to explain what he’d been doing. Immediately his chest was to her back. He molded his body to her luscious ass, his arms tucked under her breasts. His cock stirred again.
“You know what I haven’t done in forever?” Holly said, her voice still dreamy.
“What?” He shifted, hoping his erection would subside.
“Taken it from behind in the shower. We used to do it all the time in his dorms, my college boyfriend and me. Sneak in there around three a.m. when we probably wouldn’t get caught but there was always a chance.”
Greg swallowed hard. His cock stiffened to full erection immediately. “From behind?” His voice had a really stupid little squeak in it.
“I don’t mean ass, just from behind. You know.” She demonstrated by widening her stance and tilting her full hips back.
His cock fit right between her cheeks. All he had to do was bend his knees and he could go right into her. He bet she was wet and that he’d slide right into her hot, slippery sheath. Already he could imagine her moans, her “Yes, Greg!” exclamations.
But this was reality, not fantasy, and this hot girl was propositioning him, right? Who said stuff like that when they were naked unless they wanted it?
“That sounds good,” he said tentatively, just to check.
“Yeah?” He couldn’t see her face, but was pretty sure he heard amusement in her voice.
“Should I get a condom?”
“And lube. I bet I’m pretty tight.”
His cock jumped and he almost lost it right there. He held himself rigid and thought of icebergs until he could move. Damn, but she was a temptress.
“I’ll be right back.”
“Don’t slip.”
Slip on the floor or slip into her? He raced to his bed and grabbed a condom and the lube. It was hard to slide the damn thing on while walking but he managed it. When he got back into the tub he turned away from the spray and coated himself liberally with lube.
“Where do you want me?” he asked, almost out of breath.
“I need to lean on something.”
“Do you want water or no water?”
“How about this?” Holly put her palms against the wall under the showerhead. The water hit her ass, dripping temptingly from the delicate pussy folds he could see between her spread legs.
“Okay, perfect.” He wasn’t sure how he was going to get past the spray with his lube intact but that was what hands were for. He cupped them above his erection and moved against her then did his knee bend while simultaneously palming her breasts from behind.
“This okay?”
“Yeah.” She swallowed hard. “I like my n
ipples tweaked. A little though, not major pain.”
Oh yeah. He tweaked gently. “Like that?”
He heard a noise in the back of her throat. “A little harder.”
He played with one nipple while using his other hand to spread her pussy lips. Then yes, his cock was gliding inside her, finding no resistance between her excitement and his lube. She really hadn’t needed any foreplay at all, just the right timing. He’d found the perfect woman and her name was Holly.
“That feels really good, Greg,” she said as he thrust home. “Just go fast, so fast we can’t think.”
Who needed thoughts? “Say my name again,” he urged, moving his hand back to her breast and squeezing her nipple harder.
“Greg,” she said.
“Again.” He slammed into her, pulled halfway out and did it again. The water dripped down his shoulders and off his ass. It almost felt like someone was playing with him there.
“Greg!” she cried. “Harder!”
The perfect woman, he thought, then became nothing more than his cock, thrusting in and out, in perfect harmony with her. But she was more than a cunt. She was that and breasts and voice and the strawberry hair he was nuzzling.
“Don’t stop!” she ordered, but his balls were already tightening.
He remembered to do the thing, wrapped one arm securely right under her breasts then dipped the other hand into her pussy. His fingers found the nub and rubbed. She bit back a scream, arching and bending into him as he sent her over the edge. Just in time too, as he came hard, thrusting spasmodically into her.
The water nearly overpowered the sound of their pants as Greg reoriented himself. But it wasn’t quite panting, he realized in a minute. He pulled out, holding on to the condom and moving backward past the shower spray so she could get back under. Oh shit, she isn’t crying, is she?
“I’m sorry? Was I too rough?” he asked, awkward with the spent rubber in his hand, sticky with lube and her juices.
She sniffled and turned. He hid the condom behind his back. “No, it was wonderful. That’s two wonderful guys I’ve been with recently.”
To give himself a moment, he ducked out of the shower and tossed the condom into the wastebasket. Two guys?
“You mean Glaukos,” he said, stepping back in with her.
She nodded tearfully. “It can’t have escaped your attention that I was practically naked during our escape from Torc’s club? That’s because we were having sex when Cherokee called for Glaukos. He never even came.”
“That sucks,” Greg said. He couldn’t imagine being inside Holly’s luscious body and having to pull out before experiencing the ultimate pleasure. It was like dinner without the dessert. A movie without the car chase.
“I shouldn’t be telling you this because I really, really like you.” Holly stared into his eyes and put her hands on his chest. Her eyes were still filled with tears, maybe assisted by water from the shower. Plus the bathroom was definitely steamy now.
“I really like you too.”
“And I don’t want you to think you’re second best. Especially because I’ve wanted you since Halloween and I only met Glaukos a week and a half ago.”
“Plus he’s dead,” Greg said. He couldn’t compete with a dead guy but at least she’d wanted him first.
“More or less.”
“I’d share you if he wasn’t,” he offered. “Your brother pulls it off, right?”
“Absolutely. It’s funny how perfect it works out.”
He couldn’t believe he was having this conversation. “I can’t compete with a memory though.”
“But I bet he could come back.” Holly bit her lip. It was adorable and he wanted to kiss away the boo-boo.
“How? I mean, we saw him get hurt bad.”
“But that was just a borrowed body. Or a made-up one. His first body died in an earthquake in Crete thousands of years ago. He could get another.”
Glaukos was from Crete? Part of his family was from there too. “Okay, but who are you going to talk to about that?”
“Cherokee? Of course I already spoke to him once but I could try again. It’s been a few days. Maybe he has some ideas.”
“Does he want Glaukos back?”
“Well, they’re friends, and he isn’t exactly competition. Cherokee has propositioned me of course but it’s just a reflex. He doesn’t really want me.”
“He can’t have you!” Greg exclaimed. “I draw the line at Glaukos. A threesome is one thing but then I’d have to share you with Brandi, and—”
“My brother. Ick.”
“Exactly. No Cherokee.”
“I’m going to get Glaukos back,” Holly pledged. “I’m glad you’re okay with it.”
Greg shrugged. It was just a conversation they were having, like something out of a book. But if it made Holly happy, he wouldn’t squash her dreams. She needed something to do those nights he was on stage, and if it involved sex with another man, at least that other man was a legendary hero type, someone worthy of her. He needed to find out who Glaukos was, exactly. That was, if the impossible happened and she really did figure out how to get him back.
“I just want you to be happy,” he told her. “Let’s get dried off and jump into bed.”
Chapter Seven
A couple of hours later, Holly kissed Greg goodbye at his front door. He’d lent her shorts and a t-shirt. “I’m going to head over to Cherokee’s. Brandi said he was going to cook brunch today.”
“Can’t beat free food,” Greg grinned.
Holly rolled her eyes. “Spoken like a bachelor. I hope you don’t think I can cook.”
“No?” Disappointment showed in his eyes.
“Not so much. You?”
“Cheese omelet?”
“Throw in some veggies and you might be able to live on them,” she suggested.
“Yeah.”
“Maybe we can take a cooking class together?” she said when she noticed his lack of enthusiasm.
“It’s a date!” Greg said.
They smiled at each other and Holly realized she had something precious here. It was too bad Glaukos had grabbed a piece of her heart and wasn’t letting go. But with Cherokee in Dylan’s life, she was unlikely to lose that crazy part of her existence so she might as well embrace it. Greg was game for the ride, however unlikely it might seem to him that he could be sharing her with another man. Her spine tingled at the prospect, but there were miles to go before that happened. The image of Glaukos’ last minute on earth flashed into her mind before she could banish it. How it sucked to die three times. No matter how mythical that made a guy sound, it still must have hurt.
She lifted her hand to Greg. “I’ll give you a call.”
“Sure. How about dinner tomorrow? You working?”
“At the production company. I don’t think Brandi has anything else for me at the moment. We just did an upgrade.”
“Cool. Let’s go out somewhere.”
“Sounds good. Then back to my place because I need to get some laundry done.”
“Man, me too.”
“Bring it over.”
“Cool. We can get our stuff clean together.”
Holly laughed. “How romantic.” She went to the elevator and punched the down button then hunted for her car in the parking lot.
A security guard buzzed her through the gate at the estate a short time later and she followed the drive to Cherokee’s. Brandi’s car was parked in front of the house and Holly pulled in behind her, hoping she wasn’t interrupting actual sex between the two. Cherokee would probably invite her to join them and how awkward would that be?
Luckily, the two were sharing espresso and French toast in the kitchen. Holly gratefully accepted the leftovers when Cherokee offered and sat down with the two. Brandi looked gorgeous as always, even in a white robe and her dark hair mussed from sleep.
“What do you need?” Cherokee asked, pouring cream into his cup from a white pitcher on the table.
“I’m so
rry to interrupt your morning.”
Cherokee waved that away with a quick flick of his wrist. “I have a feeling I know what this is about. I can smell the sex on you as much as the longing.”
Holly’s jaw dropped open. But she had showered! More than once! She thought quickly, but no, she’d washed her hair. Maybe it was her oversize clothing.
“Don’t panic,” Cherokee said. “I have preternatural senses.”
“I’m not sure that makes it any better,” Holly mumbled.
“Get used to it,” Brandi advised. “The more time you spend around us the more you have to put up with.”
More death? More loss? Is that what she meant? But it wasn’t Brandi who had lost anyone.
“You used to email with Glaukos, right?” Holly asked. “Have you checked on him?”
Cherokee’s direct gaze wavered. He lifted his coffee cup to his full lips. “It’s only been a week.”
“A week last night. Have you tried to contact him?” Holly took a sip of her espresso. It was ambrosia compared to the canned pre-ground sludge Greg had provided.
Cherokee nodded. “Yeah, I’ve emailed. No response, but you know, the gods get touchy. It may take a bit before Glaukos has his privileges restored.”
“Why?” Holly demanded, trying to keep her ire high despite the eggy, creamy, nutmegy taste of the French toast. “He was here with Hades’ permission.”
“They are fickle,” Cherokee muttered.
“We need to know what’s going on.” She set down her fork so she could concentrate.
“How do you plan to do that? Die? We can’t enter the Underworld.”
“You must be able to do something? Can’t you contact one of your other friends?”
“He was the only one below. The rest of my friends congregate at Olympus.”
“And they wouldn’t know anyone in the Underworld?”
Cherokee sighed. “I’ll send out an email blast.”
Holly realized her chest was pressed against the table so hard it was going to leave a mark. She leaned back and forced herself to take a deep breath. “That’s all I’m asking.” For now.