Hunger: Goddesses of Delphi

by Gemma Brocato

  “And would someone please add the seed banks to the surveillance rota? There are facilities in Norway, England, Australia, Russia, Africa and the States. Shouldn’t be too difficult to add. That’s only six. If you can watch nine Muses, this should be a walk in the park.”

  Mars snapped his fingers. While they waited for a minion to appear to do his bidding, Lia turned to Sephie. She pressed her cheek to her friend’s, whispering directly into her mind. “Don’t worry about us. This is like a wedding night for you. And even though you say you hate the old geezer, you must like something about him to keep buying sexy undies.”

  “Maybe I won’t be the only deity getting laid tonight.” Sephie’s laugh tinkled through Lia’s senses as she shifted into the Hollow.

  Chapter 7

  Lia and Simon materialized in the alley behind the comedy club, staying cloaked from mortal view. They hovered above the ground until she’d determined the normal homeless crowd was absent. And by crowd she meant the two or three individuals who regularly showed up at her back door when she arrived for work.

  She glanced up and down the narrow street and spied no one. “Simon, have you ever warded a doorway?”

  “Many times, my—Lia.”

  “Set one up on this door, allowing entrance to my sisters, parents and Mars or any of his contingent. No other immortals may pass, understood? When you’re done, please do the front door as well. But hurry, we open within an hour and I need you to get the bar ready. Plus George and Celeste will arrive shortly.”

  “Where are you going?” Simon questioned as Lia slipped her key into the lock.

  “I’ll be in my office.” Business was going to go on. She had a liquor order to place and emails to send about the upcoming new comedians festival. She had six new acts she was showcasing on Friday night, and she needed to confirm their times.

  She left Simon working on the back door and strolled down the tight hallway to her office. Closing the door behind her, she breathed out a deep, aggravated sigh. With the challenge looming, her life no longer felt like hers to control.

  As she moved to her desk, she trailed her fingers over the back of the chair Ben had sat in last night. As if the action summoned him, the phone she’d clutched in one hand jingled to life.

  “Just checking in,” Ben said when she answered.

  His deep voice wrapped around her eardrum and started a thrumming response between her thighs. Though she’d just met him, she was wildly attracted to him. Even if the chemistry between them was challenge-generated, she’d go with the flow. Without the smallest feeling of guilt, she sent a sexy nudge down the phone line, a picture of them pressed together in a candlelit room. Lia knew the minute he received the image because his breath sped up.

  “I’m good. Is Emma okay?” she asked. “Is she there with you?”

  A pause accompanied by the sounds of motion. “Yeah, she’s here. Lia, should I be concerned for her safety? I’m afraid to leave her alone after the commotion at the market.”

  Was she safe? Were any of them? “I don’t know. I can arrange guards for her.”

  “Really? She doesn’t know about the challenge, so how would that work? I’m not sure I can adequately explain to her about the sudden appearance of a bodyguard.”

  “She’ll never have to see them. Hang on a second.”

  Lia opened a link to Mars. “Uncle, can you extend surveillance to Emma, please?”

  “I’m on it,” the reply boomed back immediately.

  “If you could find a guard who understands sign language, it would be helpful.”

  Mars’s patented long-suffering sigh filtered into her mind even as Ben’s breath settled in her ear. “Mars is working on it, Ben. Are you still planning to bring my car back tonight?”

  “Yep. I should be there about ten. Not too late?”

  “The club closes at eleven, so that’s perfect.” She gathered her courage and leaped forward. Tingles swept through her as she uttered an invitation. “Ben, I’d like if you’d spend the night.”

  “I’d like that. But what about Emma?” Lia knew Emma had a place of her own. Ben possibly would have stayed with her to provide the protection he believed the handicapped woman needed. But if Ben stayed at Lia’s house, if Emma was in dire need of help, they could race through the Hollow and get there fast enough.

  “Goddaughter, security of Ben’s sister is assured. Do you require anything else?”

  “Stand by, I have one other thing.” She returned her attention to Ben. “I’ve arranged protection for Emma. She’ll never know they are there unless she needs them. The person Mars assigned knows how to sign, in case they need to communicate.” The tapping she felt in her head had to come from Mars impatiently drumming his fingers.

  “Thank you.” His warm sincere tone eased the consistent plop of Mars’s fingers on her brain. “I’ll see you at ten.”

  Switching between the mortal and immortal conversations was wearing her out. Disconnecting the call with Ben, she returned her attention to Mars. “You should know I’m giving Shelly the night off.”

  The response was immediate. “Oh, hell no, you are not! She stays in your house all night long.”

  She’d known it was probably too much to ask. “Fine, but she stays in her room. I’m having overnight company.”

  Mars groaned straight into her brain, the sound harsh and almost chastising. Even if she’d moved up a couple of rungs on his favorites list, she’d just crashed back to dead last. The thrilling prospect of Ben in her bed overnight rendered her give-a-damn inoperative.

  The bar wasn’t terribly crowded, which made training Simon easier. Each time an order for an unfamiliar cocktail came through, Celeste offered to show him how to make it. Little did she know, Simon could have pulled the information right out of the ether without a speck of trouble or effort.

  Celeste’s interest in the handsome new employee made Lia’s job easier. She kept her tablet open in front of her at the end of the bar, surfing the web for information pertaining to crop failures and grain shortages world-wide.

  By the time Ben slid onto the stool opposite her, worry and dread battled for dominance in her body. Both emotions immediately surrendered to white-hot desire.

  “Hiya.” His eyes were light, but still not a single smile or grin on his mouth.

  She greeted him with something she’d researched online and practiced for five minutes until she felt she’d perfected it. She signed Hello, you sexy beast.

  The left corner of his mouth kicked up and the skin around the eye on that side crinkled. An inkling of a smile.

  “You learn that just for me?”

  “I’m not likely to greet anyone else as a sexy beast.”

  “Is that what you were trying to say?” His brows shot up. “You should check your source. You just asked if you could give me a blowjob.”

  Oh. My Goddess. “I did not!”

  He tipped his head back and howled, exposing his throat, making her want to lick her way up to capture the rusty sounding laugh with her mouth. Oh, holy Hades. He’d cracked a joke. There was hope for him yet.

  He’d showered and damp tendrils of his hair curled loosely over his forehead. He’d traded his plaid shirt for a crisp white button-down, open at the collar to reveal a smooth expanse of his chest. Lia clenched her hands against the urge to undo the next three buttons on the shirt to see if his pecs remained bare, or if there was a dusting of dark blond hair hiding his nipples. She hadn’t seen what kind of trousers he had on before he sat, and she rose on tiptoes for a peak. Jeans again. Molded over his hips and thighs. His entire look was very GQ and manly.

  While she was on her toes staring at his lap, Ben pushed upward on his stool and met her lips over the marble bar. The brush was tentative and sweet at first. Then he changed the angle of his head and drank deeper, touching the tip of his tongue to the corner of her mouth.

  He eased away, his lips clinging to hers. Once the seal between their mouths popped free he settled back on t
he bar stool. “It’s nice you learned that. And yes, you did sign sexy beast.” He eyed her with speculation and frank interest in his gaze. He signed something back to her. When she tipped her head in question, he motioned again, speaking aloud as he did. “You are gorgeous.”

  Heat flashed into her cheeks with his compliment. She stepped onto the shelf at the bottom of the counter, lifted up on her tiptoes once again and leaned over to capture his mouth for another kiss. Her legs trembled as he prolonged the contact.

  The sudden splashing of a glass being washed in the sink next to her startled her back to the bar. She twisted her head to see Simon studiously not looking their direction.

  Without taking his eyes off his task, the partisan asked, “Can I get you guys a drink?”

  “It’s okay, Simon. I’ve got this.”

  She stepped off the platform and reached for two shot glasses. Lifting a bottle of her top shelf tequila, she held it aloft for Ben’s approval. He gestured to the small glasses with the Mexican-style suns and cacti. Lia splashed a generous portion into each glass.

  She paused as she handed one to him. “Please tell me the blue agave plant isn’t in danger.”

  “None of the reports I’ve seen so far indicate desert vegetation is at risk.” He reached for the shot glass. “That could change tomorrow.”

  He helped himself to a lime from the container next to her. His tongue snaked out of his mouth, halting her breath as she watched him lick the flesh between his thumb and index finger. Lia slid a saltshaker toward him and he generously sprinkled the wet area.

  Heavens, he made taking a shot into performance art. He clinked the rim of his glass to hers, pushed out a breath, then licked his hand, slammed the shot and bit into the lime. All while holding her gaze.

  Hot and bothered, Lia didn’t mess with the salt and lime. She gulped the fiery liquid down, then quickly poured each of them another. After watching him down the next one, she poured them each a glass of water, and resisted the urge to dump hers over her head.

  “How was the meeting?” Ben asked as he turned the shot glass upside down on the marble counter.

  Lia shrugged. “We figured out who Pierus has enlisted as a silent partner.” She explained about Abu and Enki. “But somehow, Hunger found a way through the security perimeter Mars has around Olympus grounds. He was more pissed than when Hades insisted on calling him Ares. And believe me, that was plenty angry.” She’d been present at the meeting when Hades had deliberately provoked him. The god’s anger had swelled so much that he’d grown like Ursula from The Little Mermaid. The only thing missing had been the creepy eels.

  She shook away the crappy memory and focused on Ben.

  He was saying something about crops. “My organic farming message boards have been lit up with conversations about the state of agriculture world-wide. Some joker even used the word pandemic. There’s an adjective designed to instill fear.”

  Two shots of tequila had already made her feel relaxed, easy. The idea of a pandemic sped her straight to downright dizzy. The Spanish Flu in 1918 had killed millions. Did mortals face a similar purge? But starvation would be a slower, more painful death than flu.

  Lia shivered. “Why do people have to always jump to the worst conclusion? It’s been that way since the dawn of time. I’m the goddessdamned Muse of Comedy. This kind of talk is more Mel’s speed.”

  Lia’s phone buzzed in her back pocket. A glance at the display sent her heart sinking. “Speak of the devil.” She swept left and answered. “What up, smelly Melly?”

  “I’ll forgive you for that since you are in the heat of the challenge. How is it going?”

  “Damn, you must be concerned. Not a single overly dramatic response to a name you hate.” Almost as much as Mars hated being called Ares. “You heard about what happened today at Olympus?”

  “Have they determined out how Hunger slipped through the wards?”

  Lia lifted a shoulder, even though she knew Mel had no way of seeing it. “Don’t know. But you can bet your sweet bippy it won’t happen again.”

  “Darling Lia, that phrase went out with Nehru jackets,” Mel scolded, but the chuckle in her voice softened it.

  “I know. I just like the way bippy rolls off the tongue.”

  Ben eyed her for a second as she repeated the word, then went back to reading from her tablet.

  “Mel, honey, I’m at work. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  “Wait! Is the handsome farmer there?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Isn’t it almost closing time?” Mel asked. The hint of suggestion in her voice translated directly into Lia’s subconscious. It was their form of twin speak.

  “You know it is. And I got the message. Biyatch!” Lia hung up on her sister.

  An instant later, an image burst into her mind, accompanied by a mental jab from her sister. Lia’s heart raced as the nudge firmed into a picture of a pose from the Kama Sutra. Their sister Aerie had been the inspiration behind the scandalous ancient Hindu book.

  Lia shoved a pinch to Mel’s ass over their psychic connection, then took a second to savor which of the spectacular positions she wanted to re-enact with Ben.

  She took a gulp of her water and slid the phone back into her pocket. The crowd in the bar had thinned, the comedy duo on stage took a final bow before racing off the stage to whoop in triumph in the wings. Celeste rubbed down the marble bar as Simon bussed empty glasses and plates from vacated tables.

  “Last call,” Lia shouted out.

  George emerged from the kitchen bearing a platter of fish and chips. He laid the plate in front of her, then pulled a bottle of malt vinegar from the pocket of his chef’s coat. “Saved the last serving for you,” he said as he pushed the dark brown container into her hands.

  Ben arched an eyebrow at her and stole the pickle from her plate. His jaw popped as he chewed, his lips barely moving with the motion. “You really going to eat all four thousand of those empty calories?”

  “Hey, I haven’t eaten all day. I’m starved.”

  Ben tipped his head to the side. “Why don’t you eat a salad?”

  “Because George’s fish is among my favorite meals in the world. It’s legendary. Besides, it’s fish. It’s not bad for me.”

  Ben just scoffed and took another bite of her pickle.

  George asked, “Are we expecting a grocery shipment tomorrow? We’re running low on produce.”

  “Yeah, we’ll get a truck around eleven. Are you coming in to help unload it?”

  “Can if you want.” George waved as he walked away, not waiting on her answer. Only because he knew it would be a yes. He always came to help on shipment Wednesdays. He reached out and snapped the house lights on as he passed on his way back into the kitchen. The florescent fixtures overhead blinked on, causing Lia to squint against the glare.

  Ben hopped off his stool and went to help Simon tidy up the seating area. As he wiped down tabletops, Simon followed and lifted chairs on top. Celeste chased both of them with the vacuum. Sure, it was a bar, but the floor, while not clean enough to eat off, was not sticky or grungy.

  The club transformed into a hub of activity as Lia worked behind the counter. Emptying the ice container, washing the remaining glasses, then scrubbing out the sink. Munching on her fries and fish, she sealed juice containers and mixes. George hollered goodnight and left through the kitchen door.

  While Ben was occupied loading the dirty dishes into the machine in the pantry, Simon ducked under the gate, with Celeste following. He approached her and lowered his voice. “Are you okay by yourself? Stewart said he’d arrange water torture for the rest of eternity if I failed to protect you.”

  “I’m good. Ben is taking me home and Shelly is there.” Dammit. Lia wanted this first night together to be private. Knowing Shelly was just down the hall would be a joy killer. “You’ve secured the entrances here, and your twin got things done at home. I’ll be fine.”

  “You need me, you shout out.” Simon rapped
his knuckles on the bar and turned.

  “Hey, Simon?” He spun back around, his look expectant. Lia lifted her hand in a wave. “You did good tonight. Nice to have you on my team.”

  And then he and Celeste left via the front door. Leaving her and Ben totally alone for the first time since he’d kissed her so seductively that morning.

  Chapter 8

  Ben pushed through the swinging door from the kitchen to find Lia straightening stools. Pendant lights above the bar created a glow around the alluring woman he’d just met but felt an instant attraction to. He leaned against the wall—arms crossed over his chest, dick twitching, and considered this insane chemistry that crackled in the air between them.

  Her pretty red curls practically glittered in the intense overhead lights as she moved. She wasn’t tall, but neither was she short. From what they’d shared already, he knew she fit perfectly against his body. When he’d kissed her in his office this morning, her lips had been soft and giving under his. He wanted to know how they felt as he moved the kiss to carnal and incendiary.

  The thought made his cock jump and his heart strain within his chest. Whatever this attraction between them was, whether true, or just a part of this challenge they faced, Ben acknowledged then and there, he was going to roll with it.

  Lia turned and found him staring at her. A beautiful smile spread over her face, creasing her irresistible dimple into her left cheek, crinkling the skin around her stunning eyes. Her cherry red lips drew his attention as her soft smile widened into a grin.

  She gestured to the bar, where two shot glasses, the bottle of premium tequila, a bowl of limes and a shaker of salt waited. “On the off chance that Pierus and Abu aren’t going to ignore desert vegetation, I thought we’d indulge a little.”

  “One of us has to drive to your house.” Unless she planned for them to stay here tonight. Scanning the bar area, he tried to recall the details of her office, but didn’t remember seeing a comfy looking couch in the cramped space.