“I’ve got clothes.”
He shook his head. “Not the kind you need.”
“Who cares what I wear?” I asked as I sat up, eyeing the bag and wondering what delicious outfit lay inside while pretending I didn’t care. Fate had good taste, maybe even great. Whatever was in there was probably really pretty.
“The people at the place we’re going, they’ll be insulted and less likely to help if you aren’t dressed to a certain standard.”
“Who are they?” I asked as my fingers ran over the garment bag. Fate didn’t run fools’ errands and he definitely never cared what anyone wanted. The fact that he’d just supplied me with a dress for this? It was important.
“Some old acquaintances. People you’ll want to meet. Be ready in thirty minutes.” He turned and left.
Old acquaintances. It was hard not to be curious. I was fairly certain old to Fate didn’t mean something as frivolous as twenty or thirty years.
A piece of Fate’s past hovering within reach?
I unzipped the bag as soon as he left the room and only because he walked quickly was I even able to wait that long. Once I’d decided to go I couldn’t wait to see what pretty things I was getting to play dress up in.
I looked down at the dress that was now fully out of the bag. There was nothing I could outright complain about. It wasn’t ridiculously low cut or short in the hem. It was only that I knew what it would look like on. I wasn’t built the way I used to be. This new body had come with some curves that my self-esteem didn’t quite know what to do with yet.
I looked at the clock and knew I had to get moving.
I stripped off my shorts and t-shirt and the fabric of the new dress practically slithered over my skin. I didn’t need to look in a mirror to know it was clinging to every nook, hollow and curve I had.
Solid black, and with a hem just shy of indecent, it had a high neck but it clung to the point that cleavage wasn’t necessary. My low-heeled sandals looked ridiculous so I swapped them out for a pair of strappy heels I hadn’t been able to resist at the boutique.
I threw on some make up, ran a brush through my dark hair until it was lying in some semblance of thick waves around my shoulders and then hesitated. I wanted to look good but I didn’t want to look like I’d tried to look good.
The house was quiet a half hour later when I stepped out of the bedroom, somewhere in between natural and glam girl. Fate was standing by the glass doors, staring out at the ocean. His arm rested above his head and his back was to me.
“Where is everyone?” I asked, as I click-clacked into the silent room and stopped by the couch. Fate hadn’t moved yet.
“Everyone went scouting for more pop-up armories or a lead on Malokin’s base. The Jinxes are on the roof keeping watch,” he answered.
He hadn’t bothered turning around yet, which made me feel slightly lighter and took the edge off. I’d been getting ready as if this had been a date but it wasn’t. The tension eased from my shoulders and I walked over to the bar and poured myself a drink.
“Who are we going to meet? You didn’t tell me.”
“Some old…” I heard Fate start to say before his words trailed off.
“Some old?” I took a sip and turned, glass in hand and nearly choked on the whiskey.
His arm still rested on the door but his face was turned toward me. Sometimes I thought I imagined the amount of heat this man could generate until I saw it again. His arm dropped and his eyes took in every bit of me. He started toward me, and I wasn’t sure what he was going to do once he reached me but I had hopes.
And then he stopped halfway and I had to force my legs not to close the gap.
“We have to make dinner,” he said and the heat I’d seen written all over him seemed to be retreating, or was at least being held in check.
“I’m ready.” My voice came out breathier than normal, and my lips felt incredibly dry as I stood there, wondering what might have happened if he hadn’t pulled back at the last moment.
“So am I but we have to go anyway.” He was back under control again and closing the final distance between us.
His hand went to the small of my back and the pressure there brought me closer, just shy of full contact with him. We could all be gone next month, next week, or maybe even tomorrow. Why was I avoiding this?
I tilted my head back as my lips parted.
“Don’t do this to me right now,” he said, his voice much deeper and softer than normal.
“Do what?” I asked, and I couldn’t stop thinking about what it would feel like if he took me right now.
His lips closed over mine. His hands cupped my ass, dragging me against him and showing me just how ready he still was. And then he was pulling my arms down from where I’d wrapped them around his neck.
“If it was any time but tonight,” he said, with a deep timbre pulling away and taking a few steps back. “Stop looking at me like that or we won’t make it anywhere.” He motioned toward the beach. “I ordered a door. We should go.”
After a slight hesitation he started heading toward the back of the house, which would lead us to the beach. I looked out and beyond him to see the door starting to glitter in the distance, along with the guards on either side.
The sight of the doors drove the hormones from my brain like a broom to a cobweb. “Oh no.” I took off in the direction of the kitchen and started frantically opening the lower cabinets.
“What are you doing?” he said. “We’ve got to go.”
“Don’t you have any metal polish?” I asked, digging out every bottle he had and dumping them on the floor.
“I don’t know. I’ve always had a crew that came in and did everything up until they all went crazy.”
I groaned and loudly. “This is very bad.”
“Is this about the guards? They aren’t going to care.” He stood at the end of the kitchen, looking at me as if I were mentally deranged.
“Oh yes, they are. I might get relegated back to swamps if I see them empty handed after all these weeks.” I got to my feet, scanning the kitchen for any other possible offering. “Towels, at least let me take them towels,” I rushed past him to the hall closet.
Fate watched, leaning on the breakfast bar as I moved around in a panic. “They barely talk, and they only started that when you came around. I think you’re putting too much thought into this.”
“You know, for being the almighty Fate, who’s lived forever, sometimes you seem scarily like every other male I’ve known in my human life.”
His hands went to hips as his chin took on a stubborn tilt. “We don’t have time for this silly stuff.”
I grabbed half the stack of towels he owned and motioned for him to precede to the beach, all the while hoping for the best. There I was, heels sinking into the sand and barely able to see over the heap of towels, as we headed toward the door.
I knew it was going to be bad as soon as I approached by the way I could see their heads turn away from me as we got close.
It was worse than I’d expected.
The visor slot of one helmet head shot to my hands, full of towels but devoid of polish, and turned back quickly.
“I brought you rags.” I held my hands out towards them, half a stack of designer towels in each. They took the offering while Fate grumbled something about them costing a lot more than “rags” would have.
And then I waited. Their heads swiveled to my hands again, as if trying to find polish that might have been concealed beneath, and my palms grew sweaty. I took a breath and decided to get it over with quickly.
“I don’t have any.” They turned their backs on me before I got the entire sentence out but I kept going. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t prepared for this trip. I know I haven’t seen you guys in a while but it’s not like we’ve been doing many jobs and—”
“You’re rambling and they aren’t listening,” Fate said as he rocked back on his heels.
He was wrong. They were listening. They were just preten
ding to ignore me. “I promise, I will get you polish this week.”
Guard on the Right’s head turned back to me by a millimeter. He was the softy of the two.
“Come on, guys, don’t be like this. I swear, I will get you polish.”
Guard on the left turned the teeniest bit and then looked away again, rethinking his action.
“I’ll get the really good stuff I said was too expensive to buy.” I watched and waited. Nothing. “I’ll make Fate buy you an entire case,” I threw out desperately.
“Where am I going to get a—”
I shushed Fate violently and gave him the eye.
“Fine. I’ll get a case…somewhere,” he said loudly.
Finally, they both turned back to me. They gave curt little nods I interpreted to mean I was on probation.
“Thank you! I will come through for you! Or more accurately, I’ll make him come through for you, but it will happen.”
They looked at each other and in unison, turned forward and nodded a bit more enthusiastically, or as much as a suit of armor could.
We walked through the door and I was thrilled to not step out into a swamp.
“You have the oddest relationship with them I’ve ever seen,” Fate said as he followed me through.
My eyes adjusted quickly as we went from the beach in full daylight to starry skies on a cliff overlooking the ocean. A pavilion stood twenty feet away, which held several very long tables, all with people seated at them. There were several smaller ones as well but one particular table closest to the cliff, where a single man sat alone, caught my attention.
“Where are we?”
“An uninhabited isle off the coast of Greece.”
“Who are the people?”
“Those are the Greek gods.”
Slowly, one by one, heads swiveled in our direction and nerves started to burst within me, exploding with each new stare.
“I’m not sure I’m ready to meet gods.”
“You’re Karma. Don’t forget that. It’s a pretty potent position. They won’t mess with you.” Fate’s hand came to rest reassuringly on the small of my back as we made our way through the crowd, each god looking more beautiful than the last.
“What are they doing here? Is this some sort of god party?” I whispered, relieved that I’d worn the nice dress.
“They gather here once a year under the last full moon of spring. That’s Zeus, in the corner in the tuxedo, getting a glass of champagne from the waitress.” He motioned to the gorgeous woman sitting next to him. “That’s Hera, his wife. They’ve got a complicated relationship. Fight constantly but looks like a good night though.” He urged me with his hand toward the table where the man was seated by himself. “And that’s who we’re here to see.”
“Who is it?” I smoothed my dress down and ran a hand through my hair.
“Ares, God of War and Violence.”
“Ahhh, good call.” If there were anyone who might know about Malokin, it would be someone with the same goals and motivations. “How do you know him and the other gods?”
“Hang around long enough, you tend to rub elbows with all sorts.”
Ares rose from the white linen table he sat at as Fate pulled out a chair for me.
“Ares, this is Karma.”
“A pleasure to meet you.” He smiled and then leaned over my hand and brushed a kiss across the knuckles. I would’ve thought he’d be instantly dislikeable. He was violence and war, and he had dark good looks that seemed to suit his position perfectly. He also had this charisma that was pouring off him effortlessly. It was the way he smiled, but just slightly, and the way his eyes narrowed as if he knew just what I was thinking and agreed with every thought.
Yeah, I confess, I liked the God of War. I’d done worse things in my life.
“She’s just as you described,” Ares said, still looking at me.
My eyes shot to Fate, who had taken a seat and was staring off at the horizon as if Ares hadn’t outed him. I would’ve loved to have heard those comments. I was positive he must have included the word transfer in there a few times.
A waitress in a flimsy white slip dress came by and placed two glasses of champagne in front of Fate and me. When I would’ve reached for the glass, Fate’s hand came and rested on mine, as if to casually hold hands. My eyes shot to his as he looked at the glass and then back to me.
“Kill joy.” Ares said before he raised his own glass and took a healthy sip.
“After that lost year in the crusades, I find it better to abstain,” Fate said. “What do you know of the person I was inquiring about?”
“I know he’s stepping on my toes and that he shouldn’t be here. He shouldn’t exist at all.” The true potential of Ares poked its head out as he spoke and I could literally feel the violence churning in the air around me. A sheen of sweat started to coat my skin. “There’s always been some overlap, here and there. You know this well yourself as you’ve occasionally had to make your way into our domain and have stepped on Moirai’s toes, you both handling fate. But this one, he has no couth, no manners. And he’s a glutton. No thought for balance and yet he moves about in my territory as if he has every right. I want him gone.” His fist slammed into the table we were seated at, leaving a burn mark in its wake.
The only thing that kept me in my seat was Fate’s relaxed demeanor, as he was still reclined in his own.
“But did you come up with anything to help us?” Fate asked.
“No.” Ares stood abruptly, barely containing the anger boiling and swirling around him. “But I want him gone.”
“Then give us something we can work with.” Fate rose as well, and that was the only cue I needed to leave.
“Don’t you think I’m trying?”
I dipped my head, thinking this felt awfully familiar. Another god having a temper tantrum in less than a week? I’d either been created at a bad time or these folks needed some anger management classes.
“Try harder,” Fate continued. “Let me know if you get anything.”
Fated moved to leave and I didn’t need a signal to join him. The waves of anger swirling around Ares were getting stronger by the second as we headed toward the doors that had remained open and waiting.
This obviously was not Ares’s first meltdown.
“Now what?”
“I know a great restaurant over in Mykonos. You hungry?”
Chapter Twenty-Five
We didn’t get back to the house until after eleven p.m. and a couple of bottles of wine. I walked in the bedroom and dropped my heels to the floor while a wine buzz still clung just enough to lower my inhibitions to the other side of not caring.
I didn’t know what this was between us and I didn’t care anymore. It wasn’t the time for logic and rules. Everything else was going crazy, why did I have to hold myself to a higher standard? It was time to feel, not think, and that’s what I was going to do.
Stopping in the middle of the room, I turned towards Fate. My fingers went to the shoulders of my dress and tugged them down while he stood there watching me. Another pull and I had it stripped down past the lacy black bra and panties I’d chosen to wear today because, from the moment I’d seen him earlier, part of me had known it would end like this.
His hands were on me as my dress was falling in a pool at my feet. His lips came to mine, greedily taking what was offered. My hands reached up over his shoulders, pushing his jacket down. His clothes were shed until the heat of his bare torso was melding with mine. He grabbed a thigh in each hand and hoisted me up effortlessly as I wrapped my legs around him.
His tongue sparred with mine and I could feel the change instantly. When Fate did something—anything—he didn’t hold back.
I fell backward onto the bed with him landing on top of me, fitting in between my legs. The rest of his clothes were shed in between kisses and love bites and then I had nothing but his hard flesh pressing me into the mattress.
I locked my legs around him, urging him inside me
.
“Not yet. Not again. This time we’re taking it slow, even if it fucking kills me,” but his voice sounded as pained as I felt frustrated.
I gripped his head in my hands. “I want to feel you in me. Now.” And I did. I was almost crazed with the need to have him joined to me.
He let out a low groan as if my request had completely undone him.
“Get on your knees,” he said and then flipped me over before I could comply.
And then he was pressing into me from behind, a hand on my shoulder holding me in place as he thrust forward. His penis pulled out almost completely before thrusting deeply back in. I arched into him, urging him to pick up his speed as I lost myself to the moment.
He was growling as he pressed into me before we were collapsing on the bed. We fell apart and there was something heavy in the silence that followed which had me looking at him. He didn’t appear very happy. It’s not that I expected him to jump up and down or spring into cartwheels but I wasn’t expecting a pissed off expression either.
My hand trailed down his chest. “What’s wrong?”
He turned and leaned over me with his weight resting on his arms. Staring down at me, his eyes narrowed. “I’m not the problem. What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing,” I said, definitely not wanting to talk. Talking could lead to thinking, and I didn’t want to do that. I was tired of thinking. I raised my fingers to curl into his hair, trying to tug his head down and bring his lips to mine as a distraction. He initially obliged but then pulled back against the pressure of my hand.
He grabbed my wrist and pressed it to the bed, not cooperating with my demand.
“You’re even kissing differently.” It was an accusation.
“So what? Maybe it seems different because of Cupid’s spell.”
“No. There’s something wrong but that’s not it. Both of those times you were here with me.” He leaned back further. “I don’t know what this is.”
He leaned down and I thought he was going to drop it but instead of our lips touching, he leaned his forehead against mine. He let out a groan that sounded almost painful before he pushed off of me.
Fated: Karma Series, Book Three Page 18