by Sam Cheever
Large green eyes widened and the hand reaching for the cold water stopped. Then she sighed and nodded.
I covered the remaining steps slowly, giving her time to accept my approach. I knew from reading her bio that she was a bit skittish around strangers. She was a fairly well-known romance writer and a bit of a recluse, used to spending an inordinate amount of time alone writing.
As I reached for her pale wrist she sighed. “I’ve actually been feeling a bit off for a few days now. I must have some kind of bug.”
My fingers encircled her wrist and I sent out my power. I forced my face to remain expressionless as I found the tiny life nestled happily in her womb. Pregnant. I wasn’t a moment too soon on this match.
I looked at my wrist and realized I wasn’t wearing a watch. Damn!
Before she could notice I dropped the wrist. “Things seem all right there. But you do look a little pale. Do you mind if I feel your forehead?”
She shook her head.
I reached up and placed a cool palm on her pale, clammy forehead. I sent a soothing flow of magic into her mind and watched as the discomfort left her pretty green eyes. Then I gave her an extra jolt to smudge her memory of my interference. I stepped quickly away and pretended to wash my hands.
She stood there a second, then gave a pretty little shake of her head and reached down to lay her hand flat across her stomach.
The protective instincts kick in even before the conscious mind is aware of the need.
She looked at the sink and frowned slightly, then turned on the water and washed her hands too.
I smiled at her in the mirror. “Is this your first time at the ball?”
She returned the smile, dipping her head shyly. “Yes. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
I nodded. “It surely is.” Straightening, I messed with my hair until she started out the door and then followed her.
She pulled a mint out of her purse and slid it into her mouth as she opened the door.
Her anxious boyfriend hurried to meet her.
Before he could say anything to me that would confuse her I shot him with an arrow and then sent one into her.
I left them gazing happily into each other’s eyes. Totally oblivious to me or anyone else.
One pair down and one to go.
The next hour was fairly uneventful. I tried to melt into the crowd and look like I belonged to someone. Apparently I wasn’t completely successful because I was on the receiving end of some fairly blatant come-ons by obviously uncommitted men. But I was usually able to dispatch them fairly handily with a mixture of an icy demeanor and a brisk, uncompromising tongue. Unfortunately, I did eventually come up against one who was Berlin-wall-like impermeable to being shut down. I was just getting ready to give him a really nice case of backside boil when someone touched my arm and removed the problem for me.
I turned to see the bright, happy face of Dema Pence.
“Ms. Charissa, what a nice surprise! I didn’t know you were coming tonight.”
I turned my back on Mr. Berlin Wall and forced a smile onto my face. What I really wanted to do was puke. Dema Pence’s happy face was only second on my list of things I didn’t want to see right at that moment.
“Ms. Pence. How delightful to see you. Are you having fun?”
She threw her head back on a delighted laugh, clapping long, elegant hands together like a child.
I briefly thought about giving her the boil but reined myself in before doing it. Just barely.
“I’ve never been happier. Bion is truly my knight in shining armor.”
My lips felt like they’d been rolled out into razor-thin lines and then rolled in cement before being plastered onto my stiff face. “That’s wonderful. I’m so happy for you. Now if you’ll excuse me…”
She grabbed my arm before I could turn away. “No! You must come with me and meet the love of my life.”
I frowned. What the hell was the woman talking about? Was she daft? I put them together. I had certainly met him before.
But, unfortunately for me, my worst nightmare happened right at that moment and all thoughts of Dema Pence’s sanity fled my mind as Bion emerged from the crowd to grasp the movie star’s elbow.
He looked at me with cold eyes and tilted his head slightly. “Ms. Charissa. How are you?”
I gulped and opened my concrete lips but nothing would come out. Finally I settled for a tiny nod. Despite my supreme pain I knew I couldn’t run screaming from the room so I settled for turning away slightly until I could manage to pull some air into my clenched lungs. My legs felt as if they would totally give way.
On some level I was aware that Dema Pence was speaking to me but I couldn’t hear the words. They were just so much babble floating among the strains of romantic music and the rhythmic rise and fall of excited voices in that crowded room.
All I could see was Bion’s cold gaze, burned into my mind like acid and all I could hear was his voice…icy, distant, uncaring.
I suddenly couldn’t breathe and my knees started to buckle. The next thing I felt were hard, masculine hands under my arms, lowering me gently to the floor, and a deep voice, deeper than a well in the desert, commanding people to move away so I could breathe.
I grabbed one of those hands and squeezed it feebly. I was surprised when the hand squeezed back. I tugged ineffectually at the warm, masculine hand as my vision started to fade and I felt warm breath on my cheek as Bion leaned over me. “I…” I licked suddenly dry lips, praying I’d get the words out before darkness took me. “I’m so sorry…”
I could have sworn I heard him curse at me before I succumbed to the black heaven of oblivion.
I woke up in a disoriented state. My eyes popped open and I realized I was on some kind of velvet divan. I could hear a fire crackling in the room and, in the distance, the sound of music and merriment.
I sat up, wincing as my head throbbed with the sudden activity. I really should have eaten something that day…or the day before… I suddenly realized with a shock that I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten.
Unlike humans, Cupids won’t die from not eating but it seriously messes with our systems, causing us to…oh I don’t know…fall to the ground in a dead faint when we meet up with the love of our life and realize he obviously hates us.
A sound across the room drew my gaze toward the fireplace. A tall, lean form stood before it, staring down into the flames. He had both hands on the mantel and seemed oblivious to the rest of the world, apparently deep in thought.
I enjoyed how the well-made tux caressed his perfectly rounded buttocks and the way the stark white of the shirt contrasted with his dark skin. His beautiful hair looked just the tiniest bit disheveled, like he’d been running his hands through it. I realized he’d taken off the coat of his tux and looked down, finding it draped over me.
No wonder I’d been smelling his scent. I’d thought I’d imagined it.
“Bion?”
His head jerked up and he straightened away from the fireplace. He didn’t approach the divan, though I got the distinct impression he wanted to. “Daphne. Are you okay?”
I nodded, feeling my heart rip in two at his standoffish manner. “I’m fine. I just haven’t eaten much lately. Stupid. It was stupid of me not to eat…” My voice trailed off. I didn’t know what to say to him. How to act. I had a sudden urge to run away and pushed myself off the divan.
My knees wobbled a bit but held.
Suddenly he was there, beside me, a supporting hand under my elbow.
Just as he had done with Dema.
I handed him his coat without meeting his dark gaze and turned away. “I… I have to go.”
“Wait.”
It was one word, spoken softly but it was like a chain around my ankles, holding me rooted to the spot. I stopped but I couldn’t look at him.
Silence surrounded us. I forced myself not to meet his eyes. I was terrified of what I’d see there.
Finally he just said, “Why?
”
The word was filled with such incredible pain it brought my gaze around and I nearly gasped at what I saw. Pain…every bit as deep as mine…etched across his handsome features and buried deep within his eyes.
“I don’t understand…” I frowned, reaching for his face before I could stop myself.
He grabbed my wrist and his face turned hostile. “Why did you tell them to get rid of me? Why did you run me off? I loved you.”
My world shifted and righted all in one smooth motion. He loved me! He said he loved me!
But wait… He was really mad and hurt. Why?
“Bion, I don’t understand. Who got rid of you? Who are you talking about? I would never have sent you away. I lo—”
He yanked me into his body hard, knocking the breath out of my lungs and the word “love” off my lips in one shot. He lowered his lips toward mine but stopped within an inch of touching me. “They said you didn’t love me. They said you wanted me gone. I fought it but I can’t beat them by myself. We need to fight them together. But you were gone.”
I shook my head. “Bion, I wasn’t gone, I was grieving. I thought you’d left me.”
I heard the quick intake of his breath and suddenly his lips were on mine.
His arms pulled me in and locked me tightly against him, holding us together while his kiss melded us into one being, one heart, one soul.
I felt like crying and laughing at the same time. How could this be? What the hell was going on?
Bion pulled his lips from mine and dragged me even closer, tucking my head against his wide, hard shoulder. “You’ve always been mine,” he whispered.
I lay there on his shoulder for a moment, just savoring the feel of him against me. But then I had a thought that tore my happiness away. I pushed on his shoulders so I could look him in the eye. “Bion. What about Dema?”
He frowned. “What about her?”
Doubt speared me like a knife. Could the man I loved really be this heartless, this cold?
“How can you just discount her feelings like that?”
He shrugged. “Her feelings aren’t my concern, yours are.”
I stiffened and stepped away from him. The love of my life was a cad, the worst kind of monster, he would break poor Dema Pence’s heart just like that…without a thought.
Son of a bitch!
Could the Fates have dealt me a harder blow? To finally find my one true love, despite the Fates’ and the gods’ interference, and then discover that he’s not half the man I’d thought he was?
My knees buckled again and I found myself back on the divan, staring at the floor in a hopeless daze. I couldn’t take any more pain. I just wanted to die.
The door opened and Dema Pence’s melodic voice floated into the room, “How is she? Oh good, she’s up.”
I looked at Bion, my eyes filled with hostility, but he was smiling at Dema and didn’t notice. Horrorstruck, I turned and saw…Dema, holding another man’s hand and hurrying toward us.
“Daphne, we were so worried about you, weren’t we, Andre?”
The handsome man she was towing along in her wake tore his love-saturated gaze from Dema and focused it briefly on me. “Yes, terribly worried,” he said with a thick French accent, “but it appears you are well, though still a little pale I think.”
Dema sat down next to me and frowned, grabbing one of my hands. “Your hands are like ice.” She turned to Andre. “Darling, would you get her some tea? I think there’s a pot warming over there.”
Andre bent low and placed a gentle kiss on Dema’s lips and she smiled radiantly. “Of course, my love.”
The beautiful actress fairly vibrated with excitement as she watched her new lover walk across the room. Then she turned to me and bent close to whisper, “Isn’t he yummy? I’ll forever be grateful to Bion for introducing him to me. He’s truly the love of my life.”
I frowned. “Bion?” My head was still a bit fuzzy from the shock.
Dema giggled and patted my hand. “No, silly, Andre.” She lifted her elegant head and winked at Bion. “A blind woman could see that Bion only has eyes for you.”
I looked at Bion. “She could?”
Dema laughed. “Bion, I think you should get her home, she’s obviously not herself.”
Andre returned and handed me a cup of hot tea. It smelled wonderful and tasted even better. I looked up at Dema’s new love and suddenly had an urge to give him a hug. Bion wasn’t Dema’s knight in shining armor…the wonderful Frenchman in front of me was. “Thank you, Andre…for everything. I owe you my life.”
He smiled and nodded at me like I was a madwoman. “Uhm, it was just tea, mademoiselle, but of course you are very welcome.” He glanced at Dema and she curled her lips as if she was trying not to laugh. I wondered how much she knew or had guessed about Bion’s and my situation.
I really didn’t care at this point. All I knew was that I had him back. And, amazingly, he apparently loved me!
My gaze slid to Bion and I felt the tears starting to fall again.
Nothing else mattered.
I barely noticed when Dema and Andre left.
Bion took the cup of tea from my hands and sat down next to me on the couch. He took both of my hands and looked at me with such intensity I wanted to look away. But his words stopped me.
“Daphne, I need you to tell me why I was sent back to Olympus.”
My eyes popped wide in shock. “Olympus!”
He nodded. “The Fates told me you didn’t want me anymore. They forcibly sent me back and told my father to keep me there.” He stood up and started to pace the room. “I was devastated at first. The idea that, after what we’d shared, you would just send me away like some unnecessary servant.” He looked at me, pain throbbing in his gaze. “It nearly killed me. For a while I just walked Olympus in a daze, not seeing or hearing anything, talking to no one. Then the other night I had this dream…”
I gasped, “The Garden of Life?”
He returned to the couch and pulled me to my feet. “It was you!”
I had known that dream felt too real.
My poor, feeble brain was reeling. How could this be? Bion was… I suddenly remembered the Fates telling me about the demi-god who was using his powers to change things he shouldn’t. I looked at Bion. “You’re a demi-god.” It wasn’t a question.
He nodded.
“You control time, don’t you?”
He grinned and I was reminded wonderfully of my old Bion. “I wanted every moment with you to last as long as possible.”
I grinned back. “That night you came to me all battered up…”
“The Fates knocked me around pretty good that night. But they couldn’t catch me. I kept changing time so that I was behind them. It really pissed them off.” He chuckled.
“Oh my gods, Bion! They could have killed you!”
He shrugged. “I had you then. Together we’re invincible. Didn’t you know that?”
I blew out a frustrated breath. “No! Dammit! I don’t know anything. Nobody has told me anything, Bion!” My mind raced. Suddenly so many things made sense. The way he’d healed so quickly. The way I always knew when he was nearby. Well, that might not have been magic, just pheromones.
He put his hands on my shoulders and pulled me into his body. “Okay, calm down, calm down. I’ll explain everything to you.” One of his big, warm hands smoothed over my back soothingly. The other lifted and he tucked a finger under my chin, tilting it up so that we looked into each other’s eyes. “Right after I give you this kiss.”
His lips captured mine and my brain shut down. I allowed the wonderful sensations his kiss engendered to consume me completely, giving over every ounce of pain and despair I’d suffered over the past weeks into his tender, healing touch.
Bion pulled me into his lap and tipped us over so that we were lying on the divan. His hands smoothed over my face, my neck, my shoulders and then down the length of the beautiful dress he’d bought for me to the juncture of my thi
ghs.
He pulled his mouth from mine and took my bottom lip gently between strong, white teeth. “Gods, Daphne, I’ve missed you so much.”
I sucked in a breath as his hard, warm fingers probed me gently through the dress. Like a shameless hussy I started tugging on his tie, his shirt, his zipper, frantically trying to rip everything off him at once.
He chuckled and grabbed my hands. “I’ve got it, hold on.” He sat up and ripped the small, black tie from the neck of his shirt and then deftly slipped his fingers over the buttons. Within seconds the shirt draped open, baring his beautiful, lightly browned chest to my frantic gaze.
I reached up and smoothed my hands lovingly over the firm flesh of his chest, running my fingers down to dip beneath the waistband of the sexy black slacks. “Off!” I ordered.
“Happily.” He stood up and started unzipping the slacks.
Voices neared the door and it started to open. Bion and I both swung a hand toward the door as it cracked open and the door slammed shut so hard the wall shook. Silence fell like lead on the other side of the door and then the voices picked up again and drifted away.
Bion stood before me in all his naked glory. “Your turn.” He waggled his eyebrows at me and I laughed, sitting up and turning around. “Help me with the zipper?” I looked at him over my shoulder and he moved in, dropping down on one knee behind me. He pushed me gently down onto my stomach on the divan.
He bent over me and his hands circled my neck from behind, kneading gently before sliding over the tender flesh of my shoulders and down my arms, pulling the resilient fabric of the dress down as he went. With my dress now gathered around my elbows, his lips found the smooth skin of my exposed back and burned a trail across my shoulder blades, causing me to shiver with pleasure. His tongue dipped under my arm and licked a trail down my side, then slid across my lower back and suddenly left my flesh. I gasped as the zipper started to slide down and I realized he’d grabbed it with his teeth. I saw the extreme wisdom of this maneuver when the zipper stopped moving and his tongue plunged deeply into the crack at the top of my buttocks.
I gasped and surged upward, warm liquid running from between my thighs to soak the divan beneath me. “Oh my gods!”