TORRID TEASERS VOLUME 33:
MOON GODDESS
&
SUN GODDESS
by
C’ann Inman
TORRID BOOKS
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An Imprint of Whiskey Creek Press LLC
Copyright © 2007 by C’ann Inman
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Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or the publisher.
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ISBN: 978-1-59374-955-2
Credits
Cover Artist: ESCORPIO
Editor: Chere Gruver
Printed in the United States of America
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT
WHAT HE WANTS
“What He Wants is by authoress C’ann Inman. From cover to cover this book sizzles! Ms. Inman has an amazingly descriptive voice, couple that with carnal heat, and it creates a sensational novel. The premise is divinely fresh and new. The readers will go crazy for this paranormal story. It is packed with great writing and sexual tension that will literally heat up the pages right before the reader’s eyes. Ms. Inman needs to be on every reader’s auto-buy list when only a fresh wordsmith with exciting characters, and original storylines will suffice.”
Janalee at Love Romances
Other Books by Author Available at Whiskey Creek Press:
www.whiskeycreekpress.com
Winter Wishes Anthology
Spring Flings Anthology
What He Wants
Summer Sizzlers Anthology
Fall Fires Anthology
Christmas Candy Anthology
To three wonderful Whiskey Creek Press Torrid readers:
Cathie Morton, Amy Smith, and Jenny Teo.
Moon Goddess
by
C’ann Inman
“You’ll grow old, fat, and die alone.” Celine tossed her ebony locks over her shoulder and gave her fair-haired sister her most-pitying stare. “So sad. But you, alas, cannot attract even the most simple of men.”
Kyra glared at Celine, sparks shooting from her amber-colored eyes. “Oh really? You would do well to attract the keeper of the dogs. I’ve heard he has fleas. You should be so lucky.”
Celine looked away, and her shoulders shook. When she turned back to her sister, she held up her hands. “You win. This time.” She snickered. “Fleas. Honestly.”
Kyra grinned. “I thought you would like that. Spur of the moment it was.” She pulled her flaxen locks back into a simple braid and wound it around her head like a sunlit crown. Her skin glowed, and her golden eyes gleamed. “Do you really think Mother and Father speak of us like that?”
Celine shrugged. “There really is no telling what our parents discuss when we are not about. And I, for one, don’t care.” She tucked her glorious black locks under a circlet and growled at the loose tendrils that always escaped. Her pale skin accented the deep blue eyes that now studied her sister.
“I have no wish to marry. Our parents know this.”
“Nor I.” Kyra tossed her head. “We are goddesses. Why do we need some man grasping after us and clinging to our clothes?”
“Why indeed?” Celine shot a glance to her younger sister. “Though you seem to like Kane trailing after you.”
“Jealous?” Kyra arched an eyebrow, and Celine snorted.
“Never. Simply an observation.” She glanced at the sky. “We only have a few hours before our parents call us in for the evening. Let us make the most of it.” Celine closed her hand and opened it slowly. Six metal discs with a crescent moon emblazoned on them shone brightly in her palm.
“We play for honor, sister. Do you accept?”
Kyra closed her hand and opened it to reveal six metal discs with a blazing sun on each one. “I do.”
The sisters disappeared.
* * * *
“They will be the death of me.” King Thane sighed and looked to his wife for sympathy. He found none.
“I suppose you want biddable daughters. Ones who do as you say and never question anything?” She arched a delicate eyebrow, and her golden eyes bore into him.
“And why would I want a biddable woman in my life?” The king snorted. “I would die of shock, my love.”
Queen Ara eyed her husband and fought the laughter. “What grieves you the most? The fact that our daughters are the two most precious beings in this universe or that they have bested every man who approaches them?”
“Both?”
Ara tilted her head to the side. “Maybe it’s not time for our daughters to find mates.”
“Oh, it’s time all right.” The king stood and paced in front of his dais. “It’s past time. Just because they are fairly immortal is no excuse for not marrying and giving me grandchildren. But they are more concerned with their games than finding a man. It pains me.” He threw up his hands. “I need grandchildren. Wee ones to bounce on my knee.”
Thane stroked his beard thoughtfully. “I realize the girls are still learning their roles in the kingdom. Assimilating their duties. Meeting all facets of people. But how are they to rule this land without a partner to lean on? Such as I have you, my love.”
Ara chuckled. “Flatterer. And as for children to bounce on your knee…do not look at me, husband. I’m past my time for childbearing. But maybe we can think of a way to show our children the light.” She looked at her husband slyly. “I believe that Celine will find a mate before Kyra.”
“Bah.” Thane rolled his eyes. “Just because Celine is your favorite does not mean Kyra is without talent.” The king stroked his dark beard again. “Yes. I believe Kyra will find a mate before Celine.”
“Do you now?” Ara’s voice was silky. “A wager then?”
“Aye.” Thane looked at his beautiful wife with a twinkle in his blue eyes. “We might be able to work something out.”
“There must be rules.” Ara plucked a parchment and quill out of thin air. “The wager begins tonight at midnight and ends when Celine marries.”
“Kyra,” the king growled.
“We shall see.”
She began writing.
* * * *
Celine and Kyra both changed into something more suitable for the game. Loose-fitting trousers and short-sleeved tops. Cobalt for Celine and gold for Kyra. They padded barefoot to the middle of a copse of trees.
Kyra looked around approvingly. “We haven’t been here in a while.” She turned to her sister and bowed. “For honor.”
“For honor, dear sister.” Celine bowed and then stood upright. She flung her hand out so quickly that all Kyra saw was a flash of light upon metal.
The sound of the disc hitting reverberated throughout the clearing.
Kyra narrowed her eyes. “Why do you always choose the dark places?” she demanded.
“The same reason you always choose the light.” Celine smiled. “It suits us.” She watched her sister concentrate for a few minutes before she saw what she desired. As swift as Celine, she flung her disc and smiled as it lan
ded right next to her sister’s, one hundred feet above them on a pine tree.
Kyra turned to Celine and grinned. She palmed her disc and shut her eyes. Her skin glowed lightly as she gathered her strength. Then she flung the disc with all her might.
“Show-off,” Celine muttered.
The sound of the metal finding its target filtered back to the sisters.
Celine placed her hands together and closed her eyes. She warmed the disc lightly while concentrating on her sister’s energy. Kyra’s disc fairly glowed in her mind. And then Celine let the disc fly.
The women heard metal scrape metal as Celine’s disc lay flush against Kyra’s.
“Now who’s showing off?” Kyra glanced at her older sister.
“You started it.” Celine’s blue eyes blinked innocently. She smiled. “Same path. Are you ready?”
Kyra widened her stance. “Throw the damn thing.”
Celine ran her thumb over the smooth face of her disc. She gripped it lightly and then flung it with all her might. It traveled to her left where it took exactly one leaf off a branch before scraping the bark on the tree next to it. Then it moved to a pine tree where it took exactly three berries off a limb. They dropped silently to the ground.
It moved quickly to strike a large boulder that sat in front of the sisters. Then it ricocheted to barely nick a bird’s nest. A twig fell in front of Kyra while Celine’s disc sliced the air between them and stopped ten feet behind them.
“Hey!” A male voice protested.
Celine turned quickly with fire in her sapphire eyes. “Kane!” she fairly snarled as she moved toward him with murder in her eyes. “How dare you spy on us!”
“Goddess.” He bowed stiffly. Then he straightened and smiled at Kyra.
She waved, and Celine growled. “Leave us.”
“Can’t.” He shrugged. His blue eyes frosted when they met Celine’s.
“You most certainly can. And will.”
Kyra stepped forward. “What do you need, Kane?”
His gaze warmed considerably when he looked at Kyra. Celine gnashed her teeth together. Arrogant ass!
“I’ve been sent by your parents to request your presence for the evening meal.”
“You were spying on us.” Celine palmed her discs, and they disappeared. She let her eyes wander over his fine physique insolently. His silver tunic clung lovingly to the muscles under it. He wore a warrior’s band on his right upper arm engraved with the symbols of his station.
Azure pants fit sculpted thighs and disappeared into large, black boots with silvery fringes on both sides. A band circled around his head and kept his mahogany hair from his face. A face that Celine would die before admitting she admired. Bright, blue eyes and chiseled cheekbones. A mouth too wide that loved to deal out parcels of humiliation to her while smiling at her sister.
“Spying, Goddess?” Kane lowered his eyes. “I dare not.”
Kyra palmed her discs also. “Don’t be silly, Celine.” She brushed past the duo and started back toward the castle.
Celine watched her departing sister, and when she was sure Kyra was out of earshot, she stepped closer to Kane.
“You have never challenged me, Kane. Why is that? You fear for your humiliation?”
Celine and Kyra bested every opponent, male and female. Their collective skills were legendary.
“I fear nothing, Goddess.” Kane stepped closer and touched the stray ebony locks that touched her cheek. “Rest assured, if I were to challenge you, I would win. And I’m not sure your ego could handle that.” He turned on his heel and left her there.
Anger boiled up and colored her fair complexion. “Kane!” she yelled.
He stopped in his tracks and looked back inquiringly. “Yes, Goddess?”
“You would not beat me.”
He simply nodded his head and turned back around.
“Kane!” Celine steadied herself before she shrieked like a child. She held her head high while he walked back to her and waited.
“Yes, Goddess?”
“And if we were to battle in private?”
His blue eyes gleamed dangerously.
She lifted her head. “I’m only thinking of your manly ego.” Her dark blue eyes clashed with his fair ones.
“A private competition, Goddess?” The words spoken so low that Celine strained forward a bit to hear them.
“Yes.”
“And the reward?”
Celine’s eyes glowed as she looked at him. “You are not without your…attributes.” She looked over him again and watched in pleasure as his jaw tightened. “Perhaps I could make use of them. At my leisure.”
“And when I win?”
“What do you desire, Kane? Gold? Jewels?”
“Nay.” He reached out to touch her cheek and trail his hand down to her throat. “I desire you. Willing. Waiting for my every command.”
Heat rushed through Celine’s body at his sensual words. Refusal lay on her lips until he uttered his last words.
“Unless you fear the outcome, Goddess.”
“I accept,” she snarled. Her dark blue eyes flashed dangerously. “My bedchamber this evening. Be on my terrace at exactly ten o’clock. We will discuss terms then.” Celine glared at him once and disappeared.
* * * *
Celine appeared in her chamber with a racing heart and anticipation dancing along her nerves. She would finally prove to Kane that she was a woman to be feared and respected. No longer could he look down his nose at her as if she were less than a goddess.
Oh aye, he spoke the words with the proper servitude. But always he acted as if he disdained the very sight of her. She had done nothing to him! Nothing to deserve such a lack of respect.
Yet he doted on Kyra.
Celine changed clothes quickly and started for the stairs. Dinner would provide an excellent time for her to go over her strategy for dealing with Kane. He didn’t stand a chance.
* * * *
Celine retired to her chamber and dismissed her servants. She bathed quickly and dressed in her warrior’s clothing. The cobalt material wound tightly around her body, emphasizing the lush curves and pale skin. She wound her hair up and pinned it on her head. No shoes. Even her feet were deadly weapons. And she would spare Kane no indignity.
She glanced around her chamber and scowled. The blue flowing curtains that cascaded down her walls and framed her bed didn’t exactly scream “fight to the death.” Celine waved her hand, and her bed disappeared.
All the furniture in the room vanished with a thought. She cleared their battleground. Her body tightened in anticipation. Kane would be a worthy opponent. But she would win.
And then she would have him do the menial labor that would remind him at every turn that she was the victor.
Celine moved to the terrace and looked up at the glowing moon in the sky and felt her power strengthen considerably. She chose evening because that’s when her powers were at their fullest. The fragrant jasmine drifted over to her, and she smiled. A night to change Kane’s life considerably and make him realize she was the Moon Goddess. Untouched. Cool and calm. Powerful beyond all cognitive thought.
He would regret his challenge. A smile danced on her curving lips. She would make sure of it.
* * * *
At exactly ten o’clock, Kane appeared on her terrace. He wore simple black pants that tapered to muscular calves. He hadn’t bothered with shoes either. He pulled his hair back from his face with a leather strip. The gold armband gleamed in the moonlight’s glow.
Celine smiled approvingly. “We shall observe the civilities.” She inclined her head and swept her arm wide, inviting him into her chamber.
“Goddess.” Kane inclined his head and walked inside.
Two indigo goblets sat on a lone table in the room. Celine picked one up and handed the other to Kane.
“To the victor.”
“To the victor,” he repeated.
They drank and set the goblets down.
&nbs
p; Celine eyed him curiously. Something seemed different, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She circled him while he stood still.
“I await the invitation, Goddess.”
She walked back in front of him. “Be you ready, Kane of Tharsus?”
“Aye.” His eyes gleamed. “Be you ready, Moon Goddess?”
“Aye.”
Celine walked approximately six feet away from him, turned and waited. As challenger, he would deliver the first blow. She stiffened her spine as he watched her. His light blue eyes traced every inch of her body before he smiled slightly and moved forward. Celine braced for the impact. But his actions weren’t what she expected.
Kane’s hand shot out, and she didn’t flinch. But his hand didn’t strike her. His fingertips brushed against her lips and slid down her body to graze her hardened nipples. They circled leisurely while Celine stood in shock at his brazenness.
She slapped his hand back and stared at him. “What are you doing?” she demanded. “I’m not some whore you can come to and do as you wish. You challenged me. Fight like a man.”
“I am.”
The simple words enraged Celine, and she struck out with her left leg. She made contact, but Kane didn’t trip as she wished. He simply stepped back and proceeded to block every punch and kick she issued.
She snarled as she moved at lightning speed, delivering blows that rained down on Kane’s torso and legs. Celine never touched his face, but his body took strike after strike.
Instead of dealing out any punishment, Kane only defended himself against her.
“Fight, damn you!” Celine’s dark blue eyes narrowed. She stepped back. “I command you.”
“Your commands do not affect me, Goddess.” Kane watched her closely. “It will be my commands ringing in your own ears soon. My words brushing over you.”
“Over my dead body,” she snarled.
Kane’s lips twitched. “So rare to see the calm Moon Goddess with her blood up.”
Celine clenched her teeth tightly together. “Perhaps you didn’t understand the challenge.”
“But I did.” Kane’s silky tone slid over her skin. “A private competition. ’Til one of us yields. That will be you, Goddess.”
Torrid Teasers Volume 33 Page 1