by Addison Fox
They’d gotten lucky this time. There’d been other times when lives had been lost.
Finally exhausted, both men ended up in Gabe’s office. “You know what?” Gabe commented as he sank down into his desk chair. “Just once, I’d like to be able to hunt the Hunters. I’m sick and tired of having to hide from them.”
“Yeah, but that’s the way it always is. They hunt, we stay alive long enough to Rejuvenate and do our job of guarding the entrance into the world of the gods. As long as no Hunters were able to gain access and free Chaos, Earth was safe.
Gabe snorted, earning a surprised glance from his brother. “Have you ever really thought about that? How long has it been since you’ve seen a god or goddess? In fact, have you ever even seen one?”
“Well...” Rafe had to think about it, which underscored Gabe’s point. “What are you trying to say? That the ancient gods and all their secrets have vanished?”
“No. Not at all. You know as well as I do that as long as someone believes in them, they exist. As long as there are Helios to believe in them and protect them, they live.”
“And as long as we keep the two worlds separate, Chaos is banished,” Rafe recited the words taught to every young Helios before he or she could walk.
“But where is it decreed that we can’t try to stop the Hunters?”
At Gabe’s words, Rafe chuckled. Then, when he realized his brother wasn’t kidding, he slowly shook his head. “Don’t you see? If we started something like that, it would be the beginning of chaos. The proper order of everything would be in turmoil. The Hunters would win without even trying.” Lowering his brows, he frowned. “And in addition, going after them would reveal exactly who we are. It would put our entire family in jeopardy.”
“You’re right.” Gabe shifted in his chair. “Though I hate it. Each year, every equinox or solstice, the necessity of hiding grates on my last nerves.”
“Mine, too. But we Rejuvenate. Once that’s over, we’re new and all that goes away.”
“For another three months.” Gabe knew he should stop, but he couldn’t just let it go.
“Time to change the subject.” Spinning in his chair, Rafe stopped and faced Gabe. He appeared oddly hesitant, which in itself was unusual enough to give Gabe pause. “I do have a bit of good news.”
“Okay.”
“I’ve asked Evangeline to marry me. She said yes.”
Dumbfounded, Gabe stared. Finally, collecting himself, he jumped to his feet and clapped his brother on the back. “Congratulations! When’s the wedding going to be?”
Rafe grinned. “That’s where I stepped back, per her instructions. Evangeline is planning everything. You know how good she is at that. She says she’ll let me know the date and all I need to do is show up.”
“Lucky you.” They’d both had friends whose fiancées had turned into bridezillas. “If she holds to that promise, that is.”
“She will.” He checked his phone. “Speaking of Ev, she just texted me. I promised to take her out for an early breakfast tomorrow. After that, I plan to be busy the rest of the morning.”
Gabe envied Rafe his happiness. Despite his current fascination with Meghan, he doubted he’d ever attain that level of commitment in a relationship. When he’d been younger, he’d fallen in love, only to have his girlfriend’s true colors come out when they’d gotten engaged. She’d cheated on him with his best friend and after that, he’d had trouble trusting. “Have fun.”
Rafe left. Gabe put his feet up on the desk, thinking about Meghan. He’d had fun today. If she hadn’t been a famous performer, he would have thought her the most down-to-earth woman he’d ever dated. That, combined with her exquisite beauty, made an irresistible combination.
But he knew better. She had a reputation as a diva, just like most female superstars, at least as they were portrayed in the media. He just hadn’t known her long enough to see that side of her.
Which was good. He had enough on his plate without trying to deal with something like that.
His stomach growled, reminding him he hadn’t eaten, either. He checked his watch, glad most of the restaurants in the Archangel kept later hours to cater to the ever-present nightlife. He made a phone call, confirmed he’d have a table, and hurried upstairs to see if Meghan wanted to join him for that elusive steak dinner.
Entering his suite and finding her still naked in his bed nearly abolished any thought of leaving for nourishment. Her emerald eyes lit up at the sight of him.
“How’d it go? Is everything all right?”
He nodded, momentarily unable to speak. She looked beautiful and sexy and...his.
No. A quick stab of panic had him sucking in his breath. Not his. Not by a long shot.
“Are you hungry?” he asked, reminding her of the plans they’d made earlier.
“Sure.” Was that disappointment or confusion that darkened her eyes? “Give me ten minutes to put on some clothes and mascara and lip gloss.” She jumped up and, keeping the sheet wrapped around her, hurried into the bathroom.
True to her word, she emerged ten minutes later, once again dressed in her disguise. “I’m starving.”
He held out his arm. “Let’s go eat.
The Flame Steak House, long his favorite restaurant not only in his hotel but the entire Vegas Strip, had won several awards as the most romantic place to bring a date. Gabe took full advantage of this by taking Meghan there. Since he’d phoned ahead and given a generous tip to his hardworking hostess, they had a wonderful seat near the window, looking out over the fountain. Of course, being one of the owners of the place didn’t hurt, either. He watched Meghan carefully, still in awe of her beauty and wondering if and when the prima donna that had to be inside her would rear its head. There’d been lots of stories, on entertainment television and in gossip magazines, of her unreasonable demands and expectations. While he knew enough to question the factuality of some of the stories, there had to be a grain of truth in there somewhere.
But, no. They had a nice quiet dinner, during which he spent entirely too much time looking at her mouth and aching to kiss her one more time. To his surprise, she ordered a filet mignon and he had his usual rib eye.
“Steak?” he asked, raising a brow.
Her response was a grin and a shrug. “What can I say? The more I thought about it, the better it sounded.”
They shared a bottle of good red wine and talked about everything and nothing. Every time he tried to get more personal, Meghan deflected and moved the conversation to a more general topic. Which only served to frustrate him as well as pique his interest even more. He knew every single inch of her body. He wanted to learn more about what made her tick.
The chef—his cousin Rocco, who also was the restaurant’s owner—came out to speak with him after the meal, accepting Gabe’s compliments with a little bow and claiming it had been an honor to serve his boss. Since Gabe ate in the steak house on a regular basis, and this little exact same ritual occurred every single time, he smiled but kept from laughing out loud.
“Now what would you like to do?” he asked Meghan as he escorted her from the restaurant. “The night’s still young and is just getting started. We have several excellent clubs here at the Archangel.”
Shaking her head, she laughed. “I’m sure you do. And I promise I’ll check them out eventually. But if I were to go dancing now, someone for sure would recognize me. I’d rather stay incognito for as long as possible. It’s really nice to be able to go somewhere without paparazzi jumping out from behind bushes.”
Again, not at all diva-like.
“Then what would you like to do?” Part of him—okay, most of him—hoped she would say go back to his room and make love again.
She thought about it for a moment. “Maybe see a show. Or find a bar and listen to some music.”
“
Since I know for a fact all this evening’s shows are sold out, we’ll have to go with the second option.”
“Okay.” Once again she lifted her shoulder in a delicate shrug. “That sounds great. Though I have to say, I’m surprised.” The flash of mischief in her eyes made them sparkle. One corner of her mouth quirked, as if she was struggling not to laugh.
It took him a minute to be able to focus enough to get the words out. “Surprised about what?”
“That the owner of the casino can’t pull a few strings and get us into a sold-out show.”
Aha. There it was. Diva. Rafe had warned him. He squashed down the rush of disappointment, because he shouldn’t have expected any different. She laughed, as if she’d made a joke, but once she caught sight of his expression, her mirth faded away to nothing.
“I’m sorry, I can’t. Doing something like that would mean paying patrons would lose their seats.” His wooden voice sounded stiff, even to him.
Of course she noticed. “I was kidding,” she said. “Seriously. Just joking. I laughed—didn’t you hear me? I would never expect you to throw your weight around for me.”
Which was ridiculous. She was a superstar. Any casino owner worth his salt would fall all over himself to give Meghan Frost every single thing she needed.
And even a few things she didn’t. He waited for her to point that out. When she didn’t, he wasn’t sure what to think.
He wasn’t sure if he felt like a fool or if she really had been toying with him. Whichever it was, evidently his silence stretched out too long.
“You know what,” she said, speaking carefully and avoiding looking at him. “I’m really tired. I think it’s time to call it a night. Thank you again for your time. I’ll give you a call if I need anything in the future.” And then, having dismissed him, she turned and strode off without a backward glance.
Chapter 10
Gabe didn’t follow her, even though he hadn’t been ready for the evening to end. He’d enjoyed her company and until now, he’d thought the feeling was mutual. In fact, he’d even begun entertaining hopes they could end the night up in his penthouse with a nightcap.
And more. Much, much more.
Instead he found himself in the high-limits salon, surrounded by a select few others willing to play twenty-dollar slots. He chose a machine in the dark corner and played until he’d run out of twenties. One of his cocktail waitresses kept him supplied with drinks, but after a few hours had passed he didn’t feel any different other than a few hundred dollars poorer.
With a sigh, he got up and made his way to his suite and his bed.
His black mood hadn’t improved by the morning. Not only had he lost quite a bit of money gambling, but he’d missed Meghan with an ache that felt way too strong, considering the short amount of time he’d known her. He’d even considered a booty call in the middle of the night, but Meghan had made it quite clear she wanted to be on her own. He knew he hadn’t made it clear enough how much he wanted to be with her.
In fact, he hadn’t been fair. He’d let his past experiences with women who only wanted to date a casino owner for what he could get them—the perks and jewelry and attention—make her into something she wasn’t. After all, she hadn’t demanded anything. She’d claimed to be joking and in retrospect, she probably had been. Meghan Frost was the most un-diva-like woman he’d ever met.
He wanted to spend the entire day making it up to her. He shook his head. He actually couldn’t. He had a hotel to run, after all. There were back-to-back meetings scheduled for that afternoon and enough paperwork to keep him busy all morning.
So he went through the steps, workout, shower, breakfast, and then donning his suit and tie and heading to the office in the business area of the hotel. Once there, he focused on his job, trying really hard not to snap at anyone. He didn’t always succeed. He felt grumpy and out of sorts and couldn’t seem to get himself out of his rotten mood.
After he’d been hard at work in his office for a couple of hours, his brother came in and closed the door.
“What’s going on with you?” Rafe flashed him a look of annoyance. “I get that it’s close to time to Rejuvenate, but you act like you’re about to jump out of your skin.”
Swallowing hard, Gabe shook his head. “You’re one to talk. Unlike you,” he teased, “I’m sure I can wait until the solstice.”
“Then what’s wrong? The entire staff is walking on eggshells around you.”
“It’s...” Gabe swallowed. He and Rafe weren’t in the habit of keeping things from each other, so he didn’t see any reason to start now. “It’s her. Meghan Frost.”
“I see.” Rafe didn’t seem surprised. “But I don’t actually see the problem. Didn’t you two have dinner last night?”
“We did.” Abandoning all attempts at focusing on the reports in his screen, Gabe leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “And then I acted like an ass and the night ended way earlier than it should have.”
“You? Act like an ass?” The pointed statement wasn’t lost on Gabe. “Wow. What a shock.”
“Come on, Rafe. I’m not usually that bad.”
Rafe nodded. “No, you’re not. So what gives? I thought you’d decided to enjoy a brief, three-month affair with her and then each of you go your own separate ways.”
“I did.” For a few heartbeats, Gabe debated telling his brother the truth. After all, Rafe had found happiness with Evangeline. He might actually understand.
“I feel differently about her.” The confession felt as if it had been torn from him. “I don’t want to. Sex this good should be enough. More than enough.” He swallowed, hard. “But it’s not. With her, I want...more.”
Under any other circumstances, the long look his brother directed at him would have made him laugh. Not now. Not today.
“More what? Sex?”
Unable to articulate, especially since nothing he said would make sense, Gabe nodded. “Maybe that’s it. Evidently I haven’t gotten her out of my system yet.”
“Are you worried she’s done with you? Because of whatever you fought about yesterday?”
The thought hadn’t really occurred to him until now. “It wasn’t a fight,” he protested. “We had a minor misunderstanding and she stalked off. I’m thinking I might need to apologize.”
“So do what you have to do. Judging from the smoldering looks you two have been exchanging, she won’t need too much persuading to take you back, bro.”
Startled, Gabe titled his head. “Do you really think so?”
“I do.” Rafe’s firm tone left no room for argument. “But remember who she is. You’ve read the same articles I did. Our pop superstar is kind of a wild child. As long as you spell out the rules ahead of time, no one gets hurt.”
Touched by his brother’s concern, Gabe nodded. “She’s not really like that, you know. At least not from what I’ve seen. I bet a lot of it is her public persona, dreamed up by her PR people. It has to be. But I do appreciate your warning. I have no plans on getting too emotionally involved. You know that.”
“It wasn’t you I was worried about,” Rafe said drily. “The last thing we need is a brokenhearted superstar refusing to honor her contract.”
After a second of shocked silence, Gabe threw back his head and laughed. A moment later, Rafe joined him.
“Good point. Although I don’t see that happening.”
“Hopefully not. But all kidding aside, I still don’t see what you’re agonizing over. What’s the problem?” Rafe asked. “You’re both healthy and unattached. The attraction appears mutual and neither of you are the type to expect long-term commitment. If she’s mad, kiss her and I bet she gets over it. Why beat yourself up?”
“I don’t know.” Though he did. Even the blood pumping through his veins tingled at the thought of touching her again.
Despite his confusion, he knew there was more to his complicated feelings than that. He felt foolish even attempting to articulate them.
Staring Gabe down, Rafe shook his head. “So what’s the problem? I don’t know what’s wrong with you. You’re not usually this wishy-washy.”
“Wishy-washy?” Gabe raised one brow, eyeing his brother. “Really? You couldn’t think of a better word?”
“No.” Rafe gave him a small shove, right in the middle of his back. “Since you’ve been increasingly more and more difficult to deal with, go. Find her, kiss and make up, and take her to bed. Don’t come back until you’re in a better mood.”
He might be right. For all he knew, they could easily smooth this over. Maybe Meghan would even have forgotten all about the fact that they’d parted awkwardly the day before. Though he kind of doubted it.
Suddenly, all the work he’d planned to do today seemed unimportant. Most of it was checking his employees’ work—he’d long ago learned to delegate.
“You know, you’re right. I think I will.” Halfway to the door, Gabe couldn’t resist one final parting shot, delivered over his shoulder. “Okay, bro. Since you want me out of here so bad, I guess I can assume that you don’t mind picking up the two appointments I have with vendors this afternoon. They can’t be rescheduled. I’m sure my assistant can fill you in on the details.”
He took off without waiting for an answer. Rafe would juggle his schedule to make sure he could accommodate Gabe’s appointments, or more likely, he’d try to have them rescheduled. While Gabe was off wining and dining the beautiful Meghan Frost in the hopes of making up for lost time.
* * *
The morning after she’d sent Gabe packing, Meghan tried to figure out how things had gone south so fast. Inherently shy, she knew well that her people skills were admittedly abysmal. This was why she had an entire team of PR people and a manager, to smooth out the messes her rough edges could conjure up. This was also why she hadn’t had a genuine relationship in ages. Every single date or supposed boyfriend had been something set up by either her people or his. It wouldn’t look good, they claimed, for a star with a reputation as wild as hers to be known as celibate. Even though she basically was. And had been, for a really long time. Until now, when she felt positive her dry spell was finally over.