He’d made vague references to having trouble finding clothes to fit him, which led her to believe he was either a little overweight, or very tall. She didn’t care. He’d also let it slip one day that he was tired of being judged by the way he looked and wanted to know why couldn’t women see beneath the outside. So he probably wasn’t sinfully handsome like the Olympians she worked with on a daily basis. She still didn’t care. She’d gotten to know Thunderkiss, his game handle, and wanted him. But would he like her?
He’d never asked for her picture and she’d been grateful. Like him, she was tired of being judged by her outward appearance. She winced and fingered a strand of her rainbow colored hair. As the goddess of rainbows and a divine messenger for Olympus, Inc., the Greek pantheon’s corporation, Iris knew what it was like for everyone around her to look at her and think she was beautiful, but untouchable. That was why she was still a virgin at twenty-nine thousand years old. She gritted her teeth. Other Olympians saw her as too innocent and pure because of the beautiful rainbows that followed in her wake. Mortals had nothing but awe for her when she went to Earth. It was annoying and lonesome.
Would Thunderkiss look beyond that? She could tone down the glittery rainbow shit for a few hours, just enough time for them to meet. Her heart stuttered in her chest. Was she really going to do this? Purposely go out with a mortal she’d fallen in love with in the hopes he’d return her affection?
When her shaking hands landed on the keyboard, she knew she was.
****
Briareus “BC” Colonomos stared at the email he’d just received from Pain-bow Brite, his in-game wife and the mortal he couldn’t get out of his head. She’d said yes to meeting. Yes! His heart pounded and his skin felt too tight for his body. After five years of talking online, getting to know her, discovering how naughty she was despite her good girl image on the game, he was finally going to meet the woman of his dreams.
Holy fucking shit.
“Godsdammit, I can’t get this shit to work!”
The loud crashing sound jerked BC’s attention away from his panicky thoughts. He glanced over to see Cottus, his younger brother and fellow guard of Tartarus, smashing one of the monitors. “What the fuck are you doing?” he shouted as he came to his feet. “That was a perfectly fine monitor, you fucktard.”
Cottus grunted, his huge body rippling with anger. “It was broken.”
He’d only bought the monitor three days before and knew for a fact it wasn’t broken. “What was it doing?” he asked as he walked across the immortal prison’s control room to look at the now smashed to bits monitor.
“I couldn’t see anything on it. I kept moving the mouse around, but nothing showed up on it. Like I said, it’s broken.” Cottus plopped himself in one of the chairs specially made for the Colonomos brothers.
BC sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Did you turn it on?”
“What? Of course I did, I plugged it in.”
Chaos save me from idiots. He normally didn’t take his grandfather’s name in vain, but his brothers tried his nerves like no other immortal in the company could. Well, except for their father, but that bastard never showed his face at the prison these days.
“Look, when you turn a monitor on you have to hit this little button, see?” He demonstrated by pressing the button on another, unbroken monitor. “When the light turns blue here, it means the monitor is on.”
“Whatever,” Cottus said, blowing him off. “I’m taking a break.”
BC stood to his full seven foot seven height. “You just came back from break twenty fucking minutes ago!”
“And I’m taking another!”
The door slammed behind his youngest brother, leaving BC alone in the control booth. Growling under his breath at the lack of work ethic his siblings had, he flopped back into his chair. The laptop in front of him still showed Pain-Bow’s email, soothing some of his frustration, but he couldn’t help but wonder if she’d realize how much of a mistake it was to meet him. He had nothing to bring to any kind of relationship, not that he could remember when he last had one.
Sure, he fucked. There were always nymphs and sprites and a few goddesses who liked the idea of having sex with someone so hideous, but he didn’t want just sex. He wanted all that other shit he’d never had before. Gentleness, tenderness, affection. Things other immortals in the company took for granted.
He leaned back in his chair and stared at the screen, paying no mind to the rows and rows of monitors displaying the cells of Tartarus. Pain-Bow was everything he could have wanted to find in a female, mortal or immortal. She was funny with a sarcastic sense of humor he could greatly appreciate. She was intelligent, but not condescending, and they could talk about anything. She also turned him on. A smile tugged at his mouth as he thought about their last cyber session. She had to have the wickedest imagination ever.
His cock twitched as he remembered her words. BC squirmed in his chair, wondering if she’d find him the least bit attractive. His erection deflated. He wasn’t pretty or even ruggedly handsome like the other immortals who worked for Olympus, Inc. He and his brothers, Cottus and Gyges, were giants. And nowhere near as attractive as their Titan siblings. A slight misunderstanding during the War of the Titans meant the Colonomos brothers had been banished to Tartarus to guard it for fifteen thousand years. It was only in the last thirty thousand years that tensions had eased between the Titans, the Colonomos brothers, and the current executives of the company. But that hadn’t changed his circumstances. He still lived with his idiotic brothers, still worked at the prison, and still remained single because no sane woman would put up with any of it.
BC glanced at the email again and saw the words, Can’t wait to finally meet you, and knew it didn’t matter. He’d fallen hard for the mortal female and he’d do anything in his power to make her his. He’d picked up some things over the last thirty-eight thousand or so years. She wasn’t immortal. Not yet, but he would change that. There were a lot of powerful immortals in Tartarus and some of them might be willing to make deals for better accommodations.
He only hoped Pain-Bow wouldn’t mind hooking up with the giant god of violent storms and hurricanes because he wasn’t sure he could let her go once he saw her.
Chapter Two
In a rush to get through her day so she could hurry home to get ready for her first face-to-face meeting with Thunderkiss, Iris knocked on Tartarus’s control room door louder than usual. The message she carried came directly from the Fates and they’d made her promise to deliver it herself rather than pass it on to one of the junior messengers in the Communications Division.
“Come in,” a deep voice said from within.
Iris opened the door and saw the rows upon rows of monitors, but only one giant sitting in the booth. Briareus, the Vigorous, sat hunched over a laptop, his big fingers clicking away with more dexterity than she would’ve ever credited him with. He didn’t even look her way as she stepped into the booth, all of his focus on the screen she couldn’t see.
She bit back a sigh of impatience and waited for him to notice her. One thing she always prided herself on was her work ethic. Yes, she was in a hurry, but she’d never be rude to a coworker. Judging by the way Briareus frowned at the screen he had to be doing something important.
He was massive, but then he was a giant. He wasn’t bad looking either, though not pretty boy handsome, or even ruggedly handsome like most of the men on Mount Olympus. He just looked rough and dangerous with his crooked nose, and jagged features. Iris couldn’t help but admire his massive physique despite her love for Thunderkiss. Briareus was all man and then some, but of course he never noticed her as anything but an annoyance because every time she saw him it was to deliver orders from the corporate executives. She didn’t think he disliked her so much as just didn’t think anything of her and she was okay with that because she had Thunderkiss.
When Briareus finally looked up, she beamed at him and stepped forward. “This is for you
from the Fates. They asked for me to wait for a reply.”
He took the envelope from her with a grunt and tore it open. Tapping her toes inside her winged shoes, Iris tried to keep her impatience from showing. Briareus frowned at the sheet in front of him, his pretty gray eyes scanning the missive. She’d heard a lot about him through the water cooler grapevine, not that anyone spoke directly to her about their sex lives, but they liked to talk with each other and her speed meant she passed by too quickly for them to stop themselves from dropping the juiciest piece of gossip in front of her. Nymphs, sprites, even a goddess or two had slept with him, although from what she’d heard they didn’t do much sleeping.
Her cheeks burned as they always did when she thought about the things he supposedly did to his lovers. None of them complained about being mastered by him, but none of them went back for second helpings either. They all said he was too rough, too dominating and wanted too much from them. Iris didn’t even know what that last part meant. Did he want them to do things that were horribly taboo, or was it something else? He’d never seemed cruel to her, just a little crude. Kind of like Thunderkiss, although there really wasn’t a comparison, was there? Her mortal was sweet to her and he said the most delicious things. Her toes curled in her shoes.
“What’re you so fucking happy about?” Briareus asked in a hard tone as he scribbled something at the bottom of the message.
Iris’s cheeks heated even further, but she didn’t shy away. “I have a date tonight and I’m a little impatient.”
That caught his attention and he lifted his eyes to stare at her. “You have a date?”
Anger threatened to overtake her happiness and excitement, surprising her. She never got really angry. Upset, yes, maybe a little aggravated, but anger wasn’t part of her emotional make-up because it was a useless emotion. “Is that so hard to believe? Yes, I have a date.”
His thick brown eyebrows rose at her sharp response. His massive shoulders rolled beneath his polo shirt. “Not hard to believe someone would want to go out with you, just surprising that you’re actually going out. You never go out with anyone.”
Iris pressed her lips together to keep back a snappy retort. It didn’t matter what he or anyone else thought. She hadn’t gone out with anyone because no one ever asked her. “Well, I’m going out with someone tonight and I’m impatient.”
Her phone buzzed on her hip, telling her she had a new email, and her heart leapt. It had to be Thunderkiss telling her what time he wanted to meet and what he was wearing. Since Iris had told him she lived in south Louisiana, but not exactly where, he’d agreed to drive in from Houston to meet as long as she picked a nice, public spot for them to meet in and let him pick the time. She almost bounced with excitement to read what he said.
Briareus scrawled his name with a flourish. “That’s nice. Have fun, princess.”
She snatched the newly sealed envelope from his hand. “Thank you, I will. Have a great day.”
****
BC watched Iris walk out the door and fought back the urge to follow her to find out who the fuck she was going out with. It was none of his business. They were coworkers and nothing more. He glanced around the control room, a small grin playing around his mouth at the residual rainbows she’d left behind. If there was one thing anyone in the company could say about Iris Argyris, it was that she always brightened up the day. Everywhere she went she left a little bit of herself behind. It never lasted for long, but it was enough to calm BC’s nervousness about the upcoming night.
He frowned at the streaks of rainbows she’d left on the floor of the control room. She’d obviously been nervous to have left that much of her heat signature behind. Normally, Iris’s residual energy faded within two minutes, but this time he had a bright patch of color on the boring, gray tile of the control room. BC leaned back in his chair and thought about her nervous twitching. He didn’t know why someone like her was so jittery about a date.
She was a knockout. She wore her thickly streaked hair in pigtails that flowed behind her as she flew around. BC was man enough to admit he’d fantasized about holding her by those pigtails and fucking her. It was impossible not to with her rainbow colored hair. And when he said rainbow colored, he meant Roy G. Biv. The red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet colored strands of hair made her appear as though she had dipped her head in a rainbow and she always carefully separated the Roy and Biv, making sure each side had equal amounts of green. It was cute and sexy. Then there was the way she dressed, like she was just a girl next door instead of a goddess. She always wore baggy cargo pants that caught on her hips and white baby-doll T-shirts with the words Communication Division plastered across her big tits. The specially altered Converse sneakers she wore were winged to make her job of delivering messages easier.
She was an essential part of Olympus, Inc. and he’d fantasized about her plenty of times, but someone like Iris was too sweet and innocent for a dark giant like himself. He frowned at his laptop, hoping the same couldn’t be said of his Pain-Bow girl. She’d been unsure of herself when they first began to cyber, but she’d caught on quickly and even surprised him. And he’d loved it. Loved her.
His computer dinged, telling him he had a new email. He sat up and clicked open his browser. It was from Pain-Bow Brite.
Thunderkiss,
Can’t wait to see you tonight! I’m still at work, but I’m getting off early today. I don’t care what my coworkers think. Meet me at Big Cups Café at seven o’clock. I’m sending the directions to you. I’ll be wearing a white sundress and a scarf.
I’m so excited, I think I might be sick, but hopefully it won’t be on you, LOL
Love,
Pain-Bow Brite
BC let out a shaky laugh. She wasn’t the only one who was so nervous they couldn’t spit if someone yelled fire. He didn’t know the place she was talking about so he quickly Googled the place and saw it was a very small coffee shop in an equally small town in south Louisiana. She’d told him she lived in south Louisiana, but not the exact town. BC never pushed to discover more because he figured she was being cautious, something he greatly approved of since it’d kept her safe for him.
He studied the map carefully. Okay, no biggie, he could take the portal to the corporate office in New Orleans and drive out there. He’d already told her he would be wearing a black shirt and blue jeans. Now that he knew what she would be wearing, his cock threatened to burst out of his work khakis.
Tonight. He’d see her tonight.
Chapter Three
Iris tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and stared at the door of the quiet Earthside coffee shop she liked to go to once in a while. The appeal for this little shop in a tiny south Louisiana town wasn’t the coffee or the people who frequented it. No, the appeal was all in the lighting, or lack thereof. It was one of the most dimly lit public places she could think of that wasn’t a movie theater.
Smoothing a hand over her white sundress, she kept a sharp eye out for a man wearing a black T-shirt and blue jeans. She and Thunderkiss had agreed to meet at exactly seven o’clock tonight and they’d each promised not to be disappointed if things didn’t work out. Iris didn’t even want to think about that, she couldn’t. She’d even sworn she wouldn’t get worked up about this meeting and that she wouldn’t get to the coffee shop early, but she’d been too excited to wait. After leaving bad-tempered Briareus’s office, she’d read her email to see they were officially on for the night and she’d gone a little insane. She’d hurried through the rest of her assignments, zipping around Mount Olympus and carting things back and forth to Olympus, Inc.’s earthly satellite offices so she could punch out at four-thirty. She glanced at her watch. Six o’clock. She only had another hour before she finally saw him.
The door opened and she almost gasped in shocked surprise as the most beautiful mortal male she’d ever seen walked in. He didn’t look around, but headed straight for the counter. He wasn’t as tall as Olympians were, standing at a
little over six feet tall, but he was more handsome than Adonis as far as Iris was concerned. His black hair glinted in the dim light and his dusky skin looked like satin. He glanced around as he placed his order, his gaze skimming over her before darting back and studying her with dark eyes. He wore a black T-shirt and faded blue jeans.
Iris held her breath. Please don’t be Thunderkiss, please don’t be Thunderkiss. Because as beautiful as he was, she didn’t feel the least bit attracted to him. He was like a work of art, something she could admire at a gallery, but there was no way she was hanging him on her wall. He gave her a small nod and took his order.
He was almost to the door when the barista called out, “Daire? You forgot your card.”
The mortal turned to get his card when the door slammed open behind him. Another man, much taller than the first, entered the shop. A black T-shirt strained at massive muscles. Faded blue jeans molded over long, muscular legs. Black boots encased big, long feet. Iris’s heart pounded as a tingle started in her belly. She stared at those boots when they turned in her direction. Thunderkiss had told her more than once that he had fifteen pairs of black boots because he never wanted to be without a pair.
He walked toward her, those big feet making the wooden floor vibrate. Her clit pounded as she let her gaze roam up his long, muscled body. The bulge at his groin caught her attention and she stared hungrily. She was still officially a virgin, but she’d lost her maidenhead centuries ago with a dildo. Through the centuries she’d explored sex toys of all sizes and found that she much preferred big dicks. And he had a big, long cock. Oh gods, please be him.
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