Zeus (The God Chronicles #1)

by Kamery Solomon

The music was excruciatingly loud—the beat pulsing through the floor—but it only added to my excitement. Everywhere I looked there were people grouped together—some along the wall seated at black tables with purple chairs, others crowded around the bar in the opposite corner. The majority were smashed together on a huge sunken dance floor in the middle of the rectangular room. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dim lights that highlighted every other table as well as the purple splotches on the black carpet. We pushed our way through the crowd away from the entrance towards the center of the extraordinary room.

  “Do you want to start with a drink?” Jessie yelled over the noise.

  “Like what?” I yelled back, moving closer so I could hear better.

  “What . . . like?” I heard her yell back.

  “I don’t know I haven’t really had anything before, just wine at weddings and stuff.”

  “What?” I could tell she was itching to dance as her hips swayed with the music.

  “Never mind,” I yelled again. “Let’s go dance!”

  She did hear that and smiled, nodding her head. As soon as we hit the floor, we were enveloped by the pulsing crowd. Soon we were lost in the music. My heartbeat matched the thrumming of the bass, and a burst of adrenaline flowed through my veins. I closed my eyes and surrendered myself to the sounds around me. After a few moments, I opened my eyes to find myself dancing with a man I didn’t know, but I didn’t care. I wrapped my arms around his neck and let the beat lead us where it wanted. The girls had been right—STYX was definitely the place to be.

  The music ended and everyone cheered while someone stood to announce that night’s DJ. Jessie pushed her way back to me and suggested we at least get some water since we had walked so far.

  “That sounds like a good idea,” I confessed. My mouth and throat were so dry it felt as if they were filled with cotton. “To be honest, my feet could use a break.” I loved wearing heels, but they were hard on my toes.

  We headed to the bar as the next song started. Once we had our water, we took a seat at one of the recently vacated tables. We laughed as we watched Jenny and Julie flirting with a pair of twins. They were hitting it off, but one of the guys looked like he was going to pass out because they were talking to him. I kicked my shoes off and enjoyed the refreshing feeling the cool water gave me as it ran down my esophagus. After two more songs, I was ready to go back in.

  “You go ahead,” Jessie said. “Julie might be heading over here. I’ll sit with her for a while.”

  I squished myself back onto the floor and was immediately asked to dance by a very cute young man. I agreed and was soon lost in the music again. The night continued on in a swirl of music and partners and I hardly noticed when my friends either left or entered the dance floor. I was having the time of my life.

  When my throat screamed for the dry fire to be put out, I made my way back to the bar, squeezing through the ever-growing number of people in the room. My savior, the waiter, flashed me a dazzling smile as he handed it over and I smiled back. I’d missed having guys my own age to flirt with.

  “Let me guess, designated driver?” The deep, smooth voice soared through the din and my knees went weak. I didn’t see the man who had spoken to me, but if his voice was any indicator, he was smoking hot.

  “No,” I said as I turned around. His image stopped my thoughts dead in their tracks, and I stood there with my mouth gaping like a fish out of water.

  He was gorgeous. I felt like I was looking at a statue of a Greek God. Medium length, black hair—perfectly styled—hung slightly across his perfect, golden brown eyes. The facial hair covering his slightly pale but flawless skin was rugged, without making him resemble a mountain man. It was the perfect addition to his chiseled jaw line. Butterflies erupted inside me as my eyes travelled down his form fitting, black suit, my jaw still flapping in the wind. It didn’t help that he was wearing the suit, perfectly tailored to him. I was a sucker for a handsome man in a suit. Realizing that I appeared to be staring at his crotch, I quickly tore my gaze back to his face.

  He was staring right into my eyes and I couldn’t look away. He seemed amused as I fell silent, like it was an everyday occurrence. It probably was with his body.

  “No . . . ?” He questioned, a small smile gracing his face. I felt my knees start to shake a little.

  “Uh,” I stammered. “Sorry,” I said, shaking my head and covering my eyes. When I finally felt composed enough, I lowered my hand

  . “I just like water.”

  I couldn’t believe how stupid I sounded. I could feel the heat burning in my face and my eyes widen in horror. I waited for a weird look and his departure, but he started laughing instead.

  “You’re cute. I like that.” He took a sip of a drink the bartender had brought him.

  “Only cute,” I joked back. “I guess I’ll head out then, no reason for a simply cute girl to be here.” I tried to keep a straight face as long as possible as I made a show of turning to leave, and he laughed some more. It was a deep sound, but effortless. I liked it a lot, especially because it brought his perfect smile back to his perfect lips.

  “What’s your name?” He grabbed my water before I could and started heading to a table. It seemed a little bold, but I was feeling brave and followed him.

  “Karly,” I said as we sat down on opposite sides. “Yours?”

  “Zeus,” he replied while surveying the dance floor. I couldn’t help it—I snorted into the drink in my hand and started laughing.

  “Wow, your parents must have hated you!”

  “Actually,” he replied, turning back to me. “My parents are Greek. It is a great honor to be named after their God.” All humor was gone from his face as he watched at me. I felt the blush coming back again.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you,” I apologized.

  “It’s no big deal, it happens a lot actually. The joke about the name—not the offending,” he added as a side thought. He turned his attention back to the dancing, slouching in his seat and drumming his fingers on the table. I sat there awkwardly, wondering if I should excuse myself. All my successful flirtations from earlier in the night were sorely missed. I was goofing up big time with this guy.

  “Do you want to dance now?” he asked out of the blue.

  “Uh, yeah. Sure.”

  I stood and started back to the floor, a wave of shock flowing through me when he came up beside me and wrapped his arm around my waist. When we reached the floor, he released me and grabbed my hand instead, pulling me to the middle of the crowd. We finally stopped and he turned to face me, pulling my body up against his. His golden brown eyes met mine once more, a small, seductive smile flickering across his face as he placed my hands on his hips. My knees started to tremble again as I felt his abs and “V” shape cut. He was definitely hot, too hot for me, but I wasn’t complaining.

  He wrapped his arms around me, placing his hands at the small of my back. Slowly, he began to move against me, testing the beat, pulling me along with him. It was a lot more intimate than I was used to—it felt exciting and new. The longer we danced the faster the movement became. He slid one of his hands up my back until it rested on my neck and rubbed his thumb over the skin there, still holding me close with the other hand. Goose bumps started popping up on my skin and a smile crept onto his face. Holding me tighter, he slid his hand from my neck to my jaw, rubbing his thumb just under my lips. Hot breath warmed my face as he leaned in, lips hovering over mine but never actually making contact.

  My stomach fluttered and my entire body suddenly felt very hot. Zeus was creating foreign feelings part of me really liked. I wasn’t sure what was happening since I’d never experienced anything like this before. Honestly, I didn’t know I could dance like that, but I wasn’t about to stop. What was the harm in enjoying myself if I was probably never going to see him again?

  Time seemed to stop as we danced together, wrapped in a close embrace. Other guy
s asked to cut in and he refused. Every song flowed effortlessly into the next, creating the illusion that it was all one melody. After what seemed like hours, he finally slowed down and placed his mouth against my ear.

  “Do you want to come up to my room for the rest of the night?” His breath was hot, creating more goose bumps, but my insides went cold. I pulled back and looked at him. He wore a sultry expression, one that was meant to tempt me into saying yes.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Come upstairs with me,” he purred, pulling me as close as he could. “It will be fun, promise. We can sneak out without your friends noticing. No one has to know.”

  He placed a hand on the back of my head and leaned in for a kiss. Fortunately, my brain caught up in time, and I slapped him as hard as I could before he got there, causing several people around us to stop and stare. Zeus seemed frozen, his lips still puckered slightly as he faced the direction my attack had sent him.

  “If you want a call girl there’s plenty of them out on the corner. I don’t sleep with pigs,” I whispered into his ear, ice lacing every word. I scowled at him only long enough to see the shock registering on his face, before pushing away and walking right out of the club.

  I hurried through the casino below, fighting back tears. The girls caught up with me as I walked through the doors and back out to the Strip. My hands balled into fist so hard the knuckles turned white. My entire frame shook, and I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting angry tears.

  “Karly, what happened?” Jessie was out of breath, her shoes in her hands.

  “Just some jerk,” I mumbled, finally opening my eyes. “Can we call a cab? I want to go home.”

  “Sure,” Julie said, concern written on her face. She stepped up to the curb and waved one down.

  “Please tell us what’s wrong.” Jenny reached out and put a hand on my shoulder.

  “In the cab,” I said as one pulled up for us.

  On the way home, I told them everything that had happened. I didn’t cry thankfully, but it was obvious I was fighting it. My breath caught every few minutes while I blinked furiously, trying to control the prickling I felt there. Anger and hurt battled over which would get to be my predominant feeling. Zeus had ruined the evening for me.

  “I’m sorry I made us leave earlier than you wanted.” The girls had never been home sooner than one in the morning. I was sure they’d planned on staying out much later than eleven thirty.

  “You don’t need to be sorry,” Jessie said. “We understand.” We were both smashed together in the middle. She rubbed my back in an effort to calm me.

  “You said his name was Zeus?” Julie questioned from the front seat.

  “Yeah.”

  The girls exchanged a knowing expression.

  “We know who you’re talking about,” Jenny explained. “That was Zeus Drakos. For as young as he is, he’s the owner of Tartarus. He also has a huge reputation for being a player. I thought I recognized him, but I wasn’t sure. Sorry, Karly.”

  “What a jerk,” I said under my breath. “I mean, do I come across like a one night stand?” I knew it wasn’t fair to rant all my anger on them.

  “No,” came the resounding reply. I really was starting to love my roommates.

  “It’ll be alright,” Jessie said soothingly.

  I was tired of letting stupid things upset me. Life was full of ups and downs, so why should this one moment ruin the fun I’d had earlier that night? I could put it out of my mind—like the card from the street. I watched the scenery pass by and listened to the cabbies honk their horns in anger. There was so much more I could occupy my thoughts with.

  “Yeah, it will be. I’m simply not going to let it bother me. What’s done is done.” I sighed as we arrived at the apartment and got out of the car.

  “Thanks for the cab,” I said. “I would have hated to drive through that.”

  “No problem at all.” Jessie beamed at me as we headed up the stairs.

  “School in the morning,” Jenny said, changing the subject.

  We all groaned.

  Chapter Five