A Taste of Greek (Out of Olympus #3) (8 page)

“I guess no difference at all,” he agreed.

At that moment, the sky thundered overhead with a deafening boom, then lit up in explosive brightness as lightning arced through the sky. A torrential downpour started outside their window, drenching the unexpected and unprepared. Hermes couldn’t help the grin that split his lips. It appeared that Zeus had finally figured out how his cell phone worked and picked up his voicemail.

“What is it with the weather out here lately?” Penny asked.

He shrugged, focusing on his lunch again. He wasn’t going to let Zeus destroy his date with Penny. He could summon him all he wanted, but Hermes wouldn’t respond. What part of “on vacation” did Zeus not get?

“Do you think there are people out there who still believe?” she pressed.

He knew there were. A thought came and went. Maybe he could help her with her article. Maybe if he told her a few things—things that weren’t really a secret, but hadn’t been fully explored by mortals—he could get Penny to thank him for it—in a carnal kind of way.

He gazed into her eyes. “Perhaps. The hard part will be finding them, unless you know where to look.”

“True.” Her beautiful eyes perused him for a long moment. “But I’m excited to try.”

He’d bet she would be excited to try all kinds of new things. The journey he would take her on would be exciting for both of them. And long. Suddenly, just taking her to bed this afternoon wasn’t what he wanted anymore. No, he wanted to delay gratification, both his and hers.

Besides, something about her words had made him think. The earnestness that had crossed her face when she’d told him how important it was for her to gain approval from the tenure committee, gave him pause. Suddenly, there was so much more to explore than just her body. Her mind intrigued him. And that had never happened before. At the same time, it made him cautious. He didn’t want to get involved in a relationship. Maybe he should end it here and now.

“Listen, I have a party I’m helping throw on Saturday.” The words were out before he could stop himself. Hadn’t he just decided that it was best not to take this any further? Obviously, his body had a mind of its own and wasn’t listening to his brain.

“With your friend, Triton?”

“Yes. I’m supposed to bring a date and, well, would you like to go with me?” There, now he’d said it. There was no way back from this.

She beamed. “Absolutely. I’d love to go with you.”

He lifted his wine in a toast and wondered whether he was toasting to his own downfall. “To exciting new ventures.”

She clinked her glass against his. “And exciting new friends.”

Oh, we’ll be more than friends
, he mused.
At least friends with benefits. Lots of benefits.

9

The night of the party, Hermes glanced out the window of Triton’s and Sophia’s Bed and Breakfast on Battery Street, which they’d aptly named
Olympus Inn
, watching for Penny to arrive. The fact that he was actually anxious to see her and was acting like a schoolboy waiting for his first kiss wasn’t lost on him. He downed his drink and turned away from the window.

“Waiting for someone?” Eros asked, a wide knowing grin splitting his face.

“Not at all,” Hermes lied, and joined his friend at the bar.

“It’s a good thing. You and I are the only confirmed bachelors left and I’m beginning to fear we’re a dying breed.”

Hermes laughed. “You don’t have to worry about me.” He wouldn’t be trapped the way Triton and Dionysus had been by walking into their golden cages like a couple of lovesick puppies.

But his laugh died as he saw Penny walk through the door, looking stunning in a black-beaded dress. Every male eye in the room turned to drink her in, at once filling him with equal measures of pride and annoyance. He walked toward her and took her hand, letting them all know whom she was here with. And whom she would be leaving with.

The truth was he’d been looking forward to seeing Penny again. But not because he was at risk of losing his single-man status as his father and others might hope, but rather because tonight would be the night he would get to do what he’d been wanting to do since he’d first seen her standing in that coffee shop drenched from the rain: to explore every inch of her luscious body—
intimately
.

“You look beautiful,” he said, leaning forward and kissing her cheek.

She smiled. “Thank you, Hermes.” She looked around the room at the people already assembled. “I’m not late, am I?”

“Not at all. You’re perfect.” He drew her farther into the room. “Let me introduce you to my friends.”

He took her by the arm and led her to where Sophia was greeting guests. “Sophia!”

The pretty brunette turned to him.

“Penny, this is the birthday girl, Sophia.”

Sophia smiled at Penny, then looked back at Hermes. “And this is the man who helped organize this wonderful party.”

“It was nothing.” Hermes grinned. With the help of the servants of the gods, it hadn’t been much work at all. The hard part had been to make the decisions. The execution had been handed over to the servants, the pint-sized fairies who’d been serving the gods for centuries. “Sophia, I’d like you to meet my friend, Penelope.”

“Hi, Penelope,” Sophia greeted her, holding out her hand. “Welcome to our home.”

“Please call me Penny,” she replied, taking her hand and giving it a quick shake. “You have a beautiful house.”

Triton appeared next to his wife and put an arm around her waist. “Thank you. We like it.” Triton’s eyes twinkled as he stared down at his wife.

Hermes still couldn’t believe how easily and completely Triton had fallen under Sophia’s spell. Hermes loved Sophia, too, but hoped that whatever sickness Triton had contracted wasn’t contagious.

Suddenly, his friend’s expression changed. “Uh, oh. Incoming,” Triton warned under his breath.

Hermes looked up to see Zeus approaching.

“Happy birthday, Sophia,” the God of Gods said in a booming authoritative voice, his scowl toward Triton proving he’d heard the whispered warning.

“Thanks, Z,” Sophia said and leaned in to accept his kiss, even though Triton never released her from his arms.

“You’re looking fabulous, as usual.” Zeus’s eyes traveled from Sophia to Penny, where they lingered appreciatively—too appreciatively for Hermes’ liking. He drew her closer to him.

“Is your lovely wife with you tonight?” Sophia asked, her voice full of playful innocence.

“No, sorry. She sends her regrets,” Zeus said, his tone as polished as his suit, not showing that the mention of Hera was probably turning his blood to acid and corroding his arteries.

Hermes was certain that his wicked stepmother wasn’t even aware of the party; otherwise, she would be here.

“Oh, what a shame!” Sophia exclaimed, her innocent look still firmly plastered on her sweet face. “I could have sworn Triton mentioned to me that she’d RSVP’d and said she would try to make it, didn’t you sweetheart?”

Zeus grunted in displeasure and glared at Hermes. Ah, so one of his friends had sent her an invitation after all. And now Zeus suspected him. Figured!

“A cold, I’m afraid. A dreadful summer cold,” Zeus pressed out through clenched teeth.

“Oh, no! Please send her my wishes for a speedy recovery,” Sophia chirped.

“I shall do that,” Zeus agreed.

“Well, I’m glad at least
you
could make it. It would have been a shame if you’d come down with the same virus,” Triton said, craning his neck and looking past Zeus into the distance.

Had Triton gone completely crazy, provoking Zeus like this? What in Hades was wrong with him?

“Oh, rats, will you excuse us?” Triton glanced down at his wife, and Hermes caught his conspiratorial look. “I believe that’s Alice waving at us. Looks like an emergency in the kitchen.” With a quick sweeping motion, Triton whisked Sophia away.

Great! First Triton and Sophia stirred up shit, and then they made a convenient excuse, leaving him alone with Zeus. Hermes was pretty sure that Alice, the B&B’s cook, was nowhere in sight. He glanced over his shoulder just to confirm his suspicion, and just as he’d thought, Alice wasn’t standing anywhere near the kitchen. In fact, now that Hermes let his gaze wander, he saw her merrily chatting to a couple of the guests, enticing them to try some of the Greek tapas Triton had ordered from Olympus.

He was about to turn his attention back to Zeus when he spotted a dark head of hair. He knew that coiffure. It belonged to none other than his wicked stepmother. The shit was about to hit the fan. Luckily, she hadn’t spotted him and Zeus yet, but it was only a matter of seconds. Time to get the hell out of there.

“Excuse Hermes’ bad manners for not introducing me,” he heard Zeus say, just as he turned back to him and Penny. “I’m his father, and trust me, I raised him better than that. Call me Z.” He reached for Penny’s proffered hand, but instead of shaking it, he pressed a kiss on the back of it. Without releasing it, he gave her one of his most charming smiles. “And what may I call you?”

Hermes’ blood started to boil. This was exactly how Zeus started when flirting with women. A quick introduction, a kiss on the hand, a charming smile, a touch that lasted longer than it should. If Hermes didn’t stop this right now, Zeus would snatch Penny away from right under his nose.

“Uh, I . . . ” Penny stammered, her cheeks suddenly looking heated, attesting to the fact that Zeus’s tactic was already having an effect on her.

Putting an arm around her waist, Hermes pulled her to him, then gave his father an innocent smile. “But that’s Penny, father, I told you about her the other day. I’m afraid you must have forgotten it again. I’m sorry, I should have probably written it down to help you with your failing memory. I apologize.”

Hermes could almost see the smoke coming out of Zeus’s ears when he dropped Penny’s hand and glared at him. That would teach the fucker not to make a pass at his woman.

“So nice to meet you, Z,” Penny replied hesitantly.

“Well, I’d better show Penny where the food is. Triton and Sophia have outdone themselves again with the catering. Will you excuse us, Father?”

Not waiting for a reply from Zeus, Hermes turned, indicating to Penny to do the same, and almost bumped into a guest. Or should he call her an interloper? Hera looked up at him and forced a sweet smile.

She was a tall woman, beautiful, but with an icy kind of charm, her long dark curls piled on top of her head in a sophisticated hairdo. Her figure-hugging dress accentuated her ample curves and her wasp-like waist. Mortal women would kill for a figure like hers. But to Hermes, Hera represented everything he despised: deviousness, coldness, and heartlessness.

“Hermes, my dear. Aren’t you gonna say hello to your stepmother?”

He cringed. “Hello, . . . Mom?” For Penny’s sake, he had to keep up appearances, and under no circumstances could he call her by her name. After all, it was bad enough that he’d introduced Triton and himself by their real names. Throwing out any more Greek gods’ names would surely make the Greek studies professor on his arm suspicious.

Hera raised a surprised eyebrow at his greeting, then turned her gaze to Penny, studying her. “Hello, dear.”

Penny smiled shyly. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

“Feeling better?” Hera asked, her face riddled with confusion.

Innocently, Penny continued, “Yes, your husband mentioned you had a bad cold and couldn’t—”

“Wish we could stay to chat—” Hermes interrupted her, but didn’t get far.

Hera cut him off. “Did he indeed?” She looked past them to where Zeus still stood, a thunderous look on his face. “He’s such a kidder, my husband. He loves to pull people’s legs. Don’t you, darling?”

Hermes stepped aside, pulling Penny with him, giving Hera space as she approached her husband. When she put her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss, Hermes couldn’t suppress the amusement that filled him. Zeus’s pained look was a joyful sight. Served the bugger right!

“Guilty as charged, my love.”

“Well, we’ll leave you two lovebirds then,” Hermes said, relieved that he could finally whisk Penny away.

Hera turned on her heels. “Where do you think you’re going? You haven’t introduced your date to me yet.”

Hermes forced a smile onto his lips. “This is Penny.”

“Very nice to meet you, Penny.” She offered her hand, and Penny shook it.

“
Mom
, you must be hungry, having come this far all by yourself. Why don’t I bring you some food?”

Before either Hera or Zeus could protest, he made his exit, Penny in tow. He knew it was only a matter of seconds before Zeus unloaded on him about the voicemail he’d left him, and he wasn’t going to stick around for that.

“Into the kitchen,” Hermes whispered to Penny and ushered her through the crowd in the dining room, which had been cleared of most of the furniture.

A few seconds later, they finally reached the relatively quiet kitchen. One of the catering staff Triton had hired for the event was busily arranging finger food on a platter.

Hermes let out a sigh of relief.

“What was all that about?” Penny asked.

He shrugged. “My stepmother and I don’t get along. I try to avoid her whenever I can. She’s a very headstrong woman.”

“She’s beautiful. And so . . . young.”

“Yep, my father robbed the cradle.”

“Your father seems very nice. But . . . ”

Instantly alert, Hermes ran his eyes over her. Had his father done anything while he had looked away for a moment? “What? What did he do?”

Penny gave him a surprised look. “Nothing. I was just saying that he looks very . . . very young, too. He must have had you when he was ten years old.”

He exhaled. “Facelift. Not just one, several. It’s total vanity on his part. But the younger his wives get, the younger he wants to look,” he lied.

“Really? I always thought you could tell when somebody had a facelift. I mean, look at Joan Rivers: her face is pulled so tight that I’m sure she would pop like a balloon if you stuck a needle into her cheek.”