Accidentally Aphrodite (21 page)

And then they were both naked.

Just her and the descendant of a Greek god.

Khristos rolled her to her back, rising up above her on the palms of his hands, taking her mouth in a voracious kiss, licking at her lips, tasting her until she whimpered and wove her hands into his thick hair.

Tearing his mouth from hers, he kissed his way along her jaw, over her collarbone until he was at her breasts, lingering over her needy flesh.

Quinn sucked in a breath, fought not to drag him downward to her nipple, make him devour it until she screamed her pleasure.

But Khristos took his time, circling the flesh, nudging it with his nose, swiping at it with his hot tongue and blowing a breath of air across her rigid skin.

When he finally pulled her nipple into his mouth, she saw stars, all colors of the rainbow as her neck arched and her eyes clenched tight. Khristos ran his tongue over the sensitive bud, pulling at it, licking it, cupping her other breast while liquid heat pooled between her thighs.

Quinn’s hands were as anxious to touch him as she was to be touched. Needy and desperate, she flattened her palm against his back, discovering the thick muscles and planes as she did.

As he left her breast and slid down along her rib cage, she gripped the sheets on either side of her, her hips jutting upward toward the heat of his mouth as he swooped down across her hipbone and spread her thighs.

Her heart stopped as Khristos hovered, his lips tormenting her with whispered kisses, his hands stroking her inner thighs, driving her mad with anticipation.

The first swipe of his tongue, just below her belly button, made her jump and hiss a sound of pleasure she had to fight to keep quiet. When he used two fingers to spread her wet flesh, Quinn thought she’d die.

Still, he waited, taking his time, using his thumb and rolling it over her clit, licking her belly, the crease where thigh met hip.

Her pulse pounded in her ears until he took his first stroke, his tongue sure and hot, dragging along her clit, drawing the hard bud into his mouth.

Quinn fought not to cry out, stuffing a knuckle in her mouth, reaching her other hand down to grip Khristos’s silky hair. Pleasure, so deep, so intense her stomach coiled into a tight knot, settled over her, raced along her nerve-endings until she felt the white-hot need for release begin to wend its way upward.

Khristos slowed, pulled back, made her whimper her displeasure until he satisfied her craving once more by driving a finger into her. She was slick and wet when he thrust the digit as he licked her, and that was her undoing.

She writhed beneath his talented mouth, rose up, crashing against his lips until sweet relief found her. The aching swirl of desperation driving her to orgasm. Her neck arched, her back bowed, her legs widened as Khristos slid a hand under her ass and held her flush to him, letting her ride out her climax.

Oh God. If she died right now, she’d be at peace with the passing. Nothing had ever felt like that before.

But Khristos wasn’t done. He slid up along her body, his heated flesh finally pressed to hers, molding her to him, pulling her tight until her nipples scraped against his wide chest.

Her hands instantly slipped between his thighs, reaching for his rigid cock, grasping it in her hand, pumping it.

It was thick, long, blistering-hot and rock-hard. The dark of her room kept her from seeing all of him the way she wanted to, but her hands…her hands explored every delectable inch of him.

He groaned into her mouth as she stroked him, thwarted her from slipping away in order to wrap her mouth around the rigid flesh. “No,” he whispered, husky and deep. “I need to be inside you
now
.”

She shuddered beneath him, his words slicing through her ears like a knife through soft butter.

Without qualm, she lifted her hips, and wrapped her legs around his hips, inviting him to make love to her.

She knew this would only make the moment he left to go back to his life harder, but she didn’t care right now.

Now, there was only their naked flesh touching, their sweat gluing their bodies together. Their hearts pounding in time with each other. Their mouths, hot and needy, open and willing.

Khristos positioned himself between her legs, slipping his arm under her waist, hauling her against him as she clung to his neck.

His first thrust was fluid, deep, making her clamp her mouth shut to keep from crying out. Khristos seared her, stretched her, groaned hot against her ear, rolling his hips to drive more deeply into her.

That rush of lava, that unmerciful, unrelenting pleasure, began to build again as their bodies crashed together. She clung to him, letting her hands slide over every inch of available flesh, savoring his skin under palms, loving the feel of her nipples scraping against the small patch of hair on his chest.

And when his thrusts increased, when the rhythm of their bodies synced so perfectly tears stung her eyes, she cried out, unable to hold back. Khristos’s heavy weight, pushing her into the bed, his thick cock deeply embedded inside her, the amazing control he possessed as he waited for her to find relief first…

He pulled her tighter, taking her lips, driving his tongue into her mouth over and over, rocking into her with each slick stroke.

Quinn’s toes curled as her legs tightened around his lean waist, holding on to his shoulders and letting the wave of hot orgasm sweep her away.

It pulsed from somewhere deep inside her, dragging her upward, raging between her legs with sharp pangs of longing. Digging her nails into Khristos’s shoulders, she fought a scream of climax just as his body tensed beneath her, as his strong muscles flexed and tightened.

He kissed her deeper, groaning low and hot as he took one last thrust and came.

Their chests pressed against each other’s as they gasped for air and she buried her face in his neck, inhaling the scent of them, fighting tears.

She shouldn’t have let this happen. She was still in too much of a commotion about her life and her new job as Aphrodite to handle one more thing on her plate. To handle it in the proper state of mind.

But she couldn’t regret making love to this amazing man, this man who had wise words and even wiser insights about who she was. He was decent and patient and nothing about this would ever make her regret her choice.

For tonight.

Tomorrow was a different story.

Tomorrow, he’d realize this was impulsive on both their parts. Realistically speaking, she knew sometimes in the heat of the moment things happened, and she wasn’t going to allow herself to get carried away like she had in so many relationships before.

Of course, Khristos would feel the same way, and they’d carry on. Surely their time together was coming to an end anyway. And if someone was really trying to hurt her, the OOPS women would help. She knew they would.

But for tonight, she was going to lie next to this man made out of granite and enjoy the warmth of his delicious body against hers as he took her mouth in another kiss.

Just for tonight.

Chapter 13

“K
hristos! Wake up!” she whispered urgently, forcing herself to look away from his sleeping form, as gorgeous as if he’d never experienced bed head.

He frowned, attempting to pull her to him, but she put her hand on his chest. “You have to get up and get dressed!”

He scrubbed his hands over his eyes. “What’s going on?”

She pointed to her stomach. “I feel it. Like
really
feel it.”

He sat up, the covers falling away from him and giving her the first glimpse of his chest in the full light of day. And of course it was perfect and tan and thick with cords of muscle.

Of course.

“A match?”

“Yes! Now hurry up! Get up and get dressed!” She didn’t give him the chance to answer, or allow herself to linger with him for very long. This morning, she’d resolved to accept their moment for what it was, and rather than turn it into something it likely could never be, cherish the experience and keep right on moving.

He hadn’t been a bachelor for centuries by chance—he was a bachelor by choice, waiting for the right person to come along. After hearing what his father taught him about love, she’d realized he wasn’t someone who took the idea of finding a forever love lightly. That’s what made him such a terrific, honorable man.

Khristos would want to woo the woman he fell in love with, get to know her,
really
know her. Not jump right into bed with her. They’d known each other less than a week. That wasn’t who Khristos was. It wasn’t who she was—or who she hoped to be now that her future had changed so drastically.

So no muss, no fuss, no regrets.

He slid from the bed, totally naked, but she turned her back to him as quickly as possible and grabbed a scarf from the drawer of her dresser. “Hurry—we need to move on this. I’m almost certain someone’s waiting to be matched. Dress warmly, it’s cold out today—looks like we might get more snow.”

She pretended that she didn’t hear his protests as she yanked the door open and ran for the living room. Anything was better than seeing him get out of that bed, full-throttle naked.

Nina handed her a cup of coffee, Buffy sitting on her shoulder. “You okay this morning?”

She looked down at her feet so Nina wouldn’t see the red heat on her cheeks. “Of course I am. Slept great, ready to tackle another match. Sorry I woke you, but something’s happening.”

“Oh, you did
not
sleep,” Nina razzed.

“How do you know?”

She tugged her ear. “Vampire hearing. But I appreciate you trying to keep it to yourselves.”

“Could we not talk about this?”

“Aw, c’mon, Mini-Goddess. What’s the fekkin’ fun in that?”

Quinn gulped and took a deep breath. “
Please
.”

Nina lifted Quinn’s chin with a cool hand. “Hey, kiddo. What the fuck?”

No. She couldn’t do this right now. “Nothing. It’s nothing. I’m just tired and this match is making me crazy and I don’t want to muddy my emotional waters by talking about anything but this match that needs making.”

Nina gave her a guarded look. “Okay.”

Quinn’s mouth fell open as she set her coffee down and quickly braided the length of her hair. “You’re just going to let it go? No badgering, name calling, threats?”

Nina grinned. “Just like
Frozen
.”

Quinn giggled and rubbed the vampire’s shoulder. “Aw, nice Nina is nice.”

“Fuck you.”

She giggled again, straightening as Khristos came out of the bedroom dressed in low-slung jeans, work boots and a fitted black pullover sweater. If not making more of their night together was the right thing to do, why did it feel as if it were ripping her in half when she looked at him? Tall, strong, good. So good.

But that feeling in the pit of her belly began to mushroom, trumping everything else—even how confused Khristos appeared, judging by the look on his face.

“We have to hurry!”

Grabbing her purse, she threw the strap over her head and ran for the door, following her gut, burning with a new urgency she hadn’t experienced in her other matches.

Feet pounded behind her as Khristos and Nina caught up, flanking her on either side. Yet, she didn’t have time to notice anything but the path before her. She followed this crazy pounding in her veins, slipping through the crowds of commuters, listening the way Khristos had taught her.

She almost didn’t even look up until she landed exactly where she needed to be without even knowing the route she took.

Quinn stopped dead, the haze of the chase clearing enough to see where she’d landed.

The Spotted Pig.

Aka, Shawna “Cantaloupes” Sutter’s place of employment.

No. This couldn’t be right. Why, in all of the universe, would she have to make a match
here
? She dug her phone out and checked the time.
Shit.

Igor always got his coffee here at exactly eight sharp on his way to work, and it was five after.

Khristos put a hand at her elbow. “Quinn?”

She peered through the glass window, etched artfully with the name of the coffee shop, and saw Igor playfully feed Shawna a piece of strudel. And the urge, deep and growing inside her, became more insistent.

But those sharp pangs had nothing to do with Igor or any type of longing for him. She didn’t want to hack his testicles off with a butter knife. She didn’t want to see him writhe in agony. She didn’t feel that empty feeling of betrayal he’d left her with when he’d told her about Shawna.

Oddly, when it came to Shawna, she found herself admiring the skillful use of a scarf she’d made into a vest by folding it and tying the square edges into knots at her shoulders. It was a nice color on her, and accented her flame-red hair.

And she took great care managing the coffee shop. The orange and funky-green walls, dressed here and there with animated pictures of various musicians playing instruments, were artsy and fun. The pebbly surface of the sheet-metal countertops shone, and the multicolored mugs they used were hung perfectly from pegs on guitars and banjos that acted as racks all around the space.

But this had to be some cosmic joke.

“I take it that’s Igor and Shawna?” Khristos asked, startling her from her thoughts.

“How’d you guess?”

“Those cans. How the hell does she stand up without tipping over?” Nina asked on a snort.

Khristos jammed his hands into the pocket of his down coat, obviously fighting a snicker. “The name of the coffee shop. You mentioned it.”

“Right. The dreaded Parthenon confessional.” She’d never live that down.

“So what do we do next, Aphrodite?” Khristos put his body between her and the coffee shop door.

And in the midst of all this, she still couldn’t look at his handsome face. Her eyes sought the ground and her fuzzy boots. “I don’t know. I
do
know I arrived here like some kind of homing pigeon, and my gut tells me to go inside. I don’t like it, but there it is.”

“Shall we?” he asked.