Ares' Temptation (3 page)

Chapter Four

Flowers

Ares closed the door to Pan’s study and slumped against the wall. Here he was—the God of War, slayer of centaurs, gorgons, hydra, and other gargantuan beasts—afraid to face a mortal woman. Embarrassment burned inside him, followed by fury. He gritted his teeth. If he couldn’t control this boiling rage, Pan would no longer have a nice desk, or that beautiful antique lamp in the corner. Ares already owed him a new vase.

He rode out the wave of anger, clenching his fists to keep from smashing anything.

Breathing deeply, he tried to make sense of the evening. The night had gone so well. He’d enjoyed kissing Kaye more than he’d thought he would, so much her lips had awakened a desire deep within him, a passion so different than battle lust. He’d never before experienced desire in an affectionate way.

Along with that craving came another alien feeling: guilt. Never had he acted less than noble. Now, he’d have to use this woman to gain back his powers. That was why he hadn’t gone after her as she ran to the bathroom, and the reason he’d hidden upstairs. He needed time to think. Time to form a plan.

Something was incredibly wrong with him. How could he have stepped on her foot? He’d been very careful, touching her ever so gently and moving slowly across the dance floor. But, for a moment, his brain had disconnected from his feet.

Hekate’s words came back to him. The curse had two parts. He’d give his powers to the person he touched, and…
And in turn you will take their weakness.

Kaye had dropped that fork in his lap and tripped over the rug. Had he taken her clumsiness when he gave her his grace? It had to be. That was why he’d struggled to hold her in his arms when he first caught her, and why the dance floor had seemed to move underneath his feet.

Curse you, Hekate!
He shook both fists in the air. If only that witch were here now, he’d settle this with his sword. But he probably wouldn’t see her until he broke the curse by manipulating the one woman he had an urge to protect.

He wanted to tear down the wallpaper, throw the lamp out the window, and rip all the papers on the desk. Instead, he sat in Pan’s leather chair and drummed his fingers on the mahogany. How long he sat there in indecision he didn’t know.

The door opened, and Pan waltzed in holding his reed flute. “Ares, my friend. Why so glum?”

Ares stood. “I did not mean to intrude. I’ll leave you to your office.”

“I didn’t come to check my bank accounts.” Pan’s lips curled into a half smile full of mischief. “I came looking for you.”

“For me?”

Pan sat on top of the desk and traced a circle on the hard wood surface. “Syrinx said you left in a hurry, and no one could find you.”

“Aside from you.”

Pan smirked. “I have my ways.”

Ares despised asking for help, especially from a forest creature known for chasing after women instead of wielding a sword. But he had no one else to turn to and no way back to Mount Olympus. “I need your aid.”

“My help?”

“Yes.” He considered telling Pan of the curse, but he’d probably tell Syrinx, who’d warn Kaye and break Hekate’s rules. Then he’d never regain his powers. “I need a place to stay.”

“Why, that’s easy. You can stay here with me. Although I won’t be here for the next few days. Syrinx and I have quite the honeymoon planned.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

Ares tried to block any unbidden images. “And I congratulate you.”

“Thank you.” Pan’s eyes brightened as if he had an idea. “You can stay in the room down the hall. It has a nice view of the fountain and the garden.”

“I do not require a view.”

“Yes, but it might do you some good. You seem tense. Well, you’re always tense. But tonight you seem like you’d tear someone’s head off. We wouldn’t want that, now would we?” Pan wiggled his finger as if Ares were a misbehaving child.

If Pan hadn’t offered to help him, Ares would have broken the finger on the spot. “I have no need to look upon flowers.”

“I know of one flower you seemed to like.”

Ares bristled with anger, resisting the urge to take Pan by the throat. “That is not your concern.”

“It is if it’s my wife’s best friend.” His face grew serious, and Ares thanked Zeus he hadn’t told Pan of the curse. How ironic the god with the reputation for philandering was on his case.

“I mean her no harm.” There, that part, at least, was true.

“Good.” Pan gestured toward the door. “Just making sure. Believe me, I know what thoughts cross a god’s mind. Let me show you to your room.”

Ares followed him down the hall. Voices wafted up from the dining area. He paused on the balcony. “Is she still here?”

Pan turned around. “No, she left after you disappeared. She looked pretty disappointed, if I may say so.”

“I’ll remedy that.” Ares held his stare to make sure Pan believed him. “If you could tell me how to get to Sylvia’s Creations.”

Pan paused, studying Ares up and down. “You truly like her?”

Irrelevant
. “Yes.”

“All right. I’ll tell you how to get there.” Pan reached up and placed an arm around his shoulders. “But I’ll come looking for you if you break her heart.”

In his current state, a battle with Pan would be a challenge, but once he had his powers back, the goat-legged flute player wouldn’t stand a chance. Ares nodded, and they stood staring at one another before he turned and entered his room.

…

Kaye woke to bright sunlight. Normally, she’d hit the snooze button and lie in bed for a good twenty minutes, drifting in and out of sleep. Then, after dragging herself out of her comfy, warm sheets, she’d make a pot of coffee. She couldn’t get anything done before two morning cups of joe. After perusing all her favorite internet news and celebrity gossip sites, she would slog over to the shower, where she’d stand until every ounce of hot water had run out.

Not today. Energy coursed through her legs, and she bolted upright, scanning the room for her sneakers. She passed the coffee machine and dug out the sweatshirt and yoga pants at the bottom of her drawer. The need to run consumed her.

She slipped on her sneakers and stretched her legs. She’d never been able to touch her toes before, but now she wrapped her hands around them. After grabbing her apartment key, she closed the door and jogged down the hall.

“Morning, Kaye.” Henry stared wide-eyed as she passed him. Like every elderly retiree, he woke up at the crack of dawn to buy a single banana at the grocery store. “I never see you up at this hour of the day.”

“Me neither,” she called as she passed him.
Wait. Did that make sense?
If she was asleep, then she wouldn’t see herself at this hour either. Yes, perfect sense
.

At least something did. Why she was obsessed with hitting the pavement at dawn was beyond her. But the urge had been too intense to ignore. She jogged down the steps two at a time and launched onto the sidewalk. Every once or twice a year or so, when she found the time and energy to run, she could make it to the lamppost two blocks down before getting so winded she felt like she’d vomit her feet. Today, she passed that lamppost no problem and kept running all the way to the Walmart, which was, if she remembered correctly, five whole miles from her house. She’d never completed two miles in her life, never mind five. She’d have to drive the route later on and reclock it. Something wasn’t right.

Logic told her to turn around, but her legs yearned to keep going.

She checked her watch. Even though she’d made great time, she had to be at Sylvia’s Creations by eight. Syrinx had left for her honeymoon, so it was up to Kaye to open the store.
Better head back.

She turned at the corner and crossed the street, never missing a beat. What had she eaten the previous day? A whole plate full of appetizers, stuffed shells, a humongous piece of cake—minus one bite—and lots of champagne; not exactly the type of food to induce a fit of running. Unless this was some sort of guilty, post-gorging exercise.

But, she didn’t feel guilty at all. She felt like a million bucks. Her abs even felt firmer without having done one sit-up. The food from the wedding must have had some sort of magical boost. There was no other explanation.

She should make it a point to go to more godly weddings.

Kaye made it back to her apartment in record time. After a quick shower, she dressed for work, all the while craving steak and eggs instead of her usual cup of low-fat yogurt. She stopped by a McDonalds on the way to satisfy her hunger and opened the store fifteen minutes early to wolf down her breakfast.

Sitting between two trays of daffodils, she licked her greasy fingers. It had already been one of the strangest days of her life. The weird factor ranked right up there with the day she’d found out Syrinx was a goddess, followed by last night when she danced with Ares.

Ares
.

Her chest tightened. Why did he have so much power over her?

Because he made her feel like a goddess, that’s why. No other man—or god—had ever done that before. The way he stared at her as though she captivated him, the way his hands molded to her body, the way his confidence commanded her to kiss him, his bad boy reputation—it was all too tempting to resist.

Thank goodness he’d left before she became too attached. He had Mr. Wrong written all over him.

Time to get to work
. All the plants needed watering, the blueberry bushes needed replanting into larger pots, and the fountain at the store’s center had an algae problem. Syrinx needed her to keep the shop together, and that’s exactly what she’d do.

She walked outside for fresh air and checked yesterday’s mail. She flipped through an electric bill, a Publishers Clearing House letter saying she could win a million dollars, a flyer for CVS, and…the invitation she’d been dreading for the last two weeks.

Shit.

Even though she’d moved from apartment to apartment, her mother always found a way to locate her. She ripped open the envelope just to make sure.
Yup.
She swallowed a lump in her throat.

The Underhill family reunion of hell. Well, it wasn’t in hell. It was in Florida, in one week.
Close enough.

The invitation was written in her mom’s neat calligraphy.

Dear Kaye,

I know we’ve been talking on the phone about this for some time. Grandma Underhill is turning ninety this Saturday, and she’s asked for everyone to come together on her birthday. I know it’s hard for you to get time off, but this is very important to Grammy. Please make the necessary arrangements.

Love,

Mom

Kaye could see it now: her aunts, uncles, cousins, and, of course, the family all-star, Bradley, all asking about why she didn’t have a date, never mind a boyfriend or a fiancé at thirty years old. Every woman her age in their family was already married with at least one kid. Heck, her cousin Nina had four of them. Compared to them, Kaye was already an old maid. It would be fine if she didn’t want a man. But she wanted the whole nine yards: the house with the white fence, a place on the PTA, a seat in the front row at ballet recitals, or in the bleachers at football games—even if her kid played in the band. Seeing the pity in her family’s eyes just made her bonkers.

Folding up the letter, Kaye walked back to the greenhouse. She couldn’t disappoint Grammy. All those times Grammy took her out to look for shells and let her keep bags of smelly snails under her bed didn’t go unnoticed. She was the only one in the family who didn’t have expectations for Kaye, and she shouldn’t have to miss out on seeing her favorite grandkid because everyone else was a nosy gossip.

The bell on the front door tinkled as Kaye went back in. Sunlight trickled in through the glass panes onto the tables of ferns and exotic cacti. She pushed the blooms of a blue hyacinth back and checked the calendar in the drawer of the register.

Syrinx would be back well before she had to leave.
Damn.
She couldn’t even use work as an excuse.

The bell chimed again as someone came into the store. Kaye checked the clock. Five after eight. Who in their right mind would need plants this early? Only white-haired Henry came to mind.

Kaye put the calendar back in the drawer and went to find the overzealous customer. “Hello, how can I help—”

Ares stood by the orchids. His armor glistened bright as polished silver in the sun. His cape fluttered behind him even though there was no perceptible breeze. “Kaye.”

“Ares. I didn’t think I’d see you again.”
D’oh! A little desperate, are we?
Not only did she sound too surprised, she also came across as way too happy to see him.

He fell to one knee.

He wasn’t.
Was he?
Kaye’s heart jump-started. “What are you doing?”

He reached out and took her hand. The rough callouses were a big change from the soft hands of all the computer gamers she’d dated in the past. “I wanted to apologize for last night.”

She breathed a sigh of relief with just a tinge of disappointment. Apologize. That’s it. “Oh?”

“I should have been more careful.”

“Oh, don’t worry. My foot’s fine.” Which was kind of weird considering it had throbbed like no tomorrow just a few hours ago, and she must have run ten miles on it today.

“And I shouldn’t have disappeared.”

Well, that he shouldn’t have done. Kaye put her other hand on her waist. “Let me guess, some emergency? A private matter?”

Ares nodded solemnly. “Yes.”