Goddess of Love (11 page)

Venus smiled sweetly. “Her card would be perfect, and don't you worry yourself about us not being able to get in. Oh, and we will take them,” Venus said.

“Them?” Donna Vivian and Fabio asked together.

“All of them.” Venus's grand gesture included all of the clothes hanging from the half-dozen ivory hooks. “And she'll wear the outfit she has on. Oh, Fabio, darling, don't you think those adorable silver pumps we just purchased will go perfectly with what Pea is wearing?”

“Too divine for words,” Fabio agreed.

He and Donna Vivian bustled about, collecting the mounds of clothing that lay like resting butterflies all about the suite. When they left, Pea turned to Venus, tears making her honey brown eyes bright.

“I don't know how to thank you for all of this.”

Venus touched her cheek gently. “Happiness and ecstasy are the gifts I give to thee.”

On impulse, Pea hugged her. “You really are a wonderful goddess!”

Sniffing and wiping her eyes delicately, Venus said, “Of course I am, darling. Now let's finish by seeing about your hair, and then I do believe it's time for a lovely and leisurely meal.”

“Do you think you could conjure some more ambrosia?”

Venus lifted her brows. “Only if I conjure some water, too.”

 

“My friend would like Farah to color and trim her hair,” Venus said. “I think some lovely dark honey lowlights to bring out the color of her eyes and a quick shaping without taking off too much length.”

The extremely young and extraordinarily blond receptionist frowned. “I'm sorry, but Farah is booked until…” She checked her computer log book. “Until the end of next month. And then she only has one opening.”

“No, I'm afraid that won't do,” Venus said pleasantly.

The receptionist's frown deepened, but before she could respond the phone on her trim white workstation rang.

“Cypress Avenue Salon, how may I be of service to you?” She paused. “Oh, I'm sorry to hear about that Mrs. Rowland.” The blonde blanched. “No, I had no idea Dobermans could make such a mess with feather pillows. Of course I'll tell Farah your cancellation is an emergency and will reschedule you for your regular time next month. Good-bye, Mrs. Rowland.”

“Seems Farah has an opening,” Venus said.

“Well, she does, but I have to call the first person on the list of our clients who are waiting for a Farah cancellation. I'm sorry, ma'am. There's just no way I can work you in without an appointment,” she said firmly, and began clicking through her computer waiting list.

“Really?” Venus said breathily.

“Maybe we should go,” Pea said softly.

Venus just smiled and shook her head slightly.

The cell phone in Pea's purse rang. “Hello?”

The receptionist said, “Hello, may I speak with Pea Chamberlain, please? This is Mindi at Cypress Avenue.”

Pea smiled, and instead of talking into her phone, she caught the receptionist's eye. “Uh, Mindi, I'm Pea Chamberlain.”

Mindi blinked. “Oh, well then. It appears you're next on our list of clients waiting to see Farah. I'm sorry, ma'am. I didn't recognize you as one of our regulars.”

“She's had a recent makeover,” Venus said.

“Well, she looks wonderful.”

“She does indeed. Speaking of wonderful, while I'm waiting for Pea's trim and color, I'd very much enjoy a pedicure.”

The blonde's frown returned. “I'm sorry, ma'am, Cheryl is completely—”

“Mindi, my three o'clock just called and cancelled her pedicure.”

Mindi began to look a little shell-shocked. “Cheryl, this lady just requested a pedicure.”

“Then I can fit her right in.” Cheryl smiled.

“What a lovely coincidence,” Venus said. “Oh, and I'd very much like a glass of that special champagne you keep chilled in the back room.”

“Of course, ma'am.”

“How did you know they have champagne?” Pea whispered as they were led back to the bowels of the salon.

“Darling, Love can always sense the presence of champagne.”

“F
arah is a genius!” Stopping at the red light on Utica Street,
Pea turned her head this way and that so her new lowlights could catch the rays of the fading sun in the car's rearview mirror.

“She did a wonderful job, but you need to remember that you had amazing hair even before Farah worked her magic, just like you had an amazing body even before our visit to Saks.”

A tap on the window of their car caused both women to jump in surprise. Pea looked up and gasped. “Oh. My. God! It's Griffin!”

“Open your window!” Venus hissed, her stomach fluttering involuntarily at the sight of the handsome fireman.
He's for Pea!

Pea pressed the button to lower her window.

“Evening, ladies. Would you be interested in donating your change to the fire department's drive to help Jerry's kids?” Then his look went from Pea to Venus and his smile changed from polite to sexy. “Good to see you again, ma'am.”

Venus tried to mutter a dismissive, “Oh, hello,” but was mortified when her words came out sounding more purr-ish than perfunctory.

“Hi, Griffin,” Pea said brightly. “Sure, I'll donate.” Her hand shook only a little as she dug through her purse for change.

Griffin held the boot up and pulled his appreciative gaze from Venus long enough to smile at her. “Have we met, ma'am?”

“Yeah, I'm your neighbor. Remember? You got my Scottie from the tree and then later you returned my penis to me,” Pea blurted, blushing scarlet.

Venus sighed and rolled her eyes.

Griffin looked like someone had hit him over the head. “Pea?”

“That's me!” The light changed and someone behind them honked. “Well, see ya.” Pea sped away.

“Perhaps next time you shouldn't mention the penis. Men—mortals and gods—tend to be intimidated by women who own larger penises than they have.”

“I'm a moron,” Pea said with a moan.

“Of course you're not. You were just nervous. Let me tell you a little something about men that will make speaking with them much easier for you. They desire us even more than we desire them.”

“How can that be true?”

“It goes back to the whole penis thing.”

“But I've known women who chase man after man. They seem way more interested in the men than the men seem in them.”

“That's not desire—that's neediness, and you're not a needy woman. I'm talking about real desire. Something that's raw and hot and passionate.”

“Are you being serious?”

“Absolutely.”

Pea shook her head. “That can't be true, at least not true for me before today. No way would Griffin want me more than I would want him. And, anyway, he was definitely more interested in you.”

The resentment in Pea's voice was none the less obvious for its hesitancy.

“Darling, I'm sure that was your imagination,” Venus said smoothly, refusing to acknowledge the instant connection that had, once again, sizzled between Griffin and her. Instead she continued, “Did you notice how obviously pleased he was when he realized you're you?”

Pea chewed her lip. “Well, I supposed he was, but still I can't believe he could want me more than I want him. He just doesn't seem that interested.”

“He would be if he had touched you, stroked the softness of your skin, felt the wet heat of your passion. You would make him burn even before your own body began to simmer.”

“You think so?”

“Trust me.” Venus pointed at a parking space they were coming up on. “Park there.”

“But the restaurant is way over on the other side of Utica Square. We'll have to walk almost a block to get to it.”

“Exactly,” Venus said.

 

“That man just whistled at us!” Pea whispered excitedly to Venus.

“Yes, he certainly did. Look around darling, every man with a pulse is looking at us.” She leaned close to Pea's ear and added with a throaty laugh, “And I do mean
us
. You're sexy and confident and beautiful, and they all know it.”

Pea looked at Venus with eyes that were huge and stunned. Then she glanced around them. “By Ares's perfect ass you're right!” she said with a gasp.

Venus's laughter called even more eyes their way. “Oh, no! You mustn't pick up my habit of cursing. Persephone will say I'm a horrid influence on you.” But the Goddess of Love said it with a smile. She was so proud of Pea. The two of them didn't just walk across the upscale shopping area—they strutted.
Pea
strutted. Venus could literally see her confidence growing by the moment. The little mortal was actually tossing that lovely, curly mane of hair back and holding her chin high as she strode by Venus's side, matching her measure for measure. Venus couldn't have been more delighted. And dinner did nothing but reinforce Pea's newfound confidence. The waiter was young and terribly handsome. He fawned over them—both of them—and one man at the bar sent them a delightful bottle of very good wine. Overall, the whole afternoon was an excellent boost to the mortal's ego.

And now they were back at Pea's cozy kitchen table, indulging in what Venus thought happily was feeling like a wonderful new tradition—drinking Pea's excellent hot chocolate and talking like old friends, only tonight Pea wasn't wearing that wretched contraption she called footie pajamas. Tonight she was wearing the blush-colored silk nightdress Venus had insisted she purchase from the luxurious lingerie department at Saks and its matching rose-colored robe. With her hair all tumbling around her shoulders in big, glossy curls and her face flushed with excitement and the wine from dinner, Venus thought Pea could easily have been mistaken for a goddess herself. Kindness, Venus decided. Pea could be the Goddess of Kindness….

“Do you think he'll be there tomorrow?” Pea asked, pulling Venus out of her reverie.

“He?”

“Griffin.”

Venus felt a ridiculous jolt at the sound of his name, which she carefully hid. “There?”

“The street corner. You're not paying attention.”

Venus smiled at her. “Sorry, I was thinking about how absolutely beautiful you look.”

Pea grinned happily back at her.

“And I have no idea if he'll be there tomorrow or not. Pea, darling, the corner of a busy street is not the most opportune place for you to seduce him.”

“I'm not going to seduce him!” Pea practically squeaked.

“Of course you are. You're just not going to do it on a street corner.” Venus ignored the strange sense of excitement just hearing the man's name gave her. It was ridiculous anyway. Even had Pea not been besotted with him, it had been ages since she had dallied with a mortal. Actually, it had been ages since she'd dallied with anyone….

“Venus?”

“I'm sorry, Pea. My mind was wandering. What were you saying?”

“I said, how am I going to have even a shot at seducing…” Pea stopped and giggled at the word seducing as if shocked that
she
was thinking of seducing a man. “…Griffin if I don't see him?”

“Leave that to me,” Venus said.

“You're not going to do anything like start a fire, are you?”

Venus wiggled her brows. “Love, start a fire?”

“Promise me you won't burn down my house.”

“I wouldn't think of burning down this delightful home!”

“Or any of my neighbors' houses.”

Venus pouted prettily. “It was a logical idea, but I suppose I can think of something else.”

“I'll count on it.” Pea yawned and glanced at the clock. “Oh, jeesh! It's almost midnight. I have to get up and go to work tomorrow.” Worry furrowed her forehead. “What are you going to do while I'm gone?”

“Research,” Venus said without hesitation.

“Research?”

Venus nodded. “You have a computer, don't you?”

“Of course, but how—”

Venus waved away her question. “Persephone explained it all to me. Computers are like magic. She said anything you want to know about the modern mortal world can be discovered through them, especially if you use a particular magic called Google.”

Pea laughed. “Okay, no problem. I'll give you a quick lesson before I go to work tomorrow.”

“What type of work do you do, Pea?”

“Actually, I just got a major promotion. I'm the youngest director at Tulsa Community College. I'm in charge of curriculum for our continuing education department.” Pea thought for a second and then added, “I guess you could say that I decide what types of classes we offer adults so that they can learn new things and expand their minds.”

“That sounds like a great responsibility.”

“It is, and tomorrow is going to be a long day. I'm interviewing instructors for several new classes we're going to offer this summer.”

“Then you must get your rest.”

The two women wished each other warm good nights and went off to bed. Pea considered pleasuring herself again, but decided she was just too tired, and fell into a contented sleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Ironically Venus didn't even consider pleasuring herself. Instead she lay awake a long time, and when she finally fell into a restless sleep she dreamed of fire and a blue-eyed, dark-haired mortal.

 

Vulcan tried to stay away from the thread that opened a window to the mortal world—a window to Pea—and he succeeded for most of the day. Finally, his mind was so filled with thoughts of and questions about the little mortal that he could bear it no longer. Vulcan conjured the thread to him and gazed into the fiery pillar. His breath caught and he felt the thrill of long dormant emotions surge through him.

She was radiant! He watched her walk across a shopping park at Venus's side, proud and graceful and confident. She looked like the woman she had changed into the night before when she began to dance. And her clothes, her hair! She was different, yet not. She was still Pea. Still the sweet, exquisite creature he desired so passionately and so unexpectedly. Now she was just
more
. Venus had accomplished it; she had worked her magic on Pea.

Vulcan studied Pea carefully. No, his first impression had been wrong. He could detect no dusting of goddess magic on the mortal. What Venus had accomplished she had done without the use of her divine powers. She had made what had been hidden on the inside of Pea become visible. Vulcan swallowed hard and felt his chest tighten. He would not be the only man—mortal or immortal—who noticed her beauty.

It was a torment to watch the men watch Pea all through dinner. He especially wanted to blast into ash the young waiter who smiled too much and paid too many compliments to her. And the man at the bar! Vulcan wanted to reach through the thread and give him a burning reason to leave the restaurant and leave it in a hurry. But that wasn't the worst of it. She'd spoken about that gods-be-damned Griffin again! And now Venus had agreed to put her mind to getting the two of them together.

No!
He wanted to yell through the thread.
He isn't good enough for you!
But he didn't yell, of course. After all, what could he do about Pea seducing Griffin? He was in Olympus and the mortal was in the modern world.

And so what if they were in different worlds? Vulcan stood up straighter and stopped rubbing his hand through his thick hair in frustration.

Persephone visited the modern world of mortals.

Venus visited the modern world of mortals.

He, too, was one of the Olympian gods. He had the power of immortals at his fingertips, as well as the magic of fire, if he chose to use it. Well, it was about time he chose to use it. There was nothing but himself stopping him from pursuing his heart's desire.

Yes. It was definitely time the God of Fire paid a visit to the modern world of mortals….

 

Venus was thoroughly entranced by the magic of the Internet. After Pea gave her a brief lesson and left for work (wearing her chic new black slacks, russet-colored silk blouse and fabulous black stiletto boots), the first thing Venus did was to Google herself.

“91,000,000 entries!” The goddess practically squealed. And then, just out of curiosity, she Googled Persephone. “3,920,000 entries. How interesting.” She couldn't wait to tell Persephone. And
she
thought she was such an expert on the modern world. Well, maybe she was, but clearly the modern world was more interested in love than spring.

Venus played for a while. Actually more than a while. She was fascinated by all of the different artistic renditions she found when she narrowed her Google search from Venus to Venus art. She, of course, was familiar with Botticelli, and although she could appreciate the beauty of the paintings, she had never really liked them. He made her look too empty headed and nymphlike. The
Venus de Milo
appealed to her aesthetic senses more, but it didn't look anything like her. She found a lovely sculpture in green alabaster of herself by a modern artist named Kelly Borsheim which she liked very much, and then she discovered the fantasy art of Michael Parkes and was so enamored with it that she ordered five limited-edition prints.