Goddess of Love (20 page)

“T
hank you, ma'am. That was a great class!”

Venus smiled beatifically at the young fireman who had, at the beginning of the class, been holding his diagram upside down. “Thank you, darling. I'm pleased you enjoyed it.”

“More than that, ma'am!” he gushed. “I can't wait to…” He broke off, blushing. “Well, I mean thanks. I learned a lot.”

“You are most welcome.” Venus stood by the classroom door, saying good-bye to her class. It really had gone well. They had been attentive and enthusiastic. She had thoroughly enjoyed herself, which she had to admit to herself, had a lot to do with the fact that the most attentive, enthusiastic and handsome member of the class had been Griffin, who was currently hanging back, very obviously waiting for the rest of the men to say their good-byes and leave.

The last grateful fireman finally left, and the goddess's stomach fluttered as Griffin approached her.

His eyes smiled at her. “I didn't know you were a teacher.”

“I'm really not. At least I'm usually not, though I suppose you could say that I have done my share of instruction about love.” She paused, struggling to get the modern words right.

“So you're a therapist?”

Relieved that he'd provided her a viable profession, Venus nodded and smiled innocently. “Yes. A sex therapist. I taught class today as a favor for a friend who works here at the college.”

“Then I will have to remember to thank your friend for causing you to be here today.”

“Really? Why is that?” She felt better with the conversation leaving the technical whys and hows of her being there.

“I went back to find you, but you weren't there.”

He was being blunt, so she decided to match him in honesty. “I waited until it was clear you were in no hurry to return to me. Then I left.”

He blew out a long, frustrated breath. “I didn't mean to be gone so long. I didn't
want
to be gone so long. The mayor and the chief wouldn't let me get away until I explained every aspect of the community education plan I have proposed for the Midtown Station to them. I'm sorry if it seemed like I stood you up.”

Venus felt herself bristling. “Actually I never considered that you might have stood me up,” she lied. “I simply wearied of waiting, so I left.”

Griffin frowned in response to her haughty tone.

“Well, it was lovely to see you again, and I do hope you enjoyed my class.” Venus turned from him and started stuffing chalk and vagina diagrams back into her bag. Why was she being so short and rude to him? She'd wanted him to talk to her—wanted him to apologize to her. And here he was doing both and she was suddenly cutting him off. Venus silently considered her emotions.

She was hurt! By Hercules's scraggly scrotum, Griffin had hurt her when he hadn't returned, and the reminder of believing he'd stood her up still hurt!

“Oh, gosh! Hi, Griffin.” Pea's sweet voice broke the silence.

Venus turned back to Griffin to see Pea looking flustered, but holding out her hand for him to shake. The goddess's heart plummeted into her stomach.

Griffin's smile was genuine as he took her hand. “Hello, neighbor. Nice to see you again, Pea. I should have realized you were the friend Venus was helping out here at the college.”

“You should have?” Pea asked, with a confused little smile.

“Yeah, at the masquerade party Venus said you two were close. Actually maybe you could help me out here. I'm trying to make up for the fact that I got pulled away by business that night and left her outside by herself too long.”

“At Lola's masquerade?”

“Yeah, and now she's pissed.” He glanced at Venus, and what he saw made him add, “Not that I blame her. But I can make it up to her. Tonight. With dinner. How about you act as my reference and convince her that I'm just an ordinary guy and not an axe murderer.”

“Or a liar?” Pea asked, only she wasn't looking at Griffin. She was staring at Venus.

“Definitely not a liar,” Griffin said. “That's what I want to prove to her.”

“Pea, I can—”

Pea's blank expression didn't change, but she interrupted the goddess with a smooth, “Venus will let you make up for your mistake.” Venus opened her mouth, but Pea talked right over her. “I have a date tonight, so it's only right she should have one, too.”

Venus blinked in shock. “A date? Tonight? With…”

Pea's blank mask cracked just a little. “With
him
, Victor. He came to my office while you were teaching class.”

“And all is well between the two of you?” Venus asked.

“Yes, everything's okay,” Pea said coolly. Then she cut her eyes at Griffin. “So there's no reason you shouldn't go out with him. None at all.” Pea gave her a tight smile before walking quickly away.

Griffin stepped closer to her and Venus felt her stomach flutter again.

“Say you'll go out with me tonight.” His gaze caught hers, pulling it away from Pea's retreating back. They stared at one another. Griffin was so close Venus could easily imagine his body against hers, and even through her worry for Pea, she found herself wondering what it would feel like if she and Griffin were naked and able to take their time pleasuring each other. Would it be as good as the rush of lust she had experienced during their hasty coupling under the tree…?

“Yes, I will,” Venus heard herself say.

He stepped even closer to her and Venus could smell his unique scent and feel the heat of his body. “You won't regret it,” he said.

“I—I have to go talk to Pea,” Venus said abruptly. “I'll see you tonight.” She started to walk away, but his voice made her pause.

“When and where tonight?”

“Six o'clock.” She picked the time randomly, her mind already trying to figure out what she was going to say to her friend. “Oh, and right now I live with Pea.” At least Venus hoped she still did.

Griffin smiled and nodded. “I'll be there at six sharp, my goddess.”

 

Pea was sitting at her desk staring at the wall when Venus entered her office. The goddess couldn't remember when she'd ever felt so terrible.

“Forgive me, Pea,” she said, without any preamble. “I should have told you that I'd been with Griffin that night.”

Pea shrugged and wouldn't meet her eyes. “Whatever. You're a goddess, and goddesses can do whatever they want.”

“No, that's not true.” Venus sat heavily in Pea's interview chair. “Actually you are partially right. As a goddess I can literally do whatever I want to do, but as your friend there are things I wouldn't do.”

“You mean like go after the guy I have a major crush on while you're making it look like you're helping me catch him?”

“That's not how it happened.”

Pea finally looked at her and Venus hated the hurt that so obviously filled the mortal woman's eyes. “Then explain it to me, because from where I'm sitting it looks exactly like that's what happened. And worse than that, it looks like you're one of those terrible girls who made me so miserable in high school.”

“Oh, Pea, no!” Venus felt her eyes fill with tears. “Please don't think that! What happened was an accident, and the biggest mistake I made was not telling you about it.”

Pea lifted her chin and finally met Venus's gaze. “I just want to know one thing. Was it all a lie? All that stuff you told me about myself?”

Tears spilled down Venus's cheeks. “No! I didn't lie to you, not even about Griffin. I just didn't tell you everything I should have. I wanted to. I even started to. But I didn't want to hurt you. And,” Venus added as she wiped at her face with the back of her hand, “I didn't want to lose your friendship.”

“Tell me what happened.”

Venus drew a deep breath and told Pea everything—from the instant connection she'd felt—and tried her best to ignore—with Griffin to how he approached her at the masquerade. By the time Venus got to the part about him ravishing her under the tree, Pea was listening wide-eyed. Then she explained how she believed Griffin had stood her up.

Pea had stayed silent until then, but she blurted, “You thought he stood you up! That's why you looked so strange and sad when I found you outside.”

Venus opened her mouth to assure Pea that it hadn't been that big of a deal. The Goddess of Love is, after all, always in control, always fine. But before she could say the words she realized how false they were, and she realized something else. She wanted to talk to Pea about all of this—she
needed
to talk to Pea because the mortal had truly become her friend.

“I've never been stood up before, and I—I didn't know what to do or how to act,” the goddess admitted. “I just sat there and hurt. I should have told you what happened, but I didn't even know how to say it. Then when you told me about the other man I thought that if I could just get them together, you'd see how much better your new guy was than Griffin, and even then if you didn't see what a cad Griffin was, I give you my word, I wouldn't have let him use you and hurt you.”

“Like you thought he used and hurt you,” Pea said.

“Yes, like that.”

“It feels awful, doesn't it, to think you've been rejected and lied to, especially by someone you care about?” Pea said quietly.

Venus couldn't find her voice; she only nodded and wiped fresh tears from her face with the tissue Pea handed her.

“You do care about Griffin, don't you?” Pea said.

“Yes, I do,” Venus managed to choke out. “But not as much as I care about you. If it hurts you, I won't ever see him again. I give you my solemn oath.”

Pea smiled at her friend, and Venus was relieved beyond words to see the love and trust return to her eyes. “You know, you were right about Griffin.”

“He's a terrible cad?” Venus sniffled.

Pea laughed. “Well, maybe. But I was talking about what you said about him yesterday—or really what you said about how I felt about him. It wasn't Griffin I wanted. It was what he represented to me: the perfect man I could never find, never have as my own.”

“You're wrong about that. You can find the man who will be perfect for you, and you can make him yours.”

Pea's smile was more than a little naughty. “Oh, I know that.”

“I think it's your turn to talk now. I want to hear about Victor.”

“I want to tell you about him, but first I think I'm going to knock off for the rest of the day. You and I have dates to get ready for.” Pea grabbed her purse and stood up, looking questioningly at the goddess when she didn't move.

“Do you forgive me, Dorreth?” Venus asked solemnly.

“Of course I do, Goddess. That's what friends do, forgive each other's mistakes.”

Venus studied Pea with newfound respect. “Thank you, Dorreth Pea Chamberlain. You are a truly good person.”

Pea flushed and grinned. “I like to look on the positive side of life.”

“An excellent attitude to practice.”

“Yeah, I got it from Oprah. As she would say, being strong and positive is one way of being a powerful, modern woman.”

“Oprah?”

“Think of her as a sister goddess.”

“Really? A modern woman who's a sister goddess? I want to hear all about her, too,” Venus said, as she stood and linked arms with Pea.

“So little time…so many goddesses…” Pea laughed as the two of them went arm in arm from her office.

 

“You know, there's really no reason for you to be so nervous,” Pea told Venus for the zillionth time.

“Of course there is. I've never been on a date.”

Pea giggled. “Do you know how unbelievable that is? I mean, you're the Goddess of Love!”

Venus frowned severely at Pea. “Of course I am. What does that have to do with this?”

“How is it that you've never been on a date before? You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. Men must fall all over you.”

Venus's expression lightened. “Thank you, darling. And of course men fall all over me.”

“Then why no date until now?”

Venus sighed and joined Pea sitting on the end of her bed. “It's different with the immortals. We don't date. We have delicious passion-filled torrid affairs. Unions that blaze across the heavens and cause wars to be fought and civilizations to thrive.”

“Jeesh, then why bother with Griffin at all?”

“Because he treated me like a mortal woman.
He
seduced
me
. And not because I'm the Goddess of Love, but because he desired the woman he believed me to be.” Venus's voice was so faint Pea leaned closer to hear her. “Until that night at Lola's, I've always been in control. If I want a god—he succumbs to me. If I desire the attentions of a mortal—he gratefully worships me. I've always been the seducer, never the seduced. I've always been so in control that I even decided on a marriage of convenience.”