Make Me Whole (20 page)

“He made an oath to you in my name. Does that not mean anything to him? Does he dismiss me so lightly?” Cythera asked with an edge in her voice.

Dexios shook his head and tried to speak past the knots on his tongue. Fear broke through his sorrow, fear for himself, fear for Lykon. The gods and goddesses were not known to be forgiving. “No, this is an exception. He needs time to think. He will return when the time is right. I know it.”

He hoped it. One day soon, Lykon would come back to him of his own free will. He would not return unless he knew that staying was what he wanted. It would not be an ill-thought-out promise spoken in the heat of passion and the desire to make Dexios smile. So when Lykon did return, Dexios had no reason to fear that he would leave again. If he did.
Please let him return
.

“Time? Lykon spoke of time as well.” A smile touched the corners of Cythera’s lips. “I will make sure you have all the time that the two of you need. Would you like that, my brave warrior? Would you have the patience to wait for your wayward lover if given the chance?”

Dexios hesitated. He could say yes, but what if Lykon never changed his mind? He’d be stuck waiting for something that may never happen, prolonging the ache in his heart. He could choose to move on, let the ache heal and find someone new. His heart rebelled against the thought.

Then Dexios remembered the look in Lykon’s eyes when he made the promise. Lykon did love him, of that he had no doubt. He would come back someday, and when he did, Dexios would be ready for him. He just had to be patient, not one of his stronger virtues, but if it was for Lykon….

Dexios smiled up at the goddess as certain of this vow as he had been of his vow to leave and make a new life with Lykon. “Yes, Cythera, for him I could have endless patience.”

“Then I will give you this time.” She paused and searched his face. “Perhaps this will give you some measure of comfort. Your other half does love you and already regrets his hasty retreat. In time he will come searching for you.”

Dexios closed his eyes as some of the ache in his heart was replaced with hope. Perhaps they both needed to listen more and demand less. When they did see each other again, Dexios would tell him so. In the meanwhile, Dexios clung to the knowledge that Lykon would come. “Thank you, Cythera.”

“Still, you both broke your vow said in my name.” Dexios’s eyes flew open, and he stared at Cythera in horror, shaking his head and unable to give voice to the protest locked in his throat.

“You said that he returns, so the vow stands unbroken, merely postponed.” Dire fates rose in his mind, tales of all the punishments inflicted upon those who had offended the gods. “Please, do not bring harm on him for leaving.”

“What of you for letting him leave?” Dexios had no reply as she paused, studying him with a small smile on her lips. “You fought the enemy harder than you fought for him. I think you were susceptible to your own fears. You did not wish to push him too far, not knowing what you would find. It was easier to let him go.”

Again Dexios wanted to protest, but instead he searched his heart and was ashamed to realize the truth to her words. He had left Lykon in anger and haste, too hurt to listen to words, unable to give him then the patience he promised now.

He lifted his face and met Cythera’s gaze stare for stare. “I freely admit my own guilt. We both were at fault.”

“Done.” The goddess’s capricious smile widened, and Dexios felt his limbs become heavy as the world shifted. He tried to look down and found himself unable to move. Cythera touched his jaw. “You make a very handsome statue, and you will be as eternal as the tides until your fickle lover fulfills his promise four times over and you accept him. Be well, Dexios, and remember your promise to be patient. I will be watching.”

Dexios tried to cry out as the goddess vanished, but no sound emerged from his frozen lips. He stood staring out at the sea, his arms reaching for something that wasn’t there.

G
ALEN
shut the journal with a snap and sank back into Nick’s couch with a sigh. He wasn’t going to get any answers from the mismatched lot of books. Most of Nick’s journals were written in Greek and, despite his heritage and his great-grandmother’s harping when he was younger, he’d only picked up a few phrases, most of them curse words. The one journal written in English, Nick’s great-uncle’s, seemed to have chunks missing, and what was there focused more on Dexios, which didn’t help him at all with his Lykon problem.

Nick shot him a sympathetic glance and set another journal aside. “Getting frustrated with dusty old books and bad handwriting?”

“I reached my limit an hour ago.” Galen stretched, and his back popped in several places. “I don’t think I’m going to find any answers in those. I wonder if I could jiggle the museum’s accounting books enough to scrape together some funds for a translation. How about you, have you discovered anything significant?”

Nick grimaced and pulled out a folder. “I’ve been looking at a couple different versions of the myth to see if I can find any answers there. I know it’s a long shot, but what the hell. They’re almost as confusing as the journals. They mention a test, but I think most mythic tales have a test. And they talk about Dexios’s reincarnation making an offer to Lykon’s, and that offer has to be accepted. But that could mean anything. I don’t see how it applies to us or how that first statue changed. I could offer you anything, but I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to be certain things.”

Galen raised an eyebrow as he took the folder Nick handed out to him. “That is pretty broad. Well, at least we know it isn’t sex based. Dexios said it had nothing to do with him kissing me, and the first one was made whole before we saw each other again, much less kissed.”

He glanced through the contents of the folder and tossed it down on the cluttered table with a sigh. The myth wasn’t going to help him either. The tale seemed to end after Lykon was charged with caring for the statues.

“Why don’t you tell me what you’re looking for? I know those journals pretty well, and something’s been bugging you for a couple of weeks now.” Nick came to sit next to him and urged Galen to turn so his back was to Nick. Galen sighed as strong hands started to knead the muscles of his back. “You’re tense all over.”

Galen closed his eyes and sank into the comfort of Nick’s ministrations. It wasn’t how he wanted Nick’s hands on him. He’d much rather have naked-skin-to-naked-skin contact. Sometimes he thought his vow of celibacy got to him more than it did Nick. “I’m tired of Lykon trying to take over. He wants to push everything as fast as it’ll go, and I think it’s a mistake, but he won’t stop fighting me. Is there a timetable I don’t know of to break the curse?”

Nick’s thumbs worked down Galen’s spine, and despite his irritation, tension started to ease from his body. “I doubt it. Some of those journals go on for years about the statues. Lykon’s probably reacting out of sexual frustration. I can sympathize,” Nick said in a teasing voice. Well, that answered the question; Galen wasn’t the only one thinking of taking their relationship to another level.

Nick kissed the side of Galen’s neck, and a shiver of yearning went through him. Two weeks of dating and some really hot make-out sessions were putting a dent in his resolve. To be honest, just looking at Nick and remembering some of those long, sensual nights almost broke that resolve in half.

“Though in all seriousness, I think it’s more likely that Lykon misses Dexios and is impatient to be reunited and have the nightmare over,” Nick continued. “I can’t begin to imagine loving and waiting for someone that long.”

Galen could imagine it. He didn’t remember too much about his dad; still, he knew his parents had been happy, enough that his mom had shown no interest in remarrying. She’d always said that if she found someone who gave her what his dad did she’d consider it, but she didn’t want to search only for the sake of not being alone. Her life was full enough. His aunts and uncles were still married after decades of being together, and that was the kind of relationship he wanted. And the more time he spent with Nick, the more he thought about that kind of a lifelong commitment.

“Did you ever wonder what would happen if you stopped fighting Lykon?” Nick asked, his hands stilling on Galen’s waist.

A chill went through Galen, and he looked back over his shoulder at Nick. “Too many times. The way I figure it, I’d either find myself naked with Dexios or you, and in both cases it would be my body, but not me, and I refuse to be used that way.” Galen twisted around and cupped the back of Nick’s neck. “When you and I get naked, I want to remember every detail.”

Nick skated his hands up Galen’s back as they kissed and his tongue thrust into Galen’s mouth. He loved the way Nick kissed him, as if he wanted to stake a claim on him, bind Galen to him. It made him go all soft inside even as it excited him.

“I have a suggestion,” Nick said against his mouth. “How do you feel about skinny-dipping?”

Galen pulled back to see if he was serious, and the wicked glint in Nick’s eyes answered him. “I don’t think the weather has warmed up enough for that. It’s not even April yet, unless you’re talking about dancing naked in the rain.”

“No, however, that gives me other ideas. I have access to an indoor pool, and I guarantee that nobody will be there at this time of night.” Nick grinned and gave Galen a nudge. “So what do you say, you up for it?”

A hot sizzle of naughty anticipation hit Galen. It had been years since he’d last gone skinny-dipping. “And how do you know nobody will be there this time of night?” Galen nudged Nick back. “Is this something you do often?”

“Swimming, yes; I do laps about four or five times a week. I like going at this time because I’m usually wide awake and I have the pool to myself.” He stood up and stretched, then scooped up his keys. “Besides, we’ve been bent over these books for hours. We need a break.”

Why the hell not? Galen was game. If he looked any longer at these books he’d go cross-eyed. Seeing Nick naked for the next hour would no doubt haunt his dreams that night. Still, doing it would be well worth the torture.

Nick tossed Galen his jacket and drew a light sheet over the cockatiels’ cage. Amy and Rory seemed to be fast asleep, their heads tucked over their shoulders and their eyes closed. “It’s not far. We can walk there from my apartment.”

The air was cool and damp and the neighborhood quiet, with most of the windows dark for the night. Galen took Nick’s hand as they walked, something he hadn’t done with anyone in a long time. With Nick it felt right. “So how many laps do you normally swim?” He considered himself a fair swimmer, though he’d rather lie on a beach than fight the waves. He knew Nick did some wreck diving, but he wasn’t sure how serious he was about the hobby.

“About sixty to eighty. It depends on my mood and how much frustrated energy I need to work out.”

“You’re kidding me, right?”

Nick grinned and shook his head. “Nope. I hate the gym, the thought of getting up early in the morning to go jogging makes me gag, but swimming, I could do that forever.”

“I’d be lucky if I got five laps in before quitting.”

“You’d be surprised, you build up stamina quick.” Nick tugged his hand free and stuck it in his pocket. “So how’s Suzane doing?”

Galen missed the warmth of Nick’s touch. He hadn’t missed the little ways that Nick would pull away sometimes, and he never could pinpoint what triggered the reaction. He seized on the change of topic, eager to share his worries with someone who wasn’t emotionally invested in the situation. “To be honest, I’m a bit worried about her. These last couple rounds of chemo are kicking her ass.”

“She’s got a lot of fight in her. I’m sure it’s wearying, though. Didn’t you say she’s almost done with that part?” Nick touched a hand to the small of his back, and the touch comforted Galen.

“Yeah, thank God.” At least he’d managed to convince her to take some time off. She hadn’t fought him that hard, which indicated how worn out she was. “One more after this last one. Her sister took her to a family retreat for a week. Just the two of them near the water.”

Nick turned toward a low, darkened building and took out his keys. “I predict she’ll return with as much fire as she’s always shown, and she’ll give you hell if you hover over her.”

“I believe it too, I really do. It’s just sometimes hard to watch.” As Nick opened the door, Galen felt the humid heat, and the scent of chlorine washed over him. “My dad wasted away. I don’t remember a lot, but I remember enough.” The endless waits at the hospital, the scents, the heavy pall of sorrow and worry. He also remembered his dad’s eyes, though. He had kind, smiling eyes.

“Sounds like you need to get your mind off your worries.” Nick led him to the long square room that held a good-sized pool. The ropes for making lanes were coiled off to the side, and the building held a hushed, still quality. Most of the lights were doused, the corners of the room draped in shadows.

“How’d you get a key?” Galen asked in a hushed voice.

“I know the guy who runs the place. We’ve gone diving together a couple of times.”

Galen glanced at Nick. He didn’t seem at all concerned about being there after hours. “Don’t they frown on people swimming by themselves like this?”

“It’s swim at your own risk. They only have staff on-site at peak hours.” Nick shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it down on the bench. He winked at Galen with a grin and his shirt followed. “If they caught us here naked I’d probably get kicked out, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

He kicked out of his shoes, and he put his hand to his belt. Galen shivered and turned aside as his cheeks heated. Nick made him think the craziest thoughts sometimes, thoughts he’d believed he’d buried. He began to get undressed, folding his clothes on the bench as he went, and watching Nick out of the corner of his eye. The other man was soon naked, and Galen turned to watch him dive cleanly into the water. He swam with powerful, sure strokes, and now Galen could believe that Nick swam as many laps a day as he claimed. It explained those broad, muscled shoulders and the lean, taut waist.