Soul Of A Man (7 page)

“Agreed, but I have one stipulation.”

“And that is?”

“I will not see the bargain met until all three of my daughters are safely home.” Odin admired her. She was a hell of an adversary. She planned to outsmart him; she had no intention of seeing their bargain met. As always, though, Fate underestimated him. He was about to prove her wrong.

“Very well. We’re agreed. I’ll send for Thor.”

Fate breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Odin.” Turning, she started to leave in a hurry to once again check on her daughters’ movements. However Odin stopped her before she could leave.

“What makes you think he will help you? He hates you, Fate.” Fate turned back to the obnoxious God.

“I know this, but as much as he hates me as his mother, he loves his sisters.”

***

Jericho did not speak once they were back at the cabin, showing his anger in silence. Not that he talked to her more than he had to before, yet now he simply disappeared into his room, leaving her by herself. Cara sat on the couch and watched the rain outside the window.

She sighed, not much had changed from her home. Her sisters and mother often left her by herself. Cara had become used to being lonely. She got up and wandered aimlessly around the small room. The lack of color and homey feel was in direct contrast to Mary’s home. There were no photos or personal possessions of any kind sitting around. Not even a comfortable rug just lying around on the wood floors. It was as stark and cold as the man himself.

Cara frowned. She had spoken the truth when she had told him that his soul was black. There was something she had not told him that she had never seen before; a slight shade of gold had flickered within the darkness. Gold souls were the mark of immortals. His was very slight, as to be almost nonexistent. In fact, she would have missed seeing it if not for the amount of time she spent staring at the man. He pretended not to notice her staring, and as much as she tried, Cara couldn’t help herself. She wanted to touch his hard face and see gentleness, see desire in his eyes, which always were void of any emotion.

The Gods and Goddess were well known for their sexual exploits, yet Fate had kept Cara and her sisters away from the excesses. Cara had never been tempted even by the most handsome of the Gods, yet Jericho made her want him with no encouragement. This was hard for a woman to admit when her father was a Saint.

“Are you hungry?” Cara jumped when Jericho spoke from the kitchen. She hadn’t even heard him walk through the room. Blushing, Cara nodded her head.

Jericho gave her a hard look. “Is spaghetti, okay?”

“I’ve never had it before, but I’ve been enjoying trying new things.” Cara walked to the kitchen and watched as he cooked. It was very interesting watching him work around the kitchen because he was unselfconscious about his movements.

She watched as he put long strands of something into a steaming pot while the smell coming from the pan of red sauce he had been working on was appetizing. Her stomach growled. Cara put a hand to her rumbling stomach and laughed.

“You should have told me you were so hungry.” He reached toward the counter and pulled a large piece of bread off the loaf sitting there.

“I did not realize that I was. Everything smells so good.” Cara watched as Jericho moved the sauce to the counter. Thinking to help him, she reached and touched the steaming pot, wanting to move it to the counter. Searing pain in her hands was instantaneous.

“What the hell have you done?” Deftly, he moved the pot away from the stove to the counter and quickly grabbed her hands pulling her towards the sink before turning on the water to run it over her red palms. The cold water soothed the pain, but not for long.

“Dammit, why did you touch it without a towel?”

“I didn’t know,” Cara’s voice trembled. It was everything she could do not to howl in pain. Tears filled her eyes. When she was immortal, she would have been unable to hurt herself. She had to learn caution now that her body had become mortal.

“Haven’t you cooked food before?”

“No, my mother’s servants prepare our meals.”

“Must be nice.” Cara could tell by his look of disgust that he was being sarcastic. Her shoulders drooped. Now he thought that not only was she crazy, but helpless as well.

“Stay still, I’ll be right back.”

Within minutes, he was back. Turning off the water, he dried her hands with a clean towel. Afterwards, he rubbed a soothing lotion on her burning hands. He was gentle and careful not to hurt her stinging hands. When he was done, he wrapped them in gauze.

“Take these,” he instructed, holding two tablets in his hands. Cara looked at them quizzically. “Just aspirin for the pain. I’m sorry, I don’t have anything stronger.” Cara took them with the glass of water he handed her.

“Now sit down while I see if I can save our dinner.” Cara sat at the table, feeling useless as she watched him fix their plates.

It took only a few minutes before he slid the plate of pasta in front of her. Cara could only think of one thing as she dug into her plate of food. Heaven, pure Heaven. It was the most delicious dish she had ever tasted. At first, she had trouble eating the stringy mess, but after watching Jericho twirl it onto his fork, she followed suit. The taste was exquisite. She cleaned her plate using a chunk of bread to sop up the remains of the tangy sauce, imitating Jericho.

“Would you like some more?” For the first time, Cara actually saw a small smile on his face. Cara was struck dumb. She took it back; if Venus or Aphrodite saw him, they would never let him leave their bed. For the first time, Cara wished she had watched their maneuvering with the opposite sex. Maybe then she wouldn’t be feeling so inept at how to act.

At his questioning look, Cara realized he was still waiting for her answer. “Yes, please.”

While he was fixing her another plate, Cara reached out and carefully refilled her wine glass.

“I’d be careful if I were you. You had a shock to your system with the burns then the aspirin. It might not be wise to drink too much wine.”

Cara waved his concern away with a bandaged hand. “I’ll be fine. We have wine with our meals at home, and ours is much stronger than yours.”

“If you say so.” They both dug into their food and it wasn’t long before they sat back stuffed.

“I may never move again. That was the best meal I’ve ever had. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. It was just spaghetti, though.”

“It was ambrosia.” Jericho looked at the beautiful woman, who was barely able to remain sitting upright. She was on her third glass of wine.

Jericho frowned. The last thing he wanted to deal with was an intoxicated woman who had mental challenges while he had been without a good fuck for six months. He ignored her natural sexiness when her little, pink tongue licked a small drop of sauce from a wine glazed lip.

“You better get to bed while the wine has eased the pain in your hands.” He started clearing the table as she got up.

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

Jericho breathed a sigh of relief, glad the temptation of a woman was out of his sight. He had no intention of getting involved with the woman. The only use he had for a woman was on her back with her legs wrapped firmly around his waist, and Cara was trouble, pure temptation; Jericho knew better than to tempt fate.

Chapter Seven

Cara woke early the next morning with the bright sunshine pouring through the window. She dressed slowly, knowing Jericho would drive her into town as soon as possible. She walked slowly into the living room, and she wasn’t wrong. He was waiting for her with his keys in hand.

“I’ll get my coat.”

Jericho refused to feel guilty at the hurt look in her eyes.

When she returned wearing her coat, they walked to the truck where he silently opened the door for her, mindful of her hurt hands.

The ride into town was silent. Haden was a small town with a small population, yet the main road was backed up with traffic.

“I wonder what’s going on. I’ve never seen the town this busy.” Jericho saw several of the cars had out of town license plates as he parked his truck in front of the diner.

“Let’s grab a bite to eat and then I’ll help you find a place to stay.” Cara followed him into a small diner.

They sat at a booth that a small family left as they entered. As the family passed by, Cara winked at the small child held in her mother’s arms. Not long after Jericho had handed her a menu, wanting the ordeal over, she looked up when a perky brunette came to their table with a pad in her hand. Her brightly colored lips curled into a smile that Cara had seen on Venus and Aphrodite’s lips hundreds of times. Cara looked at Jericho to see his reaction, which was an answering smile.

Cara’s heart ached; she had wanted him to look at her that way, not another woman. The only consolation she had was the smile never reached his eyes, they stayed just as hard and cold. He might desire the woman, however she didn’t have his heart. Cara was beginning to realize no woman would be able to claim that part of him. It did not exist.

“When did you get back into town?” As her hand reached out to run down his muscled arm, Cara wanted to reach out and smack the woman’s hand away from him.

“Couple of days ago. We’ve been rained in at the cabin. Tammy, this is Cara,” Jericho introduced them without looking up from his menu. He showed that neither woman was of importance to him.

Cara’s lips tightened. She wanted to throw the glass of water in his face, yet barely restrained her temper. She was the most even-tempered of her sisters. Often they had made fun of her attitude, not understanding how she could be so forgiving of others, but Jericho was pushing at her anger.

She could understand his attitude towards her. She had been thrust upon him and he had seen that she had been taken care of, but this Tammy had obviously shared his bed and he could have at least been courteous. Cara could tell the woman was trying to keep the anger and jealously hidden from Jericho when a fake smile curved her lips.

“She’s looking for a place to stay. After we eat, we’ll head to the hotel and then I’ll wait until you get off.”

The other woman’s eyes brightened. “The inn is booked solid. There was a massive mudslide and the highway is closed until they can get it cleared. The town is full of stranded motorists. But I have an idea; she could stay at my place. Hopefully, I won’t need it for a few days.”

Jericho raised his eyes from the menu. He had never allowed her to stay at his cabin, but it was the lesser of two evils. He needed to get rid of Cara before he made a mistake he would regret. Tammy knew the score; she would never expect more from him than a quick fuck. Cara, on the other hand, would expect more, and Jericho had no intention of giving her false hope. He wanted no woman permanently. He didn’t want a woman other than relieving his needs, and once the sex was over, he wanted her gone. It would be a pain having Tammy in his cabin, but the road would open soon and he could bring her back and put Cara in the inn.

“That sounds like a plan,” Jericho told Tammy.

“Great. I get off at five. What can I get you to eat?”

Jericho ordered his steak and looked at Cara. “What would you like to eat?” He hardened himself against her hurt filled gaze.

“Do they have spaghetti?” This time it was Jericho who looked away. He felt as if he had kicked a helpless kitten. Forcing indifference, he looked at Tammy. “Give her the same thing I ordered.”

When Tammy left to get their orders of food, Cara looked down. She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t want to be left alone in town while Jericho took his waitress back to the cabin. She knew they would spend the time in his bed, which made her so envious of the woman she couldn’t breathe. If Venus or Aphrodite were here, they would know how to get their man, however Cara had no idea of what to do.

When the door to the restaurant opened, Cara looked to see who was entering. Her breath caught in her throat. She didn’t think she would ever be glad to see the man who entered, yet right now, when she was missing her family so badly and suffering from Jericho’s rejection, she was so happy that tears came into her eyes.

The other diners weren’t so happy. The women were stunned at his sensual beauty and every hormone went into overdrive. Their bodies squirmed in desire, breasts tautened, eyes glazed over as they watched the man poised in the doorway. Grimm always liked to make an entrance.

As Cara’s face lit up and an angelic smile curved her luscious lips, Jericho’s dick hardened in his jeans. He forced himself to look away from her; to stare out the window and gain control of himself. The sooner he got Tammy back to his cabin, the better. She was uncomplicated and would take care of the hard on he’d had since meeting Cara.

Cara watched in amusement as Grimm’s dark eyes searched the faces of the diners. The men choked on fear while every misdeed, whether minor or truly evil, flashed before their eyes. Every primitive instinct of both sexes had been brought to the forefront. Guilty husbands looked away from their wives, the women shied away from their husbands in remorse, even the children were affected, beginning to cry and confess to every misdeed; from disobeying the babysitter to swiping candy at the local market.

When he began to walk toward Cara’s table, the people in the restaurant actually tensed in fear that he would stop at their own.

Jericho, oblivious to the man entering the room, only turned from staring out the window when the man slid in next to him at the booth they were sitting at.

Surprise stilled him from knocking the intruder away.

“Hello, sweetheart.”

Tears clogged her throat and she was barely able to squeak out his name. “Grimm”

“How are you holding up?”

Cara gathered herself. “It’s good to see you. Have you come to take me home?” Hope lit her beautiful eyes.

“Sorry, babe, you know that’s not possible. I was in the neighborhood and thought I would stop in to see how you’re doing.” Cara’s lip began to tremble before she could help herself.

“I want to go home. Please help me, Grimm.” Desperation was in her voice.