What a Goddess Wants (5 page)

Convincing him to be her savior was going to be more difficult. According to Salvatorus, Caligo wouldn’t want to help her.

Something about a deal gone wrong. Though Salvatorus hadn’t elaborated, the probability that Cal had been screwed, possibly by someone she knew, was a very real possibility.

Still, he was a mercenary, a man who could be bought for a price. Hopefully, he’d want more of what she could give him. She didn’t mean only the sex, but that definitely wouldn’t be a hardship. She hadn’t felt this level of lust in centuries.

Lying silently, she felt his cock still twitching inside her, pulsing his seed into her.

After that great orgasm, she felt more rested than she had in… Well, she couldn’t remember how long. She wanted to close her eyes and sleep, at least for a little while, but they needed to talk.

As if he’d read her mind, he sighed, his chest moving against hers, the dark hair on his pecs teasing her nipples. As he eased his hips back, his cock pulled free, and he sat back on his haunches.

He stared into her eyes for several seconds before his gaze shifted to her left arm and then her right. Leaning forward, he released her arms from the ropes, which had begun to chafe. Then he got off the bed and released her legs.

She lay there for a minute, rubbing her wrists and flexing her ankles. He watched her, his jaw clenching as he stood by the bed and then turned and tossed his shirt on the sheet next to her.

“Put this on,” he said. “Then we’ll talk.”

His tone brooked no dissension but at least he wasn’t kicking her out. Yet. “Can I use your bathroom?”

He pointed to the wall to her right.

Okay, not much of a talker. Sliding off the bed, she headed for the bathroom next door, feeling his gaze on her the whole way. The slickness of his essence between her thighs made her hips sway just a little more than usual.

Closing the door behind her, she noticed there was no mirror in the utilitarian room, only a toilet, a sink, and a tiny shower stall. Guess there’d be no shower sex. And thinking about sex was not going to get her head together, which was part of the reason she’d stepped in here. She needed just a little distance to think.

After she cleaned up a bit and washed her hands, she pulled the shirt on, shaking her head as it fell almost to her knees. She’d have to ask what he’d done with her clothes. Then she took a deep breath.

She had to go back out there and convince him to help her. But fear rooted her feet to the floor. If he turned her away, she was dead.

“Oh, just get out there and talk to him. It’s not like you haven’t just had sex with the guy.”

And it wasn’t like she hadn’t had sex with lots of guys. Of course, she hadn’t needed any of them to save her, which was the real kick in the pants.

How low she had fallen.

Stepping out of the bathroom, she found him standing before the open front door. In this brutal August heat, he was wearing long pants but wasn’t sweating. She was used to the heat, but even her skin was slightly damp.

He turned and she knew from his expression that the real interrogation was about to begin. And the Great Mother Goddess help her if she didn’t give him what he wanted.

“Who are you?” His voice brooked no resistance. At any other time, she probably would have turned up her nose at him and told him to stuff his question. “And don’t give me any bullshit. I’m not in the mood.”

Now, she couldn’t help but smile. She did so love men who didn’t screw around. Well, not with business, anyway.

“My name’s Tessa.”

“What the fuck do you want, Tessa? And if it’s anything other than sex, you’re outta luck.”

Well, the sex
had
been amazing, but she did have more pressing issues.

“It’s about a job.”

He continued to stare at her. “What kind of job?”

“One for which I would pay you a lot of money.” There, that was sure to get a response.

But the man paused again. “To do what?”

Okay, maybe this one was smarter than the average bear. “Keep me alive.”

He made a sound that could have been a snort or a laugh. “Yeah, well, that’s easier said than done most times, ain’t it? What’s so special about you, babe?”

Not much. That was both true and very misleading. “You
are
Caligo, correct? I need to know I’m talking to the right person.”

Again the snort. “Probably not.”

That was complete bullshit. This was definitely the man Salvatorus had told her she needed. And if Salvatorus said she needed him, then this was the man she wanted.

“My name is Tessa. Salvatorus sent me here to seek protection he told me you’d provide.”

“Huh.” The man’s mouth twisted in a smirk. “Now I know that’s not right because Salvatorus should know better than to send your kind to me.”

“Special circumstances. Please, I need you.”

Some emotion crossed his hard face, something she didn’t understand, so she pushed on.

“My name is Thesan, but I go by Tessa now.” She paused, waiting to see if her name struck any chord at all with him, but his expression never changed.

She sighed. So much for being a formerly beloved goddess. That and five bucks would get her a Starbucks mocha latte these days.

“Your name’s supposed to ring a bell?” He crossed his arms over that deliciously perfect chest.

She shook her head. “It’s okay. It’s been several thousand years since anyone worshipped me on a regular basis. Of course you wouldn’t know my name.”

His gaze narrowed. “Worshipped you?”

She stood a little taller and pointed her nose into the air. “Thesan, Goddess of the Dawn, at your service.”

“Yeah, right,” he grunted. “Goddess my ass. The deities don’t live down here with the common people, babe. And the only Goddess of the Dawn I know is Aurora, and you ain’t her.”

She held her smile though she had to grit her teeth to do it. “No, I am
not
Aurora, for which you should be grateful. She’s…”
A worthless, ugly cow
“
…
not worth talking about. And most of the Etruscan pantheon still lives in this time and place.”

His gaze never faltered. “And that’s what you are? Etruscan?”

She nodded, unsure if her affiliation would help or hinder her cause.

He grunted again, but in response to what she couldn’t tell. “That still doesn’t explain why you need me for protection. Aren’t you deities supposed to be all powerful and shit like that?”

Absently, she rubbed at a raw spot on her wrist from the ropes and saw his gaze arrow in on it. “Not really. I was never all powerful, but I very much enjoyed what I did.”

And then that bubble-headed, Barbie-doll bitch Aurora took my job and—

Okay, deep breath. No need to hash all that out again. It’d been centuries. She should be over it. Really.

“When the Roman pantheon usurped our roles, some of us became… obsolete.” She truly hated that word. “There’s only one sun, after all, and, well…” She forced a smile. “Anyway, I retained my midwifery duties, but over the years, some of us have become mostly… forgotten.” And that really sucked. “Some of us still serve the magical races of the Etruscans, the
Enu
and the
Fata
. But mostly,” she shrugged, hating the hollow feeling her chest, “we merely exist.”

Was that pity she saw in his eyes? Damn him, that’s not what she wanted. Her back straightened, but he spoke before she could say anything else.

“That still doesn’t explain why you need me.”

No, it didn’t, and she could only hope that when she told him, he didn’t kick her out on her butt.

“Charun has—”

He held up one hand. “God of the Underworld, right?”

She nodded. “We call it Aitás, but yes. He’s one of the gods who has retained his position through the millennia, and he’s not very happy about it. He’s been stuck in Aitás, trapped there, really, and he’s decided he wants to be released from his service.”

“And what does that have to do with you? And me?”

“He plans to consume deities and absorb their powers, which will make him more powerful.” She shuddered just thinking about it. “I believe he’s trying to break free of Aitás and is tracking Etruscan goddesses through their dreams. I believe he’s already taken one and has decided I’m next.”

His expression remained unchanged. “I can see why you might have a problem with this, but why should I care?”

“If Charun is released from Aitás, the dead will follow him out, and then everyone on earth will have a problem.”

His eyebrows lifted. “So? I’m not the police, Lady. I’m not a god. I don’t have an infinite lifespan, and I don’t like to do dirty work for deities. They tend to fuck you over. I’m just a guy—”

“No, I know that’s not true. I know what you are, Caligo of the Cimmerians.”

Well, shit.

Amazing how that one word—Cimmerian—was guaranteed to throw Cal’s life in the toilet.

At one time, it would have been murmured with respect and fear. Men wanted to be Cimmerian, and women just wanted them.

Then fucking Robert E. Howard had screwed Cal’s people six ways to Sunday with his books about the Cimmerians. Hollywood had compounded the problem by casting Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film version,
Conan the Barbarian
, making the true remaining Cimmerians cringe at the horrifying spectacle.

Yeah, Cal was Cimmerian, one of the legendary warriors born in the mist and shadow of the land between the planes of existence. They were a race an evolutionary step above mortal humans, though fewer than five hundred remained of a once-thriving civilization now reduced to little more than a tribe.

And this pretty little goddess with the willing body and intelligent blue eyes had given him a taste of a heat he shouldn’t be able to feel.

That made her dangerous.

He really should kick her out, whether Salvatorus had sent her or not. That little horned bastard had a lot to answer for.

Thesan continued to stare at him, waiting for an answer, though she hadn’t asked a question.

And since she wasn’t going to win this battle, he gave her a blank stare. That might have told her more than he’d wanted because she smiled as if he’d blurted out, “Yes, I’m a Cimmerian, and I’ll do whatever you want.”

No matter how good the sex was, it didn’t entitle her to his life story.

“So,” she said, “do I have your attention now?”

Yeah, she did. Especially when she kept rubbing her wrists.

He shrugged in response to her question. And changed the subject. “I’ve got some salve for your wrists.”

He walked to the small kitchen area and removed a tin from the tiny refrigerator. He let his hand linger in the interior for a few seconds, but he didn’t feel the cold at all.

Good, that was good. It meant something about her made him feel heat. Not some deficiency in him.

Walking back, he flipped the tin to her.

“You can take that with you when you leave. It’s not my turn to be a hero today, babe, and definitely not for a spoiled little goddess. And you can’t buy my services with a little sex.”

But maybe for a little more…

No. He had to stand strong here.

“I can pay. However much you—”

“I don’t want your money, either.”

She drew in a sharp breath as if he’d hit her, and his heart gave a wrench. Damn it, he was not going to cave on this. Not even when he saw dainty little tears pool at the corners of her eyes.

Cimmerians were warriors, and these days they were forced to be mercenaries to live. They didn’t cave to feminine wiles. They were strong and brave… and, oh, for fuck’s sake, this wasn’t fair. For some stupid-ass reason, he wanted to wrap his arms around her and tell her he’d never let anything hurt her.

But he knew better than to get involved with the deities. Everyone did. They screwed you over royally. And he didn’t mean in bed. Although that fuck definitely had been fit for the gods.

Blinking back the tears, she turned and headed for the door.

“Then I guess I’ll just say thanks for the sex.” She turned the knob and stepped outside. “It was good.”

Closing the door, she disappeared.

***

Tessa had wondered if the tears would work. Not that they weren’t real. She really was screwed well and good now. Especially since Caligo didn’t seem to be following her.

Stepping off the rickety wooden porch, she headed in the direction of her car, her thoughts reeling.

Now what? Did she return to her little house and wait for Charun to catch her in her sleep when she could no longer keep her eyes open? Return to Salvatorus’s home in the city and risk Charun discovering possibly the only Etruscan safe house in the States?

Was there anywhere she could go that Charun would not find her?