Aphrodite's Passion (41 page)

“Thank you, Miss Tannin,” Zephron said with a smile. “I assure you, the Council will keep your grandmother’s belt safe.”

She exhaled, and Hale silently thanked Zephron for putting her at ease. “I know you will,” she said. “I’m just happy it’s away from the bad guys.” She frowned. “Speaking of...”

Zephron nodded. “Yes. Clyde and Mordichai.”

“What’s going to happen to them?” Tracy asked.

“Clyde has disappeared. We will find him, of course. The moment he uses his powers, we will be able to hone in on him.” Zephron shrugged. “And until then ... well, he’ll have a chance to see how mortals live.”

“What about Mordi?” Hale asked.

“Your cousin. That is trickier. Despite what he told you in the castle, we still do not know his true intentions. Did he intend to acquire the belt to return it to us? Was he truly working for his father? Or did our young Mordichai plan to use the belt for his own purposes?” The Elder shook his head. “We don’t know. But the Council is investigating.”

“He was kind to me,” Tracy put in. “He could have tried to drive a wedge between me and Hale, but instead he told me Hale cared about me.” That was news to Hale, and he silently thanked his cousin. “If he needs a character witness,” Tracy continued, “you can call me.”

Zephron smiled at her. “You are a special woman, Tracy Tannin. I hope you realize that.”

Tracy didn’t answer, but when Hale squeezed her hand, she squeezed back. Zephron was right, of course, and Hale intended to remind her how special she was every day for the rest of their lives.

The Elder turned to him. “And you, Hale. You are due to be congratulated for your successful mission.” A small smile twitched on his lips, and Hale had the impression that Zephron was holding something back. He’d thought that once before—the day the Elder had assigned him this mission. He hadn’t asked then, but now he needed to know. “What? Am I missing something?”

Zephron fingered the belt. “Let’s just say that I was certain you were the appropriate Protector to give this task.”

At that, Hale had to laugh. “I was the most inappropriate Protector. Heck, we’re lucky Hieronymous didn’t prevail. You sent me—a guy who had some pretty hefty mortal issues—on a mission to befriend a mortal.”

“Ah,” the old man said. “It’s even worse than that. I sent you to fall in love with a mortal.”

Hale blinked. He certainly hadn’t been expecting Zephron to say that. “Excuse me?”

Zephron looked at Tracy. “Do you understand?”

To Hale’s surprise, she nodded. “I think so. I figured it out in the castle.”

Hale gaped as he waited for her to continue.

“Not anyone could persuade me to give up the belt. Even torturing me wouldn’t do it, although I guess Hieronymous didn’t know that.” She licked her lips. “Aphrodite was the goddess of love. I was only going to give the belt up to someone I loved.”

Hale frowned, then looked to Zephron for confirmation. The Elder nodded.

“It all makes sense,” Tracy continued. “Although I didn’t realize it until that Henchman couldn’t get it off me but I could take it off to give to you. I’d wanted to give it to you earlier, in the hotel bar. Something held me back. I wasn’t in love with you yet.” She smiled. “I was close. But I wasn’t there yet.”

Hale looked at Zephron, his eyes wide. “Then, you knew I’d fall in love with Tracy? Or that she’d fall in love with me?”

The Elder shook his head. “No. I did not even know if that was how the belt truly worked. I told you, we did not have the full information. But I suspected. It was a risk, of course, sending you. Your ‘issues’ as you call them made you a questionable choice. But at the same time, I believed that you were ready to overcome them. You just needed the right woman. And I believed Ms. Tannin here not only had the belt, but was that woman.” He caught Hale’s eyes. “So I assigned you. And I hoped.”

“Hoped?” Tracy echoed.

“Yes, I admit to taking a risk.” He smiled at her, his eyes warm and caring. “Considering the outcome, it is a risk I’m glad I took.” His eyes moved between Hale and Tracy. “I wish you many happy years. Perhaps there will be a new hailing on the horizon soon....”

Children
? Hale swallowed and tugged at his collar, the idea more appealing than he would have thought. And also more terrifying.

Tracy laughed and squeezed his hand. “Don’t worry. I’ll let you get used to the idea of being in love with a mortal before we start planning kids.”

“Sweetheart, I didn’t fall in love with a mortal. I fell in love with Tracy Tannin.” He stroked her cheek, imagining himself holding her child ...
their
child. He had to admit he liked the image.

Her smile zinged straight to his heart as she said: “And I didn’t fall in love with a superhero or a cover model. I fell in love with you.” Then she asked with a soft laugh, “So, do you think Elmer’s ready to be an uncle?”

Hale chuckled, hugging her close. “So long as he gets his vacation and occasional infusions of HBO, I think he’ll do just fine.”

Tracy laughed as Hale tugged at the bowtie around his neck. It was the first time she’d seen him in a tux, and when he’d walked into Tara-too’s private screening room, her first reaction was to melt at his feet. Her second was to rip it off him, forget the party, and stay in bed all night.

“Don’t laugh,” he growled. “I saw you yanking at your pantyhose earlier.”

“I hate the damn things. They must have been invented by men.” She aimed a pretend scowl his way. “Remind me again why we’re doing this?”

He moved closer, sweeping her into an embrace. “It’s Elmer’s big night. His acting debut. And you had the bright idea of throwing a party to celebrate his episode of
Mrs. Dolittle
.”

“I know that,” she said. “But why am I wearing pantyhose?”

Hale laughed. “The ferret has attitude. Since he’s wearing a tux, he insisted we dress up too.” He pulled back, his eyes roaming over her body. “I plan to thank him for it. You look stunning.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He bent her over his arm, planting a long, slow kiss on her lips.

“Without the belt, I’m just another girl.” Even in her awkward position, she managed a shrug. “And not even an average girl. Just plain old Tracy. Heck, Leon hasn’t even given me a second look.” Not that she wanted Leon’s eyes on her, but she had to admit that the belt had been nice for her ego.

“Believe me, sweetheart, there’s nothing plain about you. You’re beautiful—inside and out. I knew it from the first moment I saw you. Even though I fought like hell.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Besides, you don’t need any other men looking at you. Your fiancé‘s the jealous type. And a jealous superhero can be a dangerous thing.”

That’s one of the things she loved about Hale: he always knew the right thing to say. And he made her believe she was beautiful. “Have I told you today how much I love you?” she asked.

“Even if you did,” he said, “it bears repeating.”

“Break it up, you two.” Mel’s voice filtered into the room, followed by the click of her heels as she hurried in, a ferret on each shoulder. “The show starts in fifteen minutes.”

Elmer—decked out in his own little tux and tiny sunglasses—started chittering as Hale pulled Tracy back to a standing position.

“What’s he saying?” she asked.

“That if we forget to tape the show, he’s going to disown both of us.”

Penelope chimed in.

“The same?”

“She just doesn’t want us to miss the beginning. This is Elmer’s big night, after all.”

Tracy looked at her watch. “We’ve still got a few minutes. Where’s Zoë and everyone?”

“The kitchen.” Mel glanced around the room at the catered buffet Tracy had ordered that afternoon. “All this, and Hoop wanted popcorn.”

Elmer jumped down to one of the seats and started tapping his paw. Penelope hopped down as well and snuggled up close. The show had taped two weeks before, and even in that short time, her delicate condition had become more apparent. Elmer, who’d developed some surprisingly gentlemanly qualities, scooted over to give her more room on the seat.

“Hey, hey. Let’s get this show on the road.” Hoop stormed in with Deena on his heels. Taylor and Zoë followed, with Lane and Davy bringing up the rear. Hoop aimed a smile toward Tracy and Hale. “Great party, you two. And Hale, congrats on your miraculous recovery.”

Tracy chuckled as Hale scowled, clearly clueless.

“Recovery?”

“Your acute mortalitis,” Taylor explained. “Looks like you’re cured.”

At that, Hale laughed, then pulled Tracy closer. “With
this
mortal, maybe. The rest of you losers I only put up with because my sister makes me.”

Zoë laughed. “I take the Fifth.”

“And we don’t believe you,” Lane added. “You’ve blown it now, Hale. We know the truth.”

Deena winked. “But don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with us.”

Hale aimed a mock-stern glance toward them all, even as Elmer started hopping up and down, chittering away.

“What now?” Tracy asked.

“He says to shut up. We may have kept the world safe from Hieronymous, but he’s guest-starred in a television show.” Hale grinned. “Can’t argue with that.” A frown creased his forehead. “Of course, now he’s begging Marty to line him up a job in commercials. What do you think? Could Elmer endorse a line of clothing?”

Tracy tugged at his hand, ignoring the neurotic ferret. “Come here, mister.” She led him out of the room and into the hallway. “We still have five minutes before showtime, and there’s something I want to do.”

“I’m not sure we can do that in five minutes.”

She tried to ignore him, but couldn’t help the smile that touched her lips. “Not that. This.” She hit ‘play’ on the jam-box she’d left by the door, and the low strains of Frank Sinatra singing “It Had To Be You” echoed through the hall.

“Dance with me.”

Caressing her cheek, he smiled. “Anything for you, sweetheart. Anything at all.”

He swept her into his arms and they twirled on the floor in time with the music. Just the two of them, alone with the magic.

With a sigh, she rested her head against his shoulder. She’d finally made it. This was the dance she’d always fantasized about. With the man she’d fantasized about.

Only this time, it was a fantasy come true.