Destiny Bewitched (6 page)

“Samantha, I –” He
cleared his throat. “You can’t…”

Her smile faded. “I’m
sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I’m just…” She looked deep
into his eyes for a soul-searching moment. “Just…thank you.”

She was so open and
trusting and her skin so soft, and even with the worm guts she
still smelled feminine. He swallowed hard.
No, Geo. You can’t have her
.
“You’re welcome. But I’m just fulfilling my promise.”

She dropped her gaze.
“I know.”

Shit. He hadn’t meant
to hurt her. But in the end, he’d do worse than that. An
uncomfortable knot formed in his chest.
Means to an end
, he chanted in his
head.

It was silent for a
while, except for the soft splashes as Samantha scrubbed her
clothing. She ducked down into the water and began washing her
hair.

“Do you need help?” His
croaking voice surprised him.

“No.”

He waited until she
finished then asked, “Are you done with the soap?”

“Yeah. Here.” Still
facing away, she held it out behind her.

His gaze locked on her
slender shoulders. The angry sunburn had lightened to a freckled
pink. He had the urge to trace those freckles with his tongue. And
now, after using his soap, she smelled like him. He almost hummed
with contentment.

Means to an end
. The mantra was
beginning to lose meaning.

When he finished
cleaning himself and his clothes, he walked to the blanket and
pulled on his extra set of leather pants. He looked at Sam, her
back barely visible in the distance.

“Come on out. You can
wear my spare t-shirt.”

“Um. Just leave it on
the rock. I’ll be out in a minute.”

A few minutes later, he
heard the water swish as she stepped out of the pool. He gave her
privacy while she dried off and put his shirt on, though it almost
killed him. He pictured her naked, water drops dotted along her
plump breasts. Her smooth belly and shapely hips – hips he could
grab a hold of while pumping into her from behind. Shaking his
head, he tried to clear the image. His cock couldn’t get any harder
without exploding.

“You can turn around,”
she said, startling him from his thoughts.

After a deep breath, he
did. The first thing he noticed was her silky thighs barely covered
by his black shirt, so dark in contrast to her pale skin. For a
moment, he was glad he’d packed the shorter one. But it’d be a long
night of torture knowing she was bare underneath.

A pair of fingers
snapped in front of his face. “Snap out of it! Geez. Haven’t you
seen a woman before?”

His gaze moved from her
thighs to her face. “Of course. There are females of every species
here. But I haven’t touched one in almost two hundred years.”

She gazed up at him,
surprise in her eyes. “Oh.”

He smiled and ran a
knuckle down her cheek, catching a drip of water. “And you are the
tastiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Where the hell had that
come from?

She blushed a pretty
pink. “Yes, well,” – she cleared her throat – “you haven’t touched
a woman in two hundred years. I’ll bet a harpy looks good to
you.”

He moved his hand along
her cheek then stroked her wet hair.
Stop this!
“I never knew freckles could be
so sexy.”

Her breathing turned
shaky as she stared up at him.

Get a hold of yourself, man!
He
blinked and the spell was gone. “You can hang your clothes to dry
over there.”

He pointed to a rope
he’d rigged as a clothing line then walked to the fire before he
did something stupid like take her to the ground and taste those
pretty pink breasts.

Her soft sigh seemed to
echo across the cavern.

When she finished
hanging her clothes, he pointed to the blanket. “Sit.”

She did.

He handed her the warm
bowl of stew with cloth wrapped around it so it didn’t burn her.
“Eat.”

She took the bowl with
a soft thank you. He felt a surge of pride when she hungrily
slurped the contents. Providing for her just felt right.

No. He gave his head a
shake. She wasn’t his. During his centuries in the god realm he’d
taken many women in lust. But he’d never loved one. Maybe he was a
hopeless romantic but he believed in true love. There was a woman
somewhere in the god realm that was meant for him and him alone.
One day he would find her – spoil her, protect her, possess her in
every way. By the gods, he looked forward to that day. Life was
getting too long to be alone.

But there was nothing
for him here in the Underworld. And the witch, though soft and
strong all at once, was nothing more than an object to use to get
home. She wouldn’t even be able to slake his lust if she wanted to.
She was too fragile, he too rough. His kind were dominant in bed –
demanding. A woman like Samantha would never accept him that
way.

“You don’t talk much do
you?” she said, handing him the bowl.

He peered inside and
frowned when he found it half-full. “Not unless I have something
important to say. I find comfort in silence.” He pushed the bowl
back to her. “Eat the rest.”

She shook her head.
“You eat it. I’ve had enough and you need it too.”

He obliged her and
finished the soup. When he looked back at her, she wore a lopsided
grin. “That’s a cryptic look,” he said.

“’Let us be silent that
we may hear the whispers of the gods.’” She exhaled a humorless
laugh. “Ralph Waldo Emerson.”

He didn’t know this
Ralph but he’d clearly never met the gods. They didn’t whisper,
they commanded.

Her face fell and she
stared at the ground. “People think I’m a bitch because I’m
quiet.”

He’d heard the term
before and knew it to be a derogatory word for a female. “A bitch?
No. You’re a darling.”

She laughed and it
echoed across the cavern. “That’s a bit of a stretch.”

“Well, what are you
then?”

Her carefree smile
faded. The spot between her eyebrows crinkled. She stared into the
fire. “Just a girl. Doing the best she can.”

So vulnerable, this
mortal. She wore her heart on her sleeve. She laughed often,
trusted easily, even kissed him in spontaneous joy. Other than
information, she hid nothing. It was different from what he was
used to. In the god realm, everyone had an agenda. Manipulation,
deception, treachery – it was all he knew. Samantha was like a
breath of fresh air.

“And do you care what
everyone else thinks?” he asked her.

She snorted. “Nah.”
Then her eyes went distant again.

“But?”

She snapped her gaze to
his. With a sigh, she answered, “But sometimes I worry I’ll become
it. Self-fulfilling prophecy or something.”

“Become what? A
bitch?”

“Maybe.” She shrugged.
“Or a screw-up who will never amount to anything.”

“Do you truly believe
that?”

Her answering smile
seemed forced. “Not as long as I stick to my five-year plan.”

So she didn’t lack
ambition, just the circumstances for success. “Samantha.” He waited
until she made eye contact before continuing. “Many significant
people in history were underdogs.”

She gave him a
half-smile and nodded, but he got the impression she didn’t believe
him.

He sighed. “Let’s get
some rest.”

As they laid together
on the quilt, he watched her sleep. Her long lashes fanned out over
her freckled skin. Pale lips formed a perfect heart shape. He
didn’t think he’d ever forget kissing those sweet lips. Her deep
breaths were peaceful, almost hypnotic.

When he was sure she
was sound asleep, he wrapped his arms around her small body,
imagining, for one night, that he could keep her. What would it be
like to fall asleep every night with a woman like Samantha in his
arms?

Chapter 7

Something was licking
Samantha’s ear. She batted at it sleepily. “Geo, stop it.”

The thing huffed,
blowing her hair across her neck. It smelled like dog. Her eyes
shot open and she came face-to-nose with a big, black muzzle. Above
that, two red eyes glowed in the darkness. She sucked in a
breath.

“Erebus,” Geo said from
beside her, his voice thick with sleep. “Quit it. You’re scaring
the poor girl.”

The shadow hound
grunted then disappeared, but she could hear his paws clinking
against the rocky ground.

“A little late to save
the day, aren’t you Erebus?” she called into the dark. The
footsteps stopped as if he were listening. Then he snorted and
continued his trot around the cavern.

She couldn’t see much
further than a few feet from the glowing embers of the fire. The
constant dark was weighing on her. Shifting to sit, she saw flashes
of Erebus’ body moving through the dark. She had to admit, she felt
a little safer with him there.

Geo sat up next to her.
“How’d you sleep?”

She yawned and
stretched her aching muscles. And all she had to look forward to
was another day of walking. “Surprisingly well. Though every muscle
in my body aches, including ones I didn’t even know I had.” She
turned to look at him. “I don’t suppose you packed any Icy
Hot?”

“Any what?”

“Didn’t think so.”

She spotted her
clothing across the fire. Careful not to flash the demon her goods,
she rose and pulled on her underwear and jeans. Thankfully, they
were dry. She couldn’t say the same for her sneakers which made a
gross squishing noise when she stepped into them.

Geo followed her,
grabbing his dry t-shirt. “I’ve got some breakfast in –”

He stopped when she
turned around and pulled off the shirt he’d lent her.

She sighed. “Really?
It’s just my back. Damn, you really are going through a dry
spell.”

He grabbed her elbow
and spun her around.

“Hey!” She covered her
breasts with her arms. “What are you doing?”

His forehead creased as
he studied her stomach. “What in Zeus’ name is this?” His eyes
narrowed as he ran his fingers over the purple and blue bruises
spanning her ribs.

She flushed and tried
to pull away but he held firm.

“From falling in the
tunnel?” He moved closer. “No. These are old.” His forefinger
grazed the deepest one. “The shape of a boot.” His expression
darkened when he looked at her. “Who did this?” he demanded through
gritted teeth.

With a sharp tug, she
pulled from his grasp and slipped her shirt on, covering the
bruises. “None of your business.” She was vaguely aware of Erebus
standing beside them, watching Geo carefully with those glowing
eyes.

He squared his
shoulders. “You
will
tell me.”

Her mouth opened of its
own power. She jammed it shut. Bastard was trying to coerce her.
“My br –” No! She slapped a hand over her mouth.

He blinked when she’d
shaken off his persuasion.

With her best evil
glare she placed a hand on her hip. “Now you listen to me! I’m done
with the mind fucks. You can’t use your power on me anytime you
choose. It’s not fair and I refuse to lose my free will around you.
If that’s the way you’re going to be, I’ll find my own way to the
Games.”

“Samantha –”

“I mean it.” It was
time to lay down some rules. As if encouraging her, Erebus licked
her fingers.

“Alright,” he said more
evenly, the anger fading from his eyes. “I won’t use it except in
dire emergency. But that’s as far as I’ll bend on this, dove.
Deal?”

She made a show of
looking him over before she answered, “Deal.”

He raised his brows.
“Now, will you tell me what happened?”

“No.”

“Stubborn.”

“Nosy.”

He laughed and she bit
back a smile.

After a quick breakfast
of some plain-tasting nuts and water, they made their way through
the tunnel once more. She lost track of time. Everything looked the
same – dark and oppressing. Erebus travelled with them for a spell.
He seemed pleased to bring her various “gifts” he’d either found
or, she suspected, killed. A dead rat, an old bone, the head of a
lizard-like creature.

She’d held back her gag
reflex each time and managed a small thank you. Geo had chuckled
quietly.

“He likes you,” he’d
said.

The demon dog of the
Underworld had a crush. Goody for her.

Around midday, Geo
pulled out strips of dried meat somewhat resembling beef jerky. It
reminded her of home, and not in a good way. Her brothers fighting
over the last bit of food flashed in her mind. No one had ever
cared if she went hungry.

Geo also gave her a
sweet, juicy fruit she savored. If beef jerky was dysfunctional
family dinners, fresh fruit was warm summers on her grandmother’s
orchard. Her parents had shipped her there in the summer when she
was young. She still remembered the scent of baked apples. She’d
spent hours picking blackberries off the bushes, eating more than
she collected. Her lips curled in a smile. Her grandma on her
mother’s side might have been human, but to a five-year-old the
plentiful hugs against her plump body and the goodies constantly
baking in the kitchen were all the magic she could ever want.

Geo watched her finish
the fruit then lick the juice off each finger. He looked down at
his piece then handed it to her. “Here. You can have it.” When she
tried to refuse he said, “It’s not my favorite anyway. I prefer the
meat.”

She had a feeling he
was lying. Even though it was just a silly piece of fruit, her
heart melted.

They travelled mostly
in silence – stopping here or there for a drink. Sometimes they
chatted about the scenery, but there was only so much to say about
the endless darkness broken up by the occasional rotting
corpse.

Growing up in a
double-wide trailer with two parents, three older brothers, and a
younger sister, silence was a luxury Samantha didn’t often have.
But she revered it. She’d learned most humans – especially women –
were uncomfortable with silence. They felt obligated to fill it
with useless chatter. Like Geo, Samantha didn’t feel it necessary
to speak unless there was something worth saying.