Giving It Up for the Gods (11 page)

Too upset to pace, Jase slumped in the room’s only armchair. “I thought if made her angry, she’d sulk a while before she demanded sex. When I thought of her heritage, I lost it, and my demon took over. He hates everyone—human, god, or demon—equally. But not Lindy.”

His demon wanted her naked, legs wide open, but when it rose to the surface, it possessed about as much finesse as a slug. He’d be lucky if Lindy spoke to him again after the way he’d behaved, let alone invite him into her bed.

He ran his hand through his hair. “Damn it, Saul, she jumped out the window and took off with strangers rather than stay with me.”

Saul fell into his favorite pose, arms folded, back against the wall. “I know she’s a Siren, but I mean, can you blame her for what happened before she was born? Either accept what she is, or I’ll find some other god that Neptune’s pissed off and get him to lay her.”

Jase’s pupils contracted, and his jaw clenched. “Do you know how far I fell? Or the pain I suffered? It took centuries for me to fight my way back to the top of the heap, and even today, half the preternatural world believes I’m a rapist. Damn it, Saul, the shame of it still shrivels my soul. Look, for Lindy, I swear I’ll try. She’s a strong-minded woman, and honestly she deserves a choice in all this. I’ll tell her everything. I’m through putting her off with half-truths and tricks.”

Jase ignored Saul’s raised eyebrow, but his voice turned bitter. “Unlike you, I didn’t lose half my powers. The gods stripped them from me. Come on, Saul, I’m desperate here. You’ve got to find her.”

With a slow shake of his head, Saul dropped his gaze to the floor. “And suppose she demands you fuck her straight off rather than wait and destroy Neptune completely?”

“Then we find another way to take him down,” Jase snarled. “Lindy’s mine, there are no two ways about it. That means I owe her my respect, and I owe her a choice.”

Finally, with a ferocious frown, Saul nodded. Not that Jase gave a damn. He’d do anything to make things right between him and Lindy. To hell with Neptune. Saul would just have to find another way to reclaim his first ring.

“I don’t like it, but okay,” Saul finally agreed. “Merc, will you carry a message for me? You can pop off to her side, then pop back again and find me. Tell her to stay safe.”

“That’s it?” Merc demanded. Then he apparently remembered Lindy’s advice. “How much is it worth?”

Jase felt heat flood his pupils and knew they glowed red. “Damn it, kid. She was nice to you. You owe her.”

Mercury said nothing, but as the light flickered on and off, he vanished. A few seconds later, he was back, but his wounded expression and stooped shoulders said more than his words. “I passed on your message, but what a waste of time. She’s outnumbered and surrounded by Neptune’s elite guard. She doesn’t stand a chance. I even yelled that I’d already fucked her. Those web-handed bastards just laughed and said it didn’t change their orders.”

Jase shook with fury. His pupils glinted, bloodred and threatening, and his horns shot up through his hair. “Where is she?”

Merc leaned against the wall, his posture a poor copy of Saul’s. “I’m not telling.”

Jase let his demon surge to the fore. He punched a hole in the plaster next to Merc’s head. “Don’t make me hurt you, kid.”

Merc never moved, just answered slowly, “I’m not having you upset Grandpa.”

“This is no times for games.” Saul rolled his eyes at the teenager. “And don’t call me Grandpa.”

Mercury’s eyes regained their sparkle. “Come on, Saul. You fathered Jupiter, and he fathered me. That makes you my grandpa. And I’m saying nothing unless Jase swears on the Source that he’ll tell her nothing about your plan. My dear Uncle Neptune treated me worse than he does Cerberus. Along with Juno and Pluto, my father stood by and let him. Some freaking family I’ve got.” He spotted Saul’s raised eyebrow and hastily added, “Present company excepted. Jase needs to get Lindy to the altar at Aldborough, but he better not screw her before midnight tomorrow night.”

Jase’s demon prowled inside him, desperate to beat the shit out of Mercury, but Lindy was in trouble now. “I’ll kill you for this, kid, but I swear to the Source I won’t actually screw Lindy until she’s draped over the altar. Whatever the personal cost, I swear I won’t tell her Saul’s plan.”

Lightning forked through the sky as the oath settled around him like a lead cape.

Mercury stood up. “Then grab ahold of me.”

Jase lunged for his arm, his grip so tight it bruised the youngster’s flesh. Then the pair of them vanished.

* * * *

Neptune’s elite squad—all black leather and full-face motorbike helmets—swaggered across the field. Lindy grabbed the SUV’s keys, but damn it, how many keys could one guy have? She fumbled through them, trying to find the right one.

The stench of rotting seaweed surrounded her as the merwarriors came closer. Escape? Impossible. Okay, time to fight. She turned and put her back against the car, humming of strength and victory.

“I screwed her last night. Neptune won’t want her now she’s not a virgin!” Mercury yelled as he materialized behind them.

The leader snorted with derision. “A piece of shit like you couldn’t screw the top off a soda bottle. Either way, our orders are to take her to Neptune.”

Mercury sank into himself, totally deflated. His skin paled, and his shoulders drooped. His voice dropped so low that Lindy struggled to hear. “Saul sent me to tell you to stay safe.”

He vanished before Lindy could tell him it was too late. Instead, she sang louder and hit a note two octaves higher than top C. The helmets blocked her song, and Neptune’s warriors still slow-marched toward her.

“O-kay, then. Looks like I’m the star guest at a fish-head conference. Seems a mite overcrowded, though. Time I took a few of you out.” Lindy hissed like a wildcat and slashed at the nearest fish-fingered freak. Her talons made no impact on his leather jacket.

Her would-be victim mocked, his words clear despite his helmet, “Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.”

Weirdly, she wondered how the helmets could let out their words but block her song. Circe’s dark magic, she supposed. How the hell did she fight them now? Battle madness and all-out attack? Or find a gap between them and run like hell? And how was she supposed to outrun motorbikes?

The leader laughed from beneath his helmet. “Admit defeat and come with us.”

“Or, she could brush off you losers and come with me,” Jase snarled as Mercury dumped him in the field.

JASE’S SKIN GLOWED like crushed rubies. His horns—all polished ebony and savage points—stood tall and proud. His thighs split the seams of his jeans, and since he grew almost a foot taller in full demon mode, the bottoms flapped around his knees.

He ripped off one merman’s helmet, right along with his head. Blood spurted in a huge arc, making dull green patches on Jase’s ruby-hued flesh. It dripped down his body and pooled invisibly onto the grass. As the merwarrior crumpled to the ground, the torrent slowed to a sludgy green trickle.

Fangs elongated, Jase knocked another helmet askew and bit out the owner’s throat. More blood flowed. Ignoring the carnage at his feet, he threw back his head and roared. He was born to do this. To protect his woman, he gave his demon free rein…almost. If he surrendered completely, he might never find his way back. For now, he’d channel its superhuman strength and its constant craving for violence to keep Lindy safe. A punch in a merman’s gut, a stomp that fractured ribs and punctured the victim’s heart.

Lindy finally got the car door open and the engine running. She skidded across the grass to Jase’s side. “Get in.”

Jase’s demon reveled in the blood and gore, but his warrior’s heart demanded he protect his woman. The mermen were either dead or unconscious, so for now the best he could do for her was avoid getting caught by the authorities. As he slid in beside her, he reined in his demon side—the side of him he hated. Only, not so much today. It went to bat for Lindy, and that forged a link between them. Maybe. His body shrank back to normal size. His horns flattened until they vanished beneath his hair. “Did they hurt you?”

“No, but they were about to,” she answered as she drove over the mermen’s motorbikes. The frames crumpled inward into twisted hunks of black metal, and their tires burst.

Chapter Eleven

Jase loved the way Lindy’s eyes shone as she drove over the mermen’s bikes. He wanted to stroke her arm or hug her, but he’d forfeited any right to touch her when he turned brutal and bullying back in the hotel room.

Lindy stared at the mangled metal in the rearview mirror. “Okay, I guess they weren’t ‘Born to be Wild.’”

Back in human form, Jase gave a theatrical wince, grinned back, and shook his head.

Her smile brimmed with mischief, and she rested her hand on his arm. “What? I’m a Siren. I sing songs. At least I didn’t go with ‘Bat out of Hell,’ or worse, Arlo Guthrie’s ‘I Just Want to Ride My Motorcycle.’ Not that they can now I’ve crushed them.”

“And you don’t know any modern songs?” Jase laughed. Teasing her about her music might be a way back into her good books. He’d never felt so damn guilty in his life. He fidgeted in his seat; then he reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. He hadn’t sweated this much since his prolonged involuntary visit to the underworld. His life wouldn’t be complete if he didn’t pull Lindy into his arms and cling to her forever. He’d promise her the world if she’d only forgive him, and he’d get it for her too.

After his cock-up in the hotel, he’d do anything to regain her trust. Most of all, he wanted to strip her borrowed clothes off her body and check her for bruises. Then he’d fuck her until she was too weak to stand.

Neptune’s minions had almost carried her off to use as a sex slave—all because Jase lost control of his demon. He’d sworn to the Source not to touch her before the solstice, but it chafed deep in his soul. At least he’d kept Lindy safe. He clenched his fists rather than stroke her thigh or fondle her hair. Two seconds later, he unclenched them in case she thought he looked threatening. Demons’ breath, he could fall for this sparky-natured Siren. No. Strike that. He’d fallen so far he was drowning, but with her, he never wanted to come up for air.

He reached across and ran one finger down her cheek, but despite her hesitant smile, she kept her gaze on the road. He never felt as ashamed. He hated the strained atmosphere he’d caused between them. “Saying sorry’s not enough, is it? I ballsed up, princess. Let me make things right.”

Lindy giggled, and he took it as a temporary truce. At least he was making headway here. Maybe the Fates got things spot-on when they paired him with a Siren.

He’d nearly lost her to the mermen, and the thought of living without her almost took him to his knees. Now that he recognized the depth of feeling, of love between them, he wanted to spirit-bond her to him for all eternity—and that wasn’t something immortals did easily. Worse, even if she was willing, he wasn’t free to claim her yet. All he had to do was accept her—species, history, and all. Then, once this mess with Neptune was over, he’d do anything to convince her to stay with him. Only, she’d have to forgive him for his stupid sexual games first.

He’d pushed her away repeatedly all because of his stupid prejudice, but Lindy accepted him despite his demon. He’d make peace with his dark nature if it meant she’d stay at his side. He needed to woo her properly, but where were his witty conversation and charm when he needed them? He wanted to say something to make her smile. Instead, he squeaked, “So, princess, how are the broken bones holding up?”

She chanced a look in his direction. “My ribs are back to one hundred percent, and although my wrist is still a bit sore, it’s getting there. So, are you going to turn all red-skinned and horny again? Or are we good?”

Her kind heart had kicked in, just as it had when she’d upset young Merc, and she threw him a lifeline. His smile widened into a full-on grin. “You always make me horny. If you forgive me, I could make it worth your while.”

She laughed. “You’d better. Okay, as a soon-to-be ex-virgin sacrifice and outstanding car thief, where should I be heading? Those jocks will babble like babies when Neptune’s goons question them. Then we’ll have a hit squad outside our hotel.”

He looked up as their stolen SUV whizzed past a signpost. “We’re not far from Leeds. Let’s ditch the car at an out-of-town supermarket and buy some new clothes. Once we look a bit more respectable, we’ll head into the city center and take the train to Harrogate. Tomorrow, we can shop properly; then we’ll hire a less conspicuous car and move on.”

Lindy sped up, but a few miles later, she turned down a quiet country road and pulled into a turnout. “Okay, Jase, it hurts when you keep blowing hot and cold, but I owe you for saving me…again. Let’s put everything behind us and start over.”

He’d never meant to hurt her, at least not after he’d accepted that he wanted her to be his. Only he’d damn near got her kidnapped and raped…just because he couldn’t accept her for what she was. His demon side wanted her as much as his human side, but all it knew was violence and pain. Courting a woman was beyond it, but it went crazy the moment he let her out of its sight. When he left her angry or unsatisfied, his demon clawed at his heart and demanded its freedom. When it saw her surrounded by Neptune’s goon squad, it screamed inside him
give her their heads on a plate.

That’d be after it had shredded their flesh and spread their entrails across the ground. For once, Jase had been willing to oblige.

When they parked up, Jase dragged Lindy out of the vehicle and into his arms. Her sweet, floral essence flowed over him and shoved the last remnant of his demon aside. Then he noticed she was staring across a field full of heifers toward a copse of trees.

She didn’t say anything, just buried her hand in his long hair, went up on tiptoe, and kissed him. Jase made a low rumble—half demon growl, half contented purr—then he kissed her back. His world stopped turning, and heat exploded through his balls. Lindy was born to be his. As usual, Saul had been bang-on the money about him and Lindy, but like a fool, he hadn’t listened. Jase forgot all the things he’d lost, all the things the Sirens’ lies had cost him. Every part of him—body, soul, and demon—cried out for him to make her his.