Lyre (20 page)

‘Terp,’ Pan said, an expression of mild humour on his face, ‘what gives?  I was busy wooing a fair maiden in Alabama and you called me here to be attacked?’

‘Olympus,’ she said shortly.  ‘Nine or ten years ago.  A young Japanese girl.  She…’

‘I remember.  One of the few to resist my charms.’  He shrugged.  ‘She was probably too young anyway but it was a favour.’

Terpsichore gave him a suspicious look.  ‘For whom?’

‘Medusa.’

‘She’s still around?’

‘Hiding out in Devon as far as I know.  Place called Torquay.’

Oz’s reaction was unmistakable.  Terpsichore turned to him.  ‘Ringing a bell?’

He shook his head, trying to clear it.  This was becoming far too strange.  ‘I’m from Torquay.  But I don’t know any damned woman called Medusa.’

Pan’s lips pursed.  ‘Perhaps it was her niece.  What’s her name again?’

‘Sibyl?’ Terpsichore asked.

Pan snapped his fingers.  ‘That’s the one.’

Oz’s eyes were wide.  ‘Sibyl?’ he whispered.

‘Ah, finally someone you do recognise.’

‘Can I go now?’ the goatman asked.  ‘I am busy, you know.’

‘Not yet.’ She pointed at Oz with her free hand.  Her other one was still gripping onto his shirt.  ‘He needs to believe.’

He shrugged expansively.  ‘Why does it matter?’

‘Music, you ridiculous excuse for a god.’

Pan frowned and peered at Oz.  ‘Wait.  You’re the singer from Orpheus.’

Oz merely glared.

‘By Olympus!  I’m a huge fan!  Can I have your autograph?’

‘Good grief, Pan.  Enough already.’

He gave Terpsichore a scorching look.  ‘What?  I’ve made love many times to those songs.’  A furrow lined his brow.  ‘And some annoyed ex-lovers have found that song
Stabbed Through The Heart
particularly useful.’

‘He wrote that because of the Japanese girl,’ Terpsichore pointed out.

‘Oh.’ Pan appeared somewhat deflated and glanced sheepishly at Oz.  ‘Sorry about that.  It wasn’t personal.  And she wasn’t interested anyway.  The ones in love never are.’

Terpsichore threw Oz a triumphant look before returning her attention to the god.  ‘Make him believe.’

‘I can’t, Terp.  You know that.  He has to do it on his own.’

‘What do you see when you look at him, Oz?’

He gazed at her, baffled.  ‘What do you mean?’

‘What does he look like to you?’

‘A man.  Two arms, two legs, two eyes. He’s not aged much in ten years though.’

‘How old are you, Pan?’

He shrugged.  ‘Dunno.  I lost count after two thousand.  Birthdays are so passé.’

Oz tried to back away.  ‘You people are nuts.’

‘Look at his legs, Osbourne.  See them for what they really are.’

Pan sighed.  ‘Terp, that won’t work.’

‘He’s drunk.  He’ll be more receptive.’

‘I don’t think…’  His voice faltered as he looked back at Oz who was staring at his legs and blinking.

‘You see?’ Terpsichore said softly.  ‘He wants to believe.’

‘When the light catches them, it looks like you have animal legs.’

‘Goat, to be precise,’ Pan offered helpfully.

Oz didn’t hear him.  ‘Like a goat’s maybe.’

Pan rolled his eyes.

‘That’s because he’s a god, Osbourne.’

‘This can’t be real.’ Oz rubbed his eyes and looked again. 

‘It is.  You may go now, Pan.’

‘What?  Things are only just getting fun!  And I don’t have his autograph yet.’

‘You ruined his only chance of happiness by making out with that girl.  It’s probably wise not to stick around.’

‘Hmm,’ he scratched his chin.  ‘you’re probably right.’  He bowed to Oz.  ‘My apologies.  If you’re ever in Olympus again, I’ll make it up to you.  I know lots of girls.’

‘Pan,’ Terpsichore warned.

‘Going, going,’ he said.  Then he clicked his fingers and winked out of existence.

Oz gaped.  ‘Did you see that?  He just vanished!’

‘Yes, gods can do that.’

He looked around the bar.  With the promise of a fight gone, the other drinkers had returned to their own conversations.  No-one had paid Pan’s mysterious disappearance any attention whatsoever. 

‘This is real, isn’t it?  When Yuri was talking about the gods, she wasn’t making it up.  You really do exist.’

‘I’m not a god, Osbourne.  I told you.  I’m a Muse.’

He shook his head then slapped himself on each cheek.  ‘Crazy,’ he muttered. Then he paused. ‘Her nose.  It didn’t wrinkle.  When she lied it always wrinkled but when she told me about Pan and the gods, it didn’t.  I ignored it.  I thought maybe she’d just gotten better at lying.’ He raised pained eyes to the Muse  ‘She hadn’t, had she?’

‘Probably not. So,’ Terpsichore said.  ‘What you’re going to do is find Yuri, propose to her, settle down and live a happy songwriting existence.  Okay?’

‘It’s been ten years.’

‘You keep saying that.’

‘I don’t know where she is.  For all I know, in fact, she’s already married and settled down.’  The thought wrenched at him.

‘She’s not.’

‘How do you know?’

‘Because if she feels even half for you as you do for her, she’ll still be single.  This is true love, Osbourne.  Not many get to experience it.  Not without a little help from Cupid anyway.’

‘Huh?’

She patted him on the back.  ‘Never mind.’

‘It’s been too long.  And I was so horrible to her back then.  She won’t want me.’

Terpsichore regarded him curiously.  ‘You’re considered one of the most desirable men on the planet.  Why wouldn’t she want you?’

He hung his head.  ‘I really was mean to her.’

‘You were a teenager.  Hormones and icky things like that.  She’ll understand.’

‘Will she?’ His eyes were hopeful.

‘What’s the alternative?  To pretend she doesn’t exist?  To play it safe and stay away?’ She shook her head.  ‘No-one wins like that.’

‘What do you get out of this?’ he asked suspiciously.

‘‘The music,’ she reminded him.

‘Yuri’s much more important that that,’ he disagreed.

Terpsichore merely smiled.  ‘’Atta boy.’

‘It didn’t take as long to find you as I thought it would,’ Oz admitted, after he’d finished telling Yuri the story.  He shrugged.  ‘I hired a private detective but because you’d not changed your name or anything, you were easy to track down.’  His expression flashed with discomfort.  ‘I just wasn’t sure how to approach you.  I thought you might reject me.  You’d have been well within your rights.’

Yuri simply stared at him.  She was completely lost for words.

He gazed at her in earnest as if pleading to make her understand his side.  ‘I knew you worked for
Yell
so I had Dirk contact them.  Told them I would be interested in being interviewed as long as you were the interviewer.  They weren’t keen at first but when that other guy’s story was yanked…’

‘No wonder,’ Yuri breathed, as the pieces began to all into place.  ‘No wonder I was given that assignment.  I thought Medusa had done something first but Sibyl promised me she hadn’t.’  Her eyes hardened.  ‘Sibyl.  She wouldn’t have done that.  She wouldn’t have gotten Pan to do what he did.  She’s been my best friend since Torquay.  I don’t think I’ve known anyone for longer.’

‘Maybe he was mixed up and meant someone else.’

Troubled, she shook her head.  ‘I need to talk to her.’

‘Don’t.’  He squeezed her hands.  ‘Stay here.’

Yuri swallowed.  ‘It’s been so long, Ozzy.  We’re different people now.  We were kids back then.’

‘Call me that again.’

She gave him a confused look.

‘Ozzy,’ he said.  ‘Call me Ozzy.’

‘Ozzy,’ she replied softly.

His eyes crinkled in warmth.  ‘I still feel it.  When I look at you…’ He pulled away from her and ran a shaky hand through his hair.  ‘There have been other girls.  But not like you.’

Yuri’s mouth was dry.  ‘There have been other guys too,’ she admitted.

His gaze flew to hers.  ‘Did you love any of them?  I know you’re single now but did you…’

She shook her head.  ‘They were nice but not…’ She struggled to find the words.

‘Not what?’ he prompted.

She took a deep breath.  ‘Not you.’

He grabbed her hands again, this time moving closer so that their knees touched.  A deep squirming sensation that was not entirely unpleasant started up in the pit of Yuri’s stomach.

‘Look at us,’ she laughed nervously, ‘neither of us seem to be able to finish a sentence properly.’ 

A faint smile traced his lips.  ‘You were right, you know,’ he said.  ‘You are different now.  You’re more self-assured.’

‘Trust me, I don’t feel it.’  She stared at him as if attempting to gauge his true soul.  ‘Do you really believe now?  About the gods, I mean?’

‘How do you think I got the gig at Nemesis?’

‘Helios.’

He nodded.  ‘It’s taken me some time to come around to it all but I see it now.  Everywhere I look I see it.  I can’t believe I didn’t before.’

‘That night,’ she said, sudden desperation filling her.  ‘On the cliffs.  I was there.  I really was.  But this guy came along.  Poseidon’s son.  He attacked me and…’

‘Sshh,’ he said, placing a finger against her lips.  She trembled at his touch.  ‘It doesn’t matter now.  All that matters is that you’re here now.  Maybe we can take some time and get to know each other again.  I was such a bastard to you, Yuri, but if you give me a chance perhaps we can work it out.  We can take things slow.  Have dinner or catch a movie or...’

She shook her head.  ‘No.  That’s not going to work for me.’

Bitter, albeit unsurprised, resignation crossed his face.  He pulled back with a heavy sigh.  ‘Okay.  I understand.  I won’t bother you again.’

Yuri smiled slightly.  ‘You don’t understand at all,’ she said, reaching out and brushing her fingers lightly against his stubbled cheek.  ‘We’ve already wasted too much time.  I don’t want to take anything slow.’

Then, before her words even had time to sink in, she leaned forward and kissed him.  His lips yielded instantly and he pulled her closer, one hand in her hair and the other curving round her back.  Dissatisfied still with the arrangement, he changed his mind and lifted her up by the waist, moving her onto his lap.  Yuri locked her arms round his neck while he deepened the kiss.  His body was hot and hard and the creeping desire she’d been feeling since she’d seen him on the roof began to overwhelm her as he crushed her against him.  Her heart was racing and all she could think was that nothing had ever felt so right.

Oz drew back, panting.  He searched her face then, when he was apparently satisfied with what he found there, his mouth curved into a slow, sex smile.  His fingers tugged at her top, finding their way to her smooth skin at her midriff.  When he touched her, she sucked in a deep breath.  He began tracing a burning path up her body.

‘Wait,’ she gasped.

‘I can’t.’

‘Oz…’

‘Ozzy.’  He reached up further, lightly brushing against the lace of her bra.

‘Ozzy,’ Yuri breathed.  ‘We’re in a glass-fronted conference room in the middle of the office of your recording company.’

‘I don’t care.’

‘Ozzy…’

He cursed slightly and swiveled the chair round.  From the other side of the glass, there was a small group of people staring at them.  Each one hastily looked away, embarrassed to be caught watching.

‘Let’s get out of here.’

Yuri couldn’t agree more.  She extricated herself from his lap, aware suddenly of how mussed her hair was and how flushed her skin must look.  Dimly remembering to scoop up her bag, she smiled tremulously at Oz.

He snapped his fingers.  ‘Wait, I forgot something.’ 

He spun round, quickly exiting and leaving her standing alone.  She pressed her palms to her hot cheeks.  This seemed more like a dream than reality.  She turned and watched his muscular frame stride over to Dirk who was hovering in a far corner of the reception area.  The agent grinned and passed something other.  Oz beckoned her to join them.

When she approached, her legs like jelly, she realised he was holding something out.  She stared at it, then up at him.

‘I thought you’d like this,’ he said simply.

It was a daisy.  Small and perfect, he twirled it in his fingers and gestured towards her.  Yuri smiled slightly and stepped closer.  Oz tucked the flower carefully behind her ear.

‘Now we’re ready to go,’ he murmured.

‘Is the interview over?’ Dirk asked, a spark of amusement in his eyes.

‘Not yet,’ Oz replied.  He stretched and took Yuri’s hand, gripping it tightly.  ‘I don’t ever want to let you go again,’ he whispered in her ear, his hot breath searing against her skin. 

She gave him an answering squeeze and, together, they walked to the lift.  The doors pinged open automatically.  Yuri was vaguely aware of Alicia emerging from another office and calling out towards them but, before the woman could reach them, the lift doors closed.  Oz turned to her, a wicked gleam lighting his dark eyes.  He pushed her back against the lift wall.

‘You’re still very short,’ he commented lightly.  ‘We might have to get you a stepping stool.’

Yuri growled and he pressed his body against hers, dipping his head down for another kiss.  His lips trailed a hot blaze down her neck and back up again until she wasn’t sure she was able to even breathe.  Then there was another ping as the lift stopped at a floor and they reluctantly pulled apart.  Another couple got in, both of them doing a double-take as they recognised Oz.  A knowing look passed across their faces and they turned away.  Oz reached out for Yuri’s hand again, his thumb gently rubbing concentric circles against her skin, making her shiver.  She stared up at the lift display, willing it to move faster.  Her insides were liquid and she wasn’t sure if she’d make it to the ground floor.  Somehow or other, however, she did.

Briskly pulling her along with him, Oz almost ran out of the building.  The doorman tipped his hat and they both smiled in return.

‘We’ll get your car, Mr. O’Connor.’

Oz looked up and down the street then frowned.  ‘It’s too busy.  It’ll take us ages to get to my place and you live even further away.’  He shook his head.  ‘Tell the driver to go home.’

The doorman bowed and, tucking her arm under his, Oz manouevred Yuri down the street.

‘If you’re suggesting we find a dark alley…’ she began.

He laughed.  ‘There’s a hotel just down here.’  A sudden anxious look appeared.  ‘That is, if you…’

She smiled.  ‘Yes.’ She met his eyes.  ‘The closer the better.’

*

It was several hours later when Yuri had another coherent thought.  Entwined amongst the bedsheets, she traced out the lyre tattooed on Oz’s back.

‘I’m glad you kept you this as the logo,’ she said softly, drawing her index finger down the single golden string.  Her eyes drifted to the word ‘Trust’ etched below.  ‘ And I’m sorry you thought I lied to you.’

‘Trust became very important to me after you left.  I hadn’t expected you to vanish so quickly.  When you didn’t show up at school again, it really hurt.’  He rolled over to face her.  ‘I don’t ever want to feel like that again.’

‘I won’t ever lie to you, Ozzy.’

He smiled.  ‘And I promise I will trust you.’

She touched him lightly.  ‘Will this work?  Us, I mean?’

‘How can it not?’

She sighed contentedly and he drew her closer.  ‘Would you like some food?’ He asked.  ‘Or something to drink?’

‘I am pretty hungry,’ she admitted.

‘Then room service it is,’ he declared.

He reached out for the phone although, startlingly, it began to ring before he touched it.  He raised his eyebrows at her.  ‘I guess the gods are on our side after all.’

Yuri grinned, watching as he answered.  When she saw his face darken, however, a trickle of worry ran through her.

‘What is it?’ she asked when he hung up.

‘That was the hotel manager,’ he said grimly.  ‘There have already been three calls from the press.  It won’t be long before we’re under siege.’

For a moment, Yuri thought that being holed up in this room with Oz would be about the best thing that possibly could have happened.  Then she remembered her job and sat straight up.

‘If
Yell
find out…’

He propped himself up on one elbow and gave her a careful glance.  ‘That ship may have already sailed.’

Yuri gnawed on her lip.  ‘I want to be taken seriously as a journalist.  If I’m just known as the bit of fluff that Oz O’Connor is shagging then that’ll never happen.’

‘Bit of fluff?’

‘You know what I mean.’

‘So we pre-empt them,’ he suggested.

‘How?

Oz looked briefly down.  ‘We get married.’

Yuri gaped.  ‘What?’

‘It makes sense.  It’ll be a story for a couple of days then everyone will get over it and move on because there will be nothing left to tell.  You’ll be able to continue with your career.  It might be a bit different but…’

‘Marriage though?  It seems a bit drastic.  We’ve only just gotten together.’

His eyes held hers.  ‘Ten years, Yuri.  That’s how long we’ve really known each other.  Like you already said, I don’t want to waste any more time.’

‘Neither do I.  It’s just … fast.’

‘Don’t let me lose you again.’

Yuri took a deep breath.  It seemed crazy but also so very right. ‘Let me think about it,’ she said, although she was already pretty sure she knew what her answer would be.

Oz smiled gently.  ‘I trust you’ll make the right decision.’  He caressed her shoulder.  ‘I have a place in the country.  It’s secluded and the security is tight.  We can go there if you can get a few days off work.’

‘I think they’ll allow it,’ she said drily.  She could just imagine the look on Don’s face.  He’d be rubbing his hands together at the thought of the story he could spin from all this.  As much as she’d like to keep their relationship quiet, she knew it was futile.  ‘I’ll go home and pack a bag and contact them.’  Her mouth twisted.  ‘And I need to talk to Sibyl.’

Oz threw her a worried look. 

‘Don’t worry,’ she told him. ‘I’ll hear her out first.  But if she worked with Medusa to keep us apart…’ her fingers twisted angrily in the sheets and she shook her head.  ‘I just can’t understand why she’d do that.’

‘Talk to her first.  Don’t jump to any conclusions.  That way lies madness and, believe me,’ he said, ‘I should know.  I’ll come with you.’

‘No.  I need to do this alone.  Besides, the press are going to follow you, not me.  It’s you I want, not the fame that goes with it.  The more I can stay out of the limelight, the better.’

Oz looked at her possessively.  He didn’t want to let her go.  Respecting her wishes, however, he acceded. ‘I’ll get my driver to give you a lift home.’

Yuri declined.  ‘I need some time alone first to process everything.  I’ll walk for a bit then take the tube.’