Tempting Fate (10 page)

“Strawberries?” he offered.

“And champagne?”

He grinned. “Of course.” Then he lifted the lid off another tray. “And cheesecake. You might want to eat that with your lunch, I’m not sure it will hold up until later.”

“Oh,” she sighed. “You’re perfect! How did you know?”

“I’m psychic,” he said, perfectly serious. “Now eat so that you have the strength to keep up with me later. I promise we’ll work it all off in bed.”

“That sounds even better than the cheesecake.”

He popped the cork off the champagne and poured two glasses. “I have every intention of making it so.”

And he did. Four times over, before he made her eat again, six hours later.

But they were interrupted by a pounding on the door and Mia jumped half out of her skin. Ethan’s eyes narrowed, his head turning toward the sound. The smile faded from his lips.

“Mia!” It was Jean, though she couldn’t for the life of her see how he had found her. “Mia, open the door!”

Ethan stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, pressing her back to the bed. “Stay here.”

“Ethan, you didn’t see him yesterday. If you open that door he’ll hurt you.”

He laughed as he pulled on his pants. He didn’t bother with a shirt. “I’m not worried at all about Jean.”

He left, and she followed, still wrapped in the sheet. It wasn’t as though Jean hadn’t seen her naked before, after all.

Jean banged again. “Mia!”

Ethan unlocked the door and Jean shoved through it, stopping short when he saw her. Mia stepped back without thinking, her knees weak as she stared over his shoulder. Lars Owen loomed behind him.

“I haven’t broken any rules,” Ethan said, ignoring Jean completely. “I haven’t set one foot on Eve’s lands. I haven’t even thought in her direction. You have no right to interfere here.”

Lars’s eyes burned white and Mia clutched at the sheet, goosebumps rising all over her body. “Did you really think I’d overlook something like this?”

“We’re married,” Ethan said. “It’s out of your hands. What God has joined, and all that.”

The sun that had poured through the windows disappeared behind black clouds and lightning struck so close to the building that Mia could feel the floor shake.

“And since when have you ever followed God’s laws?”

“As long as you’re bound by them, my history of neglect hardly matters,” Ethan said. “Not that it’s any business of yours, but I happen to love her.”

Jean caught Mia by the arm, pulling her around to look at him. She tore her eyes from Lars, swallowing hard against the lump in her throat.

Jean searched her face and then held her back to look at the rest of her. “Are you all right, Mia? Did he hurt you?”

She shook her head, looking back at Lars again. The man’s hands were fists, and he took a step toward Ethan. One step so filled with menace that her heart dropped through her stomach.

“Mia!” Jean shook her. “Do you have any idea what you’ve put me through?”

Ethan was at her side before she could respond. “Get your hands off my wife, Lion.”

Jean stared at her as if she were a stranger, his hands falling from her shoulders. “You married him.”

It wasn’t quite a statement. As if he needed to hear it from her own lips before he could believe it of her.

“It seemed like the best way,” she said. But she felt as though she were speaking to Lars, more than Jean. “I’ve lived in Abby’s shadow all my life. Ethan loves me. This way I’m free.”

“Free!” Jean’s voice cracked. “Are you insane?” He spun to look at Lars. “How could you have let this happen? You’re supposed to be watching him!”

Ethan drew her back. “She married me of her own free will, out of love,” he said quietly. “Read her mind if you don’t believe me.”

Lars’s expression might as well have been carved from marble, for all it changed. But his eyes shifted to her, and she stumbled under the weight of his gaze. Ethan caught her, steadied her, but her head felt as though it would explode, and tears filled her eyes.

“Mia?” Jean stepped forward, then seemed to check himself, glancing from Lars to Ethan. “What’s wrong?”

She saw herself, bumping into Ethan for the first time. Saw the lunches and dinners and days shopping and laughing.

Her eyes ached, and her blood roared in her ears. She gripped her head in both hands and bit her tongue on a scream.

“I said read her mind, not destroy it,” Ethan snapped.

There was a rumble of thunder, and Lars turned away.

She felt as though strings holding her up had been cut, and she would have fallen if not for Ethan. He held her against his body, shifting her slightly behind him. The pain disappeared as quickly as it had come, and she moaned.

“If Eve knew what you had just done, she’d have your head. Mia is innocent, and whatever else there is between us, you’ll leave her out of it,” Ethan hissed.

Lars growled and lightning flashed again, thunder cracking so loud she couldn’t breathe through it.

“Just give me a reason, Adam. If I hear one whisper from Eve that you have done anything to harm this girl or her family, you will regret it sorely.”

She wanted to speak, to ask who Adam was, who Eve was, to demand why Jean had been having them followed, but her mouth felt dry, and her brain was mush. It was all she could do to keep the sheet covering her.

“Funny,” Ethan said, his voice liquid. “The only person who’s hurt her so far is you.”

“You bastard!” Jean had turned on Lars, his face red. “You’re supposed to be protecting her! All of us!”

Lars’s jaw set. “If it is truly love, we have no right to interfere.”

“That’s it?” Jean shouted. “You’re going to abandon her to him, just like that?”

“Enough, Jean,” Lars said, his voice soft. The hammer was gone from his hand and he turned toward the door. “There’s nothing more to be done. She’s chosen him.”

“Mia,” Jean tried to reach her, but Lars caught him by the shoulder, holding him back. “Mia, come back with me. Please.”

She shook her head again, shrinking against Ethan. “I’m sorry.”

“I’ll be watching you, Adam,” Lars said.

And then they were both gone.

It was easier to breathe without them in the room and Mia closed her eyes for a moment, resting her head against Ethan’s shoulder. He seemed to relax, though he tightened his grip on her, swinging her up in his arms. He set her down in an armchair, stroking her hair, and then left her. She heard the door shut, and the turn of the lock.

“Why did he call you that?” she asked, but her voice sounded weak even to her own ears. “I don’t understand what just happened. What has this Eve woman got to do with any of this?”

“I’m sorry, Mia.” Ethan knelt beside her and took her hand, kissing the back of it. There was real regret in his gray eyes. “I never meant for you to witness anything like that. I’m afraid you’re going to have to forget. For your own good.”

She frowned. “How could I? Even if I wanted to, Lars is going to give me nightmares. His eyes were burning! Did you see that?”

“Of course. Almost two thousand years since the first time we met, and he’s never learned to control his temper. Not when it comes to Eve.” He smiled faintly. “But don’t worry. You won’t have nightmares. And no one will hold this much against me—if you even whispered the story of today to your sister, Lars would have a conniption. How they’ve kept him a secret from her this long, I don’t know.”

“Secret?” Even as she spoke, she felt the whole thing slipping from her mind. She must have imagined Lars. Maybe it had only been Jean who had come. Her mind felt sluggish. “Jean promised to tell me a secret. One Abby didn’t know.”

“Did he? I’m surprised to hear of any DeLeon so much as thinking of breaking ranks. It wouldn’t do for anyone to learn the truth, you see. Their reputation would never recover if the world knew they were consorting with pagan gods. And your poor sister. To learn she’d been stalked by one, all this time…” He laughed. “Actually, I could live with that. I’d love to see Garrit try to explain.”

She struggled to fit it together, the things he said and what she’d seen. She clutched at the memories, but they fell through the wrinkles of her brain like fine silt. The only thing left was the glowing eyes. The glowing, burning eyes. Like lightning.

“Lars is a god?”

“You’re really much smarter than they give you credit for, aren’t you? Stronger, too.” He smiled and she forgot what he was talking about. “It’s too bad you won’t remember in the morning.”

Ethan stared into her eyes, his hand in her hair. Where he touched her, her body burned and her head ached again. She’d had so many headaches lately. She hoped she wasn’t getting ill.

Her vision blurred around the edges. Somehow, she was back in the bed, and he was beside her. Had she ever left it? They were laughing and feeding each other dinner. She was stuffed, and it had been a very exciting day. She sighed and rolled over, hugging her pillow.

“I’m sure you must be exhausted,” he said quietly. “Maybe you should rest.”

Before she could think to argue, she was asleep.

Twelve

Adam

“Good morning.” Adam sat down beside his wife—his wife!—and set a cup of coffee down on the night table. Mia inhaled deeply, and then stretched, her back arching. For someone who had lived beneath Eve’s eye for so long, Mia certainly hadn’t lacked experience. Much to his delight. “It isn’t tea, I know, but I think you’ll like it.”

She smiled, opening her eyes. “You’re all consideration.”

“The least I can do for my wife is order her breakfast on our honeymoon.” He studied her face, dipping into her thoughts, just for a moment, searching for any stray memory of the previous day. But there was nothing there beyond her satisfaction. “Did you sleep well?”

“Very.” She smiled. “I didn’t realize I was so tired.”

Adam laughed. “I didn’t mean to wear you out so completely.” He stroked her cheek, listening to her thoughts more than anything else. “Do you remember calling Jean to tell him you were safe and sound? You were half asleep, but you insisted that you had to, before he called your family.”

She frowned, and the memory rose in her mind, fogged around the edges and indistinct—just as he’d hoped. “How did he take it?”

“From the side of the conversation I heard, he wasn’t very pleased, but that’s hardly a surprise.”

“Ugh.” She sat up and took the coffee, taking a small sip. Then a larger one, as if she hadn’t expected to enjoy it. “I should call Abby too, before Jean gets to her. I’m sure he’ll make it all sound so much worse than it is.”

“Is it so terrible?” he asked, watching her still. Listening intently. “Do you regret marrying me already?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” She leaned forward and kissed him. “What do I have to regret? Upsetting Jean? Hardly!”

“Perhaps not him,” he said slowly. It wasn’t as though he would have blamed her if she had regretted it, if there had been even the slightest hint of it in her thoughts. Not to say he wasn’t pleased not to hear it. “But what about your sister and your parents?”

She shrugged. “My mother will love you. As for Abby, once she meets you I’m sure she’ll change her mind. She’s my sister. Once she sees how happy we are, she won’t say a word.”

“I hope you’re right.” He looked down and took her hand. His thumb traced the bruise that was fading from her skin. Proof that he hadn’t yet mastered his own talents, and if Eve thought he’d manipulated her…

Likely, she would be looking for something much more overt than a blurred memory here or there. And what he had made her forget protected the DeLeon family as much as it did himself. Thor wouldn’t have let her keep those memories either, and what would Eve have done then? For the first time, Adam wondered how much the god had tampered with Eve’s own mind, to keep her so ignorant. After all, if they could return his memories to him, it would be nothing at all to encourage Eve to look the other way.

“I wonder what Jean’s told her,” Mia said, her forehead furrowing just so. “She’s bound to be having hysterics.” And then she laughed. “God, but I’d love to see the look on her face when she finds out.”

He smiled, watching it all play out in her thoughts. The triumphant arrival with her husband on her arm, as if it had all been nothing at all. She even imagined Eve’s face, gawping and jealous. Adam had to admit he liked the sound of it, himself.