Authors: Angella Graff
Mark sat up and looked at his companion for a long time, feeling the desire and the anguish in those words. He gave a slow nod and then lowered himself back down to the pillows. “So do I, Yehuda, and perhaps we will.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Still irritated, Ben hadn’t really meant to go to bed with Stella, but when the time came to turn in, there was nowhere else he’d rather be than with her. She shut the door tightly, turning the lock gently as Ben stripped down to his boxers and climbed under the covers. In all honesty, he could use a shower, or a good long soak in a tub, but the bed was far more inviting after the last twenty-four hours.
She didn’t seem to mind if he smelled a little rough as she dressed down to a light t-shirt and climbed beneath the covers next to him. Her skin was cool against his; he felt feverish and ached from head to toe.
She shifted, her body pressed against his side, and she twisted her fingers into his as they lay there in the dark, their breathing matched, her breath hot against the side of his face. Her free hand ran up and down his arm, a light, soothing gesture, and he found himself leaning into it, wanting her suddenly, like he never had before.
He wasn’t sure if it was to escape the events that had happened, or if maybe it was just the desire to feel something after everything that happened, but she was there, and she wanted him too, and he couldn’t stop himself from grabbing her face and kissing her.
It wasn’t how he imagined their first time together would be, but Ben was used to that. First times of anything were never what people imagined them, and though he felt almost frantic, tugging at her clothes, his burning arms wrapping around her as he shoved her legs apart and slipped inside of her, it felt right. He felt close to her, and it was that almost feral need to connect with another human being that drove him hard and fast.
She reached her climax fast, clenching around him, and it was her soft cry that sent him over his own edge. His vision went white, the orgasm rocking through his body and he cried out into the pillow as he spilled inside of her. He was sweating, his breathing hitched as he tried to regain his composure, and though he worried when he realized that in the height of passion they hadn’t used protection, her soothing hands were running up and down his back, calming him.
“We didn’t…” he breathed as he fell to the side.
“It’s fine,” she whispered to him, her hands running into his hair. “I’m protected.”
Part of Ben wanted to know if it was the god, and part of him didn’t want to spoil the moment. He wanted to feel her close, feel her hand in his, feel her soft legs twinned with his as their breathing softened and sleep tugged at them.
He reached over, pressing a kiss to the side of her face and she gave a satisfied hum, shifting more into him as they settled in for the night. “Thank you,” she whispered, kissing his shoulder.
Ben smiled in the dark, giving her hand a squeeze. He didn’t regret it, he realized as he felt her drift off into sleep. He was afraid that maybe he would, after everything he’d learned about her, but he didn’t. He was happy, he could love this woman, and that thought pulled him out of any fear he had.
~*~
He was up with the sun, and when Ben rolled over, he realized the bed was empty. As he sat up, he could smell coffee wafting up from the kitchen and despite how tired he still was, the smell was enticing enough to propel him downstairs after haphazardly throwing on his shirt and jeans.
He was desperate for clean clothes, a long, hot shower, and the comfort of his own home, but he knew that at the very least, they were going to be on the road for a while. He wasn’t sure when he would be able to settle down and feel at home again, so he’d have to take small comforts where he could get them.
Feeling sated and well rested, despite the events the night before, Ben walked into the kitchen and saw Stella standing at the coffee maker, looking sleepy as she poured the black brew into her mug. She looked up, startled for a moment, when Ben walked in.
“Sorry,” she said, giving him an embarrassed smile and pulled a mug from the cupboard down for him. “I’m just a little jumpy right now.”
“Can’t blame you there,” he replied and grabbed the cup she offered. He poured himself coffee, stirred in some sugar, trying not to wonder where the coffee had come from. He didn’t even know who the house belonged to, and how long they were going to be staying, and he really wasn’t sure he wanted to know why it was so well stocked with the things they needed.
Ben slipped onto one of the bar stools and looked across the kitchen at the woman he was falling for. He found her even more appealing then, sleepy, disheveled, rummaging around for a quick breakfast before they were likely to hit the road.
But something else was nagging at him, something unpleasant and uncomfortable. He’d forgiven Stella for keeping things from him, and he even accepted her answer to keep most of it to herself, but that didn’t change the fact that not knowing a lot of her secrets might put them into further danger. Something, someone, was after her, and the thing had already managed to get past Andrew and grab her once.
“Will you tell me who is after you?” Ben asked.
Stella turned, her face pale and eyes wide with alarm. “Have you been contacted?”
Ben shook his head, taking a long sip of the coffee as he watched her movements. She was clearly frightened, but Ben got the distinct impression that she wasn’t exactly frightened of the man. There was something else about the situation she wasn’t telling him. “I just thought I’d ask. Obviously we know someone is after you, and he did manage to get past the Andrew once. How safe are you with us, really?”
“It’s something I need to handle on my own,” she said stiffly as she grabbed a box of granola out of the cupboard and poured some into a bowl. She picked at the dry clumps of oats with her fingers, her movements telling Ben that she was nervous. “It’s not about you know, the whole Mark and Judas thing. I swear.”
Ben gave a nod, but he knew that wasn’t the whole story. It was somehow connected, even if indirectly, and something like that could put them in danger. He sighed and shook his head. His mind went back to the night before, and their love-making, and it had been wonderful. In the wake of the disaster, he’d been able to connect to another warm body, one he cared deeply about, and that mattered. But he couldn’t sit back and let her desire to keep her personal business a secret put them all in danger.
“You’re eventually going to have to tell me,” he finally said as she sat down a few seats away from him. He noticed she was deliberately keeping her distance, and it stung, but he knew it was self-defense. “We can’t help you if you don’t tell us what we’re up against.”
“I swear I can handle it, Ben,” she snapped at him.
Ben bit back his urge to snap back at her that she was the one keeping all the secrets, and she was the one who had come to him for help. That wouldn’t help matters, and he didn’t want to fight. “I’m sure you can, but how can you expect me to be prepared when you won’t even tell me which god is aligned with you,” he finally said.
She hesitated, giving him a long, hard stare. After a moment, she sighed, pressing her hands to the countertop and she looked down. “How familiar are you with Greek mythos?”
“Only the basic stories I learned in school,” Ben said with a shrug. “I know now that Nike is a psychopath, and Asclepius is a sex addicted drunk, but other than that… not a lot.”
Stella allowed a small smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Do you know the story of Persephone and Hades?”
Ben frowned. “It sounds vaguely familiar.”
“Well the legend is that Persephone, who was a demi-goddess, was kidnapped by Hades, the god of the Underworld. He took her down and forced her to marry him. Persephone’s mother, Demeter, the goddess of the seasons, went into mourning and turned the entire earth to an unending winter. Hades was eventually convinced to let Persephone go, on the condition that while in the underworld, she hadn’t consumed any food.”
“But she did,” Ben said, with a knowing nod. “Fruit or something, right?”
“Three pomegranate seeds,” Stella said with a shrug. “So three months out of the year, Hades took Persephone into the underworld, and for three months of the year, the earth froze with Demeter’s pain.” Stella smiled a little and let out a breath. “That’s obviously not true, not really. That’s a human story to explain the seasons, which science has now taken the liberty to explain. However, Persephone and Hades were very real, and at one time in her life, Persephone entered into a relationship with the very charming, very persuasive god. She has trouble resisting him, and even now, he seeks her out.”
“So your goddess is Persephone or Hades?” Ben asked, feeling a little chill creep up his spine at the idea that he was learning more about Stella than he really wanted to know. It was one thing understanding that she was occasionally possessed, but it was quite another to know the real story behind it.
“Persephone,” Stella said. There was a tone in her voice, something shielded, telling Ben that she still wasn’t being completely honest, but at least he had a name.
Ben gulped more of his coffee, grimacing at how quickly it had grown cold, and he shook his head slightly, trying to ward off the feeling of discontentment. “And you’re sure that she’s not working with Nike? That she had nothing to do with Mark and Judas getting kidnapped.”
Stella gave a slow nod, compelling Ben to look her in the eyes. “I swear it. Persephone is not working against you, Ben. She wouldn’t. I’d stake my life on that.”
It was enough for Ben for now. He knew there was more, but right now, he knew enough. He knew just enough to feel comfortable moving forward, and he was ready to trust her again. She wasn’t working against him, he was certain of that. The other gods seemed to trust her as well, and Ben felt a sense of relief finally knowing that she was willing to open up to him.
He took her hand, a gesture to try and convey that, and her smile showed that she understood. She refilled his coffee and then sat next to them, enjoying the quiet moments of the house while they could. Peaceful moments were few and far between, and Ben was ready to take them where he could. Her hand was warm in his as she squeezed his fingers, and he let himself smile.
Not too much later, the rest of the house woke and came into the kitchen to fuel themselves before they left. Alex had apparently gone sometime during the night, Ben found out, but that was okay. That left him in charge and he was ready to take that position.
Things were about to get turned upside down. Ben’s life was at risk, everything he’d ever known had been destroyed, and nothing would ever be the same. But he had help, he’d been able to save Abby this time, and he had Stella by his side.
They formulated some sort of plan then, and decided to head back to San Francisco to gather forces and information on who might be willing to help them force Nike out of the earthly plane. Andrew seemed fairly certain that Alex could find someone, given enough time, and it was just a matter of location for Stella to find an exit portal. They needed to stay one step ahead of Nike, but now having all of the information they had, Ben felt they had the resources to be able to do just that.
They didn’t take long to head out onto the road, and with Ben at the wheel, he realized that he was strong. The Greeks might want him dead, and Alex still claimed that it was because Nike wanted him alive that he was still walking the earth, but Ben didn’t fully believe that. Ben was strong, and he was willing to do whatever it took to end this situation, and for that reason Ben believed that he could defeat the dangerous god.
Epilogue
She was angry. The anger of a human was nothing like the anger of a god. The anger of a god was white-hot, encompassing. The anger of a god could burn cities to ashes, boil an ocean, burst through the crust of the earth, covering the land in lava and ash.
That sort of anger in the human body raced through her, the pain agonizing, feeling like her mortal head was going to split open. She clutched at her temples, trying to calm herself, but it was near impossible.