Apollo's Gift (The Greek Gods Series) (13 page)

He cupped her face in his hands and took her mouth with a soft, gentle press of lips that warmed her. She wanted more of him. Cassie reached up and buried her fingers in his mane. Their tongues danced, caressed and stroked. Each pass built a fire in her blood. This was no safe brush of lips. Kissing Apollo burned down to her soul igniting passion. She’d done this and more with him in her dreams. Her face heated. Real surpassed the fantasy.

One of his hands left her face and slid down her spine to the small of her back. He held her against him. She couldn’t miss the evidence of his want. She breathed in his honeyed aroma. Everything about him made her mouth water and fed desire. Cassie leaned against him.

He broke off the kiss.

Shaken by the abrupt end, she blinked and focused on his face. His eyes swirled with need, his full lips moist and inviting.

Apollo nodded behind her in the direction of the open door. “She’s watching,” he whispered.

Cassie jerked her head toward the door. “Mother. I’m sure those reporters are still outside.”

The sound of her mother’s pumps shuffling away on the carpet eased Cassie’s frustration. “Sorry.” She looked at the man holding her, safe in his arms. Was Apollo the man destined to be her love? “I need to think.”

“Don't think too long. There’s the embassy to consider.”

That wasn’t what she’d meant. Cassie sighed as the weight of people’s lives burdened her shoulders. “I know.” Prickles danced at the back of her neck and she rubbed them away with her fingers. “I guess we’re stuck with each other.”

Apollo brushed her lips with his. “Stuck? I prefer joined.” He kissed his way to her ear. “For eternity.”

She swallowed. “First Hydra, then you. I can only handle one mythological beast at a time.”

He raised his golden head and smiled. “I’m not a beast. An animal at times, but not a beast.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

Apollo left Cassie’s home and wondered how he’d help her now that prophecy was no longer a tool. He had no minions and Zeus frowned on divine assistance without his order. His father preferred that his children prove themselves alone. Apollo didn’t enjoy thinking on the tasks others had tackled for to gain favor. Heracles and Perseus had both performed feats worthy of a god. What would Zeus require from him?

His wager with Hades pressed on his mind. It wasn’t the frustration of serving his uncle, though that irritated him, but the thought of Cassie in the underworld; never again able to enjoy the beauty of this life or the pleasures he might have brought her. That was the true worry that stabbed like a javelin and crushed his heart like a millstone. To save Cassie from that fate, he’d suffer anything.

But what could he do? He must have knowledge of Hydra and needed minions to gain it. Relying on mortals chafed his hide. He hadn’t visited Earth in a while, but there might still be a few women in Athens that might help—if they were still speaking to him.

Taking that path required a trip to Greece. Not that he minded, but he refused to leave Cassie alone. He’d have to convince her to accompany him and that meant a plane. On his own, he could travel by thought, but Cassie required other modes of transportation. Apollo didn’t relish climbing into a metal tube and trusting human science to get them off the ground. That required more faith in mortal ingenuity than he possessed, but for Cassie, he’d endure even that flimsy construct.

It made him think of those small cans with sardines crammed close together until there wasn’t space enough to slip in a blade. He sighed. This would be more of a struggle than he’d thought. Maybe Cassie was right and he didn’t know true suffering, but he had the feeling he’d soon find out.

* * *

Cassie laid on her bed, thinking over her conversation with Apollo. She’d never considered that he’d suffered. His passionate explanation made his pain real to her. He did care. She’d always wondered about the gods. How it would be to wield powers and superhuman strength? She understood there were pitfalls. Nothing was perfect, whether one was a mortal or a  a god, but this revelation of Apollo castrated from his power gave her a new understanding of hell.

Maybe Zeus didn’t struggle and everything worked the way he wanted. He made the laws, after all, but Apollo battled as much as she did. Zeus was a tyrant demanding to be obeyed, and it made her dad look like a teddy bear. The gods were cruel.

But Apollo didn’t have a mother like hers. His mother had died anciently, so he didn’t have her pushing his buttons and making him crazy. Cassie had that over him. “Lucky me,” she said to the air. But she did have a mother—selfish at times, but deep down Cassie knew her mom loved her. She meant well, she just lacked tact. 

Cassie called her dad again. What was it with him? He usually kept his word and called if he said he would. “Ugh.”

She stood and stripped off the torn blouse, jeans and underwear. She would enjoy a hot shower, and then read up on the embassy, list what she recalled from her dreams, and then make a plan. She’d have to rely on Apollo and his prophetic gift to figure out what to do next.

After the shower relaxed her shoulders and helped clear her mind, Cassie turned on the television in her room to catch up on the news of the day. She braided her hair and then pulled out clean jeans and a blue sweatshirt from her drawer. Cassie slipped them on during the commercial. She loved the feel of the cotton against her skin, so comfortable and relaxed. Why her mother favored rigid, form-fitting clothes amazed her, but then, that’s who her mother was, rigid and fitted.

The television screen filled with the sight of her dad entering the U S embassy in Athens. Cassie stared at the television and cranked up the volume with the remote.

The announcer’s voice blared: 

“The US secretary of state is meeting with world leaders to discuss the situation. Hydra has claimed responsibility for the bombing of Rome’s train station. The group has made no demands, but meetings are scheduled to discuss a plan of action. Hydra is an international organization possibly centered in Turkey with ties around the globe. Hydra believes lasting change can only be achieved through violence, destroying the status quo and creating something new. Many governments disagree and hope to negotiate peace with Hydra.

The Pope has called for a day of prayer and an end to violence. As I stand before the smoldering remnants in Rome, I can only hope that some of the victims of this tragedy are found alive and an agreement can be made with this new terrorist threat.”

Cassie sucked in a breath. Her hands, already moist with perspiration, she switched the channel to another station.

"Secretary Priam will be meeting in the U S embassy in Athens. Hydra was once believed to be a small group of activists, consisting mostly of students and disgruntled youth that couldn’t find work in the current economy, and no real danger. That belief was proven false late last night after a series of bombs exploded along the train lines between Rome and Naples. The damage to the system is extensive. Naples port is closed and ships await instructions on where to unload their cargo. The real tragedy is the rising death toll. It will take days, perhaps weeks, to uncover the bodies trapped below the surface and access the damage. There’s one thing for certain, the world is awake to a new enemy.” 

She turned off the television and lowered herself to the edge of the bed on wobbly legs. Her heart raced and stuck in her throat making it hard to swallow. It had happened. Hydra was active and killing innocent people. Her gut twisted as the dream of destruction rattled her mind. Hydra must be stopped. She had to find a way. And now her dad was in Athens, the target of the next disaster. 

Cassie had to get to Greece and do what ever it took to make her dad believe her. She’d chain herself to the doors of the embassy if need be and scream until someone listened. Her dad was in danger. The prickle at the back of her neck warned and she feared.

She made arrangements for the next flight to Greece. To hell with the danger. If she could convince Apollo to join her, she’d be safer than anyone on the planet. He was a god. An entire army might want to take down the plane and it wouldn’t happen. Apollo wouldn’t let it. “Oh, but wait. That hadn’t saved Troy,” she murmured. The knots in her stomach floated in a sea of acid. “And John had almost.” A shiver crawled down her spine. “Well, Apollo did get there in time.”

Last night, Cassie woke up lying on a cot in the storage room in the back of the bar.  She’d found that drinking heavily didn’t improve anything and wasn’t her cup of tea. Her stomach rolled at the thought of any kind of tea. The vision of the tawny beverage spraying over the asphalt didn't help.

Ugh. Never doing that again.

“What am I doing? I have to pack.” She jumped to her feet, dragged out her suitcase and threw clothes into it. Just a few things.

She wouldn’t be gone long, but while she was, she’d find out more from Apollo about his conversation with her mother. Did he really tell her they were engaged? Why invent that lie? The word “engaged” linked to marriage and she couldn’t believe Apollo wanted anything so serious. Did he? 

She tried to divert her mind, but her mother’s mocking tone continued to eat at Cassie. Why couldn’t she be engaged? Was it that impossible to consider? Sure, she’d been dumped by every man she’d dated, but that hadn’t been her fault. Not entirely, she hoped.

Apollo might be sincere and love her. “Yeah, right,” she muttered. “And I might be a goddess with hoards of men worshipping at my feet.” Cassie tossed a deck of cards into her purse for the long flight and finished packing. “He’s a god. Not happening.” But her thoughts remained on Apollo. Frustrated at herself for considering—no, wanting—the engagement to be true. Silly. Was she so desperate that she entertained fairytales? Damn, was she really that hung up on the guy?

“Enough already.” She turned her mind to her dad. Apollo had to know that he was in Athens just as he’d known that she was about to show up at her house. He’d wanted to catch her stumbling through the door with a head that felt the size of Texas throbbing on her shoulders. Of course, he knew everything. Apollo probably had the whole thing planned and would meet her in Greece.

Cassie hauled her suitcase off the bed, snatched her purse and raced downstairs. Adrenaline ran through her veins, bubbling up and churning her stomach. When she reached the bottom of the stairs and the entry, there stood Apollo. He didn’t wear his usual toga or a suit, but dressed in military camo. And he looked uneasy.

* * *

Apollo stared at her. She looked beautiful with her hair tied back in a braid, her cheeks flushed with color, and her violet eyes bright with excitement. He wished he’d caused that look. She carried a suitcase as if she intended to leave on a trip. She had no prophetic gift, not any longer, and he hadn’t told her his plans. Like him, Cassie must have gleaned the situation from mortal news.

“I have us on the next military flight to Greece,” he said, watching for her reaction.

“Oh, I'll cancel my domestic flight. How did you manage that?”

“I have contacts. We’re accompanying General Hector. We need to hurry if we’re going to get there in time.” Not a complete lie, but he’d used divine abilities to ensure their flight. He didn’t look forward to sitting in the belly of the aircraft among so many soldiers. He knew these winged monstrosities usually flew without mishap. Usually. 

She blinked at him and put her bag down by her feet. “General Hector? Five star General Hector?”

“The same. Why?”

“Dad said that he was in his office just the other day. How did you arrange this?”

“I have my ways.” Of course, a little god-like persuasion helped.

“Let’s go.” Cassie hefted her suitcase, but Apollo took it from her.

“Allow me.” He wouldn’t have her carrying for herself when he could without any effort.

“Thanks.” She smiled. Her lips curved in a perfect temptation and he took the opportunity to kiss her.

She didn’t argue, but slid her arms around his neck and leaned in.

He dropped the bag, rested his hands over her round hindquarters and delved into her mouth with his tongue. She moaned. The aroma of her hair like almonds infused with woman spurred him on. He wanted to indulge himself with more of her, and caress her soft skin hidden beneath her jeans, and taste from her lips, down to her navel and beyond. He squeezed the softness beneath his hands.

She pulled back. “I um, guess we should be going.”

They arrived moments before take-off. General Hector shook Cassie’s hand and smiled, though the shadows in his dark eyes told her something else occupied his mind. “Glad to have you aboard.”

“Thanks for including us,” she said.

“Including you?” The general wrinkled his brow as if confused. His military cut displayed the full concern on his weathered face. “Just following orders.”

She glanced to Apollo. He shrugged. “Orders.” He couldn’t explain surrounded by people, but she seemed to accept well enough.

Cassie and Apollo sat together near the front of the plane. She slipped on her safety belt and he almost laughed at how ridiculous it was. As if that little strip of fabric could keep her from falling out of the heavens. Mortals were beyond gullible. The rest of the people on board did the same.

She stared at him and nodded to the scrap of cloth in his lap. “Well?” she said. "Aren’t you going to buckle up?”

He still thought the exercise was pointless, but he clipped the buckle ends together around his hips and did his best to appear satisfied that this made all the difference in his safety. He would have laughed had he not been concerned about the metal tube’s ability to lift from the ground, loaded with the weight of men and women and a few thousand pounds of equipment. 

The engines roared and Apollo clutched the arms of his seat. He forced himself to talk with Cassie to distract from the creaking plane as it rumbled over the tarmac.

Her mouth twitched before a wide grin took over her features. “It’s your first time flying, isn't it?”

He grinned with false confidence. “No. I’ve flown many times, just not using a metal box with wings pasted on.” Sweat trickled down his back and under his arms. He hadn’t felt this nervous awaiting his father’s decree of punishment.