Goddess in Training (4 page)

“
Aphrodite,” Lisandra
said, shoving him aside.

“
What?”

“
She is a goddess. I am
not. Love them and leave them,” she said, her finger tracing his
nipples.

“
Nay, I pleasure them,
Lisandra.”

“
Same thing.”

He shook his head. “’Tis not the same
thing. I never lost my heart to any of them.”

“
And me?”

He sat on the edge of the desk and
studied her. “I don’t want you seeing other men.”

“
Ah, you want me for your
own, godly one, but you will sow your seed where you
like.”

He smiled, then his face hardened.
“Zeus waits at yonder door. You will not succumb to his
charms.”

“
Zeus?” she
squeaked.

“
Aye. He intends to make
you his for a time.”

“
Fight for me.”

“
I do not fight my
king.”

She slugged him in the shoulder, then
hurried to get dressed. “Get out, and never come back.”

“
Zeus will not touch you
if you tell him no.”

“
You’re a jerk, you know?”
She pulled up her skirt zipper.

He ran his hand over her hip, then
stood and pulled her close. “Tell me you will see no other
males.”

“
I will not.” She wiggled
her fingers. “I’m unattached, and before this, it didn’t mean a
thing to me. But after you…” Tears pricked her eyes. “Well, hell,
after you, I realized I needed someone in my life.”

“
Like me.”

“
Yes, like you, but not
you.” She jerked her jacket on and fastened her buttons.

He reached down and unfastened them.
“Wrong holes, love.”

“
Don’t you dare call me
that. To someone like you, love means nothing.”

With regret that his encounters with
the nymph always ended in strife, Asarian stormed out of the
library, giving Zeus an uncustomary glare. The god of gods grinned
back at him.

Planning to seek out the
lovely lasses who needed to be pleasured, Asarian returned
to
Mount Olympus
,
but he wasn’t there twenty minutes before he popped back into the
library. Only this time like Zeus, he had changed his appearance.
Zeus wasn’t anywhere in sight, but that fact didn’t lessen
Asarian’s concern any.

Dressed in the finest of suits,
Asarian strode to the checkout counter, trying not to look toward
Lisandra’s office to see if she was even in. “Where do I make
donations to this fine library?” he asked one of the
librarians.

The place was small for the
diminutive-sized Texas town Lisandra lived in. But he wanted to see
if she’d truly fall for any mortal who tried to catch her
eye.

The young girl smiled at him and
fluttered her dark lashes. Her actions meant to entice him,
triggered not a spark of interest.

“
Donations?” he asked
again, rather brusquely this time.

“
Ms. Lisandra Atkinson
would handle that, but she’s speaking to a patron at the
moment.”

“
Patron?” As in sexual
customer?
Zeus
perhaps?

Asarian stormed around the counter and
shoved Lisandra’s office door open.

Before he could control his actions,
he shoved the man standing too close to Lisandra against the
wall.

“
What…who…what…?” Lisandra
sputtered, shrinking behind her desk.

“
I’ll call the police,”
the other librarian said.

“
Who the hell are you?”
the man said, his lip quivering with cowardice.

“
You were getting ready to
molest Lisandra.”

“
I was not! I was trying
to sell her some of my books.”

“
She doesn’t want
any.”

“
Who do you think you
are,” Lisandra asked, “coming in here and abusing my
patrons?”

“
I came to make a
donation.” Asarian let the man go and jammed his hand in his
pocket. Pulling out a check, he handed it to her. “So you can buy
some more children’s books.”

She stared at the amount on the check,
her wide-eyed gaze quickly shifting back to him. “A half-million
dollars?”

“
Is it not
enough?”

She sat down hard at her desk. “Who
are you?”

“
Someone who wishes the
best for you…and your patrons. Will you go out to lunch with
me?”

“
Well, uhm, yes, of
course. Can we drop by the bank, and I’ll deposit this in the
library account? And, well, thank you so much, Mister…?”

“
Candy,” he said, showing
only a hint of a smile.

***

Lisandra could barely eat her
enchilada she was so excited about the money for the library, now
sitting in their bank account as she sat opposite the most generous
benefactor they’d ever had. “Are there any restrictions, Mr. Candy,
as to what you want us to spend the money on?”

“
Whatever your
heart desires
.”

She couldn’t help thinking
the man seemed familiar somehow, the way he gazed into her eyes
with sexual intrigue, the way he ran his hand through his hair. But
the only one who came to mind was Asarian and unless he’d had a
face and body job, and replaced his long curly
black hair
with a blond bur and his
vivid blue eyes with brown…

“
I can’t thank you enough
for giving us such a generous amount of money.”

“
You’re most welcome. I’m
from
New York City
and haven’t made reservations at a hotel. Can you recommend a
good place to stay for the night?”

“
Sure, the Holiday Resort
is the nicest hotel we can offer here.”

He lifted his chin, a small smile
settling on his lips, then nodded. Pulling a cell phone out of his
pocket, he punched in numbers. “Yes, I’m calling to make
reservations for a room tonight. You’re booked?” Raising a brow, he
glanced at Lisandra. “I see. I don’t have a flight out until
tomorrow morning. Can you recommend another place for me to stay?
The Canton Hotel? Thanks.” He took a deep breath and punched in
some numbers. “Yes, I need a room for the night. Booked? Is there a
convention in town?”

Lisandra shook her head.

“
Old car exhibit? Can you
recommend anything else? Thanks.” Mr. Candy considered the table,
then punched in some more numbers. “I’m looking for accommodations
for the…booked until Sunday? Because of the antique car show.
Thanks.” He faced Lisandra. “You wouldn’t consider putting me up
for the night, would you?”

“
Well, I…uhm,
well…”

“
I promise I’ll be out
first thing in the morning.” He pulled out a checkbook. “I don’t
mind paying for my accommodations, really.”

“
No…no, that will be all
right.” She was a sucker for anything stray or stranded. What the
heck, the bank verified the check was good. He had to be
legitimate. “What did you say you do?”

He gave her a slow, easy smile and she
swore then he looked like Asarian, kind of.

“
Broker in
love.”

She raised her brows.

“
Wedding arrangements at
some of the most high-classed establishments in the world. Wealthy
clients will pay anything for the experience of a
lifetime.”

“
Why give to my
library?”

“
I was here a while ago on
personal business and saw how much the children loved hearing you
read to them. Many of the books are old and worn. I thought you
could use some extra money for funding.”

“
Well, I can’t thank you
enough. We’d like to honor you, and your firm for such a generous
offer.”

“
I’d prefer to keep it as
an anonymous donation, Lisandra.”

“
Sure…yeah, sure.” She
couldn’t help feeling there was something else going on with the
guy, but she couldn’t place her finger on it.

After they ate, she gave him
directions to her simple one-story, three-bedroom house. “My
grandmother’s,” she explained as they walked along the rose-lined
brick walk. “Smells heavenly nearly every season. Jasmine in the
spring, roses in the summer and fall.”

“
Beautiful,” he said,
staring at her, but she didn’t think he meant the
flowers.

She rubbed her arms, then motioned to
the door. “When my grandmother died, she gave the house to me, her
only granddaughter.”

“
And your
parents?”

“
Killed in a car accident
when my brother and I were little. My grandmother raised us, but my
brother moved to your city and settled down. He hates the small
town life. Only visits once in a blue moon.”

She closed the door behind him and
waved to the living room. “Have a seat. Would you like something to
drink? Coffee, tea?”

“
You,” she thought he said
under his breath.

“
Water, if you don’t
mind.”

“
Uhm, tap water okay? I
don’t have any of the fancy bottled stuff.” She turned to find Mr.
Candy behind her, way too close for comfort.

“
Has anyone told you how
beautiful you are?” He reached out to touch her cheek, but she
moved out of his path.

“
Excuse me, but I have no
idea what you think your check buys, but books is all, Mister
Candy. I’m not part of the bargain.”

Mr. Candy chuckled. “Sorry. I didn’t
mean to come on so strong. I’ll sleep on a park bench tonight, if
they’re not all taken.”

She folded her arms, ready to let him
do just that.

He waited, she didn’t
contradict him. He gave a small bow, just like Asarian did when she
had first laid eyes on him.

Narrowing her eyes, she glowered. “You
wouldn’t know Asarian, would you? He didn’t put you up to
this?”

The guy’s lips rose.

“
Damn him! I’m not seeing
anyone, but if I do, it won’t be one of his blasted friends. Get
out. Go sleep on a bench for all I care.”

The man gave a smug smile, tilted his
head in her direction, then snapped his fingers and
vanished.

And she stared after him—or where the
man had been—in shocked silence. But next time, if there was a next
time, she’d be better prepared.

***

Weeks had passed since his
last encounter with the librarian, and Asarian was bound and
determined to go on with his life of pleasure as it had always been
as he reclined against a tree in a mist-laden forest, while
the
goddess of the hunt
,
Artemis
,
sat nearby with twenty of her wood nymphs in audience.

“
I think you love her,”
Artemis said, drawing one of her silver arrows from its
quiver.

“
Like you love
Orion?”

She hmpfed.

“
What if it’s just a
passing fancy?”

“
Hera says you’re not
eating, not sleeping, not pleasuring the ladies.” Artemis shot her
arrow into the air. “Sounds to me like love, Asarian.”

“
I don’t fall in
love.”

“
Maybe not before.”
Artemis glanced at him. “Cupid hasn’t been around, has
he?”

Asarian grunted. As if Cupid could
play tricks on him, god of pleasure and turn his life
around.

But the breeze shifted and a familiar
fragrance wafted in the air. Of Lisandra, the woman he hadn’t been
able to quit thinking about since the first day he saw her. He
tilted his nose up, took a deep breath, and turned. His heart
thudded at the sight of her, his body instantly
hardening.

Like a goddess, Lisandra walked toward
him, a sheer toga of violet hanging from one shoulder, leaving a
breast exposed, the hem of the gown reaching her ankles, her feet
bare. Her blond hair was tied up with a string of pearls on top of
her head, her pink lips frosted, and her large brown eyes as
alluring as ever. She bowed her head to Artemis, no smile gracing
her lips, maybe a hint of annoyance in her expression.

“
I’m the goddess of the
hunt,” Artemis said, standing, tilting her head slightly forward in
greeting.

“
Yes, I’ve read all about
you and loved hearing your stories” Lisandra glanced at Asarian as
he quickly rose to his feet, her gaze sharp with accusation. “I am
the goddess of fertility. Seems I lost in a bet between Hera
and
Zeus
.”

Asarian stared at her, then noticed
her belly slightly swollen, her breasts larger than before. “You
carry my child,” he said under his breath.

She snorted. “So it seems. Do I have
my own temple, or do the demi-gods have to share?”

“
You are mine,” Asarian
said, grabbing her wrist, wanting no mortal or immortal to claim
the woman who had stolen his heart.

She raised her brows. “Dear Asarian,
how can you say such a thing? I am now a goddess in my own right
and won’t succumb to your charms.”