Guardian (Daughters Of The Gods, Book 2) (2 page)

Cat swallowed the fear th
at rose in her throat. “I have never failed you before, and I shall not fail you now.” She turned and left the chamber. Images of the Titans and their massive, disfigured forms bombarded her mind. Of how they killed and maimed the gods of Olympus without remorse, laughed at the downfall of her kind, before moving on to other victims. There were memories of the Battle of the Gods at Thessaly, which had taken place thousands of years before. And among those memories was that of Lelantos, who was the only Titan able to disappear without a trace; who was, in fact, the God of the Unseen. The day that Cat and Lelantos had fought, he’d been using the disguise of the human form. Obviously, this was the appearance he had used to live among the human race for centuries. Chloe had certainly found his abilities useful and who would have thought that her elder sister was smart enough to outwit Zeus? Not only to outwit him, but to win over him as well?

And now she
, Cat, was to kill Lelantos by any means possible or she could soon be meeting some of those Titans whom she’d helped to imprison. No longer would they be legends of the past, but very real, present threats. They would take their revenge on her as soon as she was thrown into the pit of Tartarus. Her father would not be seeking her counsel again, after banishing her there. She’d be dead.

Cat
walked over to the corner window in her room. She looked over Mount Olympus and the human world beneath the clouds. Where was Lelantos? Closing her eyes, Cat used all her ability as a hunter to feel his location. It was a skill her father prized highly and one which she was called upon to use often on his behalf. A gift bestowed on her from her mother, a woman she knew little about other than the fact that Zeus had bedded her one time behind Hera, his wife’s back. Her mother’s disloyalty to her father’s wife had been rewarded with an early death.

Cat shook away the distracting thought and concentrated on her task
of finding Lelantos. An image of an ocean began to form in her mind’s eye, slowly followed by a city with large concrete buildings standing guard against the mighty seas. She delved deeper into her senses to the streets below. Millions of people walked about the winding streets, all crammed into the city with no other views than concrete towers and traffic. Yellow cabs congested the roads and multitudes of people rushing about. A park, an oasis central to the city, came into sight along with its name.

Cat opened her eyes and smiled
, in spite of the fact that the effort of locating the Titan had left her almost totally exhausted. No matter. It had been worth it. She’d found him.

“Hello
, New York City,” she said.

CHAPTER

Two

Cat walked into the
high-end bar on Madison Avenue and found a seat directly across from the man she sought. The gentleman sat, silent and alone, as if an invisible line kept him separate from others.

His tailored suit
hugged his form like a second skin, his muscular chest almost visible beneath the crisp salmon colored silk shirt he wore. Cat ordered a glass of wine and turned her attention to the barman, thanking him with a smile and saucy wink. He grinned and went onto other customers but not before looking back at her as he served cocktails and beer. The mahogany bar was so highly polished Cat could see her reflection. She looked down at herself and inwardly smiled at how human she looked. No one would ever guess she was an immortal, a daughter of the gods of Mount Olympus.

Taking a sip of wine –
a drink she found favor with no matter what realm she graced – she turned her attention back to the silent and friendless man at the bar. Still he sat, staring at his beer, his visage one of loneliness and perhaps worry if the little frown lines between his eyes were any indication.

Other than his clothing
, he hadn’t changed since the last she’d seen him. Annoyingly, the years that had passed hadn’t dimmed the sexual hum she encountered whenever she looked at him. For some reason the bastard Titan turned her on more than any lover she’d ever had. It wouldn’t normally bother her, but she hadn’t even slept with him. Her body had no recollection on which to base its ridiculous cravings.

Cat sighed and pushed away the small flicker of regret
which stabbed her mind for what she was to do to him. No doubt, his human form was ruggedly handsome. His strong jaw sported short stubble growth and his dark blue eyes were almost too beautiful to look at. Not to mention the fact that his short, cropped hair was just the right length to hold on to when required... Yet, he was a Titan. A Titan playing around in human form and one who must pay for his sins against her father and her kind.

With his life.

Cat picked up her glass and slipped from her chair. She walked around the bar, smiling at the men who paid her attention as she did so. The human men were really quite lovely with their basic genetic makeup, delicate and easy to hurt if one wasn’t careful with one’s power.

She was taller than most
women. Some men had said her legs went on forever, which she’d always liked to hear. Her long, blonde hair and fine features often turned heads, of both deity and human alike. Her feminine looks worked well with the position she held at court. For all her beauty, she was no pushover or weakling and anyone who thought so soon learned otherwise.

She
took one of the vacant stools next to him and sat down. The Titan didn’t glance at her, just continued to stare at his beer and Cat wondered what people had to do to get his attention. Her half sister, Chloe, had certainly won his full attention, had in fact made him pander to her every wish. And now she, Cat, would have him do the same for her...for a while at least.

One cou
ld not simply kill such a fine specimen of a deity without having a little bit of fun first. She wasn’t nicknamed Cat for nothing.

“Hello,” she said, shuffling on her stool so her breasts were at a better angle for the
Titan to ogle. Should the fellow decide to ogle, which he did not.

“Are you talking to me
?” he asked, his tone lower than she expected. A tone that spoke of power and ageless wisdom, something the Titans had in common with the Olympian gods.

She smiled. “I am
. Can I buy you another beer?”

He looked down at his glass, his expression that of a man who seemed not to have realized he’d bought
one. “No.”

“I was hoping
perhaps you’d have another with me.” Cat giggled but when he glared at her she realized her sweet, girly act wouldn’t cut it. Perhaps he liked sultry, dark women. Well, she could do that type very well. With the added bonus of violence when the need arose. She wasn’t considered one of her father’s best hunters for no reason. No one ever suspected a pretty girl.

He turned to her
, his eyes as cold as Tartarus. “Perhaps I wasn’t clear enough. I said ‘no’. So if you don’t mind I’d prefer to finish my drink alone and without the added annoyance of some high-end prostitute trying to land my cock between her legs.”

Cat beat back the purr at the thought of
this Titan’s cock where he suggested it. He was her enemy and the enemy of her kind, that was without doubt, but shit, he was as hot as she remembered him. And his dismissal of her made him even hotter. No one ever spoke to Caitlin in such a way, and that he did so without a qualm oddly pleased her. This Titan was going to be a challenge and she would have fun bringing him to his knees...preferably before the very place on her body that he found so uninteresting at present.

“I’m not a call girl and neither was I trying to land you in the sack.” Cat stood and leaned in to whisper against his ear. He smelt of
clean, fresh linen and a subtle, spicy aftershave. She licked her lips, falling under his spell just a little. “And if you ever speak to me in such a way again, you may not enjoy what I’ll do to your balls.” Cat pulled back and smiled. “Goodnight.”

Cat
finished off what was left of her drink before placing the glass on the counter. As she left the bar, the cool winter chill made her shiver into her coat. How different the Earth and its fickle weather were to home. She’d be glad to be rid of this obligation so she could resume her life on Mount Olympus, where it was always warm.

Heading
down Madison Avenue, she turned into an adjoining alley and pictured in her mind the hotel room she’d procured for the duration of her stay. In an instant Cat landed at the base of her bed and walked toward the window to gaze out over Central Park. There was no need for her to stay anywhere but she was just a little curious as to why her half sister Chloe had chosen this life over the life of an immortal on Mount Olympus. And so far, with the chilling winds and sleet that made the streets of New York dirty and dangerous, Cat couldn’t come up with one reason as to why. There could only be one possible reason that she could imagine. Chloe’s Highlander Cian must be an excellent fuck……

Cat brought her wandering mind back to the present.

Lelantos would be a challenge. He was already proving hard to get. The thought of what she would do to him before she killed him assailed her and she squeezed her legs together. He would be wild in bed, untamed and almost barbaric. Hot……

And there was no doubt by his sullen, angry emotions that it had been some time since he’d
been with anyone. Cat licked her lips. She couldn’t wait for his downfall into her arms.

And soon.

CHAPTER

Three

Lelantos turned to watch the blonde leave the bar after his less than polite rejection. He rubbed a hand over his jaw and wondered what the hell was wrong with him. He’d lived on earth for thousands of years, had for the most part been content with his life. He had moved about in society almost invisibly. Taking part only in what interested or benefited him.

But of late
, that lifestyle had started to bore. After his brush with the immortals again, through Chloe, the Titan within him had started to gnaw at its human cage. The intoxicating high he’d felt at besting the bastard, Zeus, was an elixir to which he could become addicted. For the short time he’d been able to help Chloe, her power, essence for life and determination to secure Cian, the man she wanted above all else, made him wish, yearn for more.

Again.

He threw back the last of his beer and stood. Perhaps if he caught up with the woman, he could persuade her to come back to his apartment… He’d not had a female in what felt like years. If the truth be told, it was probably more like hundreds of years. Human women with their delicate bodies were often left looking like they’d partaken in a street brawl, not sex, after making love with the Titan. With his immense strength, a simple tumble in the sheets often left them bruised and sometimes broken. It was much easier to live a celibate life and not harm anyone. A hard line to tread when you’re horny and in need of release.

And should he
mate with a woman of divine birth, it would surely lead Zeus to his whereabouts. It had been a big enough risk helping Chloe. And for weeks after she’d left him in New York he’d felt like his time on this earth was coming to an end. Zeus, he knew, was furious. The weather had been unpredictable worldwide and the Father of the gods was the cause.

Zeus was
pissed off and Lelantos had no doubt he’d be looking for a chance to take out his ire on him.

He strode from the bar and breathed deep
ly of the chilled New York air. There was no sign of the blonde on the streets and he shrugged away the tiniest bite of disappointment that he’d let her go. Perhaps he’d see her again, or just find someone else. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been with a human woman before, just that he preferred women of his own kind. But then, his right to be picky over his choice of sexual partners had long ago been taken away.

Thanks to Zeus.

Thunder rumbled across the sky that was devoid of stars and hazy in the blizzard like conditions. Lelantos started for his apartment wanting the solace of his own space that was protected by his ability to make things go unseen. The last thing he needed was for the Father of the Olympian gods to find him. Titan or not, Lelantos didn’t know if he had it in him to fight anymore. Perhaps his time among the human race had made him weak? Placid? Boring?

Then again, perhaps not.

He greeted the concierge to his building and made his way up to his apartment on the twenty-first floor. The elevator door opened and he stepped into his home. Breakfast dishes lay waiting for him on the glass kitchen table. The television was on and the voice of Dave Letterman drowned out the faint sounds of the street-life below his windows.

Lelantos sighed and started to collect his dirty plates and place them into the dishwasher. The answering machine blinked and he pressed the play button. The bubbly voice of
Emma, a flight attendant he’d met a few weeks back greeted him and he smiled. She was in town this weekend and looking to catch up. Hook up more like after he blew her off after landing. He made a mental note not to get inebriated on flights and try and pick up the women serving him drinks. The next message was his boss. His voice less warm, demanding to know where this week’s advertising sketches were kept.
Damned idiot, if he bothered to look under the pile of paperwork he had on his desk, he may find them
.