Zeus (The God Chronicles) (5 page)

He was gorgeous. I felt like I was looking at a statue of a Greek God. Medium length, black hair—perfectly styled—hung slightly across his perfect, golden brown eyes. The facial hair covering his slightly pale but flawless skin was rugg
ed, without making him resemble a mountain man. It was the perfect addition to his chiseled jaw line. Butterflies erupted inside me as my eyes travelled down his form fitting, black suit, my jaw still flapping in the wind. It didn’t help that he was wearing the suit, perfectly tailored to him. I was a sucker for a handsome man in a suit. Realizing that I appeared to be staring at his crotch, I quickly tore my gaze back to his face.

He was staring right into my eyes and I couldn’t look away. He seemed amused as I fell silent, like it was an everyday occurrence. It probably was with
his body.

“No
 . . . ?” He questioned, a small smile gracing his face. I felt my knees start to shake a little.

“Uh,” I stammered. “Sorry,” I said, shaking my head and covering my eyes. When I finally felt composed enough, I lowered my hand

. “I just like water.”

I couldn’t believe how stupid I sounded. I could feel the heat burning in my face and my eyes widen in horror. I waited for a weird look and his departure, but he started laughing instead.

“You’re cute. I like that.” He took a sip of a drink the bartender had brought him.

“Only cute,” I joked back. “I guess I’ll head out then, no reason for a simply
cute
girl to be here.” I tried to keep a straight face as long as possible as I made a show of turning to leave, and he laughed some more. It was a deep sound, but effortless. I liked it a lot, especially because it brought his perfect smile back to his perfect lips.

“What’s your name?” He grabbed my water before I could and started heading to a table. It seemed a little bold, but I was feeling brave and followed him.

“Karly,” I said as we sat down on opposite sides. “Yours?”

“Zeus,” he replied while surveying the dance floor. I couldn’t help it—I snorted into the drink in my hand and started laughing.

“Wow, your parents must have hated you!”

“Actually,” he replied, turning back to me. “My parents are Greek. It is a great honor to be named after their God.” All humor was gone from his face as he
watched at me. I felt the blush coming back again.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you,” I apologized.

“It’s no big deal, it happens a lot actually. The joke about the name—not the offending,” he added as a side thought. He turned his attention back to the dancing, slouching in his seat and drumming his fingers on the table. I sat there awkwardly, wondering if I should excuse myself. All my successful flirtations from earlier in the night were sorely missed. I was goofing up big time with this guy.

“Do you want to dance now?” he asked out of the blue.

“Uh, yeah. Sure.”

I stood and started back to the floor, a wave of shock flowing through me when he came up beside me and wrapped his arm around my waist. When we reached the floor, he released me and grabbed my hand instead, pulling me to the middle of the crowd. We finally stopped and he turned to face me, pulling my body up against his. His golden brown eyes met mine once more, a small, seductive smile flickering across his face as he placed my hands on his hips. My knees started to tremble again as I felt his abs and “V” shape cut. He was definitely hot, too hot for me, but I wasn’t complaining.

He wrapped his arms around me, placing his hands at the small of my back. Slowly, he began to move against me, testing the beat, pulling me along with him. It was a lot more intimate than I was used to—it felt exciting and new. The longer we danced the faster the movement became. He slid one of his hands up my back until it rested on my neck and rubbed his thumb over the skin there, still holding me close with the other hand. Goose bumps started popping up on my skin and a smile crept onto his face. Holding me tighter, he slid his hand from my neck to my jaw, rubbing his thumb just under my lips. Hot breath warmed my face as he leaned in, lips hovering over mine but never actually making contact.

My stomach fluttered and my entire body suddenly felt very hot. Zeus was creating foreign feelings part of me really liked. I wasn’t sure what was happening since I’d never experienced anything like this before. Honestly, I didn’t know I could dance like that, but I wasn’t about to stop.
What was the harm in enjoying myself if I was probably never going to see him again?

Time seemed to stop as we danced together, wrapped in a close embrace. Other guys asked to cut in and he refused.
Every song flowed effortlessly into the next, creating the illusion that it was all one melody. After what seemed like hours, he finally slowed down and placed his mouth against my ear.

“Do you want to come up to my room for the rest of the night?” His breath was hot, creating more goose bumps, but my insides went cold. I pulled back and looked at him. He wore a sultry expression, one that was meant to tempt me into saying yes.

“Excuse me?”

“Come upstairs with me,” he purred, pulling me as close as he could. “It will be fun, promise. We can sneak out without your friends noticing. No one has to know.”

He placed a hand on the back of my head and leaned in for a kiss. Fortunately, my brain caught up in time, and I slapped him as hard as I could before he got there, causing several people around us to stop and stare. Zeus seemed frozen, his lips still puckered slightly as he faced the direction my attack had sent him.

“If you want a call girl there’s plenty of them out on the corner. I don’t sleep with pigs,” I whispered into his ear, ice lacing every word. I
scowled at him only long enough to see the shock registering on his face, before pushing away and walking right out of the club.

I hurried through the casino below, fighting back tears. The girls caught up with me as I walked through the doors and back out to the Strip. My hands balled into fist so hard the knuckles turned white. My entire frame shook, and I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting angry tears.

“Karly, what happened?” Jessie was out of breath, her shoes in her hands.

“Just some jerk,” I mumbled, finally opening my eyes. “Can we call a cab? I want to go home.”

“Sure,” Julie said, concern written on her face. She stepped up to the curb and waved one down.

“Please tell us what’s wrong.” Jenny reached out and put a hand on my shoulder.

“In the cab,” I said as one pulled up for us.

On the way home, I told them everything that had happened. I didn’t cry thankfully, but it was obvious I was fighting it. My breath caught every few minutes while I blinked furiously, trying to control the prickling I felt there. Anger and hurt battled over which would get to be my predominant feeling. Zeus had ruined the evening for me.

“I’m sorry I made us leave earlier than you wanted.” The girls had never been home sooner than one in the morning. I was sure they’d planned on staying out much later than eleven thirty.

“You don’t need to be sorry,” Jessie said. “We understand.” We were both smashed together in the middle. She rubbed my back in an effort to calm me.

“You said his name was Zeus?” Julie questioned from the front seat.

“Yeah.”

The girls exchanged a knowing expression.

“We know who you’re talking about,” Jenny explained. “That was Zeus Drakos. For as young as he is, he’s the owner of Tartarus. He also has a huge reputation for being a player. I thought I recognized him, but I wasn’t sure. Sorry, Karly.”

“What a jerk,” I said under my breath. “I mean, do I come across like a one night stand?” I knew it wasn’t fair to rant all my anger on them.

“No,” came the resounding reply. I really was starting to love my roommates.

“It’ll be alright,” Jessie said soothingly.

I was tired of letting stupid things upset me. Life was full of ups and downs, so why should this one moment ruin the fun I’d had earlier that night?
I could put it out of my mind—like the card from the street. I watched the scenery pass by and listened to the cabbies honk their horns in anger. There was so much more I could occupy my thoughts with.

“Yeah, it will be. I’m
simply not going to let it bother me. What’s done is done.” I sighed as we arrived at the apartment and got out of the car.

“Thanks for the cab,” I said. “I would have hated to drive through that.”

“No problem at all.” Jessie beamed at me as we headed up the stairs.

“School in the morning,” Jenny said, changing the subject.

We all groaned.

Chapter Five

A loud beeping sound ripped me from my uneasy slumber. I sat up in alarm, trying to blink the sleep from my eyes. Confused, I looked around until I finally realized the ringing was coming from my alarm clock. A groan escaped my lips and I flopped back, burying my head under the pillow. I guessed the pounding headache marching through my brain was probably what a hangover felt like, since I’d never had much alcohol. It felt like a million horses were galloping from one ear to the other and each annoying call from the nightstand felt like a dagger plunging clear through my skull. Finally, fumbling around without emerging, I managed to shut off the annoyance. Gingerly, I came up for fresh air and sat up. My feelings of disgust had lasted through the night, disrupting my sleep. I felt a little better this morning but was still trying to let everything go.

Jessie was still sleeping, a slight snore coming from under her pillow. It was only the first day of school and already I was regretting signing up for an early class.

Throwing the blankets to the side, I placed my feet on the floor and yawned, scratching my head. I stood and shuffled towards the bathroom, still stewing over having to wake up. I closed both doors softly and turned to my reflection. Last night’s makeup had turned into this morning’s black eye and my hair stuck up like the bride of Frankenstein. I remembered why it was so important for me to wash my face and put my hair up every night before bed. I rubbed the makeup off the best I could, ran a brush through my tangles, and went to eat.

My mom made a hot breakfast almost every morning of my life. Sundays were usually the only day I would wake up and not smell something delicious wafting through the halls. Now that I was on my own, it was becoming clearer I would not be making pancakes every morning. Luckily, I liked cold cereal. I pulled a bowl out of the cupboard and poured myself the first thing I grabbed.

As I ate, I studied my recently begun painting. It was ready for the next layer, and I made a mental note to save time for painting that night. After rinsing my bowl and putting it in the dishwasher, I trudged back to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

Jessie finally woke up as I was sliding my last notebook into my backpack. She wore the same disheveled look I had. Wishing her a good morning, I slung my bag over my shoulder. She mumbled something in return, and I laughed to myself as I stepped out the door.

The college was only a few blocks away, in between the apartment and the Strip. I probably lived close enough to walk, but it was so hot. Now that I’d been hired to work in the library, I wasn’t as worried about money. The air conditioning was now officially my best friend.

The campus was a mixture of architectures; each building was made to suit the department it housed. The physics building confused me the most—I didn’t get why it was shaped like a wave and had a variety of multi-colored banners in the windows. It wasn’t a big deal, though; I wasn’t there to study the buildings. The grounds were fantastic also, combining local desert and grassy areas to enjoy. It had a nice feeling, like most scholarly places, and was relaxing as well.

I had signed up to attend full time, knowing I would be taking more classes focusing on art since I already had my associate’s degree. Thankfully, it worked out that I would only be spending the morning at classes three times a week. After my classes I would go to work and get off around five. It made for long days, but I liked that I had a day off between everything.

I parked my car next to the art building and started towards my first class. I’d met the teacher and was excited to finally start the next step in my education. As I entered the room, I smiled at my fellow classmates. They were all different types—different races, sizes, and personalities—and I liked that. It made for an interesting class. I chose a seat in the middle and settled down for a good first day.

At ten after five that night, I flopped into the driver’s seat of my car. My head was buzzing from the astronomical amount of information that had been shoved down my throat and I was now trying to commit to memory. The classes hadn’t been bad, but I’d been overloaded with information in the library. I’d known there would be some technical stuff to learn, but I had grossly underestimated how much there really was. I hoped I would get it all down soon. Getting things wrong would only slow me down, and I didn’t want the librarian to have any reason to replace me.

I took a deep breath and laid my head back against the seat. It had been a good day— a little overwhelming, but still successful in my opinion. I had high hopes for the rest of the semester. I was especially excited about the art show at the end of November, right before break. I was already considering entering the painting I’d started in the kitchen, if it turned out good enough.