“I brought us here.”
“How.” Not really a question. Terese was tired of feeling like she was missing something very important in the conversation.
“We jumped.”
“Jumped?” She did a quick bounce. “Like that?”
A deep chuckle rumbled in his throat. “No, we space jumped.”
“Space jumped, right.” Okay, she wasn’t exactly sure what space jumping was, but the idea of it scared the shit out of her.
Before waking in Apollo’s bed, the last thing she remembered was being in the parking lot Hades, feeling the scorching burn of the sun’s rays on her skin, then—
“I space jump when I need to get from one place to another in just a few seconds.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Is that like teleporting?” It sounded exactly like teleporting.
Flash—he was at the bar.
Flash—he was back at his house.
The elders could do that. The dangerous, dark elders.
“Yeah, like teleporting.”
Oh, God. She inched back a step. Had she just leapt from the frying pan into some seriously burning fire? Was Apollo an—
“Now what are you thinking?” His lips twisted. “I swear, you look like you’re about to bolt.”
Well, she was. Clothes or no clothes. If he was an elder—
Apollo rose from the bed, stretching slowly, arching his back and raising his arms over his head. His fingertips pressed against the ceiling. His c*ck bobbed upward, shooting up from the thatch of blond hair at the top if his thighs.
Oh, my. She swallowed. The man sure was a delicious site to see first thing in the evening.
She could still taste him in her mouth. Taste the warm, strangely sweet flavor of his blood.
Her teeth clenched. “You didn’t answer my question.” Though she’d played the game and answered his. “You aren’t human, are you?” She’d bet her grandmother’s silver tea tray on that one.
He stalked toward her, his c*ck stretching, hardening even more. “No, I’m not.”
“Are you a vampire?” He hadn’t burned when they were in the sunlight together. So, that should mean that he wasn’t like her. But, maybe, if he was an elder—
Apollo shook his head. “Sorry, love, but I’m no vampire.” A pause. “I’m a god.”
Her mouth dropped open. “What?”
He was right in front of her now. His hand lifted, and he brushed back her hair, letting his fingers slide against the sensitive flesh of her neck. A shiver shook her body and goosebumps rose on her skin.
His head lowered toward hers. His lips hovered from her mouth. “You heard me.” His breath blew over her. “I’m a god. An immortal, all-powerful god.”
No, no freaking way. “Th-that’s not possible.” His fingers were stroking her throat and his touch felt so warm and good. And strangely right. But… “You can’t be a—”
He laughed again, that same warm, deep chuckle. “Love, you’re a vampire. If you can exist, then I can, too.”
She blinked. Well, yeah, that made sense. But, still—a god? “What kind of god?”
He sighed, a long-suffering sound. “I told you…immortal, all-powerful—”
“I heard that part,” she muttered as his fingers stroked her flesh. “But you’re not like, you know, the God.”
A faint chuckle. “No, I’m not him.”
“So, what, you’re the god of—of—” Heck, what were there gods of? “Um…rain? Or fire? Or war—”
“I’m the god of the sun.”
“Oh.” The sun. Pain knifed through her. He was the god of the sun. The sun she would never see again, not if she wanted to keep living. Her gaze roved over him. It figured he’d be the sun god with that thick blond mane of his and all that perfect, golden skin.
Well, hell. She’d gone out, desperate to find prey, hoping with all her being that she wouldn’t accidentally drink too much and kill the human she selected, and she’d wound up with…a god.
The sun god.
Fate could be such a cruel bitch sometimes. Swiping at her eyes, at the stupid tears she could feel welling, Terese pulled away from him and stumbled back a few steps. “Where’s my dress? I…um…really need to be going.”
“So that’s it?” His hands fell to his sides. “You screw me, you drink from me, then you walk away?”
She felt that hit straight in her heart. A heart she was surprised she still had. Her chin lifted. “That was my general plan, yes.” As tempting as Apollo was, she couldn’t stay with him. It would be too dangerous, for both of them.
A muscle flexed along his iron-hard jaw. “Is that what you do? You go out every night and find some guy to f**k and suck?”
Fuck and suck. She flinched. “N-no. Y-you were the first.” Not the first guy she’d ever made love to, because back when she’d been human, she’d had lovers. But since her change, she hadn’t wanted to be with a man. Hadn’t wanted a lover to see the monster she’d become.
And the idea of drinking from someone, of taking a man’s blood…it had repelled her. Terrified her. What if I lost control? What if I took too much blood and accidentally killed my prey?
She’d gone as long as she could without feeding. But the hunger had burned her constantly and her body had trembled with pain. When the red haze of bloodlust swam before her eyes, she’d broken.
She’d gone to Hades and found Apollo.
Apollo moved in a blur. He grabbed her by the arms and pinned her against the wall. The sheet caught between their bodies. “Don’t lie to me,” he ordered. “You were no virgin. I wasn’t the first you’d taken to your bed—”
“Since my change, you were,” she snapped right back.
His eyes narrowed and his fingers bit into her flesh. “You said you changed a month ago.”
She nodded. “I’ve had lovers but that was before—” Before Eric. Before her life had turned into a waking nightmare of blood and death.
She swallowed to clear the lump in her throat and finished, “Before I turned into a vampire.” She closed her eyes to shut out the sight of his angry eyes and tight features. After-sex scenes sucked whether you were human or vamp. “Now, can I just get my dress so that I can get the hell out of here?”
His hand lifted and his fingers wrapped around her. “No.”
Her eyes flew open. “Give. Me. My. Dress.” The guy had sliced her apart with his questions and his asinine accusations. Suck and f**k. Now she just wanted to get away. She’d run back to her shabby little temporary home and lick her wounds.
Apollo watched her with those enigmatic bright blue eyes. Tension stretched between them. Angry, thick tension.
How had they gone from having great sex to—to this?
Just when Terese thought she would scream, he released her. Apollo stepped back and motioned toward a nearby white door. “Your dress is in the bathroom.”
“Thank you.” The words snapped out.
His lips tightened, but he didn’t stop her when she shoved past him.
And Terese fled into the bathroom, fled as if…well, as if an angry god were on her trail.
* * *
He’d hurt her.
Apollo stared at the closed bathroom door and tried to reign in his rioting emotions.
Dammit. He knew he’d hurt her. He’d seen the shine of tears in her eyes.
He’d just gotten so angry—the thought of Terese with other men, the thought of her drinking from them, ha**ng s*x with them—
A growl rumbled in his throat.
The image of her with another enraged him.
Terese was his. His. The perfect match for him in bed. The only woman who’d ever equaled his passion. And the thought of her with another was unacceptable. Gods don’t share.
She was dressing now and probably planning her escape. He knew she wanted to leave him. Hadn’t she said as much?
But he didn’t want to let her go.
He’d just found her, and he wanted to keep her.
Apollo paced toward the door. But if he wanted her to stay, if he wanted to have another chance to touch that delectable body of hers, well, then he’d have to swallow his pride…and apologize.
Dammit.
Good thing his brother Ares wasn’t around. The war god would laugh himself silly at the idea of Apollo apologizing to anyone, especially a mortal.
Apollo’s knuckles tapped against the wooden door. “Terese?” Better to just go ahead and get the whole apology thing over with. Before he choked on the words.
No response. She was probably sulking or giving him the silent treatment. Women, both immortal and mortal, seemed to love the good old silent treatment.
He tapped again. “Terese, we need to talk.” I need to apologize for saying you f**ked other men. Oh, yes, that would be a hard one to utter.
Still, no response.
He grabbed the doorknob and twisted with his hand, but the knob didn’t turn. She’d locked him out. “Terese!” He yelled her name this time. “Open the door!”
There was no sound from the bathroom. Not a gasp, not a whisper. Nothing.
A cold knot of dread formed in his stomach. “If you’re in there, get away from the door.” He paused a moment, trying to give her time to obey. Still no sound. Lifting his fist, he shattered the wooden door with one hard blow.
Terese wasn’t inside. Her dress was missing, and the small window inside was open. Its curtains billowed in the breeze.
Apollo lunged forward. Wrapping his fingers around the window ledge, he stared out into the night. “Terese!” A strange emptiness filled him.
She was gone.
Because he’d f**ked up.
* * *
Using her vampire strength to go as fast and as far as she could, Terese ran for five miles straight.
Apollo’s home was in the middle of the woods, far away from any other houses or businesses. An old, two lane highway cut through the trees, and she stuck to that bumpy road, praying that she’d get lucky and someone would drive by. If she could just see a car—
Yes. Fate wasn’t spitting on her anymore. A pickup truck rattled down the road with country music blaring from its radio. The truck’s high beams shined in the night.
Terese stepped out into the middle of the road and right into those beams of light.
The driver slammed on the brakes, and the squeal broke the night as the truck screeched to a stop less than two feet away from her.
My ride.
She stalked toward the vehicle.
“Lady, are you out of your damned mind?” A man’s angry voice snarled. “I almost killed you!”
Terese stared up at the driver. The light from the truck’s interior hit him, revealing young features and wide eyes. A baseball cap covered his hair and sloped over his forehead.
She took a deep breath and said, “I need a ride.”
“You need a—” He broke off, shaking his head. Then he shoved his door open. “You’re one crazy bit—Oh…” His eyes widened and his Adam’s apple bobbed. “I-is that leather?” His gaze drifted over her body. Lingered on her br**sts, her hips.
She gritted her teeth. Her hand caught his chin and she forced him to look up, to gaze into her eyes and not at her br**sts. “Lookie here, dude.”
He blinked, but stared into her eyes.
Okay, I can do this. Terese looked deep into his puppy-like brown eyes and tried to summon her vampire powers. She had to have them. According to Eric, all vamps had them.
Eric had originally lured her with his compulsions. He’d stared at her, his green eyes shining, and he’d pitched his voice seductively low. Before she’d even realized what she was doing, she’d found herself in his arms, head tilted back, neck arched, and all but begging him to bite her.
It was only when his teeth had plunged into her throat that she’d come to her senses. Too damn late.
Her fingers tightened around the guy’s chin. “I want you to take me back to town.”
His eyes narrowed.
Shit. Terese took a deep breath, and with every bit of her will, she said, “Take me back to town.” Her voice emerged as a soft, seductive purr, but the order was unmistakable.
His pupils dilated as he stared at her. “Of-of course.”
“Good.” The sooner she got back to the safety of her place, the better. “Let’s go.”
He scrambled to obey.
She couldn’t stop the wild smile that lifted her lips. Her compulsion had actually worked!
* * *
Two hours later, Terese stepped into her one bedroom studio apartment and slammed the door shut behind her. Finally, finally, she was—
“Hello, my love.” A man’s voice, silken and dark with menace, called to her from the shadows.
She froze as ice-cold, numbing fear filled her. No, no, it couldn’t be—
He reached over, turned on a nearby lamp, and the glowing yellow light illuminated his face. His glowing green eyes. His glistening fangs. “I’ve been waiting for you to come home.”
“Eric.” Her heart raced and the furious pounding filled her ears. How had he found her?She’d tried to be so careful. She’d run far from him, leaving Baton Rouge and traveling southeast until she’d literally hit the ocean—the ocean, and the small, unassuming town of New Olympus, Florida, that graced the beach.
Eric stepped toward her and she instinctively flinched back, moving a good foot.
But he just smiled. “I’ve got your blood in me, love. That means you are in me. And I’m in you. We’re linked. Bound by the blood.”