His lips quivered and she knew he fought a smile. “No, sweetheart. We’re not going to disintegrate. We’re just gonna move really, really fast.”
“Oh, okay.” Moving fast didn’t sound so bad.
“Now, hold on tight, and don’t let go, no matter what happens.”
No matter what happens. Um…back to sounding bad. “Apollo, I don’t understand, why—”
Too late.
A strange howling filled her ears, and the alley darkened as the cement walls faded away.
A blur of light whipped past her body. Hands yanked at her flesh.
Terese screamed and clung to Apollo, holding on to her god with all her strength.
Chapter Six
“Are you all right?”
Terese cracked open one eye and managed to glare at him. “Are we done jumping?”
With an effort, Apollo managed not to laugh. “Uh, yeah, we’re done.” They were back at his place, and Terese was currently curled in the fetal position on his bed.
Her other eye opened. “I don’t ever, ever want to do that again.”
“Sorry, I should have told you that jumping could be a little unsettling at first.”
“Yeah, a little.” She sat up, rubbing her arms. Then she bit her lip. “Do you think we’re safe now?”
He hoped so, but he really didn’t know how powerful Eric was.
There was someone who could tell him, someone who always seemed to know everything about mortal and immortal life—
Zeus. His all-knowing, arrogant sire.
He’d have to jump to Olympus and pay his old man a visit to see what the bastard knew.
Terese stretched out on the bed. “Dawn’s coming.”
Apollo blinked. The windows were completely covered. Not even a trace of light from the outside shone in. With each day that passed, Terese seemed to sense the dawn’s power more and more.
The mattress dipped when he crawled into the bed with her. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you.”
Her arms wrapped around him, and she cuddled close, resting her cheek on his shoulder. “What’s that?” she asked, her voice soft.
“What were you like…before?” Before Eric had found her, before he’d transformed her into a vampire. Before there’d been fear in her eyes.
Her head lifted and she gazed at him, a small line pulling down her brows. “What do you mean?”
“Well, what did you do for a living?” Such a simple, normal question. And it was so important to him.
He wanted to know Terese. To know the woman she’d been, to know the woman she’d become.
“I-I was an artist.” She lifted her right hand and gazed down at her nails. “I always had paint on me. On my clothes, in my hair.” She turned her hand toward him. “Under my nails.”
He caught her hand in his, brought it to his mouth, and kissed her fingers. “What did you paint?”
Her smile faded as sadness slipped across her face. “I liked to paint the outdoors. Landscapes. Sunsets. The morning light trickling over a pond…” She swallowed and for a moment, tears shimmered in her eyes. “I wasn’t an artistic genius or anything, but I-I enjoyed the painting. It made me happy.”
And she made him happy. He put her hand on his chest, right over his heart. “I’d like to see some of your work.”
She stilled.
“Terese?”
“My home burned. The paintings, everything. When I escaped from Eric, I went there first and it was…destroyed.”
He’d bet that ass Eric had done it. Oh, but he couldn’t wait to get his hands on that jerk.
Soon.
Terese turned her head and gazed at the shuttered window. “You know, I should be sleepy by now. Usually, I can barely keep my eyes open when the sun rises.” She glanced back at him. “But today, I don’t feel as tired.”
He cocked a brow. “Well, then maybe I can help you to expend some of that energy you have.”
A full smile slipped over her lips. “Just what did you have in mind?”
Apollo didn’t tell her, but he did show her, and soon her sweet moans filled his ears.
* * *
When she slept, Apollo space jumped to Olympus. Terese had stayed awake for half the day, and he knew that he would have to hurry so he’d be able to return before darkness fell.
He wasted little time in traveling to Olympus. Filled with sparkling gold streets, elaborate temples and glistening fountains, Olympus was truly a paradise for the gods.
He wondered if Terese would like it there.
“Hello, Apollo.”
At the deep, rumbling voice, he spun around to find Poseidon, the god of the sea, strolling slowly toward him.
He tensed at the sight of the other god. Second only to Zeus, Poseidon was known to be damn strong, and the guy was almost as unpredictable as Ares.
Apollo nodded cautiously. “Poseidon.” It took a lot to get Poseidon out of his watery realm.
A muscle jerked in Poseidon’s jaw. “Have you seen the Fates?”
Not lately, thank Zeus. Though he was sure they were off someplace laughing at hm. Apollo shook his head.
“Dammit!” The ground beneath them began to tremble. A sure sign that Poseidon was royally pissed. The guy had been known to start more than a few earthquakes.
“I’m tired of waiting,” he snarled. “They promised her to me, they promised! I should have found her by now.” His eyes reflected a stark hunger, and lines of pain were etched onto his face.
Apollo suddenly understood what, or who, had brought Poseidon to Olympus.
His mate. Apollo had heard the stories, of course. All the gods and goddesses had. One woman, a daughter of the land, was destined to be the sea god’s queen.
The Fates had foretold their bond centuries before.
Centuries…
No wonder the guy was pissed.
Poseidon’s hands clenched into fists. “I need her.”
Yeah, Apollo could understand that. But as bad as he felt for the other god, he didn’t have time for this drama. He had his own woman to worry about. “Look, I need to find Zeus. Do you know where he is?” The sooner he found his old man, the sooner he’d be able to permanently eliminate Eric from Terese’s life.
“No, I haven’t seen my brother. He’s probably off somewhere with Hera.” Then Poseidon muttered something, something that sounded like lucky bastard.
That wasn’t helpful—
“Apollo!”
He turned at the shout and found his twin sister Artemis running toward him and waving happily. She threw herself into his arms, and he grunted under the impact. “Uh, hi, sis.”