The Revelation (Pandora's Harem 1) A Reverse Harem Tale(9)
A bad vibe settles in my core.
Three grown men, specifically three immortal men who have lived for thousands of years and fought some of the toughest armies this earth has ever given rise to, really should be able to keep themselves out of trouble in modern day times. At least for a few minutes. It hasn’t even been an hour since they left my bedroom.
“She’s going to kill us,” Ares says, his voice no longer at a whisper.
Oh, gods, this has to be bad. Especially if he’s talking about me, because I wouldn’t hurt a fly, never mind three hunky Spartan dudes. But thanks to the unsettling feeling in my gut I’m pretty sure Ares does means me.
Leonidas straightens. He turns around, pushes up the sleeves of his sweater. “We have a small problem.”
Yep. Definitely me. My gut drops. This has to be worse than bad because men never think in terms of small. “We or just you three?” I make a circling motion with my forefinger.
Ares grins. “He means all four of us. We’re in this mess together now, Princess.”
I love how blondie uses all these sweet names for me: Pumpkin, Princess, Sweet Cakes. Does he really think that will keep me from losing my cool? Whatever the hell Leo and his boys have gotten themselves into while I was in the shower, sweet-talk will not get them out of it. I don’t believe in sugarcoating serious issues.
I inch forward.
Leonidas blocks my path. “You should have a seat.” He places one strong hand on my shoulder. A surge of energy from his fingers flows into my body the second he touches me. It snakes down, glides over my left breast forcing my nipple to pucker, then it continues over my stomach, and finally dips below, all the way to the apex at my thighs and licks my nub. I clench.
Leo remains standing, seemingly unfazed. I don’t know if that is on purpose or not, but I am not going to bring up what just happened.
Ignoring the wonderous sensation that just zinged through my body, I forge ahead. With a soft nudge, I push past Leonidas and come to a sudden stop the second my right foot steps in front of my left.
On the coffee table lay Zeus’s book. It’s splayed open and missing several pages, two of which are laying on the floor in a haphazard manner. A dagger is sticking up from the tome’s center.
Full throttle panic rushes my soul. “What did you do?”
“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Leonidas says. He hovers over me, his warm breath fanning my neck. A trace of citrus cologne wafts under my nose. I like the way the man smells, but I can’t dismiss the disaster he and his men have made of Zeus’s book.
“Whose dagger is that?”
Ares locks his arms behind his back, his flirtatious nature suddenly suppressed.
Leonidas, too, apparently has lost his tongue, which leaves only the brooding Lycus. Of the three, I really would rather deal with Ares or Leo.
“Thanatos was here,” the wolf says. “I cut him down, sent him back to the Underworld before he had the chance to fully emerge from the page.” Lycus reaches for his dagger and pulls it free, leaves a wide tear in the parchment leaf. The rip seals itself up almost instantly.
I stare at the book, my mouth gaping. The pages that are laying on the floor, rise and re-stitch themselves to the book’s spine.
“Did you do that?” I turn to Lycus.
“No. The book has the power to repair itself.” He averts his gaze and focuses on the sheath dangling from his belt. He slides the dagger in to it.
“If Thanatos attempted to come through the book, then I must be somehow close to either finding my lost box or nearing a clue to locating it.” I wait for someone to comment, but get no answers. My bare feet are freezing on the room’s hardwood floor. I wiggle my toes and focus on Leonidas. I hope he has at least a bit of advice for me on this matter because I’m shooting blind where Zeus’s darn tome is concerned. “What would have triggered Thanatos to try to come through?”
“I’m not sure,” Leonidas says. “Have you done anything different this week than you’d normally do?”
Well, considering yesterday my whole world turned upside down, I’d say I did a ton of things differently. But I can’t think of anything specific that would have raised a god of Death. “No. But today is my twenty-first birthday, or more precise it’s the day I celebrate my birth because I don’t know the actual day I was created. Maybe it has something to do with that, with me coming of age, so to speak.”
“Could be,” Leonidas says. “Maybe the gods are going to be watching you more carefully now.”
Not what I want to hear. “Thanatos or no Thanatos, I am off from work today and I’m going over to Fifi’s Bakery on the corner for a cupcake.”
Leonidas furrows his brow, the serious expression making him look beyond concerned. I worry about what I’ve gotten myself into. Between having to now deal with these three dudes as well as trying to stay off Chaos’s radar, I better find that damn box soon or I doubt I’m going to survive this new life of real live mythology.
“I think you should forget the cupcake, Pumpkin,” Ares says.
“Are you kidding me? I am so going to have that cake today. If Moros and his brothers are after me, I might not make it to next year. And you have not lived until you’ve had one of Fifi’s birthday cupcakes, or so I have been told. And I haven’t had one of them yet.”