Goddess of Light (Goddess Summoning #3)(44)

"And thus we celebrate love. At any age - in any way - it is truly magical and carries with it a touch of immortality. Go with my blessing tonight, lovers, and take pleasure where you will. Love, laugh and be merry!" the goddess proclaimed, and in a blaze of shooting sparks, the entire company disappeared through a trapdoor in the floor of the stage.

The applause continued for a long time, but when none of the actors returned for an encore, the theater began to empty. The audience was almost exclusively made up of couples, and as they left there were many linked hands, intimate conversations and lingering touches.

When the other couples sitting around them in the balcony began to file out, Pamela hesitated. She and Phoebus were standing beside their love seat, and for a moment the two of them were completely alone, as if they had discovered a pocket of intimacy within the darkening theater. Pamela thought it was a little like the night before when they'd kissed in the rain. She looked up at him, overwhelmed by the mixture of lust and longing that was coursing through her body in time with the beating of her heart. And in that moment she knew she would make love to him. She was tired of settling for contentment rather than joy. Pamela spoke in a sudden burst, as if the words had to break through a wall of inhibitions and caution.

"You make me feel like we're in a world alone, all to ourselves. Sometimes when I look at you I think second chances are possible."

"Believe that," he said fiercely. "And believe that I would never do anything to hurt you. Think of me as you do your talisman, Apollo. I, too, want you to heal and be whole so that you can love and trust again."

He touched the coin she wore around her neck, and she imagined that she could feel the healing warmth of that touch all the way through the metal and into her heart. Tired of hesitation and second thoughts, she slid her hands up his chest and pressed herself close to him.

"Would you do something for me, Phoebus?"

"Anything within my power," he said solemnly.

"Would you take me back to my room and make love to me?" she asked breathlessly.

"It would be my great honor, sweet Pamela," he said, and bent to kiss her upturned lips.

Chapter 15

In a warm mist of anticipation, they walked back to Pamela's suite. They spoke little but touched each other constantly. Apollo was already becoming familiar with the curves and lines of her body, and he stopped often to pull her into a shadow and kiss her with a tenderness that did nothing to mask his growing desire. He wanted her with an intensity that was a white fire building within him, and to his eternal delight, Pamela was responding with matching passion. She felt so right pressed against him, as if she had always been there. As they walked, he thought about the old couple who had closed the theatrical production. Obviously, they, too, had been actors, planted amidst the crowd, but that didn't mean that they hadn't truly been lovers. Apollo remembered the way the old man's eyes had radiated love and pride as he led his lifelong bride in their special waltz. Apollo knew he would never experience growing old by Pamela's side, but he wanted her with him - and he wanted it with an intensity that filled him with purpose. They would be together, he promised himself.

Pamela slid the key card into the door, and with a green light and a click, she entered the suite ahead of him. Her hesitation was gone. She knew what she wanted. She wanted Phoebus. Forget past mistakes. Never mind about what may or may not happen in the future. Something had happened to her tonight while she was watching Zumanity's magical sexuality. She realized that she had been wrong. Duane hadn't killed romance or fun or even sex for her. He had just caused that part of her to hibernate. And now it that it had awakened, she was ravenous.

When Apollo closed the door, she turned and stepped into his arms. He kissed her, wanting to take his time to taste her thoroughly now that they were finally alone, but when she moaned into his mouth he bent and cupped her well-rounded bu**ocks and lifted her, so that the hot core of her pressed firmly against his arousal. She moved restlessly against him and with a gasp he broke the kiss, struggling for control.

"I'm losing my mind with desire for you," he moaned as her tongue and lips made a hot trail down the side of his neck.

"Put me down, and I'll take off these clothes." Her warm breath whispered against his skin.

He almost dropped her, and her laughter was deep and throaty. Pamela stepped teasingly away from him, and then began to walk backwards towards the bed, while she used one hand to reach behind her and unzip her little red dress. She shrugged her shoulder. It slid free, and she stepped delicately out of the scarlet heap it made around her heels. Apollo's eyes drank in her body. She was wearing something black and lacy that did next to nothing to cover her br**sts, but it lifted them and pointed them enticingly at him, and a matching swatch of lace that barely hid the dark triangle between her legs. The golden dagger-heeled sandals did something incredibly sexy to her long, bare legs. As she reached behind her again to unlatch the lingerie, he closed the distance between them.

He kissed her again and against his mouth she said, "I want to feel you naked against me."

Breathing hard, he broke the kiss long enough to roughly yank the shirt over his head. While he fumbled with the unfamiliar fastening of his pants, Pamela slid back on the bed, watching him with sparkling eyes. And she still had on those incredibly sexy shoes.

Finally, he managed to make himself naked, but before he could join her on the bed, she half sat up and halted him with her raised hand.