Goddess of Light (Goddess Summoning #3)(83)

"You're very thorough, James," Pamela said.

"Thank you, ma'am. Just keep in mind that night falls quickly in the desert. I believe sunset is scheduled today for 8:05 P.M." He handed Apollo the basket, bowed neatly and left the two of them alone.

They stood awkwardly in silence. Apollo was the first to speak.

"I suppose we should go."

Pamela cleared her throat. It was ridiculous that she was feeling nervous about being alone with him. She'd had sex with him. More than once. There was no reason for her stomach to feel sick and her palms to be so sweaty. None at all. She needed to get a grip.

"Okay," she pointed at the basket. "Sunscreen first."

Apollo raised an eyebrow at her.

She sighed and undid the clasp on the top of the picnic basket. So much for behaving normally. The situation was definitely not normal. The man standing before her didn't know what the hell sunscreen was because he was Apollo,

God of Light. Jangled nerves were probably the only normal thing about this situation. She peeked into the basket. Organized as well as always prepared, James had placed the tube of forty-plus sunblock right on top. With an open, curious expression, Apollo watched her spread the creamy lotion on her arms and face.

"It smells of coconut. What it is?" he asked.

"It's sunscreen. It blocks the harmful rays of the sun from our skin."

He looked utterly baffled.

"Mortals can be burned by too much light. Remember Semele?"

Apollo blinked in surprise.

"Eddie's been giving me lessons in mythology."

Apollo raised both of his golden brows. "Be careful what you believe of the stories told and retold in your world. I have it on excellent authority that many of them are highly inaccurate."

"Yeah, I've already figured that out. They say Artemis is a virgin."

He barked a laugh. "Which proves my point. Now tell me truly, does this lotion that smells of coconut have the power to block the light of an immortal?"

"I doubt it, but it will save you from getting a nasty sunburn."

"Sunburn?"

"Think of it like shaving. It should be simple to understand, but it can mess you up if you're not used to everything that goes with it. Sunlight is like that for mortals."

Looking grim, he took the tube from her, squeezed some into his hand, sniffed it and then spread it on his arms and shoulders. Pamela watched him, and she felt suddenly, inexplicably sad. Apollo, God of Light, should not have to protect himself against the sun. A vision of the last time they made love flashed through her mind. He had been a flame, burning with immortal passion. He was the sun.

Apollo didn't belong here. She could give in to the desire of her heart and allow herself to love him, but she could not delude herself into thinking that their story would have an ending any happier than Semele's mythic love for Zeus.

"Don't forget your face," she whispered.

"Thank you," he smiled, drenching his face in the white liquid, "I would have forgotten. This is all rather new to me."

Her stomach clenched again, but she returned his smile. "I think that will do." Pamela recapped the tube and put it back in the basket, which Apollo picked up, and together they walked out the front door of the lodge.

"Do you know which way is north?" Apollo paused to ask her. When she gave him a startled look, he grinned like a little boy. "I am only teasing you. I'm without my powers, not without my brain."

"Well, that's comforting," she mumbled but grinned back at him as they crunched down the pebble-covered drive and angled to their left, weaving between the scattered adobe buildings that made up the rest of the chic little spa, restaurant, and well-supplied gift shop. It was hard to believe that just outside the resort the oasis gave way to the brutal beauty of the desert. Their trail was flanked by wild tufts of long-armed orange flowers, interspersed between fragrant purple plants that reminded her of lavender, as well as the familiar pointed, rubbery leaves of yucca clumps. It was cooler here in the canyon, and much greener, as if the desert had saved up all its softness and sweetness and focused it here.

They said little as they made their way through the heart of the resort. Apollo didn't take her hand or link her arm through his. When he spoke to her he was polite, even witty, but the passionate undercurrent that had been an almost tangible part of everything he said or did since they had met at the little cafe table at The Lost Cellar was gone, or at least well-subdued - and Pamela felt its loss keenly.

She thought about what Eddie had said to her, and the way his face changed whenever his gaze rested on Artemis. The big man knew the hurt he chanced, but he believed what he gained was more valuable than what he might lose. There are no guarantees in love, Pamela, just endless opportunities - for hurt and for happiness. It was a new and frightening concept for Pamela, but she had never been a coward, and she had rarely taken the easy way out.

Apollo spotted the little wooden sign made in the shape of an arrow on which was carved First Creek Canyon.

"I prophesy that First Creek Canyon is this way," Apollo said, dramatically holding one hand to his temple.

"Watch it," she smiled at him. "You're gonna get struck by lightning or something."

"Zeus," Apollo grunted.

"So do you think you're in trouble with him?"