Goddess of Love (Goddess Summoning #5)(12)

"Persephone. I am Goddess of Love." Venus kept her voice low but firm. "It's always appropriate for me to curse using references to genitals. Anyone's genitals."

"Do you want to fit in here?"

"Of course! I adore modern mortals. I can already tell that the men are appreciative without being sycophants. And the women move with such a delicious sense of freedom and power. I plan on spending many happy days exploring this wonderful kingdom."

"Then leave the genitals of the gods and goddesses out of it."

Venus frowned, looking unusually pensive. "I'm not sure I can. You know I prefer to refer to love whenever I can."

Persephone raised one delicate eyebrow. "Love?"

"Naturally. Genitals equal love - love equals genitals. Persephone, darling, do we need to have a more private talk? How have your orgasms been lately? Are you experiencing multiple releases?

And when you don't have a partner, have you been pleasuring yourself adequately?"

Persephone raised her hands, palms out. "Stop. You win. Use whatever curses please you most. Just be prepared to be questioned about them."

"I'm always prepared to answer questions about love." Venus smiled sweetly. "But first I want..." She caught the young waitress's eye and waggled her fingers at their two almost-empty martini glasses.

"Did you ladies want another round?"

"Darling, you said your name was Jenny, didn't you?" Venus asked.

"That's right." The waitress smiled. "Two more martinis?"

"Yes, but this time let's try the Wake," Persephone said.

"Excellent! You'll love it. I'll bring those right out."

"The Wake?" Venus asked Persephone after Jenny hurried off.

"It's yummy - chocolate liqueur, espresso, vodka, ice crystals..." She licked her lips and shivered in delight. "Trust me on this."

"Oh, I do! It sounds decadent. I'm certain I'll love it. I've loved everything else in this kingdom."

"Okay, you're really going to have to quit calling it that. There's no such thing as a kingdom of Tulsa. It's just Tulsa. Like Rome is just Rome, not the kingdom of Rome."

Venus scoffed. "Try telling those obsessively patriotic ancient Romans they're not a kingdom."

"Point taken. I used a bad example. Here's the thing - you can be eccentric and different here -

that's fine. You're incredibly beautiful - "

"Why thank you darling!" Venus interrupted.

"I'm just stating the truth. Anyway, you can get away with being...well...what modern mortals will consider weird because of your beauty."

"Weird? I am not weird."

"By Athena's widening ass you certainly are!" Persephone said, mimicking her friend's voice and using one of her all-time favorite curses.

Venus's violet eyes sparkled. "Athena's ass is getting big. Come on. Admit it. She's become far too serious! All, 'Look at me! I'm the gray-eyed Goddess of War, Wisdom and the Arts.'" She exaggerated a yawn. "She needs to loosen up and in more ways than one. A few stretching exercises and a good jog would help her out as much as taking a lover or two."

"You're incorrigible." Persephone laughed. "And you're not going to get me off the subject that easily. You can use your genital curses. You can even get way too personal about other people's love lives. But you can't go around calling Tulsa a kingdom."

"Fine, fine, fine. It's not a kingdom. It's a city. I've got it. I'll remember. It's just that I'm having so much fun! I adore Tulsa and its mixture of cheeky modern men and confident modern women, especially because none of them have any idea who I am."

"I told you it would be a freeing experience to visit the modern world."

"Well I am Love, and I can officially say that Love is in love with Tulsa!"

The waitress put two fresh martinis on their table, along with two slender white slices of an exquisitely decorated cake. "Here are your Wakes, ladies. And the owner, Lola, is testing out a new dessert - personal wedding cake. Please sample it with her blessing."

"Wedding cake!" Venus laughed and clapped her hands together in a spontaneous show of girlish pleasure. "How perfectly appropriate."

"Are you getting married?" the young waitress asked.

"Me? No! I've been married forever. That's not why it's appropriate. It's just that I am Love. Naturally wedding cake should be a favorite of mine."

The waitress continued to smile politely, but her face had turned into a question mark.

"She means she's fixed up a lot of her friends. Sometimes we just call her Love," Persephone explained.

"She's good at fixing up people? That's cool."

"You have no idea," Venus mumbled through a big bite of wedding cake. "Paris and Helen, Pygmalion and - "

"Thanks for the cake!" Persephone interrupted smoothly. "And keep an eye on our martinis; we'll want at least one more round."

"Will do."

When she was gone Persephone bit into her own slice of cake while she shook her head at Venus.

"What? You don't like the cake. I think it's wonderful."